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Volume 2 Chapter 3 Part 9

「Eh? Does this mean the castle belongs to us now? Good job, Hanbei! 」

Hanbei and her party walked into the now deserted castle, planning for a rest, and only at this time Iga Ando realized the fact that what just happened meant that the Inabayama Castle has been conquered.

A small brat just conquered a whole fortress by making a fuss and crying? Hanbei shivered with fear after she finally understood the dreadfulness of the situation and how vicious the rumors about this situation are going to get.

「I…I…I…I did…did not plan to do this! Ah…Ahhhh! If I rebel against the Daimyo, I’ll be bullied for sure! Uwaaaaaahhhhh!!!! *SOBSOBSOBSOB!* 」

「Well, it can’t be helped with how things have turned out. For the time being, just change your clothes before you catch a cold. 」

「Yoshiharu-san, I think the dog that peed on her should be blamed here, not Hanbei herself. 」

「Hanbei-dono, it’s an undisputed fact that you have claimed the fortress from your master’s hands, even if it was unintentional. That being said, would you be willing to pass the ownership of the Inabayama Castle to me, Azai Nagamasa? Of course, I promise that I will not bully you for it. If you want, I can even swear right here and right now that as long as I, Saruyasamaru continue to draw breath, I will protect you from all the bad people who would wish harm upon you, even if it was supposed to be the last thing that I’d do in my life. 」

Nagamasa suddenly held Hanbei’s little hands and assaulted her with a barrage of words. After all, manipulating people in situations like these was his specialty.

「Now just stop right there, Nagamasa! What do you mean with that 「I will protect you from all the bad people who would wish harm upon you, even if it was supposed to be the last thing that I’d do in my life」bullshit?! Didn’t you already propose to Nobuna, you two-timing son of a bitch?! 」

「Stop trying to make an even bigger mess than you already did, Monkey! As a Daimyo, having a harem of beautiful women at my disposal is perfectly normal, no, expected even! And besides, my love for women knows no bounds! It will never dry up or run up, even if I had a couple more girls besides Hanbei-dono! 」

「Damn you, you manwhore! And you had the gall to say: 「I don’t love you, it’d be a marriage for political convenience」 to Nobuna?! Yes you did! 」

「Damn Monkey, just how stupid can you actually be? Don’t tell me you know nothing about the creatures called women at all? 」

Nagamasa gave off an expression of triumph, and softly whisper to Yoshiharu’s ears.

「To the realists like me and Nobuna-dono, the ones who have their eyes set on the conquest of the entire world, using logic is most effective. Just like saying: 「For the sake of your biggest dream, you need to let go of ant smaller dreams that you might have」. But Hanbei-dono and Nobuna-dono are completely different types of people, so for someone as simplistic as her, professing an everlasting love and support for her is the thing that should be the surest way to tug at her heartstrings. 」

「You bastard! You just use your words and that rotten mouth of yours to twist and bend the results to get whatever it is that you want to get your hands on! 」

「That’s right. And you know what? It’s ok as long as I say the things the other party wants to hear. That’s the trick to being loved by women. 」

「Oh no! Monkey-san this is all your fault! 」

「Hanbei-chan, you must never allow yourself to get deceived by the flattering words of a snake in human’s clothing such as Nagamasa! And you, Nagamasa, get the fucj away from Hanbei-chan right now! 」

「You bastard! So you’re still hell-bent on stopping me, huh? If I manage to get my hands on the Inabayama Castle now, Nobuna-dono will have no other way but to marry me in order to conquer Mino! 」

「That’s exactly reason why I’m trying to stop you, you shithead! 」

「How many times do you want me to repeat myself, Monkey? For a small-time foot soldier like you, marrying a Daimyo of an entire province is something that is not going to be in the realm of possibility, n matter how hard you might try to convince yourself otherwise! To put it to you in a way that you’d understand, it’s like a frog trying to swallow a swan whole! Surely even you see how futile that would be? 」

「Grrrr!!! 」

Yoshiharu’s whole body was steaming with anger at Nagamasa’s words.

「I…I…I…I…I really feel that who N-N-Nobuna marries is totally not my concern! B-But Nagamasa, I’ll say it once more! I really don’t like you! You just see girls as tools for you to get
ahead in life! How can you look at yourself in the mirror every day?! No, in the first place, can you really call yourself a real man for being so utterly despicable?! 」

「Oh? So you want to tell me that you came all the way here to persuade Hanbei-dono to join the Oda clan just because you don’t like the way I treat girls? This is truly a naïve statement worthy of a bratty child, but I think it fits your character quite well. 」

「Grrrr….Inuchiyo! Lend me your spear, I will definitely finish this shithead today, and put an end to this whole political marriage fiasco! 」

「*SOBSOB!* I know both of you are here because of Oda Nobuna, but please stop fighting. You’re not even fighting for me, so there’s no need for you to exert yourself so much trying to pretend that you care about me! 」

Hanbei’s eyes started to fill with tears again.
「No, you don’t understand! It’s true that I don’t love Nobuna-dono, but my love for you, is real, Hanbei-dono! 」

「Oi, Nagamasa! Who are you trying to fool with such obvious lies, huh? 」

「Hmm? Lies? And remind me, who said that it’s not his business who Nobuna-dono marries, huh? Yes, you said such an idiotic thing! And since you’re saying that you’re still adamant about not letting me marry Nobuna-dono, then you’re the real culprit who’s toying with Hanbei-dono’s feelings here! 」

「I swear to god, somebody hold me or I won’t be able to take it anymore! When have I played around with Hanbei-chan’s feelings, huh?! 」

「You’re doing it right now. By not letting profess my feelings for her, aren’t you denying her a chance at obtaining genuine happiness? 」

「That’s why I asked what makes you think you can give Hanbei-chan happiness, when all that you can think of right now are literally Inabayama Castle and laying your filthy claws on Nobuna! 」

「These two guys won’t settle down unless they fight it out, so it’s best to just leave them be. 」

Inuchiyo grumbled to Hanbei, to which Hanbei replied:

「Like I said, I won’t be going with either of you, and I will never betray the Daimyo of Mino. I will solve this tragic misunderstanding, bring Yoshitatsu-sama back to Inabayama Castle, and then I will retire back to Bodaisen where I will then stay. 」

「I’m afraid that it’s going to be impossible now. After all, Yoshitatsu-sama and his retainers will not be coming back here, because they’re going to be too afraid of your Shikigami army. 」

Nagamasa said.

「Now is not the time to be indecisive, Hanbei-dono. If you follow that monkey back to Owari, the terrifying Viper of Mino and Oda Nobuna will be waiting for you with watering mouths, and that monkey will definitely harass you every single day. But if you follow me back to Omi, then I, Saruyasamaru will definitely protect you. So, which of these two scenarios do you think is better? Because if you asked me, then I’d say that the choice should be pretty obvious. 」

Just as Nagamasa planned to pull Hanbei towards him, they met Zenki and Goki, who were just returning from their hunt of Yoshitatsu and his retainers, and after they declared that Nagamasa was clearly suspicious and that his words shouldn’t be trusted, he had no choice but to give up, since with so many interfering people around, there was really no way for Nagamasa to pull Hanbei over to his side.

After saying 「I have something to say to Ando-sama 」 Nagamasa dragged Iga Ando, who was still totally drunk on Hanbei’s accidental success and saying: 「No matter if it’s Omi or Owari, Hanbei has become a fortress owner now. I should just drink till I’m going to be full to bursting! 」 away and left the building.

「Is it wrong for me to be so cowardly? 」