As they walked, they began seeing a few settlements that were built a few kilometres outside the capital. As they continued, the settlements became more clustered and carriages could now also be seen.
When they finally got closer to the city walls, they blended well with the people. With mercenaries wearing various attires, them covering up wasn't considered abnormal. Only Uehara's long hair drew a few glances but because the people assumed both of them were women, it was only natural they would cover up so much.
They passed the toll gate through an illusion technique Uehara used to cover the both of them. Walking through the familiar streets again, Uehara felt sick and promptly canceled the function of his nose. Compared to the outside, the outer district was packed to the brim with all kinds of people walking on the streets.
Fortunately, there was some semblance of order so traffic flow was smooth. They eventually reach the middle district where the Hiroshi household was. The traffic here was naturally lower as the prices and quality of goods increased.
After turning into the lane where the Hiroshi household was, the both of them were surprised to find that instead of the average two floor house, there was now an upgraded manor that took up the spaces of an entire section of houses. Standing at the gates were two heavily armed guards with naginatas and Uehara could feel they were martial artists based on their ki. High walls were surrounding the manor and soldiers could be seen manning them.
"Impressive."
Uehara commented with a neutral expression. Meanwhile, Chizuki had a slight smile on her face. She recognised all those soldiers. They were all the 'uncles' Sakura knew through Mangetsu.
[Is she creating her own faction? If she managed to get all of them under her wing, then she could effectively overthrow the Fujiwara clan.]
They walked over to the gate while Uehara maintained his illusion and before the guards could command them to stop, Chizuki decisively removed her hat, exposing her exquisite face framed by beautiful long black hair and majestic blue eyes. The men were stunned for a moment as they stared at her rosy lips.
"M-miss Chizuki?!"
"Yes, it's me."-[What was his name again?]
Chizuki simply gave a courtesy smile.
"Is Sakura in?"
"Haha, yes yes she's currently in today."
The man glanced down, a suggestive smile forming on his face.
"You must be hot Miss Chizuki. How about I hold your cloak for-"
"Thank you. We'll be visiting her first then."
"Oh…okay. Then we won't hinder you anymore Miss Chizuki."
Chizuki politely nodded and continued on her way while Uehara walked besides her with a confused expression on his face.
"Why did you not kill him?"
"We're in Sakura's residence. It won't do good for him to die so suddenly master."
Uehara caught the hint.
"Make it slow."
Chizuki smiled.
"I will master."
It was frightening how they casually talked about killing a man for attempting to sneak a peek at her body but Chizuki had long since gotten used to such conversations. She was not sure exactly when but she began understanding why her master despised humans so much and it amplified even more after she mastered her sage transformation. Even right then, it took all of her will to maintain a courteous smile when the guard on her left exuded such a strong stench of lust.
Hiding her thoughts behind a smile, they continued walking along the pathway to the main house. Soldiers and servants they met along the way greeted her with respect. Once they reached the door, a maid came out to greet her.
"Greetings Lady Chizuki. Mistress Hiroshi is waiting to receive you in the meeting room. Please kindly follow me."
Both of them entered the manor under the guide of the made and the both of them were surprised by how simplistic everything inside was. If it didn't have a practical purpose, there was no need for it.
Aside from a few simple aesthetics like a potted plant, there was nothing much.
[Good. I'd be disappointed if she had the time to focus on luxuries.]
Meanwhile, Chizuki secretly smiled.
[Did she get a man?]
After all, she knew Sakura for quite some time now and she was always fascinated by beautiful things. So for the interior to only be filled with so few aesthetics, it simply surprised her.
As the two were led across the hallway, they entered a small room where a beautiful woman with shoulder-length braided red hair and black eyes was calmly sitting on one of four chairs. She was wearing a simple long pearl-coloured dress and a necklace.
"I've brought in Lady Chizuki, Mistress Hiroshi."
"Good. You can leave."
The maid bowed before closing the door and leaving. Chizuki's mouth twitched a bit when she heard how beautiful and dignified her voice sounded.
[She definitely used chakra to make her voice sound enchanting!]
Looking at how she closed her eyes as she sipped the tea in front of her, Chizuki felt like going sage mode all over her.
"Black-sama, nee-san. Please sit."
As the both of them sat down, Chizuki felt like spitting blood.
[This definitely isn't Sakura! There's no way she can suddenly change from that free-spirited girl to this sort of dignified woman.]
Uehara stared at the tea in front of him as he removed his straw hat.
"Chizuki."
Chizuki shoved the thoughts that plagued her mind. She bit her finger and leaned over, letting her blood drip into the cup. Uehara's eyes glowed red as he smelled the delectable scent of her blood.
Chizuki felt proud seeing his reaction but Sakura on the other hand, frowned.
[This isn't going well.]
She erased the frown on her face and gave a smile.
"Thank you for coming back to visit me Black-sama. I trust you didn't meet any trouble?"
Uehara ignored her and drank the tea. His eyes dimmed down to a dark maroon. Faced with the awkward silence, Sakura brushed aside her braid.
"Nee-san. You didn't trouble master right?"
Chizuki ignored the question and laughed lightly as she subtly glanced at Uehara who kept drinking the tea with his eyes closed. Seeing how he held the cup with both hands and kept the cup close to his mouth, he ultimately came off as really cute. Also, with how the sleeves of his cloak were longer than his arms, it just added more the cuteness factor.
Even Sakura forgot the earlier question she had asked when faced with such cuteness.
[Black-sama got more handsome.]
Uehara was oblivious to the thoughts of the two women before him. Although he would be able to smell how they were feeling, his current focus was on the tea before him.
[Very good. Although not as good as Chizuki's.]
The atmosphere became silent, the only sounds being Uehara sipping his tea. Chizuki also chose to grab her tea and some cakes from the plate and ate in silence. Sakura continued to sit upright with a courteous smile on her face while her eyes were closed.
[Calm down Sakura. I have to be a dignified lady and act mature.]
Unfortunately, she couldn't completely hide her agitated chakra flow. While Chizuki didn't notice, Uehara finally finished his tea and put his cup down. After wiping his mouth with the sleeves of his cloak, he looked at Sakura with soulless black eyes.
"Sakura."
"Yes, Black-sama?"
Uehara stared directly into her eyes and repeated.
"Sakura."
Sakura maintained her posture and replied again.
"Yes…Black-sama?"
"What did I tell you about absolute power?"
Without missing a beat, she replied.
"In front of absolute power, all tricks are…"
She suddenly realised why Uehara asked her that question.
"Are? I want to hear it from your own mouth."
Sakura trembled slightly.
"In front of absolute power, all tricks are…useless."
Contrary to her expectations, Uehara wasn't angry.
"I'm confused. What were you hoping to gain by…acting this way?"
"I don't understa-"
Before she could finish her sentence, Uehara vanished in a swirl of darkness, leaving the two women alone.
Chizuki put down her tea and calmly looked at the tense Sakura.
"You almost died just now."