In the main hall of the Tenshukaku, pushing open the heavy wooden door, a scent mixed with sandalwood and the smell of alcohol rushed toward them.
Kanbe Hikaru stepped inside, his gaze sweeping over the surroundings.
The main hall was even more luxurious than he had imagined.
The tatami mats were woven from high-quality rush grass and were soft to the step; each mat could be exchanged for a family's annual food ration in the villages outside.
The wooden shoji doors were painted with landscapes, flowers, and birds, using gold leaf as a base; when the sunlight shone through, it gleamed with a blinding golden light.
The beams of the ceiling were carved with exquisite cloud patterns and painted with vermilion lacquer, as bright and fresh as if they had just been colored.
Such a display might not be much in the residential castles of the daimyo in Kyoto.
But for a low-ranking vassal who only governed six villages —
It was too much.
Kanbe Hikaru thought of the villagers outside the castle who were starving to the point of being skin and bones, and the children huddled in corners shivering.
And then he looked at the magnificence before him.
Hmph.
"Please, have a seat."
Suda Shigenobu sat on the high platform, leaning forward, his face full of smiles.
That smile looked very enthusiastic, but his eyes hid shrewd calculations: "I am Suda Shigenobu, the lord of this area."
"I heard that you eliminated the evil yokai of Shimura that has been committing evil for many years; it is truly an act of immeasurable merit."
Kanbe Hikaru didn't speak.
His gaze passed over Suda Shigenobu's round, fat face and landed on the wall behind him.
Something was hanging there.
A huge, yellow object, shaped like a boomerang.
Its entire body gleamed with a faint luster; it was the unique texture of yokai bone.
Hiraikotsu.
It was indeed here.
These words popped into Kanbe Hikaru's mind.
He didn't show any abnormality, just sat down casually on the tatami.
Kikyo sat beside him, her white robes and red hakama meticulously arranged, her longbow resting beside her knees.
Nurarihyon leaned against the pillar by the door, biting on his kiseru pipe, looking as if none of this had anything to do with him.
"I wonder where you all have come from?"
Suda Shigenobu continued to fish for information, his eyes rolling around: "Looking at this young lady's attire, she seems to be a shrine maiden? I wonder which shrine she belongs to?"
"A wandering shrine maiden from Kaede Village in Musashi Province."
Kikyo spoke, her voice calm.
The so-called wandering shrine maiden originally referred to shrine maidens who, after the start of the Sengoku Period, were trapped by financial hardship and had to travel around, having no fixed shrine.
And nowadays, all rural shrine maidens, or those who did not specifically serve a certain deity, were also included in this category.
Kikyo was one such person.
Such shrine maidens were often of low status.
But upon hearing this self-introduction, Suda Shigenobu's expression changed slightly.
It was a reaction to recognizing the name she called herself.
"Kikyo?"
"So it's her... the strongest Priestess of the Sengoku Period!"
His tone became even more humble, and he bowed his body forward.
"I have long heard of your great name, long heard of your great name!"
"I wonder what business brings Lady Kikyo to my humble castle today?"
Kanbe Hikaru looked at this short, fat Castle Lord, the corners of his mouth curling slightly.
Business?
To take your head, of course.
But he didn't say it out loud.
"We are tracking something down."
Kanbe Hikaru spoke.
"Oh? What would that be?"
Suda Shigenobu's eyes narrowed; it was an expression a merchant only wore when discussing a deal.
"Hiraikotsu."
"Hiraikotsu?"
Suda Shigenobu put on a look of total confusion.
He seemed not to know what the thing behind him was called.
"What is that? I am ignorant and have never heard of it."
"Is that so?"
Kanbe Hikaru raised his hand and pointed to the wall behind him.
"Then what is that hanging behind your back?"
Suda Shigenobu's expression changed.
This time he understood, and he heard clearly.
The atmosphere in the great hall suddenly became heavy.
The attendants who had been standing on both sides gripped the hilts of the swords at their waists.
In the corner, several mages dressed in Onmyoji attire also straightened up and began to form hand seals.
Kanbe Hikaru's [Spiritual Perception] talent allowed him to feel the fluctuations of spiritual power within those people.
Not strong.
Compared to Kikyo, they were pathetically weak.
"What do you want?"
Suda Shigenobu still had a smile on his face, but that smile had become stiff.
"That item was offered ten days ago by a passing old man. I am merely collecting it and do not know its origins."
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