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Volume 3 Chapter 2 Part 1

Chapter 2 : Sakai, the free city of gold

The city of Sakai received its name simply because of its location between Settsu, Izumi and Kawachi. The ruling class in Sakai was not made up of warriors, but rather rich merchants calling themselves 「Kaigi Gunshū 」.

10 years ago, the missionary Francisco Xavier stayed in the house of Hibiya, a merchant of Sakai, when he first came to Japan. After that, missionaries who came to Sakai all wrote 「Sakai is a free trading city comparable to Venice」.

In the Sengoku era where warriors fight over everything, Sakai was one of the few precious neutral territoryies, and the thing that enabled this neutrality was its financial strength, which is to say, the power of money that the city of Sakai made for itself.

Relying on the sea for trading, Sakai was like the mythical golden city that the famous explorer Marco Polo wrote about in the memoirs documenting his journeys.

The world had reached an era of sea trading, and in this era, Sakai was as important in Japan as Akira or Ryukyu, or Jakarta, and on a global scale it could easily rival the western countries like Portugal and Spain.

Perhaps most impressively, the weapon manufacturers of Sakai had succeeded in mass producing arquebuses. Considering the short time that Japan has been able to import cannons, the technological growth of this country was so fast that even those missionaries were amazed by its progress and couldn’t find the words to describe it properly.

All in all, in Sakai, riches and fortunes were gathered from all around Japan… no, from around the entire world.

「Simply put, I want to earn 120,000 kan here in Sakai, and become rich overnight! 」

「So that’s why you disguised yourself and wanted to sneak in here? That’s too risky even for someone as reckless as you, Nobuna. 」

「Ara, I’m not Nobuna. My name is ‘Kichi’. I’m the only daughter of the Owari merchant selling Uiroumochi. As for you, you are the apprentice learning the secrets of the trade under my father’s tutelage, Saru. 」

That’s right. The Nobuna who was bringing her retainers back to Mino was actually a fake.

There was still one week until the deadline for collecting 120k kan, a challenge that unreasonable Konoe Sakihisa of the Kyoto’s Imperial Palace issued to Nobuna.

If they were unable to get Imagawa Yoshimoto to take the position of Shogun, there wouldn’t be any meaning to the Oda clan’s march to the capital. With the righteous goal of reinstating the Shogunate rebuked, their conquest of Kyoto would only invite jealousy and hatred from all the Sengoku Daimyos around them

Nobuna hasn’t given up on the matter yet. She still believed that it was possible to earn the required amount of money before the designated deadline, and that’s why she donned a colorful furisode and dressed herself up like a normal girl named Kichi visiting Sakai from Owari, and walked around the streets unarmed.

The only one she brought along was Yoshiharu. The official reason for her doing so was that 「No matter if it’s protecting the capital or going to war, you are useless in both of these, so I will put you to the best use possible」.

To reinforce that notion, even Goemon, Hanbei and Inuchiyo were left behind to protect Kyoto.

「You are just too relaxed. 」

Yoshiharu was speechless at Nobuna’s actions.

Looking at the innocent and excited look the normally bratty Nobuna wore when she was stripped of her Daimyo image and reduced to an ordinary girl, Yoshiharu thought…

(Well, I guess even a situation like this can be good sometimes.)

… and felt a warm feeling welling up in his heart, though he himself would never admit this to anyone if we was asked about this.

And since the people walking through the streets of Sakai were numerous like a flood, if they did not hold hands, they would be separated very quickly, so they had no choice but to do this.

As a result of that necessity, after entering Sakai, Yoshiharu had tightly held onto Nobuna’s hand as she looked everywhere around her with excitement.

(Damn, how can this Nobuna have such soft and warm hands… It’s not fair! Anyway, is it really okay to just walk around like this in front of everyone? What if we are exposed, won’t that be terrible?)

Ignoring the sweating Yoshiharu by her side, Nobuna stopped besides one of the stores and shouted:

「Saru, look! What is this round snack? I never saw a thing like this 10 years ago! 」

「This is Takoyaki. It’s not a snack; rather, it’s the main dish for the people of Osaka. Since we are here in Kansai, I think happening upon takoyaki and okonomiyaki is going to be unavoidable.

「Hm… Takoyaki, as in barbequed octopus? Octopi are round? But I recognize the black sauce on top of the Takoyaki! It’s Hatcho Miso, right? 」

「That’s just Takoyaki sauce! How much in love are you with Miso anyway!? 」

「And what’s this? Vinegar? Sounds very sour to me. 」

「Anyway, so there’s Takoyaki sauce already in this era… As expected from the city on an international level like Sakai. 」

「Saru! I want to eat some of this Takoyaki! 」

「Ok, ok, I got it. Just wait for me here. 」
(Why must I of all people treat you to Takoyaki…?)

Yoshiharu mumbled while buying 6 servings of Takoyaki. Sitting side by side with Nobuna, they drank tea while eating the hot Takoyaki together.

If Katsuie saw them engaged in such an activity, she would definitely be furious while weeping and would try to kill him on the spot.

「Ahh! Ahh! This Takoyaki is so hot! How can anyone eat something like this? 」

「What a princess you are. Just blow on it before you eat it. It’s that simple. 」

「Why must I do such a troublesome thing? I will be out of breath from blowing so much. Hurry and blow on it for me, Saru! 」

「I’m a peasant, so I’m used to eating Takoyakis. They’re no problem for me even without blowing on them. 」

「Are you an idiot? I want you to blow on my takoyakis for me! 」

「Eh.. why me though? 」

「Aren’t you the student of my father? That makes him, and me by extension, your superior! So be a good pet monkey and do what I said! 」

Nobuna came closer to him with her shoulders, looked up and smiled.

Maybe it was because of the ordinary attire of hers, or maybe it was because there were no retainers of hers around, but Nobuna seemed much more approachable than before.

(How can I describe it properly… she seems much more honest, or much cuter….no, no, no! It’s Nobuna we are talking about! Why am I flustered like this?! )
Looking at the flustered Yoshiharu, Nobuna laughed with a 「Hehe! 」, and her smile became even brighter than before.

「Ok, hurry up and blow on it for me now. 」

「Oh for the love of… fine! Fuuu——! Fuuuu! 」

「Oi, don’t spit saliva onto my takoyaki! What the hell are you doing!? 」

「Oh my god, I am so sorry, but i-it’s because I just don’t know how to face Nobuna… No, because I don’t know how to act around you, Lady Kichi, because… because your presence alone is making me so nervous… damn, I hate acting like this. What the hell? 」

「What a waste. If we were in the Uiroumochi shops of Owari, your tip would be all but gone. *Gulp* 」

「Oi, did you actually ate that?! 」

「Yup, sure did. So yummy… yes, this Takoyaki is really good. It is both sweet and spicy, and the taste is very unique. 」

(Yes, Nobuna right now is really different from how she usually acts when she has her underlings around her.)

Yoshiharu thought. She looked different, but not because she let her hair down, or because her signature tiger skin around her waist was missing. Whether it’s because she was too relaxed or too confident, even her expression was much more gentle than usual.

(It might be that this appearance of a girl fitting of her age is actually the true appearance of Oda Nobuna, the one she will have after stripping off all the heavy burdens of being the Daimyo of the Oda clan and the ruler of Owari. If that is really the case, then damn, even if it’s for a little bit, to think that I had thought that Nobuna is so godly cute… If I saw myself thinking like that, I’d want to hide myself in a hole!)

「Hmmm? What’s up, Saru? 」