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

Crack, crack, crack.

Crack, crack, crack...

Just as the "Filth Plague" commotion was happening in Kasumi City, in the snow-covered mountains, Hyakusuke and his fellow ninja were walking through the mountains.

Everyone carefully walked along the mountain path, which was desolate, and the only sound that could be heard was the "crack, crack" of their feet stepping on the snow.

"I was barely able to rest for a few days before being urgently transferred here, even though the other side is at a critical stage..."

Hyakusuke kept complaining in his heart.

Just a few days ago, the Kurokami family received news that a bear demon had appeared in the mountains of Zao, leading a horde of miscellaneous demons, and had injured several villagers.

The purifying divine energy of the Heavenly God Cherry is not omnipotent; the further away from Kasumi City, the weaker the effect. Occasionally, some demons still hide in the mountains.

The exorcist swordsmen of the Tachiwaki Academy received orders to help Kasumi City, their "ally," and immediately decided to mobilize, intending to find an opportunity to eliminate this great demon.

For this reason, the ninja were also forced to enter the mountains together to assist the noble exorcists of the Tachiwaki Academy in completing this mission.

"Ugh~ So cold..."

Chuzo, a Chunin, rubbed his hands and looked up at the mountains, seeing a continuous range of snow-capped mountains and countless frost flowers on the gentle slopes ahead.

"Indeed... Although we urgently purchased mountain equipment from the Renjo Trading Company, the temperature is still too low."

Hyakusuke also did not expect that it would already be snowing in the mountains outside Kasumi City. The temperature here dropped rapidly, so cold that the breath exhaled would turn into white smoke and disappear before his eyes.

He tried to refine spiritual power from his dantian to strengthen his body to a certain extent to resist the cold of this season.

'If I'm this cold, the other Genin must be even worse.'

Hyakusuke glanced at the many Genin behind him. Even though they were wrapped in thick cotton cloth, the Genin must still be feeling cold, but in order to hurry on their way, they were all gritting their teeth and moving forward.

"Hyakusuke~~ Senpai, it's so cold."

The female ninja, Haruka, hugged his arm tightly. She was as clingy as a beautiful serpent. The woman kept saying how cold she was, pressing close to him. However, she was wearing a thin female ninja outfit in this snowy weather. In fact, high-level exorcists can use spiritual power to resist the cold, achieving so-called "immunity to heat and cold."

Hyakusuke didn't believe a word of what Haruka said about being cold.

"Um, you're standing too close."

Hyakusuke pushed her away with his right hand, but the female ninja continued to press closer, her hands wrapping around him like snakes, grabbing his right hand. This was not because he was hesitating, but because the female ninja's physical skills were indeed extremely powerful, making it difficult to get rid of her.

"In this kind of weather~~ isn't it warmer for two people to stick together?"

"No, I don't think Haruka-san looks cold at all."

"But, isn't Senpai very cold~~ *huff huff*, I'll use my body temperature to warm Senpai."

"Thank you very much, but I don't need it."

This girl is really troublesome.

"To actually reject a girl's kindness~~ Senpai is so mean."

Haruka had already pouted.

"Hey, hey."

Chuzo couldn't stand it anymore.

"It's already this late... you two shouldn't be showing off your love here, it's really an eyesore."

Haruka and Hyakusuke both glared fiercely at Chuzo, the former naturally annoyed that he was being troublesome, and the latter blaming him for only now coming to his rescue.

"Alright, let's not talk about this."

Chuzo asked the guide who was leading the way, "The temperature has dropped too quickly these past few days, with so much snow, it will be difficult for us to continue walking, right?"

"Yes, it snowed all night again yesterday... But, this year's snow came too early."

The young hunter who was acting as the guide glanced at the sky. The gray clouds in the sky were thick, heavy, and dark.

The wind was strong. Although the snow had stopped, they hadn't seen a single bird.

"In this season, what birds would come out to forage?"

Chuzo asked him curiously.

"Non-migratory resident birds will try to find food."

Before the hunter could speak, Hyakusuke added, "Typically sparrows, which will look for seeds buried under the snow to get through the winter, as well as gray starlings and spoonbills, which will also stay in their habitats."

"Mountain animals are also sensitive to the strength of demonic energy."

The young hunter explained, "As long as the demonic energy is relatively strong, birds like sparrows will not approach..."

"...Is that so?"

Chuzo asked back, "Then we've been walking along that fork in the road, and we haven't seen a single bird. Does that mean... we're very close to that bear demon?"

Rumble!

The roar that shook the atmosphere was like background music. This was a roar mixed with demonic energy. Everyone present froze on the spot as if struck by lightning—this was a spell similar to a binding technique.

The guide, the Chunin, and all the Genin were frozen in place, stiff as if petrified.

Whoosh!

The ground arched, and a short sword pierced out.

"Gya!"

White cloth was pulled away, and a Yamawaro (mountain child) was holding a knife, trying to attack Hyakusuke.

Hyakusuke used his left hand's "Demon-Breaking Gauntlet" to break through the curse that was attacking him. His right hand spun the ninja sword, the tip of the sword pierced through the Yamawaro's throat, and he kicked it away.

"Gya... Gya!"

The camouflage on the snow was removed, and the Yamawaro threw off the cloth covering their bodies, standing up from the snow one after another.

These were short mountain demons, their ugly faces distorted by desire, a group of miscellaneous demons wielding various weapons.

"...It's an ambush!"

Chuzo forcibly broke through the "binding" with spiritual power. He shouted loudly and summoned several fireballs, blasting them out.

The fire exploded, hindering the Yamawaro, making their movements hesitant.

A second roar sounded, and the female ninja Haruka also reacted. She waved her hand, and several talismans condensed in the air to form a simple barrier.

Crack.

The sound waves shattered the barrier, and from the pitch-black snow-covered mountain forest, a huge figure rushed angrily in this direction.

"It's the bear demon... Everyone, prepare for battle!!"

Hyakusuke shouted a reminder, and the ninja also recovered from the "paralysis" and gripped their weapons tightly.

The massive bear demon revealed its true form in the snow, and a great battle was imminent.

...

After a fierce battle, with everyone's efforts, Hyakusuke pierced the bear demon's heart with a spear, Chuzo's flames turned into a poisonous dragon and wrapped around its body to burn it, and Haruka continuously cast talismans to suppress it.

Thirty Genin also cooperated in the siege. After eliminating the Yamawaro, they joined the battle. Even though the bear demon was a great demon, it would be defeated against this lineup.

'Even though the bear demon controlled these Yamawaro and miscellaneous demons, it didn't form an effective group battle. They're just like a band of robbers, while the ninja are already working together tacitly, like an army.'

In fact, if the bear demon had chosen to escape and hide in the mountains, it would have had a chance of survival, but if it stubbornly resisted and fought against the exorcist's group combat, it would not have survived.

'Therefore, in the long struggle between humans and demons, humans have still become the masters of the island country, prosperous and flourishing, while the once powerful great demons, even the Five Great Demon Kings, are still being driven out and sealed...'

Pulling out the spear stained with demon blood, Hyakusuke breathed a sigh of relief.

"It's finally over."

...

After defeating the bear demon, the next task was to "dismember" the bear demon. The bear demon's skin, bones, and gallbladder were all valuable materials that could be recycled. The remaining corpses and remains had to be disposed of.

If the demon corpses are not properly disposed of, they will be devoured by other small demons, which will cause the birth of another great demon.

This work was left to the subordinate Genin to complete, and Hyakusuke was finally able to take some time to rest.

He had consumed a lot of energy in this battle, but with the recovery power provided by the mermaid flesh and the precise control of spiritual power by the heart's spiritual core, his spiritual power gradually replenished in a very short time.

'Hyakusuke... where are you?'

Through the necklace, came the telepathic message from the Second Young Lady, Kaka, her voice tinged with exhaustion.

'Where have you and the others gone with the Tachiwaki Academy? My telepathic connection keeps failing?'

'We and the Tachiwaki Academy are acting separately. We just encountered the bear demon and its group and managed to defeat them.'

Hyakusuke was also familiar with communicating telepathically.

'By the way... did something happen in Kasumi City after we left? Excuse my rudeness, but you seem very anxious, Kaka-sama.'

'I see...'

Kaka muttered in a low voice, 'Is this also your calculation?' She sighed, "After you defeated that Filth Ghoul, Kasumi City started suffering from the Filth Plague. Although not many people have turned into Plague Ghouls, the number of people affected by the Filth Plague is increasing, and many townsfolk in the lower towns have been infected, making the situation increasingly serious."

'No way? I remember that not many people were injured at the time, and the damage caused by the Filth Ghoul was under control, wasn't it?'

Hyakusuke was also stunned. This matter was clearly not within the scope of the plot he knew.

—The Filth Ghoul caused the "Filth Plague," and a large number of people were infected, becoming seriously ill?

"That's not right."

Hyakusuke muttered to himself.

"Filth Plague," I seem to remember that this was a degraded version of "Filth Ghoul Blood" developed by the Eight Blessings Society—it was residue extracted from the remains of Filth Ghouls and could not transform living people, only make them seriously ill.

This plague brought about by Filth Ghoul Blood is a kind of curse, a curse power. It's not meant to kill people, but to torture them, to pollute their souls, and finally, in the torment of pain, they fall into becoming "Oni" (demons).

"...This thing clearly appears in the late game, a 'specialty' of a certain plot line in the late game. It shouldn't be popping up at this time?"

Hyakusuke also had a headache.

He suspected that the elder retainer, Akamatsu Mitsusuke, was secretly causing trouble, or that the people of the Eight Blessings Society were planning to carry out some conspiracy.

'By the way, Kaka-sama... what's the situation with Lord Suo, the city lord?'

'The city lord, I'm not sure. I recently visited the city lord, but I was dissuaded by his retainer, Akamatsu. It seems that the city lord is unwell and is recuperating.'

Akamatsu Mitsusuke even found Kaka, requesting her to research this strange plague called "Filth Plague."

As an "ally" of Kasumi City and the proxy of her clan, Kaka couldn't refuse, and she had to stop preparing for the "surrogacy" alchemy and begin to devote her energy to researching this "Filth Plague."

'Then, please be careful of that retainer named Akamatsu.'

Hyakusuke could only offer this warning at this time.

Akamatsu Mitsusuke is a vassal of the city lord's family, with a noble status. His words carry little weight. Even if he said that Akamatsu would rebel in the future, it would be meaningless.

After all, his status is too low, and no one would believe what he said.

Now, he can only give Kaka some hints.

—To inform her of the object she needs to be wary of and vigilant about.