The shogun’s son1!?
In the crowd, the demons were on the edge of a riot, but their tempers cooled immediately. Though the Fuyutsuki was not under imperial control, the shogun’s name still had an impact, even more so than the emperor’s.
Lily knew that the top three powerhouses of the Heian Dynasty were the Lord Chief Advisor Fujiwara no Ayaka, the great Shogun General, and Rokuhara Tandai.
“Ah, to think it’s the son of the shogun, didn’t recognize you, sorry.” Though her words were appeasing, the tone was full of apathy and carelessness.
The crowd’s reaction was normal to Juzaburo, but Lily’s reaction surprised and infuriated him.
“Woman, who are you?” He coldly stared at Lily. With her height, his line of sight naturally fell on her breasts, those peaks filled him with wicked thoughts.
“Kagami Lily.” Since she dared to rescue the ame-onna, she was naturally not afraid of revealing her identity.
“Kagami Lily?” Juzaburo scoffed at her, “Hmph, where’d this shameless woman come from? To dare come here and play? Do you even know where this is?”
“What, I’m not allowed to participate in the auction?”
One of Juzaburo’s attendants informed, “Lord, I heard that this Kagami Lily is the woman who solved the arcane biwa case, I think she works under the Fujiwaras.”
“Oh? I heard that a woman solved the arcane biwa case and cooperated with other samurais and onmyoji to repel the Rashomon. To think that was you? I really can’t imagine, the way you look suggests you’re a hero’s lover, but to think you’re a heroine. Only, you’re following the Fujiwara clan?”
Juzaburo looked at Lily with a weird smile, “A samurai, actually following the Fujiwara clan, ahaha…ahahaha…AHAHAHAHA!”
Juzaburo’s laughter roared out, “The Fujiwara clan is a bunch of weak willed scholars who only know how to dance. That woman Ayaka is somewhat capable, but the men of the Fujiwara clan are trash! What can you hope to accomplish in the Fujiwara clan? Kagami Lily, follow me, I guarantee you enough resources, whatever treasures you want, this young master will buy!” Juzaburo stepped forward to grab Lily’s hand but missed as she stepped back.
“Young master Juzaburo.” Riku stepped forward coldly smiling, “The fifth floor awaits, everything has been prepared, the best ladies await you!” Juzaburo gained interest hearing about the best ladies, though he had interest in Lily he could do nothing to her now, but just leaving would leave a bad taste in his mouth.
“Fine! I’ll spare you today, Kagami Lily, wait for me to beat up all the dogs of the Fujiwara clan in the Yoshitsune Memorial.”
“It’s the Yoshitsune Memorial, even if you’re the shogun’s son, you can’t randomly attack people like that.”
“Nn?” Hearing Lily’s words, Juzaburo and Riku were taken aback.
Riku recovered quickly, he who worked in the Fuyutsuki was more familiar with the information exchange, he was well aware of Lily’s origins. “Ah, young lady, you’re a bit unaware of this.”
“Hm?”
Riku explained, “The most important event of the Yoshitsune Memorial is the martial competition! The best way to commemorate the legendary warrior Yoshitsune, is to have young warriors display their martial prowess.”
“Martial competition?”
“That’s right, this is the greatest martial competition in Heian-kyo every ten years! Not only does this competition commemorate Yoshitsune, but it is also a search for promising sprouts who can hold high the banner of Yoshitsune! All the major factions are competing, you can say that any young warrior confident in their own power will compete.”
Lily slowly nodded her head in understanding, “So it’s like that…”
“That’s right, the ultimate victor will not only win the highest honors for your faction, but you will also be bestowed with an official rank, besides that, treasure will also be rewarded. It’s rumored that this year’s rewards are unusually great, greater than previous rewards.” excitement shown within Riku’s eyes.
“Rewards?” Lily’s interest spiked.
“To think that you don’t even know this, but then you can’t be blamed for that.” Juzaburo scoffed at Lily, “How about it, when the Yoshitsune Memorial starts, come watch me beat those Fujiwara dogs, if I win the championship, I may just forgive you, but…” Juzaburo looked Lily in the eye, “You’ll have to follow me! Otherwise in this Heian-kyo, you won’t have a place to run.”
Lily looked at this Shogun’s son, her heart conflicted. This person was full of wickedness and absolutely did not meet her standards. Lily really didn’t want to yield, but if she interacted with him too much, even if she wouldn’t suffer a disadvantage in a martial clash, wouldn’t it be indecent?
She still chose to yield a bit, coldly replying, “Follow you? That’s not impossible, but that will have to wait until you defeat me.”
“Defeat you?” Juzaburo was taken aback, “A woman wants to compete against me?”
“No, I will participate in Yoshitsune Memorial’s martial competition.”
“What!?? You???”
Juzaburo roared with laughter, “As expected, the Fujiwara clan really relies on women! The likes of you will participate in the martial competition? Don’t think you can defeat me with a couple of tricks. No, a woman like you should go dance for the memorial, you’ll surely raise the mood of the memorial! Martial competition? Hah, do you think I won’t strip you down on the competition field? Hahahaha!”
Juzaburo’s samurai followers also laughed with him.
“Young lord, you may be imagining too much, that little woman will probably lose in a few rounds, she won’t even get the chance to face the young lord!”
“Well, that would be a shame!” Juzaburo thought, “How bout you beg me, I’ll find a method to get you to the formal competition? You won’t lose too much of Fujiwara’s face. How about it?”
“Young lord Juzaburo, Lily really admires the ancestors of the Minamoto, especially Lord Yoshitsune. However, I really wonder which senior taught you, could it be that you think a victor is determined through talking?”
“What did you say?” Juzaburo’s eyes instantly froze over.
“Young lord Juzaburo, since the young lady has said she would participate in the martial competition, then how about resolving this in the martial arena. Today, we’re all here to play on the Fuyutsuki, there’s no need to kill the mood. Young lord, the fifth floor awaits, we have a virgin cat girl waiting2.” Riku persuaded with a sly but graceful smile.
“Cat girl!?” Juzaburo couldn’t disguise his perverted interest.
Lily couldn’t help but feel disgusted. The country was a mess, and these high ranked officials were only interested in perverted entertainment.
“Kagami Lily, though you made this lord very angry, you are still the most beautiful shapely woman this lord has seen! Wash yourself and wait for the end of the memorial. When you are defeated, yield to me and become this young lord’s woman!” Juzaburo’s small eyes were full of lust as he stared at Lily, he did not have a hint of the dignity a shogun’s son would have.
Though Lily wanted to respond, Riku’s eyes warned her not to. Lily decided to endure, instead of a word battle, it would be more enjoyable to settle it on the battlefield.
“Ahahahahaha! Ahahaha! Let’s go, the cat girl awaits! This lord will f̲u̲c̲k̲ her to death!”
Juzaburo walked up the stairs accompanied by his attendants and Riku laughing triumphantly.
The crowd gazed on Lily, there was schadenfreude, pity, ridicule, gloating, the crowd had all sorts of opinions. Lily ignored it all, she passed the great hall and walked up a set of side stairs. She had not come here to engage in hostilities, but since this Yoshitsune Memorial had enticed a shogun’s son, then the rewards must be extraordinary. But in regards to battle with the pinnacle warriors of the younger generation, Lily had no confidence. Instead of worrying about scum, it was better to practice and increase her powers.
She had come to the Fuyutsuki to purchase a treasured set of undergarments and other necessary treasures and materials. This auction was of great importance to Lily.
She went directly to the third floor. This floor was the gambling floor, high-grade liquor bars, top kabuki theaters, brothels and all sorts of entertainment.
“Lady, would you like to enter?” A white cloth wearing green skinned frog started soliciting her. This frogman was not much bigger than a regular frog, but that voice wasn’t small.
Lily took a look, in front of her was a wooden door with a yellow lantern hung on it, on the lantern was a big ‘Card’ word, it was a casino. Lily had never gone gambling before, she was a bit curious. Of course, Lily wasn’t foolish, she only planned to play a bit, to experience a bit and waste some time. She had no plans on earning money, down that path laid the house’s trap. She had only heard of gamblers going bankrupt, never of the house going bankrupt.
“Then…”
Lily followed that tiny frog into the casino. It was a bit noisy, and had many different rooms within. All the doors were open, and it seemed as if different games were being played in them.
She entered a bigger room playing dice. It was the only game she knew. There was a big table, surrounded by 7-8 gamblers.
“Welcome young lady.” The dealer on the table looked quite haggard.
This was a very strange demon, on the bottom was a wolf. He was carrying a demon on his back who looked like a mix between a fox and a wolf, but they all wore human clothes.
“Miss, do you want to place a bet? You can bet with gold or magatama fragments, we don’t accept silver or copper. If you want to bet with copper, go to the first floor.” The wolf said, the demon on his back said nothing, but slyly looked at Lily.
“I’ll play, but before that, why don’t you explain the rules to me.”
