She had only just traveled from the future to the Warring States period. Newly arrived, she had yet to grow accustomed to grand spectacles as she would later.
No matter how gifted Kagome was, she was no match for the endlessly calculating Akechi Mitsuhide.
And so, with a mixture of coaxing and bluffing, Akechi Mitsuhide got Kagome to tell him everything except that she came from the future.
The Shikon Jewel, Inuyasha, her being Kikyo's reincarnation.
She spilled practically every last detail about all of it.
"I see."
Closing his eyes in thought, Akechi Mitsuhide rapidly sorted the information Kagome had given him into categories.
Meanwhile, Hojo Akitoshi's trusted retainer had been hiding outside the tent, eavesdropping and catching every word Kagome said.
He was also writing furiously so he could immediately deliver the news to his waiting Lord.
"Um?"
Having said everything she needed to say, Kagome watched Akechi Mitsuhide, who seemed to be deep in a brainstorming session.
The girl asked cautiously.
"Where is Lord Hojo Akitoshi?"
Akechi Mitsuhide did not answer her immediately. He was still organizing his thoughts.
So that was how it was.
Opening his eyes, Akechi Mitsuhide stared at the girl as though he had discovered a rare commodity worth holding on to.
No wonder that monster had attacked the otherwise unremarkable Kaede's Village. No wonder, despite having an excellent opportunity,
it had abandoned Lord Hojo Akitoshi and insisted on targeting the girl before him instead.
For anyone pursuing individual power, whether she was the reincarnation of Kikyo from fifty years ago or possessed the Shikon Jewel, which could grant unknown powers,
this girl, Kagome, was immensely valuable.
Even setting aside the possibility of understanding how reincarnation worked, the Shikon Jewel alone...
Though it was somewhat disrespectful to Lord Hojo Akitoshi, the truth was that Kagome really was more important than him.
Then...
Delighted, Akechi Mitsuhide recalled the advice he had offered yesterday.
"Just barely."
Akechi Mitsuhide murmured the words without thinking.
"Just barely what?"
First he had barely acknowledged her while thinking about his own affairs, and now he was saying things that made absolutely no sense.
With a puzzled look, Kagome gazed curiously at Akechi Mitsuhide and asked.
"No, nothing."
Sheathing his sword, Akechi Mitsuhide raised a fist to his mouth and coughed softly, feeling slightly embarrassed by his slip of the tongue.
Still, a little embarrassment was better than telling Kagome that he wanted her to become Lord Hojo Akitoshi's concubine, wasn't it?
If Kagome were merely a shrine maiden with a little power, he could have told her outright.
After all, in this era, marrying Lord Hojo Akitoshi would have meant marrying far above her station.
She could forget about becoming his lawful wife. Even the position of concubine would be a tremendous honor.
But considering that the girl was also connected to reincarnation and the Shikon Jewel...
Akechi Mitsuhide stepped forward and gestured for the girl to follow.
Then his gaze swept almost imperceptibly over Kagome's reasonably shapely figure as she trailed closely behind him.
For my Lord's great undertaking, and for Hojo's ambition to bring the realm under its martial rule,
I must proceed slowly and carefully!
Meanwhile, as Akechi Mitsuhide deliberately took the long way around, leading Kagome through the Hojo Army's camp toward Hojo Akitoshi,
the trusted retainer who had been outside the tent had already delivered his record of the relevant information into Hojo Akitoshi's hands.
"Very well done. You may go."
Waving his retainer away to collect his reward, Hojo Akitoshi looked at the intelligence whose contents he already knew.
With this, Hojo Akitoshi would have an explanation to offer the samurai under his command.
Otherwise, in his pursuit of personal power, he would inevitably have to keep dealing with Kagome and her companions.
When that happened, his overly friendly treatment of Kagome, without any apparent justification in this era,
would greatly puzzle his samurai. What if they came to believe he was a man obsessed with women?
Or thought he was neglecting them, or was excessively afraid of powerful forces?
Even if Hojo Akitoshi himself was unafraid, too much unnecessary trouble was hardly a good thing.
"Identity, status, class."
"There really are a lot of unwritten rules in Japan's Warring States period."
"Samurai are hard to please, too. God knows why that fellow Oda Nobunaga would tear into Akechi Mitsuhide just because a banquet was poorly organized."
"Even if the Monkey was scheming behind it, would Akechi Mitsuhide really hold a grudge over that and pull an 'The enemy is at Honnoji'?"
Shaking his head, Hojo Akitoshi made a show of finishing the report before Kagome arrived.
Then he casually tossed it into the fire in front of him.
When Kagome arrived, what the girl saw was Hojo Akitoshi serving as a cook with a gentle expression on his face.
He was even smiling broadly as he dished out food to his Hatamoto Samurai, presenting a picture of perfect harmony between commander and men.
"Lord Hojo Akitoshi."
Hojo Akitoshi's behavior once again changed her impression of him. In the era Kagome came from,
some politicians would do similar things for voters during their election campaigns.
In fact, for Japanese people with infinitely flexible standards, as long as it won them votes,
certain parliamentary candidates who enjoyed an advantage in terms of gender would even do all manner of things that left the rest of the world staring.
Kagome really should not have fallen for Hojo Akitoshi's current act, but perhaps it was because of her first impression of him.
Perhaps it was because she was now in a different era.
Whatever the reason, as Kagome stared at Hojo Akitoshi mingling so easily with his samurai, her eyes actually grew moist.
"Our Lord has always been like this. That is why so many of Hojo's samurai regard him as both their ruler and their father."
"And he doesn't just treat his samurai this way. He is exceptionally kind to the people under his rule, too."
"In this Warring States period, only the people under our Lord's rule can eat two filling meals a day."
"On holidays, they even get a salted fish."
Akechi Mitsuhide seized the moment to embellish matters and raise Hojo Akitoshi's standing in Kagome's eyes.
"Yes."
Moved, she wiped away her tears. She had seen the villagers' everyday food in Kaede's Village.
Although Kagome did not know what things were like elsewhere, from the people of Kaede's Village,
and the smiles they still wore in their daily lives, she could tell.
At least in this era, life for the villagers of Kaede's Village was not particularly difficult.
"Lord Hojo Akitoshi, Lady Kagome wishes to see you."
Knowing that going too far could ruin things, Akechi Mitsuhide stopped elaborating once he saw that his objective had been achieved.
He brought the girl over to Hojo Akitoshi, then bowed and spoke.
"Oh, Mitsuhide. And Kagome, too."
"Come try the porridge I made."
Greeting the two with a smile, Hojo Akitoshi casually ladled out two bowls of porridge.
Then, after exchanging a few smiling words with the other cooks and samurai, Hojo Akitoshi picked up a bowl himself and moved aside with Kagome and Mitsuhide.
He sat on the ground, giving no indication whatsoever that he was the lord of a powerful domain.
Acting perfectly naturally, Hojo Akitoshi looked just like the samurai nearby as he gulped down his porridge and listened to Akechi Mitsuhide's report.
"So that's how it is."
After hearing his retainer's report, Hojo Akitoshi wiped his mouth and looked at Kagome.
Noticing his gaze, Kagome nervously hurried to put down her bowl, having drunk less than half of its contents.
"You are Kagome, not Kikyo."
That single affirmation from Hojo Akitoshi brought tears to Kagome's eyes.
Ever since coming to this Warring States period, leaving behind her familiar life and the family and friends she knew and loved,
Kagome had already been anxious about the unfamiliar world around her, yet Kaede and Inuyasha at her side were always talking about Kikyo.
Even the way they looked at her was filled with memories of Kikyo.
But who understood? Deep down, Kagome did not want to become Kikyo at all, much less serve as her replacement.
I am me. I am Higurashi Kagome!
Not the shrine maiden named Kikyo who guarded the Shikon Jewel!
"I'll take care of the Shikon Jewel fragments."
"There's no need to shoulder such a heavy burden. A girl your age should be looking for an ideal husband."
Before Kagome could finish being moved, Hojo Akitoshi said something else that fit this era.
Before you continue