Demon Sword Maiden

Volume 5, Chapter 22 – The Chief Advisor’s decree

Kamo Tadayuki glared at Lily, the immense aura pressured her making it incredibly hard to breathe.

“You… what are you doing?” Lily acted as if she knew nothing and settled into a defensive stance.

The shouts inside didn’t detail the theft, but if Lily knew the details would that not be the same as a confession?

“Lady Kagami! Things have already reached this point, why are you still acting?” Kamo’s face was pale green.

“What happened? Please explain, and what acting? What are you trying to do?” Though her heart was beating fast, she put on an undisturbed mien and asked.

Seimei responded in a cold and low voice, “Miss Kagami, massive amounts of treasure and precious material have disappeared from the treasury. Just around the time of your cleaning.”

Hearing this, though Lily’s posture did not change, her voice contained shock. “Eh? What? Losing so much? That’s not good. But what does this have to do with me?”

“Lady Kagami, Lord Ichijo said you were arrogant, I only took it as a misunderstanding. To think that you dare act so presumptuous in front of me!”

Kamo flipped his hands up, both containing a talisman chanting ancient incantation “Azure dragon to the east, White Tiger to the west, Vermillion Bird up north, Black Tortoise to the south…… HA!”

The two talismans shot in a flash. She backpedaled on instinct but discovered that the talismans transformed into smoke, surrounding her and binding her domain perception. From the smoke emerged two blue ghost hands carrying chains and in an instant Lily’s arms had been captured.

“Ah!!” Lily felt like her arms twisted by an indescribable force, bone-breaking pain from the immense pressure holding her arms forced her to the ground.

The smoke converged into two grey clouds floating by her sides. Ghost hands thicker than her waist emerged and pressed her down.

“Release me!” Ah……” Lily’s cries were full of pain. “What is the meaning of this?”

Seimei coldly spectated from the side watching Kamo furiously utter, “Kagami Lily, the reason you broke the pottery was that we inconvenienced you, it is understandable, but this? You dare to steal close to a fifth of the treasury? Such an unforgivable crime, even hanging your head from the castle walls is being merciful!”

Kujo on the side was appalled by the thievery. He then jumped out cursing at Lily, “To think you would steal so much from the treasury! I really underestimated you, Kagami Lily. To think you’re so capable!”

Though Ichijo had a ghastly look on him, he was overjoyed seeing Lily in such straits.

“Lord Kamo! Your status, privilege, and power are so far beyond me, if you want to forcibly convict me, I cannot do anything. You might be able to persecute me, but do you think you can ignore the Chief Advisor? Ignore the law?”

“You still want to object? You’ve broken the laws, committed such a heavy crime, even the Emperor or the Cloistered Emperor cannot save you now! Stealing from the Bureau of Divination’s Vault is the same as stealing from the Royal Vault! Unforgivable! I cataloged the vault a few days ago and only you have entered the vault since then. You still want to object? Kamo waved a hand and a whip smashed into Lily’s back with a “Crack!”

This time Lily didn’t utter a cry, she coldly replied, “Lord Kamo, I think you’ve gone mad over the responsibility of the lost treasure!”

“What did you say!??” Kamo roared in fury.

Lily retorted “To catch adultery, catch the pair on scene. To catch a thief, find the stolen goods. Let me ask, you’ve accused me of stealing a fifth of such a large treasury, the amount stolen should be equal to a mountain right? Then where are the goods right now?”

“This……” Kamo was furious and absolutely sure Lily was the criminal, but Lily’s question stopped him.

“Let’s not talk about the accuracy of the guard’s entry records. How about the records of people entering and exiting the Bureau of Divination. Since I arrived, I haven’t left this island where the vault is. Such a large amount of treasure, where could I have removed it?”

“Hmph, though storage devices are rare, they still exist in Heian-kyo! Kagami Lily, are you treating me as a fool?” Kamo retorted.

“Hahaha,” Lily couldn’t help but laugh. “Storage device you say? When I enter or leave this treasury, it’s after passing the Clairvoyance Mirror. If I had a storage device, how could it have not been detected?”

“This……” Kamo wasn’t by nature violent or unreasonable. Lily’s words woke him from his fury, her words didn’t sound unreasonable.

Seimei spoke up, “Teacher, our Mirror can detect any storage device from Heian-kyo, even the ones carried by the emperor are not an exception. Emperor Go-Toba tested this on his last visit. Of course, this isn’t proof that Lily wasn’t carrying any storage device. If she’s carrying one then its rank far outstrips the Mirror, such as a Takamagahara ranked treasure.”

“Hmm……” Seimei’s analysis didn’t provide any evidence for Kamo to counter Lily.

“A Takamagahara ranked treasure? Ahaha… Mister Seimei, you’re really thinking too highly of me. If I could get a Takamagahara treasure, do you think I’d be interested in this poor sanctuary?” Lily replied with a chilly laugh.

“B?i?t?c?h?! Even now you’re so arrogant!” Kujo pulled out his whip and made to strike Lily.

“Stop!” Kamo immediately halted Kujo, frowning he mused, “Kagami Lily’s words may be arrogant, but her words have sense. Takamagahara. That is the legendary land where the gods live. How could this woman have that sort of treasure? The possibility mentioned by Seimei is equal to my chance of attaining divine ascension, in other words, a meaningless assumption.”

“Truth,” Semei considered. “Although we cannot ignore this possibility, it is far too low. The most expensive treasure stolen are several thousand Emishi’s spirits. Storage devices cannot store souls or anima containers, and the Mirror hasn’t detected any anima containers on her. The chance that she processes two Takamagahara treasures is as low as impossible.”

Kamo frowned while staring at Lily, he had detected some falsehood from her eyes, and even now, he still felt that she was the culprit… but he had no evidence.

“Lord Kamo!” Ichijo shouted from the side, “Interrogate her! Strip this woman! Torture her! She’s the only one to have entered the treasury, she must be the thief! She must’ve used some sort of unknown eldritch skill! Severely interrogate her! Beat her! Torment her! Make her scream, cry, beg for death! She will definitely confess! Make her confess the eldritch skill and treasure locations!” Ichijo seemed to be more interested in tormenting Lily than finding the treasures. He shook with excitement as he pervertedly looked over her immobilized form.

“Lord Ichijo, the Heian Dynasty has laws. To do such to a subordinate of the Chief Advisor without evidence, is inadvisable. The eldritch skill you speak of cannot hide from the Mirror.” Seimei reminded.

Kamo considered Lily for a while, he really wanted to interrogate her but considered the points Lily had brought up “That the Treasury has been robbed is a massive issue, to interrogate this woman is reasonable. Only this Kagami Lily claims to have been sent here by the Chief Advisor. Without evidence, severe methods are not suitable. Let us ask the Chief Advisor, if torture is allowed, then a confession will be extracted. If she has other commands, then we shall obey.” Kamo turned to Seimei, “Seimei, you shall personally travel to the Chief Advisor’s manor, no… she may be at the palace. I recall you have the right to freely enter the palace. Report the situation to the Chief Advisor and verify Kagami Lily’s identity. Ask for instructions on how to deal with the situation.”

Once the words were spoken, no one dared to protest. Asking the Chief Advisor was the best solution.

“Understood, I will depart at once.” With a wave of his hand, a cloud appeared under his feet and carried him through the skies at speeds faster than a horse.

As Seimei left, Ichijo and the others settled down to await the good show, they couldn’t wait to start the torture on Lily. They couldn’t imagine the Chief Advisor protecting this little girl from the Eastern land. Though there was no evidence, at this moment Lily’s suspicion was the greatest. There was more than enough reason to interrogate.

The two hands holding Lily down were using enough pressure to deaden her arms. Though torture had not been used, the pressure on her arms was violent enough. This suffering, she could only endure.

“Master! If that Chief Advisor allows torture, then we’ll slaughter our way out. We shall fight to the death. Kagura’s master shall not suffer such humiliation! It’s too bad we used up the Blood Spirit Magatamas, otherwise killing these old fossils would be like killing chickens!” Kagura’s voice echoed in Lily’s head.

“Kagura, control yourself. Do not make a move unless I give an order!” Lily mentally warned.

Just like that, Lily stayed pressed to the ground. As three hours passed, she could feel her arms about to break. She was a girl after all, she wanted to cry after suffering so much but she grits her teeth and endured. You can’t catch a tiger without entering the tiger’s den. She had acted, right or wrong, no matter what result, she would not regret.

Finally, Seimei returned atop a slow donkey infuriating Lily to the point she wanted to jump up, release her shikigamis and fight to the death. Seimei had brought back the Chief Advisor’s orders, jumping down, he opened the scroll and announced, “As ordered by the Chief Advisor, I shall declare the decree.”

Kamo, Ichijo, Kujo, and all the others knelt down to receive the orders.

As of this moment, Semiei represented the authority of the Chief Advisor, he read.

“I have received the Seimei’s report. As of right now, Kagami Lily’s suspicion is the greatest. With no evidence and many unexplainable points, it is my personal opinion that Heian-kyo’s recent Phantom Thief also has the means and motive to commit the thievery. Kagami Lily will have a limit of one month to arrest the Phantom Thief. If she has failed by the deadline, she shall be treated as the culprit and any methods of interrogation shall be allowed.

——Ayaka.”