Lily, with a tight kimono that revealed the top half of her plump breasts and perfectly outlined her shapely butt, was currently backed against the wall. Her face flushing with the color of peach blossom as she shouted, “W- Why are you going to tie me up?”
Weren’t they going to vow their loyalty to her? It made no sense for them to tie up their master!
Nanako got in front of Lily to defend her, “Mother, if Nanako did something wrong, just punish me instead. Lily is our guest, why should she be tied up?”
Kotoka only laughed at her statement, “If we don’t tie Miss Kagami up, how can she learn the Restraint Release like that?”1
Lily understood in a flash, although it still sounded a little strange, it was quite reasonable. If they didn’t tie her up, then what would she be escaping from?
Upon hearing her reason, Nanako clapped her hands and nodded, “So that’s it. What mother said is reasonable, if we don’t tie Lily up, how can we teach her the Restraint Release?”
On the other hand, Lily’s line of thought was not as pure as Nanako’s thought. There were some things… that she still understood. But even so, she still needed to learn that Restraint Release. She naturally wished it wouldn’t be necessary to use it, but a survival skill like this was absolutely necessary for her goal!
“T- then I’ll have to trouble the madam to teach me,” As Lily moved between Kotoka and Nanako, she twisted her head in shame and said awkwardly.
Light flashed in Kotoka’s eyes as she picked up the thick rope with rough breaths, “Nanako, do it, hehehe…”2
One must suffer hardship if they wanted to learn something, Lily had mentally prepared herself.
When the thick rope tightened around her body, Lily couldn’t restrain herself from letting out weak moans repeatedly. Those half-closed eyes under her long eyebrows were reluctant to part.
“Madam… please don’t tie it so tightly…”
“Miss Kagami, if I don’t tighten it, how can we practice for real?” Kotoka whispered beside Lily’s ear, her lips almost touching.
“Madam, I- I can hear you, don’t whisper right beside my ear,” Lily could only twist her waist and shoulders as she let out a weak grumble.
“Hang her up,” As Kotoka gave the command, the rope behind Lily was thrown over the roof beam and her body was lifted up as such.
With a single rope hanging her up, Lily was helplessly spinning in the midair…
“How is it, Lily? Can you get free by yourself?”
“If I use Spirit Power, maybe…” Lily’s tone was a little frantic.
“That won’t do at all~” Kotoka lifted Lily’s hair and whispered into her ear, “Using Spirit Power is cheating. Besides, someone truly powerful would use a high-end rope to tie you, what will you do then?”
“I- I understand, then can the madam please teach me the Restraint Release?”
“Mmm… Miss Kagami, your hair smells so nice…”
“Madam, can you please not say something unnecessary…?”
“Nanako, what are you daydreaming for? Grasp her legs firmly and tighten the restraint!” Kotoka didn’t seem to be all that courteous towards her daughter.
“Yes, mother!” However, Nanako didn’t really mind about it. She promptly grabbed Lily’s bare legs and hugged it tightly, then tying it up with a thick rope.3
After being tossed from side to side for a long time, even Lily started to feel dizzy. Her face was a shade of deep pink.
“Madam… I have already been bound for so long… isn’t it about time to teach me the Restrain Release?”
“Ah… of course, of course… The Restrain Release right? That’s the special skill of my Saionji house. Miss Kagami, I will whisper beside your ear, you must listen closely alright? If you get distracted, hehe, then that’s not my fault~”
“I understand, Lily will earnestly absorb the madam’s instruction,” Lily said in a gentle voice.
……
As she was instructed throughout the night and put those instructions into practice, Lily eventually learned the Restrain Release.
Ordinarily, with Lily’s keen senses and her fine body control, she should have learned the technique much earlier. However, with the madam’s intervention, the practice time had been prolonged.
It was already the next morning. Lily got up in her room but there was still no sign of daybreak.
But since Lily had the constitution of a Blade Maiden, she was quite fond of night. Despite sleeping very late last night, her body was still bursting with life.
She decided to go wash up at the back of the room. However, when she rinsed herself with warm water, she found that the faint red marks of the restraints still remained on her body. She couldn’t stop her face from flushing as she thought back to last night.
“T- this is the price for learning new things!”
Lily placed one hand against her plump breasts and gently caressed the red marks on her arm with the other hand. A strong will transmitted from her forlorn eyes.
“For senior sister, I am willing to do anything! This shame, I will bear it all!”
After finishing her bath, she returned to her room to dress up. She changed into a new red kimono with a low-cut style. Taking the Sakura Parasol and Copper Mirror along, and of course, her bag and katana. She tidied up everything and prepared to set off under the starry night.
Her money, spoils of war, and teacup were left in the Saionji house for the time being. As she set off this morning, she didn’t say goodbye to the madam and Nanako. After all, they might still be fast asleep as they didn’t have a body with as much vitality as Lily.
She left behind a note before setting off with her weapon, luggage, and parasol.
A daytime without daylight at Suruga was very dark and quiet.
The weather was also quite chilly.
Lily walked on the empty street with her wooden sandals. Since her body was naturally radiating heat all around, she didn’t feel the cold despite the chilly night.
Stepping on the damp road, she made her way towards the exit of Suruga. Lily retrieved a map from her obi and checked the map with the dim lighting from the stone lantern.
Afraid to run into the Hojo’s group, Lily chose to avoid Mount Tama.
“Mount Aoame is thirty miles to the South of Suruga,” Lily had already decided her destination.4
Mount Aoame covered ninety thousand square miles of area. It was a really big area. The eldritch energy was extremely thick in the deep mountain! Even in the outer layer of the mountain, Normal Low Ranked and Superior Low-Rank monsters roamed around frequently. Sometimes, even Inferior Mid Ranked monsters would appear. They possessed strength equivalent to that of a Low-Tier Sword Master. The current Lily had enough strength to challenge these comparatively more powerful monsters. If she didn’t do at least that much, how would she ever hope to earn a few hundred kan in the shortest possible time?
“The outer layer of Mount Aoame is a little dangerous, but it’s still within my capability to handle it. It will be fine as long as I don’t go too deep. Moreover, this is still quite a distance from the Hojo’s range of influence. A Low Ranked anima is worth 2 to 5 kan, and a Superior Low Ranked anima can fetch 10 to 30 kan! If I am lucky enough to kill an Inferior Mid Ranked monster, I will be able to get at least a 100 kan!” Lily thought out loud as she calculated.
Compared to the majority of the samurai, earning money wasn’t as hard for a Blade Maiden5 like Lily!
Let’s go! Towards Mount Aoame!
Under the long dark night, a young girl in red silently departed from Suruga. And thus, the curtain rose on the young samurai’s first adventure to the deep mountains.
