Act Two: The Audience, Part One

Oh my, the door just locked itself behind us.

Looks like they have no intention of letting us leave. Fine by me! Let's keep on moving then!

？！

Please don't call attention to that. I'm trying my hardest not to think about it.

Of course it's against the rules for men to enter the Ooku, but those are bound to change with the times.

Besides, there are clearly more important things to worry about right now.

In fact, now that I really think about it...!

This hallway is just like the Osuzurouka we were just in! The sliding doors, the walls, the ceiling, the flooring, the decorative transom...

None of it is like the Ooku I know! Not one bit!

And if this isn't the real Ooku, which it clearly isn't, then I don't have to worry about the rules! In fact, I'll be damned if I do!

So there we go!

So this is the Ooku...

Of course, being a woman of the cloth as I am, I have never seen such a place before, let alone entered one...

...but I never expected such lurid lighting and...intimate quarters... Oh, I can practically feel the dark passion here crowding out the very air itself...

In fact, I can't help but notice something sweet roiling about in these walls, so thick it all but chokes me...

But, I suppose that is hardly a surprise.

The Ooku is a cloistered palace where the press of warm bodies and passion can be felt at all hours...is it not?

Oh, no, no. Don't worry. I am not here to condemn such things. It is, after all, necessary for the survival of the species...

To be alive is to be slave to the desires of the flesh, you know...

Uh, no, this isn't normal at all! I'm afraid you have some very, very big misconceptions about the Ooku, Lady Sessyoin!

The real Ooku is nothing like this dim subterranean labyrinth.

Yes, it's broad and complex, but it was also clean and spacious and perfectly pleasant. It even had a garden!

Besides, the Ooku is reserved solely for the shogun's wife and concubines.

Its purpose is to ensure a safe place in which to produce an heir to the Tokugawa family! That is why it exists!

If you think the shogun simply goes about laying his hands on any woman in the place who happens to catch his eye, like the harems you may have heard about in other countries...

...you could not be further from the truth, and I'll thank you to not spread your groundless impressions further!

(R-really? That's exactly what I thought it was like, too...!)

Not you too, Lady Par!?

Hmm... It seems I need to educate you all on exactly what the Ooku is, and what it stands for.

Fortunately, as the shogun's wet nurse, I am responsible for his education, so I have plenty of experience teaching all manner of things!

All right, all of you, have a seat!

I would also be interested to hear your lecture about the Ooku, Kasuga-no-Tsubone...but I think it'll have to wait.

I'm picking up something ahead of you!

This is not just something. It is a human! Just a simple, ordinary human signal!

...(Cough). Of all the possible reasons that ran through my mind when I heard that commotion near the Ojouguchi, I never expected this.

This is going to be quite the hassle...

Y-you're...Lord Matsudaira!

Lord Matsudaira Izu-no-Kami Nobutsuna! What are you doing here!?

Let me check the old database here... There. Matsudaira Izu-no-Kami Nobutsuna.

One of the highest-ranked officials in General Iemitsu's shogunate, and one of the three key advisors supporting him...

He was especially renowned for his vast intelligence, and was called "Wise Izu"...

I guess he must have been around during this time as well.

Indeed, he is. Though I do get the sense that we haven't seen each other for a long time.

...A long time? I have never seen you before in my life, woman.

Fine then, what if I call you by your childhood name, Lord Choushirou?

Even if I do look different now, I can't believe you would forget about the woman who raised you.

It's me, Fuku! Kasuga-no-Tsubone!

...!

(Cough) Hard as it is to believe, seeing your piercing eyes and the way you conduct yourself...

...it does seem that you could only be Lady Kasuga. Yet another strange occurrence...

If anything's strange around here, it's you. What are you doing here?

And why do I get the feeling you look much younger than you're supposed to!?

Heh. Let us just say that I have my lord to thank for my new youth. Now, what are you doing here? I thought you were supposed to be bedridden.

Never mind me. Who is this lord you're serving?

If your answer is anything besides the shogun...

Lord Iemitsu? ...Hehe. He is not dead, but he is no longer here, either. I could not serve him any more even if I wished to.

!

Thus, I now serve none but the lord of the new Ooku here in this new Edo Castle. Your services are no longer needed, Lady Kasuga.

You... You're one of Lord Iemitsu's most trusted advisors. How could you be so shameless as to turn your back on him!?

I know I raised you better than that!

You speak nonsense, Lady Kasuga. How can I serve a lord who is no longer here?

？！

Heh. Hehehe. That Tokugawa? (C-cough, hack...)

...At any rate, you must all be given a proper welcome. But that is a job for the attendants, not myself.

Somebody, come here!

So, there are more of those things!

Ooh, a proper welcome? Does this mean they're going to dance for us?

These look like they're going to be much more aggressive than those last guards! Please get back, Tsubone!

Phew. I'm glad that's over with.

I can confirm there are no more hostiles nearby. But, I'm afraid

It seems that man from before is gone as well.

Lord Nobutsuna...

You were never the most sociable person, but I'm certain you cared for the shogun just as much as I did. You were his loyal retainer...

Why would you do this...

At least we now know that whoever is behind this is working with people like that.

As a high-ranking shogunate official second only to the shogun himself, he must know all about Edo Castle.

And if he's working with whoever's behind this, maybe he knows where Director Goredolf and the others are, too.

I hope we can get some information out of him the next time we see him...

Either way, we will need to keep making our way through this labyrinth if we want answers.

Fujimaru, this is where the real dungeon crawl begins.

I know it looks impossible to navigate, but given that someone must have built it...

...I would be very surprised if there were not some way to determine the correct route.

It could just be some kind of idiosyncrasy on the part of its creator during the building process...or it could be something they did intentionally.

Whichever it is, I want you to keep a close eye on your surroundings so you do not miss it!