Two Worlds, Starting with Kaguya of Penglai Mountain

Strength is a source of security.

The establishment of a city, after a celebration showcasing its living standards, also requires a grand bloodshed.

For Kazuya Kurokawa, what better option than to showcase his brilliance when his game is selling like hotcakes and he has more faith in the game than he can ever hope to use?

Chapter 91 The Hakurei Shrine Maiden's Attempt

A red shrine maiden's outfit, and cold, icy eyes.

Despite being a young girl, she possesses a calm and composed demeanor, as pure as snow.

In the morning sunlight, the Hakurei Shrine Maiden maintained her unchanging expression as she stared at Kurokawa Kazuya before her.

Perhaps because they were not currently in Heian-kyo, the shrine maiden's eyes seemed to flicker slightly.

She looked away before Kurokawa and Miyako could.

It wasn't out of cowardice, but simply because she couldn't bear the responsibility of starting a war without permission.

Hakurei Shrine Maiden: "At least the vast majority of cultivators don't have this idea. Mr. Kurokawa, the faith you hold is not something they urgently need."

Faith is food, resources, and fuel; the city on the moon is inhabited by numerous deities.

Their size and the various rituals they set up enabled them to use and consume a form of sustenance called faith to satisfy some purpose of their own.

However, ordinary practitioners in Heian-kyo do not need so much faith.

Going to war with Kurokawa Kazumi would be a huge loss for the cultivators of Heian-kyo.

Kazuya Kurokawa: "That's a real shame. I was actually looking forward to playing a match."

He nodded in response to the priestess's reply.

Hakurei Shrine Maiden: "If this is what you request, I will inquire about it upon my return."

The cold-faced shrine maiden nodded to Kurokawa Kazuya with an unchanging expression.

Kazuya Kurokawa: "..."

She gave the priestess a strange look.

Seemingly realizing that there was no point in talking about these things with someone like him, Kurokawa Kazuya's initially anxious mood gradually calmed down.

The tense atmosphere between the two eased slightly due to the shrine maiden's indifference.

Looking at the girl in the red and white shrine maiden outfit in front of him, Kurokawa Kazuya changed the subject.

Kurokawa Kazuya: "I'm actually quite curious that the cultivators haven't interfered with those nobles at all. In your judgment system, what are the criteria for judging whether a cultivator's interference with those nobles violates the rules and leads you to take action?"

With the existence of the Hakurei Shrine Maiden, cultivators in Heian-kyo are unable to take action against the nobles who can interfere with the shrine maiden.

However, there is always a limit to this inability to take action; otherwise, the nobles would turn around and try to extort the cultivators, forcing the Hakurei Shrine Maiden to intervene.

Then the balance of power between the two sides will likely shift.

The Hakurei Shrine Maiden: "The standard of judgment is mine. I believe that any intentional harm that cultivators inflict on nobles will be met with my attack."

The priestess nodded, giving a precise answer.

Hakurei Shrine Maiden: "Mr. Kurokawa, do you have a solution to the current situation?"

Just moments before, tensions were running high, but now the cold-blooded priestess asked her question without hesitation.

The emotionless and desireless priestess has no concept of "face".

Upon hearing the other's words, Kurokawa Kazuya instinctively pondered for a moment, gradually forming a solution for dealing with the current situation in Heian-kyo.

Kurokawa Kazuya: "There is definitely something, but the question is, I'll provide the plan, and what kind of return can you offer, Hakurei Shrine Maiden?"

Hakurei Shrine Maiden: "I will not lie. I can promise to return to Heian-kyo and give you the reward that I value. If they won't give it to you, I will."

Her red and white shrine maiden attire swayed in the breeze blowing from the lakeside.

A calm voice came from the cold-blooded priestess.

She had almost no hesitation in mentioning the price she would pay.

Kazuya Kurokawa: "Okay."

He glanced at the shrine maiden Kurokawa Kazumi, whose expression remained unchanged, and nodded.

To be honest, Kurokawa Kazuya trusted the shrine maiden in front of him more than the group in Heian-kyo, and there was a hint of admiration in his heart.

A shrine maiden who sacrifices herself to protect the city—as long as she possesses normal human emotions, it's hard not to feel respect for her, isn't it?

Kazuya Kurokawa: "This matter is not complicated to handle. Even if I don't tell you, you should be able to figure it out later. Cultivators who attribute great power to themselves are probably trapped in some kind of blind spot in their thinking because of their own situation."

Nobles without extraordinary powers, relying on the protection of the Hakurei Shrine Maiden and the Moon Capital as their backing, fight against the cultivators in the city.

It's really not difficult to solve this problem.

The reason why those cultivators did nothing, and even seemed somewhat overwhelmed, was because...

All I can say is, don't expect a bunch of powerful cultivators to possess their own power. How much do these cultivators, who are so averse to worldly affairs, understand about the so-called aristocratic power structure?

Judging others by their own standards, they probably assume that the structure of power is as stable as their own great power.

But this line of thinking is clearly wrong—

Kazuya Kurokawa: "The nobles who are in charge may seem to have a lot of power, but it may not necessarily come from themselves."

The rights of a collective organization may seem to derive from above, but in reality, they come from below.

Kazuya Kurokawa: "The number of places available for cultivation given by the Moon Gods is limited, but now the nobles are taking their countless subordinates and the lives of their own people to go against the cultivators."

Kurokawa and Yano were certain that those guys had been making empty promises and boasting to their subordinates in order to better control everything.

If you don't make empty promises and boast, who will risk their life to rebel against the cultivators?

At least, those who worked for them absolutely believed that the Moon Kingdom behind them would give them strong support.

However, the moon after the Age of Gods has no ability to interfere with the earth now.

Some cultivators at a certain level understand this, but lower-level nobles and ordinary people do not.

That's exactly what they're playing with – the information gap.

He turned to the Hakurei Shrine Maiden beside him: "To stabilize the current situation, you should have the cultivators convey the whole story to everyone in Heian-kyo. And emphasize that you will settle accounts with everyone after this is over."

Hakurei Shrine Maiden: "With my protection, the cultivators cannot lay a hand on them."

Kazuya Kurokawa: "Using superhuman force is certainly not acceptable, but when you have absolute power, you don't need to physically harm someone to make them suffer, okay? Does it mean that if someone is driven to ruin by their political enemies, that counts as a superhuman taking action?"

He turned his head to look at the witch beside him and asked her a question.

Hakurei Shrine Maiden: "..."

Hakurei Shrine Maiden: "If the cultivator doesn't use supernatural power to intervene, it doesn't count."

The emotionless priestess pondered for a moment and then drew her own conclusion.

Kazuya Kurokawa: "Right, following this method, you can easily win over some people and suppress others, or openly support some lower-level individuals. You don't even need to intervene yourself."

"Because of the imperial examination system, those at the lower levels became your targets for recruitment. In order to advance their own careers, they would frantically attack those above them like mad dogs."

"Turning those who live in luxury now into starving stray dogs, even if they don't die, it's not much better than being dead."

Hakurei Shrine Maiden: "Understood."

The shrine maiden dressed in red and white shrine maiden attire nodded.

The cold-hearted priestess still looked cold at this moment.

She felt no extra emotion whatsoever because of the cruelty revealed in Kurokawa Kazuya's words, or the possible death behind the matter.

Hakurei Shrine Maiden: "Is there a problem?"

Seemingly noticing that Kurokawa Kazuya's gaze was a little strange, the Hakurei Shrine Maiden turned to ask her a question.

Kazuya Kurokawa: "Indeed."

He nodded to the priestess in front of him:

"Although I don't know how well this plan will ultimately be implemented by that group, the plan has been presented. Shrine Maiden Hakurei, how about you pay a price in advance and answer a few questions for me?"

Hakurei Shrine Maiden: "No problem."

Kazuya Kurokawa: "Ever since I met you, I've been quite curious about how people without emotions and desires usually act. In any case, an individual always needs a goal, and can only move around around that goal, right?"

Even robots need to be programmed with a complete sequence of instructions in order to perform their tasks.

The Hakurei Shrine Maiden before me is truly as those cultivators in Heian-kyo described—severing all emotions and desires. She must also have a fundamental, core goal and act towards that goal.

Otherwise, when no one gives her orders, does she just stand by like a robot, only acting when someone gives her an order or something happens?

In that case, the so-called lineage of the Hakurei Shrine Maiden should not exist.

This lineage is clearly the Hakurei Shrine Maidens' lineage, a unique tradition they developed spontaneously.

It is clear that the Hakurei Shrine Maiden regularly studies her own power system.

Hakurei Shrine Maiden: "My core objective is to ensure the existence of the city of Heian-kyo and to act while maintaining that."

After hearing Kurokawa Kazuya's question, the cold-blooded shrine maiden pondered for a moment before giving her answer.

Kazuya Kurokawa: "If that's the case, what exactly is Heian-kyo in your eyes? Is it everyone who lives there, the city itself, or the extraordinary beings who belong to this city?"

Hakurei Shrine Maiden: "There's no need for sophistry. Heian-kyo is a community made up of all those who have signed contracts with me."

Kazuya Kurokawa: "So, in your eyes, people who haven't made a contract with you aren't considered human?"

Hakurei Shrine Maiden: "They are objects that can be discarded."

The answer was given without the slightest hesitation, without any emotional hesitation, quickly and accurately expressing the thoughts in one's heart.

Just as she had described her control over the population when she spoke with Kurokawa Kazuya.

The highest level of enlightenment is to transcend emotions, abandon all superfluous feelings, and act solely for one's own purposes.

Despite behaving like a robot, Kurokawa Kazuya, looking at the Hakurei Shrine Maiden so close at hand, strangely felt as if he were seeing a celestial being.

The Hakurei Shrine Maidens are a self-regulating mechanism created by the city of Heian-kyo in order to ensure its own survival.

If you look at the other person from this perspective, doesn't it feel much better?

Kazuya Kurokawa: "So what is all this for?"

Hakurei Shrine Maiden: "For the continuation of everything in Heian-kyo."

He looked calmly at Kurokawa Kazuya as he gave his answer.

The girl dressed in a red and white shrine maiden outfit continued to speak in her usual cold voice, unhurriedly.

Kurokawa Kazuya nodded, understanding the other's state of mind.

Treat the other person like a robot.

The underlying code of the other party is a continuation of Heian-kyo, or more precisely, a continuation of the human race.

Sacrifice ordinary people at the bottom of society to ensure the survival of the extraordinary.

A supernatural world fraught with crises is definitely not a wrong option.

At least when Heian-kyo was newly established and the human community was still unstable, this was the absolutely correct option.

Kazuya Kurokawa: "But this plan is a bit outdated now."

Hakurei Shrine Maiden: "?"

A look of confusion crossed her cold face as the Hakurei shrine maiden turned to look at Kurokawa Kazuya.

Hakurei Shrine Maiden: "Your conclusion is rather abrupt, given the order in which we communicated."

Kurokawa Kazuya: "Is it abrupt? Isn't the current situation in Heian-kyo precisely your weakness?"

He shook his head as if sighing, "Despite possessing the strongest power, you were unable to issue a proper warning to Tsukiyomi, who was reaching out into Heian-kyo. This could even be seen as a flaw in your protection strategy."

Hakurei Shrine Maiden: "This time it was just an accident. Also, it was because of my existence that Tsukiyomi could only interfere in Heian-kyo in a roundabout way. My existence itself has value."

Kurokawa Kazuya: "Oh, then let's do a simulation together. If I hadn't intervened, and all these hidden plans of the Lunar Capital had been concealed, when they finally erupted, would you, the Hakurei Shrine Maidens, have been able to suppress everything?"

Hakurei Shrine Maiden: "..."

Hakurei Shrine Maiden: "That's not my area of ​​responsibility."

Kurokawa Kazuya: "Regardless of whether it's your responsibility or not, if that kind of thing happens, Heian-kyo, which you're protecting, will definitely fall apart. However, in situations like this, if you have some judgment of your own, then the situation will change drastically..."