Silver Princess

4. Trouble at Laxdo

Aki was reading a book on a tree outside Zen's office, Zen was reading on the windowsill and Mitsuhide was reading on the couch. It was a slightly cold afternoon, so Aki wore her cape over her red coat. The leaves of the tree rustled a little and Obi dropped down on the branch next to Aki.

"Master! Hime!" He announced his presence with a smile.

Aki looked up from her book, brushing off a leaf that fell onto it. Zen turned to look at him.

"Oh, it's just you, Obi?"

Obi laughed. "Your words sound so cold, Master."

"I'm not your master," said Zen, as he flipped the page of his book.

"And don't call me Hime." Aki muttered. Obi sat on the branch and leaned to ruffle Aki's hair, she swatted at his hands, frowning.

"Come on, aren't my reins in your hands now, Master? Hime?"

"No," the two of them replied instantly.

Mitsuhide leaned forward to look at Obi. "Don't use the trees to move around, Obi. The guards might arrest you."

"But I see Hime do it," Obi points at her. "She does it all the time."

"They're used to seeing me, not you."

"Anyways," Obi waved his hand dismissing the argument brewing. "I heard this just now; apparently, the messenger that you sent out to Fort Laxdo, the territory in your jurisdiction, didn't come back, Master."

Zen perked up, interested. He closed his book. "So we still haven't been able to get in touch with him...?"

"As I thought, something must have happened-" Mitsuhide was interrupted by a servant who came by to announce the news that Obi just delivered.

"I already know about it." Zen got up, heading out of the room. "Finally, I have some urgent business."

Aki followed him inside, grabbing her sword that was sitting on the couch. "I'm coming with you."

"No," Zen turned to her, a hand hovering in front of him to stop her. "It might be too dangerous."

Aki stared at him. "Come on, Nii-sama; you can't really stop me from joining you on a small business trip. If I'm going to have some land under my jurisdiction in a few months, might as well learn the ropes."

Zen stared at her for a few seconds before sighing. "I wonder when Masa is coming back."

Aki frowned. "Masaru isn't here, so you can't threaten me with his name."

Zen smiled a bit, shrugging. "It was worth a try."

Obi leaned over to Mitsuhide, his voice low. "If you think about the location of the fortress, it's not really a vital place, right? Why would Master go there himself?"

"There are soldiers who protect the area there," Mitsuhide answered. "He must be worried about them."

"Who's Masaru?"

Mitsuhide glanced at Obi, a small smile on his face. "You'll find out soon enough."

-

They passed by the pharmacy building and heard Garack speaking in a mysterious tone. Aki grinned; the Head Pharmacist was probably deciding where to gather supplies.

"North of Laxdo... this is a good place. I'll go ahead and dispatch people there right away."

"Chief," said Yatsufusa stoically, used to seeing his boss like this. "Please do not create holes on the map just to decide on the town where we will buy medicinal plants."