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Volume 2 Chapter 1 Part 2

Honestly, Inuchiyo is still young, but if she went out to Japan’s Akihabara like this, the otakus would definitely be so happy that they would dance on the spot if any of them laid their eyes on her.

Yoshiharu couldn’t help but stare at Inuchiyo, and his consciousness took a moment to fully return back to him.

「Oi, Inuchiyo? What’s with your attire! Wear your clothes properly! 」

「…Shirking responsibility? You are the one who did this to me. 」

「Huh? Me? W-WHAT?!!! 」

Inuchiyo must’ve been sleepwalking! And coincidentally, because she was awaken halfway during her sleep, her brain is still left with fragments of Yoshiharu lusting over her. From the looks of it, her anger meter seems to be at the maximum possible value right now!

「……Take responsibility… for what you did! 」

She looked at Yoshiharu coldly, and then she took a firm hold of her bamboo spear and thrusted it towards Yoshiharu.

「Inuchiyo-san?! Please wake up!!! 」

Dodging her attacks left and right, Yoshiharu was thinking to himself:

(Why is every single member of the Oda clan need to be such a pain in the ass to deal with?!!)

After such a noisy morning, Yoshiharu and Inuchiyo headed to Aoshuu.

Last night, Nobuna ordered the both of them to buy some delicious Uiroumochi, Hatcho Miso and thick soy sauce as there will be a guest coming today. An Owari specialty, the Uiroumochi was typically used to reward Nobuna’s brother Nobukatsu and her retainers for their outstanding feats on the battlefield and outside of it. It isn’t too sweet upon eating, and the aftertaste is fresh, so Yoshiharu soon developed quite a liking to it too.

But….

「Hatcho Miso and thick soy sauce. huh? 」

Walking together with Inuchiyo on the streets of Aoshuu, Sagara started muttering to himself. Beside him, while happily eating tea-flavored Uiroumochi, Inuchiyo said:

「Both of them are delicious. Do you not like them, Yoshiharu-san? 」

「It’s not that I don’t like them; I just think their flavor is just too thick. 」

Hatcho Miso is the specialty of Mikawa’s provinces Okazaki Hatcho Village. From the outside, its red in color. As for the taste, it’s not as sweet compared to Yoshiharu’s favorite rice miso, and its rather bitter at the start, but for reasons unknown, the people of Owari love this flavor. Shibata Katsuie would even gluttonously put this hatcho miso on top of her shaved ice during summer, eating it while being in high spirits. There was one time when Yoshiharu carelessly but honestly remarked: 「Uwaah, miso-flavored shaved ice sounds disgusting. 」after which Katsuie almost broke his back in anger.

As for the Soy sauce, it is an extremely heavily flavored sauce that has gained much popularity in Owari nowadays. Sometimes, Yoshiharu would use a little bit of it while eating sashimi, but Katsuie will just put this on top of her shaved ice and other things that you’d never expect to go well with it.

In conclusion, 70% of the dining tables in Owari will have hatcho miso, and the rest of them will have soy sauce. While living in Aoshuu, Yoshiharu often thought to himself: 「Why do all of them like such a thick flavour? 」without anyone providing an answer to him. But from the situation, it seems that they have not yet discovered a way to make the sauces thinner during this era.

「I recommend this shop. The products sold here are all fresh and cheap, and their flavor is thick too. 」

Inuchiyo brought Yoshiharu to a shop called Sukagi-ya. Inside the shop was full of the different types of miso and sauces, but outside, there was also a bunch of snacks and steaming hot noodles being prepared. Adding this to the current ongoing trend, this shop could also be used as a teashop where customers could also drink tea, which actually made it quite a unique establishment among the others of its kind.

「It’s good if its fresh and cheap, but isn’t the flavor a bit too thick? I still think a lighter taste would be much better. 」

「Just shut up and buy it like Nobuna-sama requested. 」

Inuchiyo pinched Yoshiharu’s cheek and dragged him towards the shop. Though her body is small, Inuchiyo had really strong hands.

「I know I know! But, I seem to have heard of this shop before. 」

「There’s a lot of Sukagi-yas around in Owari. All the products are cheap and fresh, and their flavor is thick too, so it has become a popular gathering place for young girls. 」

「I get it, using the words of my era, this seems like a hang-out spot for high school girls. 」

Inuchiyo stared intently at Yoshiharu while maintaining a suggestive silence. When they entered the shop, Yoshiharu decided to leave the negotiations of the prices to Inuchiyo, and after a while of an intense back and forth the shopkeeper broke down crying and they got a best possible price for their purchase. Because of this, after buying all of the things they wanted, they still had a bit of money left on them.

「Since there is still time, why don’t we get some Uiroumochi before going back?”

「… You want to try flirting with girls while Nene isn’t around you, right, Yoshiharu-san? 」

「Ok, ok. White, black, tea, red bean, sakura; I will treat you to all 5 colours of Uiroumochi if you keep quiet about it! 」

「….Ugh, now that is an offer that I cannot refuse. 」

All 5 flavours of Uiroumochi at one time! Of course Inuchiyo couldn’t refuse an offer like that, and she was even panting heavily like a genuine dog while thinking about all of that sweet goodness that was waiting for her.

The two of them sat at a corner of the teashop, eating Uiroumochi and looking at the people walking through the streets. After Nobuna defeated the enemy of the North, Imagawa Yoshimoto, the city of Aoshuu could finally let out a breath of relief, and was beginning to be bustling with life and activity again.

Since the nemesis of Owari, Imagawa Yoshimoto, has been removed out of the picture, the expressions of the pedestrians also seem to be more relaxed.

As expected, peace seems to be the most important thing in the Sengoku era, and it was only now that Yoshiharu had realized that. If Nobuna is really going to be able to unite the world, the war-ridden Japan will also stop change, and the whole country will be able to be as peaceful as this city.

「Not bad, not bad at all. There is quite a lot of young and energetic girls here. 」

「… Yoshiharu-san, there is one sitting right next to you, you know? 」

「Eh? Inuchiyo, you think you can be considered energetic too? 」

「…I can be… I think. 」

「Oh? Look at that bunch of people over there. 」

From where Yoshiharu was pointing, they could see a bunch of warriors coming through. The black haired guy sitting on the horse was probably the commander of the group, and the rest of those young warriors surrounding him should be his men.

Though the looks of his men had already captured the attention of the city girls, he had to admit that when it came to looks, the black-haired guy seemed to be a cut above all the others.

Sorrowful eyes, long eyelashes, fair skin, these features bring a sense of dignity to mind, like with Hikaru Genji. He must have been like this when he was young too.

The city’s girls have already surrounded the group, all the while shrieking with delight. Because of this, Yoshiharu’s existence hasn’t been noticed by themat all. Well, to be perfectly honest, even if he was noticed, they would probably just say something along the lines of say 「Hey, look, there’s a monkey! 」 or 「Nobuna-sama’s monkey escaped to the streets! 」 or 「Don’t get seduced by the Uiroumochi eating monkey! 」 and raise a small ruckus at best.

「*Tsk!*, That guy who is riding on the white horse seems to have the looks of a gigolo. Even as a guy, I think that his looks are quite good. 」

「…Pond Noodles?. But the noodles here are flat. 」

「He seems to be clever too, so he should be much more popular than Nobukatsu. Damn, it pisses me off that even I cannot help but admire him.

「…flat noodles? 」

However, the flags carried by this group of warriors have not been seen in Owari before. They had three flower petals on three tortoise shells motif on them.

Yoshiharu and Inuchiyo listened hard, eavesdropping on the conversation of that gigolo swordsman and his men.

「Master, I heard that the foolish princess of Owari often walks the streets with a monkey-like expression on her face. 」