Chapter 181

Sorry, that was just a side effect; she wished everyone here were dead!

The Demon in the Box merely allowed Yae Sakura to succumb to her own hatred, so in this world, Yae Sakura hid the box and didn't give it to Kallen.

However, Yae Sakura succumbed to the evil within her heart and raised her sword against the villagers she was protecting.

But this executioner's blade will not fall on Kallen's head.

Kallen represents the last vestige of kindness, love, and hope in Yae Sakura's heart at this time.

She doesn't care about the lives or deaths of the villagers.

But she couldn't possibly ignore Kallen.

Li Pu felt his analysis was probably correct, because Yae Sakura Li Pu found a way out for herself after much hesitation and indecision.

"Could you describe that box to me again?" Yae Sakura asked.

Kallen's eyes widened as she looked at Yae Sakura's question. She still couldn't quite believe that Li Pu had actually guessed correctly!

Judging from the current situation, Yae Sakura really has hidden that box.

Kallen felt incredibly conflicted; she simply didn't know how to describe it.

She could only describe what the box looked like again.

"If it's a box like this," Yae Sakura said after thinking carefully for a while with her arms crossed, "Then I have seen this box before."

"And I know where this box is."

"Please come with me."

"I have already properly stored this box."

Chapter 208 The Obstacle

"This is where the box is located."

Yae Sakura led Kallen and Li Pu to the location of the box.

A huge stone, a huge and complete stone, even with a shimenawa (sacred rope) on it.

"Because I felt there was something ominous about this box," Yae Sakura explained, "So I sealed it here."

"I acted on my own initiative and didn't realize that this was the box Kallen had been looking for."

"Sorry."

Yae Sakura's attitude was truly sincere, so sincere that there was no fault to be found. Moreover, Kallen originally intended to seal the box away.

Now that he's been sealed away by Yae Sakura, there's really nothing more to say.

Kallen breathed a sigh of relief and said, "In that case, thank you very much."

"This box is meant to be sealed away."

Kallen seemed quite happy, although she was somewhat disappointed that Yae Sakura had kept the box. But since it was for sealing, it didn't matter. Besides, her purpose in coming to the East was to seal the box, and although things had gone awry, overall she had still accomplished her goal.

"I suddenly feel so much lighter," Kallen said, relaxing. "I feel... I feel..."

It feels a bit bittersweet. I suddenly achieved my goal and now I don't know what to do next.

"Is there something you're having trouble telling me?" Yae Sakura Kallen with concern when she saw Kallen's suddenly bitter expression. "If you really are having some kind of difficulty, perhaps I can help you."

"No, it's not that difficult," Kallen sighed. "It's just... I feel like I've suddenly lost my purpose."

"I don't know where we're going."

Although the overall goal was to protect those who needed to be protected, after the specific goal of sealing the box was achieved, I suddenly felt that the overall goal was a bit vague, and for a moment I felt a little empty and confused.

"Is that so?" Yae Sakura seemed rather pleased.

However, without making it particularly clear, he said, "In that case, would Kallen be willing to stay in Yae Village?"

"With Kallen's power, we can definitely protect Yae Village."

"Can I?" Kallen asked, overjoyed. "Can I stay?"

I had been wanting to stay for a while, but I didn't know how to say it. Now that Yae Sakura has spoken up, and considering she's a powerful figure in the village, she's a natural leader.

If he agrees, then staying is a viable option.

"Of course," Yae Sakura said. "I can welcome Kallen on behalf of all the people of Yae Village."

"As for the Chief Priest, I can handle that too."

"Thank you very much then." Kallen made no attempt to refuse.

The search for the box, which initially seemed to start with a potential conflict but ended with everyone satisfied, has finally come to a close.

Yae Sakura is going to find the Chief Priest to tell him about what Kallen left behind.

Kallen, on the other hand, took Li Pu to familiarize himself with the village, which was also a kind of inspection.

Although Li Pu didn't say he would stay, it seemed like Kallen agreed that Li Pu would stay as well.

"You look so happy," Li Pu said, tilting his head to look at Kallen. "You're almost jumping for joy."

"Really?" Kallen said, not hiding her excitement. "It feels really good to start over."

"However, Mr. Li Pu," Kallen quickly became serious and said, "While Mr. Li Pu did help me, I feel that there were some inappropriate aspects to Li Pu approach."

"I hope Mr. Li Pu will not do this again in the future."

"Oh? Which one are you referring to?" Li Pu asked, pretending not to know anything.

"Of course, I'm talking about things like expulsion," Kallen said. "This kind of lie is not a good thing, and lying is not something a good person should do."

"If Mr. Li Pu doesn't change this bad habit, Kallen will get angry."

"Oh?" Li Pu found it a little funny; this Kallen really seemed a bit naive.

Is this simply being naive and straightforward?

Li Pu did remember that in the character design, Kallen was portrayed as having a simple and straightforward personality, like the kind of person who believed in "an eye for an eye."

Looking at her now, it's funny how she's so naive and a bit too straightforward.

"Miss Kallen, you really don't understand the wickedness of this world," Li Pu said.

Do you really think I'm lying?

"Isn't that right?" Kallen asked in surprise. "Look at the people here, how could they possibly think I'm a jinx and want to drive me away?"

"Mr. Li Pu, these farmers are simple and kind people. How could they not distinguish between good and bad?"

"Hmph~" Li Pu sneered, "How can you distinguish between good and bad? Miss Kallen, the world isn't a binary opposition. There is a clear dividing line between good and evil, and they exist."

"I don't deny that these farmers are simple and kind people, but at the same time they are also foolish and cruel."

"If I wanted to, I could easily incite them to expel you."

Li Pu was absolutely confident that he could incite these villagers to cause trouble.

"That's just being misled," Kallen said dismissively.

"Bewitchment?" Li Pu chuckled and retorted, "You're overthinking it. Such a low-level tactic is unnecessary. I just need to tell them that you've been expelled, and those Honkai Beasts will disappear automatically."

"These villagers will really drive you away."

"This! Impossible!" Kallen said in disbelief, "I was protecting them."

"That's just your opinion," Li Pu shrugged. "Do you know why Yae Sakura obediently told you the location of the box? It's because she knows all too well what kind of people the villagers of Yae Village are."

"Because she knew these villagers would actually do such an ungrateful thing."

"Because she knows that in the eyes of these villagers, driving you away is not considered ingratitude at all."

"Because she knows that these villagers will always prioritize their own interests."

"They're not like you," Li Pu said with a hint of sarcasm. "They don't have such lofty goals or such broad knowledge; they only care about their own little plot of land."

"Don't imagine these villagers to be too wonderful, or you will be very disappointed."

"If you don't believe me, you can try asking Yae Sakura's sister how she died."

"As far as these villagers are concerned," Li Pu said, looking at the villagers carrying hoes and wearing patched-up clothes, "Yae Sakura only lost her sister, and her sister only became a sacrifice."

"But they lost a rainfall."

"Although I acknowledge that rainfall is important for agricultural operations."

The limitations of history are not just empty words; people in this era certainly believe this. And there's no moral issue involved. Because without rainfall, the crops could fail completely.

Even more people will starve to death then!

This looks like the classic trolley problem: one life versus the lives of everyone on the trolley.

This problem only arises in modern times of material abundance, but in this era, there is simply no choice! One person must sacrifice for the sake of everyone on this train.

Li Pu could tell from Kallen's furrowed brows that Kallen was starting to consider these issues.

Kallen is a bit straightforward but very smart. She's not stupid; she just has a simpler way of understanding things.

"Let me tell you a short story," Li Pu said. "It happened in this country, in this era."

"There was a small village that was frequently harassed by mountain bandits who robbed them of their property, food, wives, and daughters. The villagers could no longer bear it, so they asked a samurai to come and protect their village."

"The villagers paid the price by making the samurai eat rice for every meal."

"Then, the warriors arrived," Li Pu continued. "They diligently swept away the bandits and outlaws, bringing peace and a stable environment to these villagers."

"And then, do you know what happened?"

"That is..." Kallen was about to say something like she must be very grateful, but then she remembered what Li Pu had said earlier and suddenly felt that the ending of this story must be complicated.

"Did you expel these warriors?" Kallen tried to answer.

"Yes," Li Pu nodded and said, "Just like I said before, 'humans don't thank Luo Ji.' These villagers don't thank the samurai either."

"After the crisis appears to have passed and things seem to be very stable."

"These villages felt that the samurai ate too much and had too high expectations."

"So they were driven away. Of course, the rice here is fine rice."

"It is indeed a luxury."

"Therefore, they will not thank Luo Ji, nor those warriors, and they will not thank you either."

"And you don't really think Yae Sakura sealed the box, do you?" Li Pu countered.

"Isn't that right?" Kallen said with a sinking feeling. "It does seem to be sealed away."

"Is that so?" Li Pu said with certainty. "We'll wait and see."

Yae Sakura definitely didn't seal the real box; she's already opened it and released the Demon in the Box. This is her revenge against the villagers! Once it begins, it won't end so easily. Li Pu doesn't believe that the real box is under that rock; Yae Sakura must be hiding the real box somewhere.

And even if we found it now, it would be useless.

Yae Sakura didn't go to the Chief Priest, nor did she really want to. Some things, once started, are beyond her control...

Besides, she really had no intention of giving up so easily.

"As expected." Even though she was in the shrine, Yae Sakura still had some channels to get the information she wanted.

"That guy who suddenly appeared here is definitely going to ruin my plans."

"Looks like we need to get rid of this guy."

P. S.: Let me give you some background information on the part-time jobs of Miko in ancient Japan. As for some readers saying that government support meant they didn't need these jobs, that's probably only for very high-ranking Miko, like Saio. But other Miko were different.

First of all, the Miko was quite lewd from a very early time. The Miko was the Divine Bride, and having sex with the Miko would be considered cheating on the god.

In the early days, having sex with Miko was believed to be a way of communicating with the gods.

Note that although the believers had sexual relations with the Miko was still considered a virgin. This was because the believers believed they were communicating directly with the gods, not engaging in sexual relations with the Miko. Therefore, in this case, the sexual activity was seen as a simple ritual of invoking the gods, similar to performing Kagura dance. The difference was that Kagura dance was for asking the gods to bless the nation, while sexual activity was for asking the gods to guide an individual. The Miko, through her body, used this act to summon the gods to convey "messages" to the believers.

The important point is that having sex with the Miko maiden at this time is free, because it's like praying to a priest or confessing your sins.

Even if the Miko you have sex with is no longer a virgin physically, you will still consider her a virgin mentally.