I'm a demon in Tokyo!

Chapter 383 Imagawa Yoshimoto's Last Letter, Surpassing SSS Rating!
Uesugi Tetsu and Imagawa Yoshimoto witnessed the last sunset of her life.

When he turned his head again, the light in Imagawa Yoshimoto's black eyes had disappeared.

Gone forever.

She left quietly, just as she had come.

Yoshimoto Imagawa's hands were still resting lightly on the dusty stone bricks, motionless, and even a slight breeze could still ruffle the ends of her hair.

The last thing on the girl's face was a slightly unsatisfied smile and a hint of regret, and perhaps something else, but Uesugi Tetsu didn't look closely.

All he knew was that there wasn't a trace of fear or dread on that face—even though Imagawa Yoshimoto kept saying how terrifying it was.

She was not afraid; instead, she embraced death.

Uesugi Tetsu witnessed her becoming the ruler of the land, and also witnessed the death of the first ruler of the land in this chaotic world.

"They abandoned their last hope of life, all for the sake of the people of the world in this very moment."

Uesugi Tetsu didn't ask her if it was all worth it; he simply sighed softly.

"Imagawa Yoshimoto, really... he hasn't changed at all from beginning to end."

Spiritual energy surged from Uesugi Tetsuya's body, slightly distorting the surrounding light and blocking the thousands of gazes coming from all directions.

He embraced the girl's still-warm body, parted her hair with his hand, lowered his head and gently kissed her forehead, then pressed his forehead against hers and closed her eyes.
"I am so lucky to have witnessed your story."

Uesugi Tetsu could vaguely sense that, starting from that very moment, his heart embryo had undergone some inexplicable change.

He didn't know whether it would become perfect, be completed, or transform from an embryo into a sword heart.

Time will tell.

"Let's go..."

Just as Uesugi Tetsu was about to pick up Imagawa Yoshimoto, a notification popped up in front of him at a very inopportune moment.

[The great lord Imagawa Yoshimoto is dead. Your main quest and accumulated rewards are being calculated ahead of schedule...]

Uesugi Tetsu watched silently, his eyes indifferent.

He took several deep breaths, telling himself that the soul imprint had been sent out, before calming his turbulent emotions and forcing himself to continue looking down.

[You successfully escorted Imagawa Yoshimoto safely to Kyoto within seven days, becoming the first ruler of the land during the late Muromachi and Sengoku periods, fulfilling her last wish, and earning a base rating of S!]

[Your message traveled a thousand miles, announcing the grand arrival in Luoyang to the entire world and inviting everyone to witness the ceremony. Your magnanimity is astonishing! Rating: S→S+!]

[On your way to Kyoto, you thwarted the combined efforts of the Demon Guide Association, the ancient Onmyoji alliance, and other daimyo, silencing the entire world. Rating: S+ → SSS-!]

[Your influence on history reached 9.9%, which could be considered half of the behind-the-scenes manipulator of history. Rating: SSS → SSS!]

[Your shikigami, Yasakani no Bosatsu, attempted to accept the wishes of all beings to protect the common people of the Imagawa clan's territory from the influence of demons. Although the effects are not yet fully apparent, it is indeed a great attempt. Rating: SSS→SSS!]

Uesugi Tetsu's usually serene eyes flickered for a moment.

Is what the young man did a "great attempt"?

He thought of Erchi's increasingly thin body and deepening dark circles under her eyes, and decided to let her play on the phone a little longer every day from now on.

The name "Great Onmyoji Che" is known to almost everyone in the world, revered as a god by countless people, and hated to the core by countless others. Your reputation during the late Muromachi and Sengoku periods exceeds 300000 points! Rating: SSS → SSS+++...

[You did not make any major changes to the established course of history, rating SSS+++...→...]

What would SSS+++ or higher mean?
Uesugi Tetsuya, who should have been overjoyed, stared calmly at the prompt, trying to figure out what was omitted after all those ellipses.

Settlement failed...

[Attention! Attention! Attention!]

Your evaluation has exceeded the original evaluation limit and is currently being reassessed...

Uesugi Tetsu lowered his eyes and waited for a while, but no new hints came.

If an assessment cannot be made, what is the purpose of this prompt now?
He frowned, but still managed to exhale the excess air.

There's no need to get emotionally involved in a panel or prompt that you can see but can't touch.

A moment later, a new notification popped up from the other side.

[Your missions during the late Muromachi and Sengoku periods have concluded. You have three days remaining!]

【72:00:00】

Three days...

It is completely sufficient.

After confirming that no new prompts would appear, Uesugi Tetsuya cleared all the prompts and gently bent down to pick up Imagawa Yoshimoto.

"Ok?"

As soon as he reached out, Uesugi Tetsu touched something bulging like a tea bag from behind her waist.

Uesugi Tetsu glanced at it out of the corner of his eye and noticed it was a... brocade pouch inlaid with conspicuous gold thread?
He had never seen anything like it on Imagawa Yoshimoto before.

Uesugi Tetsu carefully took half of it out from the fabric of his armor and saw four characters embroidered in gold thread on the brocade pouch.

[To Che Jun]

Uesugi Che was stunned.

The fact that he kept the brocade pouch on his person—was it because he hadn't had time to give it to him, or because he had already guessed that she would do this...?

Without thinking further, he carefully put Imagawa Yoshimoto down again, letting her lean against him, and then untied the brocade pouch and opened it.

There was only a folded piece of paper inside the brocade pouch.

Or rather... a letter.

Uesugi Tetsu took out the somewhat new letter paper and saw the familiar handwriting.

"Che-kun, if I die, bury me in the courtyard of the Imagawa-kan, right in front of the pavilion where I often sit."

"Life is so short, seven sunrises and sunsets pass in the blink of an eye."

"So I planted a cherry blossom tree there. The Onmyoji who gave me the seed guaranteed that the tree could live for more than a thousand years, but I don't know if that's true or not."

"Anyway, this tree will definitely outlive me by a lot, and it will stay there for many years to come, waiting for you to visit and remember it again and again."

“I think that when you see this tree, you will definitely think of me... To be honest, that is one of the reasons why I planted it.”

"I wonder how wonderful the world will be a thousand years from now."

"Since I can't see, let this cherry blossom tree go and see it with you, Che-kun, on my behalf."

"Imagawa Yoshimoto wrote his last work in the last month of the third year of Eiroku (1564)."

Uesugi Tetsu silently read through the short letter carefully, then folded it back up exactly as it was, put it back into the brocade pouch, and then into his storage backpack.

Buried in front of that cherry blossom tree that hasn't sprouted yet?

He couldn't help but wonder what the cherry blossom tree would look like in five hundred years.

Uesugi Tetsu cupped Imagawa Yoshimoto's soft cheeks in his hands, and pure black qi and flowing fire flowed out from between his fingers, enveloping every inch of Imagawa Yoshimoto's skin and every strand of hair.

The black fire could not illuminate the rising night.

After the firelight died down, Uesugi Tetsuya put the armor worn by Imagawa Yoshimoto, which had been handcrafted by a Zashiki-warashi (a type of Japanese house spirit), into his storage backpack.

Since it belongs to her, it should be properly delivered to her when the time comes.

If it gets worn or damaged by someone else over a long period of time, then what kind of problem is that?

Uesugi Tetsu placed the last material symbol of Imagawa Yoshimoto's existence in this world into a small crystal box. This was what he intended to bury beneath the cherry blossom tree.

After doing all this, Uesugi Tetsu casually removed the distortion of light caused by his spiritual power and jumped from the city wall to Ryoma, who was still pacing back and forth on a horse below.

"Xilulu!"

Ryoma neighed happily when it saw Uesugi Tetsuya come down.

But soon, it went silent.

Because it did not find any trace of Imagawa Yoshimoto.

Ryoma looked at Uesugi Tetsuya with a somewhat bewildered gaze in his two large, bell-like eyes. Uesugi Tetsuya held the crystal box and looked at it calmly.

After a long while, Ryoma seemed to understand something, and sadly whimpered twice, nuzzled against Uesugi Tetsuya, and then lowered his head.

Uesugi Tetsu rode on the back of the dragon horse and left the empty Kyoto alone, heading towards the group ten miles away.

Fifteen minutes later, the last ray of golden-red sunlight was completely gone.

Okabe Motonobu, whose expression was originally serious, looked at Uesugi Tetsu, who was alone on the back of the dragon horse, with his mouth slightly open.

She asked cautiously, stammering, "Che...Che, can you say it again?"

"Sister Yuanxin, Lord Yiyuan is dead."

Uesugi Tetsu added, "Just fifteen minutes ago, at sunset."

The generals and the two-footed wakaruta who heard this all bowed their heads in silence.

Motonobu Okabe seemed to have been put on pause, unable to move for a long time.

She stared into Uesugi Tetsu's eyes again and again, trying desperately to find even the slightest possibility of a lie within them.

No.

Uesugi Tetsu's eyes held only calmness and a faint sense of loss.

Okabe Motonobu realized it was true. She opened her mouth, about to speak, when she suddenly remembered something and took out a brocade pouch from a hidden compartment close to her body.

He hurriedly opened it and took out the letter inside.

In the silent night, tears streamed down Okabe Motonobu's face, wetting the letter in her hand.

Several minutes passed before Okabe Motonobu carefully placed the letter and brocade pouch close to his body. After composing himself for a while, he bowed deeply to Uesugi Tetsuya, his tone solemn.
"Lord Che, thank you for everything you have done for the Imagawa family so far, for all the help you have provided. On behalf of my lord and the entire Imagawa family, I am extremely grateful."

She said in a slightly hoarse voice,

"The Lord had already arranged everything before his death..."

The Imagawa family's affairs have come to an end; the Matsudaira family and Matsudaira clan will take over from here on out.

These unexpected words prompted Uesugi Tetsuya to ask,
"So, Matsudaira Motoyasu will replace Yoshimoto-kun in the new position?"

"That's what our lord said..."

Okabe Motonobu paused, his eyes, which were reddened at the edges, filled with murderous intent: "I will obey my lord's last wishes and will do my best to fulfill them."

She paused for a moment, then asked,

"I wonder, what are Your Excellency's plans next?"

"not sure."

Uesugi Tetsu stroked the crystal box in his arms and replied, "Anyway, let's go back to the Imagawa House first, and then wander around aimlessly. I probably won't come back in such a blaze of glory again."

Motonobu Okabe did not try to persuade him to stay.

She knew that from the very beginning, Uesugi Tetsuya had stayed with the Imagawa family because of Imagawa Yoshimoto's personal charm.

Without Imagawa Yoshimoto, Uesugi Tetsu wouldn't have helped the Imagawa family so much, wouldn't have destroyed the Hozuki family, and wouldn't have gone to such lengths to escort his lord to Kyoto.

Although the events happened so suddenly that it was hard to accept, fortunately, Imagawa Yoshimoto's last words gave Okabe Motonobu some sense of direction.

The fact has already happened.

She couldn't continue to wallow in despair; she had to take responsibility.

Motonobu Okabe said to himself.

"Goodbye, Your Excellency Che."

She bowed her head deeply once more, as if in a deep bow.

Goodbye, Sister Yuanxin.

Uesugi Tetsu patted Ryoma's neck, urging it to follow behind Okabe Motonobu.

Then Okabe Motonobu spoke loudly, ordering the entire army of less than a thousand men to turn around and return to Sunpu Castle.

No one in the military questioned it.

Because those who would question it had already fled a few nights ago.

Uesugi Tetsu watched the army and Okabe Motonobu depart.

A long time, a long time.

When the sky was completely shrouded in thick darkness, when the bold residents of Kyoto dared to push open their doors and step into the streets, and when the ancient clans and daimyo in the deathly silent conference room were filled with anxiety.

Uesugi Tetsu spoke.

He spoke calmly, wielding the Spirit Control Technique to govern the spiritual energy of heaven and earth within a thousand miles.

Good night, everyone.

As soon as those four words appeared, all the projectors in the conference room looked up, waiting for what followed.

【I am the Great Onmyoji Che, and today I proclaim to the world that I am the lord of all people.】

My lord, Imagawa Yoshimoto, has passed away.

As soon as those words were spoken, the entire conference room seemed to explode as if a nuclear bomb had been dropped on it.

What is he saying?
What is that great Onmyoji Che saying?!

Imagawa Yoshimoto, who had just successfully entered Kyoto and become the ruler of the land for less than half a day... dead, dead?!

Everyone, both humans and demons, who knew about the Imagawa family's journey to Kyoto, the hardships of the journey, and the world-shaking bounty offered by the Demon Guide Association were stunned and bewildered.

Since Imagawa Yoshimoto is already terminally ill, even though he has just arrived in Kyoto, Tetsuya can announce to the world that he is in mourning.

Why did the Great Onmyoji Tetsu use all his skills to escort the Imagawa family to Kyoto?
"Those two lunatics..."

Countless people gritted their teeth in anger, some even grinding their teeth to pieces, unsure whether to swallow them.

God knows how much they paid!
Actually, they weren't that interested in the bounty offered by the Demon Guide Association, but in order to prevent Imagawa Yoshimoto from becoming the first person in the land to break the current status quo, they had almost exhausted all their resources!

Now we're telling them that they don't even need to take action, and the overall situation won't change at all!
But I am still here.

If you wish to seek revenge, it's best to calculate the anniversary of the death in advance.

After delivering his final warning, Uesugi Tetsuya, whose spiritual energy was almost completely depleted, looked towards the direction of the Imagawa Mansion.

"It's time to go back."

We should go back and bury Yoshimoto in front of that cherry blossom tree.

(End of this chapter)