Chapter 056 56

After running far enough away from the tug-of-war, the four finally stopped and laughed loudly under the eaves while catching their breath - after all, when it comes to Hijikata Toshizo, whether it is Okita-kun and Okita-san, or Kashu Kiyomitsu and Yamato-mori Yasunari, in the context of the tug-of-war, the only impression they had of him was the awe-inspiring title of "Devil's Vice-Captain".

"Ah, if I had seen Hijikata-san at other times, I wouldn't have run away so quickly..." Ms. Okita held her knees and panted, and turned her head to look at Okita-kun who was also panting, "Huh - the value of Durability E is used to hold us back at times like this... Halfway through the run, it was Anping and Kiyomitsu who were dragging us along."

"Ha... After all, they are both dead gods." Okita-kun leaned back with his hands on his hips, and exchanged glances with Okita-san beside him. "Although we are servants, we are indeed consistent with the rumors spread by Nobu in this respect - we are weak and trash Sabers who are worse than our own lives."

"After all, this is just like the curse-like effect of being sickly and weak—" Ms. Okita sighed helplessly, thinking of some Servants she had seen in the Throne of Heroes, "The Master's outrageous words do make sense in a sense... For example, 'After all, all Servants in the world are victims of the curse of 'innocent monsters'."

“Eh…?”

Kashuu Kiyomitsu looked at the two people in front of him, and for some reason he thought of the words that a certain sword had said to him in the past -

"Love is a power, but it is also a shackle that binds us."

In the past, Kashuu Kiyomitsu did not understand the hidden meaning of this sentence. Even when the Watchers talked to them about the Throne of Heroes, he did not connect the Heroes with this sentence. It was not until now that Kashuu Kiyomitsu tasted some meanings from Ms. Okita's words that were related to the words he had heard in the past - "love" is faith, fantasy, and curse.

Heroic spirits are created by gathering the faith of mankind, so even heroes from myths and legends that do not actually exist can become heroic spirits; and Sword Men are one type of the dead gods, and although their divinity level is the lowest, E, they cannot exist without the faith of mankind.

——Because the Fumei gods are also a kind of gods, and gods cannot lose their believers; but the believers' beliefs are not necessarily positive and beneficial to the gods. These beliefs sometimes become curses that distort the gods' own existence and become sharp blades that can hurt the gods.

"Hahaha. Kawai, Yamato-no-kami, are you taking your old master to visit Honmaru?" Tachi, with the crescent moon in his eyes, sat in the corridor holding a teacup and looked at the four people with a smile, "Aren't you getting along very well? When I saw Yaken this morning, he seemed to be still worried about his old master."

Kashuu Kiyomitsu: "Eh!? Didn't Hasebe not meet Oda Nobunaga?"

Yamato-no-kami Yasunari: "Kiyomitsu, at yesterday's banquet, the seating arrangement gave priority to the same sword faction, and then was arranged according to the original owner and each person's interests. Oda Nobunaga's swords were not seated together at all."

Okita-kun: "Ah... so he ran into Nobukazu and his gang fighting each other after he separated from Sakura and me."

Ms. Okita: "So that person alone was able to stand up to those two super arbitrary guys!!!"

Kashuu Kiyomitsu: “Maybe…”

"Come to think of it, it's really unexpected that so many people are gathered together for tea at this time." Kashuu Kiyomitsu put one hand on his waist and turned to look at the group of people sitting in the corridor. "Although the lord said that he didn't assign any work to you, it's rare that people who don't usually participate in activities here actually came today."

"Because ghost... no, Higekiri wanted to discuss something with us, so he joined Mikazuki's tea party today." The light blond Tachi took the teacup from the tanto and looked at Kashuu Kiyomitsu, "Hikekiri said that talking in other places would feel like talking about serious matters, so he chose the place where Mikazuki usually drinks tea."

"Oh - that's perfect, let's take a break here too." Kashuu Kiyomitsu took the lead and sat down, introducing his two former masters to his leisurely colleagues, "These two are my and Yasuda's original masters - Okita Souji. We are now on our way to visit the Honmaru."

"Hahahaha, very good, very good - getting along with each other is very important." Mikazuki Munechika looked at the four people with a smile, and pulled the four people into the conversation at the tea party. "It just so happens that the two Okita Souji are also from Chaldea. Higekiri, why don't you ask them what the Onmyoji said?"

The eyes of everyone attending the tea party were all focused on Okita-kun and Okita-san. Even Kashuu Kiyomitsu and Yamato-mori Yasusada felt the overly eager gazes of the crowd. The two Okita soushis had already shifted their attention from the katana swordsmen holding tea cups to the other swordsmen present.

The tanto, who usually went out as a member of the first unit and spent his days leisurely drinking tea with the tachi, had already handed them the poured tea and matching snacks when the four of them sat down. While introducing himself to Okita-kun and Okita-san, he followed Mikazuki Munechika's words and repeated to the two the problem that was troubling the two Genji treasures.

"My name is Hirano Toushirou. Compared to actual combat, I do more work like guarding and attending, so besides going out as a member of the First Division, I spend most of my time here drinking tea with Lord Uguisumaru and Lord Mikazuki." Hirano Toushirou put down the teapot and recalled the completely different expressions of Higekiri and Kneemaru before. "It is said that Lord Higekiri and Lord Kneemaru were required to bring other swordsmen with them to meet their old master. However, the hint given to them by the Onmyoji from the Heian period was..."

"In fact, the guys here are all in high danger - no, not only the ghosts of Oeyama, but also some other problems. Anyway, if you want to come to us again, it's best to call all the companions related to Genji - well, whether it's Genji's or the previous lord has a grudge against Genji... bring them all here."

"Eh——" After hearing this, Ms. Okita and Mr. Okita looked at the two Genji treasures in surprise. "We even saw the side of the 'Grand Caster Abe Haruaki'. Didn't we go directly to the area of ​​the Heian-kyo Asian Abnormal Zone? In the end, we didn't even see a single Genji person!?"

"Well, it's true that there are many dangerous people there besides the Oeyama demon... No, it's better to say that all the people there are dangerous people." Ms. Okita cleared her throat and her eyes suddenly avoided Higekiri and Kneemaru's sight, "But didn't the Master strictly forbid us to have conflicts with the sword men?"

"Sometimes you can't avoid it just by banning it—" Okita-kun sighed deeply, turned to look at Higekiri, "So you really didn't see even one person from the Genji? That shouldn't be the case. Although the Genji and Ooeyama are not as bad as that guy and Nobuyuki, the relationship between the two sides is not that good to begin with."

"Didn't they call it yesterday?"

Ms. Okita: "Perhaps there is another possibility, that Lord Haruaki disarmed him before the fight began——?"

"Ah, I figured it out." Hibiki's mind flashed back to the blue flame that suddenly rose up in the crowd last night, representing the failure of the Onmyoji spell. He looked at Higekiri with a subtle expression, "Maybe, maybe - it was because of my brother and I getting close that Lord Haruaki chose to forcibly disarm both parties... and forced them to go back to eat normally."

Okita-kun & Okita-san: "…It is something that Lord Haruaki can do."

"Also, a tall blond man asked Brother a very strange question..." Hibamaru kept a subtle expression on his face and repeated the question he heard last night to everyone present, "He asked Brother, compared to ghosts, demons, and humans - for Brother, which one is easier to kill."

"...Hmm? You have met Genji. But why are you asking Higekiri this question..." Ms. Okita blinked, and the images of some Heroic Spirits flashed through her mind. "Yes, they will definitely ask Higekiri this question! After all, Mr. Watanabe's famous saying is 'Humans are much harder to kill than demons and devils.'"

"Well, no one supports his point of view." Okita-kun calmly looked at Miss Okita who was smiling with narrowed eyes, "Especially for us swordsmen in the late shogunate, killing the enemy is our primary goal in honing our swordsmanship. Not to mention for the two of us——"

"If the sword breaks, use the sheath. If the sheath breaks, use your bare hands. As long as you can kill the enemy, it doesn't matter what you use."

——This is the commonality among the followers of the late Edo period, their willingness to use any means necessary to kill them.

"In short, compared to the Servants of the Heian period who coexisted with demons, we, the Bakumatsu family, are undoubtedly better at killing people rather than killing demons." Ms. Okita spread her hands and looked at Higekiri, "Not to mention that the number of Bakumatsu Servants in Chaldea is probably overwhelming compared to the number of Heian period Servants... However, in fact, even Mr. Kintoki, who is also one of the Four Heavenly Kings of Raiko, does not agree with this view."

"From what you have described, the person who asked Higekiri the question should be Mr. Kintoki of Berserker."

"As for bringing companions to meet them... well, it's probably Lord Haruaki's personal interest." Okita-kun pondered for a moment, and gave the swordsmen the answer they were looking for. "Lord Haruaki never met you in the Heian period, but Mr. Asoya has met almost all of you... well, however, based on this request, we can give you some relevant hints."

"The former lord had a grudge against the Minamoto clan - in this case, it was probably the Taira clan, and Yoshitsune, who was alienated by his brother Yoritomo." Ms. Okita and Mr. Okita exchanged glances. "After all, Servants will be affected by later legends, so if you see something shocking, it's better not to be surprised - in addition, there are actually many Servants there who, strictly speaking, did not appear in that subspecies anomaly belt..."

"As for that, just follow your instinct and bring companions. We believe that Lord Haruaki won't make things difficult for you. In addition, we suggest that you bring a few companions who may have a connection with Lord Haruaki." Okita-kun looked at the swordsmen who were sharing Inari sushi in the corridor, and dragged out his voice meaningfully, "After all, no matter how much she insists that she is a pure human being..."

"The legend of the White Fox's Son will not be separated from her as a Heroic Spirit."