Chapter 65: The Shadow

In the first chapter of the game main storyline of "The Luminous Moon", Senjuro, the head of the Renjo Trading Company and a figure of vital importance, is assassinated, throwing the internal situation of Kasumi Castle into chaos.

Aside from serving as the official purveyor to the shogunate, Senjuro is also a trusted confidant of a certain imperial prince, tasked with monitoring the Province of Dewa.

His death places immense pressure on Lord Suyasu and the Kamizakura Shrine, as interested parties begin to suspect whether the castle lord's faction orchestrated his assassination or kidnapping.

Furthermore, the ancestors of Senjuro Renjo were distant relatives of the legendary Archer who participated in the Human-Demon War a hundred and fifty years ago.

The Archer left no heirs. Upon his death, he entrusted one of his relics to the Renjo clan—the key to the "Great Seal of the Hundred Demons," which was used to seal the Six-Gate Blood-Smeared Multitude, directly banished to the "Realm of Nothingness" after being shattered during the Human-Demon War, along with the two most powerful demon kings and a hundred great demons of the demon army.

There are six keys to the "Great Seal of the Hundred Demons," five of which are guarded by the imperial court and the Four Sages respectively, while the whereabouts of the final key remain unknown.

One of the primary objectives of the Eight Blessings Society's attack on Senjuro was to seize this very key.

"Naturally, with the death of Senjuro Renjo, Lord Suyasu became the target of blame from all sides, and taking advantage of the chaos, Suyasu was placed under house arrest by his subordinate and traitor, Mitsuyuki Akamatsu."

Meanwhile, the chaos within Kasumi Castle was intensifying. After Lord Suyasu was secretly placed under house arrest, the old man left behind only a young heir, Tsuruchiyo, who was powerless to control the grand situation and could only watch as the crisis deteriorated unchecked.

Hyakusuke knew very well that the above constituted the background of the main plot.

Fortunately, he had managed to resolve the trouble on Senjuro's end. As long as this official purveyor of the Renjo Trading Company remained safe, subsequent events would not become excessively troublesome.

"The problem here should be considered resolved. What needs attention next is preventing the internal chaos within Kasumi Castle and stopping Hiiragi Dayuko's transformation into a vampire..."

However, while the former was manageable, Hyakusuke still had very few leads regarding the latter.

After all, he was not the protagonist and had few opportunities to directly interact with that noble shrine maiden.

"The protagonist, Yakei, does have contact with this Hiiragi Dayuko. It seems that not long after Yakei arrived at Kasumi Castle, Hiiragi Dayuko took the initiative to request a meeting with her..."

There was no helping it, considering she was the protagonist, blessed with invincible romantic fortune.

Of course, there was another reason: the immense power concealed within Yakei's body had attracted the attention of the local deity suppressing the town.

"Perhaps this is a breakthrough."

Just as he was lost in thought, a low, husky voice broke the silence.

"Sorry to keep you waiting."

The room door opened, and Senjuro Renjo walked in, accompanied by his guards.

"Lord Renjo is too polite."

Hyakusuke bowed slightly.

"Compared to someone as busy as Lord Renjo, the short time I spent waiting is truly not worth mentioning."

"Let's dispense with the formalities."

Senjuro Renjo smiled. "Thanks to your assistance last night, and for calling in reinforcements to rescue me... it would be inexcusable if I didn't reward you properly."

"This was all thanks to Lady Meiba's efforts. Besides, I was merely acting on the Second Young Mistress's orders."

He hadn't expected Senjuro Renjo to summon him for this reason.

"Even with my own personal strength, it would have been difficult to accomplish any rescue."

"No, after yesterday, I consulted Miss Kazuhana, and she said that you independently discovered those two scoundrels up to no good, and feeling suspicious, you followed them."

Senjuro Renjo folded his arms.

"As a result, you indeed saved me. I am, after all, the head of a trading company, and I am fair in rewarding and punishing my subordinates. You saved me, and if I show no appreciation, word getting out would only make me appear miserly."

He smiled.

"Young man, don't demur. Allowing me to properly reward you is also Miss Kazuhana's wish..."

What on earth?

When did the Second Young Mistress become so kind-hearted?

Hyakusuke felt more than a little suspicious.

"What? What kind of reward do you want?"

Senjuro Renjo chuckled.

"Money, women, or the precious swords and armor needed by exorcists—I can give you any of them."

Hyakusuke frowned.

To be honest, he wanted all of them.

However, none of these things were "necessities" for him at the moment.

The most crucial task for Hyakusuke right now was completing Chapter One.

Otherwise, if something went wrong in Kasumi Castle and the "Collapse of the Kamizakura" occurred, he would find it extremely difficult to escape with his life. When it concerned his own skin, Hyakusuke could not afford to be careless.

'Besides, forget about women; if Lord Renjo were to gift me money, precious swords, or armor, there's a good chance the people from the Kurohimeshama family would find an excuse to rob me of them...'

The items Kazuhana had secretly bestowed upon him and the Seven-Section Spear he had permission to keep were one thing, but if Senjuro's reward were too valuable, certain shameless fellows from the Kurohimeshama family would start clamoring, "Such precious items are wasted on subordinates, let me keep them instead," and use that pretext to snatch them away.

Honestly, even if he didn't benefit, Hyakusuke had no desire to let such people profit.

"Seeing you frown so deeply, you must still be hesitating."

Senjuro Renjo continued, "Then how about listening to my suggestion? Would you like to leave the Kurohimeshama clan?"

Upon hearing this proposal, Hyakusuke blinked in wide-eyed surprise.

"From what I understand, you were sold into the Kurohimeshama clan, weren't you?"

Senjuro Renjo said unhurriedly, "I can spend the money to buy back your freedom and restore you to a free man. If you have nowhere to go afterward, you are welcome to join our Renjo Trading Company. The trading company is always thirsty for talent, and we have a constant demand for capable individuals from the outside. Your strength is not too shabby for an exorcist, and joining the company would put you to great use."

"This?"

Hearing these words, Hyakusuke experienced a complex mixture of emotions.

Breaking free from the "sea of suffering" that was the Kurohimeshama family had been his wish for many years.

Unfortunately, he truly could not leave the clan at present.

"I've worked so hard to get close to the protagonist Yakei. As long as I provide her with game-related intelligence so she successfully clears the main storyline, the world won't be destroyed seven years from now... Even if I leave the Kurohimeshama family, if the world is destroyed in seven years, it won't have any meaning at all."

If he joined the Renjo Trading Company, he would undoubtedly have to stay by Senjuro Renjo's side every day or leave the northern lands for Kyoto, rendering him unable to support Yakei. The losses would far outweigh the gains.

"By the way, you've always been single and unmarried, haven't you?"

Senjuro Renjo's voice did not stop.

"Would you be interested in taking Meiba as your wife?"

"Huh?"

"Actually, Meiba's grandfather, Jiting, also asked me to help him find a suitable candidate for a son-in-law."

Senjuro Renjo smiled faintly. "I think you're a good candidate."

"No, no, no... Isn't Lady Meiba still a child?"

"She's not that young anymore! A girl of her age can be married off in a few years."

Senjuro Renjo dismissed the concern. "Jiting is getting older too. After his son died, there were no males in the household, and the villagers began harboring ulterior motives; otherwise, they wouldn't have ostracized Meiba in secret. He surely wants to find a capable adopted son-in-law to inherit the family business..."

"Ugh..."

Hyakusuke simply could not accept this.

Deep down, he remained a modern man and was certainly no lolicon. Just how old was this little girl Meiba? In his eyes, she was light-years away from being an "adult."

Moreover, Hyakusuke's boundaries regarding women were quite conservative; he could only accept women close to his own age or slightly older.

"No."

In the end, he spoke up to refuse.

"It's fine."

Senjuro Renjo patted his shoulder.

"In such a short time, it's difficult for you to make a thorough decision. There's no need to rush; think it over carefully before coming back to me."

Hyakusuke could only offer a wry smile and nod.

Within the massive citadel of Kasumi Castle, Chief Retainer Mitsuyuki Akamatsu, accompanied by several guards, descended into the dungeon located in the basement.

Led by torch-bearing guards, the group slowly walked down the gloomy underground passageway.

Layer upon layer of glowing Sanskrit-inscribed barrier talismans tightly severed this place from the outside world.

This was a powerful barrier cast by the high monks of "Ura-Koyasan," one that even skilled practitioners would find difficult to breach.

Clack, clack.

Following the long flight of stairs all the way down, there was no telling how far they had walked.

As the retainer and his entourage stepped in their wooden clogs, a grayish-green stone door faintly appeared ahead.

"Open it."

Mitsuyuki Akamatsu issued an order, and the guard had no choice but to obediently open the heavy portal.

"You come in with me, everyone else keep watch outside... Also, about today's matter, let no one breathe a word of it."

The retainer gave his command, and the samurai guards faithfully nodded in unison.

Mitsuyuki Akamatsu then strode inside.

Behind the stone door lay a chamber used for sealing powerful practitioners or demons.

Naturally, it could also be used to store the remains of dangerous demonic entities.

The two members of the Eight Blessings Society killed by "Divine Punishment" last night—Jino the "Soul-Returning Practitioner" and Kuki the "Bird Demon"—had both of their remains stored here.

"These two pieces of trash."

Mitsuyuki Akamatsu's eyes were filled with fury.

"I thought they'd be able to deal with Senjuro Renjo, but to think they couldn't even handle such a minor task... Hmph, the so-called Eight Blessings Society amounts to nothing more than this. Truly disappointing."

As chief retainer, Mitsuyuki Akamatsu harbored immense ambition. He looked upon the aging castle lord and the tender young heir, Tsuruchiyo.

If he could manage to place the castle lord under house arrest or poison him, he could use the young heir Tsuruchiyo as a puppet to issue commands to the lords, becoming the true master of Kasumi Castle.

However, to accomplish this, relying solely on his own strength was far from enough. Mitsuyuki Akamatsu had secretly colluded with the Eight Blessings Society, intending to use their hands to achieve his goals.

Yet, the two operatives sent by the Eight Blessings Society—Jino and Kuki—not only failed their assassination but were killed on the spot, ruining his plans.

Thinking of this, Mitsuyuki Akamatsu grew increasingly irritated, his fair complexion turning gloomy.

Hehehehehehe...

A faint chuckle drifted through the darkness.

"Who!?"

Mitsuyuki Akamatsu and his men heard it, the hairs on their bodies standing on end.

"Which rat is playing god and putting on a show?"

The retainer's voice was filled with vigilance as he drew the treasured sword from his waist with a sharp *clang*, his samurai guards mirroring the action instantly.

"Ufufufufu..."

It was unmistakably a woman's laughter.

The scalps of the two men in the stone dungeon tingled, and a chilling, pore-tightening aura of dread slithered up Mitsuyuki Akamatsu's spine.

"No need to make such a fuss~~ Lord Akamatsu."

A seductive yet hollow voice gradually echoed.

At the same time, an icy, bone-chilling draft brushed swiftly across their skin.

Mitsuyuki Akamatsu and his guard stiffly turned their necks to look behind them—strictly speaking, fixing their gaze upon their own shadows on the ground.