Chapter 51.3

Chapter 51.3

The young boy's voice is inarticulate. It was because he had been able to predict what was going to happen from the atmosphere of the place. Yes, that peculiar sticky air he feels when that horrifying time comes...

"Hahaha, it seems you don't want to talk because you're afraid of my face..."

"Kekeke, let's do something friendly to make you less scary." The roots of this story extend from novell bìn origin.

"That outfit, isn't it childish? Those Kizuki are very fond of their clothes. They give their servants very expensive toys. Seriously, I envy their extravagance!"

The men are smiling. Unlike the men at the temple, these men were bare, like beasts themselves, and Shirowakamaru was terrified of them.

Why? For what reason? The boy is puzzled with fear. The Kizuki family is a prestigious one, which even the boy, who had been away from the world for a long time, could somehow understand. He also understood what it meant to touch a member of that family. But why were these men...?

"Are you kidding... Eek!?"

The boy's attempt to leap at his attacker is blocked by a sword pointed at his neck. The blade of the sword glows mysteriously in the dimly lit forest.

"What a nagging little brat ain't you? Think about your place. You want to live a long time, don't ya?"

The well-dressed leader of the group with a beard and an eye patch spits out.

"Really cheeky little brats, isn't he? He grew up under a protected environment."

"No, no, no, he's been spoiled since he was bought, hasn't he? Even Yun-shoku took good care of him."

"Hahaha. So he's in good shape?"

The stray/defective exorcists laugh at him as they like. On the other hand, Shirowakamaru stared at the men with teary eyes in shame and humiliation. But at the same time, he was confused for a moment. Wait, who was he angry with...?

However, he did not have time to think about it, though. After all, the next moment, the leader man reached out his hand and grabbed Shirowakamaru by the neck of his clothes.

"Huh!? No, stop..."

"Shut up!"

"Eek...!?"

Shirowakamaru desperately tries to stop his clothes from being ripped off, but the next moment he is slapped hard on the cheek and screams in distress.

He had been used roughly at temples and shrines, but he had never been hit by a fist. The custodian with the hannya mask on his face is another example. The boy's fear and shock were therefore even greater. With frightened eyes, the boy looked up at the thugs.

"Don't resist, you brat!"

"You've got such white skin. Your arms are slender too. You look like a real woman."

"Idiot. He's a child. But he's been trained as a woman by a stinking monk who even drugged him."

"Hahaha! He can eat a lot of food just by giving up his ass! That's a luxury. Huh?"

The stray exorcists laugh in mockery at Shirowakamaru's figure and attitude, which could be mistaken for a girl. Those who have escaped from the rule of the exorcists, those who have been exterminating youkai in self-defense while working as mercenaries or bandits, those who have escaped from the peasants who are not allowed to eat... those who have struggled to live even for a day, trampling others, always living on mud and water... for them, just dealing with this young "monk" alone is worth it. After all, for them, Shirowakamaru, who had been guaranteed food, clothing, and shelter only by playing with the monks, looked happy, soft, and spoiled, like a frog in a well.

However, it is not a simple comparison, because the boy's life has been full of suffering and despair, and he has been exploited... But anyway, what is important for them is not the truth. They don't even care about it. They don't care about it. For them, it's just a pretext to toy with a boy.

No matter what kind of life Shirowakamaru leads, he is nothing but prey to them. They are the eater, and the boy is the prey.

"No... Don't... Aahh... No...!!"

Probably not bathed or bathed for days, they reek of male body odor but their thick arms reach out to touch the boy's pale skin. The boy screams with tears in his eyes as his clothes are taken off one after another in a messy manner.

But at the same time, the boy understands from his life experience that it means nothing. No help, no prayers. There is no mercy, the powerless are taken away by the powerful, and even then the boy is forced to flirt in memory of his shame and humiliation. ...So, as he is made to understand this, he has no choice but to accept his fate in despair...

"What are you doing...!!"

"Ah..."

That's why.... at this moment when he saw a man with a spear in his hand and a hannya mask in his eyes, he thought... He wanted to cling to someone. To be saved by someone.

To depend on someone...

* * *

On second thought, it was a matter that should have been taken into consideration.

Shirowakamaru is still a child, and since he was raised in a temple for most of his life, his circumstances are pure and cultured compared to his mundane life.

Yes, the circumstances may be too hard, too terrible compared to his past life.... but still, it is a world full of so much suffering that it can be described as blessed just to have food, clothing, and shelter in this world.

And when I saw two bowls filled with the contents of the bowls falling right outside of the tent, I knew who it was. He was a hostile, threatening, and fastidious brat like an abandoned cat, but there was a reason for it, and he was not an evil person at heart. He is at least considerate enough to come to visit me.

Therefore, it was not difficult to imagine what would happen to such a brat if he heard the conversation in the tent, considering the original story. And then...

"...!? You have good intuition!! But...!!"

My spear strike from behind is blocked by the leader, who is fooled by the decoys in front of him and the smoke. However, even this was something I had already prepared for. I had no intention of spending effort on such a foolish thing since I was outnumbered. I was also almost certainly inferior in terms of experience in combat against humans, let alone against youkai, and above all, I had no authority to kill these guys.

"Whoa...!?"

I forcefully pull the arm of the half-naked boy who was sitting at the foot of the first head into my arms and hold him close to me, parrying the sword blows with the hilt of my spear. At the same time, I disappear from their sight.

"...!?"

"H... Hey, what's going on!? What do you mean, they just disappeared from right in front of me!!?"

The cronies of the leader are wide-eyed in astonishment as they see the scene in the clearing field of vision. They look around frantically, but cannot see us.

...No, in fact, we were right in front of them.

"Wha... Mmm!?"

"Shh, be quiet for a minute."

I was standing literally right in front of the crack tree and I covered Shirowakamaru's mouth and whispered in his ear as he was about to speak. Around my neck was a... jewel.

It was a jade for hiding a blind spot against people, which belonged to a faction in Kurayoshi during the Tachibana family's riot in the capital some time ago. It is said that Matsushige's granddaughters recovered some of them right after the riot. The one I have now is one of them.

Unfortunately, they are only effective to hide in the blind spot of sight, and cannot disguise voices and smells.

(So the best we can do here is to hide our breath until they leave the place...)

I wish these guys would leave quickly while holding Shirowakamaru, whose body is shaking slightly, probably because the guy is covering his mouth and holding him close to me. Considering this brat's background, how can he maintain this state?

"That's it!!"

"...!?"

The next moment, the leader swings his sword wildly at our hiding place. I move Shirowakamaru behind me in a panic... and my mouth twists into a smile at the pain of a light slash to my arm.

"As I thought..!! The grass is strangely crushed, you clever servant!! Are you there!?"

The leader says, glancing at the bloodstains on his sword. I should say that I haven't lived to this age. He seems to have noticed the trick, though vaguely.

"I don't know if it's some kind of magic trick or what, but it's a clever one. But if we know the trick, it's all ours. They're around here somewhere. Surround them!"

The leader commands with a lecherous grin. Immediately his men begin to slowly surround the area where we are supposed to be, swinging spears and swords haphazardly. As I thought, their movements are not bad. No, on the contrary, they're very familiar with the situation. And I'm talking about combat, too.

'If things go badly, I may have more experience with humans than with youkai.'

The Shikigami Bee is saying so in my ear. She talks so carefreely. Even though we are in a tight corner...

'Now, I understand. The point is to stall until the servants whom the half-youkai called for come. If worse comes to worst, I will help at least a little. Besides... you still have a hand to play, don't you?'

Her tone is calm but probing. This granddaughter can't be too careful. She reads my thoughts. Certainly, she is still preparing to harass me...!!!?

'Hey... What are you...!!?'

Ignoring the words in my ear, the next moment I deactivate the matagama and expose myself.

"Whoa...!? You're here again!?"

"Hey, hey, what's wrong? Are ya begging for your life, huh?"

The men are stunned and upset by my sudden reappearance, and the leader questions them with a sword slung over his shoulder as if he is trying to make a point. He smiles a blatantly nasty smile... but it doesn't matter. It was too trivial a matter to be of any importance here.

"...Run away!"

"Oh? What are you talking about? Are you kidding me, huh?"

In response to my warning, the leader tilts his head and says he doesn't know what I'm talking about from the bottom of his heart. His men also scoffed and sneered at my comment.

"No! Look behind you! Quickly...!!!"

But I scream. Desperately. I'm pressing, pleading. The boy in my arms stares at me in fear, his mouth trembling as he does the same. It's so obviously bizarre... they take a step back as if bewildered by the sight. And then...

"What the hell are you...? What did you...!!?"

At the next moment, the leader finally recognized the presence and turned around with expressions of astonishment.

'Hissssssss!!'

It was only a moment later that a swarm of countless kappa appeared from the forest and jumped on them...