I became the Lord of the Eternal World in Tokyo.

“Recently, bad news about the appearance of demons has been coming from Mikawa Province... Our situation is relatively mild.”

At this point, Goro Kujira, who was about to be forced to leave his home and become a refugee, clenched his fists, revealing a resentful expression.

"If it had been any later, they might not have been able to escape."

Imagawa Yoshimoto stopped and spoke: "That's Goro Kujira."

"The villain is here!"

Goro swallowed hard, hearing the armored woman say in a soft voice that left no room for argument: "If you ever see any other refugees from Mikawa Province, tell them..."

She deliberately omitted the common name, which represents "etiquette," and revealed the name that she would normally consider extremely disrespectful, even to the point of being dragged out and beheaded if uttered just once.

"—Imagawa Yoshimoto, the head of the Imagawa family, has arrived."

Goro was struck dumb, and immediately knelt on the ground after regaining his senses.

"You are..."

"Yes, I'm here to salvage the situation in Sanhe and to kill all these troublesome demons."

Imagawa Yoshimoto bowed his head and solemnly promised, word by word, to the kneeling Goro Kujira.

"Everything will be alright."

Goro bowed his head deeply to the ground, uttering the myriad words in his heart into three simple syllables.

"Thanks you."

After Goro Kujira and Yoshimoto Imagawa finished their conversation, Tetsuya Uesugi turned to the man who had led them to the empty house and asked,

Why is this place named such a strange village as Mountain Whale Village? Is there a reason?

Goro Kujira: "In order to ensure that future generations do not forget the story of the mountain whales—there is a mountain not far away where there are many large mountain whales that dare to harm people."

There was even a legend about the existence of a 'Mountain Whale Demon King'.

Upon hearing this, Uesugi Tetsu couldn't help but show a momentary look of joy.

Right!

Everything is right!

That's really something, it came to me without any effort at all!

As Goro Kujira entered the long-abandoned house, which seemed to have been unoccupied for a long time, Tetsuya Uesugi heard him say...

"My lords, this is all we have right now, and it's rather meager..."

“No need for explanation.” Imagawa Yoshimoto waved his hand. “Kujiro, you just need to tell us everything you know about the current situation, and then bring us a map.”

Since the samurai Sakata whom they met in Tōtōmi Province had escaped a week earlier, much of the information he spoke of was likely outdated.

"Yes, my lord."

As the village chief, Goro Kujira didn't hesitate. He immediately pulled a young man on night patrol from the roadside and asked him to fetch the map.

Then, he began to explain the current situation of the Dongsanhe area to the two of them, bit by bit.

A strange plague is spreading rapidly throughout the city.

— Demons that only exist in legends keep appearing.

—The mountain whales, which were usually very active, are now completely silent.

After listening, Uesugi Tetsu summarized it in his mind.

Then, to his astonishment, he discovered that the situation in the Three Rivers Kingdom, or at least in the eastern Three Rivers, was much better than he had anticipated.

Because although all sorts of strange epidemics were rampant in the city, sick and suffering relatives were also frequently seen.

—But there were almost no instances of the horrific scenes of entire villages being wiped out, as they had seen before.

But this doesn't make sense.

It's understandable that sick and suffering families can't make it through a city with many samurai... but is it really that difficult to wipe out a village?

In his opinion, absolutely not!

"What tricks is illness playing at..."

Uesugi Tetsu clicked his tongue, and then saw Kujira Goro take a map from the doorway, place the torch aside, and spread it out.

He was startled.

This map was surprisingly exquisite and detailed.

Uesugi Tetsu squatted down and asked, "Where is that mountain where mountain whales often appear?"

Without asking any further questions, Goro drew a circle next to the clearly marked village with his finger.

"From here, it would only take about twenty minutes to walk on horseback."

The village chief hesitated for a moment, but still reminded them, "Although there have been fewer mountain whales appearing recently, for the safety of the two of you, it's best not to go inside."

Meeting their gazes, Goro took a deep breath before speaking in a slightly trembling voice,

"Because, when I was a child, I saw with my own eyes the legendary Mountain Whale Demon King, which almost no one believed in... It was almost as big as a small mountain, and it was a true 'mountain whale'."

Does the Mountain Whale Demon King really exist?

Could legends really be true?

Combined with the recent phenomenon of those mountain whales suddenly disappearing...

Uesugi Tetsu pondered for a moment, thinking that if the mountain whale demon king possessed intelligence and could communicate, there might still be a chance to transform it into a temporary helper.

That’s very good.

Now that the existence of the Heavenly Craftsman and the Demon King has been confirmed.

—Then let's set off first thing tomorrow morning!

Chapter 181 The Craftsman is a Zashiki-warashi?! Affection level up, Mountain Whale King 3.5 stars (64k

The night was deeper.

Finally, the approaching dark clouds swallowed the silver moon from the sky, leaving behind a thick, impenetrable darkness that blanketed the earth.

Not to mention, Goro the Whale, carrying a torch, had already left.

But this had no effect on Uesugi Tetsuya, who, with the Hannya mask around his waist, saw the night as if it were day.

After using his internal energy to quickly remove the dust from the room, he had Imagawa Yoshimoto sit on the dry bamboo mat.

This room is more like a small storage room than a living room, so there is no distinction between earthen walls and earthen rooms, nor is there a kang (heated brick bed) for cooking.

The girl is removing her armor.

Even in the darkness, Imagawa Yoshimoto was able to use his past experience to remove the complex worldly tools he wore one by one and neatly place them aside.

After removing the heavy kimono, the cotton-padded silk sleeves underneath were revealed to keep out the cold.

The small sleeves are designed to prevent direct friction between the feet and the skin, so the body is covered very tightly and snugly.

Therefore, the curve is obvious.

However, Yoshimoto Imagawa didn't care about any of that. Anyway, at this point, even she needed to put her palm in front of her nose to see clearly.

"Lord Yiyuan, please get some rest."

Uesugi Tetsu took off his large priest's robe and handed the edge of the sleeve to Imagawa Yoshimoto.

He stood up and said, "I'll go out for a walk to check things out, just in case something unexpected happens."

"Thank you for your hard work, Che-jun."

After responding, Imagawa Yoshimoto pulled on his still-warm robe and covered himself with it.

—The concept of "quilt" did not exist during the Warring States period, so most people took off their everyday clothes and covered themselves with them when they slept.

—It was not uncommon for retainers to take off their warm clothing and give it to their lord.

Uesugi Tetsu didn't say much, but simply walked out the door so that Imagawa Yoshimoto could hear him.

Then I held my breath and controlled my steps, not letting myself make even the slightest sound.

In less than half an hour, Uesugi Tetsuya, who moves extremely fast, circled around the village of Yamajima twice.

Apart from a few watchmen carrying torches, including Goro Kujira, no other unusual circumstances were found.

However, the defenses of Shanjing Village are quite complete, probably thanks to the presence of "Shanjing Mountain" not far away.

It was for this reason that Goro Kujira said they were able to defeat the few sick and suffering relatives.

Uesugi Tetsu quietly returned to the door of the small house.

But they found that Imagawa Yoshimoto was still tossing and turning on the straw mat, making a rustling sound as his robe rubbed against the mat.

The girl's eyes were still open, and she seemed lost in thought, showing no signs of sleepiness whatsoever.

"Lord Yiyuan, are you still awake?"

!

Uesugi Tetsu could clearly see the girl wrapped in his robe suddenly tremble, and even the worried expression on her small face froze for a moment.

However, after only a moment, she let out a soft sigh with a slightly annoyed expression.

Only then did he realize that he had come here quietly.

His sudden outburst probably startled Imagawa Yoshimoto.

But Uesugi Tetsu did not apologize, because Imagawa Yoshimoto seemed unaware that he could see clearly in the dark.

He simply sat cross-legged on the outside of Imagawa Yoshimoto.

"Lord Yiyuan, go to sleep now. The pressure will only increase every day... It will take at least a month to get rid of the illness and the great demon."

Uesugi Tetsu said, "So it's important to ensure good sleep quality so that you can conserve your energy and face these powerful enemies."

He leaned against the wall, preparing to close his eyes for a short nap—spending so much time with Ririko always taught him a thing or two about her sleep techniques.

In this situation, a sleeping method that allows you to hear the wind and grass is suitable.

Imagawa Yoshimoto responded with a "Okay".

But when Uesugi Tetsu turned his head to look, he found that she hadn't closed her eyes at all; she had just stopped rolling around.

After a long while, he saw Imagawa Yoshimoto open his mouth slightly and murmur in a barely audible voice,

"Che-jun... I feel a little guilty."

Although she said this, her expression did not change at all; she remained cold, aloof, and unapproachable.

Only those eyes were filled with regret.

"Why did I fail to save so many of my people...? Why didn't I take this to heart sooner..."

"Would things have been better if I had taken it more seriously earlier?"

"If I had listened to your advice immediately, would fewer people have died?"

Imagawa Yoshimoto regrets it.

But she wouldn't say such things in front of anyone; she could only tell them to herself in the pitch-black night.

Because Imagawa Yoshimoto was always arrogant, confident, and perfectionist.

Uesugi Tetsu stared at those disappointed eyes for a moment, then softly said, "Although I really want to comfort you by saying yes."

"But Lord Yiyuan, now that things have come to this, regret and remorse cannot save anyone."

When Uesugi Tetsu saw the girl's face, she immediately showed a surprised expression, as if she was surprised that he was still awake and had heard such a vague murmur.

He continued, "The only thing we can do now is to figure out the purpose of those demons as soon as possible, and then exorcise their followers one by one, so that we can tell the people of the Three Rivers Kingdom that you have arrived."

Finally, all those great demons and the suffering of disease will be slain.

"Yes, that's the only way."

Imagawa Yoshimoto held his fist out in front of him and clenched it silently: "I'm sorry... Che-kun, for complaining to you so much."

"It doesn't matter."

Uesugi Tetsu touched the trembling hilt of his sword and replied,