CH 138

Moon Wolf and Moonlight Jewel

“Fumu, of course, you’re not the kind of person who would be intimidated by something like that. It would be impossible to defeat the Red Wolf otherwise.”

“Ehehe.”

I guess my excitement was showing on my face, and Hakuyo looked satisfied at my reaction.

This was a battle with a named monster with the same or higher difficulty as Aria. There’s no reason not to look forward to it.

“However, whether or not it will become a fight or not is another matter.”

“e…?”

Cold water immediately poured into my head.

“… don’t get me wrong, It’s not that you’re not strong enough. But considering that wolf’s nature, it’s impossible for you to fight him.”

“Nature?”

“He has an incredibly gentle nature. You could say he is the polar opposite of that red wolf.”

Oh, I see, that’s how it is.

I thought they were all aggressive opponents if talking about the wolf-kin, but when you think about it, wolves themselves are not ferocious beasts to begin with.

Well, it seems silly to base it on real wolves, but the named class monsters are apparently loaded with intelligent AI, and it wouldn’t be strange for them to have personalities.

“Unnn…”

“You have a reluctant look on your face. Don’t be mistaken. What is your purpose here?”

“…to lift the curse.”

But, I have a tremendous hunger for battle right now. Even after I fought the golem at noon, it’s still not satiated. I feel like a hungry beast.

I’ve been baited by the name [Nocture the Moon Wolf], my feeling has been riled, and it just a matter of course that I was shocked to find out that I cannot fight it.

“I understand how you feel. But listen to me first.”

“Uh-uh.”

After being scolded by Hakuyo, I reluctantly took a position to listen to what she had to say.

“Nocturne the Moon Wolf. He holds a higher light attribute inside his body called [Moonlight], it was an extremely powerful holy power, it possible that the curse that erodes your body to be cleansed using his power in one go.”

“Is [Moonlight] have the similar rank to [Hellfire] attribute?”

“In the sense it is. But it is more powerful and rare because Hellfire is only fire in the end.”

To call it only fire is cruel.

Well but… I’ve fought against it, and, indeed, it was not that bad.

“So, the first goal is to get Nocturne the Moon Wolf to lift the curse directly. I’m sure he’ll at least listen to you.”

“I need to negotiate?”

“Well, civilized being always start with dialogue.”

Can he talk in the first place? But I guess he is intelligent enough to understand what I’m saying.

I’ll take that as a yes.

“As friendly as he is, we won’t do it for free. So here’s a special secret plan for you.”

“A special secret plan!”

Hakuyo started to search through her cup board and picked up a large moon-colored jewel.

I noticed it looked familiar…. it almost has the same color as the jewel in the center of the “Lone Moon Camellia”.

“It’s called the [Moonlight Jewel] {Gekkou Houju}. It’s a gem made of moonlight stone, a special ore that can only be found in the depths of the Lost Forest and polished with the secret techniques of the oni tribe.”

“Uwaa, it’s really beautiful.”

If I compared it to [Lone Moon Camelia] ‘s gem, this one is lighter, and the color clarity is clear.

It’s so clear that I can see through it.

Moonlight Jewel. When I tried to touch it, I felt the darkness in my body fade a little, as if it wanted to reject it.

“The Moon Wolf liked this. Once a year, we give it to him as a token of gratitude for watching over our village.”

“Mmm-hmm.”

I see. This is a bit of new information; the moon wolf is watching over oni village, huh?

Isn’t that what they call a guardian deity?

As if to leave my doubts behind, Hakuyo continued the talk happily.

“Perhaps if we give it to him, he will be willing to lift the spell. Instantly.”

“Instantly!?”

“That’s how valuable this item is to the Moon Wolf. For various reasons, he doesn’t have the means to obtain it himself.”

So he wants it that bad?

It’s beautiful… but what makes the moon wolf consider this gem so precious?

I could feel its holiness, but I don’t sense a strong power like the one dwell inside Crimson or Gravity Jewel.

Well, it’s a monster that only appears on full-moon nights, and anyone can think of plenty of reasons why he can’t get it for himself.

“First, thank you for giving me a way to break the curse. But you’re not going to give it to me for free, are you?”

In this world, if you want something done for you, you need to give. It’s an exception when you’re as close as Rin-chan and me, though.

In fact, I wouldn’t trust free service or anything like that. There’s nothing more expensive than free stuff.

Trust is created only when there is a mutually satisfying benefit. That’s the way it is.

“Well, you understand how it works. If you had asked me to give it to you for free, I would have never given it to you.”

After putting the Moonlight Pearl back in the cupboard, Hakuyo threw me an extravagant metal bracelet instead.

“What is this?”

“That’s why Kokuyo brought you here, isn’t it?”

“This is the Houzuki bracelet…?”

“That’s right. I’ll lend you the bracelet for now. It almost becomes garbage since no one can use it. If you don’t suppress the demonic energy, everyone in the village will be too frightened to move. Because of that, this becomes a necessity.”

“Ugh…”

Oh, if you look closely, you can see the Houzuki engraving on it.

It’s an extravagant piece of work. I wonder if there are more craftsmen in the oni tribe than I thought. Well, she did say earlier that it was the secret technique of the oni tribe that polished the jewel.

“During this week until the next full moon, please help the people of this village. You can fight monsters, play with children, anyway, do a favor and gain my trust, and I’ll be happy to entrust you with the Moonlight Jewel.”

“That’s rough…”

In short, I’m supposed to do the same thing that’s most games ask you: do errands and gain trust.

Well, I was going to take my time to explore this village anyway, so I guess it was a good thing.

But I still wanted to fight the Moon Wolf. {…}

“Hahaha, take your time. This village is fun in its own way.”

“Yes, thank you.”

Comforted with Hakuyo’s bright smile, I gave her my thanks.



“The moon wolf is gentle, huh? I’m sure I just made a joke that could poison one stomach.”

After a short chat with Sukuna, Hakuyo saw her off and mocked herself for what she had said.

I just made a huge lie, she thought.

“It is true that if she hands over the Moonlight Jewel, the spell will be lifted without question asked, isn’t it? In that sense, you’re right, aren’t you?”

As soon as Sukuna had left, Kokuyo appeared without a sound.

At her teasing words, Hakuyo gave her a stern look.

“It’s no fun if the person you’re fighting isn’t stronger. Is that the thought process of a battle fanatic? But certainly, for better or worse, you and Sukuna are probably a good match.”

“Yes, I’ve only seen it a little, but with that name and that personality. It’s as if the two legends were living in one body.”

“I agree with that. But even I thought that it was just a coincidence when I heard that name from Kohaku, and I was scared for a moment.”

“Kohaku doesn’t know that, right? Only a few people in this village know that name.”

The two oldest members of the village know far more about the world than Kohaku. They love Kohaku’s ignorance as a young maiden, but they have no intention of making fun of her.

The name Sukuna is an important name for the oni folk, so much so that even these two can’t hide their shock.

“But, Kokuyo, why did you say you didn’t know how to break the spell? Thanks to you, I need to explain it.”

“The Houzuki Bracelet is a treasure of this village, and in any case, one cannot borrow it without asking you, sister. It would be more convincing if the village explained it to her than if I just told it to her on the street. Anyway. Why did you lie about it being garbage? The Houzuki is a symbol of the Kishin, you know?”

“Isn’t it true that no one could use it? And well… I didn’t expect her to be able to equip the bracelet so easily.”

That’s right. The Houzuki Bracelet is one of the treasures of the demon tribe.

It’s a divine tool that was once worn by the Kishin herself.

But it’s also true that no one has ever succeeded in equipping it before.

Sukuna, who wore it like nothing, as if it were a normal bracelet, shocked Hakuyo beyond words.

“She’s a douji, and she’s the already defeated two named. I’m sure her strength and level are sufficient.”

“Well, the bracelet can only suppress her youki anyway. I’m sure she will eventually return it.”

“Sister, that’s a flag.”

“Eh?”

Kakuyo feels a bad premonition. And she could only press her forehead gently.

Kakuyo and Hakuyo, today too, the two oldest oni folk, will continue to watch over this village.

====.

A note:

Kakuyo is the kind of person who likes to go around and pull surprises.

Hakuyo is the type to smoke things out, and Kuroyoku is the type to hide her true intentions. It’s really difficult to get the right information out of them.

Tln

I’m making retort corner. Because it will destroy the reading pace if I keep retorting in every paragraph….

You battle hunger adorable oni musume… Meguru was right all along, there’s no difference between you and boss class monster.

Ok I did a bit mistake(again), it turns out Houzuki is literally the name of flower… a very unique flower tho, I thought this just exist in anime….
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