The firelight gradually died out.
The shrine that had been worshipped by the villagers for three months now only remained as a pile of smoking charred wood and broken walls.
The air was filled with the mixed stench of burning and blood.
The giant toad's corpse was still sizzling in the embers.
Most of the villagers had already dispersed.
Some people were still kneeling on the ground, refusing to get up, muttering words about thanking the gods for their protection.
It was unclear whether the gods they spoke of referred to the one that had just been killed, or these two who had killed it.
Kanbe Hikaru paid no attention to those people.
He brushed the dust off his body and turned to walk in the direction he had come from.
Kikyo followed by his side, her steps light, her white robe and red hakama swaying gently in the night wind.
That blonde demon who called himself Nurarihyon did not follow.
After saying 'That's interesting,' he hung his pipe in his mouth and sauntered off into the night.
Well, Nurarihyon are known for coming and going without a trace; that's their specialty.
Kanbe Hikaru did not find this strange.
That guy looked like someone who enjoyed joining in the fun; running off after watching the show was very much in line with the Nurarihyon's style of doing things.
The two walked back along the path they had come from, returning to that cramped thatched hut.
Pushing the door open, they went inside.
The oil lamp was still burning, its light dim and yellow.
The furnishings in the room were still the same.
Kanbe Hikaru walked to the wall and sat down.
Kikyo sat back down on the tatami mat, placing her bow beside her knees.
Then, their eyes met.
Silence; the room was so quiet that only the crackling of the oil lamp wick remained.
This silence lasted for quite a while.
"Why?"
Kikyo spoke.
Her voice was not loud, but it was exceptionally clear in the stillness.
Kanbe Hikaru looked toward her and asked, "Why what?"
"Why go to such lengths?"
Kikyo's voice remained calm, carrying her usual coldness: "Killing that demon, I can understand; it impersonated a god and devoured human lives, so it deserved to die."
"But those things you said just now..."
She paused.
"Protecting this village in your name, and then going to deal with that lord... this doesn't seem like something done just in passing."
Kanbe Hikaru did not answer immediately.
Instead, he pondered for a moment before retorting, "What do you think I did it for?"
"I don't know."
Kikyo looked at him, her pitch-black eyes appearing exceptionally deep under the lamplight.
"That's why I'm asking you."
Kanbe Hikaru still did not respond immediately, instead shifting his gaze from Kikyo to the dilapidated wooden window.
The night sky outside the window had turned from pitch black to deep blue.
Then he smiled.
The smile was somewhat abrupt in the dim yellow light; with his pale face and crimson eyes, he didn't look like a good person no matter how you looked at him.
Yet, it inexplicably made one feel he was open and aboveboard.
"Half of it could barely be considered for the sake of this village."
He said, "The other half—"
"Is for us."
Kikyo frowned slightly.
"Us?"
She repeated the two words, her tone carrying confusion.
"Hiraikotsu."
Kanbe Hikaru spat out these three words.
Kikyo's eyes narrowed.
She was a smart person; she didn't need much explanation to understand what Kanbe Hikaru was talking about.
"You mean... Hiraikotsu is in the hands of that lord?"
"Over eighty percent chance."
Kanbe Hikaru stood up straight and began to analyze.
He had actually already gone through these inferences in his mind long ago, but he just hadn't found the opportunity to say them out loud.
"Think about it."
He raised a finger.
"You said the old man would definitely carry Hiraikotsu with him."
"But we didn't find it around his body, nor did we find it along the path he took to get here."
"He certainly wouldn't have just left such an important item in some random place."
"So, there is only one possibility."
Kikyo's eyes narrowed, her brow furrowing. "Are you saying... the Hiraikotsu was stolen?"
"Whether he was tricked or robbed, both are possible, but there's a high probability it wasn't done by a demon."
Kanbe Hikaru raised a finger.
"After all, we asked so many stones and trees along the way."
"In the memories of those things, there were indeed traces of demons hunting him and scenes of fighting, but nothing ever mentioned the Hiraikotsu."
"If such a massive weapon were stolen by a demon in the middle of the wilderness, it's impossible for there to be no witnesses."
Kikyo's frown deepened.
She was beginning to understand Kanbe Hikaru's line of thinking.
"So you mean... the Hiraikotsu wasn't taken by a demon, but was swindled away by a human?"
"Exactly."
Kanbe Hikaru nodded.
"The distance from the Demon Slayer village to your place is not short; he would have inevitably passed through some human territories."
"Demons were hunting him, and he fought as he ran, eventually becoming exhausted."
"If, during that process, he passed through a certain town or checkpoint..."
He looked out the window, in the direction where the town was located.
"And there just happened to be a group of greedy soldiers... seeing a half-dead old man carrying a massive weapon that looked extremely valuable..."
"What do you think they would do?"
"And what do you think that village chief would do?"
Kikyo fell silent.
She was processing this information.
This inference was indeed logical.
Too logical.
"That castle lord's sphere of influence is right on his necessary path."
Kanbe Hikaru continued, "The Hiraikotsu is forged from demon bones; it's clearly no ordinary item."
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