CHAPTER 45 – FOREST LABYRINTH

The shattered rubble fell from the skies. From a distance they looked slow, but each stone carried monstrous destructive power. The impact and tremors of the earth were felt throughout Izumo and a thousand miles out.

In the chief advisor’s mansion, Ayaka was wearing a blue yukata reading a dossier. It was raining outside, yet tremors came from the northwest…

Putting down the dossier, she stood up and walked to the eaves and looked northwest…

“These tremors…they come from the direction of Izumo, Lily…” Worry appeared within her eyes.

……
……

As the rubble fell, a deep pit was smashed into the jungle below. Ancient trees were shattered and a large dirt cloud was raised.

The falling rubble created a new rocky plateau and Lily under the support of the sakura parasol descended downwards after the shattered remnants of Izumo mountain had finished hitting the ground.

She fell into a dense grove of hidden forest, tightly hugging the broken charred frame of her sakura parasol. She collapsed in a gap between boulders on the sloping ground, already unconscious.

An unknown length of time passed before a tiny figure came exploring the area where the shocking impact had occurred and discovered the unconscious girl.

Swaying its big fluffy tail and hands, the little figure got closer to the girl and grabbed one of her feet before carefully dragging her out of the sunken earth and into the forest.

Here, the forests stretched high into the skies, the roots intertwined with vines, the forest floor covered in fallen leaves, it was like an ancient undiscovered forest.

……
……

Waking up, Lily was greeted with the sight of a simple crude wooden ceiling.

“Where…where am I?”

Taking account of her surroundings, she felt that she was lying on a floor smelling of natural wood and she was covered in a thin flower quilt, old, but still clean.

Feeling a headache as she sat up, the quilt slid down revealing that she was dressed in a thin white yukata, instinctively, Lily grasped her neckline.

Looking around, this was a very poor log cabin.

From the door, the sunlight shined in. Looking out, she could vaguely see the grass and trees.

A small female raccoon walked in and seeing Lily sit up, greeted her, “You’re awake.”

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Seeing that it was a female raccoon, Lily asked with a bit of hope, “Was it you who changed my clothes?”

Thankfully the small raccoon was wearing a short, rough clothed red kimono, or it would be very hard for her to tell if this raccoon was male or female.

“That’s right, I was the one to clean and change your clothes. Don’t worry, I won’t let those lustful male raccoons come in…though their tastes are quite strange, why would they be interested in a tall and thin vixen like you?” The little raccoon responded.

“Huh?…” Lily was struck dumb by the question. In general, it was very rude to describe a human female as a vixen, but the other was a raccoon, so she ignored it. “Where am I?”

“This is the Izumo forest northwest of the Izumo mountain. A very, very big forest, Rika has never been able to walk out of this forest before. That day, when the sky fell, I went to that terrible place and found you injured and unconscious. I was afraid you’d be eaten by a tiger so I brought you to this village.”

“Did you save me? Lil Rika?”

“Ehehe, what Lil Rika? Do you humans like to refer to beautiful women like that?” Rika protested shyly.

Lily grinned, “That’s right, Lil Rika is very cute.”

“Hehe, I had thought sister would prefer a humanized Rika, just like those male raccoons.”

“Eh?”

Before Lily could say another word, Rika had put a leaf on her head.

“Poof—” A puff of smoke enveloped Rika.

And she turned into a 1.5 meter tall cute brown cropped hair girl, with two furry raccoon ears.

“Just like—this?”

When Rika humanized, her original very conservative kimono became erotic as two round full breasts stretched the cloth wide, and that long skirt became a miniskirt revealing a pair of long slender legs.

Though Rika was not tall, her waist was high and her legs long.

“Ah?” Lily was completely stunned.

Rika swiftly came over, and sat down on Lily, her slender hands pushing Lily down onto the floor, and her full round breasts pressing down onto Lily’s more firmy and spectacular pair, their lips close together. Raccoons living in the primal forest were much wilder. “Does sister like this more?”

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Lily’s cheeks exploded with crimson, and couldn’t push Rika away in her current weakened state, nor did she really want to forcibly push away her savior. Only, as a raccoon, Rika’s temperature was much higher than a human female, pressed together like this, Lily could only endure the scorching temperature.
“Don’t, don’t be like this, Lil Rika…”
“Hmm? Does sister not like this?”

Suddenly remembering, Lily grabbed Rika’s shoulder asking, “Sakura, where’s Sakura!? My sakura parasol?”

While in the air, she had already put away her blade and mirror, and only clutched her sakura parasol.

“Is sister talking about the ruined parasol you were clutching and wouldn’t release?”
“That’s not a ruined parasol!” Infuriated, Lily pushed Rika away.

When Lily really used her strength, how could Rika resist, the push sent her onto the ground.

Only seeing this did Lily realize she had lost control, “So- sorry, Rika, I didn’t mean…”

Rika was a bit aggrieved, “Though the parasol was black and broken, with how tightly sister was hugging it, I knew it was important to sister.”

Walking to the side, Rika pulled out the sakura parasol from a rattan cabinet.

Her sakura parasol was charred black, a large area of the canopy was broken, and though the main pole was intact, most of the ribs were shattered.

“Sakura!” Lily grasped her sakura parasol and looked at herself, though she had no wounds or injuries, her sakura parasol had ended up like this.

If it wasn’t for her sakura parasol, she would have probably already become ashes.

“Sakura…sobs…” She collapsed onto the ground clutching her parasol, “Sakura, can you hear my voice? Sakura…”

Lily was sure now, Sakura was a treasure of the spirit artifact level, and the one who spoke to her at the end was not Kagura, but the treasure spirit of the sakura parasol who had been constantly silently protecting her.

Only, no matter how Lily called, the sakura parasol didn’t respond1.

Seeing Lily so sad, Rika could only offer, “Sister, that parasol must be very important right? Only, it’s so damaged…”

“Ah…sobs…” Lily nodded, tightly hugging the parasol.
“Would you, like to take it to great grandpa for a look?”
“Great grandpa?”
“Yes, great grandpa, he’s the ancestor of our Izumo raccoon clan. I don’t know how old he is, but it’s said that he’s older than the ancient trees here. Great grandpa has great powers and is wise, perhaps he can help you fix your parasol!”
A hint of hope filled Lily’s eyes, “Really? Can Sakura really be repaired?”

“Since sister came from the sky, you shouldn’t be a regular person, and that parasol of yours must not be ordinary either. I think the village carpenter Kitaro won’t be able to help, but great grandpa might be able to help you. In the past when Rika’s little brother was attacked by a leopard and was on the brink of death, we could only go up the mountain and beg great grandpa, he was healed in an instant.”

“Really? Your great grandpa is so capable?”

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Lily knew, with how incredible a treasure her sakura parasol was, how could there be someone capable of repairing it in this unknown village, but she had no other choice and could only hope for the best and go beg the ancestor of this raccoon clan.

“Lil Rika, can you take me to find your great grandpa?”
“Eh?” Rika looked at Lily, “But, sister’s condition? The road to where great grandpa lives is very difficult and dangerous.”
“There’s no problem!”

Thinking that there was a glimmer of hope to repair her parasol, Lily’s body regained strength.

“Hm, sister seems more energetic, ok then.” Rika replied, “The road to great grandpa opens at night, rest first, I will come find you when it is nighttime.”

“Huh? Ok…” Hearing Rika’s words, Lily could only restrain her mood and await nighttime.

“Right, what’s sister’s name?”
“Lily.”
“Lily? A strange name, not as nice sounding as Rika.”
“Ehehe…” Lily could only wryly laugh.

Suddenly—

“Yaahh—!!!” A scream came from the outside.

Rika’s face sank with fright and gloom, “Not good! That direction, it’s the village, something must have happened!”

With a poof, Rika returned to her raccoon form, she held Lily’s hand, “Sister Lily, hide here, you must not come out!”

With that, Rika ran out of the wooden house in the direction of the village.

References

Silva: So sad… not only have she lost the phantom soul ability of her crescent moon, even her parasol is broken during this trip. Talk about a big loss with no gain.