Minamoto no Hiromasa looked up and immediately said in a polite tone, “The black armored antler helmet. This must be the Tokugawa family’s Honda Yahatarou from my Genji Clan. Your outstanding performance in the preliminary round can be said to be the only point of comfort for the lords of my Genji Clan. It is rumored to be difficult for Eastern samurai to break through to the Permanence Stage, but once they do, they are all extremely powerful and deserving of their reputation.”
Hiromasa was born into a prestigious family, and was upright and elegant, which made it hard for Honda to criticize him. But Honda had a straightforward personality and said directly, “We are all from the Genji Clan and it goes without saying that I will contribute to the clan. But what is the relationship between you and Miss Lynne?”
“Haha, Miss Kagami is someone I admire.” Hiromasa mildly replied without beating around the bush.
“Oh? Then we are more than just rivals on the field! Lynne has a marriage contract with me. If I become the champion of the Yoshitsune Memorial Competition, I will marry her!” Honda said as he glared at Hiromasa.
“What? Is that true?” Hiromasa looked at Lily in surprise.
“Lord Hiromasa, this matter was decided by Lord Honda without my agreement. I have never promised any marriage agreement, and even if not for this, there is no way I will give up the championship to someone else.” Lily dropped a statement before turning around and walking to the other side.
She left Honda and Hiromasa behind, both of whom looked at each other for a while, speechless.
“Hehehe, that’s a bit of a domineering statement coming from a woman.” A short-haired girl in a white and yellow kimono approached Lily. She had a slim figure and a beautiful face.
“Eh? You are…?”
“You! How dare you forget this lady! What Lynne? Kagami Lily, just because you used a pseudonym, do you think that I would forget about the auction where you took away my beloved underwear?” Taira no Shizuru seemed to still be brooding over the incident that happened on the Fuyutsuki.
“Sorry, all I remember is that someone did compete with me for a set of beautiful lingerie at the auction, but I really can’t remember who it was…” Lily answered truthfully without care.
“You remember this! This lady is Taira no Shizuru! Unlike all of you who fought to climb your way up in stinky sweat, I am the number one contestant of the Taira Clan. Kagami Lily, you can be as arrogant as you want, but if we ever meet in the competition, it will be the doomsday of a s̲l̲u̲t̲t̲y person like you, who thinks she is beautiful and above all1, and who loves to have affairs everywhere and seduce both men and women!”
“Who is having affairs everywhere? Don’t talk nonsense!”
“Hmph, in a life-and-death duel, the winner has the right to kill the loser, but I won’t do that. I want you to kowtow to me and beg for mercy! By the way, you’d better wear that lingerie too. If you’re willing to kneel down, take it off, and offer it to me in public, I’ll spare your life2.”
“Don’t worry, Miss Taira no Shizuru. If you lose, I won’t embarrass you, because…there is nothing on your body to feel embarrassed about.” Lily said arrogantly as she looked down on Taira no Shizuru’s figure with great pride3.
“You— you arrogant woman! Wait for me!” Taira no Shizuru said angrily and stormed off.
The thirty-two contestants who were about to participate in the competition gathered together. Lily could feel that the geniuses who had gotten a place in the quota and those who had fought their way up from the preliminary round were clearly divided into two factions, and there was hostility between them.
At this time, a group of samurai and ministers entered the main hall.
“Attention all contestants, the semi-final draw of the Yoshitsune Memorial Competition’s Hero Selection Tournament now begins. For this semi-final format, the thirty-two contestants will be assigned to fight each other according to the lottery, and the winners will advance until the top eight is determined. Then, on the third day of the Yoshitsune Memorial Competition, the finals will be held.” A red-robed judge in the lead said.
“Lord Minamoto no Yoshitada and Lord Taira no Mori have arrived…”
At this time, Minamoto no Yoshitada, who dressed in a mighty red armor, also arrived on the scene, and next to him was a tall and thin warrior in white battle armor. This was the Left Imperial Guards’ Commander, Taira no Mori, who was the strongest military commander of the Taira Clan serving in the imperial court.
Lily looked at Taira no Mori and couldn’t help but feel that the strength of this person seemed to be even more terrifying than that of Taira no Yoshitada.
The chief supervisor announced, “Lord Minamoto no Yoshitada and Lord Taira no Mori, please reveal the battle matchup chart for this competition!”
The two came to the front of the main hall where there was a huge notice board covered by a black curtain with the Genji Clan’s crest, and they raised their hands at the same time to unveil it.
Whoosh—
On the huge notice board, the matchup chart showing the positions of the top thirty-two all the way to the top champion was displayed.
Everyone looked up at that sign, their gazes falling on the final spot at the end— the position of the champion!
Those who could come this far were all the young and promising talents of the Heian Dynasty, and most of them had the heart of a champion! However, in the end, only one name could be written at the top!
“Now, the drawing of lots will begin,” The chief supervisor said, “May the top sixteen recommended contestants please come up first to draw your lots.”
The sixteen contestants recommended by the major forces seemed to be born with a sense of superiority. There were heavily-armored warriors and robed swordsmen, but each of them exuded an extraordinary aura.
These people went up one by one to draw lots, and each person drew a rank number that corresponded to the rank of the top thirty-two. However, Lily noticed that all these people drew odd numbers.
After the sixteen people had drawn, each name was separated by a position in the middle.
“Now, those of the preliminary round who have an odd number ranking, please come in order of your rank.” The chief supervisor announced and an attendant brought over another box.
Miss Nanashi was the first to twist her slender waist and come forward. She had achieved first place in the preliminary round and attracted the attention of all the contestants.
After that, the odd-numbered contestants drew lots in turn.
All the odd-numbered drawers were ranked second to sixteenth in the top thirty-two. When Lily saw the advancement route of the matchup chart, it could also be understood as ‘the upper half’.
This meant that one could only meet any of these people in the finals! It was reasonable to split the ranking draw like this.
“Next, I’d like to invite the contestants with even number ranks to come and draw their lots.”
Lynne was the first to come forward to draw, as per the previous example.
“Is she Lynne?”
“The one in second place?”
Several contestants started to discuss.
“Although she is secondth place, everyone isn’t stupid. If she had exchanged her silver and bronze plates, this woman would have been the undisputed first place!”
“Why would she do that?”
“Hmph, either there is something wrong with her brain or she doesn’t care at all. She’s a really arrogant woman, but I’m afraid she has enough capital to dare to be so arrogant!”
“Ugh, I hope I won’t be the first to meet her… Although I really want to be alone with her, it’s definitely not in the competition arena!”
Lily ignored the whispers of these people and confidently stepped forward to make her draw.
“Kagami Lily, so it’s you.” Minamoto no Yoshitada stood in front of the third lottery box and asked, “Why did you enter the competition under a pseudonym? Do you know that because you had concealed your identity, several of my Genji juniors lost the chance to advance.”
“My Lord, Lily once risked her life to convey the heavenly oracle to the imperial court, but was arrested as a murderer by some people and almost tortured. How could Lily not be careful? It was also out of necessity.” Lily said in a serious yet delicate manner.
She drew out a red stone ball with the words, “Twenty-eight.”
“Lynne, the twenty-eighth pick.”
A junior supervisor wrote her name on the matchup chart, and Lily also glanced at it and saw that her opponent was the twenty-seventh pick: Sakanoue no Murakada4.
