Book 1: Chapter 37: Revealing Strength

Lily noticed Nanako rushing over from a nearby veranda. She had been resting there on a bench prepared by her servants.

“Lady Nanako, you and the other young lady over there are the only female examinees today, good luck,” said the chief examiner Yusuke.

The other examinees outside the ring let out a fit of sigh.

“When all is said and done, she’s still the young lady of an influential clan, even the chief examiner is taking the initiatives to greet her.”

“Haha! Hahahahahaha!” The giant monk who just finished his test laughed wildly.

The ronin besides him asked, “Boss, why are you laughing?”

“Hahahaha, I am laughing because that chief examiner only knows how to curry favor. Just look at that shortie, even if she is the young lady of an influential house and received appropriate training, I can dig it when it comes to horsemanship and archery, but when it comes to power… it would already be great if she can get 20~30 kan! Sending a shortie like this to take the test, it really is too funny!”

That young warrior nodded in consent, he wanted to say something but refrained.

Nanako gracefully entered the test site and picked up a wooden sword in pa.s.sing, “Uncle Yusuke, just leave it to me!”

She abruptly moved into action without adjusting her breathing nor making any preparations. With a swish, she quickly stepped into the range of the Dharma Egg. As soon as her slender leg touched the ground, she jumped up with a light step and turned her body sideways. The katana in her hands was pulled backward and drew the arc of a half-moon.

“Pow—!!”

The sound of a heavy strike reverberated within the whole outer yard.

For a fraction of a second, the drizzle had been turned into a vortex by the airflow of her sword.

That Slash Force Sensor almost fell over completely before it repelled back with great force. Nanako’s little feet lightly stepped on the Slash Force Sensor’s head and did a somersault in the air. She landed on the ground with ease and the short skirt of her yellow hunter dress followed shortly after. In that split seconds, with her sharp eyesight, Lily unintentionally saw her thighs and the pure white underwear in between them.

“267 kan— Extraordinary! You pa.s.s!”

The Dharma Egg’s professional voice carried a hint of excitement.

“Huuuuuh—?!?!”

That giant monk and young ronin became slackjawed and unable to say anything for a moment.

“Not bad! Lady Nanako!” Even Yusuke felt a little shocked as he praised.

Lily, who watched from the side with a calm face, was also really surprised.

“I didn’t expect this loli to be so strong! If I didn’t absorb those true essences that night, I might really have fallen behind her.”

Naturally, Nanako used her Spirit Power to the fullest extent, Lily could tell that much.

The results of the examinees after that were mediocre. The highest was no more than 102 kan. Indeed, without Nanako around, that giant monk could have stayed stuck-up in the exam hall.

Needless to say, there was still one examinee they needed to look out for. That person was—

“Next, Kagami Lily.”

Lily took a deep breath and walked with small steps to avoid attracting attention to her swaying b.u.t.t. She gracefully walked into the circle and courteously bowed towards the chief examiner.

“Miss Kagami, good luck to you too,” said Yusuke with bright eyes.

“Tsk! So be it if it was only Lady Nanako, but what about this woman? For what reason would the chief examiner personally greet her?” One of the examinees were not satisfied and complained in a low voice.

“Isn’t it just because she looked beautiful?”

“Hahahahahahahahaha! Hahahahahaha!” Takano laughed again.

The young ronin beside him had a slightly awkward expression as he asked, “Boss, why are you laughing now?”

“Hahahaha! I am laughing because that chief examiner is just a lecher who looks at outer appearance. That Saionji la.s.s must have invited an extraordinary master or used some kind of rare drugs to strengthen her body, but what about this woman? Although she looked as beautiful as a fairy, her face only spells out the word: weak! Her body looked so soft it might as well be made of water. Just how much power could she muster? With that big b.r.e.a.s.t.s of hers, I bet she even has difficulties drawing the bow. I really wonder why does such a delicate little girl come to this kind of place. The woman’s way of thinking is really so complicated!” replied Takano while laughing like a madman.

“……” The young ronin agreed but refrained from saying anything.

Lily got into the test site and when she looked at those katanas, she entered a momentary daze.

“Kagami Lily, Kagami Lily—” That female apprentice called out many times before Lily recovered from the daze.

“Ah, I’m sorry! It seemed like I was absent-minded.”

The peanut gallery commented, “What absent-minded, I bet she just panicked because she was worried about her result and get laughed at.”

“That’s normal. One look and I can tell this kind of girl hasn’t been to the battlefield. This must be her first time in this kind of situation. It is understandable if she has hesitation. It’s not like I did any better than her during my first time at the exam hall either.”

Naturally, it was not because Lily had panicked. Just a moment earlier, when she walked in between the two rows of the wooden sword, she heard a yell coming from dozens of people. She could feel the dojo disciples lining up in a square-shaped formation and the clash of their wooden swords. They were dripping with sweat and their yell shook the sky. All of these wooden swords contained the obsession of those who pursued the path of samurais!1 Those yell that was loud enough to shake the sky seemed to be reverberating right beside Lily’s ears…

Even an ordinary wooden sword contained such an aura. This Genji Dojo was as amazing as expected!

Lily was overwhelmed by emotions. Right now and then, Lily changed her original plans.

Her original plan was very simple, pa.s.s the test and leave on a journey after getting the certificate. But now, she felt that although she had a little bit of strength, she was still much too green compared to the experts all around the world. She felt weak-kneed merely from a replica statue of Yos.h.i.tsune that’s available in every dojo. Just how would she be able to face the world by herself when she’s like this?

Genji Dojo, Lily had a good impression of it ever since she arrived. The strongest power in the country, yet she never heard of any serious offenses from the dojo. It was clear just how righteous and disciplined this dojo was. Precisely because Lily was a girl who could easily get into trouble, perhaps she would be able to find a safe haven here. Not to mention that Lily was also thirsting for the 《Genji Swordstyle》— so-called strongest sword arts in the world.

What impelled Lily to trust the Genji Dojo was the statue of Kurou Hogan Yos.h.i.tsune. He was obviously of short stature, yet he was unimaginably powerful, so profound and unfathomable! One would feel deep respect and submit to him willingly just from looking at his statue. Moreover, he had the air of a frank and sincere person. That made Lily admire him from the bottom of her heart.

However, Genji Dojo had influence all over the world. Their standard is very high, it was not a place anyone could join as they wished. Since that was the case, Lily planned to exhibit all of her strength to catch the dojo’s attention. Perhaps she would be able to snag a chance for herself!

Lily took a deep breath before picking one wooden sword in all seriousness. Then she walked towards the Dharma Egg.

“Full power!”

Lily was not good at sprint attack, so she got in front of the Dharma Egg and lifted the sleeves. Her spotlessly white arms were exposed as she held the wooden sword with both hands in a very standard posture.

The peanut gallery was not aware of the mental fluctuation in Lily’s heart. They were starting to get a little impatient from all the waiting, so they started to become restless.

“Can you hurry it up?! Are you taking this for embroidery?!”

“But don’t you think that her posture is not bad?”

“It’s only just for show.”

One blond-haired ronin looked at Lily with l.u.s.tful eyes and said, “However, it sure let one’s imagination run wild to see her little hands holding that black and thick wooden sword.”

Another rough-looking ronin was looking at Lily while drooling, “Just look at her big b.u.t.t. If you say she’s good at giving birth, I absolutely dig it! Cutting down a man? Hmph, isn’t that too much for her?”

Takano also laughed and said, “That is enough, what is there to rush, just let her cut it slowly so we can feast our eyes on her. We won’t have a chance to look anymore once her turn is over.”

“Haha! That’s right!”

“Hey! Hey! Take a look quickly! That girl’s clothes are getting soaked by the rain… You can really see it! Her figure!”

“Whoa, just look at those curves… Oof!” Few of the ronins were covering their bleeding nose.

Lily wasn’t bothered by the irrelevant nonsense of the peanut gallery. This was the moment she had been training for, even if her kimono was drenched and revealed her figures, she was not at all concerned.

She focused her mind and concentrated the Spirit Power that was strengthened by the true essences into her hands. The Spirit Power gradually seeped from her hands into the wooden sword.

Those with the ability of spiritseer could see a dim blue light converging on Lily’s hands and sword.

“Eh?” Yusuke and Nanako were both surprised at this sight.

All of a sudden, Lily’s eyes emitted a beautiful and sharp killing intent. She executed slashing footwork with her slender leg and caused a splash to rise from the gravel ground.

Her waist carried an incomparably flexible force that transmitted towards her raised arms. All the Spirit Power had been gathered in her arms— was released in one go!

“Pow—!!!”

The faint blue-colored sword slash was visible to naked eyes!

That wooden sword hit the head of the Slash Force Sensor with a thousand kilograms of weight behind it. The Slash Force Sensor caved in and sprung up for a bit. When it touched the ground again, it was rocking non-stop like the waves!

The entire place turned silent, only the drizzle sound of the rain could be heard.

Everyone waited for the Slash Force Sensor to stop, but the Dharma Egg kept rocking non-stop as though it was doing it on purpose.

That one instant truly felt like an eternity.

Finally, the blue-colored Slash Force Sensor gradually came to a stop.

A formal yet resounding voice transmitted:

“389 kan! Overkill— You pa.s.s!”

……

This entire area sunk into deep silence once more. For some reason, even the rain had stopped this time around and sun rays were peeking out from the clouds.

That giant monk and young ronin that were especially conspicuous under the sunlight had dumbstruck expression. This time, Takano’s jaw almost fell off. His entire body was twitching and he had a lifeless look in his eyes. He remained speechless for a long time.

Imakawa Yusuke gasped with amazement and looked at Lily in shock. ‘Just… where did this girl come from?’

1. For a moment there, I really thought she heard the yell coming from the dojo disciples due to her sharp hearing, but apparently, it’s just the memories of these swords.