People in Xumi: I am really not the Dragon King

Chapter 548 Divine Child: It's only been over a hundred reincarnations, Shadow shouldn't be that heartless...

"As expected, Aying did it."

"Now that the battle outside has been won, the battle here should also end."

Outside Inazuma Castle, beyond the dazzling lightning element barrier.

The dark clouds that had obscured the sky were torn apart by lightning, and the demons around him slowly decomposed in the verdant aura that cleansed the earth.

Knowing that Inazuma and the gods had worked together to deliver a perfect answer, Chiyo, who was responsible for putting pressure on the rear, stopped what she was doing, and her expression under the demon mask softened a bit.

—Responsible for exerting pressure on the people inside the barrier from outside, using a fixed rate of destruction as a speed limiter for offensive operations.

He looked up and gazed at the soldiers and civilians who dared to stop him from breaching the barrier.
Thinking back to the Shogunate army that was initially nothing but incompetent fools, Chiyo was very satisfied with their performance at this moment.

"Indeed, only a true crisis can forge courage. Regardless of their strength, at least they never considered giving up."

Witnessing a complete transformation of Inazuma from head to toe in a very short period of time.
Chiyo even felt that Inazuma, who had suffered so much damage in the war, could still easily win against them if they faced off against the Inazuma from the previous civil war.

"."

Concentrate your thoughts,

He sheathed his longsword and silently disappeared at the edge of the battlefield.

Chiyo, who was planning to go find a certain pink-haired fox, heard faint cheers coming from the city and knew very well that this was the reward the victor deserved.

"we won?"

"This feeling is"

At the edge of the defensive line, the group of priestesses stared in a daze at the monster gradually turning to ashes.
As the core force of the rear defense line, they endured pressure during this period that was no less than that of the troops on the front lines.

The shrine maidens of Narukami Taisha, as messengers of the gods, practice various techniques, which are categorized into four levels—Direct, Righteous, Bright, and Pure—depending on their level of cultivation.

Once they reach the realm known as the "Ming Rank," they have a very high probability of being granted the Eye of God, so their combat ability is far stronger than ordinary people imagine.

but no matter,
The main army was deployed to the front lines, leaving very limited defensive forces in the rear.

Although the thunderstorm set up by the Grand Master and the barrier erected by the Chief Justice serve as protective measures,
However, there seem to be monsters that specialize in dealing with this situation. In order to minimize the depletion of the former two's power by the monsters, necessary battles are still unavoidable.

Inside the barrier, a place where the wounded temporarily rest.

Surrounded by many children, the young priestess on the bed slowly opened her eyes.

"What's wrong with me?"

With her memories of the past somewhat hazy, Lyudashka looked around at her surroundings in a daze.

"Ah! Sister Gendong Ringo, you're awake? Are you alright?"

"I'm so sorry, it's all because we weren't back in time that you got into this mess."

"No, it's okay."

"It's not your fault that you didn't receive the notification in time; on the contrary, it's because of me."

Reaching out to pat the heads of the children in front of her, Lyudashka from the House of Hearths finally remembered what had happened earlier:

These little guys in front of me are all orphans from within Inazuma, many of whom had no one to care for them before the Abyss invasion.

Their team began working under the training of the previous generation of servants, and her leader deeply believed in that adult's dog-eat-dog philosophy, and was once considered a high-ranking member of the House of Hearths.

But since the "servant" has taken over, the concept of "home" has begun to appear in fireplace homes.
Their leader thought such a concept was too weak, so this time they followed the lady to Inazuma.
“Once you’re brought home, it’s hard to leave. I can’t just watch you be taken away like that, even if it’s just…”

He glanced at the children in front of him with a complicated expression; they had been lured away by the Fools during the chaos.

Her individual strength was ultimately limited; she had previously attracted a large number of monsters while trying to stop her colleagues' actions, and had been severely injured as a result.
"Huh? -- This has nothing to do with you, sister!"

"We were called out by another older sister who said there was a place with lots of dandelions that you like, but unfortunately we encountered monsters before we even got there. If it weren't for you, sister..."

I still knew nothing; I was almost terrified.

The reason they were able to escape after encountering the monsters was because the older sister in front of them, who always looked after everyone, held off the monsters. It seemed that the monsters had summoned a lot of flying purple insects.
"You guys go ahead, I'm fine now, just a little tired and need to rest for a bit."

"This is some Mora I've saved up over the past few days. Take it to Brother Calibel at Yuanshang Dessert Shop, just like you always do, and tell him to keep it for me temporarily so I can use it to treat everyone to some desserts."

"If you encounter any problems later, you can go to that older brother or the Ara-ryū Sect."

"Ugh, this is so heavy! Sister, you should go by yourself."

"—Okay, everyone, thank you for your help. Don't worry, your brother will treat you all to some snacks."

Feeling that she had fully recovered, the priestess deliberately feigned weakness, seemingly determined to give away the Mora that she called a huge sum of money.

"."

"Okay. Then you can rest assured and we'll come to see you again later."

They vaguely sensed that something was amiss, but being too young, they didn't understand the Fools very well.
Silently, she took the money bag and left, leaving only a few bunches of wildflowers picked by the bedside.

"."

"Lord Kuji, please come out. Thank you for giving me this little bit of time. I'm ready."

"But if possible, please tell them I've left afterwards, and don't reveal the truth about all of this."

Despite the severity of his injuries at the time, he has now fully recovered.
He knew very well that the Void Mist Pollen he carried to control the Thunderfires would be discovered.
After helping the children find people they could trust, Lyudashka was prepared to face the fate of being a spy for the Fools.

"Heh, little guy, your senses are quite sharp."

"Although I really want to agree, as the high priestess of the shrine, I generally cannot lie."

Outside the door,

The pink-haired priestess walked in quietly, seemingly oblivious to the group of children who had just entered.

I had known for a long time that the shrine maiden in the shrine had been impersonated, but I hadn't had time to communicate with her or deal with it.

Seeing that her stubborn Ah Ying had finally finished the exam, she took the opportunity to come and confront her.

"Even so, you must have still left protective spells on those children. I thank you on their behalf." The reason she dared to give all her remaining savings to a group of children was because she knew that the High Priest in front of her would be watching them.

As long as the Mora intended for daily expenses can be successfully delivered.

Lyudashka believed that the young man at the dessert shop, Kalibel, who also frequently helped these children, and the kind-hearted Mr. Fuchigami, could offer the children better options than joining the Fools.
"Tsk, sometimes girls who are too smart are not popular, just like that little witch in the Coral Palace who always refused to dance for me."

"However, although it was probably a lucky accident, your ability to find people is indeed extraordinary."

"Have someone from that dessert shop help babysit the kids. You don't need to worry about their future; they'll undoubtedly be much luckier than if your 'colleagues' took them away."

They chose to be frank and didn't hide the fact that they knew the other party's identity.

The Divine Child was also surprised that this spy from the Fatui Clan not only did her job as a priestess more diligently than her own little ones, but also received unanimous praise from the gods and the Abyss Order.

"Colleague, so you already knew."

"I'm sorry, I impersonated the original Gento Ringo. The one who killed her was my 'teacher'."
Although I know this is not credible, I have no intention of doing anything to Inazuma.

Life during this period has been far happier than it was among the Fools. As servants of the previous generation, they are not entirely "servants" like the new generation of Hearth House people.

Many of my comrades from that time were assigned to other executives and forced to carry out various dangerous infiltrations and investigations, with almost no rest on weekdays.

The worst off were assigned to the "Doctor," who held the second seat. For some unknown reason, every member of the Hearth House assigned there would soon disappear.
"—The abyssal monsters from the outside world have all been eliminated, so there is no need to worry about any external enemies that could overthrow Inazuma for the time being."

“Little guy, you should know what I mean. Now that we can relax a bit about the things that have taken up the most energy, it’s time for Inazuma to deal with the Fools.”

"—Actually, I've seen what you've done from the very beginning, and the shrine maidens in the shrine all think you can be trusted."

"So, since you care so much about those children, why not consider actually becoming a priestess?"

"It's such a shame that someone so cute would die like this."
If you're willing to eat this plate of fried tofu that promises "betrayal will lead to a fate worse than death," and then cooperate with our purge of the Fools, then I can make an exception and accept you on behalf of the Taisha Shrine.

Smiling, she pulled out a plate of golden fried tofu from who-knows-where, and the divine child casually made up a non-existent spell.

It's clear that not adding any conditions will only make the other party feel uneasy.

It's rare to encounter a shrine maiden with such excellent professional skills. Compared to the previous shrine maiden who was complained about every day for her poor attitude, she has no intention of putting this imposter "Gendou Ringo" back.

"."

"I am willing to accept any more rigorous spells, but the Fools..."

Lyudashka hesitated for a moment.

"Are you worried that your colleagues will cause trouble for you as a 'traitor'?"

"Or are you worried that they will use those children to threaten you by any means necessary?"

"—Ah, there is no need for any worry; it is the fools who should be worried."

"In reality, whether it's you or the children you're taking care of, your support is far stronger than you imagine."

She spoke of the other person's deepest worries in a way that was almost like reading their mind, but the divine child clearly didn't take it to heart.

It's true that the Fools are ruthless and unscrupulous, but if it were just Inazuma alone, facing the Fools would be quite troublesome.

But after witnessing this incredible feat of easily destroying Inazuma and then rebuilding it,
The Divine Child thought that those elusive Enforcers were probably no different from Hilichurls to a certain dessert shop owner.
???

"I don't quite understand what you mean, but if it won't cause trouble for the shrine and the children..."

I could sense the overflowing confidence in the High Priest before me.

Lyudashka hesitated for a moment, but ultimately chose to take the plate of still-steaming fried tofu from the other person's hand.

"Heh, that's more like it. At least he's not as stubborn as my Ah Ying, is he?"

!!!

A chill ran down my spine; the mention of Ah Ying sent a sudden shiver down my spine.

Feeling vaguely as if she had overlooked something, Yae no Miko had an ominous premonition.

"."

"Ah Ying will stab me twice? I did expect that."

"Is it more than just two slashes? Surely not?"

I can roughly guess the source of this feeling, but it seems somewhat unlikely.

He knew from the beginning that Aying was a bit slow, so he considerately agreed to do several more loops before the official invasion, so that Aying could exhaustively find the answer in a way that even a fool could understand.
In addition, he even paid the extra price of a fox fur scarf to personally go into the cycle of reincarnation to provide guidance to Aying.
Although when they used the Heart of God to summon someone, they didn't expect Ah Ying to suffer so much; they thought that at most, Ah Ying would just get a beating.
But putting aside the fact that this cycle of reincarnation has happened over a hundred times, I've already helped so much, surely Aying wouldn't be too heartless?

"."

Look left and right,

Although I had never worried about this issue before, the thought of those two seniors that I had always tried to avoid made me feel inexplicably uneasy.

Gazing at the adorable little shrine maiden devouring fried tofu, Yae no Miko paused slightly, suddenly sensing a gaze that seemed to come from nowhere around her.
"Is this the meeting place? But it seems like no one has arrived yet."

"Fox Palace told me to wait in the dessert shop for a while to calm down, and then she would take over the introduction."

Inazuma Castle, town street, Fuchigami Confectionery Shop.

A country girl who had been through countless near-death experiences stood in front of the door, looking at the dessert shop where there was no one else except the owner and a few employees. Her right hand unconsciously clenched the dream she always carried with her.

Before this, he had suffered more blows than he had in thousands of years combined.

She had witnessed Inazuma's downfall more than a hundred times. If she hadn't come here for desserts every time she failed, she probably wouldn't have been able to persevere.

"."

I took a deep breath and suppressed the urge to immediately find the culprit and beat him up.

Since the person hadn't arrived yet, it was best not to frighten the owner and innocent employees who had nothing to do with the situation.

Ying calmed herself down and silently walked into the store.

(End of this chapter)