Ayaka seemed very touched and she held Lily a little tighter1. This sudden force made Lily feel tingly again2. Lily’s thoughts scattered and she could only focus on the feeling of being hugged.
Ayaka continued to carry Lily as before and walked towards her study in the backyard. Although this study wasn’t near her official chambers, she often slept, read, practiced, and handled government affairs here.
However, government affairs occupied most of her time recently so she had less time to practice.
The study room was surrounded by pine trees and cherry blossoms. It was slightly secluded, but the scent of flowers and occasional bird songs were enough to keep one company.
Ayaka carried Lily into the room, causing her to feel nervous. She wouldn’t get thrown onto the ground and…right? With Ayaka’s strength and no one else here, Lily would be powerless to resist if something really happened…
“Uhm, can you put me down…?” Lily asked worriedly.
“Look at you, so nervous. I’m not going to do anything to you; you are important to me…” Ayaka gently put Lily down then habitually helped to tidy up her wrinkled clothes.
This subconscious, casual tenderness reeled Lily in even more. She felt that this was a more powerful attack than directly taking advantage of her. Of course, perhaps Lily was misunderstanding the situation and Ayaka purely cared for her just as her superior3.
Inside the quiet and elegant study, the paper windows were slightly hazed by the drifting white mist, and the garden scenery was humid and pleasant. Ayaka and Lily sat down in the study, and a maid brought them tea.
So there are still maids here, Lily realized.
“Eh?” When Lily looked at the maid, she couldn’t help but be surprised.
“Ah!” The maid looked at Lily and was also surprised.
Lily didn’t expect that the maid in the white yukata would be Miss Hoshi Murasaki!
“Hoshi, Miss Hoshi Murasaki…”
“Kagami Lily?”
Ayaka looked at the two of them, “Hoshi Murasaki, Lily is one of my people from now on so be sure to get along.”
“Understood.” Hoshi Murasaki replied in a disciplined manner, but for some reason, she lowered her head and didn’t even look at Lily. Her tone was also a little cold.
“Well, you can go back first and we’ll discuss in detail later,” Ayaka said.
“Yes…” Hoshi Murasaki promptly retreated. Lily sensed that her body was twitching slightly, but she still kept her head lowered and left.
Lily didn’t quite understand what Hoshi Murasaki was thinking, but only lamented at how powerful Ayaka was. She was indeed worthy of being the Lord Chief Advisor. It was surprising that even a maid serving tea and pouring water possessed strength at the peak of the Permanence Stage.
It seemed that not just anyone could pour water for Ayaka. The old doorkeeper was also outrageously strong.
“Lily, I am not going to the imperial court today so I want to have a long conversation with you and talk about my dreams.”
“Lady Ayaka’s dreams?” Lily was startled. Did she want to talk about the erotic dance she performed for the group of demons4?
“My dream for the Heian Dynasty…” Ayaka raised her head and said with closed eyes.
Lily breathed a sigh of relief. Thankfully, she was referring to her ambitions for the imperial court and the world.
Ayaka got up and flung her long sleeves, much like the style of a female politician.
She approached her fancy desk and looked at the swaying branches outside the window, “Today’s Heian Dynasty may seem stable, but in fact, it is already in danger of collapse. The heavens are in chaos, and the extended and chaotic nights have aggravated the eldritch energy of this land. The strength and number of demons have grown exponentially compared to the past and this long-established balance between humans and demons will soon be broken!”
“Lady Ayaka…does this extended and chaotic night have some connection to the growth of demons?”
“Of course!” Ayaka turned around and said, “Demons mostly act at night. It’s not because the strength of demons is weakened during the day, but because the habits of demons are to come out at night, just like how people leave early in the day and return in the evening. Originally, in Heian-kyō, people and demons were active at different times. Although there was no lack of vengeful spirits endangering humans and samurai fighting against demons, overall, a delicate balance was maintained. But, nowadays, the daytime is getting less and less while the nights are getting longer. This disturbance in the heavenly order is allowing the demons to grow increasingly stronger!”
“The longer the night, the heavier the eldritch energy, but the spiritual energy essential for humans is constantly decreasing,” Ayaka looked into the distance, “Supposing that an extended night of more than a month appears, I am afraid that the balance of the world will be completely destroyed. What I especially fear is waking up one day and not seeing the sun again. What will become of this world, then?”
An endlessly dark sky that never saw the light of the sun again… Lily gasped nervously, trying to imagine such an outcome.
“Then, what should be done? Will there really be such a day?” Lily was also worried. She now considered herself as a member of the Heian world so, of course, she didn’t want the whole world to fall into ruin.
Ayaka shook her head, “I don’t know. I have spent a great deal of effort studying astronomy and trying to calculate the time and pattern of the extended night, but even after all these years, I still have no clue…”
“Calculating the patterns of the extended night?!” Lily was shocked. She only thought about training and seizing treasures, but Lady Ayaka had the world in mind and considered such high-level issues.
Although she wouldn’t put the world before her senior sister, Lily still admired Lady Ayaka’s character and conscience.
Ayaka said with a bit of disappointment, “At fifteen years old, I had no rivals among the onmyojis in the world. I thought I had some talent and intelligence, but I am powerless against this sudden chaos in the heavenly order…”
She turned around and looked at Lily, her eyes shining, “So, in addition to my own deductions, I also tried to find other ways, which made my younger days quite miserable. During that time, the injustice of the mirror girls attracted my attention.”
Without waiting for Lily to ask any questions, Ayaka continued excitedly, “Lily, I naturally know that you are one of the mirror girls and that Hoshi Murasaki is also one of them, so I can tell you many things. At that time, I already had a certain level of strength and power in Heian-kyō, and as the most talented girl in the Fujiwara Clan, not many people dared to disobey me, so I was able to protect the mirror girls and investigate the secrets of the mirror girl clan.”
“The secrets of the mirror girl clan?” Lily became solemn.
“Yes, the world at that time was dark and cruel. Not only the demons but also the warriors and noblemen were killing the mirror girls. I used all my strength to shelter many mirror girl clans, which even displeased Emperor Shirakawa who is the current Cloistered Emperor. I learned a strange thing through my contact with the mirror girl clans. Each clan will select the successor of the mirror girls. This girl will naturally be the leader of the clan and will be supported by the elders. If the girl is alive, then she will carry the ancient mirror. The ancient mirror could be passed on to a successor, but not necessarily through direct lineage. The mirror girl bloodline is very magical and a child born from a mirror girl may not necessarily become a mirror girl. Moreover, I investigated a number of clans and found an unbelievable thing. Any mirror girl who can carry the ancient mirror has no father, so how did their mother give birth to them?!”
“No father?” Lily was also shocked, “Does that mean they don’t know who the father is, or does it mean that the mother can give birth to a child by herself?”
“I don’t know. This matter seems to involve the great secret of the mirror girls, but none of the mirror girl clans have told me the answer… I even suspect that they don’t know the answer themselves, otherwise, there was no reason to hide it from me, the person who sheltered them.”
Ayaka continued, “I also found that every mirror girl has their own mission. Although their missions aren’t exactly the same, they have the same goal, which is completely unspecified. After a mission is completed, perhaps it may be possible to get a new mission, or maybe the goal will be achieved without completing all the missions. All of this is very odd.”
“The mirror girls have different missions, but share a common goal? The number of missions is also variable? This is really unpredictable…” Lily heaved a sigh. She felt that this was the right time to voice her doubts and said solemnly, “Lady Ayaka, I’m not going to hide it from you. Lily is a mirror girl and came to Heian-kyō for a very important reason which is also related to the mission of the mirror girls.”
“You also have a mission? Tell me, what is it?” Ayaka asked with great interest.
“Eh?” Lily was taken aback.
Something didn’t seem right. Wasn’t Ayaka the key to her mission? In that dream, the dark power tortured Ayaka’s will and was trying to squeeze out the mission of the mirror girls, so why was she asking her?
“What?”
“Lady Ayaka…the guidance that Lily received was to ask you about the mission of the mirror girls!”
“Huh?” Ayaka’s innocent confusion caused a pang of loss in Lily’s heart.
Ayaka said, “Ask me? I’m not a mirror girl so how can I know your mission. Although I have recused many mirror girls and implemented a new policy prohibiting their murder in Heian-kyō, I am not related to them. I have asked and learned some of the missions of the mirror girl clan, but each one is very diverse as each mirror girl has their own path. However, I do not know what your mission as a mirror girl is, Lily. However, as chief advisor, I do have many missions to assign to you in the future.”
“Eh…How can this be? Lady Ayaka really doesn’t know my mission?”
Ayaka looked at Lily seriously and shook her head, “I don’t know. I would not lie to you.”
Now, it was Lily’s turn to be confused. She traveled all this way and suffered through so many hardships for what exactly? Was it just a wrong message? No, that was impossible!
That dark dream was so real! She definitely saw Ayaka being tortured by the dark forces for the secret of the mirror girls’ mission while she stubbornly resisted and endured the humiliation!
Although this may only be Lily’s own dream, her keen intuition hinted that this was definitely Ayaka’s dream!
She looked at this tall and beautiful woman, the most powerful woman in the Heian Dynasty. If Lady Ayaka truly wasn’t hiding anything, then did she know the secret without being aware of it?
