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At night the dojo was strangely quiet.

Most disciples didn’t stay in the dojo, those that did were junior disciples with long practice hours that had yet to reach samurai level. Those that had become samurais would often come and go to different places for assignments. As a result, it was only the instructors that would remain in the dojo.

Lily couldn’t wait anymore, after she had arranged her things she immediately took out the book of “Genji Swordstyle.” She walked out to the backyard, and sat under the thousand-year sakura, reading from the light of a garden stone lantern.

She was startled as soon as she started to read her book.

It turned out that the “Genji Swordstyle” wasn’t as magnificent as she imagined it to be. It wasn’t about peerless swordsmanship but ways to discharge the force.

Book One of [Genji Swordstyle] was the first stage of Genji Swordstyle. When she had mastered this part, she could raise her base power by fifty percent.

For example, if the strongest base power her arm could release was one hundred kwans, then applying the method detailed in the first stage of the Swordstyle would allow her to reach one hundred and fifty kwans!

Book Two of [Genji Swordstyle], namely the second stage of Genji Swordstyle, could double her base power.

Book Three, or third stage, when mastered, could increase her power up to one hundred and fifty percent, which was 2.5 times stronger!¹

That would mean, with one hundred kwans base strength, her base power could reach two hundred and fifty kwans after she mastered three stages of Genji Swordstyle.

This was such an abnormal martial art! It didn’t mention anything about techniques or styles, it directly increased base strength!

In the book’s foreword, Ieyoshi mentioned that in a real fight you wouldn’t have a chance to use many complicated techniques within a short time. You could only improvise and use the most practical and reasonable strikes. You must be able to kill the enemy or disable him within one strike, depriving them of their fighting capacity.

It could be seen that Ieyoshi was a pioneer who had concentrated on practical fights. He had used his experience to create the concept of the samurai’s foundation in the Heian period.

Of course, this was just the theory. To learn the essence of his experience, one must increase their base strength by changing the way their force was released, which in turn would benefit them in real battles. And, only the ones that bought “Genji Swordstyle” could learn such techniques.

The Genji Swordstyle had nine volumes in total. However, no matter how much anyone spent, you could only buy the first six books. The last three books were only imparted to the official and most excellent disciples of Genji Dojo.

The Genji Clan also restricted the samurais from borrowing Genji Swordstyle to read and learn without buying the books. Each samurai who bought the series would be registered. Once they found someone who didn’t buy the Swordstyle but still used it anyway, they would be harshly punished.

None of the samurai families, even the famous ones, dared to challenge the Genji Clan’s iron law. The only family that could resist was the Taira, which had its own unique technique. The [Taira Swordstyle]. They had no need to learn the Genji Swordstyle.

Thus, Lily didn’t dare to let Nanako and the others read the [Genji Swordstyle] she had purchased. In the event it was discovered, they would directly punish the user, without tracing back to the original source. Genji’s way of resolving issues was also influenced by Ieyoshi, which was brief and practical.

Additionally, not only did the Genji Swordstyle improve penetration force, but it also improved the ability to channel the muscle’s forces. Thus, if the force was used to enhance the legs, the user could accelerate much faster. However, the speed couldn’t be increased proportionately to the strength.

If applied to the waist, stomach, or back, the user could enhance their ability to make a sudden shift in directions, or increase flexibility to dodge surprise attacks.

Lily glanced down at her heaving breasts. Her current power level was already plenty strong, if she applied the Genji Swordstyle then that power could be more than doubled. Moreover, her swordplay would grow along with the boost of her base strength!

Aside from the methods to channel force, Genji Swordstyle naturally had all kinds of highly effective techniques, which were all based on speed and simplicity. After all, the method for channeling forces would only work when appropriate sword techniques were applied.

The swordstyle also mentioned some fundamental concepts of unique techniques, but Ieyoshi didn’t write his secret and unique techniques in the books. He clearly said that, “Even if you read all of my books, you cannot find these unique techniques. The real techniques are what suit you best.”

What Ieyoshi wrote were methods to create techniques using the concepts, thoughts, and one’s personal circumstances. He didn’t write about any specific techniques in the book.

However, Ieyoshi also reminded that one should at least master the third stage of his swordstyle before attempting to create their own technique. Otherwise, they would only be waving their hands and legs in vain. An unstable foundation could only serve to mess up their way with the sword.

When Lily finished reading, though she didn’t understand the content thoroughly, she did agree with Ieyoshi. She trusted him unconditionally and respected Ieyoshi as she constantly found herself nodding her head while reading.

The first book had rich contents but it didn’t have more than ten thousand words². After Lily finished reading, she put the book inside the sash between her breasts and waist³. Then, she decided to practice for a while.

When she practiced the first strike, she had a feeling that with the guide of the swordstyle many things had changed. She could perceive them more easily and accurately.

Perhaps she was really a genius with the sword. She had gained so much in almost an instant, and could feel deeply the marvel of the Genji Swordstyle.

However, even so, Lily had practiced late into midnight and she found that her progress in harnessing the forces was extremely slow. Currently, out of the hundred times she wielded her sword, the best result was only increasing her base power by not more than one percent! It turned out the Genji Swordstyle was much more difficult than she had imagined!

Although she was a genius, it was still really hard to put it into practice.

After everything, Lily could only barely increase her power by one percent. The effect was trivial. However, it was really late at night, and she had practiced until she was damp with sweat. As she breathed out, a faint white mist could be seen exhaling from her mouth.

‘I will call it a night for now. Tomorrow, I still have to go to Lady Sakiko’s place to learn about the tea ceremony. I need to wash up and rest,’ thought Lily as she rubbed her rosy cheeks that trickled with sweat.

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Twilight, at the riverbank facing Takeshita Town. Dozens of Hojo Clan samurais were camping by the water, seemingly unwilling to enter the town.

Dozens of Akira’s martial monks were also accompanying them.

Hojo Dijon the “Giant” was three meters tall.¹ As he stood by the bank with Akira and Hojo Ujinori at either side, he appeared exceptionally handsome and majestic.

Due to two upturned strips of red by the corners of his eyes, he gave the impression of an ancient samurai from the distant Asuka Period. His voice contained a deep accent, carrying traces of the same traditional charm, “That man is occupying Mount Amegyo. This time, my Hojo Clan has to mobilize almost half of the samurais. We must hunt him down successfully!”

There were more than sixty samurais within the encampment behind Dijon. Indeed, the Hojo had mobilized half of their assets. Included in the group were three familiar figures that sat around a bonfire in the corner, appearing unwelcomed.

They were Matsuda Nagahide, Kanzaki, and Kimura, one experienced middle-aged samurai and two younger samurais. This time, as part of their organization for the big hunt, the Hojo Clan had also mobilized the Matsudas.

Hiroko wasn’t participating in the operation and had already left with two other servants. Besides, this was a large monster hunt so they couldn’t afford to bring a woman who would be a burden like Hiroko.²

Akira spoke up servilely, while he looked at the fierce samurai troops and horses, “Your Highness, of course, everything will proceed smoothly when you take actions personally! It is our Daidouji Clan’s honor to accompany you on this mission.”

“Any additional warriors contribute to strength in numbers.³ What’s more, not only does that guy have a terrain advantage, but we also lack intelligence on how many pawns we will be facing,” said Dijon. “By the way, Lord Akira, there is one thing I want to ask for your assistance.”

“Do tell, Your Highness. If it is within my ability, Akira won’t decline.”

Dijon turned to his cousin, Motoshige, who stood next to him and said, “For this hunting operation, it would be more beneficial to have firearms to hold them back. Our casualties would be reduced greatly. I’ve planned for Motoshige to go to Suruga Province to buy twenty firearms. However, I’m worried that he’ll struggle to purchase them. If Lord Akira accompanies him, it would put me at ease.”

“Firearms…” Akira raised his brows, “In this Kanto abuttal⁴, we can only buy firearms from the Saikanji House in Suruga Province. That said, Saikanji Yomika, the head of the Saikanji House, is a tough woman. I heard that she doesn’t have many firearms, and she only sells to the Genji Clan, the Taira Clan, and the state. They don’t sell to other samurai families.”

“That’s why we need you, Lord Akira. You’re a businessman, right? You’re not willing to cooperate?” Dijon’s eyes looked mighty even when he wasn’t enraged.

“No! No! Your Highness, please rest your mind. I will be sure to help Lord Motoshige buy firearms,” Akira was damp with cold sweat as he hurriedly replied.

Dijon said, “Then I’ll have to bother you, Lord Akira. You and Motoshige will go to Suruga Province. Our team will camp by the foothills of Mount Amegyo and wait for you. When you come back, we will enter the mountain.”

Akira repeatedly agreed. Motoshige didn’t look happy, he was a samurai yet he had to rely on a low-status businessman to handle such a deal. However, he still nodded silently.

“Oh right, Your Great Highness, how about the expense to buy those firearms…” Akira mentioned worriedly.

“What?” Dijon’s eyes opened wide, “What expense?”⁵

Akira shivered and waved his hands in a fluster, sweat beading on his forehead, “No, nothing.”
At this moment, Motoshige saw some people coming from the distance and pointed them out. “Brother, look…”

They saw a samurai leading a white horse alongside the riverbank to this area, atop its back was a woman dressed in a kimono and veiled conical bamboo hat. Several other people that looked like their servants walked behind them.

As the delegation approached it became easier to see the woman, although she was wearing a veil and all, it appeared as if she was married.

When the samurai walking the steed saw the group of people by the riverbank, he grew extremely cautious. With a serious face, he kept walking forward. The woman on the horse also turned her head aside so as to not get noticed.

Motoshige stared at the woman then turned to Dijon. Dijon’s eyes didn’t leave the woman, but he made no moves.

Motoshige understood what his cousin was thinking. Though he had the weakest standing among the young generation in Hojo Clan, he was still able to keep hanging around Dijon. Regardless of hunting or fighting, he had his share of actions. Of course, he must have some expertise better than others…

Seeing the other party getting closer, Motoshige immediately ran from the riverbank to the road. He stopped them and called out, “That samurai over there, what is that woman to you?”

The samurai’s eyes turned cold. That man was just a stranger yet he asked something so rude. Although this Heian Empire was uncivilized, the samurai should at least respect each other.

With a cold tone, he answered, “This is my wife.”

The woman on the horse fearfully glanced at those samurais through her veil. Then, she hurried to stoop her head. The servants behind them were even more frightened they didn’t dare make a sound.

That woman was indeed the other’s wife. It was as Motoshige had predicted. He continued, “Can you ask your wife to get off the horse and drink a cup of liquor with His Highness?”

“What?!” The samurai holding the rein of the horse became angry. Placing one hand on the handle of his sword, he raised his voice, “She’s my wife! How could she drink with you!? Please let us pass. Otherwise, I won’t be so polite!”

As he was brave enough to bring his beautiful wife to travel through the wilderness, this samurai must have some powers. He was indeed a high-level samurai!

His power level was almost equal to Hojo Motoshige. Taking real battle experience into account, Motoshige couldn’t beat him if they really fought.

However, at this moment, Akira led several martial monks and seven to eight Hojo Clan samurais to surround them, which terrified the woman and servants.

When the lone samurai saw their attitude. He understood that they couldn’t get away without complying to drink with them.

Motoshige said, “His Highness only wants to drink a few cups with your wife. Since you rejected, are you looking down on our Hojo Clan?”

The lone samurai looked at Dijon, who was strangely large⁶, as he heard the name Hojo. He was so frightened that he had to subside his anger and nod obediently.

The woman on the horse took off her conical bamboo hat, revealing her white, beautiful face. She had shaved her brows and drawn two black dots on her forehead. She had the classic beauty of a woman from a rich family.

Watching his wife starting to drink with Dijon from outside the camp, even the lone samurai’s great patience began to wear thin. His wife usually became somewhat seductive when she got drunk. In any case, Dijon’s handsome but strangely large-build was really attractive to women in the Heian period. One should know that the men in the Heian period were relatively short.⁷ Plus, the woman felt hurt and disappointed by her man’s cowardice.⁸

The samurai couldn’t bear such a humiliation any further.

All of a sudden, he shouted, “Ⓢⓛⓤⓣ! Prepare to die, you adulterous couple!”⁹

In his wrath, the lone samurai drew his sword, dashing toward Dijon and the woman who were sitting and drinking.

The high-level samurai stormed, risking his life in his outrage. The Hojo Clan’s samurais standing nearby couldn’t stop him on time.

However, Dijon wasn’t flustered. He pushed the woman aside and kicked the small table.

Dijon’s force had blown the woman several meters away, where she had landed on a rock, dying with a broken neck.¹⁰

Seeing that, the lone samurai became frenzied. He screamed and attacked Dijon.

Dijon waited until the lone samurai came in front of him. His handsome face beamed a disdainful and cruel smile. He didn’t even raise his sword, and simply flicked it with his bucket-sized hand.

“Clang ——!”

The others could only see a flash on Dijon’s hand, as the Odachi had just been drawn thirty centimeters out of the scabbard!

The waves of spirit power, which was as heavy as six thousand kilograms, pressed and hit the samurai’s chest.

“Pfft!” The samurai spurted blood. The powerful air wave sent him flying dozens of meters away before hitting a pine tree, breaking the bowl-sized branch before falling helplessly.

The Hojo Clan’s samurais took out their swords, chasing after him. However, they soon realized it wasn’t necessary.

The samurai was dead.

He couldn’t save his wife, nor could he wound Dijon before he died. He didn’t do anything wrong. His only fault was that he wasn’t strong enough.

Well, it was merely a pipe dream for wanting to protect his wife without enough strength. In this dark Heian period, power decided everything. It could even suppress the laws. Of course, the only thing power couldn’t prevail over was dignity.

And, it was unknown to anyone if this lone samurai had won against his dignity…¹¹

The dead samurai’s servants now had jelly legs as they were too terrified. They just stood there, trembling and begging the other party to spare their lives.

Hojo Dijon rolled his eyes, which looked dreadful and as big as walnuts. To the vulnerable people that couldn’t cause any threat to him, he said heartlessly, “Kill them all.”

The Hojo’s samurais screamed and stormed forward, slashing the servants as if they were butchers chopping meat. A moment later, blood splashed everywhere and the air reeked with bloody smell.

Dijon turned around and sat down. He picked up the bottle of liquor on the ground and continued to drink as if nothing had happened.

Nagahide, Kanzaki, and Kimura weren’t far from there. They saw everything. Although they hated the injustice, Hojo Dijon was their Lord’s oldest son, one with outstanding power. They hated him but didn’t dare to say a word. So, sighing was all they could do.

Nagahide had followed his Lord to attack and kill everywhere through those territories. But today, seeing the future leader of the Hojo Clan this cruel and malicious, he felt pained and disappointed.

Killing people, whether they be common folk or passing samurais, in Hojo Dijon’s samurai life were like side dishes, which were as common as his daily meals.

However, he was a little regretful as he had slipped his hand and killed that samurai’s wife. Dijon drank liquor under the dimming light of the sunset and felt somewhat irritated.

A cold but charming voice came from behind the tree where Dijon was sitting and drinking.

“Lord Hojo, why are you drinking to vent your sadness alone?”

“Who!?” Hojo Dijon was startled!

He didn’t get up. Placing his tumbler down, he slightly turned his upper body, his hand grabbing the handle of his sword.

He then saw a slender girl wearing a prajna mask appearing under the dark shade of the tree.

“It’s you?” It seemed this wasn’t the first time Hojo saw the girl in the prajna mask.

“Haha, Lord Hojo, I bring you a message from my master.¹² Please be on the lookout for a person with… an ancient mirror.”

“Shut up!” Hojo was enraged. “I, Hojo Dijon, am from a powerful, noble family. How could I associate with dark stooges¹³ like you!? If you take off your mask and drink with me, I will spend time to talk to you. If you are here just to relay some ⓑⓤⓛⓛⓢⓗⓘⓣ messages, don’t blame me for not being polite!”

“Clang!” Hojo drew a section of his shiny blade.

“Lord Hojo, I’m only here because I’m ordered to relay the message. The gate of Hundred Demon Nation is always open to you. But as for drinking with you, I have no interest. Hehehehe…”

A faint brush of wind came over, and the girl disappeared into thin air under the shade of the tree.

Hojo rolled his eyes and stood up to look at the dark forest, grabbing the handle of his sword.

Quietly the red sun began to set down behind the black mountain range, dimming beneath the misty clouds.

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Daidoji Akira and his group were sitting by the road for a short break as the dispirited sun looked over the downcast countryside surrounding Takeshita Town. They had quickly left the town as soon as Akira got the news, knowing that it would be more prudent even if the Wind Demon Clan wouldn’t reveal his identity or otherwise affect him.

Akira was sweating heavily, his kasaya damp and wrinkled. It was no wonder as he had hurriedly escaped through the night. Sitting on a rock, he gasped for his breath. “Damn it! To hell with it! I’ve calculated everything yet I missed the fact that the old woman in that Chrysanthemum Inn is the master of Genji Dojo! That ⓑⓘⓣⓒⓗ Kagami Lily was so lucky!”

Apparently, Akira thought that Sakiko’s men had killed the ninjas from the Wind Demon Clan. He didn’t think that Lily had done everything single-handedly.

“Brother! This time, we’ve even payed with all of my dowry!” Hiroko’s clothes were dirty with muddy dabs. She pouted resentfully.

“That bit from your dowry doesn’t even cover any ⓢⓗⓘⓣ! To hire the Wind Demon Clan to murder someone in the Genji’s territory, I had to spend a whole three hundred kwan! The money doesn’t matter that much, it’s the term and conditions that matters most. If more than half of the Wind Demon Clan’s ninjas were killed, we’d have to sell the medicinal herbs harvested from the medicinal fields in Mount Amekoi’s valley to the Wind Demon Clan for cheap as compensation for the next three years. Without those herbal fields, we will have to bear significant losses in Suruga Province’s medicinal market! That Saikanji House will seize the chance and cause more losses for us!” Akira was so angry he was shivering.

“Brother! Those herbal fields are our key assets. Brother, how could you just casually make such a deal with the Wind Demon Clan?” Hiroko flustered.

“Ⓕⓤⓒⓚ, how could I know that! I thought that when the Wind Demon Clan took action, they could murder that little girl as easily as flipping a hand. Even if someone got hurt, their casualties shouldn’t be more than sixty percent¹! Damn, who would think they’d all be killed!” Akira was so mad he stomped his feet, shaking the ground.

The senile onmyoji was also among the dozens of the martial monks fleeing with their masters. “Master Akira, there’s no problem with my commission?”

“Great Master Hosokawa, don’t worry! I won’t miss even one coin I’ve promised you!” Akira had more beads of sweat on his forehead.

“Kagami Lily! That lowly ⓑⓘⓣⓒⓗ has incurred big losses for me. I’d spent a huge amount to invite the onmyoji to deal with Noboru, yet you snatched our heirloom! And this time, the Wind Demon Clan failed to assassinate you and that also cost me a big deal in my medicinal trade! I am Daidouji Akira, do you think I won’t be able to deal with a poor little girl like you?!”

Akira sat under the sunlight, gritting his teeth in anger. However, as long as Lily didn’t leave Takeshita Town, he would have no way to do anything to her! He didn’t dare to hire the ninjas. Moreover, he couldn’t bear the loss! He couldn’t afford a big loss of his family’s assets just to kill an ordinary girl!

Right when Daidouji Akira was so flustered and exasperated, not far from them, a group of people and horses with extraordinary auras were heading toward Akira’s team from the remote and barren road in the East.

This troop of men and horses included around fifty or sixty people. All of them were sturdy and well-built samurais. Although they were wearing their casual clothes, if someone knew of the rumors in Kanto, they would be able to recognize this troop immediately.

Just looking at the leader from a distance, one would think that there was a vast distance between him and the others. However, the others were riding closely behind him.

It was because the man was around three meters tall with thick eyebrows and big eyes outlined by the rough hair on his temples. Even though his face was rough, he still looked handsome. His limbs were extraordinarily larger than normal people, but his body’s proportions were fine and even more beefy. He looked like a bigger version of Hojo Ujizane, but he was more powerful and overbearing than Ujizane. His entire body emitted the aura of a royal.

This man was wearing a blue kimono. Two nodachi² were kept at his waist, which an ordinary man would need to carry on their back.

His mount wasn’t ordinary, either. It was a beefy, red horse around 3.3 meters tall. It looked just a bit inferior to the black steed Nioh.

Looking at the man who was leading the troop from a distance, under an extremely hot weather, Akira was so frightened he was sweating a lot until his entire body was soaked. He got up in a fluster to welcome the others.

When monk Akira walked to the front of that handsome and gigantic samurai, his height of 1.9 meters seemed so small in comparison.

“Y- Your Great Highness!” Akira sat down on his knees in the middle of the muddy road to greet the other.

That man was the oldest son of Hojo Clan’s head, one of the Six Swords of the Eastern Nation, Hojo Dijon!

This troop included all the elite samurai of the Hojo Clan. Standing by Dijon was a man two times smaller than him. That man had aquiline nose and a slender figure. He was Dijon’s cousin, Hojo Motoshige.

He was also Hojo Ujizane’s brother, the one who wanted to capture Lily in the Matsuda’s. When he tried to check out Lily’s power level, she had cut the cup he darted toward her in half.

The sunset over the dojo was serene and dim. Although it felt lonely, it was somewhat comfortable.

Sakiko brought Lily, Nanako, and Shiu to the inner courtyard. It was a room deep inside the courtyard and it didn’t look as luxurious and splendid as the others. However, it had the beauty of peace and quietness.

“Miss Kagami, although this place is a little simple, it’s safe and quiet. It’s really suitable for girls like you three. If you don’t mind, just stay here for a while,” said Sakiko.

This place looked even simpler and plainer than Chrysanthemum Inn. However, it was really clean, elegant, and peaceful. Lily loved places like this very much.

“Ah no, Lady Sakiko, this place is really good.” Lily sincerely thanked Lady Sakiko.

Nanako and Shiu walked behind the two slender women. Sometimes, their eyes would wander and look interestingly at the wild, natural scenery around.

“Un?” Lily spotted several pink canopies jutting over and above the roof like clusters of colorful clouds, “Are those…”

“Haha, Miss Kagami, follow me to the backyard and check it out.”

They walked to the backyard and found an old, big, and tough sakura tree there. However, what astonished people was the sakura blooming all over the tree.

“Ah, so beautiful…” Lily couldn’t help but admire from the bottom of her heart. Ever since she had come to this otherworld, it seemed she had a close connection with sakura, and she did like cherry blossoms.

Beautiful and proud, only sakura could combine these two aspects of beauty. However, it somewhat conveyed a faint tint of sadness.

“This is a one-thousand-year old sakura,” said Sakiko, “although it’s a tree with flowers, it has spirit. This tree blossoms in all four seasons. It’s one of the beautiful scenes of this courtyard of mine.”

Lily nodded continuously. “Lady Sakiko, I… I really like this place, especially this backyard!”

“Haha, I knew you’d love it,” said Sakiko as she flirtishly patted Lily’s butt.

“Er?” Lily slightly blushed. It was fortunate that Nanako and Shiu were playing³ with the grass and flowers around and they didn’t catch it. Otherwise, her prestige as their master would be swept away just like that.

Lily was a little embarrassed. She moved half a step aside but she didn’t want to show that she was moving too much, which would reveal her discontented mood. No matter what, Sakiko was her benefactor. Even if she had harassed her a little bit, she couldn’t just fume and turn her back to the other. It would be really awkward.

Sakiko acted as though nothing had happened. She teased and said naturally, “Oh right, Miss Kagami, I’m free tomorrow. Do you want to visit me and enjoy tea?”

Though Lily felt a little awkward about the previous incident, this invitation still made her happy, “Lady Sakiko, I’ve long wanted to learn tea ceremony from you. I’ll have to bother you tomorrow then.”

Lily answered with bits of shyness.

“Tea ceremony?!” Nanako who was playing nearby finally lifted her head and said, “I also want to learn. I want to learn too!”

She ran to Sakiko and blinked her big eyes, “Lady Sakiko, can I come too?”

Sakiko smiled. “Of course you can. As the oldest daughter of the Saikanji House wanting to learn, how can I not teach you.”

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After the ceremony ended, the newly appointed samurai left the main hall with bright faces as they held their certificates. Before leaving with Ashikaga Kiyoshi and the old man, Sakiko had asked Lily to meet her in the evening. As Lily and Nanako were leaving, she was curious and asked, “Oh right, Nanako, what are the Six Swords of the Eastern Nation you mentioned?”

Nanako had a satisfied expression as she perked up and said, “The Eastern Nation’s Six Swords are very famous. They are the top samurai among the younger generation of Kanto!”

“The top samurai of the younger generation?” Lily asked with a deep breath, “who are these six samurai?”

Nanako came to a stop before jumping to turn around, her hands on her waist, as she looked up at Lily. Despite her short stature, her atmosphere was quite daunting, as though she wanted to overwhelm Lily with this topic.

“The sixth member and the weakest of the Six Swords of the Eastern Nation: Hojo Dijon¹, the eldest son of the Hojo Clan’s Head, also known as the strongest warrior of the Hojo Clan!”

“Fifth member: Ashikaga Kiyoshi, the oldest Young Master of the Ashikaga Clan. You’ve just met him.”

“Fourth: Taira Hachirou, the prodigy of the Taira Clan. The one who represents Mikawa Province’s samurai.”

“Third: Itou Shingi, the oldest samurai in the group, a fierce samurai from the Kai Province.”

“Second: Uesugi Rei, the Goddess of the Snow Nation’s army that has earned the respect of the entire Eastern Nation. She’s the renowned Demon Sword Maiden of Echigo Province. They say she rides a black steed and killed the Green Demon with only one slash!”

“And the top samurai is… Genji Shimizu. There’re not many legends about her. We just know that she’s a Sword Maiden, the pride of the Genji Clan in the Eastern Nation, but she rarely appears.”

“Hehe,” looking at Lily’s astounded face, Nanako continued, “So, are you frightened now when you hear their names? Anyway, the two that stand at the top of this generation’s Six Swords are both women, and I heard that they’re extremely glamorous.”

“Oh…” Lily agreed with blurred eyes.
Uesugi Rei, she heard this name again.

She hadn’t expected that the strong, beautiful, yet cold woman who forcefully stole her first kiss without any explanation was one of the Eastern Nation’s Six Swords.

Ranked second, she was even stronger than the Ashikaga Kiyoshi she had seen today. She was the woman who stood at the summit of this generation’s young samurai in the Eastern Nation.

Lily suddenly felt helpless. She thought that if she were stronger, she could get back her dignity; however, it looked like Uesugi Rei was standing and watching her from a tall mountain that was getting farther and farther away. Was it even a mountain that she could reach?!

“Hey, hey! Are you okay? Big-breasted woman!”

“Err… Sorry, I was a little bewildered just now…” Lily didn’t even warn Nanako about calling her big-breasted woman as she was drowning in her wavering thoughts.

‘Whatever the case, the one who forcefully kissed me is the peerless woman standing at the top of the Kanto samurai. Should I consider myself lucky? Hmm…’

Bewildered, Lily comforted herself.

Unconsciously, she stroked her gloss, pink lips with finger, her nipples becoming erect from arousal.²

Lily walked absent-mindedly with Nanako until the two walked out of the inner hall and saw Shiu waiting for them at the gate.

“Master, where should we go now?” Shiu obediently asked.

“Ah, I…” Lily gradually pulled herself together and said, “Ah, I just remembered that I wanted to make a trip over to the shop. You guys just play around here and wait for me.”

“Yes, take your time, master!” Shiu happily received the order, waving her hand with a cat-like smile on her face.

“Play?” Nanako looked at the lush green grass yard.

Lily walked to the islet inside the Dojo where most of the shops were situated. First, she visited the anima containers shop, where she sold all the animas that weren’t reserved for empowering Sakura.

“There are thirty-six rank-one animas. So, eighteen kwan in total,” said the womanish sounding onmyoji wearing a purple fur coat.

Although Lily was a boy who turned into a girl, she didn’t like effeminate men.

Turning into a woman and being effeminate were two completely different stories.

“Thank you,” Lily received the money. She didn’t linger for long, leaving immediately after her business was done.

She went to another shop where precious items were collected. She took out the heirloom, a shiny bead, she had taken from Daidouji.

The shopkeeper was an old man. He observed the item meticulously then took a deep breath. He was quite surprised when he spoke to Lily, “Miss, you’ve just become a samurai and yet you’ve managed to get such a rare item. This is indeed most surprising.”

“Ah no, I’m just lucky,” said Lily, her face turned towards her heaving breasts.

The old man wiped beads of sweat from his forehead and said, “this item is a white jade stone. Although it’s not a real jade, it is a very precious stone due to its unique aura. This white jade stone is top-quality. It is clear and the color is not bad. After so many years, the jade has become even more polished and natural. However, it now contains some vulgar and even resentful spirit, which has greatly destroyed its auspicious aura. However, I guess as you have kept it for quite a long time, it has absorbed your innocence and faint scent. The evil energy is somewhat expelled. So now, it’s worth much more than the time you got it.”

“Oh?” Lily was happy upon hearing the old man’s appraisal. Her red lips parted, letting out white mist, “S- so, how much I can get if I sell it?”

“This lucky and elegant Miss samurai, because this bead has been purified by your innocence, its value has increased significantly. How about it, I’ll buy it one hundred kwan,” The old man’s eyes sparkled as he gestured.

“Ah…” Lily looked somewhat hesitant. One hundred kwan was a big number to her. However, it was an heirloom of the filthy rich Daidouji Clan, yet it was worth only one hundred kwan? It sounded a little cheap. Had she risked her life only for one hundred kwan?

Lily asked again, “Grandpa, I heard that it’s a family heirloom. Shouldn’t it be extremely rare and precious? It should be priceless, no?”

The old man wore a nice face and answered with a smile, “This kind of white jade stone doesn’t have actual function and power, but many families have used it as the symbol of fate and passed it down through generations. To them, it seems to have some special meaning or priceless value as you say. However, to a buyer, if it’s a primary stone or some precious stone passed by the nobilities or officials, it will have a better price. However, this bead has been contaminated by filthy energy and resentment, which has destroyed a lot of its actual value!”

The old man looked pitiful. However, he was looking at Lily with bright eyes. “If you haven’t kept it with you for a long time and used your fresh and pure nature to purify the bead, the price would have been even lower. As you’re from the Genji Dojo, Miss, I’m not going to mistreat you. I’ve offered you the price a little higher than the other shops. It’s because of your excellent appearance. If you don’t believe me, you can go to another shop and check. So, will you sell it to me?”

Lily was a little disappointed. The stone that carried special meaning to the Daidouji Clan was tarnished by their own corrupted moral character, which had degraded and reduced the value of such an heirloom.

“I should sell it anyway,” Lily said indifferently.

“Thank you, miss!” The old man excitedly said. He walked away and then returned with a black wooden box with ten silver ingots within.

Right in front of Lily, he began to stack the ingots, one by one, into a black velvet bag and handed it to her. Since it wasn’t polite to let a virtuous woman be seen putting away money in front of others. The old man understood this well.

“Thank you, uncle,” Lily thanked him then received the bag.

In total, Lily had sold the items and received one hundred and eighteen kwan, plus fifty-one kwan she had confiscated from Shiu, she now had one hundred and sixty-nine kwan! She was now a young lady with money!

One should know that in Heian Empire, when the average income of a farmer’s family was converted to money, the total amount didn’t even add up to one kwan annually.

Matsuda earned around two hundred kwan a year, but this money was used to cover all the samurai in the family, to protect the territory, and for paying the munitions. He couldn’t use the money for only himself.

As Lily had been walking on the path of a samurai, she also took risks and earned money. And, it seemed she could earn money really fast!

Of course, Lily didn’t sell the Shiroi Fugu and the shurikens. She returned them to Shiu. In some aspects, Shiu was her henchman. Of course, she couldn’t let this female ninja be barehanded.

Holding the money, Lily headed toward the chamber of secret techniques³. She wanted to buy the “Genji Swordstyle”.

It was an isolated ancient-looking hut behind the bamboo. Under the shadow of the bamboo stood a small statue of Hachiman⁴.

Lily walked into the room and saw a bald middle-aged Buddhist priest sitting there with a kasaya (clothing). Behind him stood many bookshelves adjacent to the walls filled with rare ancient books and scrolls.

“Great Master, I want to see the books about swordstyles here,” Lily said respectfully.

The Buddhist priest looked somewhat fiendish, but the way he talked was really gentle. “Miss, although this is a shop of Genji Dojo, any books regarding sword styles, techniques, and secrets you can name in Kanto, you can find here. Of course, they are just entry-level.”

Lily studied the Buddhist priest and thought he might have some old stories to end up in this line of business. Did he drop the butcher knife and become a Buddha?

The voice of the middle-aged Buddhist priest was low but tender. He continued, “Except for our peerless technique, the [Genji Swordstyle], we also have [Taira Swordstyle], [Yin Torrent Swordstyle], [Torikashinto-ryu], [North Star One-Handed Style], [Lord Mikawa Sword Theory], [Six Obscure Gentries]…

“Of course, the best of them are [Genji Swordstyle] and [Taira Swordstyle]. And, because it’s more convenient and easier to learn, the [Yin Torrent] is also popular lately.”

Lily asked, “Master, how much do these swordstyles textbooks cost?”

“«Genji Swordstyle» has nine books. The author was the greatest hero in the history of Heian Empire, Genji Clan’s Martial God Ieyoshi. We sell the three first books here. The original price is two hundred kwan. As you are the Dojo’s disciple and you’re an official samurai, in principle, you can buy them at half price, which is one hundred kwan. However, you’re not allowed to spread it to outsiders.”

“The [Taira Swordstyle] has eight books. The author was the ancestor of the Taira Clan, the Highest Chancellor Taira Kiyomori. We also sell only the first three books for one hundred and fifty kwans. But I can’t give you a discount.”

“The [Yin Torrent] has five books. You can buy the whole series here with only eighty kwans. The Dojo’s disciples can have a seventy percent discount. I have to say, it’s the most practical Swordstyle.”

[Torikashinto-ryu], [North Star One-Handed Style], and [Lord Mikawa Sword Theory], we sell the whole series here at the price of one hundred and twenty kwans. The best discount I can give is seventy percent.”

“And the [Six Obscure Gentries]…”

“Great Master,” Lily intervened, “I have already thought about it. I want to buy the first three books of [Genji Swordstyle].

Lily immediately took out one hundred kwan.

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Early in the morning, the murmuring of the river was accompanied by a layer of mist that drifted toward the damp bluestone road.

The white fence of Genji Dojo stood imposingly. The lush and rugged trees could be seen from the outside, their tips of branches protruding beyond the wall.

Lily, Nanako, and Shiu were walking along this tranquil road, heading toward the large gate of the dojo.

Imakawa Yusuke brought around a dozen powerful samurais to stand guard at the dojo’s entrance, all armed with long and short swords at their waists. No matter what, after the incident last night, they must strictly watch the place today.

Upon seeing Lily, they greeted her very courteously. They didn’t even inspect the proof of examination but let Lily and the others enter immediately. However, Shiu was asked to wait outside.

Separating from her, Lily and Nanako walked in. It was the first time they visited the main hall, which was also the biggest room in the dojo. There were at least seven or eight pillars of humongous size in the middle of the room.

The two took off their shoes before entering the big hall. There were currently seven or eight official samurais sitting on their knees in the hall.

And, there were no less than fifty elite, powerful samurais sitting on the two sides of the room. They were wearing a white uniform with navy blue trousers. They all looked serious in this heavy atmosphere.

So many samurais! It truly deserved to be called Genji Dojo. Lily complimented inwardly.

There were ten new recruits in total, gathering and waiting here.

At this moment, unusual footsteps came from the other end of the dojo.

Several samurais with extraordinary auras entered the hall, separating evenly in half as they parted to sit directly on the front row of each side.

Lily didn’t dare to use her spirit power to check. However, those people weren’t afraid to emit their intimidating auras for Lily to sense.

The weakest of them was at Middle-class Kengo! So fierce! Any one of those seven or eight samurais sitting in the front rows could easily defeat Lily!

And, right when Lily was still frightened, three more came from the other side.

All the samurai present kneeled and bowed to greet them. Lily’s group also followed them to bow.

The three then walked to the front and sat on the wooden floor. A screen with drawings of pine trees, bamboos, and apricot blossoms stood behind them.

One of them was Genji Sakiko, the mistress of the dojo, sitting to the right.

On the left was an old man with long, gray hair. His aura was also formidable and unfathomable. This man was one of the masters with virtue and prestige sent to Genji Dojo from Kamakura City.

Sitting in the middle was a young, slender, and handsome man. He had a smooth face with double eyelids and eyes as sharp the phoenix’s.

The young man’s eyes had glimpses of being gentle but serious and cold. His natural solemn made Lily not dare to look at him straight in the face. She instinctively respected him.

After a brief silence, Sakiko opened her mouth. “This is Master Ashikaga Kiyoshi, the young master of Ashikaga Clan from Seiwa Genji branch¹. He’s one of the excellent young samurais of our nation. Today, he’s here to chair the ceremony of conferring the Pass Certificate!”

After she finished, people turned to that young and handsome samurai sitting in the middle to bow one more time. Through the fact Sakiko didn’t introduce the old man, it was clear who held the highest position here.

“Ashikaga Kiyoshi?!” While kneeling with her head near the floor, Nanako whispered to Lily. “Is he really Master Ashikaga Kiyoshi, one of the Six Swords of East Nation? This is just a small Pass Certificate conferring ceremony. Why did someone of such high caliber like him come here?”

For the time being, Lily didn’t know what the Six Swords of East Nation signified, but she could feel the energy released by this so-called Master Ashikaga Kiyoshi. It was so strong that she couldn’t see through him at all or even have the courage to resist.²

Lily remembered the young master of a certain samurai clan she met previously, such as Ujizane of the Hojo Clan. If they were compared, it would be like comparing a worn out old horse with a Qilin!

Kiyoshi hadn’t opened his mouth but his eyes had already fixed on Lily’s body.³ His brows arched as if he was astounded by her glamor, which was like a fairy in this mortal world. Yet, he didn’t say a word.

“And now, we would be honored to invite Master Ashikaga to announce and start the Pass Certificate conferring ceremony,” declared Sakiko respectfully.

Ashikaga Kiyoshi was still looking at Lily. Hearing Sakiko, he was a little hesitant. However, he announced frankly and generously, “The Pass Certificate conferring ceremony – begins!”

Two disciples of the dojo walked forward, bringing with them two small black wooden tables. They placed one in front of Sakiko, which had pea-sized green Magatama⁴ atop the table, and the other in front of the old man, which had ten rolls of paper stacked in a triangle shape.

The old man said, “When you hear your name called, walk forward to receive the certificate.”

He picked up a roll. Reading the name on the ribbon wrapped around it, he called out, “Kagami Lily.”

Lily shivered.⁵ She hadn’t expected to hear hers as the first name being called.

She respectfully got up and, although filled with emotions, walked gracefully forward. Holding both hands in front of her, she moved without letting her thighs touch her skirt, revealing her confidence as she advanced. Taking small steps, so as to not move too fast, but also not too slow, she was as elegant as if she was taking a stroll beside a lake beneath the stars. Only when Sakiko signaled her, did she stop and lower herself onto her knees before Ashikaga Kiyoshi.

The old man passed the roll decorated with silk to Ashikaga Kiyoshi, then spoke to Lily, “This is the samurai appointment scroll signed by Kanto’s Governor Fujiwara Tatsuya. From now on, you’re no longer a civilian but a samurai.”

Ashikaga Kiyoshi received the roll, then solemnly bestowed it to Lily with both hands, his eyes gazing at her fascinatingly.⁶

Lily acted with great respect. She was neither proud nor servile as she greeted, and received the roll with the right manner.

Although the other was powerful with high position, being a woman, especially a maiden, when she gave a young man a curtsy, she had to mind her action. She wouldn’t do anything excessive.⁷

Lily’s coy manner made Ashikaga Kiyoshi looks at her with different points of view. ‘Is this girl actually from a poor family? Although she doesn’t have a noble title, compared to the noble ladies from Heian capital I’ve met, she has fairy-like manners that even the daughters of the royals and officials couldn’t be compared to her.’

“Miss Kagami, may Hachiman’s⁸ blessings be with you,” Kiyoshi’s voice had an innate elegant and classic characteristic.

Lily said nothing, since it was better to say nothing in moments like this.

She quietly carried the etiquette, mumbling in her head, ‘Hachiman, if you can hear me, please bless me so as my senior sister would wake up soon.’

Instantly, a gleam of sadness appeared between Lily’s brows, which startled Kiyoshi. ‘This girl is as beautiful as divine⁹, yet why does it look as if she is bearing some heavy burden?’¹⁰

Kiyoshi was so infatuated with Lily that he forgot to release the roll, still holding on to the other end.

It was really awkward to Lily now. If she reminded the other, it would be very rude.

“Master Ashikaga… Thank you,” Lily said quietly and pulled the roll a little bit. Ashikaga got a hold of himself and realized that he had lost his manner. Discreetly, he loosened his grip.

He felt thankful to Lily for helping him keep face. Actually, it wasn’t a big deal, but a favor from a beautiful woman was often easier to keep in mind.

Lily then proceeded to move round to Sakiko on her knees.

This time, she lowered her upper body very low to greet the other. Of course, between women, she didn’t need to worry about her attitude towards Sakiko.

Sakiko picked up the green Magatama with red strings attached and gave it to Lily.
“Miss Kagami, congratulations. Also congratulations to our Genji Dojo for having another female samurai with great potential,” Sakiko continued, “Later on, if you have any requests, just let me know. Don’t need to be too polite.”

“Thank you, Lady Sakiko!” Lily was touched. Sakiko did care about her. She was one of the few great nobilities Lily had met since coming to this otherworld.

While holding the green Magatama in one hand and the roll in the other hand, Lily had so many emotions surging in her heart.

She remembered the time she first arrived in this otherworld. A paper parasol, a thin cloth, the night parade, sheltered by the samurai clan, the dangers she experienced in Mount Ise, the bloody fight in Chrysanthemum’s front courtyard. And finally, today, Lily had accomplished the first step on the path she pledged to herself that night:

Female samurai.

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Lily found Genji Sakiko leading a search for her as she walked toward Chrysanthemum Inn. There were several samurais from the dojo with her.

“Miss Kagami! Are you okay?” Sakiko ran toward Lily and pulled on her hand, checking her from head to toe for any injuries.

“Thank you for worrying about me. I’m okay… ” Seeing Lady Sakiko worried about her that much, Lily felt warm inside. “But I did this to the Chrysanthemum Inn. I’m really sorry.”

“What are you talking about? You’re safe; that’s the most important thing. You’re staying in my Chrysanthemum Inn and you’ve encountered such danger. If something happened to you, how could I ease my mind! Starting tomorrow you will come and live in the dojo. It’s absolutely safe,” Sakiko was really stirred up.

“Ah? Really?” Lily was happy. Of course she would be happy; with a place she could train without interference, she would naturally agree.

“Who did this!? Why did they raid my Chrysanthemum Inn!?” Sakiko questioned angrily.

“Lady Sakiko, I’m their target. They are possibly ninjas from Wind Demon Clan,” explained Lily.
“Ah? How do you know that? We checked those dead ninjas and found no clues… Wait a minute, did you kill them all by yourself?” Sakiko was startled, and studied Lily one more time. She knew that Lily had outstanding talent, however she didn’t expect to see the other’s power develop so rapidly after just a short period of absence. Not only her power, but her practical fighting skill was also intimidating. She wondered if the girl had some form of hidden secret. However, Sakiko stopped at appraising Lily’s power level and didn’t dig any deeper for the truth.

Lily nodded obediently. “Lady Sakiko, I got their identity from a female ninja I captured.”

“A captive?” Sakiko’s eyes flashed coldly. “Good! Take me there. I wish to interrogate her personally!”

Looking hesitant, Lily spoke. “That’s…” It seemed she wanted to stop Sakiko. “Lady Sakiko, that ninja… can you trust me to handle her? I restrained her and took all of her gear¹. She shouldn’t pose a threat to us anymore.”

“Ah?” Sakiko looked skeptically at Lily, surprised, but didn’t want to ask further. “Alright. As you have captured her, it’s your right to do whatever you want with her. No matter what, tomorrow, you’ll be appointed as a real samurai anyway. Do you need me to send someone to assist you in watching over her?”

“No need, Lady Sakiko, I can deal with her myself.”

“Alright…” Sakiko nodded, “Tonight, I’ll send my men to guard the entire Chrysanthemum Inn². It should be safe.”

Before Sakiko could finish talking, more samurais entered the courtyard. They began to check the area and stand in guard, easily identifiable as being from the dojo.

Among those samurai, Lily noticed some wearing black clothes with white prints. Not only were they especially sturdy and muscular, but their auras were also intimidating. They were all junior-level Kengos! That put them much higher above Akira in strength. Even if Lily tried her best to cope with one of them, she wasn’t sure if she could win.

The Genji Dojo was really formidable to be able to dispatch some simple reinforcements with such terrifying strength!

Although Sakiko looked like an ordinary person, Lily now knew she couldn’t see through the other.

“Lady Sakiko, since it’s past midnight already and I have to go to the dojo early in the morning tomorrow, I doubt I will be able to fall asleep tonight. There’s also something I need to attend to right now,” said Lily.

Sakiko followed Lily’s look, gazing at the wood storage, then she nodded and said, “Seems you don’t want to bring that female ninja to the official’s place. Alright… I can understand you to a certain extent. However, Miss Kagami, you’re much too kind. That kindness can bring dangers to yourself in this world.”³

“Thank you for reminding me, Madam, I have my own reasoning,” Lily respectfully lowered her body to give a curtsy.⁴

“Hmph! Wind Demon Clan, they actually dare to attempt an assassination against Genji Dojo’s disciple within our territory! Miss Kagami, just leave this matter to us, we will deal with them appropriately!” Sakiko’s eyes shivered from rage.⁵

Sakiko took her men to check around and guard the courtyard. And two ninjas were found alive since Lily had only knocked them out with the parasol. They could be considered the most tragic ones of all the would-be assassins, as they had to endure Sakiko’s personal interrogation.

Perhaps oblivious to what was unfolding in her wake, Lily returned to the log storage house.

Shiu was still hung there, her tears rolling like rain. As she refined her ninjutsu and spirit power, all of her senses had been heightened above a normal person, so she more or less understood what had happened outside.⁶

Her purple hair fell as she helplessly swayed in midair. She lifted her embarrassed face, her eyes holding no resentment for her captor, “Thank you, Master… If it weren’t for you, Shiu would have fallen into an end that would be even more horrible and humiliating than death⁷. And yet, Shiu wanted to kill a kind, beautiful, and powerful master like you. Shiu doesn’t have any face to look at you. Please, Master, please punish Shiu ruthlessly. Only then will my conscience feel a little better! Besides, this is Master’s fetish right… Master Sakura has told me that.”

“What? Sakura, don’t talk nonsense! I’m not like that!” Lily rolled her eyes at Sakura, that was standing in the corner and pretending to be a normal umbrella. She walked forward, tilting her head at Shiu and gently combed Shiu’s silky hair⁸, then she said, “Shiu, I understand well how it is when you were born in the wrong time, with no control over your fate. As you are from the Wind Demon Clan, it’s not wrong that you followed your Chief’s order to do the mission. But since you’ve pledged your loyalty to me, don’t think about anything strange. From now on, you have to be faithful to me from the bottom of your heart⁹. It’s the biggest appreciation to your Master. Do you understand?”

“I understand.” Shiu raised her head and beheld Lily with eyes glittering like hearts.

Lily suddenly remembered something, and said gently, “Ah right, Shiu, since you’re not a member of the Wind Demon Clan anymore, why don’t we restore your family name and call you Ryumori Shiu from now on? That way, you can throw away the bygone enmities and begin your life anew.”

Shiu was so touched that, as she nodded her head, she burst out crying, “M- Master, are you giving your slave a name?”

“Ah? I just want to restore your family name… If you are not used to it, just forget it…”

“Master, please don’t say that! As a master, if you changed your decision due to a few words from the slave, then you are not qualified to be a master! A master needs to be beautiful¹⁰, powerful, and dogmatic! Shiu will accept everything! No matter what master wants to give me, I will appreciate them all!”

‘Eh?’ Lily felt ashamed that she needed Shiu to teach her how to fulfill her role as the master. It seemed Lily had many things to improve on if she wished to fit into her role.

Right at the moment that Lily started to contemplate, the door of the storage house was pushed open.

“Are you okay!?” Nanako stood panting at the door, she had been so worried as she hastily rushed to the door. “Eh?”

Then, she took in the horrible scene in the room. Except for Lily with her blushing face, there was also a female ninja with ragged clothes, being hung under a beam. Her expression was perplexed.

“Err, what are you guys playing at?” A layer of darkness shadowed Nanako’s eyes.

“Eh? No no, Nanako. I… It’s not what you thought…” Lily didn’t expect that Nanako would return at this moment. Perhaps it was the Genji Dojo’s samurai who told her where to find Lily.

“Hehehe… Sorry, I disturbed you guys,” Nanako smiled with glum and dark eyes, stiffly moving out of the wood storage.

“Nanako, listen to me…”
A flame of rage arose in Lily’s heart. How did these two little girls misunderstand her!? Did they really think she was some perverted, S&M¹¹ older sister?!

“Saikanji Nanako! You come back here at once!”

Lily rarely said something that overbearing, besides when she was in combat. Nanako was halted.

Half an hour later. . .

Nanako and Shiu were sitting in seiza position inside the wood storage. Lily also sat in seiza position in front of them.

“Ahem!” Lily had the aura of an older sister lecturing her two unruly younger sisters. She said seriously, “So, that’s what happened. Do you understand now?”

Nanako turned to look at Shiu, then cocked her head. Patting her chest, as she was overcome with depression, “So, this girl is a senior genin. Indeed, my power is the weakest here.”

Shiu’s eyes brightened in excitement, looking at Nanako, “Senior, I- I’ve just become a slave. I don’t know how to serve our master. Please show me the ropes.”¹²

“Don’t call me senior! There’s nothing honorable about being called senior in such a job!” Nanako yelled at Shiu.

Lily felt helpless¹³ as she held her forehead, “Did you guys understand my words or not…”

At this moment, cold wind blew from the outside, shaking the oil lamp from time to time.

Lily looked through the window, and said, “It isn’t safe here. Shiu, it’s only a matter of time before they come after you, since you have betrayed the Wind Demon Clan. From tomorrow onwards, we’ll move to the Dojo.”

Although Lily had said she wouldn’t sleep tonight, she still ended up drifting off.

Her head was placed on Shiu’s thighs¹⁴. Of course, Shiu did that after she fell asleep.

If Lily knew that Nanako stayed awake just to keep an eye on Shiu, suspicious of any ulterior motives, Lily would feel touched. However, Nanako’s worries were unfounded.

‘Hmph! That big-breasted woman belongs to Nanako, me. Although I’m in her service for now, one day, I will take everything back, every bit of pride I’ve lost. I will make her endure ten times worse! That’s why I can’t let Shiu hurt her. Otherwise, to whom should I find to exact my vengeance?’

Nobody knew Nanako had such thoughts in her head. But even Nanako didn’t know if it were true.

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As that question left her mouth, Lily felt like she was doing something shameful, even though she was clearly the victim here.

“That grannie is okay. She was sleeping so I had to wake her up. When she found so many dead ninjas she got so frightened that she ran to the dojo to ask for help,” said Sakura.

“Right…” Lily responded absentmindedly, preoccupied with thinking about how to deal with Shiu.

Standing before Shiu, she lifted the others chin with her slender finger¹, “I will hand you over to the government officials and let the samurais finish you!”

Although Takeshita Town was predominantly ruled by the Genji Dojo, it was still nominally governed by a samurai family; The Takeshita’s samurais to be exact.

Shiu started to panic, and shook her head in tears repeatedly, as she heard that. Droplets lingering in her sorrowful eyes as she begged, “What— No, don’t bring me to the officials!”

“Huh? Why?” Lily asked skeptically, not expecting Shiu to be so terrified.

Shiu furrowed her brows, speaking with a flushed face. “I- it’s too cruel and humiliating. Shiu can’t say it!² When the officials deal with female ninjas who have committed crimes, they won’t deal with them the same way as they would with male criminals. Especially those with a beautiful face, it will be as though they’ve just found a treasure. They will play with her, making her their private property. After they’re satisfied they will toss her to jail. The jailers will then take turns to ⓡⓐⓟⓔ her.³ Finally, she will be beheaded, or drowned in a lake to cover their wrongdoings!”

“What the…?” Lily was astonished. In this dark and primitive age, women were bereft of high status, but she never thought they could be so licentious and cruel. However, it wasn’t hard to believe. She was just an innocent girl, but the Daidouji Clan had bullied and persecuted her unreasonably. Let alone a beautiful criminal who had forfeited their legal rights.

This time, Shiu was really scared. “Big sister! Sister Kagami⁴, you can do anything you want to Shiu. Shiu will listen to you, I am even willing to serve you as my master for the rest of my life. But please, just don’t hand me to the officials!”

Hearing her, Lily felt sympathetic. The resentment from the slaughter and previous battle seemed to have faded a lot, and Shiu was a girl of simple mind. Everybody worked for their masters. She couldn’t blame everything on her, right? Even if she had committed some crimes, as the big sister, she could just punish her a little bit. There wasn’t a need to take things too far.

Lily gently rubbed Shiu’s petite face. Then with a disgusted expression as a cover, she snarled, “Though a lowly little ⓢⓛⓤⓣ⁵ like you dared to attempt assassinating me, big sister still can’t bear to let a beautiful flower like you be defiled by those vile officials.”

“Big Sister…” Shiu seemed to see a ray of hope. The tears in her eyes warped into joy, she really gave the impression like she would do anything as ordered.

Lily’s beautiful eyes turned sharp, “You said that you would be willing to stay loyal to me for the rest of your life? Aren’t you afraid of betraying the Wind Demon Clan?”

Shiu’s face turned glum at the inquiry, “This time Shiu’s mission ended in complete failure. I’m afraid my end wouldn’t be any different than going to the officials’ place when I return to the Wind Demon Clan. In Wind Demon Clan, I’ve seen many female ninjas receive nightmarish punishments when their missions failed…”⁶

Coming this far, Lily couldn’t control her sad face. She sympathized with this little girl. No one could think that the sexy-looking female ninjas with heroic composition would have to face something so tragic. Whether it be their own allies or the world itself, they would still be treated harshly all the same, yet they were left with no choice but to undertake those extremely dangerous missions. No matter what, their ends would often end up in tragic.

To a man, their death was a sacrifice for a greater cause. But if the same case was applied to a woman, not only would they lose their social standing, their entire clan would be humiliated! This dark era was crueler to women in such a way.

Although Shiu looked naïve and somewhat absent-minded, she understood that cruel reality clearly enough.

‘I don’t have the obligation to change this world, but I can’t push this naïve little girl into the fire pit.’

“You said you’re willing to pledge your loyalty to me?”

Shiu nodded furiously. She wasn’t afraid of death. However, she fell apart all too soon when pitted against an end that was ten thousand times worse than death. She had no hint of unwillingness, indeed. Under the effect of the drug, her body had already submitted to Lily’s power and beauty.⁷

“Being permitted to serve a prodigy like yourself, the legendary Demon Sword Maiden, I’m… delighted to, ah no, it’s the luckiest event in my life,” said Shiu as she twisted her flushed face around.

Listening to Shiu, Lily felt a little reluctant. It was just her feeling sorry for the other girl.

Having pledged her loyalty, Shiu’s attitude changed. Her beautiful eyes lingered on Lily, reluctant to part. Her restricted body finally relaxed as she involuntarily spun her body from side to side, as though she was enjoying Lily’s bondage. Indistinct white vapor could be seen as she exhaled seductively.

“Big Sister…”

“Call me master⁸,” Lily said sternly. As long as Shiu remained loyal to her, she might as well make use of the ninja to collect information. Thus, they had to distinguish their roles. Big sister was not a title any random younger girls could use.⁹

“Yes, master,” Shiu parroted obediently.

“How did you end up like this?”

Looking at Lily with glum eyes, Shiu spoke with a growing blush, “You already know that and you still ask. It’s really embarrassing… Master… please release me so that I may serve you.”

“Huh?” Lily awkwardly covered her face, blushing herself, “T- There’s no need for you to serve me or anything.”¹⁰

Lily gazed at Shiu being hung in the middle of the room defenselessly. For the time being, it was hard to say she didn’t have any such thoughts. However, the reason Lily became Shiu’s master was so that she wouldn’t fall into such merciless and immoral punishments. It wasn’t like Lily could do anything strange to her, nor did she have any unhealthy hobby!

However, seeing Shiu under the control of that secret drug, something primal in her body was about to burst out.

How could it be!? That Uesugi Rei could force a kiss from me because I was helpless at that time, but I will never proactively do anything offending to my senior sister!

“Sakura! I leave her to you!” Lily covered her mouth, still blushing. Giving such a shameful order as she ran out of the log storage to escape. Closing the door behind her so she could lean against it. Her ample breasts heaved as she panted, letting the cool night breeze wrap around her shapely figure to suppress her rising heat.

Then, she heard the sound of Sakura’s scolding accompanied by some whipping, “How dare you call me a monster! Let’s see if you dare to call me a monster again!”

She even heard Shiu sobbing.

So it turned out that was how Sakura was dealing with Shiu. Lily exhaled in relief, at least she didn’t do anything bad to her. It was okay.

Lily also heard a loud commotion coming from the front yard of Chrysanthemum Inn. It seemed the reinforcement from the dojo had arrived. She easily recognized Master Sakiko’s voice.¹¹

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In the eerie dark, a beautiful shape, not so tall nor so short, hung from a beam. A single flame flickering inside a dim oil lamp light up the wood storage, revealing Shiu.

The light partially reflected in her eyes. While her jade-like body dripped with beads of sweat from time to time, both in part because of her tense nerves, and the drug’s effects.

With dreamy eyes looking at Lily glumly and fearfully, Shiu looked so mournful.

In this otherworld Heian Empire, women always had low positions. In a world controlled by strength and supernatural power, vulnerable women who were always calm and tender naturally became the victims of the era. They were punished, often beaten by their husbands. There was no concept of human rights here. Many women were forced to become slaves after their clans were defeated. Such treatment as being tied and hung on the beam was hardly rare.

However, this time, Shiu was tied because she had been defeated. And, it was another woman who had tied her there.

“Turns out your name is Shiu… It’s a nice name, and you look like a rather elegant and pure little girl. Why did you want to harm me?” Not trying to be polite, Lily’s interrogation had already moved to search through the scrapped remains of what was once the ninjas’ clothes.

“Ah! You, what are you doing!?” Shiu grew nervous, writhing helplessly in the air under Lily’s scrutiny.

“Doing what? You don’t need to ask. As… as you’re my captive, I have to search your body!” Lily replied, stammering a little.

Since she had come here from the modern world she found it harder to accept the straightforward rules of this world. As Shiu had been defeated, she belonged to Lily. No need to mention her belongings, which had all become Lily’s spoils of war. Everything was right and just.

Lily blushed as she felt rather apologetic, however, she had steeled her resolve. ‘A weak woman like me, who was unfortunately gifted with beauty, will always be the subject of people’s lust and desire. If I can’t at least protect or defend myself then I will have no way to find the secret to releasing my senior sister! As my vision is enlarging, I have a feeling that the truth behind this would be profound and somehow frightening.’

‘If I want to increase my strength, I need money! As a woman I also need to buy more clothes, which needs money! There are so many things I need to spend money on!’

Unfortunately, currently, Lily was penniless. She had even borrowed her slave’s money to buy these clothes. If Nanako wanted to use this to threaten her, she wouldn’t be able to do anything about it.

Moreover, the “Genji Swordstyle” wasn’t cheap at all. No, it was a total rip-off with the sky-high price.

“Although it lacks all honor, begrudgingly, I have to use this female captive. I am all alone in this otherworld, do I have a choice? Isn’t it true you can’t control your will sometimes? At the very least, when there’s no one around, I will punish myself once to redeem my sin.”

Although Lily was embarrassed with a red face, her voice was unwavering. She commanded the full power of a victorious older sister.

“Why are you so flustered? Big sister here just wishes to borrow some of your money. We’re both women, there’s nothing else I can snatch from you!”

Checking Shiu’s coin purse first and foremost, Lily found five silver ingots and more than one kwan of change.

She completely forgot about her current embarrassment after seeing so much money. Prompting her to smile happily towards Shiu, “So you have a lot of money. “

It totaled more than fifty-one kwans. She really was rich.

Lily then had an epiphany. Should she go and collect things from the ninjas she had killed?

“Hey, your other henchmen, did they have money?”¹

Shiu shook her head. “No money. They didn’t even have a mon. We are all poor people. All the traveling expenses and other expenses of my ninja troop is here. And, most of it isn’t my money. It’s the money the Chief paid me. Ninjas are pretty poor.”

“Okay, then I can take them without remorse. Hmph, your Wind Demon Clan wanted to kill me for money. Should I be polite to them?” Saying so, Lily put all the money into her pocket.

Shiu could only be upset and depressed about her inability to retain her own assets. It was simply impossible as she was at Lily’s mercy.

Lily wasn’t afraid of searching Shiu’s body entirely as, no matter what, they were both women. Shiu felt itchy but was powerless to resist, leaving her to wiggle and pants.

Except for the money, the only other valuable thing was Shiu’s Shiroi Fugu. A medium-quality Grade Three, precious, ninja sword. Lily hesitated for a while then kept the sword at her belt. However, Lily didn’t intend to make use of the sword in that way. Tomorrow, she would go to the dojo to pawn it.

Shiu wanted to cry after seeing Lily take her last, and crucial, weapon. If she had known the target was a Demon Sword Maiden she would never have taken the mission. Even if she had got three more senior genins to support she still wouldn’t have dared to fight against her.

And now, she could only pray that this money-hungry sister didn’t have any strange interests.

Except for the sword, Lily found some shurikens. Though they didn’t look too valuable, she still took them all. There was also a book where she found the description of her assassination mission. However, this book was highly confidential. She couldn’t figure out its origin, or the information of the clients, only her own information.

Finally, Lily came upon a wooden tag around Shiu’s belt.

It read “Ryumori.”

“Ryumori? Is this your family name?” asked Lily.

“No, no! Female ninjas aren’t allowed to keep such a common name,” Shiu hastily denied.

“Oh? So it’s your common family name?”

“Eh? H- how did you know that?”²

Lily shook her head and wondered just what the Wind Demon Clan’s Chief was thinking when he assigned Shiu this mission. Though she was talented in martial arts, her intelligence left much to be desired. Later she would interrogate Shiu, and her red mouth would sell that entire clan down the river.

With all those items set aside, the rest didn’t look valuable.

“Your stocking garters don’t look bad. Where did you buy them?”

Lily wasn’t joking as she asked so. She had wanted to try short skirts, but felt it was inappropriate to display her slender thighs. With black stocking garters however, she would appear more ladylike. Moreover it would permit her to be more confident when walking on the streets. She desired a pair a lot, but couldn’t afford them. Of course, she couldn’t rob Shiu’s to wear since, not only would it be embarrassing, they were already torn.

Sakura returned as Lily was collecting things to her heart’s content. Even the parasol’s canopy turned redder as it pushed open the door to the scene. “Ah, s- seems like I saw what I shouldn’t. Master, sorry, I disturbed you. I’ll be back in two hours ~ “

“What?” Lily blushed, screaming softly. “You, what did you say!? No, it’s not what you think! I- I am only interrogating and checking her body!”

“Hehe, really,” Sakura Parasol chuckled as she re-entered the warehouse.

Shiu screamed in terror seeing the talking umbrella, “Ah…! A monster umbrella!”

“Shut up! Who are you calling a monster!? I am a shikigami! A stately shikigami!” Sakura Parasol jumped up, whipping Shiu’s butt.³

“Ah, it hurts. Sorry, sorry Master Shikigami. M- my bad… I won’t do it ever again…”

After just a single sentence, Shiu could only apologize continuously. Lily was startled. She felt like Sakura could be a better master than her.

It also made Lily a little frustrated as she was still childish in that aspect. To stop thinking about it she shook her head, asking the parasol, “Sakura, how’s it going out there?”

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