I transformed into a demonic spider lily.

"...What are you talking about?"

Even Feng looked completely bewildered.

"Kids shouldn't interrupt adult conversations."

The red spider lily picked up a piece of wild vegetable and stuffed it into Maple's mouth.

The wild vegetables were slightly bitter, but Feng felt a bit sour on the tip of her tongue. The complex mix of flavors made her want to eat more, so she simply lowered her head and stopped looking at the two people in front of her, and just ate her meal in silence.

After the meal, Feng naturally washed the dishes. Her subtle gaze never faded; she just couldn't understand it and felt that her sister had been acting very strangely lately.

To be precise, as long as the spider lily stays here, the bellflower's reaction is completely opposite to usual, the most obvious being that she smiles more than usual.

Well, that's a good thing.

But the problem is...

"Kikyo, no offense, but what are you, a priestess, doing staring at me, a monster, and laughing at me all day long?" The more Higanbana looked at Kikyo's smile, the more creepy she felt.

There's always a hint of ill intent in their eyes.

Yes, yes, that's exactly what she wanted to ask!

Maple, who was washing dishes, raised her hand and gave the red spider lily a thumbs up.

"Is it strange? I'm usually like this all the time." Kikyo touched her cheek, feigning a puzzled expression.

No, no, no!

Sister Hua, you can't trust Sister Kikyo. She's always so fierce and never smiles, so there's definitely something wrong with her. You have to be careful!

Feng was desperately trying to signal with her eyes, but the other shore flower completely ignored her. She could only think to herself, 'You'll regret not paying attention to me someday.'

"……Really?"

Even without Feng's reminder, Higanbana was already looking on with suspicion. She seemed to remember that Kikyo was supposed to have a cool and aloof personality.

You're always smiling?

The spider lily didn't know Kikyo's usual demeanor, so she refrained from commenting and simply assumed what Kikyo said was true. She then skipped the topic and asked, "Kikyo, do you have anything to do today?"

"Hmm~ washing clothes, adjusting the new bow, helping the villagers take care of the children, that's basically it," Kikyo replied after thinking for a moment.

"..."

[Subway, elderly person, mobile phone.JPG]

Higanbana had this expression at the time, and all she wanted to do was complain about Kikyo, the shrine maiden, for not doing anything that a shrine maiden should do all day.

"Sister, what happened to your new shrine maiden outfit?" At that moment, Feng, who had just finished washing the dishes, ran out and asked, carrying a stack of clothes that needed washing.

"!!!"

The spider lily was startled, as if the dress was still in her sea of ​​flowers. She glanced at the bellflower, who still smiled and said, "Maybe it was blown away by the wind. I didn't put it away properly when I hung the clothes out to dry last time."

"Yes, that's right! It's been quite windy lately. I know this firsthand, living on the mountaintop. Sometimes I can't even sleep. Luckily, I asked Tu Bi to shield me from the wind before I went to bed."

Seeing that Kikyo didn't seem to realize it was her doing, Higanbana quickly agreed, then snatched the clothes from Kaede's hands and changed the subject, saying, "Kikyo, let's go do the laundry together!"

"Ah, um, okay."

Kikyo instantly understood what Higanbana was thinking, and found the other's anxious expression quite cute. It seemed she would have to bring this up occasionally in the future.

Looking at the backs of the two, Lycoris radiata and Kikyo walking together, Maple stood in front of the door, unable to understand why Lycoris radiata seemed so anxious when Kikyo's clothes were lost.

Furthermore, did the other party just casually gloss over the tragic life of a certain monster? Is it really alright to torment one's subordinates like this?

Chapter Fifty-Six: What's wrong with the flower fairy playing in the water?

A clear stream flows in front of the village...

The red spider lily tiptoed down the riverbank and casually tossed the wooden basin containing her clothes onto the lawn. The bellflower, who followed closely behind, couldn't help but remind her, "Flower, you can't be so rough. That wooden basin is fragile to you, so you have to handle it gently, or it will easily break."

"Okay, okay."

The red spider lily didn't care about all that. She just felt that most things in this era were too complicated. If something broke, it broke. She could just fix it.

The only portable feature of the spider lily in this era is its identity as a monster; if something breaks, it can be sewn up with its versatile vines.

"Ugh."

After letting out a long sigh, looking at the spider lilies running around by the river, Kikyo still showed a gentle smile, picked up the wooden basin and went to a rock, prepared her things, and first washed the clothes clean.

At this moment, Higanbana also stopped and looked at Kikyo's figure. Although she was wearing a shrine maiden's outfit, for some reason, she felt that Kikyo was just an ordinary woman. No longer carrying a bow and arrow, she seemed very weak.

Then, she glanced up at the sun. Because it was late summer, the temperature difference between day and night was extreme. At noon, it was as if the sun had descended to the ground and scorched everything, while at night it was as if the moon had frozen everything. Although it wasn't quite that exaggerated, it was pretty much the same feeling. So, the spider lily bent down and touched the stream water. Sure enough, it was thoroughly cold.

Just as Kikyo was about to start washing clothes, she saw Lycoris radiata suddenly run upstream to a spot five meters away from her, touching the bottom of the stream with both hands and fiddling with something.

"What are you doing, flower?" asked the bellflower.

"Haven't you ever seen a flower fairy playing in the water? How ignorant!"

The red spider lily turned its head away, not daring to look directly at the bellflower.

Kikyo: "Ah, this..."

"What's wrong with the flower fairy playing in the water? Are you going to forbid the flower fairy from playing in the water? Without water, plants will wither, so I'm just taking care of myself regularly!"

Thinking that Kikyo was going to criticize her for being a childish spider lily, she shut her down in one breath.

"...Huh?"

I didn't say you can't play in the water.

Kikyo didn't understand why the spider lily was "getting angry," and could only blink innocently. Come to think of it, she remembered that when they first met, the other flower was also playing in the water by the stream in the forest.

Then, Kikyo filled a wooden basin with water, but as soon as her hands entered the stream, she felt that the water was still warm. So she looked up in surprise at the spider lily on the other side, but the latter just turned its back to her and didn't say anything.

'Maintaining the dignity and image of a yokai is really quite difficult. If only we could be more honest,' Kikyo thought to herself.

Then she picked up a washing stick, wet the clothes, and beat them repeatedly. This was the way clothes were washed in this era. Then Kikyo asked, "Hana, did you come to see me today because of something?"

Although the other flower had explained before, Kikyo knew that the other flower was just being willful and that her words were not to be taken seriously, so she still needed to ask for clarification.

It wasn't that Kikyo was overly curious, but rather that she worried that if the other shore flower really had something important to do that was delayed, it would be her fault.

"Well, I just wanted to ask if you have any requests to exorcise monsters..."

"The red spider lily said in a muffled voice."

Recently, she has been stuck at a very high level. According to the prediction of the other shore flower, it will take at least a month to become stronger through cultivation. Therefore, she needs to use some special methods, namely, fighting monsters to level up.

Logically speaking, Higanbana should have greatly increased her level when she fought against Granny Fire some time ago. However, she didn't control her power when using the Shikon Jewel. Almost all the SR-level monsters she killed were completely destroyed, one was purified by Kikyo, and another self-destructed on the spot.

Sigh, I didn't gain any experience at all.

Given the current level of the Spider Lily, N-level monsters can provide virtually no experience, while R-level monsters require dozens or even hundreds of experience points. The only option is to find an SR-level monster of the same level and defeat one more to level up.

However, the Warring States period was different from the Heian period. Although there were also countless demons bewitching the world, the overall combat strength was not as good. There were definitely no great demons of the level of Shuten-dōji, the Oni King of Mount Ōe, or Tamamo-no-Mae, the Nine-Tailed Fox. At most, there were demons of the level of Hoshiguma-dōji...

The above refers to yokai from the Warring States period. Even if Inu no Taisho, who is just a background character, were still alive, regardless of whether the other party was long gone, he should be considered a yokai from the late Heian period.

The monsters of the Warring States period refer to the generation of Sesshomaru and Inuyasha.

Okay, even including the group of monsters like Inu no Taisho, there are very few SSR-level great monsters still alive and in Japan today.

It really is only a single digit.

The SR-class is estimated to be around two thousand, possibly fewer than she expected, and they are scattered throughout Japan.

Take Musashi Province, where the spider lily is located, for example. If more than two SR-level monsters can be found in the map she drew before, it means that this place is seriously plagued by monsters.

Assuming there are indeed two thousand SR-level yokai in Japan, after removing those she shouldn't have killed and those she couldn't kill, it's unknown whether there are even three digits of yokai left.

As for why they can't be killed?

The world of yokai also has the concept of countries. For example, the dog yokai clan that occupies the western country manages the order of that place in an orderly manner, and she cannot interfere at all. Other places are more or less the same. The tanuki clan in the Shikoku region is said to have a kind of eighty-eight demons' night parade.

In other words, her area is relatively chaotic and there are no monsters ruling it yet. To be precise, there used to be, about two hundred years ago, when the Jiaolong clan ruled the eastern country, which includes the Kanto region, including Musashi Province.

Later, the leader of the dragon clan was killed by the leader of the dog demon clan. That's right, it was General Dog and Dragon Bone Spirit. In the end, one was seriously injured and eventually killed by humans, while the other was sealed in a place where the other shore flower has never been found.

Sigh, it's so hard to find experience points.

So the spider lily could only ask Kikyo, the strongest priestess of the Warring States period, who probably receives a lot of requests, which is why she came early in the morning to grab orders.

"How could that be? This place has been very peaceful lately, so I've been able to take a break occasionally," Kikyo said with a smile.

Why is it so peaceful?

The figure of the red spider lily leaned back, and the entire monster lay down directly on the lawn.

"It's all because of you," Kikyo said.

"Because of me? What did I do?"

"Island Flower asked in confusion, turning to the side."

"Of course it's because you're here that the other monsters don't dare to come over," Kikyo explained as she used her spiritual power to shake the grime off the clothespan.

"Ha~ Is my reputation really that great?"

The tone was drawn out, which made the other shore flower suspicious.

“I’m not aware of your previous reputation, but do you remember that old hag we let go? After she escaped, she kept spreading rumors that you killed her sisters, so she vowed to come back for revenge one day.” Kikyo said something that Higanbana didn’t know.

"Ah! That old woman, she clearly caused her teammates' deaths, yet she still tries to frame me. She's truly shameless." The other shore flower expressed her utter disgust.

Kikyo got up and placed the washed clothes in a wooden basin. Sure enough, using spiritual power to remove dirt was fast; it only took a moment. So she said, "Hana, help me hang up the clothes."

Okay.

The red spider lily took the wooden basin with remarkable ease, but as soon as she felt the weight in her hands, she immediately realized something was wrong. What was she doing?

Oh well, I've already taken it anyway.

I'll reluctantly help them this time.

"Flower, I still can't understand why that old hag would betray her own companion." Looking at the busy figure of the spider lily, Kikyo sat aside and asked in confusion.

"Goodness, you priestess have never lost before. Do you know the rules of the hunter? When you are being chased by a wild beast, you don't need to run faster than the beast, you just need to run faster than your companions to survive."

"Island Flower said this while hanging up the clothes," said the other shore flower.

"That's nonsense! Since there are so many of you, why don't you work together to defeat that beast?" Kikyo retorted.