I Don’t Want to Be a Heroic Spirit

People should only do what they are meant to do.

Fishing tasks should be left to the village fisherman.

Selling fruit should be the responsibility of the village orchard keeper.

Protecting the village is the job of the village samurai.

Even playing is a task—a responsibility that belongs to children.

"Chika, remember this well…"

"You can only do what you are meant to do. You can only do what you want to do."

"Anything beyond that has nothing to do with you. It's a forbidden fruit, a poisonous mushroom that will kill you."

---

Chika's rejection of Sara's proposal left Sara puzzled.

After all, she thought that learning martial arts was a purely beneficial pursuit without any downsides.

"Why not?"

"Because… Chika wouldn't do such a thing."

"Is that so?"

Something about her response felt odd, but Sara didn't press further.

Since coming to this sealed space, so many strange things had become routine that she had almost grown accustomed to them.

Maybe "accustomed" is just another way of saying "numb," Sara mused briefly.

"Are we taking these lavender melons back home?"

"Yes! I'm not sure where Angel Sister has gone, but when she comes back, I want her to have so many lavender melons that she can't possibly finish them! They're so delicious! If Chika ever had more lavender melons than she could eat, she'd be super happy!"

As she spoke, Chika seemed to lose herself in the daydream, her expression turning so blissful she nearly drooled. Catching herself, she quickly wiped her mouth with her sleeve.

"Of course! These lavender melons are for Sister Sara and Angel Sister. Not for me… no way…" slurp.

"Ah… uh… I see. Thank you…"

From that moment on, Sara mentally added a new label to her impression of Chika: terrible liar.

Noticing how Chika's gaze kept darting longingly toward the basket of lavender melons, Sara murmured, "If… well, if you really want to eat some lavender melons, I wouldn't mind. And I doubt Master would, either."

"Really?!"

If ever there was a perfect use for the phrase she couldn't hide her joy, this was it. Chika's enthusiasm was so palpable that even her pigtails seemed to bounce, as if they might be mistaken for tails.

She was just that easy to read.

The two soon found a shady spot beneath a tree and began snacking on the lavender melons.

Even though they were busily stuffing their mouths, that didn't stop them from chatting, much like how no amount of rules can keep a group of grade-schoolers from causing a ruckus.

Sara shared stories from the outside world, while Chika recounted tales from her village.

Despite their vastly different experiences, they chatted effortlessly. Perhaps such pure and equal exchanges could only occur between children.

"Wait… Sister Sara and Angel Sister have only known each other for a little while?"

Chika covered her mouth in surprise—such an innocent and endearing reaction.

"Yes… Before meeting Master, I lived alone in the forest for a long time," Sara replied, scratching her cheek in mild embarrassment. "Although it's a little awkward to admit, meeting Master has probably been the greatest stroke of luck in my life."

"Oh, but even before I met Master, I was never lonely. I had the forest animals for company, so I was never truly alone."

Although Sara had been the only yokai in her forest, some animals had already begun to show signs of gaining intelligence—or even hints of becoming spirits. Foxes and tanuki, in particular, were common in Japanese folklore for turning into such creatures.

"The animals of the forest…"

Chika kept smiling, but as she echoed Sara's words, a subtle, unplaceable emotion flickered in her expression.

"Now that you mention it, I haven't seen any animals in this forest," Sara remarked, glancing around. "For such a large forest, there aren't any foxes, tanuki, boars… not even birds or insects…"

"Hmm?"

Sara's musings were interrupted by a surprised noise from beside her.

"The lavender melons… are gone?"

It turned out the two had eaten all the melons they'd picked. Chika's hand lingered in the basket, as though reaching for one more.

"Ahh! We ate all the lavender melons we picked for Angel Sister!" Chika panicked, grabbing Sara's shoulders and shaking her. "Sister Sara! How could you eat all of Angel Sister's lavender melons? What do we do now?"

"…"

If I recall correctly, most of them went into your stomach, didn't they?

Sara felt a strange mix of exasperation and resignation. One day, she would learn that this situation was what people called "taking the blame for someone else."

"What do we do? Um… why don't we go pick some more?"

After all, she had been the one gathering them in the first place.

"Really? Then let's hurry! Angel Sister might be back soon, and we have to pick more melons and bring them home before she returns!"

Oh, and wasn't she also the one who would carry the basket full of melons back?

As Chika grabbed her hand and dragged her toward the lavender melon trees, Sara couldn't help but realize this.

---

It was like painting with a brush soaked in ink on a blank sheet of paper.

Only here, the brush was a katana, and the canvas was the battlefield.

Massive black slashes cut through the air as the armored figure swung its katana, reversing the blade to carve another arc in the opposite direction. The overlapping marks formed a protective circle around its body.

Clang! Clang!

The dark arcs collided with Kiichi Hougen's raised blade, bouncing off with a sound like hammer striking an anvil, the air trembling from the force.

One step, two steps… In just three strides, Kiichi Hougen closed a fifty-meter gap, her sword's relentless flashes weaving a web like a spider's trap, sealing off all of the armored figure's escape routes.

The armored figure, initially poised to pursue, steadied itself, shifting from offense to defense. Its intricate sword techniques flowed seamlessly, dazzling to behold.

Suddenly, a tiny glimmer of light appeared out of nowhere, hovering just above the armored figure's shoulder—a star streaking through the night sky, aiming straight for its neck.

Clang!

The tip of Kiichi Hougen's blade struck the armored figure's katana with a reverberating chime, like the toll of a great bell.

She withdrew her blade, her snow-white hair fanning out behind her as she and the armored figure stood back-to-back.

Pivoting on one foot, Kiichi Hougen swung her sword downward, the blade tracing a crescent moon in the air.

The armored figure, gripping its katana with both hands, flexed its muscular arms. With energy concentrating along its blade like a fiery aura, it turned and unleashed a counterstrike against the descending crescent.

When the blades clashed head-on, fragments of sharp, chaotic energy exploded outward. Rocks and trees caught in the shockwave shattered into pieces as sword energy tore through them.

---

Is Unlocking the Stellaris Tech Tree in Star Rail Really Okay? got locked by webnovel (probably reported...?) so I'll have it up on the sribble hub later today with the new updates :p same username on there btw ughh should i repost on here?