As the nation's nominal ruler, and an empress gradually gaining real power, Tomoko could not simply leave the palace for the sake of a commoner girl. Moreover, the daimyo hostile to the Ashikaga faction bore Tomoko no goodwill. They might well seize the opportunity to assassinate her, then adopt a young, easily controlled child from a collateral branch of the Emperor's family to consolidate their power. In short, another parting with Tomoko had become inevitable. Yet Tomoko and Han felt the same way: the bond between dear friends would not fade because their time together had been brief, but would only deepen with separation and time.
To rescue Kagome, Chiyo-no, once outside that room, she should be called-no, he should be called Kenshin. Kenshin would return to his territory to mobilize his troops. Although he would not immediately go to war with the Takeda House, he could exert a measure of military pressure on them. Afterward, Kenshin would personally travel to the Takeda House's territory, Kai Province, meet up with Han, and make Takeda Harunobu hand Kagome over.
This was the safest plan, and also the most cumbersome. Compared with simply breaking into the Takeda House's castles and searching them one by one, it would inevitably take more time. Yet, to keep relations between humans and monsters from deteriorating, and for the future of their coexistence, it was also the best plan available.
Mobilizing the troops would take the most time. To shorten that process as much as possible, Kenshin had a tremendous amount to do, especially since the Uesugi House, unlike the Takeda House in its mountainous domain, held less centralized authority over its territory.
Meanwhile, Han also had to return and identify the castle where Kagome was being held. She could only investigate quietly, rather than charge straight