"Master!"
After defeating the demon, the little monk looked at the blood-soaked corpse in the middle and cried out in grief.
"Sorry! We came too late..."
Kikyo looked at the corpse before them and covered Kaede's eyes. If they had arrived a little sooner... perhaps Monk Ensa wouldn't have...
"Ah..."
Yae Sakura glanced at the corpse. There was no saving him now.
That was how this world worked...
Whether they were monks or shrine maidens, the moment they took up their calling, they had already accepted that demons might devour them.
But even those who hadn't chosen such a path had it worse when faced with terrifying demons!
Still, this scene... might have been too cruel for Kaede.
Yae Sakura looked at the little girl in Kikyo's arms, her body still trembling.
"Demons! Those despicable demons! I'll become the strongest monk and purge every demon from the world!"
The little monk suddenly sprang to his feet and roared at the sky, his voice filled with hatred.
"..."
Yae Sakura hurriedly adjusted her hat, making sure it completely covered her fox ears. That little monk had gone crazy. It would be trouble if he took his anger out on her next.
Since Monk Ensho was dead, although the job had been completed, Kikyo hadn't received the promised payment.
But the payment didn't matter. Kikyo accepted these jobs not for the money, but because protecting people was what a shrine maiden was supposed to do.
As for Yae Sakura, it mattered even less.
As long as the crystals from the system came through, she couldn't care less about those coins.
She'd earned a total of 13 crystals from slaying demons and completing the job. That was worth several days' earnings.
Besides that, she'd also completed an achievement and two quests along the way.
[Achievement: Slay Ten Thousand Demons. Earn the title Ten Thousand Demon Slayer]
Title: Ten Thousand Demon Slayer (3 stars)
Equipped effect: Increases damage dealt to demons by 10% and intimidates demons below the Great Demon level.
Just like in Honkai Impact 3rd, she could only equip two titles at a time.
She'd finally completed Main Quest One, too. She'd already made quite a name for herself.
Yet it had only just been completed.
After claiming the main quest reward of 100 crystals, Main Quest Two unlocked.
[Main Quest—Kill a Great Demon]
[Quest Reward: +200 crystals, unlock the next main quest]
[Main Quest Completed]
"Huh? Huh..."
That was it? Oh my god...
Yae Sakura was genuinely surprised. Main Quest Two had been completed as well.
She claimed the reward again and got 200 crystals.
[Main Quest—Defeat 15 Great Demons (1/15)]
[Quest Reward: +300 crystals, gain the right to enter a new world]
Defeat 15 Great Demons? Then she could unlock the next world?
Just defeat them? Not kill them? So all she had to do was beat them?
But where was she supposed to find 15 Great Demons?
Great Demons stood at the top of this world. There were only a few known ones, and more than half of them were already dead.
At this point in time, Lord Sesshomaru and Er Gouzi hadn't grown up yet, so they were out... Naraku? He was still a bandit, wasn't he?
Setsuna Takemaru? Without Sounga, he was useless...
Toga, Hyo-ga, Ryukotsusei, the Panther Demon Lord... They were all dead...
Wait! Ryukotsusei wasn't dead...
And Sesshomaru's Mother should be a Great Demon, too.
But even counting them all, there still weren't enough...
If only she'd known, she would've picked a fight with that Kiyohime.
Right, she could still go after Kiyohime!
But neither the Earth Spider nor Kiyohime was a Great Demon from the Inuyasha story. That meant there were plenty of Great Demons who hadn't appeared yet. Thinking about it that way... there should be enough.
She couldn't claim the remaining bounty quests right now. If Higokumaru suddenly appeared, she wouldn't be able to explain it to Kikyo and the others.
Back in Kaede Village...
Yae Sakura found a deserted spot before claiming her bounty reward.
She got another 200 crystals. She'd earned over 500 crystals in a single day—about as much as she made in a year.
She really missed her monthly card!
She'd paid for several months of it, and now it wasn't giving her a single crystal. What a rip-off...
Besides the crystals, there was also... Higokumaru.
"Huh? Where's Higokumaru? Did I get cheated?" Yae Sakura looked around, but couldn't find Higokumaru.
"Big Sis, I'm here! Catch me!!"
Just then, a familiar voice came from above Yae Sakura. That's right! It was that Big Sis Beast... Feiyuwan.
Yae Sakura looked up and saw a tiny figure falling from the sky. It was hard to tell whether they were a little girl or a little boy. They spread their arms as if expecting Yae Sakura to catch them.
But...
Just as Higokumaru was about to land on Yae Sakura, she hurriedly stepped back. Higokumaru slammed straight into the ground.
Yae Sakura could almost feel how much that hurt.
But why was she so happy to see Higokumaru suffer?
"Ow! Big Sis... Why didn't you catch me? Don't you love me anymore?"
Higokumaru got up from the ground and looked at Yae Sakura with a pitiful expression.
"Love you, my foot! And don't call me Big Sis."
"Sure thing, Big Sis! Got it, Big Sis!" Higokumaru nodded quickly.
(♯｀∧´)
Yae Sakura punched Higokumaru on the head.
I regret this. Can I return them? I'd even take 10 crystals!