Volume 7 - Mount Ooe: Chapter 85 – Suno
For a day and a night, Lily’s group flew across the vast and endless wilderness.
This wilderness was so vast and desolate that nothing else could be seen from the skies. Lily could still feel the ancient killing intent emanating from the wilderness.
“Is this… is this the legendary ancient Suno battlefield? It was said that the ancient gods fought Yomi’s demons here on this battlefield.” Uesugi Rei sighed with emotion.
Tamamo’s eyes remained closed as she focused on her injuries. “You know quite a bit.” She was very familiar with this place so she didn’t bother looking.
They flew over the ancient battlefield, in front of them were lush hills surrounded by intertwining mountains and rivers, there were also patches of fields scattered around. Under the night light, this was a peaceful wilderness area.
“Lily, we have arrived.” Tamamo said.
“Ah? This…” Lily looked around from the bird’s neck, “This is Suno?”
“Hmm? Is it completely different from what you imagined?”
Such peaceful quiet mountains and rivers turned out to be the home of the world’s greatest arch-demon? This was indeed far from what Lily had imagined, but it would be impolite to be surprised.
No, Tamamo-no-Mae was not a person to care about such things.
The bird landed on the edge of a field where the bright moon hung high and the stars shone within the night sky.
It was June and the field was filled with the croaks and chirps of frogs and insects.
The mountains in the distance were gentle and sloping, like waves on the horizon. Layer upon layer, it looked like an ancient drawing of a field.
From the distance, a small village flickering with lights could be seen.
“Let’s go, towards that village.” Tamamo said.
“Nn…”
Lily and the others followed Tamamo through the fields, coming to a mirror-like lake, within the lake the dark blue starry skies were reflected. They walked over a wooden bridge and up a hillside before arriving at that small village.
The houses of this village were all made from wooden walls and white clay, and each house had a small white paper lantern.
Lily was surprised to see an old man drying corn at the entrance of the village and there was a humanized fox demon weaving straw sandals too.
A small thatched shed to the side hung a sign with the word ‘Cook’ and an upright fox was selling Kanto cuisine and several human children were playing beside it. A bit further away, Lily could see several middle-aged farmers returning with farm tools on their backs.
This was an extended night, and even in the dark, everyone had to work.
She had never considered that humans and fox demons would work and live together here without barriers! This shocked not only Lily, but Uesugi Rei and Ikeda Rin.
“Madam Kimiko, you have returned.” In a wooden house facing the road, an old woman was weaving a rope with a cat to the side.
There was nothing wrong with the old woman, but that cat… an ordinary looking black domestic cat was actually at the realm of permanence!
Lily didn’t know what to think, this regular old village woman was raising a permanence realmed cat? How extraordinary was this ordinary looking village?
“Ahaha, Azu, it’s been a long time.” Kimiko smiled in return.
“Yes…last time I saw Madam Kimiko, I had only just married…” A peaceful smile appeared on the woman’s wrinkled face. Though she had no strength or power, it seems that this woman had seen through some essential aspects of life.
Perhaps some aspects of this woman’s insights and understandings were beyond Lily’s?
This gave Lily quite a bit of inspiration.
In truth, most people here no longer knew Tamamo-no-Mae, but the fox demons, raccoons and many small little animals were incredibly familiar with Tamamo-no-Mae.
“That, that white-bearded groundhog in the field has the power of a spirit jade…”
From the side, a small little raccoon walked over, but that small body contained the power of a peak-stage permanence expert!
Lily had not seen a small animal with the power of a throne expert yet…
This village…probably had a battle power comparable to that of Heian-kyo!
Tamamo led them to the mountainside. Here there were several simple and elegant buildings overlooking the village. These buildings had wooden roofs, and looked like they were built for people of some status, but that was it.
This was Tamamo-no-Mae’s house.
This building did not have an extraordinary aura. Only, it was built on the hillside and looked as one with the mountain streams, pond, and surroundings scenery.
Opening the door and walking in, the inside was warm, simple and very clean. It looked like a miko’s house in a mountain shrine.
“Madam Kimiko, you have returned.” The raccoon Natsu Nariaki was here, waiting for Tamamo at the entrance.
“Nariaki!”
“Sister Lily?”
……
So for now, they stayed at Tamamo’s house.
Lily still couldn’t believe that the hometown of the greatest arch-demon of several generations could be so ordinary, but after such a terrifying life and death battle, being able to rest in such a warm peaceful place was better than a grand palace.
Behind the house, was a small hot spring.
They could finally get away from the stress and have a bath with peace of mind.
Lily, Rei, Tamamo and Rin all wrapped themselves in white towels and entered the hot spring.
“Ah…it feels so good…” Lily relaxed within the hot spring leaning against the stone, her arms spread wide. She had already forgotten about her towering peaks floating within the water.
“Ehh, look at what I discovered?” Tamamo laughed.
“Ah? There, there’s nothing!” Lily realized how unkempt her composure was and hurriedly covered her chest.
“Hmm? Little Lily, why don’t you tell me what I was talking about?” Tamamo came forth, and started teasing Lily as women tended to do in the baths.
“Ah— no, don’t…”
How could Lily not blush when teased, even her purple lunar force recovered a bit.
Lily wanted to resist, but she dared not be too violent. Tamamo had sacrificed so much for her, so she could not resist the teasing too much.
“Lady Kimiko.” Rei stuttered looking anxious, “You… don’t make too much trouble, Lily needs to rest, you should also rest…”
After speaking, Rei turned her gaze away in embarrassment.
“Sister Uesugi! Help me…save me…” Lily pleaded helplessly.
Although Rei was unhappy with Tamamo molesting Lily, she owed Tamamo too much, and even if she wanted to stop her, she lacked the means to.
“It’s fine isn’t it? We’re all just playing in the hot springs, it’s all fine.” Tamamo smiled sweetly.
“There’s no way it’s fine…” Lily’s gritted out.
Rei endured by the side, splashing water all over her beautiful body, but Lily’s voice overwhelmed her, she grabbed Lily’s wrist and pulled her behind.
“That, that… Lily, turn around, I’ll wash your back.” Rei tried to find a reason. She usually used force to deal with women, but that wouldn’t work against Tamamo, she really had no idea how to deal with her.
Lily thought it would be better to have her back washed then be bullied, so she obediently turned around.
“Ah…ah…Uesugi Rei, don’t forget this is my house. Don’t forget your identity, I still haven’t thought up of a way to punish you.” Seeing Lily get snatched away, Tamamo was displeased.
“If Lady Kimiko wants to punish, then I will obey, only, that has nothing to do with Lil’ Lily.” Rei replied as she scrubbed Lily’s back with a washing cloth.
“Indeed it has nothing to do with her, but you should still have self awareness as a sinner right? I think…you should be tied to the mountain road for public display.”
“As long as Lady Kimiko can assuage your hatred, then I will obey.”
“Eh?” Lily was startled, “Lady Kimiko, no, sister Uesugi is a woman, how can she be displayed on the roadside? Though I think the village is full of good and honest people, there are still men here, it’s too shameful! Please be more lenient!”
“Lily, this matter has nothing to do with you, don’t interfere. If this woman accepts this sort of shameful punishment, why should I change it?”
“Lady Kimiko, I do not feel there is anything wrong, I committed the wrong, therefore it is natural I be punished. I have never considered myself a woman.”
Saying such, Rei’s hand swiped down from Lily’s back, then into the water and began a massage to relieve fatigue.
Though the hand was in the water, Lily’s face turned even redder.
Before Lily could open her mouth, Tamamo stepped forward, one hand grabbing onto Rei’s wrist, “Miss Uesugi has good techniques, do you often help Lily with fatigue?”
“There is no need to answer that is there? With Lady Kimiko’s knowledge and wisdom, can you not imagine it?” Rei purposely spoke as if showing off.
“Ah, sister Uesugi…don’t say such misleading words…” Lily could feel herself get dizzier, she really wanted to hide within the water.
“Lily, what’s going on?” Tamamo pretended to be serious.
In another corner of the hot springs, Rin quietly soaked in the hot spring and squinted her eyes with a half smile on her face… she felt she couldn’t enter this conversation at all…
The women finished their baths with laughter and noise. They switched to beautiful bathrobes and sat in front of the wooden house where they could see the entire village and distant lake and mountains, resting.
Nariaki brought sake and pastries.
Though this place was very plain, the sake and pastries were not ordinary, Lily was very happy.
“Ah…really…so comfortable…”
The peace after the war really made Lily feel how beautiful a peaceful world was.References