Capítulo 135: I Don’t Want to Be a Heroic Spirit [135]
Lunchtime wasn't far off, and her trip to the eastern mountains might mean being late. Still, Kiichi Hougen pressed on.
Her mood wasn't great, and the monsters in the eastern mountains seemed like perfect targets to vent her frustration.
Even though she was well aware of her nature as an ordinary person—no matter how much she inherited the abilities and Spirit Origin of a Servant, at her core, she remained just a regular human.
No matter how far she stretched out her hands, there would always be people she couldn't save and places she couldn't reach.
She was no stranger to the harsh reality of compromise, nor to accepting her own powerlessness. She'd done so countless times before, though it never became easier.
Self-awareness was one of her few redeeming qualities, wasn't it?
But still…
"Damn it… this is so frustrating."
She unleashed that frustration on the monsters she encountered in the eastern mountains.
However, when she finally stormed into the deepest part of the eastern mountains, she found the Maguu Kenki already broken and the altar empty—the core of the formation was gone.
It took her a full two seconds to process what she was seeing. Someone else had already come here, defeated the Maguu Kenki, and taken the core?!
Though the core was gone, she found a few scattered pages—a journal's remnants.
The entries explained what had happened. Chika's father had deemed the Maguu Kenki too weak as a guardian, so the Blind Swordsman had taken it upon himself to defeat the construct and move the core to his home for safekeeping.
Within this sealed space, years of training had made the Blind Swordsman far stronger than he had been upon entering. Even the formidable Maguu Kenki—a foe capable of launching sword beams, teleporting, whirlwind slashes, and area-wide attacks—was no match for a "normal human" without a Vision.
Kiichi Hougen found this both surprising and oddly understandable.
She had crossed swords with the Blind Swordsman herself, after all. From what she had seen, he truly was stronger than the Maguu Kenki.
But if the core was gone…
"Did I come all this way for nothing?"
Well, perhaps not entirely.
At least she'd cleared out a good number of Bloodhounds on her way here.
Kiichi Hougen returned to the village—not only to share lunch with Sara and Chika but also to ask Chika where the Blind Swordsman's house was.
Wandering door to door might work, but it would waste precious time.
---
"Do you two… take naps after lunch?"
After finishing lunch, Kiichi Hougen naturally handed the task of washing the dishes to her two paper doll familiars, Tarou and Jirou. Then she asked Chika her question.
"Huh? Why nap in the middle of the day?" Chika tilted her head. "Isn't sleeping at night enough?"
"That's exactly what I thought before I started school."
Kiichi Hougen gave Chika a knowing look, took a sip from her gourd, and grabbed a few lavender melons from the basket before heading for the door.
"I'm going to check out the Blind Swordsman's house. Sara, hmm…" She paused briefly before opening the door. "Stay here and keep Chika company. Make sure you both have fun, alright?"
As the door closed behind Kiichi Hougen, Sara blinked in confusion, her expression uncertain.
Was it just her imagination, or did Master seem… more hurried than usual?
Sara wasn't sure.
After all, her master's thoughts were always somewhat… difficult to grasp.
But she could understand. Her master was a thousand-year-old yokai, a being of immense wisdom whose perspective was fundamentally different.
Every action her master took must have its reasons. If Sara couldn't understand, it was surely because her own view was too narrow to grasp her master's grand designs.
If only she could become smarter, understand her master better… then maybe she could help ease her burdens.
At the very least, she could cause her master fewer problems instead of needing guidance for every little step.
While Sara stood lost in thought, Chika jumped down from her chair and walked over to her.
"Since Angel Sister entrusted Sister Sara to me, I'll take responsibility and take good care of you."
"…"
Did I mishear something?
Had Master really said anything about Chika taking care of her?
"When did Master say you were supposed to take care of me?"
Sara replayed Master's words in her mind five times, but she couldn't find anything that fit. Frowning, she finally voiced her doubt.
It didn't make sense. She was sure she hadn't missed a single word of Master's instructions.
But Chika's confidence made Sara question herself.
"Angel Sister just said it, didn't she? To keep me company." Chika smiled sweetly. "That means I'm in charge of taking care of Sister Sara. Since I'm the one being 'kept company,' doesn't that make me the leader? Plus, since we're playing around here, and I know the area better, it makes sense for me to take care of things, right?"
"...No. I think you're just connecting two completely unrelated ideas."
"Huh?"
"Even if you make that face, it won't make your reasoning any more convincing."
"Why is that?"
"You didn't have to say it out loud…"
Sara pinched the bridge of her nose, trying to soothe the headache building there.
Were all human children as lively as Chika?
Wait… I'm not much older than her, am I? So, is it just human children who are like this?
Though exasperated, Sara couldn't help but feel a twinge of amusement.
Still…
"This is Master's request… to make sure she has fun."
If I don't take this seriously, I'll disappoint Master, won't I?
And if I don't play with Chika properly, I'll disappoint her, too.
But… it's exhausting.
Come to think of it, Master seemed to get along well with Chika earlier, didn't she?
As expected of Master. I'm still nowhere near her level.
Sara's admiration for Kiichi Hougen grew even more.
"Alright, alright. Sister Sara, come play with me! I'm getting stir-crazy sitting indoors all day," Chika said, taking Sara's hand. "And don't keep frowning like that! My dad always told my mom that if you keep scrunching up your face, you'll get wrinkles and end up looking like an ugly old granny."
"An… old granny?"
That can't happen, right? Master once said that yokai have long lifespans and don't age like humans.
"Still, most yokai I've known died long before they could grow old. Back in those chaotic times, even the deaths and replacements of gods weren't unusual. For yokai, it was even worse. Nowadays, the oldest yokai I know of is a 500-year-old fox spirit… oh, and maybe a tanuki."
Master's words echoed in Sara's mind.
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