I Enslaved The Goddess Who Summoned Me

Nathan left the inn after securing Shigeru and his men for the journey ahead and made his way toward the entrance gates of Minami Kyoto.

On the way, he took a short detour to rent a horse. If they were heading to Death God Valley, he wanted as few delays as possible once everyone was assembled. By the time he reached the gates, the light had begun to soften, spilling a warm gold across the road, the walls, and the passing crowd. Traders were still shouting out their last offers for the day, carts creaked over the stones, and the smell of grilled meat and sweet batter drifted lazily through the evening air.

Nathan tied his horse near the outer post and looked around for Shiina.

She had said she would wait for him here once she was done. At first, he did not see her anywhere. He scanned the gate, the road beyond it, the gathering of travelers, the guards, the nearby stalls.

Then a voice rang out nearby, bright and delighted.

”So good!”

Nathan turned.

A few paces away, at a small street stall with smoke curling up from a flat iron grill, Shiina stood happily eating a skewer, looking completely at ease with herself. Her eyes were shining with satisfaction, and she seemed far more interested in her food than in the dangerous mission waiting ahead.

Nathan walked over to her, stopping beside the stall. ”Do you even understand where we are going?”

Shiina looked at him at once and brightened further. ”Oh, you are here. Here, eat this.”

Without hesitation, she held out the skewer in her hand toward him as if sharing food in the middle of a deadly operation were the most natural thing in the world. Then she turned back toward the stall. ”Granny, two more please.”

The elderly woman behind the stand chuckled as she worked. ”Right away, pretty girl.”

Nathan glanced down at the skewer Shiina had offered him. It was already half eaten.

He looked back at her.

Shiina only smiled wider. ”Eat. It is really good.”

There was no suspicion in her face, no hidden trick, no testing glint in her eyes. She simply wanted him to try it.

Nathan gave in and took a bite.

The flavor hit at once, rich and savory with a smoky sweetness underneath. The meat was tender, the glaze slightly crisp from the grill, and the seasoning stronger than he expected. It was, annoyingly enough, excellent.

Shiina watched his face with open triumph. ”See?”

Nathan said nothing at first and took another bite. Then he gave a short nod.

The old woman returned with two fresh skewers, and Shiina paid quickly, already taking another eager bite from one of them.

Nathan studied her for a moment before speaking again. ”You really do not care about what we are about to do, do you?”

”I do,” she replied with her mouth nearly full. After swallowing, she lifted the skewer a little as if it explained everything. ”But we need strength, and I was hungry.”

Nathan looked at her flatly. ”I am supposed to be your enemy. You do understand that.”

Shiina only shrugged, still unbothered. ”Right now we have a truce. That means we are companions for the moment.”

She said it so simply that Nathan almost laughed.

She was far too casual. Far too relaxed. A part of him had expected caution, distance, at least some instinctive restraint. Instead she was standing beside him at a food stall, sharing skewers and acting as though they had traveled together for years.

But then again, that probably said something about her confidence. Shiina did not seem like someone who smiled because she was naive. She smiled because she was sure of herself.

Nathan exhaled quietly and let the matter go. ”I hired a mercenary group to come with us.”

Shiina stopped chewing.

Then she stared at him as if he had just insulted her personally. ”What?”

”I hired extra hands.”

”Why?” she demanded at once. ”The two of us are enough.”

Nathan took another bite before answering. ”More people mean fewer distractions. They can deal with Mitsuhide’s men while we focus on what matters.”

Shiina looked deeply offended by the idea. ”We do not need help. The two of us would have been more than enough, Ryo.”

”I am not interested in testing that theory,” Nathan replied. ”I want this done quickly, and I want Genzo out alive if possible.”

Shiina’s expression shifted slightly at that. Some of the playful complaint faded from her face. ”That shinobi must matter to you.”

Nathan looked ahead toward the gate. ”In some ways.”

Then he turned back to her. ”The mercenaries do not know who I am. So do not call me Ryo around them. Call me Nathan.”

Shiina blinked. ”Nathan?”

Nathan frowned faintly. ”What?”

She tilted her head. ”It is just an unusual name around here. So I thought maybe it was your real one.”

His expression hardened just a little. ”It does not matter. Just call me Nathan.”

Shiina held his gaze for a second, then smiled and lifted one hand in surrender. ”All right. Nathan.”

There was no mockery in it this time. She simply accepted it.

Nathan finished the last of the skewer and handed the empty stick back to the stall. For a brief moment, neither of them spoke. Around them, the street moved on without pause. Merchants called out to passing customers. Someone laughed nearby. A child ran past carrying a paper charm, chased by an exhausted mother. The evening carried on like any other, while the two of them stood at its edge preparing to walk into a place people whispered about with fear.

Nathan broke the silence first.

”What exactly is your relationship with Norihiro?”

Shiina was still for a moment.

Then she took another small bite and chewed more slowly this time, her earlier lightness settling into something quieter. When she finally swallowed, the smile she gave him was different from the ones before. Smaller. Softer. Real.

”Norihiro sama saved my life when I was a child,” she said. ”He raised me after that.”

Nathan watched her carefully. ”So you feel you owe him.”

She nodded once.

That, at least, he understood.

A debt like that could shape a person for life. Gratitude could become loyalty, and loyalty could become a chain without the person even realizing it.

Shiina’s eyes shifted toward him again. ”I know Sakura sama too.”

Her voice had changed. It was still calm, but there was an edge in it now.

”She is a good person,” Shiina said. ”Do not hurt her.”

This time there was no playful warmth in her tone. It was a warning, quiet but unmistakable.

Nathan looked at her, then gave a faint smile, almost amused by the sudden steel beneath her usual cheerfulness.

”I have no intention of hurting Sakura,” he said. ”I do not go after innocent people. Unlike Norihiro.”

Shiina’s gaze sharpened at once. ”Norihiro sama does not hurt innocents.”

Nathan looked at her steadily. ”He gave Morosuke power. Morosuke slaughtered innocent people in Minato. That makes Norihiro responsible too.”

The words landed between them with enough force to strip away the last traces of ease.

For the first time since he had found her at the food stall, Shiina did not answer immediately.

She stood there with the skewer still in her hand, her expression unreadable now, caught somewhere between instinctive loyalty and a truth she did not want to examine too closely.

Nathan did not answer her silence.

He did not blame her for it. If Norihiro had truly saved her life and raised her, then loyalty to him was only natural. A bond like that was not something a few harsh words could tear apart. Even if she understood the truth, even if part of her already knew that Norihiro was far from a good man, it would not erase what he had once been to her.

Still, Nathan had needed to say it.

Shiina was not stupid. Beneath the smiles and the carefree way she carried herself, she saw more than she let on. She had to know there was hypocrisy in defending a man like Norihiro so easily. But knowing it and accepting it were two very different things.

After a few moments, she looked at him again and changed the subject. ”By the way, do you not think it is dangerous to leave Sakura alone?”

Nathan glanced at her. ”Why do you ask?”

Shiina took another bite from her skewer, then smiled faintly as she chewed. ”Because you are hiding her here, are you not? If we are gone, she could be found quickly.”

Nathan’s expression did not change. ”I would not be so sure.”

He had no real concern on that front. Hanzo was there, and he trusted her completely. Sakura and Akiko would be watched, protected, and kept out of sight. For all of Shiina’s probing, that was one point on which his confidence did not waver.

Shiina studied him for a second, then gave a small nod. ”I see. So you are not acting alone in this.”

Nathan looked ahead toward the gate. ”Did you think I would leave them locked away with no one to look after them?”

Shiina laughed softly. ”No, of course not. But someone you trust enough to leave with them must be strong.”

”It does not matter,” Nathan said.

Her smile widened a little, as if his refusal to answer only confirmed her suspicion.

Then her expression shifted again, becoming more serious. ”When this is over, you are going to release Sakura, right?”

Nathan turned to look at her properly this time. ”I am not sure releasing her would be the best thing for her.”

Shiina frowned. ”What is that supposed to mean?”

”From what I have seen, she is not safe at her father’s side.”

For the first time since they had met at the food stall, Shiina looked genuinely taken aback. ”That is ridiculous.”

Nathan’s voice turned colder. ”Is it? Norihiro sent Sakura to Sadamada’s son. The man nearly raped her, and her father did nothing. From what I saw, neither did you.”

The reaction was immediate.

”I care!” Shiina snapped, taking a sharp step toward him. Her grip tightened around the skewer in her hand, and for the first time her usual brightness was gone entirely. ”If it had been up to me, I would have cut his head off myself.”

Nathan did not move. ”But Norihiro stopped you.”

Shiina’s jaw tightened.

For a brief moment, anger flashed in her eyes, fierce and unguarded. Then she looked away, and that fire folded back into silence. She raised the skewer to her mouth again and bit into it, though now it was less from hunger than to stop herself from saying something she could not take back.

Nathan let the silence stand between them.

There was no point pressing further. He had already seen enough in her reaction. Whatever loyalty she held for Norihiro, it was not blind. Not completely.

So he said nothing more.

They remained there near the gate, surrounded by the fading noise of the street and the smell of food and dust and evening air, waiting until at last Shigeru and the others began to arrive.