Book 2: Chapter 64: Monthly Reward

Although Kondō Naotaka had received treatment for his broken chin, he felt a slight ache pa.s.s through it when he witnessed Lily’s final attack that was merciless, resolute, and extreme!

Yet she hadn’t crossed the line in the end!

Whether intentionally or unintentionally, Lily had just jabbed the broken sword into Shigetsugu’s shoulder and hadn’t targeted his vital organs. This girl, who Kondō fancied, had already surpa.s.sed his expectations.1

As he watched her back that had become exposed because of the duel leave towards the distance, Kondō fell into a deep sense of loss.

A newcomer who had arrived in the dojo less than a month ago, a clueless little girl who asked him for guidance, had already become someone who had defeated Tokugawa Shigetsugu by giving him a heavy blow through an incredible maneuver. Her dojo rank had leaped to the 3rd position and she had now become an existence who even he had to respect and idolize.2

Although Lily’s final attack had indeed vented out his anger and avenged his broken chin and teeth, Kondō actually sighed melancholically as he concluded that he probably would neither be able to match her pace nor have the capital to keep pursuing her.

No matter how beautiful and s.e.xy she was, Kondō couldn’t accept a girl who was stronger and braver than him, so he decided to give up on her.3

“Let’s return. It seems like I should make preparations to graduate from the dojo as well.”

Kondō Naotaka dragged his wounded body with the help of a cane and walked towards the courtyard shrouded in a rainy mist silently.

Tsunemoto Torayasu actually hadn’t received any major injuries and had only got knocked out by Lily, so he recovered very quickly. For some reason, this knockout seemed to have made him find his determination. As a samurai, bullying little girls always made his heart feel uneasy, so he resolved himself to stop a.s.sociating with Shigetsugu and the others from this moment onwards.

As for Tokugawa Shigetsugu, he had suffered considerable injuries. Although his life wasn’t in danger, the injury on his shoulder would affect his movements slightly even after he healed from it. The only way to heal it completely was to expend a huge price to purchase a precious grade 5 or higher-grade medicine, but those really had a somewhat exorbitant price, so he was receiving treatment within the dojo.

Shigetsugu’s gaze was as calm as before while he endured silently and appeared calmer than ever.

“Kagami Lily really isn’t an ordinary woman. I cannot provoke her rashly until I’m fully a.s.sured of dealing with her.”

“Fortunately, I didn’t agree to duel with her using real swords. This woman is too fearsome. Even if I had a 90% chance of winning, I might have fallen in the final moment of life and death.”4

Shigetsugu closed his eyes, and although he didn’t show much anger, his expression had turned gloomier.

Lily had returned to her house by now. First, she cleaned her body and washed her hair, and then, she changed into a white yukata before heading towards Shimizu’s residence.

Shimizu hadn’t returned till now while Nanako’s situation had become a lot better after getting treated and drinking medicine.

“Sister Lily… Where did you go?” Nanako asked while raising her body. “Lie down now, you need rest to get better,” Lily arrived beside her and sat down in seiza. “That… Sister Lily, when will we be going to find Lady Sakiko? Those people wanted to harm you, so we should look for Lady Sakiko and give her the medicine packet…”

However, Lily stopped her from speaking by placing her finger on Nanako’s mouth gently and shook her head sideways, “There’s no need for that. Big Sister has dealt with the matter already.”

“Ehhh?”

Nanako wasn’t feeling well right now, so Lily didn’t tell her much and just comforted Nanako and told her to rest sooner.

Soon after, the physician arrived to re-examine Nanako and determined that she was actually fine and instructed Lily to have her recuperate properly and gave some medicine for her.

Lily gave the medicine to Shimizu’s maid and instructed her to feed it to Nanako.

Lily’s house had become damaged because of the battle, but she had to wait for the skies to clear as the workers of the dojo could only come to repair it after that. Hence, she decided to stay in Shimizu’s house for the time being as it had plenty of rooms.

The rain turned heavier late into the night on this day. The Ashikaga troops were situated on top of a hill 50 kilometers away from Kamakura city and marching ahead slowly.

“This won’t do! Commander Ashikaga Makoto, it’s raining too heavily, so the bridge over the river ahead of us isn’t visible at all. The men and the horses are also spent, so how about we camp here tonight? We shall hasten our journey early on the morrow!”5

Ashikaga Makoto wore a conical bamboo hat on her head as she stood in the rain. Her already drenched white cloth armor revealed the curves of her b.r.e.a.s.t.s as well as her healthy skin tone while her demure face had also become fully drenched, “All right! Set up camp at a higher ground then or else the river water might flood the camp if it surges higher.”

“Understood! Commander!”

The soldiers braved the rain to set up camp in a rush. Although the rain was turning heavier, Shimizu’s condition inside the ox carriage of the army had turned a lot better, so she was bored to death from sitting inside it.

She raised the curtain to look at the windy as well as rainy night and soliloquized, “Maybe Lil’ Sis Lily has returned to the dojo by now… Mhm. She must have. She’s a diligent person, so there’s no way she wouldn’t return and hang around with that woman instead.”

“I wonder if things will remain awkward in our next meeting… To think I actually said such a thing to her on that night,” Saying so, Shimizu lowered her head in anguish and shame, allowing her poignant long hair to drift within the wind under the dim lighting of the ox carriage.

The skies cleared up after the rain early in the morning of the next day and a rainbow formed in the sky to the mountainside which, along with the sun, formed a picturesque image that captured the vivacious appeal of the ancient Heian period.

Lily woke up at dawn and practiced her sword early in the morning at the bamboo garden with Crescent Moon in her hand. Gusts of wind formed as she swung her sword and the bountiful bosom under her white yukata also trembled along with her every movement.

“M-Miss Kagami,” A retainer called out to Lily with a slight blush on his face.

“Huh? So, it’s Senior Masatō. Do you need anything?” Lily sheathed her sword and wiped her forehead that was covered in sweat. Her huge cleavage had also become slightly drenched by the sweat, so the retainer found it hard to stay calm and looked towards the shrubs on the roadside to avoid her pair of seductive knockers and said, “There’s no need to call me senior since I am only a retainer. Moreover, having a gifted girl like Miss Kagami call me senior really makes me feel ashamed.”

“Hehe. You are too modest, Senior,” Lily smiled charmingly and asked, “So, what is it?” “Master Kuroko is requesting your presence at the entrance.”

“Master Kuroko?!” Lily wiped her sweat again and rushed out of the courtyard, carrying a fragrant breeze with her, and saw Kuroko, who seemed thinner and shorter than yesterday, standing at the entrance.

“Master Kuroko! I wasn’t aware you had arrived. Pardon me for making you wait so long,” Lily performed a full bow which contained a truly lethal force behind it.

Even Kuroko was taken aback for a moment and said, “Mhm. You are really energetic. It’s this way. As today is the first day of the month, I’ve come to deliver the monthly quota of magatama fragments according to the regulations! The reward for obtaining the 3rd rank and crossing so many ranks at once is all in here.”

Kuroko fished out a cylindrical black pouch.

“Magatama fragments!” Lily became excited immediately when she saw such a magatama fragment-filled pouch.

“Mhm. Let me explain it to you briefly. As the 3rd ranked person in the dojo, you get 25 grams. You get 5 grams extra for each successive breakthrough of ten ranks from the 50th to the 20th rank, and 50 grams extra for crossing the 10th rank, 5th rank, and obtaining the 3rd rank each! Therefore, the extra reward you obtain totals to 170 grams!”

Lily already found it hard to hide her amazement, yet Kuroko continued speaking in a reverberant tone, “Moreover, you have achieved this within 3 months of entering the dojo, so your reward is doubled according to the rules. Hence, the extra reward totals to 340 grams, and with the monthly quota, it comes to 365 grams of magatama fragments altogether.”

“3-365 grams?!” Lily’s face flushed up in delightful astonishment!6

1. Robinxen: Uhmmm….who’s this guy again?
2. Robinxen: Oh this guy! Yeah he had all the personality of a dishcloth.
3. Robinxen: I’m really not sure what to make of this line. Is this supposed to make him sound shallow with fragile masculinity? Or is it supposed to make him sound like he doesn’t want to drag her down and hold her back? The nuance is hard to tell when things get translated.
4. Robinxen: No, had it been real swords you’d be dead…her sword is special after all.
5. Robinxen: That’s quite the jump cut.
6. Robinxen: A wild number!