After everyone had stopped laughing and bantering, Azi was taken inside Kajima's house to get a medical checkup from Elder Sung and Saki. Rulu decided to do some housework as she did not have time to go shopping today as she had enjoyed Nosuri's story for too long and the market would be closed late into the day.Kajima went to his workshop to do his blacksmith work while Nosuri and Ougi decided to train until it was dinner.Inside Azi's and Shizu's shared room, Azi sat on the futon and was being examined by Elder Sung. She examined to see if there were any abnormalities in his physical body as she knew that his stunt in the forge had likely taken its toll on him.Elder Sung saw that Azi's body did have a few new scratches and faded scars and burns which prompted her to ask a pressing concern."Didn't I give you enough ointment and creams for your little project on Shizu's weapon?"Azi embarrassingly explained that he had gone through the entire supply of ointments and creams that he
Decem 17th of 4831 AS A few peaceful days had passed and Azi was currently lightly sparring with Ougi in the clearing near Kajima's house. It was just after lunch and both fighters had a surplus of energy after eating a hearty meal. Kajima allowed Azi to spar with Ougi as he knew that the sparring he would do with Ougi would be less taxing than the sparring he usually did with Shizu. The Shizu’s usual sparring involved the use of actual weapons and Azi's use of magic which were not present in the current sparring session which was obviously evident by the lack of craters in Kajima’s wide yard. Throwing a punch aimed at Ougi's chest, Azi thought that he was able to land a clean hit but just before he made contact Ougi deftly moved the side with a single turn of his waist and then grabbed Azi's outstretched wrist in a firm grip. Repositioning himself, Ougi tripped Azi's leading foot which had caused Azi to fall forward. Ougi then used this to his advantage as he swiftly threw Azi
Decem 18th of 4831 AS During the morning of the 4th day of sparring practice with Ougi, Ben and Bail had dropped by Kajima's house. It was an awkward situation as Ougi had again thrown Azi over his shoulder. Lying flat on the snowy ground, Azi groaned a bit but noticed that two familiar figures were standing over him. They looked at him wryly, and Ben asked a bit worried that they might have come at a bad time. "Hey Azi, is now a good time?" Getting to his feet, Azi dusted the snow off his clothes and looked to Ougi who was a few paces away. Giving Ougi a look to convey his question of if they could have a break, Ougi responded with a smile and a nod. In the few days that Azi spent with Ougi, this was a way of communication between them was picked up as it seemed that Ougi had the ability to read the mood and expressions of others. It made conversations with him brief and concise. Azi still had a hard time trying to read Ougi's expressions as his squinted eye made it hard for hi
Decem 20th of 4831 ASIn the throne room in the capital, Kujyuri, Ozen was having a meeting with his council members concerning the recent letter delivered by the group of his 4 youngest sons. They had arrived a couple days prior and had already left for Shisayama as they intended to spend time with Rulu in an impromptu vacation in preparation for the heavy amount of work they would face at the change of the season.Ozen would have usually scolded them for skipping out on their work but realized that it was better that they went to Shisayama to protect Rulu due to recent events. He could also trust Shizu and Yashimu to whip their younger brothers into shape as the noticeable bruise on the second youngest was still noticeable when he arrived in Kujyuri.Deftly bringing his attention back to Jerome, who was the current speaker of the meeting, Ozen listened as he relayed the contents of the recent letter.*To King Ozen,During a recent expedition into the western mountains of Shisayama,
Chapter 74 Rest and Relaxation As Ougi's right fist flew through the air towards Azi's face, Ougi had a slight grin on his somewhat ever stoic face. His brow furrowed in the next moment as he did not feel the expected sensation of Azi's face against his gloved fist. Deftly moving his less dominant left hand, Ougi caught an unexpected punch coming at his right side that was just out of his blind spot. He had noticed a few strands of a familiar head of disheveled black hair pass by his side after his punch missed. It was Azi and he had spun to Ougi’s right while using his left foot as a pivot to move out of the path of Ougi's punch. Using his small stature, Azi slouched a bit to hopefully hide from Ougi's sight as he closed the gap between his fist and Ougi’s face. Azi had been trying to improve his hand to hand combat and grappling techniques for the past two weeks and was beginning to show progress. After being constantly thrown to the snowy ground, he learned how to evade and cou
After Shizu successfully dragged Azi into the bath, she began to strip him of his clothes with a gleeful expression. Azi, unable to resist her overbearing strength, felt immense indignation as his body was laid bare to a woman's eyes. While both Azi and Shizu had both gotten used to seeing each other's naked bodies, it was uncomfortable in this situation as there was not an air of professionalism or etiquette. Additionally, the gleeful look on Shizu's face annoyed Azi as he knew that this young woman got a kick out of tormenting him. With all his strength, Azi attempted to keep the last layer of clothes that protected his manhood from sight. Shizu was straddling over Azi's body and she gripped the hem of his pants. "NOOOOOOO! SHIZU STOP!" "OH COME ON!.... AZI! IT'S JUST A BATH. NO NEED TO BE SHY!" Shizu grunted a bit and was able to gain some ground as the pants started to slip down Azi’s waist. He trembled in fear as he did not want to face Shizu's antics in the bath as his heart
While the two lovebirds were having a moment, Rulu, Nosuri, and Ougi had arrived at a certain bookstore near the northern end of Shisayama. Many goods that were sold here came from Yamato and Rulu was fascinated by the variety of books that she could now buy. As the group walked into the bookstore, they could see that the wooden shelves were filled with a wide variety of books. Many were decorated with pressed flowers or hand drawn images made from a variety of colored inks. This sight was due to how paper was a common resource created in the Empire and its nations. In the history of the Empire, its creation was made and gifted by the emperor as an innovation that replaced the previously used bamboo scrolls that were cumbersome and had little space for writing. These were still used as a cheaper alternative, but it had no advantage over the invention of paper. It was over a century ago since its introduction and since then the empire has had a boom in the variety of literature tha
*Klang Klang Klang*A metalic ring rang out which was followed by the stirring sound of stoking fires.*Whoosh Whoosh*In the workshop, Kajima was currently tempering and forging a new katana for one of his clients. He was in the process of doing the final process for forming the blade's shape.He had already finished the arduous task of folding the metal numerous times to allow for the creation of numerous layers of carbon within the blade. Kajima did not know of this as his technological knowledge of chemistry and modern metallurgy were not that advanced.But he nonetheless believed in the process and knew to look for the right signs that showed him that what he was doing was correct. He had learned his craft from a blacksmith turned soldier, when he was drafted into the army at the young age of 16.This was before Ozen was king and before hostilities with Uzuru had sparked. In fact, this was just another war with a now long forgotten nation to the west that was absorbed into Kujyur