"Lord Sesshōmaru! Lord Sesshōmaru!"
"Hmm?"
Hearing that familiar voice, Sesshōmaru struggled slightly to open his eyes.
The first thing he saw was Jaken's greenish face.
"Jaken?"
Sesshōmaru raised an eyebrow in surprise:
"So... you're dead too?"
"Eh?" Jaken, who'd been relieved to see Sesshōmaru awaken, froze momentarily.
From a nearby raised platform, Senhime Rin Getsu remarked coolly:
"Occasional foolishness suits you rather well, doesn't it, Sesshōmaru?"
Hearing this voice, Sesshōmaru immediately turned his gaze to see Senhime Rin Getsu seated upon a throne in a pale purple kimono, looking down at him.
"Don't intend to rise?"
At these words, Sesshōmaru immediately stood up, glancing around to recognise Senhime Rin Getsu's Cloudtop Castle. Frowning, he asked:
"What of those humans who ambushed me?"
"He went to the treasury." Senhime Rin Getsu's tone was utterly indifferent. "You've been spared, Sesshōmaru."
Hearing such phrasing, Sesshōmaru frowned slightly, displeasure stirring in his heart.
Yet displeased as he was, he knew it to be the truth.
Slowly rising from the ground, Sesshōmaru sat upright, his expression cold as he regarded Senhime Rin Getsu:
"What was the price?"
Sesshōmaru didn't believe enemies would spare him without reason. There must have been a cost involved.
"Price?"
"The price is you've gained another father. Understand, Sesshōmaru?"
"I see."
Sesshōmaru replied with icy composure:
"Am I to address that human as father from now on?"
Jaken blinked rapidly, his entire being struck dumb.
What nonsense was this?
How had Sesshōmaru-sama acquired another father in half a day?
"I understand. Until I possess the strength to kill that man, I shall address him as father~."
As he spoke, Sesshōmaru stood and prepared to descend the steps.
At this, Senhime Rin Getsu finally sighed:
"Really now, must you be so utterly humourless, child?"
"So it was a joke!" Jaken wiped sweat from his brow before exclaiming loudly, "What kind of timing is this for jokes?!"
"Then this so-called fatherhood is false?"
"Not entirely."
Senhime Rin Getsu turned her head aside, seemingly piqued:
"To summarise, your honoured mother has established a relationship with Luo Shu that surpasses what she had with your late father Tōga. That's essentially the situation."
Jaken immediately leapt up at these words: "Isn't that exactly the same as your earlier joke?"
"Is it?" Senhime Rin Getsu appeared startled before tapping her chin with a finger. "I think it's different."
Sesshōmaru didn't respond, merely furrowing his brow as he studied Senhime Rin Getsu intently:
"What agreement did they reach with you?"
Senhime Rin Getsu turned back to face Sesshōmaru:
"Cooperating with him will better fulfil Tōga's final wishes and allow you, Sesshōmaru, to truly surpass your father."
Sesshōmaru's expression shifted slightly as he regarded Senhime Rin Getsu with surprise:
"So this was your voluntary choice?"
Senhime Rin Getsu chuckled softly at this:
"No longer planning vengeance?"
Sesshōmaru remained silent. Had Senhime Rin Getsu been coerced, he would have sought retribution. But since it was voluntary, he had no desire to interfere.
He wasn't so unreasonable as to prevent Senhime Rin Getsu from remarrying.
With this thought, Sesshōmaru turned away coldly. "If there's nothing else, I'll take my leave."
"There is one more matter."
Senhime Rin Getsu smiled at Sesshōmaru as one might regard a pup pretending indifference while secretly caring.
"I've obtained some information from Luo Shu regarding what lies beyond Great Yokai. But such knowledge isn't freely given."
The implication was clear - Sesshōmaru would work for them, with advancement knowledge as his reward.
Understanding the hint, Sesshōmaru merely lifted an eyelid as he descended the steps, remarking coolly:
"You know how to reach me."
With that, Sesshōmaru strode down the stairs without another word.
Only then did the slow-witted Jaken finally react, scrambling after him:
"Sesshōmaru-sama, please wait for me!!"
When Sesshōmaru and Jaken's figures disappeared from view, Senhime Rin Getsu finally sighed and said:
"That child... I wonder who he inherited such a stubborn personality from."
Though she said this, Senhime Rin Getsu was well aware that Sesshōmaru had always been a lone wolf by nature.
Were it not for his deep ties to the Dog Tribe that he couldn't sever, Sesshōmaru would have likely left the clan long ago to establish his own faction.
"Not even asking about the price of sparing him... That child! Does he intend to repay it himself?"
"Hmph, how unlovable."
Senhime Rin Getsu shook her head, yet didn't mind Sesshōmaru's behaviour.
After all, he was the next ruler of the Dog Tribe that she had personally raised. A little wilfulness could be tolerated.
With this thought, her gaze shifted to the right, looking at Luo Shu, who had suddenly appeared:
"Have you finished selecting items from the treasury?"
"With Chisato and Takina handling it, that's enough."
Luo Shu gave a slight shake of his head, then glanced in the direction Sesshōmaru had departed:
"Sesshōmaru just left like that?"
"That child has always been like this."
Senhime Rin Getsu replied indifferently before adding:
"The current Sesshōmaru will probably retreat to his usual training grounds for solitary cultivation."
"Every time he loses to someone, this is what he does."
After listening to Senhime Rin Getsu's complaints for a while longer, Luo Shu said:
"We've nearly obtained both Tenseiga and Tessaiga. The only one left is So'unga. Do you have any information about it?"
Hearing this, Senhime Rin Getsu gave Luo Shu a surprised look, but didn't oppose his search for So'unga.
If Tōga could subdue that blade, then Luo Shu, as a quasi-god, certainly could.
"So'unga?"
"If I recall correctly, it should be sealed by Tōga in the Bone-Eating Well of Musashi Province."
"In the Bone-Eating Well of Musashi Province?"
Upon learning So'unga's location, Luo Shu's expression turned somewhat peculiar.