Chapter 108
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 108
Chapter Title: Eve of the Storm (2)
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"It's been a while."
"Oh, please come inside first."
Baek Il-yeong offered a brief greeting to the two women.
They promptly led him deeper into the hall, relocating to their seats.
Thanks to that, he could examine the interior quite closely.
He soon confirmed that their lodgings here were no less impressive than the Hirate household itself, and he couldn't help but sink into subtle musings.
And why not? It meant Oda Nobunaga treated the two women with anything but neglect.
Nohime. And Ikoma Kitsuno.
In the original history, both women would have been Oda Nobunaga's lovers.
How long had it been since he'd started walking while lost in such thoughts?
As they passed down the corridor to an even more secluded area, attendants opened the doors and bowed deeply.
"This way, please."
Baek Il-yeong scanned the room interior.
A small tray with simple refreshments was all there was, but even at a glance, it was clear a lot of care had gone into it.
With that in mind, he offered a faint smile to the bowing female attendants and said,
"Thank you."
Perhaps because so much time had passed since his last visit here.
Now, he could speak casually without even trying. Of course, the attendants who received his greeting flushed faintly in secret.
In any case, once they had all taken their seats, poured tea, and the attendants had withdrawn,
they exchanged glances across from one another.
"......"
A moment of silence flowed between them.
And then, the one to break it was none other than Nohime—Kicho—with her silver hair and silver eyes.
"I heard you went through something major."
She didn't even glance at the refreshments before her, instead gazing at the somewhat gaunt Baek Il-yeong with eyes laced with concern.
It was probably about the Sue Mori incident.
"I got lucky."
He meant it sincerely. The process had been a bit bumpy, but all things considered, things had turned out rather well.
"I don't know the details, but I'm truly glad. Even here in Owari, we were worried something like Mino might happen."
Yet worry still lingered on Nohime's face. Baek Il-yeong soon realized it stemmed from the trauma of Kicho, now called Nohime, and let out a wry smile.
'Mino was honestly... a total mess.'
Owari wasn't all that different, but unlike Owari, which had reached a fairly positive conclusion in the end, Mino had ended in catastrophe.
The daughter had killed her father and seized power.
She'd slaughtered all who wouldn't submit, and even sent assassins after blood kin who fled after relinquishing authority.
Because of that, Baek Il-yeong hesitated, unsure how to comfort her as he chose his words.
But at that moment.
"Please don't worry, my lady."
Akechi Mitsuhide, kneeling behind Baek Il-yeong, spoke up. Now bound to him, she was overstepping by speaking without her lord's prompting, but she paid it no mind, continuing with clear eyes.
"Spring will come to Mino soon enough."
She didn't string together many words.
Yet Akechi Mitsuhide and Nohime, sharing the pain of losing their entire families, found solace in gazing at one another.
"It will."
How could Baek Il-yeong not understand?
Thus, he didn't scold Akechi Mitsuhide and simply nodded agreeably.
"......"
"......Hmm."
Perhaps because they'd delved into such heavy matters.
The atmosphere grew even weightier, and Baek Il-yeong gauged the timing for broaching the main topic as he toyed with his teacup.
It was then.
"That said, I doubt the ever-busy Lord Hirate came just to check on us..."
Ikoma Kitsuno, who had quietly listened to the exchange between the two, met Baek Il-yeong's eyes with her characteristic leisurely smile.
Her gaze, tinged with brown, reached him, and she nodded as if urging him to speak freely, continuing,
"You have something to say?"
She naturally lightened the mood and gave him the opening to speak. Thanks to her, Baek Il-yeong nodded while thinking something trivial like, Older women really are different.
"Yes. Though it's actually a request for Lady Ikoma, not Nohime."
"Oh, me?"
But his words, in response to her help, proved surprisingly unexpected, and she widened her eyes at him.
Baek Il-yeong nodded readily.
"Yes. There's something I'd like to discuss with you, Lady Ikoma."
"......Ah. Shall I step out for a bit, then?"
How could Nohime miss the hint?
Realizing Baek Il-yeong wanted to speak with Ikoma Kitsuno alone, she offered cautiously, and he replied with a gentle smile.
"Sorry about that. But to keep you from getting lonely until we're done, I'll leave Akechi with you."
"Ah...! Yes!"
Fortunately, it seemed the right call.
Seeing Nohime, whom he quite liked, brighten up brought a brotherly smile to his face.
"Then."
Akechi Mitsuhide, who had apparently anticipated this, bowed her head and exited with Nohime.
—Creak, click!
With Nohime and Akechi Mitsuhide now outside, the spacious room held only Baek Il-yeong, Ikoma Kitsuno, and Itsuki for guard duty.
—Rustle.
Baek Il-yeong reached out and took his teacup.
Ikoma Kitsuno, silently watching him all the while, spoke with her usual relaxed smile.
"So, what is it you need?"
At Ikoma's words, Baek Il-yeong looked up at her.
Her brown-tinged hair and eyes were no different from any beauty's, but her slightly drooping eyes could make one mistake her for fragile at a glance.
However, Baek Il-yeong didn't underestimate her.
After all, hadn't he shared the experience of crossing the borders with her when retrieving Nohime before?
'No ordinary woman could react like that.'
She was no one to take lightly.
And his assessment was confirmed when she had seen through his intentions moments ago.
"First, let me ask."
Thus, without beating around the bush, he cut straight to the point. Ikoma Kitsuno smiled as if pleased and nodded.
"Go ahead."
"Which side do you think it is?"
"What do you mean?"
At Baek Il-yeong's question, Ikoma Kitsuno shrugged slightly and reached for her teacup to sip her tea. The faintly hot brew warmed her hand, and just as she brought the cup to her lips.
"Why pretend you don't know?"
Baek Il-yeong smiled, holding his own teacup with tea inside.
"Mino, Owari, Mikawa, Totoumi, Suruga..."
The places he listed were the regions surrounding Owari where the Ikoma trading firm conducted business.
Thus, she slowly parted her lips from the tea, staring at him as if to say go on, and Baek Il-yeong continued without avoiding her gaze.
"Among those places. No."
And the words that followed.
"Which daimyo who holds territory there do you think will reach the capital?"
Ikoma Kitsuno couldn't answer right away and had to close her mouth.
—Who will reach the capital?
Put another way, it was tantamount to asking who she thought would reach the shogun.
Thus, Ikoma Kitsuno replied with a still-smiling face... but a slightly stiffened expression.
"That's far too heavy a topic for a mere widow and merchant to answer."
"Who says you're a mere merchant?"
But from the moment he'd started the conversation, Baek Il-yeong had no intention of letting her off easily.
He needed her for this, after all.
"From the daimyo's perspective, merchants aren't easy to antagonize. Threaten them with swords and guns right now, and in the long term, it's nothing but loss."
No matter how mighty the daimyo, they couldn't easily turn merchants into enemies unless they swallowed the entire archipelago.
"Wars require supplies, so how could they antagonize the merchants who provide them?"
Food could be self-sufficient, to some extent.
But war didn't end with just filling soldiers' bellies.
"They need armor to clothe them, arrows to shoot, horses and fodder."
In times of unending war, those who profited were rulers and merchants. A bit off-topic, but it wasn't for nothing that America raked in fortunes during World War II.
Though he'd spoken at length, the point was singular.
—Clink.
"Let me rephrase."
And with that, locking eyes with her, he revealed the true reason for his visit.
"Choose Oda Nobunaga."
Baek Il-yeong set down his teacup, impassively meeting the silently staring gaze of Ikoma Kitsuno.
"You absolutely won't regret it."
With those words, he flashed a confident smile.
"......Really."
Thus, Ikoma Kitsuno, who had been listening, let out an incredulous laugh before speaking.
"You know what? You would've made a great merchant yourself."
"Pardon?"
It was an answer that left Baek Il-yeong tilting his head in confusion.