Book 2: Chapter 80: Moonless Night

In the depths of the vast mountain range to the north of Odawara Castle that was several hundred kilometers away from Kamakura City, an unusually tall, worn-out, wild samurai with the visage of a demon stood on top of a cliff and observed the castle that belonged to him originally.

These shameless sc.u.m. How dare they take over my castle?! A purple glare flashed through Hojo Dijons eyes, his pupils seemingly lit with demonic flames as they glared at the faraway castle tower, As.h.i.+kaga Kiyos.h.i.+, you sanctimonious hypocrite. I swear Ill kill you!

Yuki Mayumi stood beside Dijon in her tight-fitting indigo-blue attire.

Hehe. Lord Dijon. Do you still remember Lady Haihimes warning? Do not underestimate As.h.i.+kaga Kiyos.h.i.+. Even Lady Haihime has said that this person has hidden himself pretty well.

So what?! His schemes and cleverness are naught but a joke in front of supreme power! Cracking noises sounded from Dijons fists as he clenched them tightly.

Lord Dijon, dont you forget our plan now. The entire Land of East shall belong to you sooner or later, so theres no need to feel bothered about the outcome of a single battle. Our highest priority is to capture the Mirror Girl and seize the Ancient Mirror!

Hmph! Its just a woman, thats all. Do the Hundred Demons really need to feel so bothered about it?

Lord Dijon, your words make you seem like an outsider. You are also one of the Hundred Demons now.

Hmph! It matters not whether I am human or demon, my sole aim is to obtain power to reign over everything! Theres no need to mention anything else! Isnt it fine to just a.s.semble your army of monsters and team up with my demon soldiers to invade Kamakura and directly capture Minamoto no s.h.i.+mizu?

Lord Dijon, your strength has shot up after practicing the demon spirit arts, but I hope you can still show the same intelligence as in the past. Lord Kamakura is guarding the city, so now isnt the time to attack Kamakura City. The enemies are out in the open while we are hidden in the darkness, so we ought to ruin them progressively and take down the samurai of the Land of East instead of confronting them head-on, Yuki Mayumi said thoughtfully with her hands folded across her bosom.

Tell me, then. How do we capture that Minamoto no s.h.i.+mizu? She isnt someone we can catch that easily. She will remain unfazed if we just send a few experts after her, so it would require an army at the very least to surround and capture her. Even if Im able to defeat her, it is practically impossible for us to bring her out of Kamakura City!

Dont worry, Lord Dijon. We received the latest intel from Kamakura City just a moment ago. What intel? Theyre at least two mirror girls in Kamakura City. Two? Whos the other one?

The other one Hehe. Now that I think about it, its an old acquaintance of yours. A neophyte samurai whos taken the limelight in Kamakura recently. It seems like shes a remarkably beautiful blade maiden called Kagami Lily.

Kagami Lily?! Hojo Dijons eyes lit up with terrifying purple flames, Im in such dire circ.u.mstances because of that bitch! So, shes actually a mirror girl. Hahaha! Great! This is really great! Were indeed enemies on a narrow path! Yuki Mayumi, we happen to have the same views this time. If we succeed in catching this woman, its fine if you dont even give me any reward! All I ask is that you hand her over to me once youre done with her!

Dijons fists released popping sounds as he clenched them with force. He seemed to have forgotten about his As.h.i.+kaga enemies the moment he heard Lilys name.

Mhm. Lady Haihime only has two requests. First, to seize the Ancient Mirror. Second, to kill the Mirror Girl. As for what happens in between, feel free to act according to your wishes, Lord Dijon, Yuki Mayumi smirked.

Hmm Although that Lily is quite repulsive, wont it be the same as before if this bitch keeps hiding inside Kamakura City? We cannot do anything to her even if we know shes the Mirror Girl!

Dont be in such a haste, Lord Dijon. An opportunity will arrive quite soon.1

Lily tossed around in bed restlessly on this night and decided to make a night visit to s.h.i.+mizus house in the end.

Lady Kagami. Lady s.h.i.+mizu needs to rest, could you come on some other day? The maid, Yos.h.i.+ko, suggested.

Yos.h.i.+ko, I need to see Sister s.h.i.+mizu for a pretty important matter. Can you please let me in?

Lady Kagami, youre really putting Yos.h.i.+ko in a tight spot here. Lady s.h.i.+mizus health hasnt been in a good state ever since she returned and even kept coughing endlessly till the evening which managed to stop with much difficulty after she had taken the medicine. It isnt good to disturb her so late into the night

Is that so? I shall come visit again tomorrow then Although Lily felt a bit despondent, s.h.i.+mizus health was more important for her in the end.

s.h.i.+mizus voice echoed from indoors at this moment.

Let her in.

It was the same room she had visited before, the one with the circular window. However, it was a moonless night today.

s.h.i.+mizu was still dressed in the pitch-black long-sleeved kimono patterned with a golden phoenixs tail and b.u.t.terflies from the morning and sat inside the room in a dignified manner with stiff shoulders and a pale face.

Lily also hadnt changed her attire and was still donned in the red long-sleeved kimono patterned with the moon, snowflakes and flowers.

As such, Lilys gait was pretty slow as she walked towards s.h.i.+mizu step by step and gave it an indescribable ceremonious feel.

Lily sat down before s.h.i.+mizu in a prim and proper manner. She said nothing and bowed towards s.h.i.+mizu deeply in the most customary manner first and didnt get up even though some time had pa.s.sed. It seemed like she would never lift up her head unless s.h.i.+mizu ordered her to.

s.h.i.+mizu also remained silent for a long time.

And this went on until it had become a tad bit too excessive. Only then did s.h.i.+mizu speak to her with a weak yet sonorous and melancholic voice, You are already a feudal lord now, little sister. For what reason are you bowing down so customarily to a dojo disciple like me?

Sister s.h.i.+mizu I request your forgiveness! Lily shouldnt have deceived Sister s.h.i.+mizu, but please believe Lily when she says she had no ill-intentions behind doing so. Lily just had some troubles she couldnt voice out.

Oh? Its about that. Lil Sis Lily, havent you already explained this in front of all the samurais and Lord Kamakura when we were in the Hachiman Palace? You didnt need to specially visit me to explain this. s.h.i.+mizu replied weakly.

Sister s.h.i.+mizu Lily wont justify her selfish actions. Danger lurks everywhere in this Heian Empire, so Lily was forced to keep her guard up. However, Lily shouldnt have hidden it from Sister s.h.i.+mizu and told you about it. Lily doesnt seek Sister s.h.i.+mizus forgiveness and only asks for punishment

Those words of yours carry much weight, little sister. You never said anything, but I also failed to inquire anything. There are probably only a few people in this world who are fools like this sister of yours who believed she had met the only person who she can trust and become sisters with and bared her entire heart as a result, s.h.i.+mizu said earnestly while craning her neck.

Lilys bowed further and her forehead almost touched the floor as she stated the following words, Sister s.h.i.+mizu, your words make Lily feel ashamed.

Never mind. The hardest thing to figure out in this world is the heart of humans. I was the one who was too affectionate towards you. Anyone would have done the same if they were in little sisters position, so why would I place all the blame on you?

Sister s.h.i.+mizu Lily knows she was wrong

If it were just Lily alone, she wouldnt have concealed it. However, the safety of her senior sisters soul was related to the mirror in possession of Lily, so she couldnt speak about it at any cost! She couldnt put her senior sister in danger even if the entire world were to misunderstand her.

She had never expected Lord Kamakura would reveal her ident.i.ty, and that too so publicly. This had placed Lily and her senior sister in even more danger and even created a misunderstanding with s.h.i.+mizu.

Unless they were aware of her senior sisters existence, Lily would only appear as a woman with selfish motives in the eyes of the public.

Although she felt aggrieved, Lily still chose to acknowledge her wrongs and apologize to her sister s.h.i.+mizu with a flushed face.

This was because s.h.i.+mizu wasnt the same as Uesugi Rei. Her health wasnt that good, and she had even suffered blows to her mind in succession recently. Although her senior sister held the highest position in Lilys heart, Lily had her own circ.u.mstances in this Heian Empire right now and also had sisters and friends who she just couldnt disregard as nothing.

s.h.i.+mizu drew out a long sigh helplessly and said, Dont say that. What crime did you commit, little sister? Even Lord Kamakura said your actions were completely reasonable, so how could I blame you?

Lily could feel that s.h.i.+mizu still held a strong resentment, and this made her heart hurt. This prompted her to say the following words immediately, Sister s.h.i.+mizu, if you still think of Lily as your training sister, please scold and penalize Lily. Lily seeks your punishment, Sister s.h.i.+mizu

Lily blushed hard. She wasnt that willing to request another woman to punish her in such a servile manner. She had indeed resolved herself to hide the matter of her senior sister, but it ended up hurting the people around her, so she couldnt say she had done no wrong.

s.h.i.+mizus gaze was akin to rippling water in the night as she opened her lips slightly, Forget about the punishment. After all, we are sisters, arent we? If you really want me to forgive you, its not like theres no way to do that. However, I have two conditions to do so.

Lily thought s.h.i.+mizu would shun her or scold her or reproach her, yet she never thought s.h.i.+mizu would actually raise two conditions towards her.

Please say them, Sister s.h.i.+mizu, As matters stood, Lily could hear them and respond afterwards.

Mhm. I shall say them then. First, if you wish for us to still remain as sisters, knock off the word training before sisters to truly become my little sister and girlfriend.

Eh? Lilys face flushed up, Sister s.h.i.+mizu, we are already as close as real sisters, so Lily feels delighted to truly become sisters with you, but girlfriend and so on Lily doesnt understand that.

Tch. Theres no need to act so pure in front of me. Become my beloved, that is, my lover, An infatuated expression climbed up on s.h.i.+mizus face as she gazed at Lily deeply.

Ehh? Thats How could Lily do that, Sister s.h.i.+mizu? Lily has already sworn to remain single and tread forward on the path of advancement, so Lily cannot become anyones beloved or lover. Please let Lily off, Sister s.h.i.+mizu. Lily cannot promise just this alone, no matter what happens, Lily stated in an ashamed yet firm voice.

Hmph! Fine, then. Theres not much difference between sisters and girlfriends for two women who are in love anyways, so Ill let you off this once. Lets truly become sisters, okay?2 s.h.i.+mizu said lovingly.

Mhm Lily felt like there was something wrong with s.h.i.+mizus words, but it wasnt proper to refuse now and she also had no intention of hurting s.h.i.+mizu again.

A sweet sunny smile climbed up on s.h.i.+mizus face when she saw Lily agree. She then continued to speak, Actually, you could have told me earlier that you were a mirror girl, little sister. There was no need for you to hide it and create a misunderstanding between us sisters. The ident.i.ty of a mirror isnt anything dishonorable at all, at least not in front of me. I was willing to accompany you and even requested you to aid me in facing the threat of the Land of Hundred Demons before I even knew you were a mirror girl, so you can see how much I trust you. Since you are a mirror girl, it couldnt be anymore better. As mirror girls, we sisters form the perfect pair and shall deal with the forces of the Hundred Demons and those scoundrels who wish ill upon the mirror girls. Isnt this the best outcome ever?

Lilys heart warmed up and she finally raised her blus.h.i.+ng face up to meet the gentle gaze of s.h.i.+mizus before stating happily, Lilys heart feels much at ease now that youve said this, Sister s.h.i.+mizu. Lily shall keep her promise and fight alongside Sister s.h.i.+mizu in facing the forces of Hundred Demons that persecute the mirror girls.

Mhm. Since thats the case s.h.i.+mizu revealed a witty yet playful smile on her face and said, Let me have a look at your mirror then.3

Robinxen: Wonder if dudes plan was to bait these out by exposing Lily as a mirror girl too.

Robinxen: s.h.i.+mizu youre wrong! Wrong! Sisters are a higher form!

Silva: Oh my Oh gosh Im kind of getting nervous now Aoi: Kek