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Volume 3 Chapter 2 Part 3

「I understand. Then, I shall be the sword master who is acting as Kichi-sama’s bodyguard, Juubei then. 」

「Wait, Juubei, aren’t you supposed to be guarding Kyoto? 」

Nobuna muttered unhappily.

「I finally got to be alone with Monkey, so… 」

「Hm? What did you say, Nobuna-sama? 」

「Eh… N-nothing at all, I said nothing! Kumquat, since you have offered it yourself, then work with us! 」

「Understood! 」

Akechi nodded with a serious face from her seat on a bench next to the two of them.

「Juubei, do you have any good ideas on what we should do next? I think that since this is a city of gold, Sakai, then there must be a chance to strike it big in a single night or so. 」

「Kichi-jo-sama, if that is what you’re looking for, then here in Sakai, there is indeed a way for you to gain money incredibly fast. 」

Akechi coughed lightly and made a pause, waiting for what Nobuna would say to that.

「Do continue. 」

「Just using our troops that are stationed in the capital is going to be enough for this. First, bring troops to surround Sakai, then order the troops to set fire to the city. Though there are mercenaries guarding Sakai, they will scatter upon seeing the fire, since they’re not being paid for protecting it from natural disasters. After that, you can just bring troops to subdue Sakai after it has been scorched to the ground, and with that, Sakai’s fortune will be yours for the taking. 」

「To think that you could say something like that with a completely straight face…Juubei-chan, your way of doing things is unexpectedly cruel. 」

Yoshiharu couldn’t help but tremble at the mere thought of it..

「No! What are you saying, Juubei?! if we burn it, there won’t be any meaning in us coming here in the first place, right?! 」

「Maybe so, but we don’t have that much time before the deadline set by Konoe Sakihisa ends, so we don’t exactly have the luxury of choice here. 」

「I already said we can’t do it. Look at this city. Sakai is linked to the world, truly a golden city! Compared to dark Kyoto that is burdened by war, the atmosphere here is totally different! 」

Nobuna stretched out both her hands and said while looking at the scenery around her. The streets were filled not only with western barbarians, but also with various types of locals, creating a real cauldron of different nationalities…. No, to be completely honest, the residents of Sakai have transcended even that.

Also, thanks to the city trading with the West and letting everyone profit off of it, the neutral city of Sakai has always been void of wars, thanks to which the economy in this place was exceedingly good, even in the turbulent times of the Sengoku era.

Even the arquebus-carrying mercenaries who were employed by the city’s authorities, had relaxed expressions on their faces, almost as if all of them were saying: 「No one will come to Sakai and stir trouble, so we can just take it easy. 」

This is the true appearance of the free trade city that the future Tokugawa government had sealed off and isolated from the world.
「So you think that Kyoto is too dark? I-is that so…? 」

The very traditional Akechi tilted her head to the side.

「Don’t you understand? Open your eyes and take a look around you! These people wearing western attires and singing about their current lifestyle, those boats that are stopping in the harbor for trade; if we burn and destroy such a city, those animals and camels that came a long way with them will be troubled, and those western merchants will also spread bad opinions about how I destroyed this golden city for my own personal gain. If that happens, won’t it be disadvantageous for me when I will move out to take control of the world? And besides, to me, this of Sakai is a place with which I have very fond and special memories. 」

「Memories, huh? 」

「Yes, that’s correct. This is the city that is full of memories of me walking through them with my first love! 」

*Cough!* *Cough! *Hack!*

Yoshiharu was almost choked to death by the Takoyaki that got stuck in his mouth.

「Kichi-jo-sama. Yoshiharu-senpai was obviously taken aback by your words, by the looks of it. 」

「Hehehe. What’s wrong, Saru? Why are you suddenly so getting so flustered~? 」

*Cough!* Cough!* Cough!*

(Nobuna’s…first love…? But… but isn’t her first love supposed to be me? No, no, no, who Nobuna likes is totally, absolutely none of my business, really! But… huh? No wonder her mood is so good and she is acting so cute… it’s all because she was thinking about some guy from her past! And here I thought that she was having so much fun because she was here with me! How, totally, utterly stupid of me! But then… why do I feel so down all of a sudden!)

Ignoring Yoshiharu who was kicking up a fuss nearby, Akechi and Nobuna started whispering to themselves.

「That first love, how did you meet him? 」

「When father came here 10 years ago, there were actually 3 of us, but keep this a secret from Monkey! 」

「10 years ago? But at that time… at that time Nobuna-sama should be just 6 or 7 years old, so… 」

「Yeah, I think I was about 6 or maybe 7. And, rather than first love, I think it would be better to say that the feeling I had for him was admiration more than anything else, or respect towards an older brother… but unfortunately, he is already dead. 」

「Is that so… Should I tell this to senpai who still doesn’t know this fact? 」

「Nah, just let him be for now. This monkey has become arrogant due to his recent achievements, and since I am no longer bound by the promise of marriage to Azai Nagamasa anymore, it’s time for me to bully him again, hehehe! 」

「Hmmm. Since you have said it, let me help out too. I do not want to make it look like I’m bragging or anything, but I do have pretty good knowledge about the ‘72 methods of bullying’. I just want you to not judge me based on that fact alone. 」

「Haha… Juubei, you sure are all-knowing. Okay then! Saru has been getting more and more prideful recently, so just go all out and bully him into oblivion! You have my official permission! 」

「Understood! 」

Akechi Mitsuhide revealed a sinister smile, but Nobuna did not notice it, since she herself was in pretty high spirits.

「What is it, why are the two of you whispering together about? D=Don’t mind me, I’m… I…I…I am just choking on the Takoyaki here! 」

「Hehe. It’s nothing, Saru. Excuse me for a moment while I go wash my hands. 」

Nobuna left her seat while chuckling to herself, and Akechi sat beside Yoshiharu with the same sinister smile on her face, but Yoshiharu did not notice the sudden change in Akechi’s expression either since he himself was filled with all sorts of lewd delusions after Akechi smiled and said, 「Finally we are alone, Sagara-senpai!」, grabbed his arms and pulled him closer to herself.

(Ahhh… Juubei-chan’s lips are getting closer to my own ears!)

「W-w-what is it, Juubei-chan? Don’t tell me, you want to comfort the poor old me that was trampled all over by Nobuna? You’re going to make my heart skip a beat! 」

「…Shut up, gorilla. 」

……

(That sentence just now… was I hearing things? I mean, I had to. Such crude words couln’t have possibly been spoken by the hardworking and pure Juubei-chan, right? Yeah, it’s impossible.)

「Nobuna-sama has given me permission to bully you to oblivion, and that is what I intend to do. So, from today onwards, I will call Sagara-senpai a Gorilla. That being said, even though you are a gorilla, you are still my senpai, so I will allow you to have at least that one little bit of dignity intact. 」

Ehhhhhhhhh?

「Oi, Juubei-chan? Don’t be so serious about this, okay?, You don’t have to obey all of Nobuna’s orders if you don’t want to. 」

「Shut up, Gorilla. Don’t talk to me as if we were close to one another! 」

*SLAP!*

Yoshiharu’s hand was then slapped away by Akechi mercilessly.

「In my body flows the blood of the esteemed Toki clan. If everything went smoothly, it would not have been surprising if I inherited the position of Daimyo of Mino from Dosan-sama. The reason why I can maintain good relationships with Sakai and Kyoto is also because of my bloodline. I don’t remember ever being close to you, a gorilla who claims to have come from the future, at all. 」