All My Conquest Targets Are Inanimate Objects Chapter 103: Shrine Maiden's Choice

Under the shrine's veranda, the afternoon sunlight slanted in.

Kikyō sat quietly.

Her white top was plain and fitted, the collar slightly open, revealing a hint of pale collarbone and the curve of her neck. The red hakama wrapped around her long legs, the fabric conforming to her cross-legged posture, outlining her knees and calves, the curve of her hip tracing a full arc, the shadows deep.

Her long black hair was tied at the back of her head with a white cord, the ends falling over her shoulders, a few loose strands by her ears, framing her delicate, clear features.

She didn't speak.

Shinji didn't rush her.

He had just finished telling her, from start to finish, what had happened over the past few days.

The Echigo army had marched south under the 'Bi' banner, sweeping through the land in the na of exorcising demons.

He had engaged them, slaying their general, Kakizaki Kageie.

The remaining thousand soldiers had retreated.

A dead Hōjō ashigaru, sustained by the obsession to deliver a warning, had made it to the village entrance.

Over twenty small demons, their hos burned by the Echigo army, had knelt before him, begging for shelter.

And...

The power within that general, seemingly connected to sothing divine.

"…"

Kikyō's gaze fell on the corner of the yard.

A group of grotesque figures crouched there.

A one-eyed little monk holding a broken umbrella, a little girl with fox ears, a giant rat with a broken leg, a kappa that looked like a lump of mud.

They huddled together, pressed into the farthest corner inside the barrier, barely daring to move.

When they saw Kikyō's gaze sweep over them, the bravest tanuki imdiately ducked its head behind the one-eyed little monk's umbrella.

The eye painted on the umbrella also quickly shut.

Kikyō withdrew her gaze.

In her dark eyes, there was no disgust, no killing intent. Only contemplation.

She could see how weak these little demons were, and she could sense that they carried no resentnt of indiscriminate killing.

"You want to take them in," she said.

Shinji nodded.

He spoke directly: "I need to build my own force."

Kikyō's lashes fluttered slightly.

"Kikyō, you should rember, I told you before. We're already being targeted by the hundred-demon force in Kyoto."

Shinji's voice was calm, but very firm. "Relying on just you and , we can hold off one Kidōmaru, but we can't hold off all of Kyoto."

"That great demon, Hagoromo Gitsune, has more subordinates than just him."

"And the human side isn't quiet either. Imagawa, Hōjō, Echigo, three forces circling around Musashi Province. Today a squad of soldiers, tomorrow a subordinate of this Bishamonten or that."

"I can't stay in the village forever. Neither can you."

"But we can't let what happened to those other slaughtered villages happen to Kaede Village"

Kikyō looked at him.

She naturally understood Shinji's thoughts. He was always aware of dangers in tis of peace.

"So you plan to use these little demons?" Kikyō's tone held no mockery.

She simply glanced at the cowering beings in the corner of the yard.

"They're weak."

"I know."

"Weak enough that even an ordinary samurai could defeat them."

"I know that too."

Kikyō frowned slightly.

"Then you—"

"Weak things can grow stronger." Shinji cut her off. "Like ."

"Three months ago, when I crawled out of that pile of corpses on the battlefield, I wasn't much stronger than that rat with the broken leg."

Kikyō was silent for a mont.

That, she couldn't argue.

And so.

Kikyō stood up and walked to the edge of the veranda, leaning against a wooden pillar as she looked at the group of little demons in the yard.

The afternoon sun fell on her, dyeing her white top a warm, pale gold.

The wind blew, and her long black hair swayed by her neck, revealing a pale nape.

The line of her collarbone was faintly visible in the shadow of her collar.

Shinji's gaze lingered on her for two seconds.

Then he looked away.

Not because he didn't want to look.

But because looking any longer would be impolite though they were already lovers, he didn't want to disturb her while she was thinking seriously.

"I am a shrine maiden," Kikyō spoke.

Her voice was calm, but carried a certain solemnity.

"From childhood, everything I was taught was about exorcising evil and protecting the human world."

"Demons are enemies. That's common sense."

Shinji said nothing.

He waited for her to continue.

Kikyō turned to face him.

Her dark eyes were clear as a mountain stream in the sunlight.

"But the truth is, I know that common sense is sotis wrong." She said, "The line between good and evil lies not in race, but in actions."

"Those little demons have never hard anyone, yet they are hunted because they are 'not human.'"

"Those armies marching under the banner of exorcism burn and kill along the way, yet they are seen as justified because they are 'human.'"

Her lips pressed together, that faint cherry color especially vivid in the light.

"If I can't even distinguish that… then I don't deserve to be your shrine maiden."

This had always been Kikyō's attitude toward demons.

For demons that on first glance carried little resentnt and had not committed unjust killings, Kikyō had always only driven them away, never intending to destroy them outright.

Just as she had treated Shinji in the beginning.

There was a difference between exorcising and rely driving away.

Having spoken,

She walked to Shinji and sat down across from him.

Their knees almost touching.

She reached out and took his hand.

Fingers intertwined.

Palms warm.

"Do what you want to do," Kikyō's voice was soft, but clear. "Take them in, build your force"

"I'll support you."

Shinji held her hand, feeling that warmth from her fingertips.

"Not afraid of people saying you're in league with demons?"

"I'm already in league with them." Kikyō smiled.

And then Shinji smiled too.

He pulled her hand closer and lightly touched her fingertips with his lips.

Kikyō's fingers twitched, but she didn't pull them away.

"Kikyō."

"Yes?"

"Thank you."

"No need." Her voice grew softer. "I'm just doing what I should."

Silence spread.

The afternoon sun slowly shifted westward, stretching their shadows longer.

The little demons in the corner of the yard had sohow poked their heads out, sneaking glances at the two.

The one-eyed little monk's single eye was wide open.

The fox-eared girl's ears perked up.

The tanuki's mouth fell open.

What were they seeing?

A terrifying demon warrior, and a shrine maiden so powerful they didn't even dare approach.

Holding hands.

Gazing at each other.

And then...

A buzzing sound.

All the little demons were expelled.

Inside the shrine, Shinji paused.

Kikyō pressed her lips together, slightly tilted her head up, and moved forward.

Lips gently t.

Very natural.

No hesitation, no shyness.

As if they had done it many tis.

Kikyō's lashes fell, hiding the ripples in her eyes. Her free hand rested on Shinji's shoulder, her fingers unconsciously gripping his collar.

The wind blew, lifting her loose hair, brushing against their overlapping faces.

When they parted, the tips of Kikyō's ears were flushed.

But her expression remained calm.

Only her breathing was slightly quicker than before.

[Shikon Jewel · Pure Spirit: Affection 1] [Current Affection: 71 (Intimacy)]