Translator: Aoi
“Shiu?!” At the very least, it was impossible for Mayumi to forget this na as amidst all the calculative and lucrative gazes directed at her, Shiu’s gaze was the only one that looked at her with sincerity.
Mayumi lifted Shiu’s chin and turned her face aside to observe it and recalled the past.
Although Shiu’s childhood features had beco a bit fuzzy in ti within her mories, Mayumi could never forget the eyes that watched over her as she leaped towards the waterfall looming down into the chasm.
The helplessness, concern and worry within them were the sa as within the gaze being directed at her at present.
“It really is you… Shiu…” Mayumi’s gaze softened montarily, but it turned sharp again quite quickly with the blade still pressed against Shiu’s neck, “I heard the Fūma clan and the Midō clan perished in all of their entirety, so how co you are still alive? Did you betray the Fūma clan?”
Shiu, however, didn’t respond imdiately, and shed tears of joy.
“It really is you, Lady Mimori! Thank heavens you are still alive, Miss Midō Yumi. Really.”
Sadness filled Mayumi’s being when she saw Shiu look like this and she withdrew the blade back before allowing Shiu to sit across her.
“Why are you here, Shiu? Don’t you know this place is pretty dangerous for us kunoichi of the Hundred Demons?”
“Lady Mimori, I’m not associated with the Hundred Demons,” Shiu laid the truth bare.
At this mont in ti, Lily still wasn’t aware of the encounter that had taken place in the 100 sqft or so room within this corridors-filled building.
She opened her eyes slowly and soliloquized, “Good. My strength has improved significantly post assimilation of the complete magatama. However, based on the margin of improvent, it’s safe to assu that I’ll need to assimilate at least three complete magatama to beco a 7th-stage Awakened. Fortunately, I have the exact number on hand.”
As long as my spirit power advances to the 7th-stage, the threefold constitution boost as well as the combination of the blade maiden attribute and the Tsukuyomi Swordstyle, may allow to put up a fight with even Furinkazan’s Tokugawa, humph! After all, a 7th-stage Awakened is thrice as strong as a 6th-stage Awakened.
Lily assud that no one would probably visit a critical location like Lord Tokugawa’s luggage room so late into the night and thus planned to continue with the advancent until the mont everyone woke up in the morning, smoothly becoming a 7th-stage Awakened in the process.
However, the room’s door opened right when Lily was about to retrieve the second magatama.
“What?!” Lily panicked internally, but fortunately, she saw a drunk Sakai advance inside the room with a skeptic look, “Hmm? Did I take a wrong turn? Who are you and why are you here?”
“I…” Lily’s heart thumped wildly as Sakai was by no ans weak, and if they were to clash blades, it would alert Tokugawa Shigemori who was next door. “Lord Takeda sent to serve Lord Honda…” Lily couldn’t think up any other excuse under the duress of anxiety.
“Oh,” Sakai was pretty drunk too, “I-I rember it now. You’re quite pretty, so Takeda gifted you to Yahatarou. What are you doing here instead of serving him, then?”
“I-I don’t know which room Lord Honda is in,” Lily answered in a feigned anxious yet shy tone.
“Oh, I know where he is! He’s in the easternmost room. Let guide you there, co.”
Lily’s body tingled in nervousness but the only option she had was to stand up and follow Sakai.
“It’s the one ahead,” Sakai stated with a wobble.
“You have my gratitude, Lord Sakai. I can go in by myself, so please have so rest at the earliest,” Lily bowed.
“Yeah. I-I’ll go sleep now, but this is pretty darn awkward indeed. If I knew sothing like this was going to happen earlier, I would’ve asked Old Man Takeda for a maid as well,” Sakai left while wobbling forward.
Lily planned to flee the mont Sakai left her line-of-sight as she absolutely couldn’t spend even a mont longer within this building after getting seen inside that storeroom.
However, in the next mont, Sakai turned around and yelled out suddenly, “Honda Yahatarou, the maid you like has co knocking on the door! Co out and receive the beauty into the room at once!”
“Damned drunkard!” Lily cursed internally, and at the sa ti, a valiant aura erged from behind her.
“Ah, it’s you, Lynne. You really ca. Co in quickly,” A huge, black-armored shadow that almost occupied the entire width of the corridor and was donning an antler-horned helt called out to Lily.
Lily’s eyes lood with darkness.
As matters stood, the only choice she had was to follow Honda inside the room.
Sakai, on the other hand, flashed a pretty obscene gesture to Honda and said, “Have fun, Brother!” and then disappeared into the corridor perfectly content.
Lily really wished she could catch up to him and send him on his journey to Yomi, but she could only follow Honda inside the room helplessly.
The room was considerably huge, and as the building was the sub-tower of the castle tower, the ceilings were all especially high, but even then, the 3m tall Honda still had to walk with his head lowered.
Honda’s build was much more well-proportioned and brawnier in comparison to Dijon, and also handsor than him.
Lily’s thoughts were flashing at light speed as she entered the room as she knew that she wasn’t Honda’s match at this mont. If they fought, it would definitely draw Lord Tokugawa, as well as Lord Takeda and the thousand elite samurai stationed in the castle tower towards her, so she had to wait for the opportune mont to flee.
Lily recalled Honda’s behavior from the ti she served the sake to him, and though she felt that he was pretty strong and much more dangerous than Lord Tokugawa, his head seed to work a notch lower than others. Thus, she planned to seek an opening from this aspect.
Honda sat down cross-legged at the center of the room and began the conversation, “I turned 19 this year and have never lost once in my 7 years of service to the Mikawa Province. At present, I’m serving as a general under Lord Tokugawa and have a higher yearly salary, about 1000 kan, in comparison to other generals because of my combat excellence and bravery. My father served as a vassal to Lord Tokugawa as well and my family owns 33,000 hectares of land as well as a fishing port…”
Why the heck is this Honda starting the conversation with a background and asset report? This isn’t a marriage interview!
Although Honda looked handso, Lily was pretty much assured that he was pretty much the sa as the average 19- or 20-year-old with how bad he was at using his head.
Thus, Lily interrupted his introduction and stated, “Lord Honda. Let serve tea to you.”
“Ah, as you wish, Lady Lynne. I shan’t hide it from you, I’ve never seen a lady as pretty as you in all my ti in Mikawa! There’s a lot of samurai in Mikawa, but the won there are all as rough and unruly as n. To be honest, I prefer a gentler and slender lady like you, hahahahaha,” said Honda.
Lily prepared tea with the tea leaves and set within the room and then poured it for the exceptionally tall samurai in front of her, sobbing intermittently as the tea fell into the teacup.
“Why are you crying, Lily? Did soone bully you? Tell who it is, and I shall kill him at once!” Honda stated resolutely.
Although feeling speechless internally, Lily wiped the tears dropping from her eyes and said, “I’m afraid even you are powerless about it, Lord Honda.”
“Who exactly is it that has dared to bully you, Lady Lynne?!”
“My original na was Ogasawara Lynne, and I was the daughter of the lord of Ogasawara City. However, our city was captured, and my father was slain when the Takeda clan’s forces invaded Shinano Province and was then brought here to serve as a maid. Although I’m a re woman, my heart bleeds whenever I recall that I have to serve my father’s foes. However, Lord Takeda is a fearso man, and there’s no way for a weak and feeble woman like to have my vengeance as it would only lead to a vain death. With no possibilities of taking revenge, living is the sa as death for , and each ti I recall this fate of mine where I might be subjected to horrendous humiliation and am forced to serve my foe unwillingly without being able to take revenge, holding back my tears is simply impossible,” Lily stated while wiping her tears.
Internally, however, Lily praised herself for being able to really shed tears at this perilous mont.
“Well…” Honda continued embarrassedly, “This is a tough nut to crack. Although I’m not scared of Takeda, he is, after all, Lord Tokugawa’s ally. It would harm the lord a lot if I were to kill Takeda.”
Lily also wasn’t hoping that Honda was actually dumb enough to really go and kill Takeda as he would be a real idiot in that case and Lord Tokugawa wouldn’t have allowed such a person to lead troops into battles.
“I know it’s normal for the weak to beco the prey of the strong in these chaotic tis. It is because you are strong, Lord Honda, that Lord Takeda gifted to you. As a woman living in such tis, I’ve long accepted this ill-fate of mine and just grieved montarily after recalling the past.”
“No! Don’t feel so sad, Lynne! Although I spoke bluntly in front of Takeda, my feelings for you are sincere! I-I won’t treat you as a maid. As you are a noble’s daughter and I’m still unmarried, how about I take you as my wife formally?!” Honda turned anxious after seeing the grieved Lily. He was a simple man and though he served a devil like Tokugawa, he was good to his people.
“Hearing you say that makes very grateful, Lord Honda. It’s just that I wish to speak to my mother first as marriage is a pretty major event in life.”
“It’s nice to hear that mother-in-law is still alive! I thought she died in the chaos of war.”
Lily responded gently, “Mother is buried on the hillside west to this Tsutsujigasaki Castle. I wish to talk with her tonight.”
“Forgive … Lynne. I didn’t expect that mother-in-law has already… You should go then. Not only are you so beautiful, but also filial and kindhearted as well. How could such a good woman like you exist in this world. Are you really the scion of the Ogasawara clan?”
“Huh?” Lily panicked internally and wondered if she had overdone the act and roused Honda’s doubts.
Honda’s eyes turned pious, “I have received the blessings of the Heavens ever since my childhood and I’m aware that I’m a bit dim-witted, but I have a good eye for people. You don’t seem like a well-bred young lady from Shinano Province and seem more like a fairy from the Heavens!”
Lily turned speechless after a bout of panic and only wanted to get away from this place as soon as possible as she didn’t want to hear Honda sing praises of her continuously.
“I’m no fairy. If I were really one, there’s no way I would sit back and watch as my family suffered.”
“The Heavens are fickle, Lynne. There cos a ti when even a celestial maiden experiences Naraka.”
“Huh?” Lily wondered why Honda had spoken such esoteric words suddenly.
“Huh? What were we talking about?” Honda scratched his head.
“Lord Honda, as I ntioned earlier, I wish to visit my mother’s grave outside the city.”
“Oh, right! You should do that, However, it’s too dangerous for a pretty woman like you to walk alone at night, Lady Lynne, so I shall accompany you outside.”
“That’s out of the question, Lord Honda. You attract too much attention and would definitely land in trouble if the Takeda clan’s people discovered that you accompanied to visit the grave of an enemy.”
“Oh, that does make sense, Lynne. How about this? I shall arrange for two of the most reliable Mikawa samurai to escort you so that you can finish the trip early and return soon, we can also have a nice chat after that… what do you say?”
“Well…”
“Don’t refuse again, Lynne. This is a dangerous place, so letting you go outside alone worries a lot! I definitely won’t let you go if you refuse again!”
“If that’s the case, you have my gratitude, Lord Honda.”
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