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Volume 3 Chapter 7 Part 4

This moment of happiness was the one that only the two of them could share…

… but it wasn’t long after that that Nagamasa was called by her father to the great hall of Odani Castle.

「Nagamasa. Oda Nobuna has broken the pact agreed between us and started invading the Echizen province. She had already conquered Tsuruga’s Tsuzukuyama castle, and is attacking Kanegasaki Castle even as we speak. Apparently, she planned to keep us, the Azai clan in the dark about this until the very end. 」

Ever since his own 「son」, Azai Nagamasa married the Oda clan’s princess and became Nobuna’s comrade, Hisamasa had been brooding, unable to come to terms with his son’s decision. And now that he learned about what Nobuna was planning to do, he has finally gathered all of his retainers and advisors and suggested to Nagamasa the plan to cut all ties with the Oda clan and send reinforcements to the Asakura clan.

「That… I am afraid that it cannot be done, father. I will go along with anything else that you might plan, but this one thing I must beg you to reconsider! 」

Though Azai Hisamasa was just an ordinary warrior who didn’t know a thing about how wars should be effectively waged, the fact remained that he was still Azai Nagamasa’s father, and that she couldn’t openly defy him.

Nagamasa fell deep into thought. Azai Hisamasa’s retainers had also split into 2 factions, quarreling non-stop about whether to stand with the Asakura clan or the Oda clan. If the issue was not settled soon, the Azai clan might be torn asunder from the inside due to all the infighting between them. And if that happens, the battle between Nagamasa and her father would definitely be unavoidable!

「Father. The Oda clan and the Azai clan already have a strong relationship. If we betray the Oda clan now, what is going to happen to Oichi? 」

Hisamasa came closer to Nagamasa and whispered to her ears so that only she could hear him.

「What nonsense are you spouting now, Nagamasa… Don’t tell me you are really so charmed by that Oda clan’s brat that you can’t think straight anymore? 」

「One would need to search far and wide for a beauty like Oichi-sama. Nagamasa-sama will definitely be faithful to her… 」

The retainers were all whispering among themselves, but to Hisamasa who did not know the truth, this was just a silly farce of a marriage. But even though Nagamasa and Nobusumi had always cross-dressed in front of others, in private they had been entwined as genuine lovers. If the Azai clan chooses to betray Nobuna, then that would mean that not only would Nagamasa betray his sister, but his lover as well.

However, it is true that if the Azai clan marched to war, eliminating the Oda troops that are already deep in the territory of Echizen would be child’s play for them, and even with all of Nobuna’s talent, she’d likely be unable to escape death at their hands.

「Father, please listen to me. Oichi is actually…」

「Shut up, Nagamasa. In this situation, you are still thinking about the enemy’s princess?! Where is your loyalty to your own family?! 」

Oichi is actually a man… If she explained that, Hisamasa would definitely scream in shock something along the lines of: 「Nobuna lied to us! 」and would become even more enraged, so Nagamasa could only swallow her words.

「Father, if that’s the case, please tell me one thing. After we defeat Oda Nobuna, what do you plan to do with this country? 」

「Nothing. The Ashikaga clan is extinct. Right now, we should follow the Imagawa Shogunate and re-establish the old rules of this country. 」

「’Rules’ have not existed in this country ever since the Onin war! Now is the time when Nobuna-dono can establish new rules in this war-ridden country! Moreover, now is the most crucial period for it 」

「She is a Demon Lord aiming to destroy this country! Not only did she hurl insults towards the Kampaku Konoe Sakihisa, she even suggested to the esteemed Himiko-sama something crazy like ‘There is no difference in the value of the lives of warriors and nobles’! She must be the reincarnation of Sutoku-denka, which is to say, an unforgivable traitor ! 」

「That is just her way of rejecting the old, wrong values that brought this country to the miserable state it currently is in! 」

Looking at the Nagamasa who resisted him, Hisamasa said this lightly.

「I think it is high time for you to return the position of head of the clan that I once relinquished back to me. 」

「Father!? What are you talking about!? 」

「Men, lock Nagamasa up at Chikubu island, and until he calms down, don’t let him out! 」

In the past, when Hisamasa’s retainers pushed Nagamasa to replace the inept Hisamasa as the head of the Azai clan, Hisamasa was kept in Chikubu Island.

「After we kill Oda Nobuna, I will return the position to you and become a monk. Don’t hate me for it, Nagamasa. With this, we are simply even. 」

When Nagamasa had succeeded her father as the clan head, she had him detained on the very same island. Even to this point, Nagamasa still felt guilty for what she had done. It’s because of this that she was unable to go against her own father.

(No. How can I be an unfilial child again… If I continue to fight, I might cross swords with father. Facing my own father, would I really had what it takes to kill him? Even that merciless Takeda Shingen only banished her own father once.)

As such, Nagamasa gave up on resisting.
Hisamasa watched as his advisors took Nagamasa away and left her with these words.

「The one that I had hoped to see controlling the world wasn’t Oda Nobuna, but you. A golden opportunity such as this one will never appear again. Forgive me, Nagamasa. 」

(If it’s Oda Nobuna, she would slay her own father as she shed tears of blood. For the stability of the country, for the dream of saving this world from the curse of war, she would definitely do it. But the difference between me and Nobuna is just too great, my resolve is far inferior… Why doesn’t father understand this?)

Nagamasa cried silently in his heart.

Escorted by the advisors, Nagamasa passed by the hallway. At this moment, Oichi… Nobusumi suddenly rushed over to him with a pale face.

「Wh-what is going on here…!? 」

「My lady, you can’t come over. 」

The retainers of Hisamasa formed a human wall and separated the two of them.

「…If this goes on, Nee-sama will…! 」

「Kanjuuro! If Nobuna-dono dies like this, the war will go on forever. If that happens, we will have no chance of resisting the barbarian countries… From now on, I’ll be leaving things in your hands! 」

「Who is Kanjuuro?! 」

「Where is he? 」

As the retainers glanced at each other in confusion, Oichi understood what Nagamasa meant and rushed out of the hall immediately.
(I must get to Echizen’s Kanegasaki castle! Every second counts!)

But since he was dressed in the elegant clothes of a princess, the soldiers chasing Nobusumi as he galloped across Odani castle were gradually getting closer and closer to him. The people in the town were all shocked at the presence of Oichi-hime, not understanding what had happened.

No one could see that the Nobusumi in front of them was actually a guy, but they were all mesmerized by the attractive looks of the cross-dressing hunk, and were cheering with the words such as「Thank you for the eye candy, Oichi-hime! 」or 「If I can accompany Oichi-hime, I’m willing to die a hundred times! 」 and were crying and bowing to him, so no one heard the desperate Nobusumi as he was pleading:

「Is there anyone here who can help me?! Ahhh, it’s a sin to be this beautiful… Er, now isn’t the time for me to go all giddy-headed! If I’m caught, Nee-sama will…! 」

Though Nobusumi was the eldest son of a warrior clan, his horse riding skills and shooting skills were mediocre at best, so almost immediately after he left Odani Castle and made way for Echizen, he fell from his horse and was surrounded by the soldiers of the Azai clan.

「Oichi-sama! Please don’t do anything silly that we all might come to regret later. 」

「Please go back to Nagamasa-sama’s side! 」

「Don’t come any closer! Ahh, if this was Owari, my fanbase would definitely protect me…! 」

Just when Nobusumi had plucked up his courage and decided to pull out his sword and fight it out with his pursuers, he remembered that his current identity was Oichi the lady, and Oichi didn’t keep any swords on her person.