Book 5: Chapter 68: Homecoming

“Get lost!” Juzaburo kicked the little cat girl beside him.

“Lord, how shall we deal with this demon cat girl?”

“Hmph, deal? A lowly breed like her? Sell her back to one of Fuyutsuki’s low level brothels and be done with it!” Juzaburo mercilessly replied.

Hearing a low level brothel, the little cat girl ignored the pain of being kicked and hugged Juzaburo’s leg begging, “Lord, please don’t do this, don’t abandon me! Don’t sell me to a low level brothel, meow~~~1”

“Get lost!” Juzaburo grabbed her by the hair and threw her against the wall, “If you dare pester this lord again, I’ll kill you!”

Juzaburo and his attendants left the auction before it ended. Leaving the small cat girl behind, wounded and crying in a dark corner of that private room. In this Heian-kyo, human or demon, if you lacked power or backing, you could only suffer such brutality.

Juzaburo didn’t plan on leaving like that, he waited at the top of the stairs planning on watching what happened when Kagami Lily lacked the magatamas to pay for her bid.

“That sort of woman, how could she have that many magatamas! Planning to cheat me? Hehe, when you get sent to the brothel, don’t worry, this lord will be your first customer! Ahahaha, Ahaha——ha?”

At the entrance of the auction house, Lily was accompanied by Riku, free, composed and talking while walking out.

The laughter on Juzaburo’s face once again disappeared…

“Impossible!?” The way those two were walking. No matter how it looked, it didn’t look like Lily had been arrested at all. Juzaburo’s feelings were complicated, though he hated Lily and wanted to grab her by the hair, drag her back and beat her, he didn’t want to see her walk beside another man. Especially if that man was taller, more handsome and more powerful.

“Hey!” Juzaburo rushed towards them.

“Isn’t this young lord Juzaburo?” Riku greeted him with a smile.

“This woman can’t pay the magatamas, how could you let her go? Did you two collude to cheat me?!”

Riku laughed, “Young lord Juzaburo, you’ve misunderstood. She’s already paid. The bill of more than four hundred magatamas has been paid in full and the treasures handed over to young lady Lily.”

“What!???” Juzaburo’s expression was distorted.

“Though, I can’t blame the young lord for thinking that way. Even I would take years to earn such a large amount of magatamas, hahaha.” Riku laughed.

“What are you saying, brother Riku oversees the Fuyutsuki. What sort of large business have you not seen? I think this small business of mine, doesn’t count as anything.” Lily looked at Riku with hints of warmth.

Seeing Lily smile at Riku, Juzaburo was about to explode with fury.

“B̲i̲t̲c̲h̲…You!!!”

Riku’s face turned frigid instantly, “Young lord Juzaburo, allow me to remind you that young lady Lily is Fuyutsuki’s important guest. As the shogun’s son, we have given you enough face. Though we do not intercede in disputes between guests, young lady Lily is a guest who has made a significant purchase. The Fuyutsuki is responsible for sending her back safely. This involves our hundred years reputation, anyone who dares challenge this…heh, not only I, but Fuyutsuki’s real owner will also get involved.”

Hearing Fuyutsuki’s real owner, Juzaburo and his attendants who feared nothing paled. He grit his teeth and glared at Lily, “Wait and see, Kagami Lily, you better pray that you don’t encounter me again!”

“Let’s go!” Juzaburo led his group away.

“Hehehe, that shogun’s son… he’s run wild throughout Heian-kyo all these years, but to think he’d lose all face encountering you. You really make me admire you.”

Lily could only laugh at the rhetoric, “It’s all thanks to brother Riku for helping me out.”

After leisurely talking with Riku for a while, Lily declined his invitation to tour a few strange spots. She went to the fourth floor to meet Kagura and Yuki-onna.

“You two…”

Lily was surprised to see Yuki-onna hold multiple bags aloft with ice swirls.

Kagura exasperatedly complained, “Don’t look at me, this is all that woman’s doing!”

“Ehehehehe!” Yuki-onna showed a wide smile, “Relax, Lily, these are all good things sold at a discount! Altogether, it only cost five magatamas, it’s totally worth it!”

“……”

Before the ship reached the ditch, the three returned to the fourth floor to purchase what Lily wanted, but after seeing Lily shop, Kagura could only feel more despair…

After debarking at the cliff, Riku accompanied a few guards to escort Lily.

“Young lady Lily, you’re carrying an expensive treasure, I will personally send you back.”

This time, Riku was really acting out of good intentions so she agreed. Even though she wasn’t afraid of Juzaburo, she didn’t want to come into conflict with the shogun’s son in Heian-kyo.

As they guessed, Juzaburo and his group were hidden in the shadows waiting to ambush Lily, but when they saw Riku accompanying them with guards, they could do nothing.

“Young lady Lily, these two are…?”

“They’re my sisters, Kagura and Yuki-onna.”

Lily and Riku talked while walking, eventually getting onto an ox-cart.

“Yuki-onna!?” Eavesdropping on them, Juzaburo received a shock, “To think that legendary Yuki-onna is following her, did she become a shikigami!?”

Following the ox-cart, Juzaburo got angrier and angrier, but he felt things weren’t right when they arrived at the Nijo Boulevard. The ox-cart parked in front of the Chief Advisor’s door, and the black clothed elder walked out to meet Lily. With that, Juzaburo who was following was dumbfounded.

“This…this woman actually lives in the Chief Advisor’s mansion!??”

Juzaburo stomped in fury, breaking a few tiles. He knew that Riku could not guard Lily all the time, so he had planned on finding a chance to a.s.sault Lily. But seeing her enter the Chief Advisor’s mansion meant that Juzaburo had no chance.

“d.a.m.n! What bad luck! How could I end up encountering such a woman! Just wait! When the memorial starts… I’ll have you humiliated till you don’t dare stay in Heian-kyo!” Juzaburo cursed a few times before leaving with his attendants.

Saying farewell to Riku, Lily entered the mansion. She did not have the permission to invite people in. Bringing Yuki-onna and Kagura was not a problem though. She had informed the elder about their ident.i.ties as her shikigami.

“Lady Kagami, Lord Chief Advisor has left orders, when you return you are to look for her in the study.”

“Lady Ayaka?” hearing this Lily rushed toward the study room. If Ayaka called her, then something must have happened2.

1. Robinxen: Cringe!
2. Robinxen: Gasp! Who saw it coming?!