Legend Management Bureau Chapter 475

[ … words ]

“You…” Jinjiro was briefly at a loss for words, but a new doubt immediately sprang to mind. “Even if you didn’t want the villagers to know you are a Yokai, you only needed to put on an act in the village. Why keep up the pretense in the Maple Leaf Forest?”

“I needed to get close to you, because someone ordered me to take your life,” Enenra answered without hiding anything.

He thought Enenra would try to hide it a little longer, but to his surprise, she had simply blurted out the truth.

“Take my life?”

Enenra slowly raised her head, turning her ears toward Jinjiro as a wisp of smoke wafted from her body.

“The cut on your hand… is it still there?”

Hearing her ask this, Jinjiro finally realized something and looked down at his palm.

When he had scooped Enenra up back then, his hand had been sliced open by something.

The wound was exceptionally clean, much like a knife cut.

That single short sentence made everything snap into place for Jinjiro.

That day, Enenra’s voice had been drawing closer and closer, clearly approaching him. Yet before she could strike, she collapsed.

He had lifted her up in the pitch-black darkness, only to have his palm accidentally sliced by the dagger that had fallen to the ground.

Put that way, if Enenra hadn’t fallen ill that day, he would already be dead.

After all, he had been completely defenseless at the time.

And the reason he had “arrived a few days later” was because it had coincided with Shiranui Kashin’s Fire Conferring Ceremony. Not only had he attended the entire event, but he had also spent a whole day keeping him company to clear his mind.

This twist of fate had caused Enenra to fall severely ill.

“Upon learning my parents had been killed, I immediately sought out the Tsuchimikado family,” Enenra continued. “But their strength was beyond anything I could have imagined. They didn’t kill me; instead, they made a deal with me. They said that if I could find a way to assassinate the young master of the Shiranui family, they would spare everyone in the village.”

“What…” Jinjiro froze.

‘Could all of this have been a conspiracy?’

“I despise all Onmyoji…” Enenra ground her teeth. “Whenever an Onmyoji sees me, they do everything in their power to tear my family apart… That is why I wanted nothing more than to kill you… Shiranui Jinjiro!”

“So that day… you noticed me nearby, which is why you deliberately feigned defeat.” Jinjiro’s eyes brimmed with an unconcealable sense of disappointment.

He had desperately wanted to know the truth, yet he was terrified of hearing it.

‘Were the days we spent together really nothing but a lie…?’

“But I never expected you to save me,” Enenra continued. “And I certainly never imagined that Little Xiang would stay up all night to take care of me, or put her life on the line to protect me.”

Jinjiro’s expression shifted slightly as he slowly raised his head.

“You have only known me for a few days. Why would you go to such lengths for my sake?”

Tears spilled from Enenra’s pale, sightless eyes.

“Jinjiro, I don’t want to kill you anymore,” she choked out through her sobs. “I have to hurry back to Hiezu Village and protect the villagers myself. Even if I die in battle, I refuse to take your life.”

“Enenra… you…”

“This matter had nothing to do with you in the first place; I was the one who dragged you into it.” Enenra gently wiped away her tears, her expression turning blank. “I will face this on my own. But before I leave, I want to apologize to you.”

She offered Jinjiro a polite yet distant smile. “Mr. Shiranui, I am truly sorry for deceiving you. You are a good man. Someday, you will meet a woman who would never lie to you, and the two of you will share a long, happy life together. I, on the other hand, have been deceiving people for as long as I can remember. Someone like me has no right to stay by your side.”

“En—

…” Jinjiro reached out and grabbed her arm. “If you leave like this, there is no way the Tsuchimikado family will let you go.”

“Isn’t that my ‘inevitable end’ anyway?” Enenra smiled bitterly. “Whether I met you or not, the Tsuchimikado family was never going to spare me.”

“B-But…” Jinjiro trailed off, his words catching in his throat despite having so much he wanted to say.

“To be honest, I know that even if I did kill you, they wouldn’t let me go.” Enenra sighed, then forced herself to stay strong as she pulled her arm out of Jinjiro’s grasp. “Forget me. The ‘village girl Enenra’ was never meant to be a part of your life. I simply met you at the wrong time. If there is a next life, I hope to be reincarnated as a human.”

Jinjiro’s face was etched with absolute despair, yet he had to bite down hard on his lip so Enenra wouldn’t hear the anguish in his breath.

“I just want to be an ordinary person.” Enenra lifted her pale, blind eyes toward the doorway. “I don’t need anything. I don’t need powerful demonic energy, nor do I need someone to love me. I don’t need warm clothes or freshly grilled fish. All I need is a pair of eyes to watch the cherry blossoms fall with you.”

She reached out, trying to catch a drifting cherry blossom petal, but a sudden gust of bitter wind blew in, scattering all the blossoms into the air.

“That is my only wish for this life.”

After saying that, she shifted her bare feet and slowly walked out the door.

Outside, the cherry blossoms danced frantically in the howling gale, deliberately sweeping away from her delicate frame.

“I am willing to face this with you,” Jinjiro declared into the freezing wind.

Enenra’s back stiffened as she froze in place.

“Even if a living hell awaits us, I am willing to face it with you,” Jinjiro said through gritted teeth. “I don’t care if you lied to me… I don’t care if you are a Yokai…”

Her back trembled slightly as she broke down, sobbing uncontrollably.

“Little Xiang was right. I should have killed the Tsuchimikado family from the very beginning…

…To hell with ‘Onmyoji’, to hell with ‘families’, and to hell with ‘Yokai’…”

Enenra hugged herself and slowly sank into a crouch, weeping softly without pause.

Over the past twenty years, perhaps no one had ever truly understood the agony in her heart.

She had always known she was a Yokai, yet a group of humans had desperately risked their lives to protect her.

She had always yearned to become a human, but this simple wish had ultimately caused the deaths of her parents.

Ootengu stared blankly at the two of them, looking utterly awkward. He nudged Shuten with his elbow and whispered, “Hey, he just confessed.”

“Confessed?” Shuten clearly didn’t get it. “Weren’t those two just arguing?”

Yamabiko was also stunned. He looked at the boss he had only just pledged loyalty to, a trace of hesitation flickering in his eyes. “I finally understand why Ibaraki is always trying to usurp the throne…”

“Eh?” Shuten glared at him. “Yamabiko, what the hell is that supposed to mean, you little punk? Are you guys planning a mutiny against me?”

“You can’t really blame us… You are just too stupid,” Yamabiko muttered quietly. “Seriously, how can someone so stupid pack such a hard punch…”

Jinjiro stepped forward, leaned down, and wrapped his arms around Enenra from behind.

Her body was as cold as ice.

“Enenra, I will protect you forever,” Jinjiro whispered softly.

The three Yokai sat in a neat row, staring dumbly at the couple before them.

“Oh my! Brother Jinjianglang and Sister Enenra are just too romantic…” a young girl’s voice suddenly chimed in right beside the three Yokai.

“Yeah,” the three of them nodded in unison.

Ootengu suddenly realized something was wrong and whipped his head around.

Shiranui Asuka, her head bandaged so heavily she looked like a bear, was crouching right next to them, watching the two outside the door with a doting, knowing grin.

“Little Xiang, you’re awake?!”