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Volume 3 Chapter 2 Part 2

「N-Nothing… But Kichi-sama, what should we do now? Since we’ve come all the way to Sakai, that must mean that you must have some brilliant idea, right? 」

「10 years ago, father brought me here once. But, compared to then, this place has changed completely. Now… How about we try our luck by throwing some dice? 」

「In other words, you have no plan and just want to gamble, eh? Those are all scams in which you can’t win, and even if you happened to win, someone will just throw you in the sea and keep all of your money for themselves. 」

「Then how about things like lottery!? 」

「It’s all the same as gambling. Anyway, why is a princess like you so knowledgeable about gambling in the first place? 」

「Ah, Saru! Look, what is that? 」

Nobuna shouted without answering Yoshiharu’s question. Looking at the direction that the smiling Nobuna was pointing towards, Yoshiharu saw that in the midst of the crowd, a huge animal was slowly moving forward. As for what animal it was, Yoshiharu remembered it very clearly.

「So biiiiiig…ohhhhhh! 」

「Isn’t that an elephant!? But for it to be of such a small size, it must be an Indian elephant…? 」

「An elephant? 」

「Look, a western barbarian is sitting on its back. That means it was probably brought here on one of the barbarian ships. 」

「Ohhh. A western animal, huh? But Saru, why is its penis so long? 」

「*PFFFFFFFFFFFTTTTTTTTT!!!!!!!!!!!* 」

Yoshiharu violently spat out all the tea he had just drank straight onto Nobuna.

「T-t-t-that is just its nose! It’s not a penis… It’s not that! 」

「What the hell are you doing, you degenerate monkey! I’m just talking about animals, so why are you getting so flustered all of a sudden?! Are you some kinda sick pervert or what?! 」

「T-T-T-That is not something a lady of your age should say! Besides, how can that thing grow right in the middle of an animal’s face! Ah, Oi, stop using my clothes to wipe your face! 」

「But a normal animal’s nose cannot possibly be that long! And even if that’s a nose, why is it that long? Did it stretch without his knowing? Or because of his mood? Or was he being naïve and thought himself more suave this way? As a realist, I think it wouldn’t make much sense for its nose to be so long, but on the other hand, a long penis would be much more convenient, whenever it would want to go use the toilet or something… 」

Nobuna said with an indignant face, being absolutely confident in what she just stated.

「Wild animals don’t go to the toilet, okay!? That nose is used to grab food and bring it to its mouth! It can even be used to suck water for it to shower itself whenever it’s too hot, it’s definitely convenient! 」

「Eh, so that’s it. As expected from the prince of the Monkey Kingdom, you sure know a lot about the animals of other countries. 」

(So I’ve finally been promoted to a prince, but I haven’t gotten any closer to becoming a human? Fuck my life.)
Yoshiharu couldn’t help but to think like that.

「Ah, and what’s that animal? 」

「That is a camel. It’s an animal that lives in the desert. 」

「It has bumps on its back. How pitiful. Is it because it’s sick or something…? 」

「No, you’re wrong about that as well. Camels are animals that live in the desert, so those bumps are used by them to gather and store nutrients. Asian deserts are bigger than other deserts by about a hundred times, but even if camels don’t eat or drink, they can still walk in the desert for a couple of days without collapsing. 」

「Ehhh. You really know a lot about animals. I see you in a slightly better light now. 」

「Eh, knowing that much is nothing impressive, really. In the era I live in, all the animals in the world can be seen in zoos… 」

「So as to say, the animals have managed to understand one another? 」

(Damn you, woman! You could at least let me finish speaking before jumping to your own conclusions like that!)

While Yoshiharu was grumbling in his heart, he was also thinking:

(This might be the first time I’ve gotten to walk with Nobuna on the streets like this though…)

After noticing this, Yoshiharu couldn’t help it but to blush a little.

Ever since the Battle of Okehazama and the capturing of Mino and continuing all the way to their march to the capital, both of them had been very busy with their respective duties, so there was no time whatsoever for them to just kick back, relax and do stuff like this.
If there would come a day when peace really reigned over these lands, would there be more times where the two of them could walk like this around the city, leisurely enjoying their time off even though their current positions were totally different, and the world of the Sengoku era would never normally allow a pair like them to be together?

(Ugh! Damn it! I know I shouldn’t be overthinking it all like this, but… but even if it’s really going to be like this…. )

Even if it was really going to be like this, there was one thing that he had to admit about Nobuna.

(Really… Nobuna, this girl is just too cute today…! B-But today, she’s not Oda Nobuna, but simply Kichi-sama, the daughter of the Uiromochi store’s owner, s-so she should think nothing of it if I were to r-rub her s-shoulders for her, right?!)

「Hmmm, what is it? Is something wrong with my face? 」

「Ohhh?! Er…no…no…There’s just some nori on it, that’s all. 」

「Really? Where? Here? 」

「No. It’s not the left, it’s on the right side. 」

「I can’t see it myself. Help me take it off, Saru. 」

「Me? 」

「Hurry up and stop dilly dallying! 」

「Ah…o-okay. 」

Yoshiharu, while shivering, used his finger and lightly touched Nobuna’s cheek.

……

(Such a clear, delicate and soft feeling…. )

「Saru, is the nori off yet?「

「Ah…y-yeah, it is. 」

「Is there anything else? It’s not elegant for someone like me to have things like nori on my face, so make sure that you check properly, understand? 」

「Oh…okay… 」

Unknowingly, a sudden intention to shout 「 Kichi-sama!!! 」, hug Nobuna and carry her off to an inner part of the tea house and do unspeakable things to her welled-up in Yoshiharu’s heart.

(This is the perfect timing since Katsuie and Nagahide both aren’t around, so if anything were to happen, I won’t be blamed for it… oh, but Nobuna will most likely be the first to be angry at me… but as long as I bluffed her with an argument like ‘It’s to prevent any attempts at assassinations from ocurrying’… then yeah, maybe that could actually work.)

But then he immediately shook his head vigorously and came back to his senses.

(Oi, what the hell am I thinking about!? It is Nobuna, and I don’t like her one bit!! Ugh, it must be because I’ve been kept away from girls for too long! Just where can I find a beauty that’s going to be totally my type…? There!)

A bishoujo swordswoman with black hair and glittering eyes… isn’t she walking over here rather fast?

「Ohhh. This can’t be, don’t tell me she has fallen for me at first sight… 」

「What are you guys doing?! Nobuna-sama, Sagara-senpai! If you guys just sneaked all the way here without saying anything to anyone, I will be greatly troubled! 」

The beauty in question was actually Akechi Mitsuhide.

Yoshiharu had vaguely noticed it after seeing the kumquat-shaped accessory she had in her hair… and he immediately felt disappointed, but on the other hand, she is his cute kouhai who always addresses him as senpai, so at least that was some consolation. And at the same time, the fact that she is a refreshing and cool beautiful swordswoman is unmistakable.

「Hey, it’s Juubei-chan! Actually, we didn’t sneak in here without telling anyone. We came to Sakai in secret to earn 120,000 kan to make sure that Imagawa Yoshimoto gets chosen as the next Shogun. Wanna come and help us with that? 」

「Oh, I get it, so that’s how it is. If that’s the case, then please do let me tag along with you! 」

「Before I forget, this willful princess whose face is full of nori is the only daughter of Owari’s Uiromochi merchant named Kichi right now, and as for myself, I am the student of her father named Saru. 」