Chapter 496. Waaaah, Getting Pummeled!
「"Um... excuse me, do you know where the nearest city or village is?"」
「After being asked this, the priestess pointed toward a direction with great effort. Just lifting her hand made her seem incredibly weak; that single movement alone appeared to have exhausted her physical strength.」
「Because the images of the two wicked women, Flare and Norn, were still fresh in his mind, Shirogane Miyuki originally didn't want to meddle in others' business.」
「But seeing the priestess in this half-dead state, and looking at this desolate wilderness, he ultimately couldn't harden his heart. He spoke again: "I understand, thank you... If you don't mind, I'll take you to the village."」
「The priestess merely shook her head slightly.」
「Shirogane speculated: "Could it be that your companions or relatives are coming to find you later?"」
「At the mention of "companions," a dark expression briefly and visibly flickered across the ethereal priestess's face. Although she quickly masked it, Shirogane Miyuki still caught it.」
「Naturally, he understood. This lady priestess had no companions and intended to stay here to perish on her own.」
「"I won't accept that!" Shirogane bit his lip. "Sorry, I might be overstepping my bounds, and I don't have any money to find a doctor for you right now... but I cannot accept standing by and watching someone die when it's within my power to help."」
「He approached the priestess and reached out his hand. "Can you walk? I'll help you up and support you as we go to the village."」
「The priestess wasn't warm; she even seemed slightly repulsed by his help. However, she ultimately did not resist and allowed Shirogane to support her. Under his questioning, she calmly stated her name: "Kikyo."」
「The two headed toward the village. What Shirogane Miyuki did not see was Kikyo's other free hand waving behind her back.」
「Following her gesture, over a dozen white, bug-like creatures floating in the air—holding orbs of light in their four limbs—halted their movement in the forest.」
「They had originally been flying toward Kikyo with a clear purpose.」
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"Ki... Kikyo!?"
In a group resting randomly in a forest somewhere, Inuyasha's eyes suddenly snapped wide open. His heart skipped a beat, and his mind fell into a chaotic whirl of confusion.
A few days ago, the dark priestess Urasue had stolen Kikyo's ashes to reconstruct a ceramic-like body. She then captured Kagome and extracted Kikyo's soul from her body. Kikyo was thus resurrected... but she returned filled with rage toward Inuyasha. At that time, she wanted to kill him, but part of her soul was sucked back into Kagome.
In this incomplete state, Kikyo had stumbled away, and no one knew her whereabouts.
Now, a confused Inuyasha scrambled to his feet, muttering under his breath, "I... I—I'm going to find her! I'm going to find Kikyo!"
His words made Kagome feel a sting of sadness. Miroku, the monk who knew how to read the room, immediately provided a reason: "Calm down, Inuyasha. Just from looking at the scenery of a forest, how could you possibly know where Kikyo is?"
This logic was sound, and it managed to keep Inuyasha down for the moment.
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"Kikyo!?"
At this moment, there was someone even more confused than Inuyasha: Naraku in his castle.
His eyes widened, and he was completely stunned. Kikyo, who had been dead for fifty years, had been resurrected just like that?
...The reason he could be certain this was a resurrection and not a scene from fifty years ago was that high-level demons, priestesses, and monks could all see that Kikyo's current body was made of artificial ceramics rather than human flesh.
Shocked, terrified, yet secretly joyful, Naraku immediately ordered his demon subordinates to investigate and find out why Kikyo was still alive.
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"But... those bugs, are they Soul Collectors?"
In a dark hut, the dark priestess Tsubaki made a judgment. "Kikyo is currently lacking a soul, so she dispatched Soul Collectors to gather them. As soon as those souls enter her body, she will recover her health instantly."
"But to avoid scaring this ordinary person who suddenly intruded, Kikyo abandoned her plan to replenish her soul immediately. She didn't want this Shirogane Miyuki to see the Soul Collectors."
Tsubaki shook her head and clicked her tongue. Fifty years had passed, and even after dying once, Kikyo was still so kind, so radiant, and so lovable.
"It's because of this that I hate you even more, Kikyo! ...But, this ordinary person who gave 'unhelpful help,' his name, his face... why do I feel like I have some memory of him?"
Tsubaki reminisced in confusion, but for the moment, she could remember nothing.
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At the same time, Earth had been completely ignited!
"Wa-wa-wa-wa!"
In the hospital, Tomoya Aki's eyes were nearly popping out of his head, and he was drooling. "This Kikyo is clearly a classic Yamato Nadeshiko! She's the type who is most gentle and centered around her husband—this is exactly the type of 2D beauty I look forward to most!!"
After the drooling came envy, jealousy, and hatred, followed by a barrage of curses. Tomoya Aki cursed Shirogane as a "lucky waste."
"Why isn't it me! I want to encounter a beautiful Yamato Nadeshiko priestess and be pursued by her too! Damn you, Shirogane Miyuki! Arghhh!"
Others weren't as exaggerated or crazed as Tomoya Aki, but they indeed felt a strong liking for Kikyo. After all, who doesn't like a Yamato Nadeshiko?
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"Uwaw... though I'm willing to play matchmaker for Shinomiya-senpai and the President, no matter how I look at it, Shinomiya-senpai has no advantage at all."
In the Student Council room, Ishigami Yu spoke cautiously, using very euphemistic wording. Even so, it sent a wave of rage through the stunned Shinomiya Kaguya.
Precisely because she could see that this lady priestess utterly crushed her in every way—just as Emilia had once crushed Yukinoshita—she felt even more afraid and angry.
"Why does the President get to meet a beauty of this level right at the start? Why? It's not scientific at all!"
"I bet the women in this isekai are all the level of Setsuna or Kureha"—one second she went "all-in" on that bet, the next second she had lost everything down to her underwear.
Grief and indignation filled Kaguya; she was so angry she was about to cry. Waaaaah.
This version of Kaguya was beginning to fear facing reality and started lying to herself: "Look at those bugs! This woman definitely has a secret; she might not even be a good person!"
No one would believe such nonsense.
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In a distant place, from the first second Kikyo appeared, Hikigaya Hachiman nodded and made an unshakeable judgment: "This is a 'Genuine,' and a 'Genuine' of extremely high purity!"
The part with the Soul Collectors didn't change his view; rather, it reinforced his belief that Kikyo was undoubtedly a very good and kind person—just like Shirogane Miyuki.
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