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According to Kimiko and Ayaka, the sea was vast and unpredictable. Even someone like Lily, who had an excellent sense of direction, was highly likely to get lost at sea, especially during the extended night. It was nigh impossible for someone to find their way back to the land of Ashihara once they had lost their way amidst the boundless sea.

No one knew how strong the monsters in the depths of the sea were, but it was not them and rather getting lost at sea that was the biggest threat.

This only applied to the deep sea and open sea, though, as merchant ships, cargo ships, and navies had successfully traversed the nearby waters of Akitsu with the help of a compass in the past. Although their compasses were not as good as the one possessed by Kimiko, it enabled them to navigate the sea to some extent. They still did not dare to enter the deep sea as it caused all compasses to malfunction.

The only ones who could possibly traverse the deep sea were the armor-plated battleships of the Taira clan and some special ships¹. Otherwise, it would’ve been impossible for the Asuka clan to flee to Iyo.

Iyo and Akitsu were quite far away from each other and the sea parting them was unpredictable enough to make the average ship lose its way.

“Let’s just wait here, Lily. Kimiko gave us her word, so someone should arrive here to pick us up,” Ayaka said.

Lily felt quite curious as she had no idea what sort of ship was going to pick them up.

As night fell, the trio of charming women stood side by side on this lonely shore and braced themselves against the sea wind. They had nothing to fear, though, as the trio already had enough strength to roam the world freely, so much that even the local monsters only dared to spy upon them from afar.

A luxurious ship illuminated by dim lights slowly approached the shore from the pitch-black sea.

“Huh? Isn’t that…” Lily said in a startled tone, “Fuyutsuki?”

It seemed that when Kimiko had given her word that someone would come to pick up the trio, she had been referring to Fuyutsuki.

Fuyutsuki pulled towards the shore and stopped a few meters away from it. The colossal ship had no fear of getting stranded as it was a flying ship².

Lily and Ayaka were quite familiar with Fuyutsuki, so they weren’t that excited about seeing it. Shimizu, however, couldn’t contain her excitement from showing in her eyes.

“I never thought we would be traversing the sea in such a ship. It looks like a lot of fun.”

“Fuyutsuki is disconnected from the secular world. Their motto is to satisfy all the needs of their clients, whether they be human or demon, so you better not have too much fun, Shimizu, or else you might get duped by someone,” Ayaka said icily.

“Heh. Stop trying to scare me. Even if some bad person were to entrap me, it’s not as if you are just going to sit back and watch, right, Sister Ayaka? That said, it sounds like you’re quite familiar with this ship.”

“…” Ayaka just ignored Shimizu as she knew retorting would only lead to them bickering again.

The hatch of Fuyutsuki opened to the sides, and blue demon servants donned in yukata cascaded a plank down, following which a handsome purple-haired man walked down it.

“Hahaha. It’s been a while, Ms. Lily, Ms. Ayaka.”
The man was none other than Nishiya Riku, the manager of Fuyutsuki.

‘He’s at the single-soul Big Dipper stage…’ Lily remarked internally. She couldn’t gauge his strength before, and as expected, he was one of the hidden experts.

“I wasn’t expecting you to pick us up, Riku. I’ll be troubling you this time,” Ayaka said with a smile.

“You don’t need to be so polite, Ms. Ayaka. It’s no trouble as Fuyutsuki was planning to pass by here originally. Heian-kyo has been quite chaotic recently and business hadn’t been doing that well, so I changed the itinerary of the ship a bit. Besides, it’s not like there’s nothing in it for me. Beauties like you are more than welcome on my ship,” Riku chuckled.

“Huh?” Lily felt that Riku was hinting at something towards the end.

Riku came down in person to welcome the three beautiful women aboard Fuyutsuki.

“This is…”

“Minamoto no Shimizu. She’s one of Lily’s sisters,” Ayaka introduced with kind regard.

“Oh? Is it the same Ms. Shimizu who was once famed as the leader of the Six Swords of the East?” As the manager of Fuyutsuki, Riku was quite knowledgeable about the affairs of the world.

“Well, it’s a past I wish I could erase from history,” Shimizu responded to Riku in a relatively flatter tone.

“It will take three to four days for us to travel from here to Iyo, which is the ship’s next stop. However, it all depends on the weather, as traversing this vast sea is no joke. Even a ship like Fuyutsuki must exercise caution when navigating it. I have already arranged accommodation for you three. I have cleared the top floor of Fuyutsuki for you, so you have it all to yourself,” Riku said.

“Thank you, Brother Riku,” Lily took out a bag of magatama as she thanked him. Riku had already hinted that he had something to gain from them boarding the ship, so she thought of preparing the compensation in advance.

“Huh? What do you mean by this, Ms. Lily?”

“I hope you will accept this small gift, Brother Riku.”

“Please don’t treat me like a stranger, Ms. Lily. There’s no way I can accept money from distinguished guests like you… Alas, even though I’m quite ashamed to admit it, it’s true that the ship has suffered quite some losses because of the chaos in Heian-kyo recently…” Riku revealed an embarrassed expression as he led Lily and the others up the plank held up by the sturdy monsters.

“If you’re having any troubles, just say it, Riku. It’s not like we’re strangers,” Ayaka said.

“Well, if you say so. We have an important client on the ship right now and even though we’ve tried our best to satisfy her, we still haven’t succeeded yet. She’s from one of the oldest and most powerful clans in Iyo, so I’m afraid that she won’t visit us again unless we satisfy her. That would be quite a loss for our business,” Riku said.

“Mr. Riku, is there any client who’s more important than Lil’ Sis Lily here? Why don’t you just accept her gift if you really need money for your business?” Shimizu asked.

“Indeed, Mr. Riku. The gift aside, you’ve helped me a lot before. If you’re in need of money, I have it with me. Just take how much ever you need,” Lily said with a smile as she really had a lot of money after obtaining Shuten’s treasures.

“I appreciate your kindness, Ms. Shimizu and Ms. Lily, but as the manager of Fuyutsuki, there are certain principles that I operate on. There is no way I can ask for money from friends. Although the client is not as important as Ms. Lily and Ms. Ayaka, I can’t just give up on her. Besides, as a man, I can’t find it in myself to ask money from girls. I hope you will understand, Ms. Lily,” Riku said solemnly.

Lily’s big eyes flashed with a bright gleam as she asked, “Is there any other way we can help you, then?”

Riku’s eyes lit up the next moment and he responded with a snap of his fingers, “I was just waiting for you to say that³!”

“Huh?”

…
…

Lily, Ayaka, and Shimizu arrived at the top floor which had been reserved.

As expected from the top floor of the ship, it was possible to enjoy the scenic view of the sea from all sides here, and the gentle wind made people feel like they were enjoying the journey despite the dangers involved.

However, the trio was stricken by mixed feelings at the moment, especially Lily and Ayaka.

“You shouldn’t have promised to help him so casually, Lily.”

“But… Sister Ayaka… I believe that we should help others if it is within our powers. Men have a pride to maintain sometimes, and we would be looking down on him if we just gave him money directly. Helping him, on the other hand, is enough to show respect to him,” Lily said.

“Forget it. I’ll just do it alone.” Ayaka’s chest heaved deeply.

“That won’t do since I’d be worried regardless. Besides, we agreed to do it together,” Lily said.

The help which Lily had promised Riku was… to work as part-timers on Fuyutsuki. Based on what Riku had revealed, the client was a woman from a powerful clan in Iyo who had come to Fuyutsuki to have fun. She had spent a lot of money on accommodation, gambling and indulging herself with all sorts of extravagant novelties. However, even though she was one of their top clients, she only accepted being served by women. Although there were a lot of beauties on Fuyutsuki, none of them had succeeded in catching the woman’s eye until now⁴.

…
…

At the same time, inside the suite room of the fifth floor of Fuyutsuki, which was right below the top floor where Lily and the others were located. A brown-haired woman with a ponytail and bangs, who was dressed in a revealing maroon top and a unicolor skirt with side slits that exposed her plump thighs, was seated in the bright tatami-floored room whose walls were adorned with illustrations of flowers and birds. She looked just like an unmasked kunoichi on the outside and barely looked like the wealthy client that Riku had described her as.

A hostess served her tea at this moment and asked, “The person who performed just now is the most popular performer in Heian-kyo. Did you find her satisfactory?”

“That was the most popular performer in the Heian Dynasty, you say? Have the standards of the Heian Dynasty really fallen so low or do you think you can deceive me so easily with a woman who wears so much makeup just because I’m not someone from the mainland?” Takamine Reika said in a displeased tone.

“O-Of course not! However, it’s true that she’s the most popular girl we have here. I can arrange for some handsome men to entertain you if you wish, Ms. Takamine.”

Swoosh! A dagger appeared in Reika’s hand, which she then brandished in front of the hostess’ eyes, the chilling wind produced from it leaving the latter terror-stricken.

“Listen. I really won’t hold back next time if you dare to humiliate me like that again! I already said that I have plenty of money. I’m only here for one person, which is the woman known as the Night Queen. I don’t want to see anyone else other than her!” Reika’s eyes flashed with an icy glint that proved that she was no ordinary expert.

Although the hostess of Fuyutsuki were not someone to be trifled with, the woman couldn’t even react when Reika had taken her blade out. That said, even though Reika was wealthy and powerful, the hostess felt that her temper really made serving her a difficult task.

“B-But…to be honest, it’s rare for the Night Queen to visit Fuyutsuki. Besides, it’s rumored that she’s very formidable and only accepts a certain type of commission, which requires the young woman who’s caught her eye to seek her personally so that they can engage in an enlightening exchange. Although I have no doubt that you satisfy the requirements, Ms. Takamine, no one knows when the Night Queen will make an appearance as there’s no pattern to her visits. As far as I know, she’s not present on the ship at the moment, and we also have no way to find her unless she makes an appearance⁵. I’m really sorry, Ms. Takamine…” The hostess bowed apologetically several times.

“To hell with your honesty! Did you already forget what you told me when you tricked me into boarding the ship? You said that you can satisfy all my needs without an issue! You better mark my words. Find the Night Queen for me or else I’ll remain here forever and refuse to pay for all my expenses!” Takamine said in an irritated tone.

1. Robinxen: “Some special ships” this world has magic! MAGIC! THERE IS A SHIP THAT CAN FLY!
2. Robinxen: EXACTLY!
3. Robinxen: He swindled them expertly.
4. Robinxen: Oh…
5. Robinxen: I wonder if that’s Ayaka, there was a plot thread on the ship of Lily seeing Ayaka once right, am I remembering that properly? It’s so hard to keep track of all the little details like that.