Volume 4 Chapter 102 Wandering Shrine Maidens
Edited by: Kanaa-senpai
Sarah agreed to look after Hojo and his men, and I was ordered to stay in this lean-to until further instructions.
But then.
”Hey, this is boring. Let’s go back.”
Kenze said it like it was the most natural thing in the world.
I couldn’t disagree – there really wasn’t anything to do. But the flimsy walls, just planks nailed together, gave us a full view of the outside, and everywhere I looked, all I saw were fences and the walls of houses. Even if we slipped out, we wouldn’t know where to go.
And even if we decided to head back, our sailor suits and leather jackets stood out way too much here in Kamakura.
I was thinking we’d have to wait until dark when suddenly the sliding door rattled open with a clatter.
The one who opened it was a weird monk.
Me and Kenze shot him a sharp look, but the guy just said, “Pardon the intrusion,” and walked right in without a shred of hesitation.
This monk’s robes were grimy as hell, but his face was clean and smooth – so mismatched it almost seemed like he’d deliberately put on dirty clothes.
”The hell is this baldy?”
Kenze was clearly suspicious too. But he wasn’t exactly bald – technically he wore a monk’s stole and carried prayer beads in his hand.
”Not bald – he’s a monk.”
I corrected her, though he might actually be bald. His hair didn’t look shaved so much as completely gone from the forehead to the back of his head, with no hair roots in sight. His face had few wrinkles, putting him around forty. Definitely premature balding.
Only a bit of closely cropped hair remained on his temples and the back of his head.
The suspicious bald monk sat down on a log in front of our brazier like it was his god-given right. Ignoring Kenze’s piercing glare, he held his hands over the fire without a care in the world, warming them.
”Cold today, colder than usual.”
The monk picked up a thin branch lying around, skewered a piece of dried squid he pulled from his sleeve, and started roasting it over the brazier.
”You folks came from far away on that black ship, didn’t you?”
He asked without even looking at us, focused on roasting the squid.
”Yeah, you could say that.”
I answered, and Kenze – who didn’t understand the language – made a slightly sour face.
”And the one over there – she’s an Amazoness?”
I didn’t know if he’d recognized Kenze as an Amazoness at a glance or heard about it from Hojo, but I was surprised this weird monk knew about Amazonesses.
When I said yes, he asked something more niche: which region’s Amazoness?
”She’s from a town called Tashkurgan, in the central part of the Central Continent.”
”Central Continent?”
”The continent where the Boltechino are. Her homeland was taken from them by them.”
At that, the monk looked up, gave Kenze a brief glance, then turned his gaze back to the squid.
”That too is the way of the world.”
For the first time, he actually sounded like a monk.
Once the squid was roasted, he rolled it in his palm to cool it down, then tore it apart with his nails and tossed a piece to Kenze.
”Hot!”
Kenze caught it and rolled it in her own palm.
”You want some too?”
I nodded at the monk’s words, and he tore off another piece and tossed it to me.
”Eat it while it’s hot.”
So saying, the monk bit into the remaining squid, tore a piece off, and started chewing.
I put mine in my mouth, and Kenze did the same, starting to chew.
Wait – did Kenze use me as a taste-tester?
”So what are you here for?”
”What do you mean? Sarah-san said I should come along, so I did.”
Otherwise, I’d have waited in Izumo.
”I meant why you came to Kamakura specifically.”
Oh, that’s what he meant.
I told him we’d been hired to bring Hojo Takachika-san from Luzon.
”That all?”
”Well, I was also hoping we might be able to resupply coal and food, if luck was on our side.”
I gave him the honest answer.
Maybe this monk, odd as he was, was actually someone important?
”Coal… you mean that burnable stone?”
I nodded, and he took another bite of squid, chewing thoughtfully.
”Yes, but even just charcoal would work.”
I pointed to the box of brazier charcoal sitting nearby.
If this baldy was someone important, maybe we could get some charcoal or food out of him.
”Afraid not. Right now we don’t have enough charcoal or food to spare for others.”
The possibly-important monk said that while chewing on his squid.
Come to think of it, they’d been talking about war earlier.
”Um, and you are…?”
You’re not just some random weird monk, right? What kind of important person are you?
I asked with that in mind.
”Sugan’s the name. A lay monk.”
Whoa.
That was my honest reaction, but the monk didn’t say anything more about himself.
”Besides charcoal and food – anything else you want?”
We’d resupplied water in Taiwan, and we’d gotten rain and snow along the way, so we were fine there.
Nothing else came to mind.
”Women? There’s plenty of young women in Kamakura, snatched from all over.”
No. Just no.
Honestly, more women would just be more trouble.
I politely declined.
”I see. What about weapons, then? Swords, bows, arrows?”
Oh, now that –
”I have a fine sword I received from the Queen of the Amazons of the Southern Continent, but it’s just the blade. I was hoping to find a scabbard, hilt, and tsuba.”
”Hoh. Does it have a signature?”
”Yes, it says Nagamitsu.”
The important monk gave me a look that said, “Oh really?”
”I shall grant that wish.”
Huh?
Wait, I’d rather have just a little charcoal or food, honestly.
But soon I was made to write a letter in Schweilitz language, and within the day a box containing the Nagamitsu arrived from Izumo – and hidden beneath the cushioning material supporting the blade were all the parts: tsuba, scabbard, hilt, everything.
Apparently, that was just how things were done in this world. Thanks to that, I got scolded by the weird monk.
Still, I had the local craftsmen fit the tsuba and hilt and everything else, and I hung the decorated Nagamitsu from the belt I wore over my sailor suit.
Since it’s a tachi, not an uchigatana, you don’t stick it through your waist – you hang it.
But damn, the tachi was heavier than I expected. Even with the belt tied tight, it kept sliding down, which was a pain.
Once I got a little used to it and actually drew the blade from the scabbard, I felt strangely alert.
And yet.
”Not nearly tight enough.”
Kenze gave me a scathing review.
We received the completed sword inside the estate, but as soon as that was done, we were sent back to the lean-to.
As the sun began to set, we were told to come for a victory prayer ceremony and were led to a different estate.
At the center of a wide courtyard surrounded by buildings stood a stage enclosed by a low railing, and from there a bridge extended toward the head seat in the main building. Under the cold sky, on the veranda encircling the windswept courtyard, high-ranking samurai sat at regular intervals, with retainers standing behind them.
Me and Kenze were led by a lower-ranked samurai toward the head seat, where I saw the important samurai we’d first met sitting cross-legged.
That was the guy Imai had called Red Bridge, I think.
Still, in the middle of winter, the wide-open estate was unbearably cold.
”This way.”
I was directed to sit next to Red Bridge.
I bowed to show respect and then sat – well, cross-legged – but the stares from all around were uncomfortably sharp. Though people kept coming in after us, so the attention soon shifted away.
After a while, once everyone was assembled, Red Bridge rose without a word.
The samurai who’d been seated followed suit and began removing the tachi hanging at their waists. Not all of them – those who didn’t remove their swords carried spears or naginata instead. When Red Bridge sat back down, everyone else did too, placing their swords, spears, and naginata before them.
As if that were the signal, women in shrine maiden attire emerged briskly from under the veranda, and half of them ascended the stage.
Drums that had been placed on the stage began to beat, flutes played, bells rang, and shrine maidens with bells in hand started dancing both on and off the stage.
And all of them were barefoot. They must’ve been freezing.
They could at least give them tabi socks.
When the first solemn piece ended, the music shifted to something livelier.
”Please.”
A maid placed a sanbo – a wooden stand with an unglazed dish on it, like the ones I’d seen in my past life holding moon-viewing dumplings – between the sword and me. Then something that looked like a squashed kettle was placed next to it.
”Guest – Larry-dono.”
Red Bridge called me. When I looked, he was holding that squashed kettle.
Is that… sake? I vaguely remembered seeing people drink sake from dishes in some historical drama.
I held the dish with both hands and offered it to Red Bridge. Sure enough, he poured murky sake into it.
These things, you’re not supposed to drink right away, right? Probably.
Looking around, I saw no one had put their dish to their lips yet.
Safe.
But my hands were shaking from the cold.
Red Bridge, I noticed, was having sake poured for him by the man on his other side.
Eventually the music stopped, and the shrine maidens who’d been dancing all sat down where they were in a kowtow pose.
Red Bridge stood, and all the samurai rose with him.
He waited for all eyes to gather, then gave a deep nod.
”To our victory!”
Red Bridge shouted, and everyone echoed the cry –
And drained their dishes of sake.
The music started again, but it felt more monotonous now. At the banquet, people mingled freely, pouring sake for each other, and snacks were brought out – it was turning into a regular drinking party.
Not sure if I was allowed to wander, I stayed seated, but people kept coming to pour me sake and asking questions about Izumo and Luzon. Word had spread that we’d destroyed the Luzon Kingdom, though I kept quiet about the suicide drones and told them what I knew otherwise.
Every single time that conversation ended, the talk would turn to the Nagamitsu.
At this event, Red Bridge had called me guest, but everyone else called me Nagamitsu – as if Larry and I weren’t the same person.
Apparently the swordsmith Nagamitsu was famous. Quite a few of the swordsmiths in Kamakura had trained in his workshop in Yoshii Village in the western provinces.
They called me Nagamitsu because I carried his sword – but wasn’t that disrespectful to the original Nagamitsu himself?
While I was thinking about that, Red Bridge stood up.
”Listen well, everyone. This guest is the man who destroyed the Luzon Kingdom, which was backed by the Boltechino.”
Red Bridge didn’t seem to handle alcohol well – he was a little tipsy.
”In other words, he carries the god of victorious battles within him. Is there any man more fitting for today’s feast?”
Voices around the room chimed in agreement.
”Guest, drink up!”
And more sake was poured. Then more from other samurai.
As everyone’s spirits rose with the alcohol, the shrine maidens who’d been playing music and dancing started coming around to pour sake too.
”Nagamitsu-sama, please.”
I held out my dish, let her pour, and downed it in one gulp.
”Oh my, for a foreigner, you’re quite manly.”
The one who sat next to me was the shrine maiden who’d been beating the drum earlier. She was the oldest among them.
She seemed like a seasoned woman, and she flattered me in a way that felt good.
When the shrine maidens came around, the storm shutters were closed, blocking off the courtyard, and the cold eased. Candles were lit here and there.
”Kyaa!”
A sound like a scream.
I turned to look – a young shrine maiden was being surrounded by men who looked like retainers, her robes being torn off.
As if that were the trigger, the entire estate shifted into something… erotic.
”Nagamitsu-sama, do you prefer younger girls?”
”Not particularly.”
The drum-beating shrine maiden grinned – and her teeth were blackened. Oh yeah. All her teeth were painted black, which was a bit unsettling.
As she pressed close to me, I looked around and realized, to my dismay, that we were sliding into an orgy. Some were already half-naked and coupled.
Looking closely, a few retainers were clustered around a single shrine maiden, while the high-ranking ones on the veranda had one or two each. Red Bridge had two – one so young she was practically a child, and one slightly older woman.
Oh, right.
Where’s Kenze?
Scanning the room, I spotted Kenze in a corner, having sake poured by a young shrine maiden, looking delighted.
Well, she’s bi, so that works.
Guess I’ll just deal with Black Teeth here.
”So do you ladies always stay in Kamakura?”
I asked as I pulled Black Teeth closer, warming her cold feet with one hand.
”Goodness, no. We’re ‘wandering shrine maidens’ – traveling from place to place. We leave here the day after tomorrow, heading west.”
Black Teeth said with a smile, reaching a hand out.
”Oh my, that’s quite something.”
A compliment I never would’ve gotten in my past life’s body.
Ignoring her comment, I asked, “So you’re the leader, then?”
”One of them, anyway.”
Apparently this event needed more than one troupe, so they’d gathered two groups of wandering shrine maidens for the performance.
The other group was supposedly leaving early tomorrow morning.
”Kamakura’s the heart of the Shogunate. People gather here, you know. Easy to buy girls, and there are good ones too.”
For some reason, she looked at the girl Red Bridge was trying to hold.
”If Nagamitsu-sama likes them young and untouched, I could arrange something.”
”No thanks. Virgins are a hassle. I prefer older women.”
”Oh my, how delightful.”
I squeezed Black Teeth’s breasts as a social gesture, but the shape wasn’t great. Women in this era didn’t wear bras, after all.
Next morning, when I woke up, the shrine maidens were gone, and all that remained were dirty men’s asses scattered around.
As I was fixing my appearance, Red Bridge entered in full armor.
”Rise!”
He bellowed, then added that scouts had spotted the enemy’s Otate banners at Enoshima and Katase. His voice resonated from the very depths of his gut as he declared this would be the decisive battle against Senju Maru and Nitta.
”Hey, should we make a break for it?”
Kenze came over and whispered.
”Yeah, probably.”
The half-naked men were in an uproar over Red Bridge’s announcement. We could slip out amid the chaos.
Just as I was thinking that, for some reason the weird monk from yesterday walked in, spotted me immediately, came striding over without even a hello, and grabbed my shoulder.
”Our guest, who carries the god of victorious battles, will be staying right here.”
Something about this felt really, really bad.
—
Summary:
Larry and Kenze are confined to a lean-to in Kamakura, growing restless, until a mysterious lay monk named Sugan visits them and learns about their past with the Boltechino. The monk secures Nagamitsu’s missing parts for Larry, but the real event is the victory banquet where shrine maidens dance and the celebration devolves into drunken debauchery. Larry narrowly avoids assaulting a young girl, instead entertaining the older shrine maiden, and wakes the next morning to find Red Bridge declaring war – only for Sugan to corner him with unclear intentions.
—
Trivia:
Larry and Kenze are wearing sailor suits and leather jackets, making them highly conspicuous in Kamakura.
Sugan is a lay monk (生臭坊主), not a fully ordained priest, and his appearance is deliberately grimy despite a clean face.
The monk recognizes Kenze as an Amazoness immediately, suggesting the Boltechino’s reach is well-known in Kamakura.
The Nagamitsu tachi is more than a weapon – it’s a status symbol that makes Larry the center of attention and gets him renamed “Nagamitsu” by others.
The shrine maidens are “wandering” (歩き巫女), traveling troupes who perform for pay and are not attached to a single shrine.
Blackened teeth (お歯黒) were a traditional Japanese aesthetic practice for married women and certain high-status figures, not a sign of decay.
The victory ceremony involves ritual sake drinking, kowtow bows, and weapons placed before the seated samurai as symbolic gestures.
The “black ship” reference is a callback to historical Japanese encounters with Western vessels, grounding the scene in that era’s mindset.
Kenze is bi, as confirmed by her willingness to engage with the young shrine maiden during the banquet.
The banquet’s shift into orgiastic behavior is a common historical trope in depictions of wartime victory celebrations in samurai-era fiction.
Red Bridge’s drunken speech explicitly states that Larry destroyed Luzon Kingdom, which was under Boltechino influence – making Larry a target of honor and suspicion.
The monk Sugan securing Nagamitsu’s parts without Larry’s direct request suggests he has authority and favors Larry, but his final line implies coercion.
The enemy force is identified by Otate banners at Enoshima and Katase, real locations near Kamakura, lending historical texture to the fiction.
Senju Maru and Nitta are named as the enemy commanders, likely references to historical figures from the Nanboku-chō period.
The phrase “god of victorious battles” is applied to Larry by Red Bridge, marking him as a lucky charm or ritual figurehead for the coming conflict.
Notes:
• Sarah – Disciplined Elf Mage, Second Lieutenant under Sonya. Identifiable by linen-wrapped chest, facial piercings, pointed ears, long dark hair. Former Magic Corps commander partnered with Thomas, traveled with Larry, restrains protagonist Kenze. Controls Type 95 Golems, shares visual data via telepathy, served with him in Rus, deployed to Scripture Church. Meek personality with significant growth.
• Hojo – An unsettling, aggressive male warrior from a fallen clan and ambassador/lord of the Land of Shura, this “Berserker” commands Imai and the Izumo. Dressed in sumo referee-inspired garb with a gauntlet, knee guards, and hip-mounted longsword, he has an intense, unblinking gaze. Linked to the Hojo clan, he speaks in imperious, clipped Kamakura-period Japanese. Driven by honor and trauma from his family’s slaughter, he views lethal violence as jest, yet shows restraint before outbursts.
• Sara – A woman with numerous gold piercings in her ears, eyebrows, and nose, often wearing thick, aggressive makeup. She serves as the Second Lieutenant and Commander of the First Company.
• Ho – Ho is the family name of Oliver, a 17-year-old deck crew member and comrade of the protagonist. As a member of the military unit that defended Garao Village, the young man was ultimately murdered during a night watch, slaughtered alongside Marx-san.
• Kenze – Kenze is a muscular, brown-skinned Amazoness and former Tashkurgan operative turned research student. An observant, teasing guardian with dragon tattoos, she wears gauntlet-like armor and fights with formal precision. Formerly bonded with Earnest and now a rebel leader on the Izumo, she works with Tatyana, rooms with Larry—whom she prioritizes above all—and is currently nursing an egg while declining in health.
• Boltechino – An entity that departed from Rus, this explorer traveled to discover a continent that became the birthplace of shipping trade.
• Izumo – The iron-hulled primary vessel, named and personified as a character herself, who loyally carries the protagonist and his crew throughout their journey.
• Takachika – Hojo’s family name.
• Sugan – A lay monk with a shaved head and dirty robes, whose clean, youthful face suggests deliberate roughness. Despite his scruffy appearance, he possesses ultimate authority and connections to high-ranking officials. Calm, calculating, and speaking with folk wisdom, he knows of Amazonesses, the Boltechino, and the protagonist’s capabilities, refusing to let them leave due to their “god of victory.”
• Schweilitz – This kingdom, featuring towering academy spires and a full military arsenal of Royal Army troops, forces the protagonist to return. Ruled by a king involved in a hostage exchange, this political power holds a captive feared for execution. It also ordered the confirmation of Princess Rosa’s corpse, driving a scheme that the Queen has caught onto.
• Red Bridge – A high-ranking warrior who initially appeared as the leader of the household. Actually subordinate to Sugan-sama. Commands forces in the northeast. Despite orders not to advance, leads a charge into enemy territory and does not return.
• Imai – Hojo’s attendant and group member who remains on the bridge with Fredys and Roland. Previously scolded by Hojo and having threatened seppuku, he speaks with frustration about the Luzon fugitives. A dagger-wielding warrior of cold, methodical brutality, he operates with clinical efficiency and no emotion, interrogating a pirate by severing his ankles and calf before beheading him.
• Larry – Larry is a dark-haired, weary 16-year-old reincarnated Second Lieutenant, cynical Acting Captain of the Izumo, and Associate Professor. A pragmatic, sardonic narrator and Mana user, he founded the Fee Grand Principality, carries Philip IV’s sword, and seeks to protect his companions. Haunted by past trauma and complicated relationships, he struggles with moral conflicts while awaiting his next assignment.
• Al – Alberto (Al), a massive red‑haired man recently wed to Mary, lives near the Dish Basin. He’s a companion of Hans, helping intimidate and rally elders as a villager and leader.
• Mar – A battle‑hardened veteran, clad in worn armor, uses door panels as shields and captures enemy crossbows; Larry’s comrade who teases him about his sister‑in‑law’s pampering, known as Martin to his companion Edmond.
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Edited by Kanaa-senpai.
Thanks for reading.
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