Beyond Time, Living In Sengoku

It was May. I was enjoying a day of vacation for the first time in a long while.

I slept until noon, left my futon out, and ate two big rice b.a.l.l.s that I had prepared the day before. And then I laid down again.

My room was close to n.o.bunaga"s living room, and was within easy reach of the kitchen and the hot spring hall. The other maids usually live in tenement houses in the castle town, so me living in the castle"s inner citadel was unusual, which made the others dislike me even more.

The six tatami room was independent and had a small sink. It was originally used as a tea room.

"I wonder if I cooked enough rice?"

I had just finished eating the rice b.a.l.l.s, and I was worried about dinner since I am a big eater.

It was early summer, and the sun was setting later, but I wanted to be done by 18 o"clock. When it gets dark, the light of the candles alone can"t help.

(That"s it!) After cooking the rice in the kiln, I suddenly thought of something, and I swiftly crouched down in front of the st.u.r.dy box, opening the lid. I looked to the bottom and exclaimed, "Found it."

"I miss you"

I looked at my high school uniform with my arms outstretched. About three months had pa.s.sed since my arrival in Sengoku, but it was still in good shape. I pressed the uniform jacket over my face and breathed deeply.

It smells like of that time.

"Mother."

I was worried about my mother. Did she live alone while I am in this world? Or were the people in the Reiwa era living as usual? Was time flowing?

When I was thinking about such things, I started crying. I really missed her, I couldn"t help feeling lonely. Almost every night I felt uneasy as if my heart was about to break. I felt that the darkness of the night would never end.

Suddenly, I changed into the uniform. The loafers that had been p.i.s.sed by n.o.bunaga had been discarded when I woke up, but the socks and underwear had been washed and stored.

After I changed my clothes, as I was trying to look at my full figure in a hand mirror, twisting and turning my body to see everything, n.o.bunaga came into the room without any warning.

“Ah!” I noticed that n.o.bunaga was looking at the futon I had left out.

"Oh, I have a slight cold."

Wearing my uniform, I pretended to wipe sweat off my neck and forehead.

"Do you have a fever?"

n.o.bunaga walked to me and touched my forehead.

"Is that so?"

Nodding his head, n.o.bunaga touched his forehead to mine. My eyes widened. I held my hands in front of my chest, embarra.s.sed because I could hear my heart pounding and my face burning.

“No fever,” n.o.bunaga said, walking past the futon and exiting to the veranda. He stood there, crossing his arms and looking out.

"It"s barren."

"It"s greener than when I arrived."

I said while folding the futon, I sounded out of breath.

The open s.p.a.ce, which was created as a garden for the tea house, was simple, with only a few stepping stones covered with moss. There was nothing to part.i.tion the garden, and the castle turret served as a fence.

"There is only barley tea."

I put the barley tea on a tray and placed at n.o.bunaga"s feet. The teacup was part of the tea set originally used in this room.

"It"s a hot day, cold tea is fine."

n.o.bunaga sat cross-legged and drank tea holding the cup in is right hand..

"Another cup."

I reached for the teacup, but then n.o.bunaga said it wasn"t needed.

"Do you miss your village?"

He asked me after a moment of silence. I looked at my clothes and sighed a little. Seeing me wearing the uniform I had when we first met, n.o.bunaga probably thought I missed my village.

"I would be lying if I said I"m not lonely, but I think there are things that can"t be helped."

"Can"t be helped?"

He turned towards me.

"You haven"t recovered the memories of before arriving in Owari?"

"It"s like that, but…"

I put my hands on my face and shook my head.

"When it"s time to go home, I just want to go home."

"I never heard you talk about your origins."

"Ah."

True, I have never been asked about my history. He didn"t ask me anything, and he provided me with a job and a house. I once again thanked him for receiving such special treatment.

"Are your father and mother alive?"

“Yes,” I replied. I didn"t tell that my mother was living alone because my father was away for work reasons. It would be difficult to explain.

"If you are 18 years old, are you married? Do you have children^"

"No."

"Do you have someone you want to get married to?"

"...it"s difficult right now."

I said so looking down.

I didn"t know if Koichi, who I hadn"t seen in three months, could be called a boyfriend. We"ve known each other since childhood and I considered him almost a brother, so it felt a little different than a romance at that time. In addition to that, my feelings for n.o.bunaga were confusing me, and I couldn"t put them into words.

"Do?"

Quietly speaking, n.o.bunaga turned his back on me.

"Samurai can be difficult."

With that, n.o.bunaga left.

It was almost evening when I stepped out of the house. As I stretched out my arms and my back, Shiho and several other maids walked by. Maybe they are on their way to the kitchen, each holding a large basket of vegetables. Foreseeing the unpleasant atmosphere I tried to go back in, but Shiho called out.

"I"m in a good mood."

Those strange words felt hateful.

(Fine.) I bowed and turned around.

"There are good news."

Shiho said in a pleasant voice.

"Ah?"

(What good news?) My eyes were half-open.

"The wedding ceremony of the Lord has been arranged."

"The Lord"s wedding."

I couldn"t immediately understand.

(The Lord… eh?)

Looking back at me, Shiho distorted her lips. It"s her usual laughing face, when she"s holding back actual laughter.

"Yes, exactly."

It was sudden. I was upset, even though I had no reason to be. I smiled.

"Congratulations!"

I lowered my head slightly. I knew it was weird n.o.bunaga had come to visit me, but I didn"t know the reason.

"Well, then."

And she turned her back.

"Do you care about this person?"

A woman who was always stuck next to Shiho said.

"Not at all."

"You will become the other woman. The Lord"s legal wife should not know about a maid"s affair."

"That"s right."

When I turned around,

"Lady Aoi, your hair is messed up. You explained the situation to the Lord at the bedside."

"What…"

I realized for the first time that they saw me as n.o.bunaga"s concubine.

"Your opponent is Mino"s princess."

Shiho put her basket on top of the other maid"s basket. Suddenly, the small maid staggered. With slow steps, Shiho came up to me.

"I heard she is a beautiful person who"s also smart."

"She is? I"m sorry, I have to go prepare dinner."

"Wait!"

When Shiho raised her voice, a man"s voice said, "This useless conversation is over!"

I saw a young man standing there.

The young man with a worried expression was Sawaki Yoshiyuki, the younger brother of Maeda Toshiie, who was famous for the later Kaga Hyak.u.mangoku.

The meeting with this man would greatly affect my life.

Notes:

–    About “Kaga Hyak.u.mangoku”: Wikipedia link