Lily’s only strength when she was still a boy was her drawing skill, and senior sister’s body was originally proficient in traditional painting and calligraphy anyway. Therefore, Lily learned from Moronobu at an incredible pace. Since her drawing skill was already on a really high level, learning ukiyo-e was just a matter of understanding its style.
When night fell, Lily returned together with Nanako.
“That’s… what are you planning to do?” Nanako asked with both hands behind her head. “What do you mean?”1
“That, I mean that… see how the master’s attitude towards you totally changed compared to this morning? He keeps praising you as a good and talented student, but how about that…” “Nanako, speak clearly, what do you mean by that?”
“That’s… umm… you know… after you finish practicing on paper, you need to practice drawing ukiyo-e on the back of a female samurai. Don’t you need to do that in order to learn the Drawing Concept? You, uh… do you have any plans regarding that yet? Do you have any female samurai in mind?” Nanako asked.2
“Uh…” Lily truly hadn’t thought of that problem yet. After all, she was fully absorbed in learning Moronobu’s painting skills and trying to grasp his drawing styles.
After being asked so straightforwardly like this, Lily also blanked out for a moment.
That’s right… who would agree to do such a shameful thing? And it needs to be a female samurai no less, where am I supposed to find someone like that…3
Forging a personal Cursed Katana was a lot harder than she initially thought. After all, unlike the other female samurai who grew up in this world, she didn’t have any connection.
Noticing the worried expression on Lily’s face, Nanako deliberately said in a light tone, “Don’t think too much, just focus on your lessons first.”
The next day, Nanako didn’t come along with Lily as she went to study at Moronobu’s place.
Today, Lily wore a blue kimono with flowery designs as she visited Moronobu’s house.
When she turned the corner to the secluded path, she found a group of people crowding in front of Master Moronobu’s house.
This group of five were mostly dressed disorderly and they were each carrying a shoddy katana. They looked like the average hoodlum one could find anywhere. Behind them, however, was a young man with a better-looking white hunting robe and a tall eboshi cap.
“M- master said he will not receive any guests at the moment…” Scared by the hoodlums, that slightly ⓗⓞⓡⓝⓨ apprentice from yesterday had a deathly pale expression.
“That mother ⓕⓤⓒⓚⓔⓡ, we are not guests! Get outta the way!” “Yeah! It’s time to pay back the money you borrowed from Lord Imakawa!”
The hoodlums pushed the apprentice away without any resistance, he was so scared he could only roll into a ball at the corner. Just like that, the hoodlums and the dignified youth brazenly entered the house.
Thus, Lily finally made her way over. She got in front of the paralyzed apprentice and asked, “Who are they?”
The youth looked up at Lily in a somewhat panicked state. It should be mentioned that, although Hojo and Akira’s group were on the tall side, most men in the Heian Empire didn’t reach the height of 1.65 meters. Most of them are shorter than Lily, and this apprentice was no exception.4
“T- they’re the loansharks managed by the third son of Imakawa clan. In order to redeem Miss Isuzu, master has borrowed quite a sum from them. However, due to the unrest in recent times, master’s business isn’t really doing well. And yet he’s still unwilling to paint for the samurai clan that he despises. As a result… the interest rates of the loan became an exorbitant amount over time and we’re now unable to pay back the debt. They come here frequently to collect the debt, but this is the first time they barged in like that…” The youth was still trembling while he was explaining.
Lily couldn’t help but look down on him a little, he was such a spineless coward! However, it was only natural for common people to feel fearful when the third master of Imakawa clan brought along a group of hoodlums. She shouldn’t be judging common people from the perspective of a samurai.
Without saying anything else, Lily entered the house.
— In Moronobu’s studio —5
“Clink—! Bam—!” Without any regard to the work of art at all, the hoodlums shattered some of the vase and jar. They even threw some of the ukiyo-e frames onto the floor.
“Stop! I forbid you from trampling my art!” That petite-framed Moronobu was fearless of the hoodlum. He rushed up to them to protect his work, but be that as it may, he didn’t have the strength to prevent them from doing as they wished. He was pushed by the hoodlum towards the pile of paintings.
“Master—!” That girl from before was currently wearing a pretty kimono. She was captured by the hoodlum.
That youth with the tall eboshi cap took a step forward and said, “Old man Hishikawa Moronobu! Don’t think that just because you are the greatest artist in the region, you are free from the constraint of the world! If you owe a debt, pay up! That’s a matter of course! Don’t tell me you still refuse to pay?”6
When all was said and done, Moronobu was still an old man, he was unable to stand up for a period of time after being pushed onto the floor. However, his eyes were still as stubborn as ever, “You guys let go of Miss Isuzu! S- she’s already free! If you want something, just come at me!”
“Come at you? C’mon old man, if I really did that to a reputable artist like you, the whole world would curse my father! You are disrespectful, not only are you not going to pay up the debt, you are even doing those improper things with Miss Isuzu. Though I can’t beat you, I can at least take Isuzu back to the brothel to repay the debt, and I can destroy your properties! Men, take her away, destroy everything in sight!” ordered the third son of Imakawa.
“Scumbag! Don’t touch the painting! Release Miss Isuzu! The relationship between us is purely for art, it’s not the kind of relationship you spoke of!” Moronobu yelled powerlessly as he tried to get up from the ground.
“Help—! Let go of me, let go! I don’t want to go to the brothel, I beg of you!” The girl was dragged away by two hoodlums. Though she tried to struggle, it was all in vain.7
Moronobu felt so powerless! A great artist he might be, but he was powerless against these boorish hoodlums who favored strength over art. He was so powerless that he couldn’t even protect his beloved model!
Moronobu vainly grabbed the air with his trembling hands, but there was no way he could pull the girl back, the girl who he borrowed a huge sum of money to reclaim.
His eyes were bloodshot as he looked at the wailing Isuzu being dragged away. His wrinkled face switched between powerlessness and resentment haphazardly, but there wasn’t a thing he could do!
Standing at the doorway was the figure of a tall, graceful girl. The hoodlums who tried to take Isuzu away noticed the figure and turned their face to look at Lily. Although the backlighting made it hard to see her face, they could tell she was a glamorous beauty and was stunned by her elegance.
“W- who are you?” Without a hint of panic, Lily said calmly, “Can you please release that girl?”
