Chapter 129: Promise: Resolution


    With Nobu demonstrating his ability to gather information pertaining to her deepest secrets, Nohime decided she may as well be direct, asking, "How did Danna learn about my knowledge rted to poisons? Does it have something to do with your Heavenly Treasure?"


    Since this conversation immediately followed the one he had with his father and grandfather, Nobu wasn''t surprised by the fact Nohime already knew about his Heavenly Treasure. After all, one of the central topics of their discussion had been elevating her to the status of a Mithril Lord. The only way to achieve this was by adding her as a friend, so, after a momentary pause, he nodded his head and answered, Yeah...about that..."


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    After exining the basics he had gone over half a dozen times in thest two days, Nobu waited for Nohime to process everything he had said before asking, "How would you feel abouting to live with me on the mountain? You''ll be able to improve much faster under the supervision of the Elders. Hell, you can even learn more about poisons."


    Had he asked her the same question earlier in the day, Nohime might have been offended by Nobu''s words. Kunoichis were looked down upon, despised, and, most importantly, universally feared across the Nianese Archipgo. The notion of living among them as if they were normal people waspletely asinine, but, without having to consider her response, Nohime promptly replied, "Danna is my husband. Unless you order me to stay behind, our paths are one and the same. Wherever you go, I shall follow."


    "Right..."


    Scratching the back of his head, Nobu resisted the urge to tell Nohime to cut it out with the overly polite, almost poetic speech. He would rather she just speak normally, but, understanding there was a very real chance this ''was'' her norm, he elected to change the subject, saying, "In the next three or four days, I''ll be able to add you to my Friends List. That''ll provide you with a limited version of my Heavenly Treasure. After that, we''ll be able to bump you up to the pinnacle of Silver before waiting a month or two to boost you to the peak of Gold. The end goal is to get you to the Realm of Mithril Lord before you apany me to Owari-Asai in the South. Understood...?"


    Though they had just finished discussing the basics of Nobu''s Heavenly Treasure, Nohime''s body tensed when she heard the timeline he hadid out. His words indicated that she would be able to achieve the pinnacle of Gold in less than three months. If she were to tell someone unfamiliar with his Heavenly Treasure that it was possible to go from the pinnacle of Iron to Gold in three months, they would have looked at her like she was crazy. After all, it was a literal 100x increase to the base she had spent thest ten years cultivating...


    Unable to contain herself, a rare smile developed across Nohime''s face as her body trembled from excitement. When she finally responded to Nobu''s question, her usually emotionless voice carried the undertones of thinly veiled emotions as she eagerly answered, "Understood...!"


    Not expecting Nohime to suddenly stare at him as if he was a piece of freshly grilled meat, a wry smile developed across Nobu''s face as he awkwardly looked around the room. Now that they had discussed themselves and their future ns, he really didn''t know what else to say. He wanted to go and search for Yui, but, if he interrupted their conversation to go and look for another woman, he was pretty sure Nohime would revert to the cold and calcting beauty she initially presented herself as.


    ("Damn...this is why I didn''t two-time back in my previous world. Handling more than one woman at a time is a fucking nightmare...")


    Noticing Nobu''s difort, Nohime''s smile gradually faded as she quickly deduced what he must be thinking about. Fortunately, the preceding conversation had left her in too good a mood to have it ruined by the reality of her situation. She had also been made aware of the fact that Nobu didn''t even know they were married until earlier in the day. Thus, rather than ming Nobu, she ced all the me on the women who had seduced him.


    Understanding that the best way to get back at the other girls was to make Nobu love and rely on her more than them, a calcting glimmer shed across Nohime''s eyes as she maintained a faint smile and proposed, "If it pleases Danna, might I suggest we return? I believe Lady Suzuki has been anticipating your arrival. When Ist spoke with her, that woman from the Yoshitsune n was also present. The four of us can share a meal together before discussing the finer details of our stay with the Yoshitsune n..."


    Not expecting Nohime to be the one to suggest they wrap things up, Nobu stared directly at the raven-haired woman as if trying to see through her. She managed to appear calm and poised on the surface, but, if anything, that only made him even more suspicious.


    "You hate Yui, don''t you...?"


    Tensing imperceptibly, the smile on Nohime''s face briefly froze before she invariably nodded her head and answered, "Indeed. It may be selfish of me, but, after arriving in the Oda n nearly ten years ago, I have always carried myself with the dignity expected of a future Daimyo''s wife. I have no intention of intervening in your rtionships with other women. However, even if you ask it of me, I cannot pretend I''m okay with what they''ve done. My pride has been irreversibly tarnished by those two interlopers. There maye a time when I''m able toe to terms with what they''ve done but I cannot imagine when or under what circumstances I might forgive them..."


    Havinge to the conclusion that it was best to be honest and straightforward when conversing with Nobu, Nohimeid everything out as clearly and concisely as possible.


    Surprised by the unadulterated frankness of Nohime''s response, Nobu found himself at a loss for words. There was even a bit of guilt building in the back of his mind, but,pared to the guilt he had been feeling after learning the circumstances of the Yoshitsune n, it was pretty small. After all, he hadn''t even known Nohime existed prior to this morning, and,pared to the experience others had been forced to endure, spending a decade in avish castle wasn''t particrly difficult.


    Resisting the urge to argue in Yui''s favor, Nobu decided to shelve the issue until Nohime had the opportunity to witness the lifestyle of a Kunoichi directly. It was nearly impossible to change the mind of another person withoutpelling evidence. Nohime''s behavior made it pretty clear she viewed Kunoichi in a simr manner as the rest of Nian. This made her a bit of a bigot, and, if there was anything Nobu''s previous life had taught him, the only thing that could change the mind of a bigot is themselves. He should know. He was quite the bigot himself...


    Shaking that thought from his mind, Nobu surprised Nohime quite a bit by patting hisp and saying, "Come over and take a seat."


    Opening her mouth, Nohime wanted to say something, but, no matter how fast the gears of her mind turned, Nobu''s words hadpletely derailed her train of thought. Intimacy, even in private, wasn''t particrlymon among the Nianese people. In the regions surrounding temples, it was even frowned upon, so, for several seconds, Nohime found herself unable to speak, much less act.


    Rolling his eyes, Nobu added, "I''m not going to do anything. Besides, we''re husband and wife. My way of doing things is alsopletely different from the way normal Nianese people do things. If you''re serious about walking the same path as me, you''ll need to get used to things like this. I don''t mean to sound like a maniptive asshole but there are at least a dozen or so women who would happily sit in myp. Yui included..."


    Since Nohime decided to be open and honest with him, Nobu figured he ought to do the same. He had no interest in changing at the present moment, and, if his suspicions about the world basically be an adult game were urate, there was a very high probability he would be sleeping with other women in the near and distant future. If Nohime became withdrawn and resentful as a result of his rtionships with other women, their rtionship would quickly be a powder keg...


    Imagining Yui sitting in Nobu''sp and being intimate with him, a look of disgust briefly shed across Nohime''s face. In spite of this, she rose to her feet before approaching Nobu and taking a seat in hisp. Her restrictive kimono made this both awkward and ufortable, but, just as she was thinking of adjusting her position, Nohime''s body tensed as Nobu wrapped his arms around her as support.


    Though it was a bit scummy of him, one of the techniques Nobu had picked up in his previous life was talking to pouty and distant women when they were trapped in his embrace. It was surprisingly difficult to remain upset when someone held you tenderly and whispered sweet nothings into your ear, so, after waiting for Nohime''s to settle down, he adopted aforting tone and said, "I''m not going to lie or try to convince you I''m a good person. I''m a greedy and selfish person at heart. Hell, I''m literally nning to take over so I can unfuck a few of the things I hate about Nianese society..."


    Grasping one of Nohime''s hands, Nobu used his other hand to draw her closer as he added, "I can''t be the husband you want me to be. Things might have been different if we met as children but that ship sailed long ago. Now, the only thing I can do is make all of your other hopes and dreamse true. You''re free to hate, resent, and even loathe me. Just don''t take it out on the others. I''m literally willing to shed blood, sweat, and tears for you. However, if you harm the people I care about, don''t expect any mercy..."


    Feeling Nohime tense within his arms, Nobu added to her confusion by nting a kiss atop her head and hugging her as tenderly as he could manage. Then, for the better part of ten minutes, they just stayed like that until the tensions in her body slowly faded away. Near the end, she even rested her head against his chest, so, seizing the opportunity, Nobu said the words he had been holding back since the start, "I''m sorry I wasn''t here for you when you needed me most...I let you down. I let all of you down. Now, even if you despise me, I''m willing to spend the rest of my life paying for that mistake...of that, you can be certain..."


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    While Nobu was in the middle of his confessional, a certain golden-haired Goddess was keeping a close eye on his exploits. This was none other than Imina, and, if any of the other Gods caught her doing such a thing, they wouldn''t even be able to put their shock into words. After all, she was one of the most notorious Gods in regards to her disinterest in the mundane lives of humans. It was one of the main reasons the God of the Path had ced her in charge. They believed she would be able to perform her duties with an objective mentality, and, for the better part of three-hundred-million years, Imina had done exactly that.


    Unfortunately, thanks to the carelessness of a few Gods, Imina''s job had gotten significantly more difficult. A few of the more powerful members of the Godly Pantheon had decided to ''spice things up'' by granting power to a few promising mortals. This quickly became a trend in the Divine Realm, and, as a result of the rampant increase in people wishing to be reincarnated into different worlds, Imina''s workload had increased by several orders of magnitude. To make matters even worse, there were even a number of delusional individuals who thought they could im her as their prize prior to reincarnating.


    After a while, Imina simply got tired of dealing with the people appearing at her desk, so, rather than handle everything herself, she petitioned the God of the Path to create a system to expedite the process. This made her job a lot easier, as, rather than listening to the demands of increasingly arrogant fools, she simply needed to look over their file and check off a few boxes while the system handled the rest. This led to a marked increase in the number ofints made against her, but, as most of these came from idiots who attempted to usurp the Gods using the various ''cheats'' they had received, she was never chastised for her behavior.


    Until recently...


    Shortly after sending Nobu on his way, Imina received a personal visit from the God of the Path, her father. He had noticed her mistake even as she was making it, but, instead of stepping in to prevent it, he allowed Nobu''s reincarnation to be processed in the hopes of teaching her a lesson. Now, she had to make sure things worked out for him without directly interfering with his life. This was easier said than done as her father had only given her permission to use her Divine Power three times.


    Under normal circumstances, Imina wouldn''t be concerned with making a simple mistake. The life of a single human, at least from the perspective of most Gods, was utterly meaningless. Their only purpose was to serve as a point of reference for events that transpired in much higher nes. Her father was also the biggest softie in all of creation, so, even if her actions resulted in the destruction of entire metaversal constructs, Imina knew he wouldn''t be too angry with her.


    What Imina had never expected was for her father to disbar her from receiving his affection until she had remedied her mistake. Nobu''s life might bepletely meaningless as a human, but, with the passage of time, the Soul within his body would eventually mature into a God. The experiences it umted across its reincarnations would affect their penultimate nature and temperament, so, taking advantage of the fact he existed at all points in time, the God of the Path showed Imina what Nobu would eventually be. To make matters even worse, he showed her the fate that awaited her if she continued down her current path of indifference...


    Though the prophecy frightened her, it was the threat of having their routine father-daughter time cut short thatpelled Imina to ''fix'' Nobu''s life. After all, her father would never allow anything bad to happen to her, so, even if Nobu''s Soul eventually matured into a God of Vengeance, there was nothing he could do against the God of the Path. Thus, rather than fret over a future that was constantly changing, Imina focused on fixing Nobu''s life so she could receive headpats from her Papa...


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    (A/N: Is this a motherf**king Jo-I mean, EPIC reference...!? Also, this chapter is a long boi.)