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The river banks were filled with light-colored mists.

Lily walked past the wooden bridge and arrived at the other side, which was mainly occupied by trees and mountains.

She walked along the gravel lane just outside the shrine. The lush greenery at the roadside carried with them a fragrant smell. Lily was feeling quite pleasant at the moment. Who would have thought that her power was already approaching the ranks of Kengo with the Soul Eater"s augmentation!

Just imagine it, the high and mighty Kengo! Lily had been mesmerized by that t.i.tle ever since she heard it from the merchant.

"Can a little girl like me also become a Kengo?"

"Why not? Why does age and gender matter? Aren"t they only a.s.sessing your sword skills?"

However, Lily also had her doubts. As Sakura mentioned previously, the ability to refine and replenish one"s Spirit Power through the consumption of animas and true essences was an ability called Soul Eater. The Spirit Power refined from monster animas contained various kinds of ominous colors and was not at all the same light-colored one she originally possessed. This kind of Spirit Power could also be called Demon Fury. Soul Eater was an ability only the shikigami and monsters possessed, but why then, was she also able to use it?

She was but an authentic young and healthy normal girl. There was no way she"d be a monster. Moreover, she came from the modern world no less!

Since that was the case…. Why was she able to use Soul Eater?

If she managed to get the Sakura Parasol back, there were much to talk about.

As Lily walked on the gravel lane that was piled up near the muddy river bank and feeling the waves against her feet, she eventually saw the shape of an exceptionally tall pine tree appearing in front of her amidst the dense fog.

Lily only knew of this pine tree"s location because she specially returned to the Chrysanthemum Inn to ask the granny.

Lily climbed up the sandy slope and what she saw under the old pine tree was a little girl with pink mini-skirt kimono sitting atop a big boulder measuring a few meters high.

"It looks like Saikanji Nanako has changed to a new set of clothes today, is she in a good mood?" Lily thought to herself.

And what Nanako had in her hands was undoubtedly the Sakura Parasol.

A sudden thought suddenly flashed through Lily"s mind; the little girl seemed to be a perfect fit with the color of that parasol.

However, there was no way Lily would give that parasol to her. This was a very important treasure to Lily, and also her friend!

Lily stepped onto the spongy ground packed with the pine tree"s roots, then she took a step forward and said with an angelic tone, "Lady Nanako, thank you for holding onto that parasol for me. Now then, can you return that parasol to me?"

Nanako was swinging her legs, which were clothed in a pair of white stockings, "Return it to you? Sure, it"s just a paper parasol. I thought Miss Samurai didn"t care about it anymore and wouldn"t bother to come. Is it possible that… this parasol is very important to you?"

"It isn"t really all that important, it"s just that I like the sakurpatterns and her color."

"Her? Hah, I didn"t expect a big-breasted woman like you to have the poetic flavor to liken a parasol to a girl."1

Lily didn"t want to chitter-chatter with her, so she said, "Whatever, can you return that to me?"

"Of course I can, however~ you must sign this slave contract," Nanako took out a paper filled with the terms of the contract.

Lily sighed weakly, "Didn"t I already sign it once?"

"That didn"t count!" Nanako shouted, "Who asked you to sign in the owner section? You are supposed to sign under the slave! I want you to become my slave and let me ride on you like a horse, isn"t that a great deal? To let the n.o.ble young lady of the Saikanji house ride on your back and lead you along as you crawl on the ground, wouldn"t that be so much fun? Hahahahahaha!"

Nanako laughed with pleasure, as though Lily had already become her slave.

The wind blew from the riverside and tossed Lily"s long hair up.

"That brat really needs to be taught a lesson," Lily shook her head and took out the Anima Container. Four or five Mountain Imp Animas flew out of the box as she opened it and they were blown towards the direction of the wind, towards where Nanako was sitting. One of the animas was blown under the parasol by pure luck.

"Huh? What are you doing?" Nanako was dumbfounded, "Releasing monster animas? These animas are worth a few hundred mon each, are you trying to flaunt your wealth in front of me?"

Lily didn"t bother to answer and merely looked on.

The anima under the parasol was suddenly seized by an unfathomable power. It was swaying like a little fish that had been hooked for a little bit before being swallowed up by the Sakura Parasol. The parasol shone with a misty l.u.s.ter and instantly fluttered into the sky with a jolt.

"Huh? Whaaaaa——" The loli tightened her grasp on the parasol in a panic and she was actually lifted along into the sky.

"W-w-what? What"s going on?!" Nanako grabbed the parasol as her legs danced wildly in the midair. The poor girl had been frightened and looked a little hilarious.

Nanako finally released her hands and landed on the ground with a stagger. She managed to avoid falling due to her light and nimble body.

And the Sakura Parasol flew into Lily"s hand all by itself.

Nanako had finally figured it out, "T-That is a magic tool! No wonder you care about it and spent one whole night to look for it!"

As it turned out, Nanako knew this parasol belonged to Lily as soon as she picked it up and ordered someone to tail Lily. They even knew Lily had gone out to search for it during the late night.

Just at this time, however, the parasol started to talk without waiting for Lily to say anything, "Pooey! Don"t compare me to those low-quality man-made object you hear?! This great loli is but a shikigami! A shikigami y"know?! Moreover, I hate other lolis!"2

"Huuuuuh???" Nanako"s eyes were already big as they originally were, but they widened even more in shock, "A… sh- shikigami you say?! I didn"t even have one yet!"

Nanako pointed at Lily, dissatisfaction to the max, "Y- you are just a poor girl who grew up consuming who knows what, and yet you have a shikigami?!"

"What is there to be surprised about? Lemme tell you, pervy loli, my master has lotsa treasures in her home!"3 said Sakura with a jolt.

"Don"t speak out of turn, Sakura," There was an old saying in Lily"s original world that literally translates to "don"t be too naive and you will have a large amount of money." She didn"t want to let people know what other treasures she had in possession.

"Waitwaitwaitwaitwait, w- what did you just say?! Who are you calling pervy?!" It seemed like Nanako and Sakura were caught in a dispute.

"You, who else!"

"On what basis are you calling me a perv?!"

"Hmph, master, you don"t know this but that young lady is definitely a pervert! During bedtime last night, she was hugging me and kept stroking my handle. She even sniffed me and says she can smell big sister Lily"s scent. Moreover, moreover, she even licked me with her tongue! That was eww… so disgusting! Master, please help me wash it off later."4

"Eh?" Lily was really shocked but still managed to stop it from showing and feigned calmness.

She turned to look at Nanako again. Seeing as how she turned beet red in an instant, it seemed like Sakura didn"t accuse her wrongly.

There wasn"t a need for shikigamis to come up with this kind of baffling lie.

Nanako really hoped she could dig a hole and bury herself in it. Her memory last night was a bit hazy, but who would have known the parasol that belonged to and had been touched by the big-breasted sister was a shikigami with its own memory and consciousness?!

Seeing that Nanako was awkwardly prostrating herself, Lily also didn"t want to hit where it hurts. Since she had already retrieved the parasol, it was time to go back. She still had many things to do. For a girl who planned to dedicate her whole life to martial arts, all her free time could be better spent on training.

"Then… I"ll leave now. Thank you for looking after Sakura for me, Miss Nanako," Lily propped up the parasol and she turned around.

"S- stop!" Yet, Nanako pointed at Lily from behind and said in a panic, "Kagami Lily, don"t you move from that spot!"

"What is it? Do you still need anything else? Miss Nanako? Could it be that… you can"t sleep without big sister"s scent?" Lily leisurely glanced back with a smile.

"S- shut up!" Nanako felt so ashamed and unable to show her face. It seemed like the only way to keep her reputation from d.a.m.nation was to silence Lily by killing her, "I- I want to challenge you to a duel! Kagami Lily, you"re a busty and airheaded woman whose body reeks of s.l.u.tiness! A vulgar woman who can"t help herself from sashaying while walking on the road! A d.a.m.n fox-spirit! Fight me!"

Lily planned to just ignore her from the beginning, but she came to a halt as a silent flame lit up in her heart.

She tolerated her advances over and over again, but this little girl kept intensifying her approach to make things difficult for her. Not only did she insult her, but she also called her a fox-spirit just when Lily was concerned whether she had any relations with the monsters. She was not scared to be scolded by someone, but Nanako had stepped on a landmine!

Lily was burning with rage, her long hair flipped backward and made a whooshing sound as she turned around. Her eyes were burning with anger as she looked at Nanako. The little girl who was throwing a tantrum was startled by her display.

"Okay," Lily"s tone of voice still sounded very calm, but that was like the calm before the storm, "You wanted to challenge me to a duel right, I have accepted."

"Huh?" Nanako was puzzled. Although she believed that Lily would accept the challenge, Lily"s current behavior still gave her lingering fears, "T- that"s good then! If you lose to me, then become my slave!"

Lily"s b.r.e.a.s.t.s jiggled visibly, she shook the parts that Nanako was most concerned about and said, "Then what if you lose?"

"Hahahahahaha," Nanako put her hands on her hips as she laughed, "Why would a high and mighty young lady like me lose to a woman like you? If I lose, how about I become your slave then."

Ever since she was young, Nanako had received top-quality combat training and even received the kodachi5 that had been pa.s.sed down from one generation to another. Although Lily had more raw power, but if they really got into a fight, her sword skills, combat techniques, and experience far exceeded that of Lily. At home, that Low-Cla.s.s Samurai Taihara Sugiyama was always bullied by her as the training partner.

In real combat, Nanako never thought of the possibility of losing to a woman like Lily.

"Good, that"s settled then," Lily released her hand and the Sakura Parasol flew to the side by itself and landed beside a tree.

The atmosphere around Lily had become heavier. She placed her slender hand on the handle of the katana, slightly leaned forward and got into a good position.

As Nanako looked at Lily"s posture, she had to admit that it was somewhat proper, but it would appear that her sword skill was still undeveloped. This was the stance every lower-cla.s.s samurai in Kanagawa prefecture a.s.sumed. Nanako felt more relieved upon knowing this fact. Lily might have more raw power, but her sword and gauntlet were Grade Three weapons. The combat techniques and kodachi pa.s.sed down to her were quite famous among the martial artists of the Kanto region. In order to deal with Lily, she just had to cautiously dodge her attacks and it"ll be a cinch!

"Kagami Lily, you actually dare to accept my challenge with such arrogance, you don"t stand a chance to win! Hmph, be prepared to work as the slave of Saikanji Nanako!" Nanako"s gaze also turned ice-cold. She was full of confidence. One of her hands was equipped with the bamboo-green gauntlet, she unsheathed the kodachi with her other hand, and a.s.sumed the famous martial stance!