Thank you all for the support, I will be updating this story whenever I can... Even though it probably won't be that often. To tell you the truth, What was 'Chapter 1' of this story, was actually all I had written until the point it was published. I was unsure at first whether to publish this or not, but as you could probably see from that chapter, it was becoming long (at least from my point of view anyway) , so I decided to publish that chapter as it was.
So yea, I'm sorry that this chapter happens to be shorter than the other one (~4800 words, compared to ~7000 of the previous chapter) , but I'll keep on writing.
On another note, besides Nobunaga, I imagined another known character to get into Halkeginia for some reason or another... and that's GLaDOS. However, that story got stuck somewhere, and I'm not going to publish half-work, even if that one is going to be a one-shot probably.
I will be replying to reviews here from now on:
Kaioo: Yes, but it won't be wise to show it this early, don't you think so? But yea, there will be musou mode. I imagine it being kinda like the Samurai Warriors 3 opening with Yukimura.
Guest: Believe me, I WILL make a fight with Count Mott... that, and Nobunaga spares a lot of asses... but gains something else in return. You'll see. Also, while making Count Mott a foot soldier under Guiche is certainly funny (I smiled just seeing that part of the review for the first time) , Count Mott is at least a bit more powerful than Guiche, making him more fit for an officer role.
"So, this is what you desire...?" Said Nobunaga, to Louise. It was the afternoon, and that day, after the duel with Guiche, everyone, including Louise, knew to at least give some amount of respect to Nobunaga. "Yes, don't make me repeat myself. Even if you were strong enough to beat Guiche in that stupid duel of yours, you're still my familiar. And becuse you're my familiar, I want you to stay close to me." Louise repeated herself anyway.
"If you want to become strong, you could very well do it by yourself." Nobunaga figured that Louise said it not because she just wanted to chain him to her and that's it... but she wanted to have power. It was a very common thing in Nobunaga's world, as almost all of the feudal lords in his land, small as they might be, aimed for the whole land, just like himself. The aim for power, the ambition, was limitless in his world.
"S-Shut up, Fa-... Nobunaga! How can you say I could become strong by myself?!" She was about to say 'Familiar', and Nobunaga noticed that, and how she backed away from it. The question Nobunaga was interested in, however, was how she was taking his words? Was she taking them seriously, or was she throwing them away? The answer to that, could be found only within Louise, as her reaction didn't say anything.
"Besides the ability to use magic, there are other ways to guage how strong a human is. With enough training, you could become enough of a warrior to defeat any sorcery without having to break a sweat." Nobunaga answered Louise. "But aristocrats are guaged by how well they can use magic! For an aristocrat magician to use a sword because of inability to even use magic would be just laughable! Besides, anything I try ends up in explosions..." Louise tried to push her reasoning through, a bit embarassed towards the end. "Victory comes to who laughs last, Louise. They could laugh at your abilities, but they will fall. Besides, the ability to cause explosions is an ability by itself." Responded Nobunaga, a bit of a smile forming on his face.
"W-What are you saying...?" At that point Louise wanted Nobunaga to be clear with his words. "I'm saying that you should have a weapon on you beside your magic, and improve both, so you'll never feel like, or look like a failure again. I'm going to make you 'The greatest in the land ((Tenka Musou))' under the training of none other than Oda Nobunaga." Louise wanted Nobunaga to say things clearly, and oh boy did he deliver... in third person.
Louise couldn't just pass up this opportunity, to rise from her status as a zero, and a shame for the Valliere family name. She hesitated a bit, but she nodded, agreeing to the plan devised by Nobunaga. "F-Fine. But we'll have to wait until Voidday to go to the capital. I'm still a student, you know." Said Louise, Nobunaga chuckling to himself, followed by 'Is that so?'.
It was just a thought, but Nobunaga thought of the possibility of using their upcoming trip to the capital to gather information about that princess, and about any alleys and shortcuts in there. That mindset formed well within Nobunaga, as expected from a warrior from the era of chaos.
That evening (After dinner, in which even Colbert, whom Nobunaga thought to have power exceeding his own, didn't lay a finger on him for some reason), while Nobunaga still agreed to do Louise's laundry, he had to admit that he did like the feeling of... freedom, as he was walking through the academy grounds in the evening; That feeling that no one would disturb him.
As Nobunaga was nearing the fountain, he saw a familiar face in the distance. As he came closer, he noticed that it was the same maid he met the other evening. "What a coincidence, meeting you here out of all places, and now out of all times... Siesta." Nobunaga called to the maid in a rather unique way.
Again, it was just a passing thought in Nobunaga's mind, but he thought about the possibility that the maid actually wanted him to meet her there on purpose. That thought came to him because he noticed that the maid didn't show any signs of fright, or at least surprise, when she turned to see him... with the laundry.
"Oh, mister Nobunaga. Actually... someone wanted me to tell you how they admire your courage to rise against the aristocrats-" "I do not deserve admiration for *that* reason. Back in the chaotic times, Oda Nobunaga was too, an aristocrat." Siesta started to say, however she was cut by Nobunaga... who still referred to himself in third person.
"No really, I mean it, it really feels like you're a person we can trust." Siesta smiled, not letting Nobunaga say otherwise that time. Even Nobunaga himself didn't know why, but he felt the same way about Siesta - that she was a person he could trust... about the only one he could say that about at that time.
"Is that so...? I thank you for the compliment... together with the ones who sent you here." Nobunaga nodded, a little smile forming on his face. "Actually, they wanted to see you too, as you see, they only heard the rumors about you, and didn't actually get to meet you. I think they've even become your fans by now." Said Siesta, giggling at the last part, even though it was partly true.
When the conqueror and the maid reached their destination, Nobunaga was in for a surprise. "Everyone! I brought him!" Shouted Siesta, everyone in the kitchen room turned towards the two almost immediately... probably readying themselves to face the 'scary plebeian familiar' who beat Guiche, a magician aristocrat, without using any magic himself.
"Ooh, so you are the infamous familiar...? You look less scary than I thought you would be, but I can't blame those aristocrats either." Said who appeared to be the head chef, who afterwards stepped closer to Nobunaga. Siesta could somehow guess what was coming from Nobunaga. "I'd rather not be called by that useless, worthless nickname. My name is Nobunaga; Oda Nobunaga." Nobunaga introduced himself to the staff, even though he could imagine to himself that whoever spread the rumor about the 'scary plebeian' also included the name of said certain scary plebeian in there.
"Nobunaga, huh... Anyway, welcome aboard, Our Sword!" The head chef proceeded to stick another nickname from who-knows-where, to Nobunaga. " 'Our Sword'...? " Nobunaga questioned. "That's right! You're unable to use magic, a plebeian, yet you beat that aristocrat brat like it was a walk in the park! You're the pride of us plebeians, Our Sword!" The head chef responded, making Nobunaga smile a bit. "Nobunaga is not a sword, but a man, just like anyone else." Was Nobunaga's response. "Did you hear that? A true master never boasts of his own skill!" The head chef shouted towards his assistants in the kitchen, who were behind him.
"I'll be counting on you from now on, then. Just as you could count on me." Nobunaga turned around to leave, surprisingly quickly it was. Except for the fact that he didn't want the conversation to drift towards his past, he had another small problem he wanted taken care of that evening, so he couldn't waste that much time with the kitchen staff, no matter how much they adored him.
After the meeting with Siesta and the kitchen staff, Nobunaga went towards Louise's room, to put the laundry in place. However, something blocked his path... It was the same Salamander he happened to 'meet'. However, that time, it was strangely all alone, just standing in the way a bit further down the hall, while the time Nobunaga first came across it, it was with its master, that redhead who didn't even introduce herself.
Suddenly, the Salamander dashed quickly towards Nobunaga, trying to tackle the demon king. Sure, it was quite fast for an animal crawling that low on the ground, but not fast enough to surprise Nobunaga. Without drawing his sword, when the Salamander jumped to tackle Nobunaga, he pointed his left hand forward, some unknown force knocking the Salamander back away from Nobunaga, the Salamander landing on its back. Nobunaga wasn't exactly sure what the Salamander was more- surprised, or frightened, but when it finally returned its legs to the ground, it returned to one of the rooms, persumably its master's.
After that roadblock was dealt with, having put Louise's washed clothes on the table at the center of her room... so she couldn't miss it, Nobunaga went to the other matter he thought to be important at that time. Having asked about the location from Siesta, the demon king went towards the room of his latest retainer, Guiche, being quite sure that the later was still awake at that time.
"It is me, Guiche." Said Nobunaga, in a firm, serious voice. He was quite sure that Guiche was quite surprised at the other side of the door. "C-Coming!" Shouted Guiche, for Nobunaga to hear from the other side, rushing to the door. "Y-Yes, m-my lord?" Said Guiche Guiche was still dressed in his school uniform... which was fortunate for him, as he wouldn't want his 'lord' to see him in pajamas.
"There is a little issue I must speak with you about..." Nobunaga started talking after he went into his retainer's room... Guiche giving him a look of 'What did -I- do?' . Nobunaga then glanced for a split second at the bed in the room. As it was fit for the aristocrats studying in the academy to sleep in, it had more than enough space for Guiche, Nobunaga, and the later's armor all in line, and still have extra space left. "Do not worry, I'm not going to harm you." Nobunaga said, in a way which stated 'unless you betray me'.
"It's just, you see, the little problem that Louise, my master, thought she would be summoning an animal-like familiar, and not me, Oda Nobunaga. That being said, the only place which isn't her bed and is intended to sleep on, is a small pile of hay... and you know, I do NOT like myself sleeping there on the hay." Nobunaga explained, Guiche catching on pretty quickly. "... So, do you want to use my bed, m-my lord...?" Said Guiche, Nobunaga replying with 'Indeed. Do not worry, you won't even notice I'm there.' .
And with that, the quite long evening came to an end.
That night, the same visionary dreams had returned, that time, it was another dream, which showed to Nobunaga, rather than Louise. Nobunaga didn't know to put his finger on the source of these dreams, but it was made clear that they were more than just dreams.
In that dream, a man in gold/yellow armor and helmet which looked like the sun with its many rays of light was standing before 2 columns of people, one to his right and one to his left, all seemed to be his retainers.
"The time is now! Lord Nobunaga would demand blood, so blood we will spill! We'll have Akechi Mitsuhide pay! Then we'll create a world where everyone can be happy!" The leader said, the woman to his right nodding with a smile. Louise didn't know it, but she was the man's wife. And that Nobunaga gave the man the nickname 'monkey' when he was still in his world.
After that, the dream became an image of a full-scale war. Between the many fighting soldiers, the image of a mountain with cannons firing from it could be seen. "So, mount Tennoh was taken from us... For the sake of the future, I cannot surrender! Doing so will only dishonor the man I overcame!" Said Mitsuhide from what seemed to be his main encampment. "Mitsuhide! What you're doing is only destroying the future! I'm going to create a world where everyone can be happy! AND YOU'RE NOT DESTROYING IT!" Hideyoshi responding from his own main camp.
After that, the dream came to an end.
As Nobunaga woke up, the image of the man did not fade from his mind in the slightest. Even when putting his pieces of armor back on, that dream did not fade. "Mitsuhide... Hideyoshi..." Muttered Nobunaga, almost waking up Guiche before he went out of the room.
Toyotomi Hideyoshi (The other names he had were 'Kinoshita Tokichiro', and 'Hashiba Hideyoshi', in order, before that name, and that is excluding his childhood name even)... that man, as far as Nobunaga remembered from his own not-so-distant past, was too, one of his retainers.
Originaly a peasent, or a plebeian as Nobunaga's current world would describe what Hideyoshi was, he joined the Oda as a lowly soldier, and began to rise in the ranks. By the time of the incident at Honnouji, Hideyoshi was one of Nobunaga's trusted retainers, and was leading a campaign to the west.
From the dream, it seemed like after Nobunaga supposedly 'died' (leaving no corpse or anything like that behind for *some reason*) , Mitsuhide was seen as a traitor, and Hideyoshi was off to take the traitor's head. From the name of Mount Tennoh, he could guess the battle took place at Yamazaki.
Honestly, it was not an unthinkable thing to do to a traitor. Moreover, Nobunaga imagined to himself that it was also not unthinkable to kill a traitor in the world he was currently in either. But a surprise waited for him when he opened the door to Louise's room.
Despite still being in her nightgown, she was already up from bed, like Nobunaga. "Nobunaga! Where have you been?! I thought told you to be on my side!" Louise said loudly, not taking into account that it was early morning. "I was sleeping, like any human would at night. And sleeping with you, or on your pile of hay wouldn't do at all." Nobunaga responded, straight to the point, Louise having nothing in response to that.
"Well, now that I'm here... Did you sleep well tonight? Unless it's Voidday, you have classes today, don't you?" Asked Nobunaga. From the silence Louise replied with, he had a weird feeling that she too had a dream like he had. "Actually, I had another one of those dreams... can you make something of it...?" And Louise confirmed it.
After Louise explained her dream to Nobunaga, it turned out to be the same one Nobunaga had. Nobunaga didn't fully explain about Hideyoshi, nor about that man's wife, but he did tell her about the fact that he saw the same dream too. "...Well, as far as I know, if Hideyoshi and Mitsuhide declared Oda Nobunaga dead, it means that it's not a vision of the past, but the future, of my world." Nobunaga concluded.
"B-But why am -I- seeing them too?" Louise raised the question. "If anything, it must be those 'familiar bonds' you so depend on. Sorcery, or as you call it, 'Magic', is not to be underestimated." Was Nobunaga's answer. It only served to confuse Louise even more, but for Nobunaga it was enough of an answer. 'A battle between Hideyoshi and the Akechi at Yamazaki... ... Is that so.' Nobunaga thought to himself.
Sometime later, after breakfast, Nobunaga followed Louise to her classes, per... order from Louise he didn't clearly understand why it was necessary. Nobunaga didn't use the magic system of Halkeginia, and didn't plan on doing so in the near future... unlike most of the students in the academy, Louise being the exception, at least from Nobunaga's point of view, because she wasn't even able to use said system of magic.
Nobunaga did listen to the teachers' lectures even though they had no meaning to him, and actually not even to Louise, his master. If he was already in this strange world, learning its form of magic was as good as gaining general knowledge at the least.
After Louise's school day ended, Nobunaga learning a lot about the system of magic in Halkeginia by the end of the day, Louise and Nobunaga happened to come across someone who seemed suspicious to Nobunaga, walking towards the gates of the academy, with some kind of document in his hand. That man seemed pleased about something, which Nobunaga didn't know about, but had a feeling it might concern him sometime in the near future.
"Who was that man just now?" Asked Nobunaga, after the man passed them. "Ah, that was count Mott if I'm not mistaken. He owns a mansion not that far from here, and he mostly acts as a messenger from the royal palace when he comes here." Answered Louise. Louise's answer only deepened the feeling of suspicion Nobunaga had on the man. 'Count Mott... I'll remember his name.' Nobunaga thought to himself.
Some time later, when the two were in sight of the tower where Louise's room was, Nobunaga saw a group of four male students at the entrance to the tower they were going towards. "What are you three doing here? Move aside, you're blocking the way." Said Louise, trying to convince them to move. Nobunaga chuckled to himself, Louise not understanding what's going on.
"Those four seem to bear some... hostility, towards us, for some reason. Won't you explain to us what this is all about?" Said Nobunaga, stepping a few steps back as a precaution. "W-What are you saying, Nobunaga? He's wrong, isn't he?" Louise asked, turning towards the four students for the second question. "No... he's right. We're here to make you apologize, you damn familiar!" Declared one of the four students.
"Not only did you hurt Guiche, making him your... servant, you now dare to hurt Kirche...! Apologize right now!" The same one continued, pointing his wand at Nobunaga. "Wha..? Is this true?" Louise asked Nobunaga, not wanting to believe that he may get into trouble again because of his 'foolishness', as she put it. Nobunaga chuckled, everyone around him not knowing what to even make of those chuckles of his.
"I simply do not know what are you talking about. Do you care explaining a bit further...?" Said Nobunaga, putting his hands on his waist as a sign of being a bit tired of the conspiracies and rumors about him. Then again, he had the nickname of the 'Sixth Heaven Demon King' back in his old world, and he actually liked it. Another note would be, that at that point, Nobunaga didn't even know who IS that 'Kirche' those four were talking about, as that 'Kirche' didn't even introduce herself to him at all. Sure, it may have been someone he knew from appearance, but he didn't knew her by name.
Despite his persumable lack of patience, his facial expression was showing the exact opposite. He had a little smug on his face. It was like he was waiting for the next 'war', to vent his anger and show his superiority, to make it -clear- that time, that who dares messing with him, won't get away that easily.
"Kirche told us how cruel you were to her familiar. I don't know how... freaky, your world is, but in this world, hurting an aristocrat's familiar equals hurting the aristocrat itself!" Another one of the four continued with the explanation... only to be cut off by another one of Nobunaga's strange habits... the evil-laughing fits. "... Is that so? Well, unfortunately for you, there's no real reason why Nobunaga should apologize to the likes of you." Said Nobunaga after his evil-laugh was over, finally recognizing who that 'Kirche' was... and Nobunaga knew her indeed only by her appearance, until that time.
"W-What did you say just now?!" Said another of the boys, drawing his wand at Nobunaga. "Sticks, stop this right now! Where is Kirche right now? We have to go and talk to her!" Louise asked the one who drew his wand first, apparently named Sticks. "Why, she's in her room, of course." Answered one of them. "More importantly, Nobunaga!-No, Familiar of Zero! Today shall be the day you die for your insolence!" Said Sticks, starting to chant a spell.
"Is that so...?" Was the only response they got from the demon king, who drew his blade. 'So, the enemy commander is currently at that room the flame lizard ran away towards that time. If I want to win this battle without any meaningless deaths, I'd have to talk to that 'Kirche' first, and convince her to surrender. I don't believe that would be too difficult, as I just have to MAKE her surrender, but the problem lies in getting to her room without killing those four 'officers' she recruited, and without little Louise here falling behind in the process... Lets see how this plan goes.' Was Nobunaga's line of thought, devising a plan surprisingly quickly.
"Louise, you stay here. When I give you the sign, make an explosion close to them. We'll go right through them." Nobunaga made his orders, noticing something crucial in that mini-battlefield. Quickly dodging what seemed to be a fire bullet of some sort, Nobunaga dashed straight towards the four, swinging his sword in a wide arc. "W-What did you do? I didn't feel a thing!" Said one of the boys. 'No way...! Did Nobunaga... miss?!' Thought Louise, however only for a moment, as the next moment revealed to everyone what Nobunaga's goal was. All the four students' wands were already drawn, and what Nobunaga's slash did... was cut all their wands down, in a single strike.
"Without your wands, you're all as good as commoners, or as you say... 'worthless plebeians'. Come, Louise." Said Nobunaga, the four students getting away from the reach of Nobunaga's blade, Louise following Nobunaga into the tower. "Don't think that you won already!" However, as Nobunaga thought that his plan to make Louise do an explosion was useless, the enemy behind him drew wands they had in reserve, in case something like that happened.
"Louise, NOW!" Nobunaga gave the sign to Louise, who did just as she was told. "Now RUN!" Nobunaga ordered, Louise finally noticing the effects of her explosion. It acted not only as a means of attacking her opponents, but that time it also acted as a smoke screen, securing an escape route, straight towards the 'enemy commander', Kirche. 'How could Nobunaga think of such a plan in such a short time...? T-That makes him nothing less of a strategic genius...!' Louise thought to herself, barely keeping up with Nobunaga's speed of running in the stairs leading upwards.
'As swift as the wind... As silent as the forest... As fierce as fire... As unshakeable as the mountain... Fuu-Rin-Ka-Zan.' Those words found their way to Nobunaga's thoughts, remembering one of the thorns in his sides at the chaotic times - Takeda Shingen... and then Nobunaga was using that exact tactic. Reaching the door to Kirche's room... Nobunaga busting the door open with force, Nobunaga and Louise stood before the preperator of the whole mess they were in that time - Kirche. She was still in her school uniform, but it looked like she was waiting for them to arrive, her familiar being right beside her. "Oh, Louise, and Odanobunaga. What brings you here?" Kirche tried to act innocent. "Only the students you sent after me. Now, I'll have you surrender... It is definitely not Nobunaga's fate to die because of a trifle like this." Said Nobunaga, pointing his sword at Kirche. Kirche then looked a bit puzzled.
"Eh...? What are you talking about...? I didn't send my classmates to -kill- you, not anything like that... I just... told them to tell you that I wanted to have a talk with you about what my familiar told me, and...-" Kirche started to make excuses, or that was what it seemed like, anyway. Even Nobunaga wasn't sure himself what to make of those words Kirche was saying. "Kirche, more importantly, stop this madness now, before it evolves further...!" Interrupted Louise, Louise being interrupted herself by Nobunaga raising his hand in front of her. "Oh...? Now what did your familiar here say to you...?" Said Nobunaga, interested in whatever reason Kirche had to start this battle.
"Even I thought it was strange, but Flame said that when he tried to tackle you, he felt a strong force pushing him away from you, something that isn't normally possible, so he thought you were the one who did it. It's true, I didn't want to kill you, I surrender...!" Kirche told her story behind the incident, Nobunaga puting his sword away only when he heard that Kirche officially surrender. "Oh, that... That was my work, indeed. However... don't you find it strange to send your familiar to tackle people in the hall?" Responded Nobunaga, Kirche tensing up a bit.
"Are you alright, Kirche?!" Suddenly, the group of four rushed into the room. "Oh... I forgot about you idiots. Kirche already surrendered, there's no reason for you to fight anymore." Said Nobunaga. "Geez, Sticks and Manica and Ajax and Gimly, you're all so irresponsible...! I only told you to tell him to come and see me, and you go and make such a mess...!" Said Kirche, dodging Nobunaga's earlier question about the reason for which she sent her familiar at him in the first place. "Well, you all. Going against Nobunaga isn't without its consequences. You shall all be my retainers from now on. When I call you to battle, I expect you to put your lives on the line." Said Nobunaga, surprising everyone in the room.
It seemed like he wasn't going to stop at making Guiche his retainer, but anyone who loses to him in battle was to be his plaything. "W-Why do you think we'll accept that condition? We don't even know you! We won't risk our lives for the likes of you!" Said... Sticks, if Nobunaga remembered correctly. "Is that so...? You could see my might back then. You know what would happen to dare to raise a sword, or a wand in your case, at Nobunaga...? Servitude or death. It's just, that, simple." Said Nobunaga in all seriousness, releasing some of his aura. None could stand in the demon king's way and get away with it. It was indeed just, that, simple.
And so, the great Oda army resurrection plan of Nobunaga advanced one step further. That plan was one Nobunaga made up as he thought how he could benefit by the fact that Guiche was his retainer. Even Nobunaga was surprised by the rate of how fast that plan was moving along. He has been in Halkeginia for only mere three days and two nights, and he already had five 'officers' under his control, six if Louise was counted, because Kirche just had a misunderstanding with the demon king, so he didn't force her to serve him, even if she would be some nice addition to the 'resurrected army'. 'Even the late Takeda Shingen would be at least mildly impressed.' Was Nobunaga's thought.