Just as Inaba Tsukiyo was chasing these people away, a piercing scream suddenly erupted from the crowd praying by the bonfire.
The woman who had been praying by the bonfire earlier, now in the form of a Kabaneri, dragged her body towards the people nearby.
Wearing a kimono, her obi was untied, and a glowing heart at her chest revealed her identity as a Kabaneri.
The crowd, which had been quietly praying, scattered in all directions; some even went weak in the knees and fell to the ground, motionless.
"This is... Miss Shino! How is this possible...?"
The loach, who had nearly been attacked just now, clearly recognized the woman who had turned into a Kabaneri and looked at her in disbelief.
Mumei, who was nearby, had a cold expression. She decisively untied the bow-tied ribbon around her neck, preparing to deal with the woman who was beyond saving.
"Wait a moment..."
Inaba Tsukiyo grabbed Mumei, who was rushing out, and pulled her back.
"Tsukiyo-chan, what are you doing! Don't you see that this person has already turned into a Kabaneri? She's beyond saving."
Unlike her and Ikoma, who had become Kabaneri, humans who turned into Kabaneri had no chance of survival.
Even if she didn't act, this woman would eventually be killed by other samurai for safety reasons.
"I know, but this person is a bit special. There's a very faint sound inside her belly."
Inaba Tsukiyo pointed to the Kabaneri woman's belly, which was noticeably large and completely out of proportion with her figure.
"A sound inside her belly? Could it be... she's pregnant with a baby?!" Mumei looked at the Kabaneri's belly in disbelief, recalling the Kabaneri aura she had sensed at noon. "Could the Kabaneri aura I felt this afternoon have been...?"
"Exactly, it was the aura emanating from the baby inside her belly. Because babies absorb nutrients through the umbilical cord, and coupled with the baby's very weak constitution, it turned into a Kabaneri even before birth."
Presumably, this woman concealed her injury not because she didn't want to die, but because she wanted her baby to be born.
However, the baby inside her was also infected, even becoming a Kabaneri faster than the woman, and then was sensed by Mumei.
"Since she's already a Kabaneri, why are you stopping me? If we let her be, you know what the consequences will be, don't you?"
"Of course I know, how could I not know. But you can't be the one to do it; it has to be me."
Releasing Mumei, Inaba Tsukiyo walked towards the still-moving woman.
"Remember, your situation is very dangerous right now. Even if you kill a Kabaneri, it will give people the impression that you are extremely cold-blooded, that you can even lay hands on a pregnant woman, and that you are essentially a murderer."
Humans are such unreasonable creatures. Even though Mumei and Ikoma still retained their human consciousness, when they killed Kabaneri, they would only receive cold stares from others.
The moving Kabaneri sensed the approaching human and let out a roar, moving closer to Inaba Tsukiyo.
A few meters from the Kabaneri, Inaba Tsukiyo stopped, reaching for the hilt of the sword at her waist.
"Wait! Miss Inaba! Miss Shino is still pregnant with a baby!"
"...I'm sorry, she and her baby are both beyond saving."
Can't kill a Kabaneri carrying an infant? What a joke. Not killing her would only allow the tragedy to spread.
The blade sliced through the Kabaneri's head; there was no chance to stop it. The headless Kabaneri fell to the ground powerlessly.
Although she had killed a Kabaneri, the surrounding people looked at Inaba Tsukiyo in horror. The loach, who had tried to stop her earlier, watched this scene with tears in her eyes.
She understood that this was the right thing to do, but the person who had been speaking well today had turned into a cold corpse in the blink of an eye, and she couldn't accept it.
"You fellow..."
The samurai closest to Inaba Tsukiyo raised his gun and aimed it at Inaba Tsukiyo. As he moved, the other samurai present also raised their firearms.
"Why! Don't you know she's a woman? Why could you still do it?!"
"...Heh! Then you tell me, how would you handle this, Mr. Samurai?"
"I..."
The samurai who had just been accusing her opened his mouth, but found he couldn't say anything.
Not only him, but even the other samurai who had raised their guns put down their weapons. As samurai, they had a stronger resolve than ordinary commoners.
There was something called a 'jikai-bukuro' (self-determination bag), an item distributed by the shogunate to everyone for self-immolation.
For others, and for their own dignity, when bitten by a Kabaneri, they had to perform a clean self-determination. The jikai-bukuro was created with this idea in mind.
Even if Inaba Tsukiyo didn't act, these samurai would kill the Kabaneri for the safety of others.
"It seems you also understand what you would do. So now, everyone looking at me, you were just shouting so loudly, hoping someone would save you, so why are you looking at me like this now? Do you think Kabaneri can be coexisted with? Then why did you board the Iron Fortress? Wouldn't it be better to just live with the Kabaneri at Aba Station?"
Although Inaba Tsukiyo's voice was soft, everyone present was silent, so everyone could hear Inaba Tsukiyo's words.
Those who had been accusing Inaba Tsukiyo of being inhumane also had nothing to say.
They were merely people seeking help, yet when receiving help, they still wanted to stand by and point fingers.
"Hmm? That sound is..."
Just then, a commotion arose, and turning towards the source of the sound, a multitude of crimson lights were rapidly approaching.
"Those are… Kabaneri! At least a thousand of them…"
It seemed that staying too long had attracted all the Kabaneri in the vicinity, and they were now rushing towards them.
People successively noticed the Kabaneri charging their way, and screams of terror continuously erupted.
Panicked individuals ran towards the Iron Fortress, just like at Aba Station, with no order whatsoever, shoving and climbing onto the Kabaneri.
As they frantically tried to board the Iron Fortress, the body of the woman who had turned into a Kabaneri and died was trampled several times.
Seeing the actions of these people, Suzuya, knowing she couldn't help, gritted her teeth, turned, and climbed into the Iron Fortress.
Although the repairs to the Iron Fortress were not yet complete, there was no time to worry about that.
The samurai stood on both sides of the Iron Fortress, using their steam guns to prevent the Kabaneri from approaching.
Before the wave of Kabaneri drew near, the Iron Fortress successfully started, leaving the Kabaneri far behind.
Just as Inaba Tsukiyo and Mumei returned to the carriage, they didn't find Ikoma.
They thought he had been thrown off the Iron Fortress without their knowledge, but the next moment, the carriage door opened, and Ikoma was tossed inside.
The samurai, led by Kujin Kurusu, watched Ikoma, who was sprawled on the ground, with grim expressions, and the atmosphere became quite strange.
"What did this guy do while we were gone?"
Feeling as if something interesting had happened, Inaba Tsukiyo asked Kujin Kurusu.
Kujin Kurusu looked at Inaba Tsukiyo, hesitated for a moment, but finally replied.
"This guy attacked Ayame-sama when we weren't looking. Ayame-sama is currently undergoing examination; if anything is wrong, I will kill this guy. Even if you try to stop me, I will still kill him."
This was also his dereliction of duty; he hadn't expected Ikoma to run off and attack Shikomorikawa Ayame when he wasn't paying attention.
"Oh, oh, oh~ Such an exciting thing happened." Inaba Tsukiyo's mouth widened as she looked at Ikoma on the ground. "I originally thought you liked Boys, but it turns out that's not the case."
"Who likes Boys! You explain yourself clearly!"
Ikoma, who was originally feeling distressed about what he had done, immediately jumped up from the ground upon hearing Inaba Tsukiyo doubt his sexual orientation.
If he hadn't thought of Inaba Tsukiyo's powerful combat ability and the presence of others watching, he probably would have pulled down his pants to prove he was a normal Boy.
"Isn't that right? You're in a carriage with two beautiful young girls, yet you have no reaction. Even if I don't have what you want, Mumei should. So you prefer tall, older sisters, not our petite type."
As she spoke, Inaba Tsukiyo seemed worried her explanation wasn't vivid enough, so she gestured on her body.
The samurai, who had grim expressions, heard Inaba Tsukiyo's words and couldn't help but let their gazes drift between her and Mumei.
Indeed, if one ignored Inaba Tsukiyo and Mumei's own reasons, they were both very cute girls.
Especially Mumei; despite her petite figure, she had a bust size completely unsuited to her age. Ikoma, being with them, shouldn't have had no reaction.
"What are you looking at! You all look like unloved old men! Are you trying to prey on young girls?"
Noticing the increasingly lewd stares of the samurai, even Mumei, somewhat displeased, yelled at them.
This made the samurai awkwardly turn their heads away, and after entrusting the matter to Kujin Kurusu, they silently exited the carriage.
After warning Inaba Tsukiyo and the others not to leave the room, Kujin Kurusu also left the carriage, leaving only Inaba Tsukiyo, Mumei, and Ikoma inside.
After the samurai left, Ikoma got up from the ground.
"Pervert."
"What!"
Facing Mumei's somewhat rude gaze, Ikoma wanted to argue but couldn't think of any words to retort.
To some extent, he had indeed attacked Shikomorikawa Ayame, but that was under the irresistible urge to drink blood.
"How was it? Seeing a full-figured girl's body up close, did you feel excited?"
Inaba Tsukiyo's voice came from behind, startling Ikoma, who jumped forward and looked at Inaba Tsukiyo in horror, his face growing redder and redder.
Perhaps it was seeing the young Shikomorikawa Ayame's body when he was conscious later, Ikoma, following Inaba Tsukiyo's words, began to fantasize about certain things.
Without Ikoma realizing it, a certain part of his lower body became increasingly excited.
"Ikoma-kun, it's bulging down there. It seems you're very excited."
"Ah!"
Ikoma, realizing that his lower body was indeed a bit restless, reached out to cover that part, but his situation had already been discovered by Mumei.
Mumei's gaze towards Ikoma became increasingly strange, as if she were looking at a perverted old man.
"Pervert."
"I told you! It's not like that!!!"
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