Demon Sword Maiden

Book 4: Chapter 36: The Pretty, Curly-Haired Married Samurai Woman

The dimly lit cavern’s walls were damp with water dripping down them and Lily found no one else other than them inside the cavern. The cavern seemed to have a passage that led to a darker region from where a sorrowful intent emanated.

The trio climbed onto land and since their bodies were drenched by water, their curvaceous lines were in full display because of their dresses sticking to their skin.

Although the married samurai woman wasn’t as tall, lean or bountiful as Lily, she still possessed an adult charm brimming with motherliness that didn’t lose to the youthful charm of a teenage girl.

The married samurai woman’s knees went weak the moment she climbed onto land, prompting her to sit on the ground.

Meanwhile, Lily checked their surroundings vigilantly.

“How come there’s just us three in this cavern? Where’s the samurai who came before us?” Lily’s voice echoed inside the cavern.

Lily’s hair was still adorned by water droplets that trickled down to the ground and a few strands of her hair were stuck to her cheeks, the water droplets from which slid down her chin and onto her breasts.

“Look, Lily. There’s a weird symbol etched there,” Shimizu pointed at the wall.

Lily looked at the wall, and just as Shimizu had said, it had an inexplicable ancient symbol etched on it. This prompted her to take out the emblem and turn it over to confirm that this symbol was the same one that was etched on the backside of this ‘Biwa Palace’ emblem, which she hadn’t cared about much until now.

“It’s possible that the emblems lead to different locations,” Lily surmised.

Shimizu nodded in agreement after checking Lily’s emblem.

“Oh no. If it’s really like this, Brother Tenba might not be able to find us even if he obtains an emblem somehow,” Lily continued, “But the world works in mysterious ways, so we might as well check out the place since we’re here.”

“Um…” The married samurai woman voiced out, “What am I supposed to do now, ladies?”

Lily rescued the woman as she couldn’t stand the sight of the dandy harassing her, so she had yet to think of what to do with her.

“You are?” Lily asked.

“I’m Mizue, the wife of Kokura’s lord, which is in Ise,” The woman’s purple kimono looked close to black now because of the water it had absorbed, some of which dripped down in the form of water droplets, and her generous hourglass figure bounded by her dress oozed with charm.

Lily cascaded her hair to one side and sent water droplets flying through the air as she squeezed out the water from her sleeves and the hem of her minidress’ skirt.

“Miss Mizue. Why are you out here risking the life you have instead of acting as the ideal wife if you’re a lord’s wife?”

Mizue sighed, “My husband was injured in battle with a monster and became a disabled person because of paralysis in his lower body. The area outside Kokura is overrun by monsters and we receive little land taxes each year, so our finances have become a lot more strained now. If things remain the same, we will become unable to even pay wages to our retainers and soldiers, leaving us with no way to protect Kokura. I overheard traveling samurai mention that there was a treasure in the ancient palace at the bottom of Lake Biwa and that it was about to open soon. As a child of a dojo master, I thought I might as well test my luck with this treasure hunt to make some money since I didn’t know of any other way to do it.”

Lily gauged Mizue’s strength with a probe openly and discovered that she was a late-stage sword master, which placed her at the 3rd-stage Awakened level.

Mizue continued, “I know I’m weak, and to be honest, I’ve come across danger several times on my way from Ise to Lake Biwa, nearly losing my life in the process. I only realized the gap between me and the others when I finally reached here and even though I dislike Yajiro a lot, I had no other choice since I wouldn’t have had a chance at obtaining a share of the treasure unless he helped me. I am not someone who spreads my legs to anyone, but my strength is limited, and my husband as well as my people are waiting for me to return with the money that I make from selling the treasure off. I didn’t want to return home empty-handed either…”

“Luck also plays a role when determining strength sometimes,” stated Lily.

“I’m Lily and this is my sister, Shimizu.”