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Volume 1 Chapter 5 Part 2

While he was trying to peek through the gap between her thighs, she threw the cup with the hot water on his head, causing Yoshiharu to scream in agony.

「Hoooooooot!!!!!! 」

「That cup is expensive. You’ll have to reimburse me if it breaks. 」

「N-Nobuna-sama, I didn’t come here today just to watch you play around with Monkey. 」

Katsuie was having cold sweat drip down her back while gripping the tea cup, thinking on the
proper method of how to drink, but then she suddenly sprang up saying that.

「Yes, indeed you didn’t. So, what’s the matter? 」

「Um…well, the thing is, I came here regarding the incident with Inuchiyo! 」

「…If it’s about Inuchiyo, she has absconded from the castle under the cover of night. Even I don’t know her current whereabouts. 」

With her cheeks puffed, Nobuna turned her gaze outside of the window.

For Nobuna, Inuchiyo had been accompanying her since childhood like a dog, her one and only friend and retainer whom she could open up to. No, she was more like a real younger sister to her. Katsuie was fully aware of that, so right now she was having an even bigger headache as she tried to figure out how Nobuna would respond to Nobukatsu’s demands.

「N-Nobuna-sama, Lord Nobukatsu demanded that you should turn Inuchiyo over to him. And if… if you don’t listen to his demands, then he…. then he… he said that he would rebel against you for real this time. 」

「Since he’s an idiot, he must have been egged on by those surrounding him and said that because of their influence right? Riku, can’t you suppress Nobukatsu somehow? 」
In response, Katsuie began prostrating herself before Nobuna.

「M-My humblest apologies, Nobuna-sama! I may be able to brag about not having lost to
anyone on the battlefield, but, uhm, for things like this, the only ways I can think of are threatening Lord Nobukatsu’s or downright cutting them down. 」

Nobuna gave a heavy sigh.

「*Sigh…* Yes, that sounds like you alright, Riku. Well, if you can’t suppress Nobukatsu trough any other way, then you can go back to him and tell him that if he wants my head that badly, then he can try taking it from me the next time we’re going to meet on the battlefield. 」

「T-There’s no way I can do that! If I have to take a stand against you, Nobuna-sama, then it would be better for me to commit seppuku! 」

Nobuna explained to Yoshiharu that the reason why Nobukatsu loses to her whenever he rebels is because Riku would always withdraw from the battlefield without fighting.

「I wonder why Nobukatsu didn’t choose to kill you for insubordination a long time ago, Katsuie. 」

「It’s because he doesn’t have any other retainer with him who would be as honest and skilled as she is. Those around him who call themselves his retainers are all a bunch of puny younglings who couldn’t even lift a sword properly in battle. He understands that without Katsuie he would have no chance of winning against me at all. 」

「It seems like a gathering of second and third-rate crooks rather than retainers…those who don’t know their own limits are in fact more troublesome than those who do. 」

「They aren’t as troublesome as you think they are. There is not a single sane retainer in all of Owari who would argue with their daimyo after all. 」
Katsuie regretfully drooped her shoulders saying that if possible, she would have wished to have been born as Nobuna-sama’s direct retainer.

「That’s right. If it’s under Nobukatsu, your prowess is like pearls before swine. 」

Lamented Nobuna.

「Then, Nobuna-sama. Are you saying that no matter what, you won’t hand over Inuchiyo to lord Nobukatsu? 」

「I can’t hand over to him someone who isn’t here, right? 」

「Then, once again there will be an internal strife between the two of you… 」

「If he continues to provoke me any further, I will confront him face to face. Tell that to Nobukatsu, Katsuie. Word by word. 」

「W-What?! 」

「You heard me correctly. If he rebels against me one more time, no matter how much mother appeals and begs me for his life, I will kill him. Convey that to him in a way that will make him understand it. 」

「T-That is… 」

「The daimyo of Suruga, Imagawa Yoshimoto has full-fledgedly started preparing for the march to the capital. If Yoshimoto starts moving, then we would be the very first ones who would be invaded. I don’t have the luxury to worry about internal strifes in Owari right now. 」

「U-U-Uh….t y-yes, that would be the fall of the Oda clan…! 」

Katsuie had completely fallen into panic.

As if thinking that she was an idiot for not knowing what to say in situations like this, she started hitting her head on the floor beneath her.

「Also, I have had enough of looking after that troublesome little brother! Whose fault was it that Inuchiyo had to run away, huh? Wasn’t it because he and his supporters meddled with Inuchiyo first? 」

「However, Nobuna-sama, lord Nobukatsu is the one and only little brother who is connected to you by blood! 」

「It’s fine. In this world of chaotic civil wars, I don’t need a younger brother who keeps on causing trouble for me. 」

Muttering that bluntly, Nobuna’s white cheeks were really strained.

「Ah geez, the tea’s gone bad. 」

With a voice that meant that she could burst out in anger any second, she drank the thick tea in the bowl in one gulp.

「Hey, are you really going to abandon Nobukatsu? He’s an idiot, but he ain’t that bad of a guy. Besides, he’s like a younger version of you, at least appearance wise. 」

「You dare comparing him to someone like me?! Besides, him being my family changes nothing. He cannot be like me, a female daimyo.」

「Hm? How so? 」

「Even if we get defeated in battle, if we let down our hair and abandon all claims to our house, we will be forgiven. That is what I was taught. However, men are different. Even if they surrender, if they’re not forgiven, their heads will still fall. Furthermore, if you look at it from the perspective of Imagawa who’s full of talent, Nobukatsu isn’t a military commander material, or even someone whom she would want to take in as a retainer. Besides, he habitually rebels. 」

With her displeasure clearly visible, Nobuna, who was muttering to herself, looked exceptionally weak.

「That’s why no matter what way, a person of his caliber will not be able to survive in the Sengoku world. Even if I hand the country over to him, the result will be the same. No, it would be worse since this Owari province would be destroyed. 」

However, Nobuna raised her head.

「Riku, without you being there, my plan to conquer Japan will fall apart. There’s no stronger military commander than you, in this province of weak soldiers of Owari. That’s why one of us will have to go, be it Nobukatsu or myself. 」

「But, Nobuna-sama! 」

「Riku. Right now, if there is a battle in Owari, both sides would be trampled by Imagawa in no time. If you believe me to be the true lord of Owari, lure out and capture Nobukatsu at once. For Owari, for its people and for the sake of conquering Japan. 」

「….A-As you wish, Nobuna-sama. 」

「You don’t have to be pained by it. My eyes are always looking ahead, 10 years ahead, 100 years ahead. Even if no one understands, I still have confidence in my vision. If you feel pained by it, then instead of praying to the Buddha, pray ‘It is for all the people in Japan.’. It’s fine for me alone to bear all the sins of my retainers. 」

Nobuna’s current expression was filled with resolve, just like her shining eyes. Katsuie lowered her head without thinking.

(I don’t understand complicated stuff. However…)
She is definitely not a fool. Her body understood that this person is indeed the true lord of Owari.

Yoshiharu, who kept on staring at that face of Nobuna from the side, felt exactly the same way

* * *

Sometime later, Nobukatsu’s castle.

「A-Are you going to betray me, Katsuieeee? Wait, please wait! 」

「M-M-My deepest apologies, my lord! 」

Within mere 3 seconds, Katsuie had captured Nobukatsu and his surrounding retainers and had restrained them all.

Nobukatsu had come running to her asking:「So how was my sister’s reply? 」, and was immediately grabbed by the wrist by her. Seeing him unable to move, the surrounding retainers became pale and immediately dropped their swords and spears.