July 13, 1568 (Eiroku 11), Omi Province.
A vast lake occupies much of that area—Lake Biwa.
It was well past 8 PM, and night had completely fallen.戌dog
However, the lakeshore was now brightly illuminated.
Countless torches and bonfires are lit.
"We must pray for the Lieutenant General's safety...!"
"If the Lieutenant General is lost here, Japan will be finished...!"
"Oh... Please return safely...!"
Under the light, the people of Omi gathered in unison, offering their prayers wholeheartedly to a single point.跪Kneel
The island they bow to is Chikubu Island, an island that has been believed to be inhabited by gods since ancient times.
And everyone already knows that the mizuna, the object of worship in the Biwa sect, sleeps there.
Alternatively, everyone recognized that I, the leader of the Biwa sect, was the only one who could quell that monster.
"Lord Nagamasa... please, please..."
"A world without you... I can't imagine it..."
Ichihime and Haruhime are also praying on the lakeshore for my safety as I head towards the water god.
And Chikubu Island, which the people of Omi were all gazing at, was covered by a dome of blue-silver plants created by the star willow.
As I approached Chikubu Island with my wives' prayers behind me, I was invited inside, just like last time.
Then, accompanied by the welcoming interface of the willow tree, we proceeded to the elevator leading underground.
Upon descending to the underground lake, the water god was wide awake and waiting for us.
It seems they had been eagerly awaiting this day.
"Even so, a year is a truly strange thing..."
After we finished exchanging greetings, the ancient monster said that.
"For us who live for eons, one year is just a short time ago. But for you, it may have been a long time filled with many events. Your face looks quite different, too."
"Yes, that might be the case."
Odd-colored eyes, one gold and one red.
I responded while gazing into the beautiful eyes of the Water God.
"Since having a child... I now have more people to protect."
"A child... Hmm, a child, huh..."
Shirogane continued in a voice like the tinkling of bells, as if deep in thought.蛟Mizuchi
"We too, long ago...when we were human, were probably capable of having children. But now, that too is an impossible dream. Our father—no, the ancients—were preoccupied with creating us as weapons. There was simply no room to implant a womb into this body."
"A uterus... to be implanted?"
"That's right. Nagamasa... the monsters you're talking about, as I've told you before, are nothing more than biological weapons modeled after the Outer Gods that flew in from elsewhere. And since they are biological weapons, they had to be mass-producible at a low cost. So the ancients... created a versatile and mass-producible womb that could produce offspring from the sperm of any partner."宙Sora
"..."
"That's what humans and monsters can do... but in any case, we didn't have the time or resources to implement it. That's why we had no choice but to live lazily like this, with time on our hands."
If we too could have children, we could form a group and live a life that wasn't too boring—that's what the water god says.
"But from now on, I won't need to live a lazy life. I can look forward to this day every year... After all, I now have you as a conversation partner..."
The giant dragon then stopped near the elevator and gazed at the interface of the Hagoromo Yanagi tree.
"And what are you doing here? Come over here; tonight we'll talk all night, just the two of you and me."
"I... I never intended to become... this kind of person..."
The water god let out a sigh of exasperation at the interface that was fidgeting with its bluish-silver body.
"There's no point in being stubborn. You're always like this...cowardly, always on the back foot, and in the end, you always end up regretting it...you should be a little more honest."
In response to the giant dragon's words, Hagoromo Yanagi muttered something under her breath and walked over to my side.
And then, she sat with her legs crossed. She hugged her folded legs with her arms, her face sullen.
He seemed to be saying that this situation was not of his own free will.
"We live for a long time, we continue to live. Along with that, regrets accumulate, and eventually threaten to crush our spirits. Therefore, it is best to live as honestly as possible, so as to avoid regrets."
"Be true to yourself so you don't have any regrets..."
I instinctively turned my face away from the silvery-blue breasts that were squashed between her legs.
And as he looked up at the water god, he repeated the words that this ancient survivor had spoken.
◆
In the end, the gathering on July 13th, which was spent with the water god, concluded without incident.
In the end, Hagoromo Yanagi didn't say much, and the Water God seemed less interested in talking himself and more interested in hearing about the world, even if it was just trivial things.
I spoke about various things, prompted by an unspoken pressure, but I remember that everything was about children.
My child had just been born.
It's about how adorable twin babies are when they're diligently drinking breast milk.
The hardship of being woken up by a crying baby in the middle of the night.
Recently, the nighttime crying has finally decreased, and the baby now cries for breast milk at regular intervals.
And in another six months, breastfeeding will be over.
When you're actually involved in raising children, you understand how difficult it is, and that's why you tend to become quite talkative about it.
Both the water god and the willow tree seemed interested in how to raise human children.
The giant dragon had asked the same question over and over again, and the feathered willow listened intently, though silently.
And just like that, dawn broke, and the time came for me to return to human society.
After promising to return on July 13th of next year, and with the water god emphasizing, "Come whenever you have free time," I boarded a ship approaching Chikubu Island and returned to Nagahama Castle.
Needless to say, the people of Omi, who were unaware of the situation, cried out in relief and joy, and his two wives, who had been worried, gave him a warm welcome.
Thus, as the leader of the Biwa sect, I once again demonstrated to the world that "negotiation with the Mizuchi is possible"—but this became the trigger for new military action.
Yes, this marks the beginning of Nobunaga's campaign to march on Kyoto.
My brother-in-law, who believed that the dragon would not cause any trouble until at least July 13th of next year, marched his army toward Kyoto at the end of September, supporting Ashikaga Yoshiaki, whom I personally dislike.
In response to this, an anti-Oda-Asai alliance rose up in the Kinai region and advanced toward Kyoto.
Thus, I too had no choice but to enter the Kinai region in order to cooperate with the Oda army.
He entrusted 5,000 soldiers to the three generals of Kaiseki and Ame, and led about 2,000 soldiers straight to Kyoto.
Little did I know that I was about to come face to face with the man I had hoped never to meet.