Chapter 40 "I... I think I am dying."

Mermaids are a special kind of yokai. It is said that their entire bodies are treasures: their tears turn into pearls, and their flesh grants immortality to those who consume it.

In the legends of the island nation of the East, there is a tale from Wakasa Province of a woman who lived to be eight hundred years old after eating mermaid meat; she became known as Yao Bikuni. Of course, there is another version of the story suggesting that this Yao Bikuni was hosted by the Dragon God and received the elixir of immortality from him.

"Mermaids... they have always been linked to the Dragon Palace and the Dragon God," Hyakusuke thought. In terms of game items, this was unique. According to the Snow Yaksha Princess, the effect of mermaid meat was to automatically restore the player's health when they were in a critical state.

"Even if you suffer grave injuries, as long as your heart and head are not crushed, any wound can be healed by the life energy granted to you by the mermaid meat," the Snow Yaksha Princess said calmly. "Furthermore, instant-death techniques and curses will no longer affect you. If someone wants to kill you, physical means would be the best approach."

"Um... if my head were to be cut off, could it still be restored?" Hyakusuke asked.

"As long as your head is not smashed to pieces and is reattached quickly, it will be no problem. However, I must warn you: the most important point in unleashing this power is that you must possess a strong will to live. As long as you do not wish to die, the effects of the mermaid meat will continue to function."

The Lady of the Lake, the Snow Yaksha Princess, declared that as long as his heart and brain tissue remained intact and his life force persisted, regeneration and recovery would continue. Moreover, Hyakusuke would possess a vitality several times that of an ordinary human.

"Maintain a strong will to live? Then will this regenerative power continue even when I am unconscious?" He was dissatisfied with this vague explanation and hoped for more information.

"That is irrelevant," the Lady of the Lake said. "Regardless of your state, as long as you do not harbor thoughts of giving up on life, this power will persist."

Not bad at all. Hyakusuke thought that, looking at it this way, the benefits brought by this mermaid meat were quite significant. He had already obtained the Tokijiku-no-Kagu-no-Konomi and the Earth-Shrinking Amulet. The Dream Tapir's egg could be considered an unexpected bonus. Finally, there was this extra perk—the mermaid meat. This journey could truly be called a "fruitful return."

...

Seeing Hyakusuke’s figure gradually disappear into the mist, Tsukigaro Yomei felt a sense of anxiety.

"Onmoraki." She summoned her shikigami.

In the night air, the sound of huge wings flapping—*flap, flap*—echoed. In an instant, something streaked quickly over the girl's head.

"I'm counting on you." As she spoke, a massive, pitch-black figure let out a bone-chilling cry while sweeping past with its wings spread. Tsukigaro Yomei leaped toward the mist-covered lake. She did not land in the water; instead, a claw reached out and grabbed her arm.

Under the dark moonlight, an ugly bird-yokai with a human face extended its claws. These black talons were sinewy and menacing, and its upper limbs were bulging with muscle—the strange bird’s black claws gripped the girl's arm with agility, and her body was pulled into mid-air.

The hideous bird-yokai had the face of an elderly human. It resembled a crow, with a ring of strange silver feathers around its neck and shoulders that shimmered in the moonlight. This was Tsukigaro Yomei’s shikigami, "Onmoraki." It was said that its archetype was a crane-like demon, yet in the stories passed down in the island nation, it was a strange bird with a human face.

Tsukigaro Yomei tracked Hyakusuke’s location from the air and discovered that he had followed a "path" hidden under the moonlight to the center of the lake, where a protruding rock stood like an island in the middle of the water.

"Lord Hyakusuke, what are you doing?"

Suddenly, at that very moment, white mist surged forward. Hyakusuke’s figure wavered within the vapor and, in an instant, dissolved into the pale mist, becoming invisible.

"This?"

Tsukigaro Yomei descended from the air, but another vortex of mist swept over her. She waved her hand violently, and powerful spiritual energy radiated outward, forming a wind that scattered the surrounding mist.

"...Where did he go?"

...

She shook off the claw of the human-faced bird, Onmoraki, and landed lightly on the ground from mid-air. The hem of the girl's soft kimono fluttered. As she landed, she stood on her tiptoes, her black-leather shoes touching the rock first.

"How could he just disappear?"

Yomei could not see Hyakusuke; he seemed to have truly vanished. At the same time, the mist on the lake surface dissipated for the most part, and under the moonlight, Snow Yaksha Lake fell into a tranquil, aesthetic stillness; the surface was like a mirror.

"He couldn't have just disappeared like that, could he?"

While feeling puzzled, she was also exceptionally worried. Suddenly, a wave of intense dizziness rushed into her brain. Yomei’s steps faltered.

*Ugh...*

The girl clutched her forehead, feeling as if her head had been stuffed with a heavy mass of seaweed. Her vision blurred, and her stomach began to cramp.

"This is..."

Her head felt heavy, and her stomach became uncomfortable. She crouched down on the spot to resist the unbearable feeling of nausea.

"My body, what is happening..."

Tsukigaro Yomei pressed her abdomen. The pain spread from the very center of her stomach. She had never been ill before; the current sensation was as if she were bound by countless spider threads—her body felt heavy, sluggish, and unable to move.

"No!" She still needed to find him. "He might be in the lake..." She concluded.

It would be best to enter the lake to investigate. She didn't understand why she was so concerned about Hyakusuke. Perhaps it was because she wanted to repay her savior. Or no, that wasn't it... it was possible she saw the shadow of someone familiar in him.

She could still remember parts of the experience in the Spider's Nest; she had not forgotten the memory of being saved by Hyakusuke. At that time, Yomei had almost overlapped the image of the lower-ranking ninja who saved her with that of a friend from her past.

Her consciousness began to drift. Tsukigaro Yomei recalled an experience from her childhood—it was a hot summer. A warm breeze brushed against her cheeks. The intense sunlight spilled into the forest—the feeling of summer filled her whole body, and the sound of cicadas was deafening.

"Must... find him—"

The girl stood up unsteadily.

As if struck by lightning, an indescribable burning sensation and pain radiated from her lower abdomen. She saw stars, and the sudden dizziness made the world spin, nearly causing her to fall.

"Are you alright?"

A hand reached out and grabbed hers. The girl's consciousness faded, and as she shook her head, she collapsed limply.

...

In the mirage created by the Lady of the Lake, the Snow Yaksha Princess, time passed at a different speed than in the outside world.

Hyakusuke had just returned when he was startled to find Yomei on the verge of fainting; she had lost all her strength, like a doll with its strings cut.

"Lady Yomei, are you alright?" He hurriedly grabbed her, supporting her shoulders.

"I... I think I'm dying." Tsukigaro Yomei opened her eyes slightly. Her complexion was exceptionally weak, and she was almost limp in Hyakusuke’s arms.

"Have you been cursed, or what happened?" Hyakusuke was shocked. Had Tsukigaro Yomei been attacked in the short time he was away?

"I-I don't know." The girl was pale. She shook her head, and her parted lips uttered weak, powerless words: "I don't know what's going on. My stomach hurts so much."

She smiled at Hyakusuke. "I am truly sorry, Lord Hyakusuke... please, listen to my last words. I have things to leave to Ayaka and Matsudaira..."

"Wait a moment." Hyakusuke hurriedly asked, "Please, Lady Yomei, what exactly are your symptoms?" As he said this, a flash of inspiration hit him, and he quickly followed up: "Are you dizzy, nauseous, wanting to vomit, feeling weak all over..."

"Yes," she nodded blankly. Finally, she added, "I think, I'm also bleeding, down there..."

Hearing this, Hyakusuke almost fell over on his face. Well, everything was finally clear.

"The way of the world is like this; the moon waxes and wanes, and meetings and partings are impermanent," Yomei said with a pale smile, her lips turning white as if drained of blood. "It's just that I haven't reclaimed the territory of the Tsukigaro clan, nor have I achieved any great deeds... to die like this, I am somewhat unreconciled."

Hyakusuke sighed deeply in his heart.

"Lady Yomei, you are not going to die."

"At this point, there is no meaning in saying such comforting words to me." Her lips trembled. "I know I am going to die."

"You will not die." Hyakusuke said expressionlessly, "Lady Yomei, please believe me, you do not have any illness at all. You are just—"

He paused slightly, cleared his throat, and suppressed his embarrassment.

"—having your period."

The girl was stunned for a moment. Then, her eyes widened as if she finally understood, and her entire face flushed bright red as if scorched by fire.

"Yaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!" She let out a scream of misery.

...

There was no time to deal with Tsukigaro Yomei, who had been sunk by her own shame. Hyakusuke hurriedly picked her up, took her to the campsite, and secretly woke his stepsister, Ayaka, to inform her of the situation.

After hearing this, Ayaka’s face turned grim, but she still took on the responsibility of caring for her, explaining the periodic physiological issues unique to women in great detail.

However, Tsukigaro Yomei had already curled into a ball and entered a state of self-isolation.

After finishing all of this, Hyakusuke finally breathed a sigh of relief and planned to go back and get some rest.

At the same time, upon learning this news, someone on the other end of the shadows, and someone who had been eavesdropping for a long time, began to stir.

—It has finally begun. At this rate, it will be ready in sixteen days...

—Eh? So fast? It seems necessary to make a trip personally in the near future and bring some medicine for blood replenishment...

The female demons of the Kurohime Mountain clan hid in the shadows, emitting sneers and giggles. They waited quietly for the arrival of the moment, for the day when the fruit would be ripe and fall.