Chapter 12.1

Chapter 12.1

Sorry for the late update...

In 'Firefly of the Dark Night (Yamiyo no Hotaru)', which is basically modeled on Japan around the Edo period when there were neither human rights nor the concept of democracy, Fuso-kuni has a strict class society. Rather, in fact, because the country is overrun by monsters that surpass human beings, and because there are people who have special power to fight against them, the sense of class and hierarchy may be more strict than in the real feudal age.

As for the ruling class, the emperor, who is the supreme ruler of Fuso-kuni, and the royal family stand at the top of the ruling class, and the court nobles, who are in charge of the central government and ministries, the feudal lords, who are in charge of local administration and military affairs, and the exorcist family, who have the ability of opposing monsters of different shapes, reign in the upper layer of the ruling class.

Below them are the landowners, such as big merchants and village heads with interests such as wholesale dealers, who hold the upper middle class, and in the middle of the society are the rich farmers who own large tracts of land, though not as much as landowners, the common samurai who eat the stipend from the feudal lords, the skilled craftsmen, and middle-class merchants who have real estate, privilege, other assets or skills, etc.

Of course, being in the lower class does not mean that all the people are in need of food and shelter. Such a fragile country will soon be destroyed by the Youkai. So, while most of the peasant townspeople have little entertainment and have to work every day, they earn enough to eat and have a minimum savings. Well, there are still some peasants who have to pay a heavy tribute, the urban poor who have to work day jobs to survive, and the untouchables who are treated as lowly people, as the game suggests. As for me? I was born a poor farmer in a cold village. Well, we are lucky that we have private land, though it's not as big as a cat's forehead.

In such a situation, there is the Tachibana family, a merchant family whose roots can be traced back to a noble family that fell and threw away its position as an aristocrat, and belongs to the upper class among the so-called commoners. This chapter was first shared on the Ñøv€lß1n platform.

This family runs a grain business, which was also important in Japan during the Edo period, and also runs a long-established major trading company that has been in business since before the Great Human Youkai War, dealing with daily necessities such as liquor, soy sauce, salt, sugar, and cotton, as well as luxury goods such as silk cloth and perfumes, weapons and medicine for the defeated warriors and warrior groups, and even imported goods from the southern countries and the continent. In the game, Tachibana Kayo-chan (14 years old at the start of the game), known as Kayo-chan, the item shop owner, is the first store of the trading company, where players can purchase various rare items at a high price.

By the way, this Kayo, as is usual with the characters in "Firefly of the Dark Night (Yamiyo no Hotaru)", is not a character to be captured, but rather a character with unnecessarily elaborate standing pictures and abundant image variations. Therefore, she is often included in the first encounter heroine or harem member of NAISEI-oriented authors in the later secondary works. Above all, the incident in the gaiden novel 'Sad Tale of a Fox Child', also known as 'The Incident of Item Shop Kayo's Parents' Brain Miso Pudding', ignited fans' fantasies related between the two different books.

Well, wouldn't it be a sight to see her parents' skulls cut open and their brains being scooped out with a bamboo whisk and eaten alive while hiding in the carriage's baggage? Then, after the murder of her parents, who were the top management of the merchants' association, the daughter alone had to manage a large merchant's business... Combined with the description of the family in 'The Sad Tale of Fox Child' and some dark lines in the game, fans of the game have been shown a lot of stories in which the daughter sells her body to bad adults in order to protect the store. Uh, yeah. Loli girl who literally put her body on the line for the sake of it... that's pretty twisted.

...Ah, now, this is a long explanation of the introduction. Anyway, Kayo's personal misfortunes are also quite remarkable, but I have my own reasons to intervene in this event other than good intentions. After all, this event, along with the dancing and eating event at the orphanage, will help the fox monster to regain her full power.

"Hey, is that...?"

I stare at the line of wagons (not only horses but also cows, to be precise) moving along the city road a few miles away from the capital. The number of wagons alone must be at least thirty. And if it were to include small clogs, the number might be three times as many. There were dozens of performers and laborers, and dozens of guards as well. Some of them have a spiritual power. No doubt there were defective exorcists, stray sorcerers, and ronin who had escaped from their clans.

"That said, the quality is not that great."

The gorilla princess dressed in a traditional cherry-red kimono, waving a fan by her side, boasts in a bored tone. In fact, as she says, their abilities are not good enough compared with those of the top-class exorcists.

Well, in most cases, the defective exorcists and the stray sorcerers are mostly runaways from their parents' homes, trouble makers, farmers, etc. who have secretly awakened to spiritual power because they are weak and difficult to stay. Since they are weak and lack know-how, it is no wonder that their ability is low. Of course, there are some cases like Kazama Sabisuke or Michibishi O whose talents are too strong, or who were expelled from Onmyou dormitories or their families because they studied too much on the forbidden arts in the era of great war which is unethical... Though there may be some elite guards of Tachibana Trading Company, but they are not the best ones. In any case, such guards would have been sent elsewhere rather than to the safety of the capital.

The gorilla declares in a mean tone while covering her mouth with a fan. Stop it, don't raise your expectations. To be honest, I have one guess, but my expectations are low because of the mess...

"...Princess, I'm afraid we must intervene or someone will die."

I replied, as if to divert the conversation. The girl sees through my digression and squints at me. Oh, is it bad answer? Shoul I run away?

"I think it's easier for them to owe us after more people die, but... well, okay."

She says helplessly and takes a step away from the sacred beast we've been "riding"... an eagle big enough to carry a few people. Yes, until now we have been talking on a sacred beast flying overhead. The headwind has been so strong since a while ago that I feel like I'm about to fall...

"Tomobe, you know that you should get off after Ando lands."

Yes, I know. Because I'll die if I jump from this height.

As if mocking my inner musings, the girl quickly and naturally took another step forward, and the next moment she was falling.

The girl's body follows gravity and her fall speed increases at an accelerating rate. Normally, the girl's body should have collided with the ground and reduced to a piece of red flesh like a red boxwood.

But I knew that this was impossible.

A moment later, dust flew up as the figure hit the ground. For a moment, I was confused by the scene, not knowing what had happened, and both Youkai and the people surrounding her had stunned expressions on their faces.

"Now, entertain me at least to kill some time."

Her low voice echoed strangely and impressively in the momentary silence of the bustle.

From the dust, a dreamy girl with a fan in her hand appeared with a noble and ghastly smile on her face...

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