Story:

From the veranda of the guest hall, three outsiders watched the busy bees swarming the courtyard.

"Danna-sama," Kicho said, low, under the noise.

"Should we still return to Kyoto? A proper reinforcement force—the Oda army, the western daimyo, the Tenno's banner—we could raise it. A teleportation back, days of marching there. Tell me your mind."

Nobunaga watched the mikos work, arms crossed, and answered without turning.

"Any meaningful countermeasure requires weeks to assemble—mobilization orders, musters, supply trains. The Tenno's banners alone would take three days to authorize properly. And by that time—"

His gaze lifted to the dark bulk of Fuji against the morning sky, "—the entire central region around this mountain is lost. Kicho, a reinforcement that arrives after the fortress falls is not reinforcement. It is a cleaning crew."

His fingers drummed once on his forearm. "No. We hold here. And beyond duty—there is opportunity: I will see with my own eyes, first hand, exactly how powerful this demonic army is. Its formation, its discipline, its general's habits."

"When the realm's war begins in earnest, I intend to be the one man in Yamato who has already read the enemy's book."

"We'll hold here," Violet corrected mildly, from his other side. "And let's not overact the doom, my loves—no demon army on this earth could hold the three of us in one place. If it goes badly, I can teleport us back anywhere, anytime, the moment it's needed. We are the one army in Yamato that cannot be encircled."

She smiled out at the mountain. "So we can afford to be brave. That's what the Butterfly Sisters are here is for."