Chapter 96: Honesty

After a conversation that ended with Inami being assigned as Nobu's personal Guardian, the latter asked for a moment alone with Yui as they waited for the arrival of Kaia and her escort.

"Listen...I'm just gonna come out and say this..."

Tearing her eyes away from where her hand was interlinked with Nobu's, Yui's expression revealed a substantial amount of confusion as he lowered his head and stated, "I'm sorry. It never even crossed my mind that something like this might happen..."

"Eh...?"

Not understanding why Nobu was apologizing to her, Yui began to feel a little fretful as she went on to assert, "You haven't done anything meriting an apology. Please don't lower your head over something like this..."

Raising his head, Nobu's expression revealed even more confusion than Yui as he asked, "You're not mad...?"

Blinking in confusion, Yui tilted her head ever so slightly to the side as she asked, "Why would I be mad?

"..."

Noticing the genuine confusion in Yui's expression, Nobu was once again reminded that this wasn't his original world. He expected her to be at least a little upset that he had knocked up another woman, but, as if it was perfectly natural, she seemed more troubled by his apology than anything else...

Instead of focusing on why she should be upset, a wry smile developed across Nobu's face as he gently massaged Yui's hand with his thumb. This caused a subtle blush to develop across her face. This was pretty cute, but, compared to her expression when he said, "I wanted you to be the first to bear my child..." it was relatively tame.

If this were an anime world, Nobu imagined he would be able to see steam rising from Yui's head as her reddening expression spontaneously froze over. It was like she had blue-screened, her brain shutting down for several seconds before rebooting and allowing her to exclaim, "M-My Lord...!" in a befuddled tone of voice. She even snatched her hand away from him, a paradoxically flustered yet happy expression on her face as she cupped her cheeks with both hands.

"..."

After quickly recovering from his own stupor, a light chuckle emanated from Nobu's throat as he linked his left hand around Yui's body and promptly pulled her close. This startled her quite a bit, but, even when he rested his cheek on her head and reached around to embrace her shoulder, she offered no meaningful resistance.

"I'm serious. You saw how I dealt with your Grandmother and the Elders, right? I don't care what other people say or think. I already decided you're going to be my main wife. Isn't it only natural you give birth to my children?"

With her briefly widening to their maximum size, Yui looked up at Nobu with an incredulous yet visibly hopeful look as she asked, "You're serious...?"

Snorting through his nose, Nobu strengthened his hold on Yui as he leaned down to ask, "Do you need me to walk back inside and tell everyone we're going to get married before you'll believe me? Just how many times do I need to repeat the same thing before you realize I wasn't fucking around when I told you I loved you!?"

Though he wasn't really angry, Nobu adopted a stern and slightly accusatory tone towards the end of his statement. The way Yui was behaving was causing him to feel a little anxious. He wanted her to believe in him. If she couldn't trust him when he was literally bearing his soul right in front of her, he might lose it.

Surprised by Nobu's outburst, Yui began to feel a fair amount of panic as she hastily replied, "Okay, okay, I get it! Calm down! You're starting to scare me."

Resisting the urge to shout that he was calm, Nobu forced himself to take an uncannily long breath before exhaling a sigh and saying, "Sorry...I just..."

Shaking her head, Yui reached up to caress Nobu's cheek, forcing him to look at her as she said, "I know. I was just surprised. This is all so new to me and I've never been good at socializing. Before I met you, the only person I actively talked to was my Grandmother..."

Calming down much faster than usual, Nobu's expression relaxed as he cupped Yui's hand with his own and replied, "Yeah...I can still remember when we first met. You literally tied me up and beat me just because I looked at you funny..."

Blushing nearly as much as she had when Nobu admitted to wanting to impregnate her, Yui forced a smile as she averted her eyes and muttered, "I was kind of hoping you had forgotten about that..."

"Not on your life..."

Pulling the befuddled beauty onto his lap, Nobu hugged Yui from behind, his expression and tone serious as he said, "I want you to stop taking contraceptives..."

Though her training and conditioning told her it was wrong, the incident with Inami had shown Yui just how flexible the rules could be when the situation called for it. Nobu had literally impregnated their Clan's Ancestral Guardian without any immediate repercussions. Thus, while she was tempted to explain how improper his request was, the urge quickly faded as she replied with a meek. "Nn..."

"That's my girl..."

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Spying on the conversation between Nobu and Yui alongside Hitomi and the other Elders, a hint of concern bled into Inami's expression. She had quite the head start considering she was already five weeks pregnant, but, depending on the machinations of fate, there was still a chance that Yui could give birth to Nobu's first son...

Unfortunately, even if she wanted to protest Yui's developing relationship with Nobu, Inami wasn't exactly in a position to do so. She was already treading on thin ice after announcing her pregnancy, so, rather than voice her thoughts, she continued staring blankly into the crystal ball as Hitomi and the Elders discussed the events displayed within.

"At this point, I believe it's safe to say our Young Lord is thoroughly invested in the affairs of the Clan..."

Nodding her head in affirmation, Hitomi shifted her attention toward the woman who had spoken, Koharu, the Torture and Interrogation Elder. She could see a rather dangerous glint in the mature woman's eyes, so, before anyone else could speak, she advised, "At this point, I believe it is for the best to allow Nobunaga-sama to make his own decisions. Do not go out of your way to approach or seduce him. If his abilities are as reported, it is only a matter of time before he extends each of you an offer of friendship. Focus on supporting the children and let him decide for himself whether or not he'll approach you..."

Though she briefly squinted her eyes, Koharu did not argue with Hitomi. She had already reached her own conclusions regarding Nobu's character, so, while she didn't wholeheartedly agree with the Matriarch's methods, she understood her suggestion wasn't far off the mark. Nobu was the type to return kindness with consideration. They just needed to treat the people around him well and it was only a matter of time before he approached them.

With the exception of Fumetsu, whose every thought revolved around the integrity and security of the clan, all of the other Elders had similar thoughts running through their minds. Even Hitomi was no exception as it had been many years since she last experienced the warmth of another. Twenty, to be exact...

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After cuddling with Yui for the better part of an hour, Nobu's expression lit up as he saw a rather large group rounding the bend leading up the mountain. Yui noticed this, so, while he waited for the group to arrive, she went to retrieve Onihime and inform her Grandmother of their imminent departure.

Fortunately, while Kaia was clearly agitated even before she saw Nobu waiting at the top of the stairs, she didn't attempt to break free from her encirclement. Instead, she allowed Kiku, Yuriko, Aiko, and Ayane to slowly escort her up the stairs, each holding the end of a very thick length of chain. Said chains connected to a metal collar around Kaia's neck, and, though her legs were left free, her arms had been wrapped in belt-like bindings that started from her shoulders and ran the entire length of her arms. As for her rather fierce-looking paws, she had specialized manacles that pressed metal rods into each of her joints. This prevented her from so much as twitching her claws until the custom-made device had been completely removed.

Noticing each of these things as the group moved closer, a frown briefly developed across Nobu's face as he internally remarked, ("Talk about overkill...")

Shaking that thought from his mind, Nobu made his way down the stairs to intercept the group. This caused the four escorting Kaia to visibly tense, but, paying them no mind, Nobu unhesitantly approached the eager-looking wolf woman, a smile on his face as he extended his hand to caress the space between her ears.

"Nobu/My Lord...!" x3

Though it earned him incredulous looks from Yuriko, Aiko, and Kiku, Nobu's expression was a mask of calm as he said, "Take these things off of her. She isn't an animal. She's our companion. Besides, I have the four of you here. You're not going to tell me the four of you working together can't handle a single person. Are you?"

"..." x4

Following a rather awkward silence, Aiko exhaled an inaudible sigh before reaching her fingers into her rather prominent cleavage. This caused Nobu's brows to perk up, but, rather than ask why she kept the key there of all places, he just nodded his head in approval before stepping away so she could more easily access Kaia's bindings.

While everyone else was tensing up and focused on her, Kaia's pale, moon-like eyes were wholly focused on Nobu. She had dreamed about him every night since their last meeting, and, were it not for her caretakers sedating her on the night of the full moon, she might have tried to escape just to go and see him. Now that he was right in front of her, the only thing preventing her from pouncing on him were the words he had spoken to her during their last encounter. Words that were repeated like a mantra within her mind.

With a hissing sound, the pressure locking Kaia's joints was gradually alleviated until the bindings on her arms fell away. After that, all four girls needed to insert keys to remove the collar around her neck. It also released a hissing sound, as, much like the manacles around her paws, there were rigid, screw-like protrusions on the inside of the collar.

Now that she could both breathe and speak freely, Kaia's expression morphed into a breathtaking display of longing as she mewled a sonorous, "Master..."

Ignoring the concerned looks of the other four girls, Nobu spread his arms, a wry smile on his face as he said, "Don't forget to control your strength."

Though she wanted nothing more than to pounce on him, pick him up, and run away, Kaia just nodded her head before sheepishly approaching Nobu with her arms spread wide. When she felt his arms wrap around her, her tail immediately began to waggle as she nestled against his chest and repeated, "Master~." as if it was the only thing she knew how to say.

Chuckling lightly, Nobu used one hand to hug Kaia's body while the other moved up to caress the back of her head. She was quite a bit taller than the other girls at 169cm, but, considering he had grown to about 185 since his arrival in Nian, Nobu still had a rather substantial height advantage. As for why his height had increased, it apparently had something to do with him ingesting a ton of herbs when he was younger. Now that he was able to cultivate, the residual effects of the herbs had been activated, so, despite only a couple of weeks passing since he started actively training, he was already beginning to bulk up quite a bit...

As that and many other thoughts crossed his mind, Nobu was slightly startled when he felt the very tip of Kaia's tongue lick his neck. Her muzzle prevented her from drawing her mouth anywhere near him, but, seemingly intoxicated by his aroma, she began to trace her tongue along his carotid artery with a hazy and unfocused look on her face...

("Well that's fucking terrifying...")

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(A/N: Terrifyingly adorable...!)