Demon Sword Maiden

CHAPTER 23 – HACHIYA’S BET

Editor(s): Robinxen

After asking some questions about the dojo, Lily bid goodbye to Kondo. Kondo lived in the pine garden in front of the disciple’s residential area and had been practicing in the dojo for seven or eight years. Although he was not ranked the highest, he was one of the most senior disciples around. He might know more about the Dojo than many other teachers themselves.

Lily planned to return to her residence but she felt a murderous aura from behind.

She turned around and saw Hachiya standing behind her, looking at her fiercely.

At this moment, Lily could understand Hachiya’s hatred towards her.

However, Lily didn’t plan to be polite this time. Humph! How could she lower her head to a fellow student to act humble and friendly? How could Lily give up on such a big opportunity and did not fight for it?1

“What can I do for you?” Lily asked with cold eyes. The bamboo trees and their shadows under the moon swayed with the wind blowing behind her.

“Kagami Lily, I want to challenge you!” Hachiya pointed to Lily and said directly. Under the night, his thin and small figure became even more obvious. However, his strong and well-defined face was a little stiff and ferocious.

“Sorry, I’m still new here so I cannot accept your challenge. If you really want to challenge me, you can wait for a few months. That is, assuming that you are still around to challenge me at that time.” For this kind of rude and narrow-minded person, Lily also responded fiercely and mercilessly.

“You!” Hachiya became even more anxious when he heard the words of Lily. Lily’s words hit his sore spot. He helplessly gritted his teeth and said, “It seems that you already know the survival rules of dojo.”

“Yes, so I don’t have the need to fight against you now.”

“Humph! Yes, you can wait until the end of the month and you can automatically enjoy the supply of Magatama Fragment from dojo. However, if you compete with me now and lose, you will be kicked out of the dojo! Of course you’re not that stupid, are you?”

Lily noncommittally replied, “It seems that you are not stupid. If there is nothing else, I will go.”

“Wait a minute!” Hachiya called out to Lily while something in his mind took a turn, “Kagami Lily, I put all of my savings in this dojo on the gambling stake!”

“I’m sorry, I’m not short of money.” Lily turned around and left.

“Stop right there! Halt your step!” Hachiya shouted loudly, “Who said I will gamble with you using money! I’ll take out all the Magatama Fragments I’ve saved. I have 25 grams in total! I will bet all of it with you!”

Lily stopped.

“I don’t have any Magatama Fragment.”

“You don’t need to bet any Magatama Fragment, you only have to agree to fight with me. If you win, all my Magatama Fragments are yours! But even if you lose, you don’t have to pay a penny. Do you dare to fight me now?”

At this moment, Lily swept across Hachiya with spirit power to examine his strength without concealing at all.

“Humph, no need to probe! I am a high-tier Sword Master!”2

“Huh?” Lily was a little surprised. She could also feel it with her spirit power. It seemed that although Hachiya was ranked last, he was not ordinary.3

As expected, the Genji Main Dojo had a formidable foundation. Even the last ranker didn’t seem to be easy to deal with!

If Lily lost, she didn’t need to pay with the Magatama Fragment. However, she would get the 61st rank instead. Since if she lost against the 60th rank holder, she would not be able to win against the 59th rank holder and thus be eliminated by the end of the month. Therefore, there was much at stake involved in Lily’s bet.

“Hachiya, I accept your challenge.” Lily said with cold eyes.

No matter how many tricks Hachiya had, if she couldn’t even win against the last ranker, she couldn’t stay any longer in the dojo. It would be better to go home early.

Moreover, 25 grams of Magatama Fragment greatly attracted Lily’s attention.

“Humph! Well, don’t regret it!” Hachiya finally smiled proudly as if the threat to his position had been eliminated.

Lily didn’t say much more and returned to her residence.

That night, there was a thunderstorm.

Shiu ran to Lily’s room holding the quilt.

“Master… can we sleep together?”

Lily smiled helplessly thinking that this female ninja was unexpectedly afraid of thunder.

Strong wind blew and cold rain poured down from the gap. Lily hurriedly closed all the sliding doors and pulled down the bamboo curtains.

Then she smiled at Shiu and said, “Come in.”4

Next morning, the rain became lighter than it was the previous night but it was still raining. On a lawn in the dojo’s inner courtyard, there were many disciples holding up an umbrella.

Lily was in a white yukata. She was drenched in the rain and holding a wooden sword in her hand. The ferocious-looking Hachiya stood 10 meters away on the other side.

There were four or five disciples standing behind Hachiya Torayasu.

Among them was a disciple with fat and small eyes wearing blue clothing with gold lines embroidered on it. It was that Tokugawa again. He didn’t recognize Lily but Lily had recognized him because she had quietly opened the window curtains when he blocked the road last time.

“Hachiya, are you okay? It’s such a big bet. Your opponent is a girl so don’t embarrass us samurai! If you lose to such a woman, don’t return to Mikawa Province!” Although Tokugawa was from a powerful and wealthy family, his inner personality did not reflect it.

Several disciples of the crowd surrounding Tokugawa were also cheering for Hachiya.

“Your Highness Tokugawa, you don’t have to worry!” Hachiya said, “The woman has just entered the dojo, she doesn’t know anything at all. And yet she dared to act so arrogant. Don’t say 25 grams. Even if I bet 250 grams, what’s the point if she can’t get it? See how I humiliate her!”

Hachiya’s eyes flashed full of violent intent.

“Girl, do you want this brother to help you compete? If I win, I don’t want your stake. As long as I get you, haha!” One of the random unknown onlookers carelessly ran his mouth.

On the other side, several disciples such as Kondo Naotaka stood holding umbrellas and said nothing. They also looked contemptuously at Tokugawa’s gang and some of their colleagues who were speaking rude words.

The disciples of Genji dojo came from different clans. They had experienced different lives and family backgrounds. Families of some disciples had been high-ranking officials for many generations. Some were children from big influential families and behaved tyrannically. They talked and behaved differently. Their inner qualities were also extremely different. Therefore, it was difficult to be compatible with each other.

There were only a few girls among the twenty or so students who were watching.

Lily didn’t notice that on the hillside not far away, a young girl wearing black furisode and white fox fur cape was also watching the competition with a maid.

“Humph! Just as she came in, she was deceived to take part in this kind of gambling contest. Although Hachiya’s strength is very poor, he has bullied several new people with those few pieces of Magatama Fragment. By the way, what’s her name? Have you asked?” Shimizu asked.

“Miss, I’ve inquired. Her name is Kagami Lily. She was originally a disciple of Takeshita town’s dojo. She became famous for killing four Sword Master in the battle of Suruga. Thus she was recommended to the main dojo.”

“What!? Battle of Suruga?” Shimizu’s brows were knitted. Was she the woman Uesugi Rei wanted to protect?

Genji Shimizu was ranked first in dojo ranking. She had been maintaining her position for more than two years. No disciple had challenged her for almost a year and half.

And she, of course, had no reason to fight. She even disdained going to fight with those inferior than her.

At this time, a small man wearing all black from top to bottom appeared. He was Kuroko, the one responsible for acting as referee.

“Hachiya, please give me the stake first.” Said Kuroko in a slightly strange voice with a mask over his face.

He took a small cloth bag from Hachiya and then looked at Lily again: “Kagami Lily, have you thought clearly about it? The other party is a senior who has been training here for two years. You have the right not to accept the challenge within three months. Are you sure you want to take to fight? If you lose, you will be included in the ranking and get 61st place. If you cannot improve before the end of the month, you will be expelled. ”

“I understand, Mr. Kuroko.” Lily replied calmly.

“That’s good,” said Kuroko while holding a black flag in one hand and a white flag in the other hand. “Please get ready. This competition will be judged by me and the outcome is determined by me. In the internal competition of the dojo, you must not intentionally hurt the other party or kill the other party! This contest is counted in the dojo ranking and the winner will be ranked 60th. ”

All the students looked at them under the rainy sky.

There was a gap of more than ten steps between Lily and Hachiya. They held their wooden swords tightly as they faced each other.

The drizzle fell on their body and hair.

Both sides stared at their opponent through the pouring rain. At this time, there were only wooden swords and victory or defeat in their hearts. No men and women.

“Let the match–” Vigorously waving the black flag, Kuroko declared! “- begin!”

Hachiya held up the wooden sword and opened his posture as if waiting for Lily’s attack. The corner of his mouth curled upward proudly as if everything was under his control.

After many years of training in the dojo, bullying a newcomer was as simple as taking candy from a baby.

Compared to the tall Lily, Hachiya was really short. As a man, it made him uncomfortable, but Hachiya was very nimble. He was waiting for Lily’s attack with a relaxed body.

As a result, Tokugawa’s subordinate sneered on the side: “Attack! Attack! Big ⓣⓘⓣⓢ sister!”

“It can’t be that her breasts are too big so she can’t run fast? Hahaha!”

Facing this kind of provocation, Lily didn’t pay attention at all. At this time, they just wanted to disturb her mood. If she became angry, it would be for nothing, and she would be a fool.

A gust of cold wind blew, making the thread-like rain incline slightly and broke the serene rhythm of the scene.

Everyone saw Lily stepping on the wet grass, causing the water to splash. The fight had started!

Although Hachiya had a bad temper, he was also a first-class swordsmanship genius. He immediately predicted the possible movements of Lily based on her posture, eyes, and speed.

In his mind, he deduced the upcoming duel:

“Lily strode to the front of Hachiya and then slowed down appropriately. Then with the help of the momentum, she chopped down the wooden sword at Hachiya.”

“Hachiya then blocked with his sword. At the instant its edge made contact with Lily’s sword, the sword went down Lily’s edge, then it was lifted upwards, which knocked Lily’s sword back. Using this momentum, Hachiya’s sword went slightly towards Lily’s center axis with a horizontal slash!”

“Lily who couldn’t block in time could only fall back, while Hachiya used his own agility to go for a forward left strike. This was the key moment. Because Lily was on the rain-soaked grass at the moment, her footing was already somewhat sloppy, so she could only raise her blade to block. Hachiya’s current strike then wavered faintly. When the showy and powerful strike made contact with Lily’s blade, his own feet had already adjusted the stance slightly. One leg stood firm for the other to deliver a powerful kick, which turned out to be him turning his momentum into a powerful roundhouse slash towards Lily’s other side. It was either Lily’s shoulder or her snobby face. The strength of Hachiya’s blow was enough to knock her down, send her flying, or even render her unconscious! He would then humiliate her given the chance! Although it was hardly ‘manners’ for him to hit a beautiful girl’s face, how would he care when attendance of the dojo and glory of the family were at stake?”

Everything had been rehearsed properly in Hachiya’s brain and Hachiya showed a smirk of complacency: “Newcomer big breasted woman, you are surely doomed to lose to me!”

At this time, in the real situation, Lily really moved like Hachiya expected and charged at him under rain.

When Lily approached Hachiya and behaved exactly as he had deduced. With the help of the momentum, she chopped the wooden sword toward Hachiya.

As planned, Hachiya blocked the attack with his wooden sword—

“Bang—!”

As if a really heavy iron bar hit his wooden sword. Hachiya felt an earth-shattering impact passing to his wrist and his arm which almost shattered his both hands. His body was sent flying like a sack. It flew tens of meters in a straight line and crashed headlong into the thicket!5

“……”

The audience was stunned. They were on totally different levels!

Regardless of Hachiya’s calculation, Lily used overwhelming force to defeat his opponent directly.

Blind use of skill or brute force was not the most clever way of fighting, but because of the great disparity in strength, Lily directly used the simplest method to win. Hachiya naturally hadn’t expected this. To deceive the newcomer, he made this bet. Now, he was not only doomed to be eliminated but also lost the most important Magatama Fragments.

For a while, the expression of Tokugawa’s henchmen turned stiff. Although they thought that Hachiya might not win easily, they didn’t expect that the match would be so one-sided that the winner would be decided in an instant.

Tokugawa appeared to be tall and fat, but he was definitely not stupid. He looked at Lily whom he hadn’t taken seriously before with a complex expression. He was arrogant and domineering. He liked money and power more than women. He didn’t look at Lily with lecherous eyes but he had a strange feeling for Lily at this time, “I really looked down on this woman. I can’t imagine that she is not only beautiful but also has such strength. Perhaps this is the woman who really matches me, Tokugawa.”

As for the others around Tokugawa, they were all surprised and resentfully stared at Lily. Lily not only defeated their disciple brother in an instant but also made them lose face at the fact that they spoke too early. Nevertheless, Kondo showed a smiling expression. He nodded and applauded: “Miss Kagami is not really simple.”

“Miss Kagami— wins!” Kuroko raised the flag decisively.

Lily went over and bowed to Kuroko who was less than 1.4 meters tall. However, Lily dared not neglect this short man who hid his appearance. She always felt that his strength was much stronger than those disciples around her.

“Kagami Lily, you win this battle and naturally ranked the 60th place in the Dojo ranking. According to your bet with Hachiya, the stake handed over by Hachiya to me in advance is now yours.”

Lily’s heart was filled with joy. That was what she cared about most!

Her chest was clearly undulating. She took over the small bag from Kuroko’s hand. There were indeed 25 grams of Magatama Fragment in it.

Lily stuffed the Magatama Fragment into her waist and looked back at the bush.

The two attendants had already lifted Hachiya. His eyes turned white and his mouth was frothing. His body twitched in a very awkward posture.

Kuroko went over and looked, “Fainted.”

So Kuroko ordered the attendants to take Hachiya to the clinic for treatment.

Genji Shimizu who was watching from the distant slope was also slightly surprised: “This big-breasted woman is really strong and full of vigor. Humph! However, this kind of woman usually doesn’t have a good brain, just a bimbo. “6

“Let’s go. There’s nothing else to see.” Shimizu turned around and left. The maid followed behind holding an umbrella.