At midnight in Heian-kyo, an ancient sad biwa song often appeared. This heartrending music came from a dark ancient decrepit alley and sometimes, it would mesmerize passersby to disappear into the alley, never to reappear again.
People in Heian-kyo generally don’t exit their houses at night, this was common knowledge, but who could be sure there were no emergencies requiring them to leave? Of course, there are always those who don’t care or those who are too drunk.
That biwa sound, how many people has it lured recently? With the decline of the Heian Dynasty, no one knew, only the number of victims was already of a great enough number that it could not be treated as a normal monster case. Especially when the eldest young lady of the Amako family also went missing…
Lily walked down the road, she naturally ignored the civilian’s taboo of leaving the house at night.
She was returning to the night-market inn. She had lived in that second-floor room for a while, though it was a bit far and the room was not that good, it was safer than anywhere else. Especially when Lily didn’t want to be disturbed when exploring physique refining.
Lily’s indifference had calmed down those old b̲a̲s̲t̲a̲r̲d̲s̲. Lily could only wonder, why did their attitude towards her flip 180 degrees? It wasn’t as if their relationship had been good before the case. Especially since Fuen, Kujo and the rest had been beaten up by her.
Perhaps it was because, besides Kamo, they didn’t have the privilege to meet the Cloistered Emperor. As someone commended by the Cloistered Emperor, they could only befriend and not oppose her.
Was this the power of authority?
Lily wasn’t only rewarded, but she had been officially assigned to the Bureau of Divination and bestowed the position of a lesser secretary. Because an official court rank required the court’s approval, she had none, but if Lily continued to contribute, she would sooner or later gain an official court rank.
She was recommended by the Chief Advisor and the Cloistered Emperor had commended her, it seemed as if her future was unlimited. On top of that, they had no idea she had relations with that invincible night-market guardian god.
Lily would formally take up a position in the Bureau of Divination, and not a throwaway janitor position, but one that had her dealing with official matters of the Bureau of Divination.
Lily planned to visit Ayaka the next day, with the completion of this task, Lily should be able to request a meeting with Lady Ayaka.
“Nn?”
Biwa music?
Walking on the streets of Suzaku Avenue, Lily heard a weird faint but fascinating biwa sounds. “This biwa sounds very unusual…but, it gives me a bad feeling.” Lily, though curious, planned on meeting Ayaka tomorrow morning and did not want to encounter any problems, so she ignored her curiosity.
What she didn’t know was that this night, the entire Bureau of Justice, Divination, and even the Left and Right Inner Guard barracks were all brightly lit and filled with a tense atmosphere.
In the Bureau of Justice, a young man with curly yellow hair wearing an eboshi hat sat in a large, dark room with scenic screens. In front of him sat ten-something samurais, all members of the Bureau of Justice.
This man had deep melancholy eyes, and a straight nose, he was slightly masculine and very handsome. He was the Secretary of Justice, Kimura Saburo. People called him Saburo, and he was part of the Genji faction.
The Secretary of Justice was the highest rank and leader of the Bureau of Justice. He was of equal rank with the Secretary of Interior, Secretary of Finance, and Secretary of War, an important official of the fourth rank. That he was only 30 years of age was enough to demonstrate his competence and abilities.
However today, his face was set into a frown. “If this continues, our Bureau of Justice will become the laughing stock of Heian-kyo. First, it was that Bureau of Divination’s treasury theft case being solved and before things calmed down now we have these missing people “Biwa music” case, and on top of that, Lady Amako Haruhiro has gone missing! All witnesses say that they heard the sound of an ancient biwa!”
“My Lord, monsters making people disappear is, unfortunately, not that uncommon in Heian-kyo. What about this case is so special?” A black-haired tall handsome samurai below asked.
Saburo answered, “If the one missing was a regular civilian, then the case would not be so serious. However, the one missing is the young lady of the Amako Family.
“The Amako family is…”
“Minamoto no Hiromasa, though you aren’t from the capital, do you truly not know Lord Amako? He is our emperor’s father-in-law!”
“Ah!” Hiromasa was shocked, “Then that Amako young lady is…”
“Our empress’ younger sister!”
“…… I, I heard that our empress is much older than the emperor……” Hiromasa muttered to himself.
“Hiromasa, can you not tell how serious this is? Now that the empress’s little sister has gone missing, the emperor, and the bureau of internal affairs are furious. They’ve ordered us to locate lady Amako Haruhiro immediately and rescue her!”
A mustached samurai spoke up, “Lord Saburo, I think lady Amako was bewitched by the biwa music, with that in mind, it’s probably the work of monsters. I don’t think we alone will be able to solve the case.”
“I’m well aware. This order was also sent to the Bureau of Divination and the Left-Right Inner Guards. Do you know, just how much the emperor treasures the empress? Hiromasa, you are friends with that Abe no Seimei, find him and request for help.”
“I obey, Lord.”
The Left Inner Guards and Right Inner Guards are responsible for the defense of the entire Heian-kyo. Since this case involves an arch-demon and the empress’ little sister, even the guards of the two security bureaus were ordered to assist. Even if they had to scour the entire city, young lady Amako Haruhiro would be found, and the monster captured!
In the barracks of the Left Inner Guards, a large lobby with red pillars, surrounded by white gauze curtains and decorated by many flower arrangements, a feminine design. A slightly mature 22 year old woman sat in the lobby, her thick brown hair bound into a ponytail with a green hair tie. She was dressed in a blue-collared white close-fitting dress and a gray skirt.
Taira no Shizuka, the highest-ranked female military officer. Taira’s number one female samurai, she was ranked as a great general, an official of the third rank. Aside from the shogun, she was like the Great General of the Right Guards, highest-ranked of Heian-kyo’s military generals.
Also, one of Taira’s two great beauties.
“Why haven’t you b̲a̲s̲t̲a̲r̲d̲s̲ figured out the situation yet? If you mess up again, you won’t get off with just being punished by me! Even the elders of the Taira clan won’t spare you! Do you know that the emperor himself has issued the order to both the Bureau of Divination and the Left-Right Inner Guards at the same time?” The way she sat was dignified, ladylike, and had the heroic aura of a female warrior. But the way she spoke to her subordinates was rough and vulgar.
“Lady Shizuka, the four great bureaus being dispatched at the same shows how serious of a case this is!” A Taira samurai declared.
“Obviously! Why the f̲u̲c̲k̲ do you think I’m emphasizing this? You stinky stupid men! That Bureau of Divination is under Fujiwara’s control, the Bureau of Justice and Right Inner Guards are forces under the Genji Clan. We however represent the Taira clan! This time’s operation involves the safety of the Empress’ younger sister, the stability of the court, and the emperor’s dignity. This is a competition between the three great factions! Whoever can rescue lady Amako Haruhiro and capture that monster will not only claim glory for our clan but also humiliate the other two! Do you all understand!? You bunch of fools, what else do you know besides war and the bedroom?”
The warriors suddenly realized the implications of the situation and fired themselves up.
In truth, though the empress’ younger sister had a noble identity, her life and death did not affect the Inner Guards at all. In the past, many empresses had been savagely murdered in the imperial palace, an empress’ little sister counted as nothing special. However, this was the veiled struggle between the three factions, this involved the very basis of their survival and future development.
At the same time, the situation in the Genji-controlled Right Inner Guard Barracks was the same, even the great bonfire was the same. Armors were equipped and the hunt for the monster started. They had not only received the emperor’s order but the shogun’s order. The Genji must rescue lady Amako Haruhiro and capture that monster!
Lily, on the other hand, knew nothing of the happenings this night.
She was not afraid to walk at night, after returning to the night-market, though she saw the market was bursting with activity. Lily was in no mood to go shopping so she returned to the inn and went to sleep, she would visit the Chief Advisor tomorrow morning.
In the end, Lily had still overestimated herself, on the morning of the next day, she arrived at the Chief Advisor’s mansion and once again, was stopped by the thin unfathomable black-dressed old man.
“What!? But I received Lord Chief Advisor’s order, and now that I’ve completed the orders I still can’t meet Lord Chief Advisor? Even the Cloistered Emperor has commended me!”
In truth, Lily didn’t care about any reward or decree, all she wanted was to quickly meet Ayaka.
“Lord Chief Advisor has ordered, she recently has been fond of music rhythms, she will not meet any random people.” The old man mercilessly refused.
“I, I’m not a random person! Lady Ayaka personally sent me to the Bureau of Divination. I have an important matter to consult with Lady Ayaka, please at least tell her I arrived!” Lily had become anxious.
That old man waved his hand and a strong force pushed Lily away, “Arrogance! How dare you call the lord’s name. If you don’t leave now, you shall be arrested!”
Lily collapsed onto the ground aggrieved, her skirt dirtied.
“To meet the Lord Chief Advisor, I risked so much…you can’t even send a message?”
She had not even finished speaking before the door slammed shut. Lily wanted to go hit the door, what random people? On one hand, she received secret orders that pushed her into the dangerous court struggle, yet the other party shut her outside of the door!
But……
The last time when she had gotten into trouble with Kamo, Lady Ayaka had sent a decree saving her. Considering such, Lily decided to endure a bit.
“Exactly what do I need to do to meet her?” Lily had traveled several ten thousand kilometers to arrive here. For the hints to waking up senior sister, for the secrets of the Mirror girls, how could she stop here?
The sky was clear, Lily walked in the cool air along the 2nd great road towards the Bureau of Divination, she had nowhere else to go, after all, she was now the Bureau of Divination’s Lessor Secretary.
