Demon Sword Maiden

Volume 1, Chapter 18 - Shikigami Sakura

“Eh?” Lily was shocked. She still vividly remembered the night parade that day until now, but she still looked all over the room dubiously, “J-Just where are you? And who might you be?”

“What? You are not going to thank me? Then I will be leaving yo.”

“Shouldn’t you at least show yourself and let me know your identity before I can express my gratitude to you? Otherwise, even if I feel grateful in my heart, I don’t have a target to express it to!” Lily panicked.

It was followed by a momentary silence.

The voice of that girl sounded a little depressed as she said, “If I have the ability to show myself, why would I be hiding?”

Lily got more confused the more she heard, “Sorry, my benefactor. I am very grateful to you. However, I really cannot understand your words. Just who are you? You said you cannot show yourself, then where exactly are you now?”

“You are so stupid… did the nutrients for your brain all went toward your breasts?”

“Huh?” Lily unconsciously covered her breasts, “A-Are you really a god? Why is your word so informal?”

“A god? Hehehe, who told you I am a god, at most, I am just a shikigami,” said the girl.

Shikigami? That gave Lily a shock. She had recently learned many things regarding this world, however, when it came to shikigami, it was only mentioned with a word or two. They only mentioned that a shikigami was a spirit with mysterious powers that could be controlled by incredible personage.

Lily thought to herself, If this voice came from a shikigami, I have already heard it many times. In other words, this shikigami has been following me since the beginning? Then does that mean I can control this shikigami?

However, this shikigami sounded a little arrogant. I shouldn’t bicker with her, it is better if I just go along with her flow. There doesn’t seem to be any danger for now. Since she has shown herself, maybe she has a motive?”

Lily smiled softly, “So it is actually Lord Shikigami… what has the Lord Shikigami descended to the mundane world for?”

“Sigh, how good would it be if you are this sensible from the start, lest I waste my valuable awakening time.”

Awakening? Lily recalled how this girl’s voice suddenly disappeared halfway after giving her some great advice. Who knew how long would she stay awake for this time.

“May I know which shikigami is Your Honor and where did you hibernate?” Lily asked respectfully.

“Hehehe, where did I hibernate? I slept in the same house as you every day, and yet you didn’t know?”

“Eh?” Lily stiffened as she heard that. Although she felt that her sleeping posture was very ladylike, there were still moments where her legs would part by itself once she fell asleep. There were also times where her clothes would slide and expose parts that shouldn’t be revealed. Thinking that this shikigami was always by her side, Lily couldn’t help but blush from ear to ear.

“Don’t show me that kind of expression will you, I am also a girl!”

“I-Is that so…” Lily felt relieved as she heard that. Since she was a girl, it shouldn’t pose any problem to be sleeping in the same room. It’s just that… she felt a little awkward not knowing about this in advance, “Are you perhaps the spirit of the mirror?”

“Wrong, think again~”

Not the mirror? Lily recalled how she only had two items when she arrived at this world. She instantly realized, “You are that…”

“That’s right, you finally remembered. That paper parasol which helped to mask your presence from the night parade is my main body. I am the spirit of that Sakura Parasol. You can call me Sakura,” said the girl.

“Sakura? So it is Lady Sakura…” Lily recalled how she was holding up a parasol that night, encountered a hundred demons and somehow managed to escape with her life. So it was that parasol’s spirit who saved her life, it was honestly all thanks to her!

Lily stood up and opened the wardrobe. She faced the parasol that was placed in the wardrobe and bowed wholeheartedly.

Lily didn’t expect that the parasol would jump-up all of a sudden, so she was scared by it and fell on her butt.

“Y-You…”

That parasol jumped out of the wardrobe and unfurled by itself. It was spinning and gracefully floated in the sky. The cherry blossom drew on the pure white surface of the paper under the parasol seemed as though they were falling gently.

She was scared at first, but after seeing such a beautiful parasol blooming, rather than fear, Lily was filled with admiration.

“Lady Sakura, this may be presumptuous of me to ask, you said that you cannot show yourself, then what do you look like…”

“I remember that I was a super cute little girl donning a parasol and a red kimono mini dress, but I cannot show my true form now that I’ve lost most of my magic power. I can only talk to you like this in my original form. Even so, I am still very weak and need to enter sleep mode frequently. The time when I’m awake is very little.” As the Sakura Parasol spun in the air, it eventually landed and reclined on the wall.

Talking to a parasol was perhaps an event that one could only experience in this world, but since she had seen a Daruma Egg which spoke with ridiculous speech pattern before, Lily could accept this more easily.

“Please excuse me Lady Sakura, for you to wake up today, do you perhaps have some pointers for me?” Lily asked with respect and modesty.

“Un, your words are quite pleasant to hear after calming down, girl. Don’t make such a fuss over nothing like that the next time all right?”

“I apologize, it was due to my inexperience,” Lily said helplessly, but she was cursing in her heart; Could you blame me for this? Who was the one going around scaring people in the first place.

“Hehe, you can actually drop the Lady honorifics, because, in fact, you can actually be said to be my master!”

“Eh?!?!?!” Lily was astounded. She was still scheming to see if she could control this shikigami, but it turned out that she was hers to begin with!

“Here you go again. Can you be a little more reserved? And here I was hoping that my master would be a wise and virtuous woman!”

Lily wanted to remain reserved if she could help it, but this… this was a shikigami they were talking about! The shikigami of folklore! How could Lily have imagined that a helpless girl like her would have a shikigami with her? How could she not be surprised!

“That’s because this parasol belongs to you and I am a spirit born from this parasol, so you are naturally my master. Anyway, my real master should be the previous owner of this parasol, but whatever the case, since this parasol has fallen into your hands, then you are my master for now.”

“Does that mean anyone can become your master if they got the parasol?”

“Of course not! This only happens when I don’t have an owner and felt that our personality match, or when the last owner met with an unfortunate accident…” Said the parasol as she folded halfway.

Lily kneeled on the ground with her lower legs spread out, then she used her slender fingers to caress the parasol and said with a gentle voice, “You and I, both of us have lost someone important in this world. From now on, we should rely upon one another.”

Sometimes, Lily just couldn’t believe how feminine every single of her own words and gestures could be… Perhaps only when she picked up the wooden sword would she be able to find back some traces of her male nature?

“Master, I woke up today because I have something to do for you.”

“Eh? What is it?”

“Master, you are training day after day lately. Your physical strength is already over the limit. If this keeps up, it will affect your growth, and it’s also bad for the skin. Master, don’t you want to become stronger and more beautiful at the same time?”

“Un… I guess you’re right…”

“Master, let me massage for you!”

“Eh? You know how to massage?”