Beyond Time, Living In Sengoku

A month had pa.s.sed since my time slip into this world.

n.o.bunaga gave me a place to live and work at in Nagoya Castle, so I was able to survive. I was now working as a maid for n.o.bunaga. Every day, before sunrise, my job was to clean the hot springs so that n.o.bunaga could use them after his swimming, horse riding, and battle training. I also laid out his clothes and helped him wash and get dressed.

After that, I go to the kitchen and start preparing breakfast. After eating, n.o.bonaga usually goes into town, and in the meantime his room has to be cleaned. That was a pain. n.o.bunaga was really fastidious about cleanness, and, for example, the wooden floor must be polished to the point it could be used as a mirror. He didn"t scold me if I made a mistake, but clearly shows his disappointment with his face, putting pressure on me. I wish he would just clearly point things out instead.

After such cleaning, I finally had breakfast. I prepared and ate it by myself in a corner, while feeling the distance from other maids.

In the afternoon, dinner would be prepared, but until n.o.bunaga returned home it was practically free time. I returned to my room to sew and take a nap.

n.o.bunaga"s return was easy to see. Because n.o.bunaga walked quite boldly. His steps echoed on the floor and his voice resounded, “I"m back.”

After dinner, I prepared the hot springs for another bath and then laid the futon while n.o.bunaga was there.

That was my work day. At about 20:00, n.o.bunaga was sleeping.

That day, n.o.bunaga stopped me after dinner. It was the first time it happened.

"Aoi, will you prepare the sake?"

"You drink?"

"Yes," n.o.bunaga nodded.

(That was unusual.)

n.o.bunaga did not drink. Rather, he liked sweet food, such as dried persimmons and syrup.

When I went to the kitchen, the other maids were busy and cleaning up dinner.

"The lord wants sake. Where is it?"

"Sake, the lord?"

And so it was Shiho who answered with a loud voice. She was as tall as me, and well built. Her hair was strange. Her face looked like a rice ball, and her eyes, nose, and mouth were abnormally small relative to it. She considered me an enemy from the beginning.

"Didn"t you just mistakenly hear that he wanted to drink?"

As he said that, she took out the sake from the cupboard, poured it into the decanter, and dipped it into hot water.

I bowed my head to apologize.

"Why would the Lord let a woman like you at his side?"

"Ah…"

She looked at me up and down, as I kept bowing.

"The Lord has bad taste."

"I don"t think that"s the case. He took me in because I don"t have a place to go and n.o.body else to rely on."

"I guess."

Saying that, Shiho took the sake out of the water.

"But, of course, don"t forget that thanks to you becoming a maid, there is a woman left without work!"

Behind Shiho, I felt the strong and harsh glance of several maids. That was the norm.

"Here."

Shiho pushed the tray on which the sake had been placed on my chest.

"Do you drink?"

n.o.bunaga asked when he was pouring sake into a cup.

"Well, I have never drunk before…"

I said in a small voice, putting my hands in front of me.

I was a minor and had never tried alcohol before.

Lately, I had problems sleeping. I"ve heard that if you drink alcohol you will sleep more easily. n.o.bunaga poured the sake for me. I drunk it all at once and my head started feeling lighter.
"How old are you?"

"I"m eighteen."

"We"re the same, I"ll be eighteen this year."

"The Lord is eighteen, uh?"

I was kind of happy. There was no one but n.o.bunaga to talk with for me. Hearing that we were the same age, I felt a sense of companionship being born.

"Someone!"

Called n.o.bunaga out of his room. "Yes," said the maid"s voice from a distance. (Whose voice is that?) I was anxious, and Shiho was the one to arrive.

"Please find sake and some appetizers."

"Understood."

Shiho kept her knees down to the hallway floor and never raised her head. Before Shiho closed the door I said,

"I should be the one going."

"You should stay here and be my companion."

"But... that"s…"

Shiho could be heard leaving. Thinking about the future, I felt anxious. Troubled, I put my hands on my face. n.o.bunaga took my hands and looked at my face.

(Ah!)

He had a nice face. Cheeks a little red because of the sake. Sleepy half-open eyes. He was so beautiful that I could not help but be amazed.

(Is this person really that Oda n.o.bunaga?)

As I thought so, n.o.bunaga"s face came even closer and softly touched my lips. In surprise, my eyes became wide open. I placed one hand on n.o.bunaga"s chest and pushed away, but his lips pressed even harder.