The Sword Deity in Tokyo

The Jorōgumo was relieved. Although she only had her own consciousness for a short period of time, she knew that she should avoid evil and pursue good. Also, she really did not want to move as the place was very secluded and the mountainside was quite spacious. Moreover, as long as she could stand guard at the cave, basically no one could find her since the only exit was the cave outside. That was indeed a good place for her to stay.

Kimura Kazuki glanced at her and understood what she was thinking. He smiled and said, "I'll ask the chief of Kobayashi Village to get a cellphone for you. I will add you to a group after you download an app called Line."

He had never planned to make Team X big before this. However, he later figured that he could probably get some use out of the Enchanted Talismans, so Team X had to be expanded.

There were reasons behind Kimura Kazuki inviting the Jorōgumo into the team after meeting her. Firstly, he wanted to let Ikioi Ito and the others know that Team X was tolerant of diversity so not only humans would be recruited. Also, he was hoping to supervise her that way.

"Okay." Instead of declining, the Jorōgumo was actually a little excited. She had never owned a cellphone before even though she was a monster of the modern era. In fact, she had been really curious about the Internet. Of course, the reason why she knew about all these was that she had occasionally used little spiders formed from green smoke to explore around Kobayashi Village. Therefore, she knew many things about human beings. This was her only entertainment when she had nothing else to do.

In fact, she had thought of stealing a cellphone before, but her cautious mindset stopped her from doing so. Therefore, she was more than happy when Kimura Kazuki offered to help. 

"Do you know where the monsters which ran away previously are?"

When Kimura Kazuki asked the question out of nowhere, the Jorōgumo was stunned. She hesitated for a moment and became tense. "Master Kimura, I…" She opened her mouth but she started stammering.

Kimura Kazuki understood at once. The Jorōgumo knew about the other monsters, but it was obvious that she did not want to disclose everything to him. After all, humans and demons had their distinctions. It was only natural for the Jorōgumo to be reluctant to disclose information about the other monsters.

He waved his hand. "It's fine if you don't want to tell me." As he talked, his eyes turned cold. "However, if I get to know that you have affairs with monsters which hunt down humans, I will not let you off easily."

"I will not, master… They've never hunted any humans down." 

"I certainly hope so."

Kimura Kazuki did not talk to the Jorōgumo any further. He had come all the way to Kobayashi Village with the purpose of ascertaining the true situation and it was now clear that the disappearance of Kojima Daisuke was not caused by monsters or specters, it was his own doing. Furthermore, the maiden whom Tomoya Saito had met was just a transformation by the Jorōgumo's green smoke spider, which was used to hunt wild animals. Now that everything was clear, he had no reason to stay there any longer.

After bidding farewell to the anxious Jorōgumo, he ignored the miserable shouts by Kojima Daisuke and went down the stairs to the gazebo. 

He saw Takashi Kobayashi and Tomohito Kobayashi as soon as he was there. None of the others were in sight.

Noticing Kimura Kazuki's arrival, Takashi Kobayashi approached him immediately. With a respectful expression and a natural tone, he spoke, "Master Kimura, that monster…" Although he did not hear anything, he got his answer when he saw Kimura Kazuki walking out with a relaxed expression.

Taisei Kobayashi and the other two left the mountain as soon as they made everything clear to him. It was obviously impossible for them to be willing to accompany Takashi Kobayashi to wait for Kimura Kazuki there. 

After all, nothing was more important than life.

Initially, Takashi Kobayashi had wanted to wait alone and let his son and Taisei Kobayashi go back to the village together. However, although Kobayashi Tomohito was a bit dumb, he was stubborn. He just stood there without saying anything and refused to move from that spot. He insisted on waiting there no matter how everyone advised him.

Therefore, Kimura Kazuki saw both Takashi Kobayashi and Tomohito when he came to the gazebo.

Kimura Kazuki replied to Takashi Kobayashi's question with a gentle smile, "That monster is the Jorōgumo, you should have heard of it before. I did not kill her and let her live. Also, I made an agreement with her to let her put Kobayashi Village under her protection. What do you think?" 

Looking at Takashi Kobayashi's stupefied face, Kimura Kazuki seemed to understand what the other party was thinking. He smiled a little and said, "Monsters can be divided into good and evil. Although the Jorōgumo looks huge and terrifying, she has never eaten any human beings and she has been hunting down animals at Kanayama, which is enough to prove that she has the right mental state."

Takashi Kobayashi breathed out slowly while taking in all the information. As the person who had made Kobayashi Village one of the most famous tourist attractions in Kyoto, he had never been narrow-minded. Humans could be divided into good and evil, so it was only normal that monsters could be divided into good and evil as well.

"Of course, I will ask her to move somewhere else if the chief refuses."

""No, just let her stay here." After thinking about it, Takashi Kobayashi made up his mind. "Kobayashi Village will consecrate her in the future."

Kimura Kazuki nodded. "Don't worry. You can look for her if something bad happens in Kobayashi Village. Although she is huge and it will be hard for her to go out, she can help Kobayashi Village solve many problems as she has many tricks as a monster." He gave a meaningful look to Takashi Kobayashi. "I hope that Kobayashi Village will not use her to do something out of the ordinary."

Although the Jorōgumo was a monster, she had only recently obtained her consciousness so she could be influenced and bewitched easily.

This was also the reason why he invited the Jorōgumo to join Team X. He would certainly not sit idly and watch if the people in Kobayashi Village planned to use Jorōgumo to do something harmful.

Takashi Kobayashi's expression became serious as he lowered his head slightly out of respect. "Master Kimura, rest assured that we will treat the Jorōgumo as a friend and treat her equally." 

Kimura Kazuki nodded, his thoughts unclear.

Humans and monsters could only get along with each other well with the passing of time. They could only get closer after knowing each other well enough. 

It would surely take a long time for Kobayashi Village to really bond with the Jorōgumo.

"Kimura Kazuki, about Kojima Daisuke…"

"You can settle that matter yourself." Kimura Kazuki only shook his head. Kojima Daisuke deserved the consequences of his own bad behavior. He could not be bothered with how Takashi Kobayashi would deal with Kojima Daisuke. 

Kimura Kazuki then left the mountain with Takashi Kobayashi and his son.

The next morning, Kimura Kazuki saw Ikioi Ito rushing over with an excited expression when he finished his breakfast.

"What's the matter?"

"Sword Saint Takeda is back!" Ikioi Ito said agitatedly, "Sword Saint Takeda will appoint his successor in a week's time and all the kendo families in Japan will gather on Mount Tobiuo by then!" 

Sword Saint Takeda? Hiroshi Takeda!

Kimura Kazuki said with a calm expression, "I heard that the Sword Saint Takeda went overseas. Also, wasn't he going to appoint his successor at the end of the year?"

"He did travel overseas but he didn't say that he would appoint his successor at the end of the year," Ikioi Ito said with a smile. "He said that he would be back at the end of the year before he went overseas so everyone thought that he would only do it after that. When he returned yesterday, everyone thought he would take some time for a rest, but unexpectedly, he informed everyone to prepare themselves as he will be appointing his successor in a week."