CH 74.3

"Now then, I believe it was around here...ah, found it!"

Sniffing around like a dog with their nose, the demon searched for it and found it. It was a hot spring, probably the largest and most promising one in the village. A first-class source of hot springs prepared for the influential people of the village and their guests. The benefits of the hot spring, which sprung up from the soil where spiritual veins flowed, went without saying. The demon had found it while exploring the area. And with all the commotion, she knew that no villager would ever visit this area. Therefore... the demon grinned wickedly.

"Kekeke, may I have some fun too?"

As soon as she says this, she takes off her... crude kimono and throws her umbrella into the air, without paying any attention to her surroundings. Then, she unabashedly exposed her body.

There stood a woman with a continental style, wrapped in an exotic atmosphere. Her long, lustrous hair spread out, and her white skin stood out mysteriously in the deep darkness.

Her rich, plump bosom swayed with a "sway sway" onomatopeia every time she breathed. There were scars that looked like forcibly sewn wounds on her tightly curved waist, but that flaw seemed to enhance her overall physical appeal instead. Her well-rounded and ample buttocks were displayed without restraint, and the two monstrous horns visible through the gaps in her hair only added to her mysterious aura. Some people might have imagined a scene from an ancient story of a spirit bathing in a deep forest.

Well, it was, in a way, a perfect manifestation of female beauty. Perhaps anyone who witnessed this scene, male or female, must have let out a sigh of admiration. That is how fantastic and fascinating the body of the blue demon was.

...but it was like giving pearls to a pig. (Note: something of value or high quality is given to someone who cannot appreciate or understand its worth)

"Woo-hoo!!!!"

With a splash, the demon plunged headfirst into the hot spring like a child and burst out of the water with a loud splash, laughing vulgarly. This seemingly childish sight was far from the earlier otherworldly beauty.

'What's so fun about this...are you a child?'

The Botan's shikigami jumped down to the rock face right next to the hot spring with a snap, and was stunned. She glares at the demon who is frolicking like a brat, even though she is well over a thousand years old.

This infamous monster had been the subject of numerous attempts at extermination by many renowned exorcists and warriors in the past, and now its true nature had been revealed. It was enough to make one's predecessors turn in their graves.

"Hahaha, hot springs are really the best! It would be the best if the moon was shining!!"

With such a declaration, she rests her white back against the rock surface and gulps down the shochu she borrows from the onsen. Then she turns her eyes glamorously to the forest.

"Hey, how about you have a drink too? It's pretty good stuff."

Squinting her sky-blue eyes, she lifts her mouth up, and shakes the sake bottle that she holds in her mouth, inviting the presence that hides in the forest. After a moment of silence, a response comes.

"...I don't need it. Whatever a demon offers can't be worth much."

The voice trembled slightly, but it spoke with courage. The demon's expression brightened. He had passed the test. If he had been defiant or pretended not to speak, she would have likely crushed his head with a nearby stone.

"Kekeke, that's a terrible thing to say. I'm not as gluttonous as the blood-drinking demon, you know?"

Aoko the blue demon's example is the former "Fuso Aku Rokki (The Six Evil Demon of Fuso)" who gained notoriety by disguising themselves as a fragile princess in the western lands, luring a young happily married couple using illusion, drinking the blood wine squeezed from the wife and giving it to the husband, and roasting her meat for him to eat. Although they were killed by order of the Imperial Court a long time ago and are now only a legendary entity... the comparison was so vile that it couldn't possibly be excused.

"...I've heard rumors about you, Blue Demon, one of the Four Disasters. I can't believe you're still alive. D*mn it, how could a monster that went on a rampage in the capital be here in this village?"

The owner of the voice was on high alert, ready to fight at any moment, as he asked this question to the completely unguarded demon from the safety of the forest. Depending on the answer, the shadow or... Iruka had to make up his mind. He didn't have much confidence in his ability to win, but he couldn't just leave the demon after owing a favor. After all, he was just a scoundrel who was hired for money and would kill a man if necessary, but he has his own sense of duty.

"Hahaha, you have a good look in your eye, huh?... Hmm... I'd say about 70%? Just barely passed."

"What are you talking about...?"

"I'm giving you a compliment. You should be happy."

He tried to question the demon, who seemed to be convinced alone, but he was silenced by the direct gaze. The clear look of disappointment was enough pressure to silence Iruka.

His shadow creeping into the forest unintentionally raised all the hairs on his body and made him tremble. And then he is sure. If he says the wrong thing next time, there will be no next time for him.

"...Are the people outside the village your subordinates?"

So, choosing his words carefully, he asked.

"I don't know. Hey, don't get the wrong idea. If they're not my men, they're not my servants or my friends or my superiors. Completely and totally unrelated. Is that satisfying enough?"

"I wish I could believe that. But even asking the demon won't bring any meaning."

Iruka sighs as if he has just come to his senses. If he thinks about it carefully, even a demon's promise is unreliable.

"Don't be so tense. Relax your shoulders. They'll get stiff."

"...Why did you come to this village?"

Ignoring the offer from the blue demon to loosen up and laugh heartily, the half-youkai Iruka asks. The demon becomes even more amused by the attitude.

"Just to watch over those who caught my interest. This is going to be very interesting. I won't want to miss this."

"Your interest?"

"You've got a certain fate with this guy, too. He's the future hero I'm nurturing."

"Fate? Nurturing? What...!?"

The demon's unintelligible declaration made him tilt his head, but he immediately realized what it meant. No way, could it be...!?

"I was wondering why you were talking to me as if you knew me so well... But did you see that incident? Then your interest is...!!?"

That was the moment when he realized what the demon was trying to say. The blue-haired demon, who had been soaking in the hot spring in the same position like an old man, disappeared as if by illusion. At the same time, Iruka swung his arm backward... but it was caught by the demon's strength.

"Whoa!? Ghh...!!?"

Iruka was restrained by the demon, his body soaking in the hot spring as if he was tied up. Iruka's face is tense as he is being squeezed by the demon's rich flesh on his back, but there is not even a shred of pleasure in it.

"Uhihi, what a cute face you have there, huh?"

"Hih!!?"

The blue demon licks his cheek with her long tongue as if it were natural. On the other hand, Iruka's body trembled at the sheer horror of it. As for Botan's shikigami, it looks away with a look of disgust.

"Guh...you... Blarg?! You reek of alcohol!!?"

Iruka, who is struggling to somehow break free from the restraints, however, smells the strong aroma of alcohol in his nostrils the next moment, which makes him nauseous. Smelling the excited blue demon's body odor was almost suicidal.

"Blarg...?! Blarg(h)!!?"

The demon, who was completely naked, looked down at Iruka, who was almost drunk after just one sniff of the strong alcohol that made him puke and vomit, and laughed at him.

"Hey, hey, it's not good to be so weak to alcohol when you're young, is it?"

The demon whispers in Iruka's ear, as if she is lecturing him without taking offense.

"Anyway, he will protect your friend. I heard that Kizuki's exorcists are going to patrol the area to check on the boundaries. That's good news, huh? ...Oops, that's dangerous."

The reply to the demon's taunt was a flash of a monster's arm, which would have split open a human's stomach and scattered their organs with one blow. However, the demon avoided it with ease, stepping out of harm's way.

"D*mn it... You've got to be kidding me...!! Ugh...!? Sh*t...!!"

The half-youkai, who has obvious intent to kill, still seems to have weighed the danger against the necessity of staying here any longer, and leaves with a coughing sound. After one last glare at the demon, he literally turns tail and runs away.

"Oh, oh, how unfortunate. I even brought some eggs to share."

With these words, the naked demon devours a hot-spring egg, biting the shell and all.

"Hey, little girl. Let's have a deal, okay? No spoiling anything, okay?"

The demon raised a finger to her lips, warning the hummingbird.

'I'm aware of it. I'm sure that man understands that too.'

Botan nodded nonchalantly. After all, the servant had been dealing with this particular demon much longer than she had. It would not be a surprise if the demon arbitrarily hid or concealed the information.

(Still, it's a fateful thing, huh? I had heard that he had escaped, but I never thought he'd end up here)

He couldn't have escaped alone. It is reasonable to assume that he had some helpers, but it doesn't look like that or he was up to something.

(And why did he attack the servant and show his face here? It's either foolishness or recklessness...I can't comprehend it.)

"Oh, you don't understand?"

'...What do you mean?'

Botan asks, feeling uncomfortable that the demon could read her thoughts so easily. But she had the patience to consider other opinions about things she couldn't fully comprehend.

"That's just like him. ...I thought you would understand immediately, since you've known him for a while."

The demon blurts out with a smug expression that made fun of her, as if to say, "I know him completely well." Then, she laughs viciously, showing her canine teeth.

"Kekeke, when I first saw him, I thought he was a bit player, but... he's surprisingly exciting."

As if she had found an interesting toy, the blue demon begins to sing a bad humming song in a good mood. Like a clown, she sways her arms and legs to the hot spring and soaks her body, which is beginning to cool down in the nighttime autumn breeze, in the hot water again. Then, the blue demon, exhales pleasantly and made a prediction.

"Well, for now, just be quiet and watch. From my experience, it's going to be an extraordinarily delightful and thrilling story this time, don't you think?

The hummingbird's face distorts at the monster's haughty declaration as if she were watching a play. It was obvious that the word "delightful" had no positive meaning as far as she was concerned.

"Well, most of the actors are here. Hehehe, let's cook up something good and entertain me again, my beloved hero."

The demon called out to her favorite hero candidate, who was not here and whom she regarded as her favorite hero, with a hearty smile on her face. Her face grinning like that of a child, her cheeks flushed and her eyes moist with excitement. The redness in her face and body was not solely due to the heat of the hot springs. At the same time, the smell of choking sake spreads around the hot spring. It was a sign that the demon was in full of lust, thinking about what was about to happen.

To those who knew nothing, this scene was a sight that aroused great affection because of her bewitching charm, and to those who knew her, it was a sight that aroused bottomless hatred because of her selfishness.

(Although she probably intends to forcibly rewrite the story if she doesn't like the way it unfolds.)

And if that doesn't work, she will turn the tables and pretend that the whole thing never happened. No, it would not be surprising if she has actually forgotten about it as if it were a thing of the past. From the past sightings of this demon, it is easy to see how self-centered this demon is. So, it's truly amazing how that servant has managed to survive this long, constantly plagued by such an unpredictable and insane creature.

'Really, it's just awful.'

Thinking of the trouble that would inevitably arise and the person who would have to deal with it, Matsushige's granddaughter couldn't help but sigh deeply...