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Nighttime, in the dark premises of the biggest palace in Kamakura City.
The 10 m tall Minamoto no Yoritomo towered 6-7 m high even when sitting down, just like the sculpture of a seated deity.
“Lord Kamakura!” A resolute middle-aged man dressed in white knelt down in front of the darkness.
“Oh, it’s you, Lord Taira no Kagemori,” Although Minamoto no Yoritomo looked like a giant, his expression and tone were just like an ordinary man’s. His features were just simpler and enigmatic than usual and carried an unbiased gentleness.
“Lord Kamakura. Why did you side with that Kagami Lily? Although Hojo Dijon is to blame for the extermination of the Hojo clan which is under the administration of the Taira, it was also because of that woman. Could it be that she’s completely guiltless? This woman indulges in wealth and is a source of calamity! In this time’s excursion, all the disciples ended up dead and even the most talented girl of the Genji had gone missing, yet she was able to return safely. How could she not take responsibility for this? Even if we set this aside, she has shown no regard for the laws and kicked Lord Nagasaki blatantly in public. She had no respect for the Taira clan at all! Yet, you ordered the Ashikaga clan to punish Lily. The madam and son of the Ashikaga have a good relationship with Lily, so there’s no way they would punish her severely! The nobles and samurai of the Taira cannot accept this decision of yours, Lord Kamakura!”
Minamoto no Yoritomo’s aged yet vibrant middle-aged face with narrow eyes donned a calm expression in response and said, “Kagemori, did you hear that Hojo Dijon has already become a demon and obtained transcendent strength?”
“Yes. The information brought back by the female Genji disciple other than Lily who managed to escape back alone has reached my ears as well. However, in my opinion, this alone shouldn’t be enough to absolve Lily of her guilt.”
“Indeed, it shouldn’t matter. But you might not have yet heard about happened later.”
“What happened exactly, Lord Kamakura?”
“It seems like Lily has slain Hojo Dijon,” Minamoto no Yoritomo nodded with the same calm expression as always.
“What?!” Kagemori was stunned.
“It was stated by Lily herself, and although I haven’t confirmed it yet, I’ve seen her once before. From the impression she left on me, she didn’t seem like a liar.”
“That’s…”
“Kagemori. Have you heard of the strange happenings over at Takeda’s territory?”
“Yes. I have heard about some of them.”
“This Kagami Lily already isn’t on a level where we can handle her with ease,” A fierce glint flashed through Minamoto no Yoritomo’s narrow eyes.
“If this woman really slew Dijon, won’t that mean she had already obtained transcendent strength and is only second to the Furinkazan?”
“Indeed. The situation in Takeda’s territory isn’t clear yet while the west and north are overflowing with even more eldritch energy. Do we need to provoke such a young and talented powerhouse in such a situation? Kagemori, you and I are most clear about the unrest in the East right now. It has already reached the level of damaging our foundations, so it really isn’t proper to provoke such a formidable woman at this moment.”
“So it was like that…” Taira no Kagemori’s hatred for Lily dissipated from his face just like that. A member of an ancient samurai clan like the Taira clan possessed a proper sense of priority. Thus, he looked up at Minamoto no Yoritomo and said, “I finally understand the reasons behind your decision, Lord Kamakura. I shall calm down Nagasaki. Sigh! If this Lily really possesses transcendent strength, Lord Nagasaki can only lament his misfortune. You have my gratitude for the reminder, Lord Kamakura. I know what to do next.”
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Taira no Kagemori bowed and then asked to be excused.
Minamoto no Yoritomo was left alone in the spacious palace after that. He gazed at the faraway starry skies and soliloquized, “Kagami Lily. It’s been a long time since a woman who is able to elude even me has appeared. Mirror Girl… Is it truly that enigmatic clan? I’m really looking forward to the changes your presence will bring to the Heian Empire.”
…
Lily’s face was wholly flushed on the way back from the Ashikaga Hall and she also had a ragged breath.
Lily wasn’t afraid of getting fatter as it was impossible for someone as active as her to get fat but getting forced to eat that candy stick made her feel even more embarrassed than getting punished for real.
Anyways, it’s over now, and I assume Mother Makoto probably won’t publicize the details of the punishment, too.
Mother Makoto is really something. Why did she have to bully me like that? Why do the women of the Heian Empire all like to bully me?
Lily felt quite aggrieved.
A few days later, the restriction on Lily had been lifted as well. As for Tokugawa and his followers, they seemed to have left the dojo for the time being, so their whereabouts were unknown. In short, the news about Lily’s strength spread like wildfire among the high society of Kamakura and no one dared to blame the deaths of the disciples during the excursion on Lily again. It seemed that the lords suppressed the matter silently.
The threat the monsters posed to the East and the Hundred Demons’ gradual invasion of human territories had already endangered the foundation of the lords, so they were unwilling to provoke yet another transcendent powerhouse.
On a certain day, Lily was in the middle of practicing the way of tea. At her current level, she had the ability to comprehend new aspects via analogy and with the enhancement provided by the grade 7 tea bowl, she attained the 5th-Stage in the way of tea with ease.
Nanako walked into Lily’s room at this moment.
“Sis, I want to go look for mother.”
“Oh!” Lily’s response contained multiple meanings.
Kotoka was in Port Izu at the moment and was working hard in managing Lily’s territory, yet she, the actual lord, had no clue about the location or circumstances of her own territory, and hadn’t even gone to see it once.
It’s about time I ought to see my land.
Lily got up immediately, “Let’s go, Nanako, to Port Izu.”
In the season of late autumn, Lily left for Port Izu on foot. Although she was a lord, she possessed no soldiers and traversed through the vast fields outside of Kamakura alone. The harvest season had long passed by now and there were very few farmers outside as they were preparing for the coming of winter.
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Winter was a season when food couldn’t be harvested, so the people relied on stockpiled food to pass through it. This was a challenging matter for the commoners in this period.
Lily sighed ruefully. The people of the lowest rung of society bore a lot of hardships daily, yet a samurai woman like her already possessed the ability to travel the East alone without any inhibitions. The gap between the livelihoods of people was just that big.
All this was won through strength and gained by placing lives on the line.
Naturally, luck was also a factor.
…
At the same time, in a side hall behind the main hall of the old shrine on Mt. Fuji, Minamoto no Shimizu, dressed in golden-black, sat silently in the lantern-lit almost unfurnished chamber.
Shimizu’s position in the Land of Hundred Demons was pretty high right now, so she had been allotted a chamber within the old shrine. Although it was a bit desolate and dilapidated, Shimizu liked this ambiance a lot.
A cat-masked kunoichi, that is, a member of the Itsura clan, appeared in front of Shimizu.
“Lady Shimizu. Lady Haihime asked me to report the latest information to you.”
“Go on,” Shimizu caressed the pitch-black teacup in her hands gently. It was an old grade 6 teacup that Haihime had gifted her, called Throne of Blood.
“Lord Hojo Dijon and Lord Genja’s bodies have been discovered at the fault of Mt. Yoshino along with a large number of monster and demon ninja corpses. The Hannya division of Lord Genja was almost wiped out entirely and according to the surviving monsters, it seems like they were slain by a girl in red, who was most likely the Mirror Girl they were pursuing,” The cat-masked kunoichi stated.
“What?!” The grade 6 teacup in Shimizu’s hands fell to the floor with a thud. Fortunately, the grade 6 teacup was pretty durable, so it didn’t shatter from the fall.
The pitch-black eyes on Shimizu’s tranquil face seemed to have regained their glimmer once again.
“Lil’ Sis Lily is still alive?!” Shimizu’s heart thumped wildly, and she wasn’t even bothered by the hot tea that spilled onto her dress.
…
At the same time, a prosperous city rested thousands of kilometers southwest of Mt. Fuji. A towering castle made of dull colors lied within this city and instead of being constructed at a hillside or on a highland, it was surrounded by high walls and a moat. It rested above a giant 100 m tall trapezoidal rampart made of rock.
This location was the home of the Tokugawa clan—Okazaki Castle.
Yuki Mayumi stood on a hill filled with old pine trees right now and gazed at this featureless moderately sized castle.
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She wasn’t as reckless as in the past and had a worried look on her face right now.
She had donned tight-fitting indigo ninja robes that consisted of a sleeveless top and a miniskirt with slits, leaving no part of her fair thighs to the imagination, while her calves were covered with leggings and feet with cloth shoes.
The long ponytail on her back swayed gently along with the wind as she recalled the orders that she had received from Haihime previously.
In the hall with the Thousand-Armed Buddha, Haihime drew on the pipe in hands enchantingly, the purple eye shadow making her appear even lovelier. However, the words that left her mouth made Yuki’s heart tremble in trepidation.
“Yuki. You will be responsible for assisting and contacting Lord Tokugawa from now on.”
“Lord Tokugawa?” Yuki appeared a bit worried after hearing this order.
“Lady Haihime. Isn’t that Mizuki Tsue’s job?”
“She hasn’t contacted us in a long time.”
“What?!” Yuki was stunned, “But she’s a high-ranked ninja. How could she fail to contact us?”
Haihime shook her head indifferently, “How would I know? In any case, Lord Tokugawa is the person whom we attach most importance to in the East, so we have to rope him in at any cost. Forget about where that woman disappeared to for now, she will turn up sooner or later as long as she’s still alive. You need to go replace her over there right away and assist Lord Tokugawa! Got it? You have already brought a disastrous loss to the Hundred Demons, and Amanojaku is quite pissed as well. Don’t disappoint me again this time!”
“I understand,” Yuki felt complex emotions, but she could only accept the order.
Tokugawa Shigemori, Ka no Tokugawa, was one of the Furinkazan, and a powerhouse who truly stood at the apex of the samurai in Mikawa Province. He acted low-profile and was like a sheathed blade, possessing kind features, but in reality, he was a calculative, ambitious and scheming man1.
This was evident from the fact that he had maintained contact with the Hundred Demons. Although it seemed like he was cooperating with the Hundred Demons, he had never really followed the orders of the Hundred Demons, so it was quite hard to figure out the thoughts of this old fox2.
Controlling Tokugawa Shigemori was much more difficult than manipulating a boor like Hojo Dijon.
“But… I can’t fail again!”
Yuki Mayumi’s well-endowed bosom heaved up and down deeply and her exposed thighs shuddered slightly while she crouched on the thick branch of an old pine tree. She then calmed her breath to pull herself together, her eyes filling with resolution as she turned into a shadow and infiltrated Okazaki Castle under the curtain of the night.