The patters of the autumn rain resounded outside the window of the room.
Lily and Rei sat across each other to have tea with snacks.
However, there was only one cup.
“So, this is the famous Fuji-san,” Uesugi Rei pursed her lips and took a sip, “I’m not that well versed in the way of tea, but I feel that the regal essence from this tiny teacup contains a hidden sorrow within it for some reason. Does it come from the teacup or from the tea master?”
Rei leaned forward slightly and looked down at Lily’s face.
“What’s wrong, Lil’ Lyn? Why are so unhappy? Are you not feeling happy after seeing me?” “I’m naturally happy, but I recalled my experience with Sister Shimizu in Mt. Yoshino once I calmed down from my excitement from seeing you. I alone managed to return from there…”
Lily naturally didn’t reveal that Shimizu had accidentally pushed her down the cliff and just said that she had lost touch with Shimizu under the pursuit of the monsters and couldn’t find her later on.
“Lily. Minamoto no Shimizu isn’t a woman who needs the help of others. If she’s really in trouble, no one else can save her.” “Sister Uesugi. So, you’re saying that I should go look for her?” Lily asked with gleaming eyes.
Uesugi Rei’s eyes, on the other hand, were clear and limpid, “On my way, I heard that Lord Kamakura has already mobilized almost all the ninjas of Kanto to look for her. If even they couldn’t find a single clue about her whereabouts, what can you alone achieve? However, if they discover her trails, with your current strength, even if you don’t want to go, Lord Kamakura doesn’t have anyone else he can send. Thus, it’s best for you to wait here patiently. What will you do if Lord Kamakura’s side obtains information about Shimizu after you’ve entered deep into the Land of Hundred Demons?”
“Your words make sense, Sis. I shall endeavor to return to Kamakura as soon as possible then. Lord Kamakura will be able to summon me immediately after obtaining information about Sister Shimizu and I’ll be able to head out sooner to find her. I’ve already taken care of the matters here,” Lily said.
“Mhm,” Rei nodded.
“Lily…” “Sister Uesugi?” “It’s nothing…” “Huh?” It was Lily’s first time seeing Rei act so hesitantly. “Lily, shall we have a drink?” “A drink?” Lily was taken aback. Although she didn’t hate drinking, she was a little afraid of drinking.
Furthermore, Lily felt that Rei was a bit different from usual and she also looked forward to drinking a bit for some reason today1.
“All right,” Lily nodded.
“Pitter-Patter!”
The autumn rain was like a curtain of water that dyed the world within it.
It wasn’t the best season to drink, but the faint chilliness in the air was the best accompaniment for drinking.
Rei fished out a celadon wine jar from her bosom and provided an explanation regarding the wine.
“This is called Soulless Purity. It’s said that a noblewoman abducted by Shuten Doji brewed it while longing for her beloved and home after being abused under his captivity and wallowing in depression all day long. Some of it was stolen by one of the demon underlings of that supreme great demon and drifted into the human world later on. I obtained it coincidently during my travels this time. It’s a grade 7 sake that’s suitable for us sisters to drink to celebrate our meeting today.”
“A grade 7 sake?” Lily looked at the jar that looked ordinary yet elegant and asked, “Is it fine for us to finish up such a precious item?”
“Sake is meant to intoxicate people, and there’s nothing more precious than meeting with Lil’ Sis in this world for me.”
“Sis…” Lily’s cheeks flushed up subconsciously.
Lily brought two celadon cups and Rei poured sake for each of them.
Lily lifted her sake cup and took a small sip from the odorless sake.
“Ahhh…”
It wasn’t sake that intoxicates people, but rather they themselves.
Lily could feel the numb emotions of the brewer from this light sake.
A sheltered noblewoman of Heian-kyo, a budding virgin who had a boyfriend she cherished whom she had yet to wed. However, Shuten Doji of Mt. Ooe had abducted her and abused her under his captivity in the terrifying lair of the demons2!
Shuten Doji looked exceptionally handsome, elegant and heroic, yet featuring a wild passion.
Thus, even though the girl felt sorrow, she gradually became attached while wallowing in despair.
Although her heart wished to die, her body wished to live.
In spite of everything that had happened, she had gradually come to form feelings for the great demon who imprisoned her, and this made her feel guilty, making her loath herself greatly. Yet, she was unable to escape from this prison.
There was such a complex flavor hidden within the sake, yet Lily was able to glean into it because of her innate sensitivity.
“Sis, the girl who brewed his sake must have committed suicide in the end, right?” “Huh? You know this legend as well, Lil’ Sis?” Lily shook her head, “If she loathed fate, she could’ve resisted it. If she loathed her foe, she could’ve enacted her vengeance. However, this girl loathed herself to the very end. So, there’s no other path left for her to tread.” “Let me offer this cup to you, Lil’ Sis, to honor those ill-fated beautiful women imprisoned by those great demons.”
The sisters filled each other’s cups and clinked them together. Although Lily’s tolerance for sake was pretty bad, she decided she must drink this cup of sake and downed it in one go.
It was because Lily sympathized with those ill-fated beautiful women.
It was a boon to be born as a beautiful woman in peaceful times, whereas it was naught but misfortune in times where monsters rampaged across the land.
After drinking a few cups of the grade 7 sake that was on a legendary grade, Lily’s face had already turned flushed and her breathing ragged.
“Sis,” the drunk Lily directly called Rei as ‘Sis’, “If a day comes when I’m misfortunate enough to fall into the hands of that great demon while traveling and that great demon is much stronger than you, would you come to save me, Sis?” Lily’s words seemed to have received the influence of the girl imprisoned by Shuten Doji and seemed laden with gentleness and slight grief within the intoxication.
“I shall come even if I have overcome perilous dangers and end up losing my life in the process,” Rei grabbed the nodachi she had left along the wall and replied decisively.
“Sis…” Lily’s face flushed up further as Rei’s words touched her deeply.
Rei looked towards Lily tenderly and then smiled gently again before asking in a playful yet intoxicated tone, “Lil’ Sis, I also want to ask you something. If a day comes when I’m misfortunate enough to get captured by that supreme great demon during a battle and that great demon is a powerhouse that you can never hope to match, what will you do, Lil’ Sis?”
Lily looked at Rei’s aloof, wild yet beautiful face and found it hard to believe her Sister Rei would ask such a question. Is it because Sister Rei is also a woman? Is she also afraid of something? Or is she just kidding?
No matter what the case was, Lily’s answer was already determined and wouldn’t change.
“Whether be it the treading through the Boundary of Yomi3, or going through the Gate of Rashomon in Nara, no matter where you are, I shall definitely save you, Sis!”
Lily replied without the slightest hesitation, and though elegant, her words brimmed with intensity.
“Lil’ Sis?!” Rei had predicted that Lily would act recklessly to save her, but she never expected Lily would take such a decisive oath without the slightest hesitation. “Lily…” Even the domineering Uesugi Rei’s icily arrogant face flushed up a little. “Sis…” Lily felt her heart skip a beat when she saw Rei blush as that rarely ever happened. “Sis… is this your sword? Can you let me see it…” Lily got up and arrived beside Rei, sitting down sideways and pressing her breasts against Rei’s arm unconsciously. “Lil’ Sis,” Rei responded a bit weakly as Lily’s approach had caught her off guard.
The patters of the rain resounded outside the house, and at this moment, Shimizu entered the premises4 while holding a black parasol5.
As the official residence was still under construction and was a mess, there were no guards posted outside during the heavy rain6.
