As if drifting on the wind, Nurarihyon's lengthy words floated away as he exhaled another puff of smoke.
The smoke dispersed in the night breeze, seemingly following his voice toward the burning shrine.
"Look at that old man."
He used his pipe to point toward the hunchbacked Village Chief in the corner of the courtyard.
The old man was crouching at the foot of the wall, his stooped back even more bent than before, as if weighed down by something he couldn't lift himself from.
"What is he afraid of?"
Nurarihyon asked.
"Is he afraid of monsters? No, that toad is already dead."
"Is he afraid of you? Even less likely; you are his saviors."
"What he fears—"
The blond yokai paused, his golden vertical pupils reflecting the firelight.
"Is tomorrow."
Kanbe Hikaru remained silent.
He knew what Nurarihyon was about to say next.
"The lord of this area, what was his name again..."
Nurarihyon scratched his head, looking as if he couldn't quite recall.
"In any case, he's a samurai with a surname, a subordinate of the nearby Hojo Clan. It's said he's struck it rich these past two years, and his greed is quite unsightly."
"Unsightly?"
Kikyo spoke up, her voice calm.
"He collects seventy percent in Annual Tribute."
Nurarihyon gestured with his fingers.
"Seventy percent?"
Kanbe Hikaru frowned.
Annual Tribute was the land tax farmers paid to their lords in this era.
Under normal circumstances, forty percent was already a very heavy tax.
Seventy percent—that was practically driving the farmers to their deaths.
One must realize that the so-called Annual Tribute was merely the most insignificant item among the taxes!
Nurarihyon continued, "Then there's corvée labor, military service, road tolls, poll taxes... every nameable excuse, he collects them all. If they can't pay, he seizes people; if he can't find people, he burns houses."
"This village is actually doing okay; at least there are a few houses left fit for living."
"The village next door was burned to the ground three months ago. All the men were dragged off to build city walls, and the women..."
He didn't finish.
He didn't need to; everyone present understood what he meant.
"So you understand why that toad was able to act as a 'god' here, right?"
Nurarihyon looked at Kanbe Hikaru.
"It's not because it was particularly powerful. It's because these people needed a 'god,' something that could protect them."
"Even if that thing ate one person every month, it was still better than being dragged away by the lord's soldiers."
"At least being eaten is one person's problem. Being targeted by the lord is the whole village's problem."
Kanbe Hikaru fell silent.
Kikyo also fell silent.
They, of course, were aware of these things as well.
"When that toad was alive, the lord's men didn't dare come. Even though that lord once made a huge fuss and hired many Demon Slayers, they were no match for a toad that had gained 'Fear'."
Nurarihyon said, shrugging his shoulders.
"But now..."
He looked at the pile of smoking ruins.
"That toad is dead, and the 'god' is gone."
"Can you guess what that lord will do once he hears the news?"
Kanbe Hikaru knew exactly what would happen.
He would come to collect taxes and seize people.
He would squeeze every last drop of blood and sweat out of this already suffering village.
This was the price of them killing the monster.
"That's why I said what you did was useless."
Nurarihyon tucked his pipe back into his waist. "Killing monsters is satisfying, but the rotten core of this world doesn't lie with monsters."
"It lies with humans."
"The saying that the human heart is more evil than ghosts isn't for nothing."
"I think once this is over, the best-case scenario is actually just another monster coming along and the whole cycle starting over again."
"Not much will change."
In the corner of the courtyard, the Village Chief finally stood up.
He walked over, his cloudy old eyes filled with complex emotions.
"Saviors..."
His voice was raspy. "This old man has something to say, though I know not if I should speak it."
"Go ahead."
Kanbe Hikaru said.
"I shall never forget the great kindness you two have shown tonight."
The Village Chief bent down and gave a deep bow.
"But... but I make bold to ask..."
"After you two leave, what is to become of this village?"
His voice was trembling.
"Though that toad was a demon, while it was here, the lord's men indeed did not dare to come."
"Now that it is dead..."
"Once the lords in the city hear the news, they will surely come..."
"They will say we hid offerings meant for the god, they will say we owe three months of taxes..."
The old man's eyes grew red.
"I am already old; if I die, so be it."
"But there are children in the village, and young people..."
He fell to his knees.
"I am grateful to you both for slaying the demon, and I have absolutely no intention of blaming you. We know a demon is a demon, and the path I took was an absolute evil, like drinking poison to quench thirst. But I had no other way. Now, I only beg of you two saviors... I beg you, save the others in the village... For this, we will do anything, even if it means offering up our lives, we do so willingly!"
Kanbe Hikaru looked at the old man kneeling on the ground.
The firelight made that deeply wrinkled face look exceptionally aged.
Beside him, Nurarihyon had his pipe in his mouth, watching with an expression as if he were at a play.
"See? What did I tell you?"
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