Help! I changed the gender of the male protagonist in the yandere game

"Besides, even if the woodcutter chooses the silver axe, the goddess would scoff, saying, 'You didn't say that in your previous life,' and then use the silver axe to chop off the woodcutter's hands and feet, causing him to scream in agony."

TaiwanFictionNet→𝑡𝑤𝑘𝑎𝑛.𝑐𝑜𝑚

What kind of ghost story is this?

It sounds like entrapment no matter how you look at it.

Hyakusuke silently looked up at the sky... but the old man continued to ramble on, "Wrap his neck with aquatic plants and drag him into the lake to drown him..."

"Please wait a moment, can't he just tell the truth and say he just dropped an ordinary axe?"

He had to interrupt the old man and ask.

"That won't work either."

Matsudaira Inomaro shook his head.

"Even if he chooses that, the goddess would still disdainfully say, 'How poor you are~,' and take out an ordinary axe, chop the woodcutter in half, and then burn him as firewood?"

"Alright."

Hyakusuke sighed a very, very long sigh.

"But what is the meaning of this story anyway?"

"How would I know... This is a story passed down by word of mouth among the locals."

Matsudaira smiled wryly, "However, the scenery there is quite nice, just not very well-known."

"Is that so?"

Hyakusuke was basically certain that whoever came up with this modified version of the "Golden and Silver Axe" story was definitely a game design, the work of those game developers with a twisted sense of humor from 'Oborozuki no Mei,' possibly an unreleased "hidden setting."

"Also, only the locals call it Yukionna Lake; it seems to be called Mizutori Lake to outsiders."

The old man added.

No wonder.

Hyakusuke sighed inwardly.

Of course, there is no such name as Yukionna Lake or Mizutori Lake in the game's storyline; it is only referred to vaguely as "a certain large lake."

'If it weren't for mentioning the name 'Yukionna,' I wouldn't have remembered it at all.'

Hyakusuke thought, this was probably because it was originally a side quest that only the protagonist, Tsukigara Yoake, could trigger, unlike the side quests that only solved "incidents," side quests with no special rewards.

Completing the Yukionna side quest would grant very generous rewards.

"And there are several selectable rewards, including 'Tokijiku no Kagu no Mi,' 'Tatewaku no Yoroi,' 'Ryūzu no Tama,' 'Amemaru,' 'Kamudomimosomo no Momo'... These can all strengthen the protagonist in the early stages."

Originally, if the game progressed normally, it would be best for the protagonist, Tsukigara Yoake, to receive this selectable reward; just strengthening the protagonist herself and her powerful teammates would reduce the difficulty of the early stages of the story.

"However, now that I'm the one solving this quest, it's better for me to take the reward."

Hyakusuke thought, compared to the protagonist, his own strength was still too weak; if he could improve his strength even a little with this reward, he wouldn't have to fight so desperately in every battle.

"Hyakusuke-kakka, you're daydreaming; is something on your mind?"

The old man noticed he was lost in thought and quickly reminded him.

"No, it's nothing."

Hyakusuke picked up the map and replied, "I just think this map is too old; many routes are difficult to distinguish. It seems like the Kurohimeyama side hasn't sent anyone to update the map in a long time."

He also began to calculate the conditions for achieving this side quest.

...

"Listen carefully, elder brother."

His younger sister, Ayaka, cleared her throat, "No, I should call you elder sister now. Let me explain first; your current identity is Miss Akira of the Nakaya family, a branch of the Tsukigara family. Please remember your identity."

"Don't worry, don't worry."

Tsukigara Yoake, who was now on the oxcart, was holding a kashiwa mochi sweet and stuffing her mouth full, then mumbling like a squirrel chewing with puffed-out cheeks, "Ai won't falter..."

"Elder brother~~"

Ayaka took out a handkerchief and wiped her face.

"Please have some manners when you eat, even if it's okay at home. Ayaka can't always take care of you outside... Also, have you noticed that your appetite is even more astonishing than before?"

Although she used to eat three bowls of rice at every meal, she now has an extreme craving for sweets, constantly eating desserts and various snacks every day. She didn't know if there was something wrong with her body.

"It's okay."

Yoake patted her chest.

"Ah'm healtthy."

But she seemed to have choked, and she shrank her upper body and coughed violently.

"Here, drink some water."

Ayaka sighed and handed over the bamboo tube filled with water. Yoake gulped down the water, which prevented her from choking to death on the spot.

"Haa! I'm alive again!"

She wiped the corners of her mouth with the back of her hand and said with a smile, "Don't worry, Granny Iwai also said my body is very healthy. Spiritually capable people generally have a larger appetite because they consume more energy than ordinary people. My situation should just be a side effect of the body's transformation and shouldn't be too much of a problem."

"That's good."

Ayaka was just an ordinary person and didn't understand these issues, so she could only nod.

"Speaking of which..."

Yoake muttered to herself, "Was that the Hyakusuke-chunin who saved me in the spider's nest just now? Speaking of which, I must find an opportunity to thank him properly."

"Elder brother, don't forget that you are Miss Akira now."

Ayaka quickly reminded her.

"Ah~ that's right, I almost forgot."

She then remembered this matter.

Ayaka looked up at the sky and sighed in silence.

...

"This is just awful."

The journey was not smooth.

On the first day, the convoy was halfway when a strong wind and heavy rain started.

After delaying for half a day to avoid the heavy rain, everyone had to set off again.

However, the heavy rain caused a bridge ahead to collapse, and they had to take a detour.

By the third day, the oxcart convoy had been traveling on the road for a whole day when they were attacked midway.

There were no thieves or bandits on this mountain road, but there were monsters that attacked travelers.

There were about thirty monsters, called "Tokagemaru," miscellaneous monsters that looked like humanoid lizards. They suddenly jumped out of the mountains and attacked Matsudaira Inomaro, who was riding a horse, and also tried to rush towards the oxcart.

Hyakusuke was originally leading the horse for the old man Matsudaira.

The moment the black shadows darted out of the mist on the mountain road, he quickly reacted, and the seven-section staff was drawn from his waist, shaken into a spear, and pierced through the throat of the attacking lizard monster with lightning speed.

'Those traveling merchants were right; there really are Tokagemaru on this road...'

Hyakusuke muttered in his heart.

This mountain road was outside the jurisdiction of the Kurohimeyama family. The main family's exorcists would periodically conduct "sweeping" activities around the territory and surrounding areas to ensure that not too many monsters gathered together.

In fact, in this world, monsters lurked in the wilderness and mountains, and could attack passers-by at any time.

Moreover, those with spiritual power, including exorcists, were regarded by monsters as the ultimate "delicacy." Eating powerful exorcists would allow weak monsters to become stronger.

In other words, the genin and the Tsukigara clan were likely to be targeted by the monsters along the way when they ran to areas outside the jurisdiction of the Kurohimeyama exorcists.

"Hooah!"

Matsudaira Inomaro also grunted and swung the naginata he was carrying, and the silvery-white blade flashed, cutting the left shoulder of another lizard monster to the right, cutting it in two with one blow.

Blood and internal organs were splattered on the ground. The bloody smell did not deter this group of miscellaneous monsters, but even aroused the ferocity of other monsters.

"Protect the oxcart, shrink the formation."

Hyakusuke, who served as a chunin, shouted.

"Use the Yamabuki formation to defend against the enemy."

The genin heard the order and quickly contracted the formation, using the jumanji-yari and naginata to meet the enemy.

The lizard monsters roared and launched an attack. They had no weapons and relied entirely on their sharp claws and teeth to approach.

The old man Matsudaira pulled the reins and drove his horse forward, directly into the enemy formation. He skillfully wielded the blade in his hand, and in an instant, blood mist flew.

"He's really amazing."

Hyakusuke knew that he didn't have this kind of strength. He took a step back and surrounded the approaching monsters with the surrounding genin, using the seven-section staff in his hand to assassinate them.

'What beasts... These miscellaneous monsters don't have any special abilities. Instead of using spears and naginata, it's better to bring a musket team and easily kill them with a round of volley fire.'

Unfortunately, this was just a fantasy.

The imperial court did not allow exorcist families to possess powerful firearms, including cannons and flintlocks. This advanced technology, spread to the island country from "Namban," was currently only allowed to be held by the imperial court's army.

"It's similar to some dynasties in China, which prohibited private possession of armor and crossbows... Essentially, it's to suppress the expansion of the power of the exorcist clans."

Hyakusuke shook his head and focused his attention on the enemy. The Tokagemaru were not powerful. After failing to launch a sneak attack from the mountain mist, they were unable to break through the oxcart's defense, and they encountered a strong enemy like the old man Matsudaira, so the ending could be imagined.

The old man rode his horse, like a matchless warrior during the Warring States period. Wherever he went, it could be said that he was destroying the old and decaying. After discovering that the surprise attack was unsuccessful, the Tokagemaru wanted to escape, but were met with the naginata's pursuit.

Whoosh!

The blade flashed horizontally, cutting off the head of the fleeing Tokagemaru leader, and the head fell to the ground.

Another lizard monster also desperately ran in another direction, but was penetrated from the top of its head by the blade, cutting to the tail, directly splitting the other party in two.

"How can beasts that only rely on sharp teeth and claws stop my blade?"

Matsudaira Inomaro shook his head and sighed.

"I hope the Buddha is merciful and allows you not to be reborn into the three evil paths in the next life."

"Matsudaira-sama, all the other miscellaneous monsters have been killed."

Hyakusuke hurried over.

"There are no problems on the oxcart side either."

"That's good. By the way, inform the travelers and merchants behind that these monsters have been killed, and this mountain road can be temporarily guaranteed to be safe."

The old man ordered with a smile.

"Okay."

Hyakusuke nodded.

Before long, a group of travelers who were not far from the convoy came to thank them.

"Thank you, lords, for driving away these monsters for us."

"These Tokagemaru have caused us misery; we really want to thank you, lords."

"Several people died a few days ago; it's really a sin..."

Some of the travelers were small merchants and peddlers, and some were pilgrims, chanting monks who knocked on bowls, singers, puppeteers, and six touring priests carrying Buddha statues. These were lower-class people who were even worse off than ordinary townspeople and commoners.

They put their hands together and said their thanks in unison.

Indeed, a "thank you" is not worth much. The genin couldn't possibly charge money for such a thing, but for the tired people, this was at least a word that could comfort the soul.

"At least, this kind of desperate effort of mine is not completely meaningless to others."

Hyakusuke also muttered to himself inwardly.

Suddenly, his gaze was drawn to one of these travelers.

"This woman should be the wandering shrine maiden called 'Fuyu Hotaru,' right?"

He noticed one of the shrine maidens.

Wandering shrine maidens are also called walking shrine maidens. They do not have shrines to reside in, but travel between villages, doing divination, prayers, and exorcising ominous things at the request of the people. It is rumored that Minamoto no Yoshitsune's lover, Shizuka Gozen, was a type of wandering shrine maiden called a shirabyōshi.

"She is also a character involved in this side quest, and her identity is also involved in the subsequent plot."

Hyakusuke's heart stirred, and he was sure that he could grasp the thread of this side quest.