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Volume 3 Chapter 6 Part 4

「But… for the power of the ‘Susanoo’ to be taken by a lowly warrior.「

「That is all because you people have been labeling these warriors as ‘tainted’ and forcing them to wage war on your behalf. To protect the people now, we have to dirty our own hands. For these past hundreds of years, you people, who shut themselves in Kyoto and while despising the ‘tainted’, had given up your right to interfere in state affairs long ago! 」

Konoe Sakihisa was speechless, unable to make even the tiniest of sounds in protest. He had thought of her as a mere child, but who would have expect her to make such a wise decision? Sakihisa could only step back when he realized that.

But no matter what, he must not let Nobuna have her way.

「Himiko-sama. I’m honored by your words. But please give the position of Shogun to Imagawa Yoshimoto. 」

「Himiko-sama, don’t be fooled by this woman! She belittles the power of the Imperial Palace and is planning to promote the barbarian ways throughout the country! She is a traitor who wants to sell this country to the barbarian people from the west! Her rejecting the position you gave her is solid proof that she does not want to be shackled down by the Imperial Palace’s influence! 」

「Huh? You bastard, you’re the real traitor here, Konoe!!!!! 」

「…..Ba….Bastard….!? H-How could you direct such crude and unrefined words at me?!! Don’t believe in such rude fellows, Himiko-sama! 」

「Ahh geez, You were finally serious for a bit, but with just a few minutes you revealed your true colors, Nobuna. 」

Yoshiharu sighed with resignation.

「To address Kampaku-sama as ‘you bastard’… that was too much even for you, Nobuna-sama. 」

Mitsuhide was deathly pale as sweat poured down her face.

「This black-teethed guy is the one who was rude towards me first! What a sorry excuse for a Kampaku, trying to do anything to keep Himiko-sama behind the veil! Just because you were monopolizing Himiko-sama for yourself until now, you grew arrogant and pompous… don’t tell me… that assassin who was sent to kill me, was that your doing as well?! 」

(She found out! Normally I’d just deny the accusation, but since that barbaric Nobuna is an ‘act first, think later’ type of person, I might just lose my life if I admit it…)

Sakihisa then tried to do his best to fake tears as he howled at Himiko.

「That’s too much even for me to handle, Himiko-sama! I, I have never suffered such humiliation before! Himiko-sama, please teach Oda Nobuna and these rude henchmen of hers a lesson…..! 」

「I do not know what kind of a person Oda Danjo Nobuna is, but the ‘Sagara Yoshiharu’ at her side is definitely a good person. 」

「…Ehh, me? Why? 」

Yoshiharu exclaimed in surprise.

「Though Sagara Yoshiharu is frivolous, he is a good person at heart. He came from a very very far….an extremely far place in order to help Oda Danjo Nobuna achieve her goals. This is the man sent by the heavens, who had listened to the prayers of the people. 」

「D-d-don’t tell me Himiko-sama had already touched this monkey?! 」

「What is going on, Konoe? 」

「The first Himiko-sama could understand what another person was thinking just by looking in their eyes. Though this spiritual power has been gradually getting weaker, this Himiko-sama has the power to understand the other party’s thoughts just by touching them. 」

「…I get it. So you restrict all contact from others to Himiko-sama and keep her here in the Imperial Palace because of that. And not just that, to prevent her from making contact with anyone else, you put her behind a veil. 」

「Ehhh? My thoughts… 」

Yoshiharu then noticed what Nobuna was getting at.

(Wait…. Don’t tell me that the child that I carried up when I was patrolling near ruined walls of the Imperial Palace was actually…!

At that moment, she had read his thoughts? If that’s the case…

(No… Don’t tell me…!?)

「Pl-please wait. It’s not like this! This is a misunderstanding, Himiko-sama! I did not think much about this violent woman who stuffs her face full with miso everyday…. Ahhh…..! 」

「Sagara Yoshiharu is a good person. 」

Himiko used a gentle tone and said it again.

「Seeing that Sagara Yoshiharu was able to have such intense feelings for Oda Danjo Nobuna, I wish to pass all state affairs to her. 」

(Uwahhhh, Himiko-sama, don’t say it out! No, please refrain from saying it… Ahh, I beg you! What keigo should I use at such a moment to convince her?!)

Yoshiharu was panicking.

「Stop it, Senpai. You’re being too rude. 」

Mitsuhide at the side rushed to press Yoshiharu to the ground.

「But the nature of this person is very, very perverted. The majority of the thoughts that are in his head are centered around girls, so I advise you to be careful, Oda Danjo Nobuna. 」

「I will remember it well for the remainder of my life. 」

Nobuna smiled bitterly and said that while bowing politely again.

Yoshiharu, pressed down as he was by Mitsuhide, was speechless. But thanks to Himiko still being a child, she did not seem to fully understand those real feelings that Yoshiharu did not want anyone to know… Nobuna being the first on the list. For Yoshiharu, this could be the only consolation he had right now.

「…Very well then. I will give the position of Shogun to Imagawa Yoshimoto and approve of the activities of the Christians in Japan. And, for the repair fee of the Imperial Palace, we don’t need the whole 120,000 kan. Just 20,000 is going to be enough. The other 100,000 kan, I give it to you, Oda Danjo Nobuna. I hope that it will help you on your way to unifying the world. 」

「I thank you for this gift from the bottom of my heart, Himiko-sama. 」

「What a pleasant turn of events. To have such an enormous amount of funds, it will be easy to capture the areas around the capital. 」

Yoshiharu let out a sigh of relief while holding his chest.

「As for you yourself, Oda Danjo Nobuna, please accept the position of governor in the Imagawa Shogunate. 」

「Please forgive me for refusing again, but the thing that I want to have the most right now is freedom. 」

「Freedom… What an unheard of thing. 」

「I want to release this country’s people from the bondage of ‘statuses’. One’s future should be decided by his own efforts and talent! Of course, different people have different responsibilities. Himiko-sama has a talent of managing religious matters that is irreplaceable. But, responsibilities should not be lumped together with talent and statuses. People’s lives don’t differ in value. I want to use my way of life to prove this to the whole world! 」

「Ohhhhhhh, you dare to reject status and blood? Don’t tell me you want to even eliminate Himiko-sama, you traitor…! 」

Sakihisa was seething with rage, but Nobuna and Himiko did not spare him any thought as they stared at each other through the veil.

「I understand, Oda Danjo Nobuna. But why do you want to remove a thing like ‘statuses’ from this country? 」

Behind her, Yoshiharu was still pressed down by Mitsuhide and couldn’t see Nobuna’s expression at all. At this moment, Nobuna gave an extremely glorious smile and her eyes were glittering with the brightness like that of the sun.

「…For the sake of my own dream! 」

Himiko responded softly with a voice only she could hear.

「I will pray for your future together then, and that both of your dreams could one day come true. 」