The Flame Sakitama's core sword technique was the Falling Cherry Style. Her other skills had all evolved from it.
So Yae Sakura had to practice this basic sword technique until it became second nature.
But since she was only practicing her swordsmanship, Yae Sakura didn't use the Spirit Blade or Void. She used an ordinary Muramasa—the Sesshu Muramasa!
After Yae Sakura finished practicing, she sheathed her sword!
She took a deep breath. If not for her physical constitution, she might not have been able to withstand such a long practice session.
The sun was already high in the sky.
"Lady Yae, it's time to eat!"
Yae Sakura had just finished training when Xia Ji, dressed in a kimono, came out.
Though Xia Ji's clothes and hair were a little disheveled, her beauty was still immediately apparent.
"Mm." Yae Sakura put away her katana and walked over.
The so-called meal was just some kind of dry ration that Kikyo had carried with her.
It didn't taste very good, either.
"Let's rest a little longer, then get going!"
Yae Sakura ate a little, wondering if she should take out the instant noodles and mooncakes the Valkyries had given her, which she'd stored in her warehouse.
But those were collectibles... She'd never been willing to use them. If she ate them now... it felt like...
Then what had been the point of collecting them?
"Yes."
Xia Ji nodded obediently.
After breakfast—or whatever it was supposed to be...
Yae Sakura said goodbye to Xia Ji and Kikyo.
With the commission completed, Kikyo had to return to her own village.
At that moment, as Yae Sakura prepared to escort Xia Ji home, a city ruled by the Tanihara lay elsewhere.
"You useless fools! It's been a whole day, and you still haven't found Her Highness Xia Ji. If anything has happened to her, you'll all commit seppuku!"
A general in heavy armor, a katana at his waist, glared down at the dozen or so samurai, his face livid.
Takekawa Yukuma was the Tanihara daimyo's foremost retainer, and he was strong enough to fight monsters.
He could hold his own against any monster that wasn't a great yokai.
Xia Ji had been attacked by yokai on her way home from Kyoto, and they still had no leads. Takekawa Yukuma, who had always loved her, was furious.
"We don't know either, Lord Takekawa Yukuma."
"We've been searching everywhere for Her Highness Xia Ji. Who could have expected a yokai attack?"
The dozen samurai searching for Xia Ji could only groan in dismay.
Retainer samurai could handle bandits, but yokai were another matter. Who knew how terrifying those creatures were?
Yokai were terrifyingly powerful. Aside from onmyoji, mages, shrine priests, and shrine maidens, most samurai were helpless against them. Only samurai who had mastered sword energy could stand a chance.
"Damn those yokai. I can only hope nothing has happened to Her Highness Xia Ji."
That was all Takekawa Yukuma could do. If anything had happened to her, he would make these samurai join her in death.
There were as many ordinary samurai as anyone could want. Killing them wouldn't affect Takekawa Yukuma in the slightest.
The Tanihara daimyo wouldn't say anything, either. He certainly wouldn't upset Takekawa Yukuma, who could fight yokai, over a few samurai.
Takekawa Yukuma's expression was now extremely grim.
He even felt some resentment toward Tanihara Danjo, the ruler of this city.
Just to gain the favor of that person in Kyoto, he'd sent Xia Ji to meet him because the man had said he was interested in his daughter.
Though such a thing was perfectly normal in this era, it still shook Takekawa Yukuma's loyalty to Tanihara. He'd been in love with Xia Ji for a long time.
"Yokai!"
Xia Ji cried out as a vicious yokai lunged at them.
Along the road to the city where Xia Ji lived, the souls of those who had died in human wars had become ideal nourishment for the yokai.
"Get lost!"
Without drawing her sword, Yae Sakura casually swung her hand, sending a streak of sword energy that severed the yokai's head.
"How many is that now? There seem to be more yokai than usual today."
As she comforted Xia Ji, who was hiding beside her, Yae Sakura looked at the yokai's corpse on the ground, but she couldn't bring herself to feel happy.
Compared to yesterday, there were undeniably a lot more yokai today. But they were appearing one at a time, and by now Yae Sakura had lost count of how many she'd slain.
She hadn't gotten a single Crystal.
That was why Yae Sakura couldn't feel happy.
Couldn't they all come at once?
Still... the farther they went, the more yokai they encountered.
And all of them seemed to be fleeing, as though they were... trying to avoid a terrifying monster's fight.
Something must have happened up ahead.
"Xia Ji, how much farther?"
"Not much longer. We should arrive in about the time it takes to burn one incense stick." Xia Ji tugged at Yae Sakura's clothes and thought for a moment before answering.
"Then let's keep going..."
Throughout the territory of Tanihara Castle, all the samurai stood on guard. Large numbers of mages and shrine priests were there to protect them, too.
It was all because two great yokai nearby had clashed...
In this world, great yokai stood near the pinnacle of power. Almost every one of them had the power to destroy a city. They were natural disasters humanity could not fight.
"Why do those damn yokai have to fight near a human city?"
"Now we have to stay indoors. If we get caught in the crossfire..."
The retainer samurai guarding Tanihara Castle muttered among themselves, deeply displeased... and frightened.
The battle between the great yokai had sent many lesser yokai fleeing, afraid of being caught up in it. This had also increased the workload of the mages and shrine priests.