Chapter 78
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 78
Chapter Title: Predetermined Battle Situation
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“How did you know?”
Baek Il-yeong couldn’t help but ask in return. In response, Shibata Katsuie replied in a rather matter-of-fact tone.
“I smell blood.”
There were plenty of clues to guess from.
Even if one could overlook him suddenly riding out in the dead of night, he had returned at dawn with blood dripping from him, without even time for a meal. It was obvious.
She gazed steadily at Il-yeong, who had already returned to his usual expression, and asked,
“Did you... kill the lady?”
Even if her loyalty had wavered, it didn’t mean complete betrayal. Shibata Katsuie bit her lip beneath her mask and asked Il-yeong.
And at that moment.
—Swish.
The tent flap rustled, and Itsuki returned carrying what was quite a lavish home-cooked meal for a battlefield. Despite the ominous atmosphere, he simply placed the food on the table without a second glance and stepped back.
Shibata Katsuie didn’t touch her food. Naturally, her eyes drifted to the meal, and Il-yeong quickly added,
“Finish your meal first, and then I’ll explain.”
His voice carried a hint of playfulness. Instinctively, a certainty flashed through Shibata Katsuie’s mind.
‘You didn’t kill her.’
She looked up at Il-yeong’s face. It was strangely captivating. Frightening when serious, yet his smiles made her avert her eyes for no reason.
...This is odd.
Being around this man made her feel strangely off somehow. As Shibata Katsuie thought that, her hand unconsciously moved toward the strap of her mask.
But in that instant, her hand froze just as it gripped the strap. She glanced at Il-yeong belatedly, feeling her racing heart and the hand clutching the strap, and stopped thinking altogether.
“Haha.”
Seeing this, Il-yeong realized why she was reacting that way and nodded reassuringly.
“I’ve already dismissed everyone.”
“...Yes.”
“You can take it off.”
“...Yes.”
“You’ll need to if you want to eat.”
Il-yeong picked up his chopsticks and lightly fluffed his rice. Hesitantly, Shibata Katsuie undid the strap holding her mask in place.
—Swish.
The Hannya mask covering her mouth and scar fell into her hand. Just as Shibata Katsuie instinctively moved to cover her scar,
“It’s pretty even with that.”
Il-yeong muttered as he put a bite of rice in his mouth, leaving her frozen once more.
She looked utterly adorable like that.
So, he used his chopsticks to tear off a piece of grilled fish and placed it on her rice bowl.
“It’s getting cold.”
“...Yes.”
Shibata Katsuie stared at the fish atop her rice for a moment before carefully picking it up and putting it in her mouth.
And then, the only sounds were those of chewing and swallowing rice.
After all the twists and turns, the meal finally ended. Thanks to Il-yeong’s words, Shibata Katsuie managed to finish without putting her mask back on.
Il-yeong called for Akechi Mitsuhide to bring tea, then sipped it with a satisfied expression.
He turned to Shibata Katsuie, who was staring piercingly at him.
“As you said, I went to Suemori Castle. I met the lady and asked her to end the rebellion.”
He recounted yesterday’s events plainly. Shibata Katsuie simply nodded silently, waiting for him to continue.
“She said she couldn’t.”
“I see.”
It was the answer she had expected. Having served Oda Nobuyuki as her lord instead of Oda Nobunaga, she knew it well.
Thus, Shibata Katsuie had no choice but to repeat what she had said before.
“I’ll go.”
Il-yeong had stopped her last time for a reason. In this era where honor mattered greatly, what Shibata Katsuie intended was true suicide.
So, Il-yeong shook his head.
“Seppuku would be fortunate.”
That was the truth. A defeated general returning to urge surrender? But this time, Shibata Katsuie didn’t back down easily.
“We need to settle this before the Imagawa and Saito clans recover their forces. And right after I lost to Lord Hikage, the outcome is all but decided. There’s no need to fight at all.”
Shibata Katsuie was right too. Among those siding with Oda Nobuyuki, no general could stand against Il-yeong, the one dubbed the Yaksha. Moreover, Il-yeong’s forces had absorbed Shibata’s and grown even stronger.
Their eyes met.
The answer was the same. It was just that the path to it wasn’t clear.
“I’ll stake my life to persuade Lady Dota Gozen. Please let me go.”
Shibata Katsuie pleaded earnestly again, and after much deliberation, Il-yeong sighed and shook his head slightly as if resigned.
“Sigh, no helping it.”
Unlike his previous refusals, this held some leeway. Naturally, Shibata Katsuie’s expression brightened—
Il-yeong added with his signature sly grin.
“I’ll go with you.”
“Pardon?”
And of course, Shibata Katsuie’s eyes widened round.
*
At Il-yeong’s command, new masks arrived from Kiyosu Castle—not simple lower-face coverings, but ones that hid the entire face. Il-yeong hung the broken mask high on a flag as a show, bound Shibata Katsuie symbolically for appearance’s sake, placed her on the horse, and sat behind her.
“Ah, no matter how I think about it, this is...”
“I know, but it can’t be helped.”
Walking to Suemori Castle would take too long. Leaving Shibata Katsuie alone risked accidents with the ropes. It was an unavoidable choice.
Of course, Il-yeong knew the position was a bit awkward, but what could he do?
“March out!”
At Il-yeong’s order, the great army advanced across the plain, banners of Oda Nobunaga, the Hirate family, Niwa family, and others held high. Il-yeong gripped the reins and urged the horse forward.
—Neigh!
The horses galloped swiftly across the plain, shaking Il-yeong and Shibata Katsuie atop theirs.
Fortunately, their armor prevented the kind of intimate contact lewd imaginations might conjure. Though holding the reins meant he had to ride as if embracing her?
Still, Il-yeong had no ulterior motives.
...It’d be a lie to say none at all, but excluding what any man might naturally feel, truly none.
How long had they ridden?
Shibata Katsuie, her face hidden beneath the mask, whispered to Il-yeong so quietly the other samurai couldn’t hear.
“You’re... a bit too close.”
“Oh.”
Il-yeong pulled back slightly, and Shibata Katsuie sighed in relief, freeing herself a bit from his arm brushing her chest. Only then did Il-yeong notice her flushed nape.
“I know it’s uncomfortable, but bear with it a little longer. We’re almost there.”
So, he whispered softly in her ear and shouted,
“Pick up the pace!”
And how much farther did they go?
They passed a couple of hills where new grass was already sprouting. Commoners hid in their homes from the marching army, beasts chattered at the flapping clan banners and fled to the mountains.
Spotting a fairly large castle in the distance, Il-yeong shouted.
“Suemori Castle! Entire army, halt!”
They stopped on a small hill not far from Suemori Castle. Il-yeong dismounted, leaving Shibata Katsuie on the horse, and beckoned Itsuki.
Itsuki dismounted and approached promptly.
“Yes, my lord.”
Now a loyal retainer, he hid his sly playfulness and replied earnestly. Il-yeong commanded his trusted right-hand man.
“Select 20 elites and make a white flag. We’re entering Suemori Castle.”
“...Pardon?”
Even he couldn’t help but be stunned by this order. Entering Suemori Castle, of all things.
“Is that safe?”
“Yeah. Seems dangerous.”
Even Niwa Nagahide, who had overheard, voiced her concern. But Il-yeong looked at her and said,
“They won’t be able to kill me.”
It was near certainty. So, though they wanted to ask how he was so sure, Il-yeong answered first.
“Because they know that too.”
—If they kill me.
“They’d have to face Oda Nobunaga’s wrath without Shibata Katsuie.”
Shibata Katsuie was right.
The moment she fell, their siege was nothing but pointless stubbornness.
Thus, Il-yeong unfastened his armor right there. The thick leather straps securing it fell to the ground under his hands, leaving him in just the robe from his bosom, lightly stroking the hilt of Onimaru at his waist. He ordered Itsuki, who stared blankly.
“What are you doing? Move.”
Akechi Mitsuhide, watching this, thought,
...Is he insane?