CHAPTER 23 â LEAVING THE BUREAU OF DIVINATION IN ANGER
Hearing the Chief Advisors decree, the officials could not believe their ears. Seimei continued his mission by announcing in a loud superior voice, âLord Kamo Tadayuki, this is the Chief Advisorâs decree!â
This was the tradition of the Heian Dynasty when transmitting orders, the conveyer represents the superiorâs identity and authority. Though Seimei was Kamoâs student, right now he was the supreme Chief Advisor.
âYes! This Kamo Tadayuki obeys.â
âLord Kamo, this⊠the Chief Advisorâs decree, itâs unbelievable!â Ichijoâs face was filled with disbelief, doesnât this decree mean that woman gets to go free? Interrogation is allowed if she fails to capture the thief in a month? Wonât she escape if she gets the chance? Ichijo continued âThough that phantom thief has been running rampant and committing crimes in Heian-kyo, thereâs nothing linking that thief to this case, why is the Chief Advisor making such an excuse?â
âLord Ichijo!â Seimei coldly lectured, âIs the Chief Advisorâs intent something we can argue about?â
âNoâŠâŠâ Ichijo lowered his head and grit his teeth to stop from saying anything disrespectful.
Kamo rose and with a wave of his hand, the gigantic ghost hands released Lily.
The lingering numbness prevented Lily from moving her arms. Spirit armor could defend against sudden impacts, however against grappling or capture abilities, the defensive capabilities were far less effective. It is like wearing steel armor. Being punched doesnât hurt, however getting grappled or twisted can cause internal damage.
It took Lily a while to recover and get up. In her heart, she also couldnât guess what the Chief Advisor was thinking, but at least the aid had allowed her to survive this stage. Otherwise, even if there was no evidence she would have been interrogated. As a woman, being interrogated in front of so many men would not only be painful but humiliating. Lily would fight to the death before accepting such treatment. However, if that happened, the secret of her processing treasures the clairvoyance mirror could not detect would be exposed.
She got up, and knelt down to pledge, âLily obeys the Chief Advisorâs decree, Lily will definitely capture the phantom thief.â
âThis woman, acting as if sheâs a loyal retainer. Can we really do nothing about her?â Ichijo complained, but there really was nothing he could do.
Kamo ordered, âSince this is the Chief Advisorâs orders, we will obey. Seimei, go record how many treasures and materials have been stolen and report it to the Ministry of Interior.â
âUnderstood, teacher.â in Seimeiâs hands appeared a brush and a booklet.
Kamo then walked over to help Lily, âLady Kagami, I still have my suspicions of you. However, since the Chief Advisor has decreed, I will cooperate with the investigation. I was a bit heavy-handed, are you fine?â Kamoâs hand landed on her arm.
âRelease me! Donât touch me!â Lily flicked her long sleeves, her tone frigid1.
Being imprisoned on the ground by his spells had not only injured her arms but had humiliated her. It had also allowed her to grasp the gap between her and the powerhouses hidden in Heian-kyo. Kamo was only the head of the Bureau of Divination. The peak powerhouses of the Heian Dynasty such as the Chief Advisor, the Shogun, and the left and right inner palace guard should be many times stronger than she could imagine.
Lily was quite carefree and casual in the Kanto Region, however here in Heian-kyo she should be cautious and careful, otherwise sheâd really suffer. She could not forget to maintain humility, the depths of Heian-kyo were far deeper than she could imagine.
Kamo could understand Lilyâs attitude, but he still said, âLady Kagami, you are free for this month, however you may not leave Heian-kyo.â
âI donât need you to tell me something so obvious.â Lily coldly retorted.
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âLady Kagami, though the Chief Advisor has put you in charge of the case, we canât let an Onmyo no Jojo investigate. How about I assign you the position of an exorcist, what do you think?â
âDo as you want.â
âI will assign Seimei to inform you of details regarding the phantom thief.â
âYou donât need to bother, I will investigate myself. I donât want to spend another moment here.â Even now Lilyâs arms hurt, she had been truly infuriated.
âWait,â Kamo ordered.
He pulled out a jade bead threaded by a red rope and handed it to Lily, âLady Kagami, during this month please carry this, it will track your location.â
Lily coldly looked at the demeaning object, with a wave of her hand. âClink!â The rope broke and the jade bead shattered. âWithin a month I will return, with or without that phantom thief. If you canât accept that, then arrest me now!â
With that, Lily turned around and left, Kamo and the rest staring blankly at her.
âLord Kamo, this, this Kagami Lily is too rude! Why wonât you teach her a lesson?â a frustrated Ichijo asked.
Kamo shook his head, âIf I pursued every little issue it might affect the case, that would be disobeying the Chief Advisor. For this month let us try to cooperate.â
âBut what if she flees?â
âI naturally have a method.â
âŠâŠ
âŠâŠ
Lily directly left the Bureau of Divination, walking along the cold chilly streets of Heian-kyo, she wanted to cry but held back. Kamo had been reasonable, though there was a decree from the Chief Advisor, if he had wanted, he could still find plenty of excuses to imprison her.
âI need to get stronger! To awaken my senior sister2, to protect my sisters, to live with freedom and dignity!â Only⊠she had run out in a fit of anger, and now she had no idea where to search for the phantom thief.
Forget it, she would find a way.
With the cold wind blowing, Lily had calmed down. She gradually began to discover the Chief Advisorâs aim. She and the Chief Advisor had only a one-sided meeting, on top of that she had only seen the Chief Advisorâs hands and not face. At that time the Chief Advisor had not been willing to meet her, but now, what meaning did that decree have?
Perhaps the Chief Advisor really suspected the phantom thief? No. Even an idiot like Ichijo found this implausible. Then it could be assumed that the Chief Advisor meant to help her even if she was suspicious, but why?
Perhaps itâs because she had received Prince Narinagaâs letter? But if it was to protect her, wouldnât it be easier to have the Onmyoji hand her over to the Chief Advisor? Why involve this phantom thief? Maybe the Chief Adviser didnât care about the Bureauâs treasury being robbed. Her purpose was to have Lily chase after the phantom thief.
In conclusion, the Chief Advisor had sent her to the Bureau of Divination to hold an official post. She had arrived, and though she had caused quite a bit of trouble, it seems like the Chief Advisor didnât mind. Since she was assigned to chase the phantom thief, then she would chase.
Lily continued to walk but felt stalkers behind her. She turned around a corner and into a dark alley. Not a while later, two attendants snuck into the alley. As expected, she was being followed.
âBoom!â Lily smashed a foot into two faces sending them flying. Lily strode forward and stomped down on one of them, âSpeak, why are you following me?â
âArghh, mercy! Lady Samurai mercy! We lowly ones are only following orders.â
âOrders? Whoâs orders?â
âKu, Lord Kujo ordered us to follow you, we were to prevent you from fleeingâŠâŠâ
âTell Kujo I wonât run, if I wanted to run you wouldnât be able to stop me. Get lost!â
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âYes! Yes!â The two experienced Lilyâs strength and fled. Though she had sent back the two attendants, Lily still felt uneasy. She deployed her domain. As expected, in the distance there were two suspicious looking crows. She grabbed her blade and directly beheaded the two crows. The slashed crows turned into destroyed talismans.
âIf it isnât Kamo, then itâs Seimei. Deliberately allowing Kujo to dispatch easily discoverable attendants to lower my guard. These talismans are the real pursuers3. Only⊠unless Kamo personally suppresses my domain, these tricks cannot track me.â
After finishing the trackers, Lily traveled to the Suzaku Avenue. She had been too impulsive and hadnât collected information on the phantom thief, now she had no idea where to go. Suddenly Lily thought of a place.
Lilyâs sense of direction was excellent, she found the direction immediately. She found herself at the monster pub near the river, though it was daytime, the skies were still dark, so the pub was still open. Lily wandered the backyard instead of entering. She didnât want to meet Masakado. She had left without bidding farewell last time, though it was a small issue, she didnât want any trouble.
As Lily circled the backyard, she gained a tail. A chubby little boy with a ruffianâs face. The boy silently stalked up behind Lily and then extended a hand to grab her rear. Lily had been long prepared, she twisted around with a kick.
âOof!â The little kid was kicked flying.
In midair with a puff of smoke, he was forced back into his original form, the fat racoon Yuuta.
âAgh! That Hurts!â The raccoon sat on the floor howling, âYouâve clearly come to find me, why the kick? Owe!â
âYes, Iâve come to see you, but not to get molested.â Lily put a hand on her hip, âDo you want me to kick a few more times?â
âYes, yes, ah! No! No! NO!â Yuuta cried, âI was only joking around.â
âNext time, try a different joke!â Lily admonished, she continued, âWhat do you know about the phantom thief?â
References
Robinxen: While he did go to extremes I fail to see why it warrants this response honestly.Robinxen: Kind of feel sorry for the new translator honestly, this novel has weird technical terms and a lot of nuance in character naming.Robinxen: Wow she displayed intelligence.