"Lady Yae!"
"Lady Yae, where are you?"
As Yae Sakura and Kikyō were talking, Natsuki's calls echoed from nearby.
"That girl..." Yae Sakura frowned. She'd clearly told Natsuki not to come out, yet here she was, running straight over.
"Would you like to join us?" Yae Sakura glanced at Kikyō before heading towards Natsuki.
"..."
Kikyō didn't answer aloud, but she nodded. She was curious about Natsuki, who was still calling for them.
"Well then, let's go together!"
When Yae reached Natsuki, she found her lying on the ground, looking like she was about to cry.
It wasn't surprising. Although considered an adult in this era, Natsuki was only around thirteen years old. Life spans were generally short back then; reaching fifty was already quite long-lived.
In the original story, Kikyō's younger sister Momiji looked over a hundred at just fifty-something.
"Yae-sama! Are you okay?"
Hearing movement... seeing Yae approaching, relief spread across Natsuki's face as she said:
"I thought I told you to stay in the cave?" Yae walked over silently, helping Natsuki up.
"But... I was scared... worried about you," Natsuki whispered.
If something happened while everyone else went to deal with monsters, she thought, I'd be left alone...
So Natsuki had come out to check on them.
"Concerned about me? But... if you're worried, wouldn't it be better to stay put instead of rushing out?"
Yae Sakura was speechless. Don't you realize you'd just get in the way? She thought. If something really happened, running out would only make things worse.
"I... I..."
Natsuki couldn't find the words... but she felt deeply misunderstood.
At that moment, Kikyō approached and glanced at Natsuki before looking at Yae Sakura, her thoughts unreadable.
"Lady Yae, this shrine maiden is..."
Natsuki also spotted Kikyō, quickly hiding her hurt expression and curiously studying Yae Sakura instead.
"I don't know."
Although acquainted with Kikyō, they had only just met, and Natsuki hadn't asked for her name yet. Naturally, she couldn't simply call out Kikyō's name.
"I'm shrine maiden Kikyō. I've come here on a request to deal with monsters," Kikyō said concisely, offering a brief introduction despite her few words.
"Kikyō..." Natsuki froze, realizing this must be the person Yae Sakura had inquired about earlier. She immediately looked at Yae Sakura with surprise.
But then promptly introduced herself as well, "I'm Yuhara Natsuki."
"Natsuki's bodyguard was eaten by a monster, so I'm taking her home too," Yae Sakura added right away.
"Yuhara? The one from the Yuhara family?" Upon hearing this, Kikyō understood who Natsuki was - the daughter of a prominent local lord.
After getting to know Kikyō better, Yae learned that this was indeed Musashi Province. However... they were still far from Maple Village, where Kikyō lived.
Kikyō had come here at the request of a nearby village chief to drive away some monsters.
At this time, Kikyō hadn't yet taken charge of the Jewel of Four Souls. While she was somewhat famous... it wasn't an overwhelming reputation.
Her name mainly echoed within a small area around Musashi Province, especially near Maple Village.
In other countries, her fame existed only in certain circles. Most common people had never heard of her, or dismissed her stories as mere legends.
This wasn't modern times after all; many people never ventured beyond their own villages throughout their lives.
As for why Natsuki didn't recognize Kikyō, it simply wasn't something princesses needed to know about.
Growing up as royalty meant spending childhood years learning etiquette, calligraphy, and poetry, leaving little time for such trivial matters.
"So there's a village nearby? Could you take us there for the night?"
If they found a village, they wouldn't have to sleep in a cave.
Kikyo glanced at Natsuki. As the daughter of nobility, it was still too dangerous to be out here alone. She nodded and agreed.
"Follow me!"
Yae's concern... was completely unfounded when it came to Natsuki.
Night had long since fallen. After walking for what must have been half an hour from the Kikyō Road, we finally reached a small village.
The village was tiny, home to barely more than a hundred people. Most of the buildings looked as if they might collapse in the next gust of wind; these were mostly grass huts.
Luckily, everyone in the village was already asleep when we arrived. We slipped through without any trouble. Kikyō led us straight to an abandoned shrine.
This old shrine's roof was a bit dilapidated, but it still seemed much better than those flimsy grass huts.
"Let's rest here tonight," Kikyō said, putting down her pack. "This place has been deserted for ages."
"Mm-hmm."
Though it wasn't much, there was some dry straw on the floor—far more comfortable than that cave we'd slept in before.
"It's late," Yae Sakura said. "Natsuki, go get some sleep!"
Yae Sakura laid out some straw for Natsuki to make a makeshift bed while she herself sat down on one of the steps.
"Lady Yae, you should sleep here..." Natsuki suggested, touched by Yae Sakura's gesture.
"Just do as I say." Yae Sakura's tone grew firmer, not wanting to waste time with such niceties.
"Yes..."
As expected, Natsuki fell silent immediately.
"Here you go."
Just as Yae was about to close her eyes for a rest, Kikyo suddenly pulled something out and tossed it over.
"What is this...?"
Yae's eyes snapped open as she caught...
Upon closer inspection, it was a set of red-and-white miko robes.
"Even though you're half-demon now, you should still be aware that you're a girl—especially since you were once a shrine maiden. These are my spare clothes; see if they fit.
If you still consider yourself a shrine maiden..."
"Uh..."
Clothes worn by Kikyo?
But... they seem to fit my size!
Wait...
I remember when Kagome first traveled here, didn't her school uniform skirt look pretty much like these?
Why didn't anyone ever mention it? Was it because she was the protagonist?