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Volume 2 Chapter 1 Part 8

「As a childhood friend of hers I can still understand a bit, but I can’t tell you the reason behind it, Saruharu-kun. 」

「Why? 」

「Because it’s a secret. It might even be my trump card at the right moment, depending on the circumstances. Hehe hehehehe~~. 」

(This small brat is really a bad hearted Tanuki.)

Yoshiharu thought to himself.

After saying farewell to Motoyasu, he ran as fast as he could to the city, passing by the streets of Aoshuu until he finally met Azai Nagamasa’s party.

「I should at least scold you for saying a bunch of crap to Nobuna so confidently, you disgusting bastard ! 」

「Oi, you! Stop that right now! 」

「Master, should we kill him? 」

Nagamasa’s men showed their killing intent towards Yoshiharu.

「Another monkey? What do you have to say to this master Saruyashamaru, huh?! 」

「 Oh, I have something to say alright! Listen here, buddy! Nobuna might be like that, but she is a pure girl who believes in love! Yet you still talked about a political marriage without love, troubling Nobuna, you tactless bastard! 」

「Hahaha, have you ran all the way here to complain about it to me out of jealousy? You are just a lowly retainer of hers, so no matter how much you love her, it is going to be impossible foe the two of you to be together. 」

「No no no, it’s not like that! At least…at least tell her that you like her! What you did to her back there was just plain cruel! 」

「I think that if I lie to her like that, it will be even more cruel to her. From the first day she became a Sengoku era daimyo, she should have given up her right to choose her partner based on something as foolish as love. 」

「What did you say!? 」

「Nobuna-sama should have said it to you too. That kind of thing is common in the Sengoku era, Monkey-kun. As a daimyo, she should always put the clan’s interests ahead of her own. To be troubled with choosing her husband is the behavior befitting not of a ruler, but of a lowly servant. Plus, her ambition is to conquer the world, so in order to realize it, Nobuna should not be thinking of her own happiness as a woman. 」

「This kind of thing… How can this kind of thing be acceptable…?! 」

「Hahahaha, you are such a kid. Love at first sight, that is the right of a commoner who merely needs to carry the responsibility for their home on their shoulders. As someone who carries the responsibility for an entire clan on hers, Nobuna should have already given up on such a thing like the happiness of a woman. That is this common sense in this world. 」

Nagamasa looked down on Yoshiharu from atop his horse while saying that coldly.

「As the saying goes, one must make the painful decision when it’s time. Nobuna-sama is smart, so she should have already thought through this and made her decision, and she should know In her heart, that there is no other choice but for her to agree to my proposal. Also, even if you guys did that elaborate act in front of me, it is at best a stalling technique. You, a lowly retainer, can’t do anything to change Nobuna’s fate, so just treasure the time you have left with her, and do your best to cheer her up like a monkey that you are. 」
「You…You…! You e-even saw through that, yet still said things like ‘Political marriage without love’?! You… don’t you have your own feelings!? 」

「I should just say it straight out. Rather than letting her have her ambitions of conquering the world while she can’t even abandon her dream of choosing her husband, I will allow her to give up that small dream as soon as possible. What I’m doing is for her own good. I do not plan to, nor am I willing to do such a meaningless thing like lying to her. 」

「You…You should just shut up! I have sworn that I will make every one of Nobuna’s dreams come true, and I intend to keep that promise! If she said she can’t give up on the world or love, I will help her get both of them if it’s the last thing to do! Right now, the only way for me to forgive you for what you said and done is for you to promise me that you will fall in love with Nobuna. 」

「Sorry, I have no feelings of love to Nobuna-sama at all, and there will be none of them in the future either. My heart is already possessed by my ambition, and that’s why I still have a bit of virtue and am not trying to bring Nobuna-sama to my side by any means necessary. But in the future, I will definitely use her to help me conquer the world. 」

「…You…You bastard!!! 」

Not caring about anything else, Yoshiharu pounced on Nagamasa, but he was brought to the floor by Nagamasa’s men and beaten up badly.

「Just like a kid. 」

Looking at the currently beaten up Yoshiharu, Nagamasa eyes became even colder.

「You don’t really think that you can be together with her, do you? 」

「That…That kind of thing, I wasn’t thinking about it at all! What I… I wanna say is… 」

「I have heard of you, a vagrant named Sagara Yoshiharu from the Owari province. Such a guy like you can never marry the princess of the Oda clan, not even in a million years. And if by some miracle you do manage to make that happen, then you’re going to be a target for many of not only her retainers, but common folk as well, not to mention that Nobuna-sama will really be branded with the title of 「An Irredeemable Fool」and subsequently abandoned by everyone. At that time, Nobuna-sama will be utterly ruined. 」

Nagamasa’s words, though heartless, contained the undeniable truth. But, even if that’s the case, it’s still unforgivable.

(I can never match up to her.)

Silently admitting this brought Yoshiharu an indescribable pain. But he can never accept it willingly, no matter what.

Nighttime came, and Yoshiharu returned to the Five Leaf Aralia tenements all tired and beaten up, but first, he went into his neighbor Inuchiyo’s house to listen to Nobuna’s situation.

However….

「Halt. 」

Inuchiyo gestured Yoshiharu to stop.

「Inuchiyo, what is troubling you? Don’t tell me you are thinking about Uiroumochi? 」

「… I was imitating Nobuna-sama just now. 」

「That didn’t look like it one bit. 」

「…. 」

Inuchiyo raised a hand and tried to pinch Yoshiharu’s face, but he dodged it reflexively and rolled to the room’s safe corner. Inuchiyo has also given up on chasing him, and concentrated on cooking her Five Leaf Aralia soup.

「Nobuna-sama never said nothing about her own love life, so as to what she really thinks about it, Inuchiyo does not know. 」

「You’ve been following Nobuna around for so many years, can’t you at least make a guess? 」

「 I can’t say anything about this to you, Yoshiharu-san. That’s what Nobuna-sama ordered me. 」

「What!? She plans to ignore me? That’s not cute at all!」

*Roll Roll Roll Roll Roll Roll Roll Roll Roll!*

Angered, Yoshiharu started to roll around the tatami mat in Inuchiyo’s house. At that time, an old man walked over the threshold into the house. Looking at the state Yoshiharu was in, he put his foot onto his stomach.

「Oh!? That hurts, you old geezer! 」

「Hohohoho. Making such a fuss in here, that is not like what you should be doing, brat. 」

This old man who has retired here after joining Nobuna’s side, is the former daimyo of the Mino’s province, Saito Dosan, also known as 「The Viper of Mino」.

「Little girl, I will be disturbing you for a while. 」

「… Of course. Make yourself at home, Dosan-sama. 」

After crossing swords with his adopted son, Saito Yoshitatsu and losing Mino to him, Saito Dosan had fled to Owari. Now, after passing his dream of conquering the world to Nobuna, Dosan no longer looked into political matters, and lived his life resting and drinking tea.

After all, The Viper of Mino is someone who the Oda clan has fought for many years, so just his presence was enough to make people uncomfortable. That’s why facing the Oda’s retainers who are still evaluating him, Dosan could only act cautiously.

The Dosan in front of him coming all the way to the Five Leaf Aralia tenements is the first though.

「Coming here specifically, you must have some purpose in it, geezer. 」

Yoshiharu sat up straight while facing Dosan.