Demon Sword MaidenDemon Sword Maiden
An old, dark hall, which was surrounded by aberrant thousand-year-old trees, existed deep within the inner grounds of the Heian Palace.
Although it was quite a dark and somewhat desolate place, it was actually the Cloistered Emperor’s Hall, and was the true center of power in the Heian Empire.
An unusual guest had made a visit to this dark hall today.
It was a woman who wore a revealing orange kimono that exposed her deep cleavage.
No one except the Cloistered Emperor, who was seated on his throne, knew about her visit. This was because she did not need to inform anyone about her arrival. Even the imperial guards were powerless in front of her.
“Why have you summoned an old neighbor like me over, Your Majesty? Did something grave happen in the capital or the court?” The ash-haired woman with pointed ears had several fluffy tails swaying behind her, their number changing every moment or so.
“Heh. Hahaha.” Although the Cloistered Emperor was an old man who possessed a robust, tall build, he laughed pretty weirdly while hiding his mouth with a fan. “Please don’t act so distant with me, Ms. Kimiko. Must something happen for me to summon you? Haahh. Time is so cruel. I’ve become so old now, yet you’re still as young as you ever were.”
“Did you summon me just to reminisce about the past, Your Majesty? I must say that I don’t like the mood of this place much, though. How about you summon me somewhere else at a later date if you wish to reminisce about the past.” Kimiko turned around to leave.
“Please wait, Ms. Kimiko. Although I summoned you to reminisce about the past, I also wanted to consult with you about a small matter.” The Cloistered Emperor said promptly.
He then waved his hand to make the curtain before him rise up.
“Oh. I wonder what you wish to consult me about.”
“You must’ve heard of the recent developments in the court with your excellent informants, Ms. Kimiko.”
“There’s always something happening in the court. I heard that someone even proposed to subjugate me recently?”
“Hahaha. Please don’t mind them, Ms. Kimiko. It’s just some nonsensical drivel from ignorant fools. There’s no need for you to lower yourself to their level. I’ll be direct, then. The court has dispatched an army to slay the sinner, Shuten Doji, recently, but I’m afraid that it will be hard to come out victorious in this battle because of the complex terrain of Tanba. I hope that you will lend us a hand, Ms. Kimiko!”
“Oh? You want me to help the human court, huh? That’s quite a novel idea you have now. I wonder what plan you have in mind.”
“I hope that you will dispatch some Suno troops and attack Tanba from behind in coordination with the court’s army.” The Cloistered Emperor’s eyes gleamed faintly.
“Hahahahahaha.” Kimiko chuckled loudly. “That’s quite a tasteless joke there, Your Majesty. Although Shuten and I have our differences, I’m still a monster, just like he is. I’m already doing the humans a huge help by not finding trouble with you, so why would I help you slay him?”
“Well… We won’t let you waste your resources, Ms. Kimiko, and are willing to provide you with the necessary supplies and magatama. It’s just that the imperial treasury is running low recently, so I’m afraid you will have to wait for the Settsu route to open up before we give them to you.”
“Isn’t that the same as paying out of my pocket, then?”
“Of course not, Ms. Kimiko. I suppose you know that the samurai woman you are keeping an eye on, Kagami Lily, has also joined the expeditionary army this time. Don’t you feel that helping the court is equivalent to helping her?”
Kimiko furrowed her brows. “I hope you can say things clearly, Your Majesty.”
The Cloistered Emperor hid his face behind his fan and said, “You must know that there are a lot of forces that hate and covet Kagami Lily within both the court and the army. They haven’t made a move on her yet because I’ve been suppressing them all this time. I also showed her leniency during her previous judgment trial as a sign of respect to you, Ms. Kimiko. However, I’m afraid that the fools in the army would take advantage of the chaos of war to enact vengeance on her. Although she’s decently powerful, having enemies both in front and behind makes me worried about her safety. Heh. Hahaha1.”
“Are you threatening me, Your Majesty?” Tamamo-no-Mae’s eyes glowed faintly as she fanned her cleavage with her paper fan, and even though she looked indifferent on the surface, the flames on the aberrant beastly statues within the hall began to flicker under the pressure oozing from her.
“Of course not, Ms. Kimiko. There’s no way I would dare to threaten an unparalleled archdemon like you. To be honest, there’s no harm in you dispatching troops this time. Joining forces to slay the arrogant Shuten Doji is beneficial to Suno as well. I will also vow that I won’t have any designs on Kagami Lily from now on, so I hope you will consider this as a fair deal that’s beneficial to both of us.” A layer of sweat formed on the Cloistered Emperor’s forehead from the tenseness2.
“A deal, huh? Hahahaha. That does sound interesting now!” Tamamo-no-Mae hid her face with her fan and continued, “All right, then. I’ll dispatch troops to Tanba as a form of aid to my darling Lily. That should relieve some of the pressure on the frontlines.”
“I knew you were sensible, Mr. Kimiko! I swear men would’ve long lost their place in the world if all women were as wise and resourceful as demon foxes!”
“It’s a deal, then. I hope you won’t go back on your word, Cloistered Emperor Go-Shirakawa, unless you wish to become the laughingstock of the world3, that is. Hahahaha!” Tamamo-no-Mae vanished from the hall with a poof of white smoke after chucking loudly.
…
…
The entire expeditionary army had set camp in the mountain woods of Tanba’s borderlands after entering it. Although torches lighted up the campsite, the sight looked quite eerie because of the dense mist pervading the mountain.
The army generals had gathered at the main tent, which was surrounded with crest flags of the Ashikaga and Genji, to have a strategy meeting and had not slept all night long.
The army leader, Ashikaga Makoko, who had tied her hair into twintails and wore a silver heavy armor on her white robe, was seated on the commander’s seat.
The armor over her well-ironed, fitting white robe extended down from her neck, and had openwork grids at her cleavage, waist, as well as her back, and formed a set with the white skirt she wore below.
She wore a thin, black, silk chest binder underneath her white outfit and also wore black, silk stockings on both legs along with silver greaves protecting her shin, while her feet were encased in white wooden sandals. The open section of her shoulder guard showed her round shoulders outside while the front of her torso was guarded by a silver breastplate that extended down to her waistline.
Minamoto no Yoshitada, the deputy commander of the army, Minamoto no Hirohikari, the leader of the barrier troops, Ashikaga Kiyoshi, the eldest scion of the Ashikaga, Taira no Shigemori, a mysterious general from the eastern provinces, Taien Ryuji, an expert from Kansai, Minamoto no Tsukawa, the young genius general of the Genji, Taira no Shizuru, the young female general of the Taira, Minamoto Jujiro Takamune, the leader of the vanguard and the twelfth scion of Minamoto no Yoritomo, as well as a few other members were present around Commander Ashikaga at the moment.
A slender-legged, long-haired girl dressed in red kimono minidress, Lily, was also present within the tent, and stood in an unimportant position near the tent’s entrance.
The unarmored Minamoto no Hirohikari, who wore a formal court dress, opened his mouth before Ashikaga Makoto could even say a word. “You truly are a young hero of our times, Lord Takamune. Although you suffered some losses, it’s still quite incredible that you came out victorious in battle against a group of Permanence level archdemons. I believe it’s no coincidence that you came across such a powerful group of demons and suspect that Shuten Doji must’ve sent them to test our strength after gaining intel. You’re really just like the commander-in-chief in his young days!”
Although the Genji generals praised Takamune in agreement with Hirohikari, Minamoto no Yoshitada, Minamoto no Tsukawa, and a few others had solemn expressions on their faces.
Takamune smiled smugly after hearing the praise, but unease filled him when he saw Lily look at them indifferently as she knew the actual truth.
“What are you doing in such an important place, Kagami Lily? The generals are the only ones qualified to attend this meeting. Get lost from here at once!” Takamune shouted at her.
Minamoto no Tsukawa also looked at Lily with utter hatred as she had beaten him black and blue previously and would have become a lifelong cripple if Minamoto no Yoritomo had not paid a huge price to rescue him. It was simply impossible for him to not hate her when she had almost crippled him.
‘Hmph. No one can predict what will happen on the battlefield, Kagami Lily. You better not show me an opening, or else I’ll make sure you never return alive from this battle!’ Tsukawa plotted internally. He did not give a damn about slaying Shuten Doji and just wanted to take revenge on Lily.
Minamoto no Yoshitada tried to speak up for Lily when everyone directed their gazes at her, but Shizuru was a step faster than him. She said in a loud voice, “Considering how strong she is, there’s nothing wrong with her being here.”
“Shut up, Shizuru! You can’t fight a war alone! Although that woman is good with the sword, she is a novice at leading troops! She should just guard the tent if strength’s all she has got!” Tsukawa retorted.
“Who do you think you are, huh, Tsukawa?! Kagami Lily is my subordinate. She has no choice but to go out if I order her, but you have no right to tell her what to do!” Takamune said loudly, unable to stand Tsukawa’s behavior.
“What are you so pissed about, brat? Do you want to die, huh? Let’s fight it out if you have a problem with me!” Tsukawa said icily as he stood up.
“How dare you speak like that to me, the commander-in-chief’s son, you plebeian?!” Takamune also stood up.
The two men stared at each other with hostility, and even though Takamune was not Tsukawa’s match in a fight, he never cared about the opponent’s strength before picking a beef with them.
“Sit down.” Ashikaga Makoto said in a stern tone, “We’re having a strategy meeting in the commander’s tent right now. Anyone who causes trouble shall be court-martialed!”
Makoto continued, “I was the one who I ordered her to attend the meeting, and I’ve already appointed her as my sole battle maiden4. No one except me can order her and she’s allowed to move freely in battle whenever she sees it fit!”
“What?! This is the woman, er, battle maiden that my father assigned to me, Commander Ashikaga! How could you make her your battle maiden?!” The obese Takamune said anxiously. He had already lost half his men, so the vanguard would be in much greater risk if he lost her at this moment, and even worried about losing his life.
“The commander is allowed to make arbitrary decisions based on the situation of the battlefield during an expedition. How could you not know this when you are the commander-in-chief’s son?” Ashikaga Makoto said sternly.
“D-Damn it!” All Takamune could do was curse out in a small voice and sit down powerlessly.
Ashikaga Kiyoshi, who was seated in the middle of the front row, looked pretty different from the past. He had an unshaven beard on his handsome face as well as messy hair that draped over his shoulders, and just had a single arm now. He looked at Lily with mixed feelings and muttered her name out. “Ms. Kagami…”