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Two wooden targets were set up in the small bamboo yard next to Lily’s residence.

Swish, swish! Two shurikens flew with lightning speed and hit the bullseye. Shiu looked at Nanako smugly.

Thud! The arrow that Nanako let loose from her bow hit the bullseye of the other target too.

“Hehe, not bad!” Shiu chuckled.
“Hmph, same goes to you too.”

“Nanako, didn’t you go back to inherit your family properties? Why did you come here? Didn’t you say that you don’t want to become the Master’s vassal?”

“Who said anything about being her vassal? I am only her attendant disciple for now… Besides, my mother also said to relocate to Kamakura City too. Suruga Province is too close to Owari Province. Demonized samurais are increasing by the day and business is getting tough too.”

“Getting tough? So it’ll get better in Kamakura City?”
“Shiu, you’ve been following Sister Lily around, didn’t you hear about it?”
“About what?”
“Sister Lily is very likely to receive land as a post-battle reward for her merits in battle!”
“Land as a post-battle reward?” Shiu’s eyes lit up too.
“That’s right. Rumors are flying in the dojo. Sister Lily is going to be a really famous lady this time!”
“Famous… R-Really? Master is… so impressive.” Shiu blushed.
“But don’t go around spreading it. After all, it’s just a rumor.”
“Tch, aren’t you spreading that everywhere too?!”¹

Shimizu’s mood and physical condition seemed to have improved lately. Lily felt a lot more relieved too. She accompanied Shimizu in her sword practice tonight, then went to the female bathroom to take a bath.

Shimizu’s residence was equipped with a private bath, but Lily didn’t feel comfortable taking a bath there. Since Shimizu still had feelings for her, Lily had to be more cautious.

Lily walked alone on the small path in the quiet garden, with a wooden basin and towel in hands.

“Long time no see.”

A familiar female voice that was hard to ignore rang out.
Lily turned her head around and saw Uesugi Rei leaning against a tree at the side.

“Sister Uesugi…”

Uesugi Rei approached Lily, then shifted her gaze from Lily to her wooden basin. Inside the basin was a towel and other female clothes like a fresh change of yukata.

Lily looked slightly embarrassed and covered the wooden basin with her hand.

“Lil’ Lyn, are you going to the bath? Should I go with you and help you wash your back?” Uesugi Rei teased her on purpose.

Lily turned her head to the side. Instead of looking shy like she always did, she appeared rather unhappy.

“What’s wrong, Lil’ Lyn? Are you going to avoid me now that you’ve been spending a lot of time with Shimizu lately?”

“Of course not. But Sister Uesugi, since you didn’t care about the reputation of a samurai, why did you have to compete with Sister Shimizu? And on top of that, you humiliated her in public. Don’t you think that you’ve gone a bit too far? You clearly knew that Sister Shimizu can’t win.” Lily’s eyebrows locked up slightly and her eyes narrowed..

“Lil’ Lyn, you think too highly of me. Perhaps I’ve known the outcome of the battle the moment I strike, but it is impossible to predict Shimizu. At least before the contest, I didn’t think I’d win.”

“Is that so…?”

“Although I don’t care about reputation, I never lose sight of my own journey. I must grow stronger. Along this journey, I have to constantly compete with the strong to strengthen my mind to gain resistance against the increasingly powerful grudge of the cursed katana. It was never my intention to humiliate Lady Shimizu. I’m really at a loss for words if even Lil’ Lyn sees me that way.”

“Naturally, I’ll believe that since Sister Uesugi said so.”

Uesugi turned around, looking rather disappointed. “If I knew this was going to happen, I would rather pretend to lose.”

“Huh?”

“Because that way, Lil’ Lyn will be comforting me now instead of Lady Shimizu.” Uesugi Rei’s words sounded a little like a complaint.²

Lily looked at the tall, silver-haired woman in surprise. So even a woman like Sister Uesugi would get jealous?

However, both of them weren’t in that kind of relationship, were they?

“Sister Uesugi, you must be joking. I’m only comforting Sister Shimizu because her body is in poor condition and she easily gets depressed. If it were you, hmph, I wouldn’t even comfort you even if you lost the battle.”

“Oh, how cruel of you, Lil’ Lyn!” Uesugi pretended to be sad and turned her head around.

“Did Sister Uesugi come to me just to tell me these? If you have no other business with me, then I shall go take a bath now. See you next time.” Lily said with a cold voice.

“Hmm… I don’t really have any other business with you but… My body has accumulated a lot of grudges again from going out hunting lately and battling Shimizu.”

“Oh, is that so? Is your body alright, Sister Uesugi?” Lily looked at the graceful female samurai in concern upon hearing that. “Then I’ll fetch Crescent Moon for you quickly.”

“Oh, you’re not going to take a bath anymore?”

“Lily has gained some knowledge on the blade maiden’s grudges through the ancient books in the Genji Dojo’s library. Grudges accumulated in the body will affect the mind over time. Though slow, the effect may be irreversible. It was said that many blade maidens were devoured and controlled by her katana’s grudges. In the end, their body itself became a cursed blade, which pretty much means they became a real monster… Sister Uesugi, you mustn’t be careless. Let’s go back and retrieve the katana, I’ll help you neutralize the grudges!”

Uesugi deliberately swayed her hips. “Aww, I can’t wait that long…”

“Eh? Then what should we do?” Lily asked anxiously.

“Recently, I heard of another way to neutralize the grudges. As for the effects, how should I put this… If one keeps doing it by putting a katana in her mouth all the time, then the effects will lessen over time. Hence, one must continuously change the method of neutralizing grudges to yield the best result.” Uesugi Rei’s lips curled into a charming and complacent smile.

“Really? Then tell me quickly. Lily will definitely help Sister Uesugi if it’s something she can do.”³ “Seems like Lil’ Lyn is still very concerned about me. I thought you didn’t want me anymore.”
“Sister Uesugi!” Lily’s voice turned harsh. “Accumulated grudges isn’t a game. Stop joking around or I’ll have to punish you!”
“Oh my, how fierce. Well then, follow me.”

Uesugi Rei led Lily into the deeper part of the forest and went behind a huge tree.

She leaned against the huge tree, then stuck her impressive chest under her black tank top out and put her hands behind her. “Well then, please help me.”

“Um… Hurry up and tell me what to, Sister Uesugi.”

Uesugi Rei lowered her head to the side. Her silvery hair draped on her shoulders and her face involuntarily tinged pink. “I heard that you have to meld Spirit Power and grudges in your hands, then fondle…”⁴

“Fondle?”

“Yes, fondle…” Uesugi Rei didn’t explicitly say it and only lowered her head to look at the ground. However, her view was blocked and she couldn’t see the ground underneath her feet.

Her gaze instantly made Lily understood.

Her face reddened too. “D-Doesn’t that sound kind of weird…? H-How can… Although we’re all girls… and this kind of thing is no different than a massage, I… I don’t…”

Lily was so nervous that she was speaking incoherently.

“Hehe, never mind then.” Uesugi Rei laughed. “I guess it’s too much to suddenly ask Lil’ Lyn to comfort and treat a usually wild girl like me as a woman.”

Uesugi Rei gazed at Lily gently and calmly. “Forget it, let’s pretend this never happened. Lil’ Lyn must be thinking that a strong woman like me will be able to find a way to neutralize the grudges myself, right? Though I’m actually out of options… Well, I’ve bothered you long enough. I shall take my leave now, Lil’ Lyn.”

As she said that, what seemed like pain and disappointment flashed across her eyes. It was her pained look that softened Lily’s heart.

Uesugi Rei turned around and her lonely figure was about to leave.

Crash! The wooden basin Lily held fell to the ground along with her yukata.

Lily pulled her Uesugi Rei back by her wrist, then spun her around and pinned her against a tree with her hand above her head. Her eyes met Uesugi Rei’s as both of them panted heavily.

Uesugi Rei wasn’t used to being pinned up against a tree, so her eyes suddenly softened. She cooperatively lifted her other hand up and put both of her hands behind her head.

Her breasts, which were bigger than Lily’s, were defenselessly exposed in front of her.

“So you need to neutralize the grudges accumulated here?” Lily asked earnestly with concern. She was even more worried about her body than Uesugi Rei herself.

While saying that, Lily’s small hands had reached up to Uesugi Rei’s delicate breasts…

“Nghhh…” A moan that had never been as lovely before escaped from Uesugi Rei’s mouth.

The night quietly passed and it was now late into the night.

For the very first time, Uesugi Rei was gasping for breath longer than Lily. She couldn’t stabilize her breathing for a long time in front of Lily.⁵

However, she tried to act calm. “D-Do you want to follow me to an inn in the city… nghh… nnnnghh…”

Uesugi Rei was interrupted by her own moans. She quickly turned her head to the side again and covered her mouth, trying to suppress the sounds she was making. Her hair was disheveled by now.

“No, I don’t want to.” Lily rejected her softly. “I’m going back.”
“Not a kiss before you leave?”

“Sister Uesugi, you look like you should be fine. I can’t accept any request that has nothing to do with neutralizing grudges.” Lily’s breathing was also a little labored as she made the reply through her red moist lips.

“Lily.”

“Huh?” Uesugi Rei rarely called her by her name this seriously, so Lily looked toward her with a slight surprise.

“No matter how the world sees Uesugi Rei as arrogant, I hope that you will remember that Uesugi Rei is only a woman at the end of the day… I approached you and teased you not just to fool around with you, but… never mind. Forget it.”

Uesugi Rei looked at Lily seriously. Her chest was still heaving as she panted heavily. The front of her clothes was disheveled. Her serious gaze suddenly waned as she changed the topic.

“I heard that Lord Kamakura will summon us soon and announce the reward. You probably haven’t met him yet, right? Then it’s best for you to mentally prepare yourself first so that you won’t be surprised by then. He is truly a great existence in the Land of East.” Uesugi Rei turned her head to the side and gazed at the cold moon above a tree branch as she spoke with an uneven breath.

Although she described the man as ‘great’, Lily couldn’t hear any respect from the bottom of her heart. She sounded like she was forcing herself instead.

“I’ll… go back first.” Uesugi Rei straightened out her clothes and her disheveled hair, exhaling white breaths as she spoke.

“Be careful.” She would be lying if she said she wasn’t reluctant to leave.

Lily could still feel the indescribable sensation in her hands. It was numb and deeply sinful.⁶

“Senior Sister… I… I am only doing this to help her neutralize her grudges. I just don’t want to see her being devoured by grudges and end up with the unavoidable fate of many blade maidens…”

1. Robinxen: Hahahahahaha. I love these two!
2. Robinxen: She’s pretty good too but Shiu was willing to die.
3. Silva: I feel like she is going to suggest something lewd
4. Robinxen: Spat out my tea.
5. Robinxen: Skipping all the good parts dammit.
6. Robinxen: Never wash those hands again.