The afterlife blew up Gensokyo

You're calling me a coward?

"Do I need to repeat myself? You're a coward."

Eirin Yagokoro remained calm.

"My teacher once taught me that a true strong person does not demonstrate their strength by bullying the weak. Such a person is nothing but a coward."

"Coward? Ha..."

A hint of anger flickered across her face, but Yukari Yakumo remained indifferent.

"The strong are respected, and power reigns supreme; this is the eternal principle. Would a lion befriend an ant? The weak submit to fate, while the strong control it; it's that simple. The truly weak will ultimately be eliminated, just like humanity today."

Yukari Yakumo pointed at Kaguya Houraisan, who was sitting next to Eirin Yagokoro, her tone clearly laced with sarcasm.

"You call her Princess? I don't know why, but for someone as powerful as you to address a weakling like that, don't you find it ridiculous?"

"Ridiculous? The truly ridiculous one is you. Like a frog at the bottom of a well, you have no idea how big the world is."

Eirin Yagokoro's expression remained unchanged.

"Might makes right? The weak are nothing but ants? Then let me ask you a question. I'm sitting right here now. Do you have the courage to attack me? Or will you resort to those despicable methods against the princess again?"

"I admit you're stronger than me now. After all, the fact that you were able to come here so quietly and hide in the surrounding area without me noticing is enough to prove that. But if we were to fight, do you think I'd be afraid of you?"

As she said these words, Yukari Yakumo's eyes flickered slightly.

"No need for excuses. You're just too scared. You don't have the courage to attack me because you know in your heart that you can't beat me."

Lowering her eyes, Yagokoro Eirin poured herself a cup of tea.

"Your opinion of me has dropped again. My teacher originally wanted to ask me to help you build that place in the future, but now I refuse. Because with this kind of thinking, the place you end up building will only be the second Moon Capital. My assessment of you as a coward was indeed correct."

"Is that enough?"

Yakumo Yukari's voice turned cold.

"Don't you think you're being too arrogant? Do you think I care about your opinion? Coward? You, who treat those weaker than yourself with that superior-subordinate attitude, aren't you the real coward?"

“True cowards only dare to attack those weaker than themselves; they never have the courage to confront the strong. Just like you. True strong people treat everyone equally, even if the other party is extremely weak. Just like my teacher.”

Eirin Yagokoro didn't even raise her head, but simply gave a flat reply.

"You don't deserve such high praise from your teacher."

"You mean that guy, his teacher?"

Yukari Yakumo frowned slightly, a cold smile on her face.

"Indeed, he can treat the weak with the same attitude, but how do you know he doesn't have any other ulterior motives? I already told the princess you mentioned earlier that there's a devil hiding in that guy's heart."

"If there's nothing else, please leave. You're out of the game."

Eirin Yagokoro picked up the teacup on the table, took a sip of tea, and looked completely noncommittal.

“I will go and find others myself, and I will also try to persuade my teacher. Right now, you are just a pure monster, and you are not worthy of the title of sage of monsters.”

"Leave? Why would I leave?"

Yukari Yakumo's expression was slightly cold.

"I was inexplicably ridiculed by this guy who just popped out of nowhere, and I'm not in a good mood right now. You're a god, and I'm a monster. In the world of monsters, the strong are respected, and in the world of gods, isn't the hierarchy determined by the size of one's power? We're both beings on equal footing, so what right do you have to act so superior?"

"Haven't I made it obvious enough?"

Raising her head, Eirin Yagokoro had a completely indifferent expression.

"That's right. The rules of the world of gods are the same as the rules of the world of monsters, so I left the group of gods a long time ago. But it is precisely because of these rules that are widely circulated among gods and monsters that humans are the masters of this world."

"Humans? You mean those weak ants?"

Yakumo Yukari let out a cold laugh.

"At the current rate, within a few hundred years at most, humans will be reduced to pets and prey for monsters. Such a weak existence..."

"But humans built their unique civilization, and the monsters fought amongst themselves and were driven into the deep mountains by humans. Humans built cities, established rules, and created laws. What did the monsters establish? The concept of the survival of the fittest? Monsters with this concept of the survival of the fittest are more like beasts than monsters. What is the difference between a monster and a beast?"

Eirin Yagokoro interrupted the other person.

"At best, it is just a beast with power far greater than that of a wild beast."

"Beasts? If that's the case, then gods and humans alike can all be called beasts."

Yakumo Yukari's expression was slightly cold.

"Isn't the human world also a world of survival of the fittest? Some people are born into high positions and live in luxury, while others are born to toil in the dirt just to survive. The nobles, who are high above, have the power of life and death over the common people, while the common people can only abandon their dignity and depend on those nobles. Isn't this also a case of the power of might makes right?"

“I once asked my teacher this question, and he told me that those things are called capital, and those people are called capitalists. Capitalists pursue profits. They don’t care about short-sighted exploitation. As long as it brings them enough profit, they don’t care about the lives of others, let alone the collapse of an industry.”

Eirin Yagokoro put down her teacup.

"Because humans are not as powerful as monsters, nor do they have such long lifespans, they can make mistakes. Although capitalists are very powerful, a single spark can start a prairie fire, and eventually the oppressed will stand up."

"Even if you're right, are you sure they'll still stick to their original ideas when they become the beneficiaries? Don't be ridiculous."

Yakumo Yukari sneered repeatedly.

"In these past few months, I've seen too much in Fujiwara Kyoto. Workers who were initially resentful of their wages cursed their incredibly stingy bosses and swore to me that if he became the boss, he would pay his workers more. Then I granted their request, and do you know what happened to them afterward? They became even stingier than their original boss, and as if they had forgotten their promise, they complained to me about how their workers were so irresponsible, not working hard enough yet demanding more pay. It's ironic, isn't it? The dragon slayer becomes the dragon, the demon slayer becomes the demon; it's all just a ridiculous cycle."

"I do not deny the example you cited. When they themselves become beneficiaries, they actually become so-called capitalists. Those who can always maintain their original intentions are ultimately a minority, but a minority does not mean there are none."

Eirin Yagokoro remained calm.

"Although it is few, eventually someone will stand up, and that will be the time when the whole human world will be transformed."

"So what's the point of you telling me all this?"

Yakumo Yukari smiled sarcastically.

"The law of the jungle, the strong rule, and power determines everything. This is something that exists widely among humans and monsters. What right do you have to call me a coward?"

"...Have you ever seen a real human being?"

After a moment of silence, Yagokoro Eirin suddenly asked this strange question.

"And what are you trying to say, real human being?"

"It was an extremely brutal war. In the early stages of the war, the invaders plundered a great deal of spoils with their superior strength because their opponents were weak humans. How weak? One invader could take on thousands of humans. For those humans, it was a war that was almost hopeless."

Eirin Yagokoro began to speak on her own.

"For the invaders, the war was going very well. They optimistically estimated that they would achieve final and complete victory in no more than a few months... Until that day, on a small battlefield, hundreds of thousands of people faced an enemy so powerful that they were hopelessly invincible. They still rushed forward without hesitation, risking their lives to bring about the first death among the invaders."

At this point, Eirin Yagokoro's smile was quite sarcastic.

"Then the invaders became afraid, because they never imagined that those humans, whom they considered weak, possessed the ability to kill them... Even though only one of the invaders died, while the number of casualties among the humans was much higher, they were still afraid. It was then that I realized they could not be called strong at all, but only cowards. It was clear who was strong and who was a coward. How could I associate with cowards?"

"........."

Leaning close to Eirin Yagokoro, listening intently to their conversation, Kaguya Houraisan unconsciously widened her eyes.

She wasn't stupid; on the contrary, she was quite clever. Listening to what Yonglin was saying beside her, she felt as if she had unintentionally stumbled upon a tremendous secret.

"I just believe what I've seen myself. The phenomena I've witnessed in Fujiwara Kyo over the past few months are indeed as described."

Yukari Yakumo looked unconvinced.

"The darkness in some humans' hearts is astonishing even to me. Compared to those humans, even the most cruel and vicious demons are nothing. I never thought I did anything wrong, and you have no right to judge me. Might makes right, and strength is the only true principle. Since humans can enslave demons as their shikigami, why can't demons enslave humans as their food?"

"No matter how strong a person is, if he always bullies those weaker than himself, he is definitely a coward. No matter how weak a person is, if he has the courage to challenge those stronger than himself, then he is definitely a strong person."

Shaking her head slightly, Yagokoro Eirin raised her head and looked at Yakumo Yukari in front of her.

"With that kind of belief in your heart, you can never become a sage of monsters. My teacher recommended you to me, but you are not qualified."

"Ideas? I've never thought there was anything wrong with my ideas."

Yakumo Yukari let out a cold laugh.

"Help? I think that guy deliberately sent you to humiliate me. If you don't want to help, just say so. Why all this fuss and beating around the bush? Does he really think I can't achieve my goal without his help? How ridiculous. He has such great power, yet he'd rather mingle with these weaklings. Did that guy go out with that human named Hieda Arie today? Wasting time on such lowly beings is laughable. A lion trying to befriend ants?"

"Your teacher said you may not understand this principle now, but you should understand it in the future. I don't know how long the future will be, but I can give you a chance to become a sage of monsters now."

For the first time, Eirin Yagokoro's voice turned cold.

"The City of the Moon, a city built on the moon, is where Princess and I come from. Don't you want to unify the yokai and eliminate dissidents? But you also find some powerful yokai very troublesome, right? It's okay, you now have a rare opportunity."

"The Moon Capital? The one on the moon..."

After hearing Eirin Yagokoro's words, Yukari Yakumo suddenly paused.

"The Moon Capital possesses endless treasures, as well as a forbidden elixir coveted by all beings—the Penglai Elixir, which grants immortality and eternal life to anyone who consumes it. You may spread this message among the demons."

Eirin Yagokoro spoke coldly.

"I imagine those monsters would be tempted by a drug of this caliber, right? It's alright if they don't believe in its existence; I'll show them. With your strength, you should be able to take those monsters to the moon... You should know what to do next."

"If you have the courage, then take those monsters with you to the Moon Capital."

P.S.: Good morning! _(:з」∠)_

Chapter Thirty-Eight: Fujiwara no Mokou's Thoughts

A light rain was falling from the sky, and the rainwater flowed down from the emerald green bamboo leaves, splashing up ripples under the eaves.

"...Are you really sure you want to do this?"

After staring intently at the water droplets under the eaves for a while, Shi Bai turned to Yagokoro Eirin beside him and asked her a question.

"If this lunar invasion war were to break out, it seems to go against your original intentions, doesn't it?"

"Although I hate war, it doesn't mean I'm old-fashioned. Besides, it can't even be called war; it's just a small skirmish. I know the strength of the Lunar Capital better than anyone else."

Facing her teacher's gaze, Yagokoro Eirin calmly shook her head.

"Yoshihime and Toyohime are my most outstanding students, and this can be considered the last test I gave them before I left. But no matter how the final process goes, the fate of the yokai will not change. They will suffer a crushing defeat, and the gods in the Moon Capital will not even need to intervene."

"Um... do you need my help?"

"There's no need for you to worry about such a trivial matter, teacher. If the demons can distract the Moon Capital, I'm absolutely confident I can erase any trace of the princess and me from their sight."

Eirin Yagokoro spoke calmly.

"This is what you call a win-win situation. I got rid of the Lunar Capital and gained the freedom I wanted, and Yukari Yakumo also got rid of those troublesome youkai that were hindering her and gained the status she wanted... But there's one thing, I don't think she can become a youkai sage."

"But everyone needs to grow, doesn't everyone?"

Looking at Yagokoro Eirin who seemed to have something to say, Shibai smiled.

"After your trip to the Lunar Capital, you must have grown a bit, right?"

"........."

Yagokoro Eirin remained silent for a moment.

"Alright, now that you're here, I can relax a lot more. Since you seem so confident, I'll leave everything else to you."

Slightly tired, Shi Bai stretched and picked up a bamboo umbrella, then turned and walked into the rain.

"I'll be leaving now..."

"Teacher, there's something I'd like to discuss with you."

Before the man could finish speaking, Yagokoro Eirin's voice rang out softly behind him.

"Huh? Is there anything else?"

Shi Bai turned his head with a slight sense of doubt.

"About my two poor pets, Yue, who crashed into a tree and died..."

"Haha... We can talk about it another day. I have something to do, so I'll be going now. Bye-bye-bye-bye-bye!!!"

"........."

Watching her teacher, who had disregarded her image and sprinted out of the courtyard gate with an umbrella in the blink of an eye, Eirin Yagokoro's lips twitched slightly.

"Yonglin, is he really your teacher?"

A certain NEET-hime, who had been eavesdropping behind the door, curiously peeked out from behind the door at just the right moment.

"Sometimes super serious, sometimes super unserious. Shouldn't a teacher be...very authoritative?"

After thinking for a long time, Kaguya Houraisan finally came up with her own feelings based on the scene when Toyohime and the others faced their teacher, Eirin Yagokoro.