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It was the early morning and the lake surface was covered by a layer of thick fog.
Lily and Shimizu arrived at the port with the company of Kato and a few samurai.
The so-called port was simply made by a few rows of rough wooden platforms, estimated to be two hundred meters wide and spanned for tens of meters. That said, however, this was the biggest port Lily had seen in the Heian Empire to date.
There were commodities covered in dried grass and bundled up together everywhere around the port, and the fishing port was already starting to get busy at this hour.
The moment Kato arrived, the soldiers divided into two groups to open a path to the ship and awaited those who would board it.
Lily noticed most of those boarding the ship were not samurai but rather wealthy people with luxurious clothes. But indeed, a ship capable of reaching Yamashiro was rare and precious, so the boarding fee should be considerably high as well.
A dark brown ship approached from the nearby lake, it was a few dozen meters long and was adorned with bronze decoration. The ship had a superstructure that projected above her main deck, consisting of three floors. At the lowest-most level, one could see more than ten really long paddles extending from the hull and the ship didn’t have a sail.
This ship might not be that big of a deal when put on the ocean, but it was the greatest vessel to be found on Lake Biwa.
Lily noticed the talisman that was hung all over the ship’s railing with a white ripe. Those were used to ward off the underwater monsters.
On the flat surface of the superstructure, two huge crossbows were installed. The ammunition was also several times bigger compared to the samurai’s spear. Perhaps those were used to shoot down the airborne monsters.
Not only was this ship sturdy and fast, it even had such an elaborate defense system installed. Lily really couldn’t help herself from exclaiming in admiration.
Kato was very pleased when he noticed the look on Lily and Shimizu, he took out his fan and passionately fanned himself despite the cold morning air.
“So this is… the ship?” Lily praised, “Lord Kato is truly amazing to be able to construct such a magnificent and mighty ship in the wasteland.”
Even Shimizu who seldomly praised others was impressed, “I must say I am awed by Lord Kato’s ingenuity. I am totally helpless when it comes to such delicate matters.”
“Hahaha.” Kato laughed, “No way such a talented shipbuilder can be found in Imahama. It’s all thanks to Tenba Goro for taking me to Sakai. We paid a huge sum to get this ship built and sailed all the way back through the gulf. It’s only a pity that the gulf is currently occupied by a powerful demon and is inaccessible anymore. I have three of this ship in total and the round trip to Yamashiro only take a little more than a month. This is truly the greatest treasure I could ask for.”
“Hehe, isn’t it?” Lily answered with glee, “Not only does Lord Kato profit from selling the tickets, but you can also make a turnover by transporting goods to both sides. After all, unless you’re a sword saint and are willing to risk your life, how can you traverse between Kansai and Omi in mere months? Taking this water route is much faster and safer, and you can carry more items than is possible on land, the freight fee must be sky-high.”
“Hahahaha, so Lady Lyn-hime also has a business mind? As you said, without these ships, how will I get the money to repair this port and keep my people safe! Ah, but don’t worry, I will not charge you ladies for the tickets. Hahahahahaha!”
Everyone laughed along with Kato.
Lily thought to herself, “Sakai is not too far from Heian-kyo. If I can commission Sakai to construct me a few ships and establish a shipping route between Izu and Sakai, that’ll be equivalent to transporting gold, the profits will come pouring in.1”
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As the ship got nearer to the shore, a plank was extended from the deck and connected to the pier.
Lady Lyn-hime, Miss Shimizu, meeting you two has really made me feel my age. If only I am twenty years younger, I’d definitely pursue after one of you. Hahahahaha!” Kato said self-mockingly.
“Hmph, I bet you are only after Sister Lily, why not just give it to us straight,” Shimizu stated coldly.
“Oh I’m not kidding, I am sure you two will become to talk of the entire Heian Empire sooner or later, I can guarantee it!”
Lily only smiled wryly and didn’t continue with this topic.
Kato then said, “I still have other matters to attend to, please board the ship at your own convenience. This is where we will part ways.”
After the two got onto the deck, Lily turned around to face Kato, “Lord Kato, I will not forget the favor today. If there is anything you ever need my help with, Lily will definitely not refuse.”
“This promise from Lady Lyn-hime is worth more than an army with a thousand men!” Kato cupped his hands in response.
Lily and Shimizu were then guided into the cabin, they were taken to the uppermost level, to a single room at the back of the ship. This was the best room on the whole ship.
And finally, Kato led the troops with him as he left. After which the rest of the guests were finally allowed to board the ship.
There wasn’t a lot of space on the ship, especially when there was no other safe channel to make a roundtrip between the central region and Heian-kyo, the ship was always fully occupied whenever it set sail. It was Lily’s good fortune that they were able to board the ship immediately upon arrival. If the ship hadn’t returned yet, even Kato wouldn’t be able to do anything about it.
“Here it is, please rest in this room.” The guide respectfully explained, “Although this vessel is constructed as a seagoing ship, Lake Biwa is still a freshwater lake, after all, so we do not have a shortage of water here. There is a bathroom at the lowermost area of the ship, but there is only one and it is unisex. In order to prevent the bathroom from being occupied, a high usage fee will be charged. Therefore, most of the guests chose not to take a bath to save money. However, Lord Kato has instructed to allow you two to use the bathroom at your own convenience, free of charge.”
“Thank you very much.” Lily and Shimizu couldn’t imagine themselves not taking a bath in half a month.
“Oh yes, the ship’s toilet is located at the backside of the hull, it is separated by gender, so please use it at ease. With that, I’ll excuse myself. Feel free to call upon me if there are anything you need.”
The guide closed the wooden door and left.
This room couldn’t be considered big, it was only a little more than two meters high and the room would be completely filled when two mattresses were spread out on the floor. However, it was already a very luxurious room considering it was on a ship.
There was a porthole to the back and the side of the room, allowing them a clear view of the outside scenery.
Lily heaved a long sigh in relief. After the long journey, she was finally able to sit back and relax for a bit.
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Soon, the ship started to turn slowly as it was about to depart.
Lily felt a little contented as she watched the slowly changing scenery through the porthole.
However, just when everything finally quietened down, that itching between her thighs became unbearable again2.
Shimizu also realized something wasn’t quite right with Lily, “How do you feel, lil’ sis?”
Lily shook her head, “I’m fine, big sis doesn’t need to worry.”
Even if she said there was something, it wasn’t really that big a deal, but she couldn’t really claim it to be nothing either, as this was a little harder to endure than the normal incident.
“This will be a rather long trip, we will need to spend close to one month in this room together,” Shimizu said with a smile.
“That’s right…”
“Lily, shall we have some tea?”
“Sounds good.”
Lily took out her own tea sets and tea powder as she prepared to have a tea ceremony with Shimizu.
However, it suddenly got noisy outside. This made Lily a little displeased as the tea ceremony required silence.
With a loud crash, the door to their room was pulled open.
Lily and Shimizu were both surprised, just who was it that dared to act so rudely?
They saw a bald kid with green hunting clothes followed by a tall martial monk whose head almost reached the ceiling and a few samurai blocking the entrance.
One of Kato’s retainers rushed over in a hurry to dissolve the situation, “Young master, t-these two ladies are Lord Kato’s esteemed guest, I beg you to take your leave.”
That tall martial monk with a curly sideburn roared with a deep voice, “What esteemed guest? That Kato is nothing, do you know who our young master is? We paid a large sum to book the best room and this is the room we expect, why did you change our room? Don’t think you b̲a̲s̲t̲a̲r̲d̲s̲ can dupe us like this!”
That martial monk grabbed the retainer with his huge hand, lifting him from the ground and scared him witless.
Lily remained apathetic to this whole situation. That martial monk was a 6th stage Awakened and the retainer didn’t possess any spirit power, he was just a normal middle-stage samurai.
“I warn you, change our rooms at once. Otherwise, I will beat everyone here indiscriminately even if Kato comes personally!”
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After the retainer was released, he ran without looking back.
Once the retainer was gone, their attention was now focused on Lily and Shimizu.
That thirteen or fourteen years old youngster was not apprehensive nor shy at all when he faced two older sisters much bigger than him. He directly walked into the cabin and looked down at the two. The corners of his mouth crooked as he declared arrogantly, “This room is mine, why don’t you two get lost?”
Lily could only shrug her shoulders helplessly. She was finally able to get some rest, and now these people came to bother her.
She said, “Whose kid are you? Why are you behaving so atrociously here? Have your parents never taught you manners?”
That kid only let out a displeased grunt. He stared at the two with a nasty look, then the youngster lifted his leg without warning to kick Lily’s head!
This kick was very vicious. If it was a normal girl, perhaps their neck would be snapped by now. After all, this youngster had the strength of a middle-stage samurai!
However, what he never expected was that the fragile-looking girl before him was actually the female samurai who was second only to Lord Kamakura himself.
Lily turned to face him with a sharp gaze, “So young, yet so vicious!”
Naturally, Lily couldn’t be bothered to deal with this kid by herself. She willed the sakura petals to appear and form a long whip that flapped in the cabin with a humming sound. Though it took a while to describe, Lily actually formed her domain in an instant.
Before the kid could connect his kick on Lily’s head, that whip had already lashed out!
“Slap!” That kid was whipped right in the face and flew past the big martial monk who stood by the entrance. The kid was obviously within his reach, yet he couldn’t react in time.
“Slam!” The kid crashed with the old housekeeper and the other attendants at the back as they all fell down in succession.
Lily controlled her strength perfectly and didn’t leave any lasting injury on the kid. The only harm he received was the deep red mark on his face.
That kid screamed as though he was crazy, “AHHHHH!! Y-YOU HIT ME! HOW DARE YOU!!3”