In the rain, the little raccoons walked along the ridge in a line, following Lily with reluctance in their hearts.
“Little Lily, do you know how to paint?” Mita asked as he walked behind Lily.
“Eh? How did Grandpa Mita know?”
“The cherry blossoms on this parasol move as if they are alive and contain a bit of artistic conception. Did you paint them yourself?”
“The cherry blossoms were formed by scattered stars when Lily was weaving. It was not painted by Lily, but to be honest with grandpa, Lily did paint some.” Lily replied honestly.
“Oh?” Mita was overjoyed, “How about you help grandpa draw a portrait?”
“Eh?”
Mita showed a broad smile, “In that way, won’t you have grandpa by your side all the time? Don’t look at it as a simple portrait; grandpa will also keep watch over you.”
Lily was touched that Mita cared so much about her.
“Grandpa, Lily has a rude request.”
…
…
In the mountain behind the temple, under a towering bamboo forest, Lily spread out the Record of One Hundred Demons on the bamboo leaves all over the ground despite the rain. She took out a large brush and painted the image of the raccoon, Mita.
The painting of this image was really lifelike and vivid, as if Mita himself was standing in the scroll.
Of course, Lily explained the function of the Record of One Hundred Demons and didn’t want Mita to readily agree. He wouldn’t suffer a loss from getting painted. The biggest risk involved Lily using the painted shadow to pretend to be the real Mita to do something that would damage his reputation. But with Lily’s character, how could she do such a thing? Knowing that his painted shadow could always protect this girl made Mita excited and happy.
“Hahaha, it’s really like my doppelganger. Lily, I didn’t expect your painting skills to be so good. You are really versatile. I’m afraid that all the people in the world would fall for you.” Mita’s big furry belly trembled as he laughed.
“Grandpa, don’t make fun of me. Lily is just learning how to paint…” Lily blushed.
“Hmm, in my opinion, wouldn’t it be better to let this painted shadow act as the raccoon god here while I follow you on your adventure?”
“Eh??!”
“Hahahahahaha, just kidding. After all, your paintings are too lifelike.”
“I want to be painted too!”
“I want to be painted too!”
“Sister, don’t look at me weakly; our family has special abilities!” The little raccoons scrambled to be the first.
Lily smiled. She was also very reluctant to leave these little raccoons, “I understand. Everyone will get a painting. Come one by one.”
“No need. The few of you, stand together and arrange yourselves in an interesting formation for your Sister Lily to paint. Just use the formation that grandpa taught you last time1.”
“Yes!”
The six little raccoons formed an ancient, subtle diagram formation that faintly flowed with incredible jōmon patterns.
Lily looked for Rika, but she was not in the formation.
“Little Rika…”
“Hmph! I don’t want to get painted. Otherwise, what should I do if two of me come out?”
“Two of you?”
“I want to go to Heian-kyō with you, Sister! I have already decided that, even if you don’t take me there, I will just consider myself to be on the same journey as you. Can you stop me?” Rika said with puffed cheeks.
“This…”
“Lily, just take her to see. By the way, I seem to have taken in a young grandson before and also went to Heian-kyō.” Mita said.
“Then, Lily will obey.”
“Hurray! That’s great!” Rika jumped up and went ‘boom’! She turned into a girl and ran into Lily’s arms, “Sister Lily, this way, we can do strange things on the road~~”
Lily felt a chill run through her body, “Rika, don’t suddenly say something like that and then hug me. You scared me!”
“Heh, Little Lily, I’m a little depressed after hearing what you said.” Mita said.
“Grandpa, that’s not what I meant. Ah, no, I didn’t mean anything else!”
“Alright, paint them quickly. This formation drains a lot of spiritual energy.” Mita urged.
“Okay.”
Lily then painted the raccoon formation.
Mita led Lily and the group deeper into the bamboo forest in the mountains, trekking along the winding path in the drizzle. Soon, they came to an ancient stone formation surrounded by the bamboo forest.
“The Divine Moon Formation?” Lily was shocked.
“Haha, after all, I occasionally go to the Taira Clan to act as a sacred relic. Since the Taira Clan enshrines and worships me from generation to generation, I also have to give their human descendants some blessings once in a while, right?” Mita said.
“So, this formation leads to…”
“That’s right, it leads to the sacred shrine of the Taira Clan on the outskirts of Heian-kyō, the Mita Temple.”
“Ah, that, that’s great!”
After all, the three-month period was almost up, but Lily was still deep in Izumo Mountain and didn’t know how to rush back.
“This formation is a raccoon teleportation formation. Only raccoons and people who are truly recognized by raccoons can use it to teleport. Even in the Taira Clan, for thousands of years, only a very small number of people with heavenly destiny could use it, and they must also get our permission, otherwise, it’s impossible to pass through.”
Lily looked at Mita and immediately knelt down, “Lily thanks Grandpa Mita for the blessings and care he has always given to Lily. If it wasn’t for Grandpa Mita, the sakura parasol would not have been repaired.”
“Alright, alright, little girl, don’t think so much about it. I have lived for so long, and it’s fun to get along with you! Besides, I have to thank you for helping my former dream lover repair her parasol, so that I could do such a thing for her.”
Lily’s eyes moistened a bit and she nodded happily.
“Grandpa…”
“Go.” Mita’s thick white eyebrows betrayed a little reluctance.
After so many years, to be able to recognize such a strange woman with an incredible fate as a granddaughter, perhaps this is our unseen destiny… Mita muttered in his heart.
Lily took the little raccoon’s hand and stood on the stone formation.
“By the way, Little Rika, your sister also has a raccoon friend in Heian-kyō called Yuuta. Maybe you two will become good friends.”
“Tch, I don’t want to be friends with those dirty male raccoons. They must be perverted guys, right?!”
“This…” Lily couldn’t refute for a while.
“Yuuta…?” Mita nodded with slightly narrowed eyes, but he didn’t say anything.
He activated the large formation, and a beam of light surrounded Lily and Rika. This seemed to be Rika’s first time using the teleportation formation and she clung to Lily’s hand nervously.
At this time, Mita suddenly remembered something and said to Lily, “Lily, Heian-kyō is shrouded in a darkness that is different from the past2. You…must be careful!”
Through the curtain of light, Lily watched as the silhouettes of Mita and the little raccoons became illusory. She nodded earnestly.
Bzzzt—
Lily and Rika felt like the world was spinning, and after a dizzying flash of light, their feet landed on the ground again.
When the light faded away, Lily and Rika found themselves in the backyard of a quaint temple with blooming spring flowers.
Lily looked around and saw the familiar mountains in the distance.
This place— it was really the outskirts of Heian-kyō!
I really returned. How hard has it been these past few months…
And Lily not only failed to get the guidance of the gods, but also suffered from an unknown source of heavenly punishment.
The road to saving my senior sister is more difficult and dangerous than I thought! But that won’t overwhelm Lily!
Lily originally came from another world. No matter how terrifying the existence was, even if it was a real god from Takamagahara, they would not be able to pronounce the fate of her or sister Rinne!
She recalled Sakura’s ancient memories of the great god, Tsukuyomi, who swept across Takamagahara, having great power and freedom. If she could have power comparable to Tsukuyomi’s, what conspiracy and tricks would she be afraid of?
That was true freedom! It was the power to truly protect her senior Rinne and other sisters, so they could live happily together!
Lily’s chest was visibly heaving, and the obsession from the bottom of her heart made her yearn for this power like never before!
“I must work harder! As a girl like me— a girl like Sister Rinne, if I don’t have enough power to protect myself, the more I explore the secrets of this world, the deeper the dangers I will encounter, such as coveting, prying eyes, and humiliation! I have no choice!”
“However, although my journey was thrilling, it wasn’t for nothing.”
Lily looked down at her chest, “My soul resilience has probably reached an unbelievable level. Even if there is an existence at the Big Dipper Stage, I’m afraid they wouldn’t be comparable to me now.”
“Although the sakura parasol was almost in danger of being destroyed, not only has its past power been restored, but its blue and white colors are not just decorations; it has a new magic power!”
Right now, the day of the imperial court’s expedition to the Tanba Province was almost here. As a military official of the court, Lily, of course, had to return to be deployed with the army. Thankfully, she came back in time.
At this time, Lily’s strength and knowledge in all aspects had been greatly improved compared to before her trip to Izumo Mountain. Her heart was full of confidence regarding her deployment to Tanba Province!
“Mount Ooe… Sister Uesugi…”
“Hey! Who are you people?!” Just as Lily was feeling emotional about returning to Heian-kyō, several samurai of the Taira Clan happened to be visiting the place. They quickly stepped forward to surround Lily before drawing their katanas.
This was the sacred place of the Taira Clan, so it was natural for them to be vigilant when strangers appeared here.
“I, I’m…” Only then did Lily remember that, although she felt happy after coming back from a long journey, this place was a sacred site of the Taira Clan, and she was an uninvited guest.
“You, who are you guys?” Rika stepped forward and shouted angrily, “You are wielding swords against a raccoon in Grandpa Mita’s temple?!”
“This…” Several samurai looked at each other. This was the backyard of the raccoon Mita’s temple, and a little raccoon appeared in the teleportation formation that even the Taira Clan couldn’t use. No one dared to offend her easily.
In this temple, the status of raccoons was higher than that of people!
“Miss raccoon, where did you come from, and who is that woman next to you? Mita, Ancestor Mita is your…?” A middle-aged samurai in blue tried to ask with a kind attitude.
“Who are we? Is it your place to ask? Take me to see your leader!” Rika was unexpectedly really assertive.
“Leader?” Several people looked at each other again.
But since a raccoon came here under the name of Mita, no one dared to ignore her, so they took Lily and Rika to the front yard of the temple.
It was the place where the Taira Clan’s military officials, who were in charge of guarding the temple, were stationed.
Along the way, the trees were high and obstructive, and most of the temple grounds were covered by forest. The group of samurai took them to a quaint house. At this time, a tall and thin middle-aged samurai in a dojo uniform was practicing swordplay outside the house.
He saw the group of people coming with a woman in white and a raccoon, and before they could report the reason for their arrival, his mouth opened wide.
“Miss Kagami?” Taira no Iemori looked at Lily and shouted in surprise.
