Lily and Taira no Iemori had a bad relationship at first. After all, at the competition a few months ago, Lily had some conflicts with him over Taira no Shizuru. But then, he participated in the competition for Lily’s kiss1. No matter what the motive was, this was a matter of fact, making it difficult for Taira no Iemori to treat Lily as an enemy.
However, when he saw Lily at this time, he was rather surprised.
“Miss Kagami, you are still alive?!” Iemori asked in a disbelieving tone.
Lily didn’t know how to answer this question.
According to Iemori, an earthquake occurred in the direction of Izumo Province. After scouts had been sent to investigate the situation, they reported that a huge disaster had occurred in Izumo Mountain. Because it happened in the depths of the mountain, it was difficult to find out what exactly happened, and there was no news of Lily after that. As the newly promoted military official of the imperial court and the champion of the competition, Lily’s disappearance made the court very anxious, and since she was in the vicinity of Izumo Mountain when the disaster occured, they feared that she had died.
As for what happened in Izumo Mountain, the imperial court was so secretive about it that most officials of the Taira Clan didn’t know.
“What? So it’s like that…”
“Miss Kagami, it looks like you’re fine. Were you really in Izumo Mountain at that time, and why did you emerge from the teleportation formation that only my Taira Clan’s guardian deity can activate?” Iemori asked.
“Not good!” Lily was immediately worried, “Lord Iemori, sorry for disturbing you today. Lily will definitely come to apologize another day. Right now, I must return to Heian-kyō immediately.”
“Ah?”
After saying that, Lily rushed out of the temple’s front yard and Rika hurriedly followed behind.
“Eh, Miss Kagami…” Iemori was bewildered.
Lily ran out of the Mita Temple, immediately took out the voice transmission orb, and injected a stream of spiritual energy into it to contact Ayaka.
She didn’t expect that Ayaka would respond almost immediately.
Just as Lily was about to speak, a very urgent and loud female voice blared from the voice transmission orb, “Lily! Lily! Is it really you?!”
Lily was startled.
Ayaka had always been calm and composed, and it was Lily’s first time hearing her shouting so out of breath.
“Ayaka, Lady Ayaka…it’s me…” Lily replied in a low voice.
“Lily! Where are you? Are you okay?”
Ayaka’s anxious voice made Lily’s heart warm. This woman with an extraordinary status, who was always lofty and stern, was actually so worried about her.
“I’m fine…”
“Really? That’s great,” Ayaka’s voice had a hint of relief, “Tell me, where are you trapped? I’m leading my men into the periphery of Izumo Mountain right now and heading deeper. Tell me your location and I’ll come rescue you right away!”
“Eh?! Izumo Mountain???” Lily was stunned for a moment. She had come back after all that hard work, and she didn’t want Ayaka to bring people to Izumo Mountain to look for her.
“Lady Ayaka, Lily has returned to Heian-kyō…”
“Ah! What…?” Ayaka was also silent for a while before softly saying, “Is that so…? That’s good. Then go back to the chief advisor’s manor first; I…I’ll be back soon…”
Ayaka seemed to return to her usual calm, but Lily could hear the intermittent gasps in her voice.
Lily guessed that Ayaka should have taken the Fujiwara Clan’s teleportation formation. Since Lily had already returned, Ayaka and her subordinates should withdraw and return quickly.
Lily picked up Rika and they rode the demon hound together, rushing quickly towards Heian-kyō.
When she arrived at the gate of the city, she retrieved the demon hound and prepared to enter the city with Rika.
It was the middle of the day and there were people walking and patrolling around. Although it was a rule to undergo checks and inspections, when there were many people, the guards would usually just observe and allow you to pass as long as you showed no suspicious behavior.
However, these guards were all staring at Lily and the raccoon behind her. One of the samurai in the lead approached Lily and shouted, “Halt! Girl, is the raccoon behind you a demon?”
Lily stopped.
“In Heian-kyō, reinforced precautions are currently being taken so no demons are allowed to enter the city! We have to capture this raccoon and dispose of it.” The samurai said fiercely.
“What did you say?!” Rika turned into a girl with a ‘bang’! “Who do you want to dispose of?”
“Whoa! It’s truly a demon!” The samurai and several guards retreated in fright, pointing their swords and spears at Rika.
“Who dares to be rude!” Lily waved her hand and conjured a gust of spiritual wind with a ‘whoosh’, blowing away the samurai and several guards like scattered flowers.
Lily took out her official badge.
The samurai was at the Awakened Stage, after all, so he recognized the official badge from a distance. He hurriedly got up and knelt down, “So it’s Lady Imperial Inspector! I am sorry! Please excuse my rudeness!”
The other party was an official who could attend the court, so she was naturally very powerful. The samurai felt that he was too careless and hurriedly apologized before letting her pass.
It was noon. The spring breeze and sun were warm, and there was a rare peaceful and lively scene in Heian-kyō.
Lily didn’t ride the demon hound. After all, she was afraid of scaring people by riding it in public in broad daylight.
She walked along the street with Rika, who now looked like a young girl. Since she walked with Lily, no one suspected that she was a demon. Although she had two fluffy round ears on her head, passers-by just thought it was the new fashionable outfit of the capital’s young celebrities.
However, Rika was very cute and pretty just as Lily was stunning and beautiful, and they attracted many types of gazes.
Regarding this, Rika was not quite used to it, and sometimes, she couldn’t avoid feeling uncomfortable. She also occasionally glared at others, “What are you looking at!”
Lily was long accustomed to it. At this time, she was wearing a kind of white clothes that was tight around the chest, giving her the charm of a lady, but the scale of that bulge couldn’t be concealed.
Lily didn’t care about these gazes. Anyway, Ayaka hadn’t returned yet and she was not in a hurry, so she and Rika slowly walked along Suzaku Avenue.
Rika was overwhelmed and excited by the unusual, prosperous capital of humans. She also lingered at the roadside market from time to time.
“Sister Lily!”
A handsome young boy suddenly scurried out from the corner of the market, seeming to be out of breath and very anxious.
“Yuuta!” Of course, Lily recognized Yuuta’s aura at once.
“Yuuta?” Rika frowned as she looked at the boy. As a raccoon herself, she could recognize someone of her own kind immediately.
Yuuta only gave Rika a quick glance before hurriedly saying to Lily, “Sister Lily! You…you are back!”
“Hmm, I’m back…” Lily laughed.
“Sister Lily, it’s great that you came back. They all said that something happened to you… But Yuuta always believed that a woman like my sister will definitely come back!”
“Yuuta…you seem to have something on your mind?”
Lily felt that Yuuta was very anxious before seeing her.
“Sister Lily, uhm, that woman called Haihime, is she a friend of yours?”
“Haihime?” Lily froze, “How exactly do you know her?”
“It’s not good! Sister, Haihime was caught by the people of the Fujiwara Clan under suspicions of being a spy for the demons. She is being interrogated in public, and if she confesses, she will be publicly executed2!” Yuuta said anxiously.
“What??!”
Silva: a lot… a lot…
