Chapter 42: Hidden Dangers

Ignoring the protests of his body and the burning of his legs and thighs, Nobu followed after Yui until they reached a clearing near the top of the mountain. Here, a number of girls wearing Miko-like attire could be seen carefully tending to the area while others, seemingly taking a break, sat off to the sides with peaceful, almost emotionless, expressions on their faces.

Though the sight of girls in Miko outfits was eye-catching on its own, the things that caught Nobu's attention were the fox-like ears and tails protruding from the girls' heads and lower backs. He could tell, even at a glance, that they were the real deal. They were nothing like the feeble imitations worn by men and women fishing for attention back in his previous world. Instead, they followed the girls' movements naturally and, at times, even twitched when the wind managed to caress the finer hairs on the inside of their ears.

Noticing Nobu's slight stupefaction, Yui, who had been intending to suggest they take a break, took it upon herself to explain, "When a tremendous volume of Divine Power is concentrated in a single region, there is a chance that developing fetus will develop traits associated with the presiding God or Goddess. These are known as Blessed Children, and, as you can see here, a number of Yoshitsune Clan members who have inherited the vulpine features and Divine Power of Inari Okami-sama..."

Seemingly drawn to the sound of Yui's voice, the majority of Mikos in the area looked over to see who she was talking to. This caused Nobu's body to instinctually tense, not because he was afraid of them, but because Divine Power had a suppressive effect on those without it. The girls had also inherited Inari's 'fertility' trait, so, the moment they saw a man, their pupils briefly contracted before they quickly dispersed.

Expecting Nobu to ask why the girls were practically running away, Yui gestured towards a stone bench before explaining, "In this region, foxes go into heat around the end of winter. As Priestesses serving Inari Okami-sama, the girls here are prohibited from having sex outside of certain rituals. If they were to stay here while a man was present, their instincts would gradually override their senses until they either collapsed from fever or obtained the seed of a man. Once we depart, they will most likely congregate around this area and...well...I'm certain you can imagine..."

Forcing a smile, Nobu sat down on the pleasantly cool stone bench before patting the spot next to him and saying, "Take a seat."

Now that they were inside the clan, Yui was apprehensive about deviating from the etiquette and decorum that had been drilled into her mind from birth. In the end, however, Nobu was her Lord, and, as such, she was honor-bound to obey. Thus, after a very brief moment of hesitation, she sat down next to him before immediately turning statuesque, face turning white as a sheet, when he abruptly laid his head on her thighs and noted, "I've always wanted to try this..." in a lazy tone of voice.

After recovering from her shock, Yui's expression became inordinately serious as she looked around for any signs they were being spied on. At the same time, her voice remained low as she said, "Lord Nobunaga-sama. This isn't proper. If someone were to see us like this-"

"Bruh..."

Confused by Nobu's exasperated expression, Yui fell completely silent as he rolled onto his back, his face a flawless deadpan as he remarked, "You have little girls running around completely naked and a bunch of horned-up foxes that are going to be pleasuring themselves to my scent. Are you telling me that shit is perfectly acceptable while something as tame as a lap pillow is a problem? Come the fuck on..."

Though she wanted to explain that they were two entirely separate matters, the one thing Yui had learned about Nobu's character was that he viewed society in broad strokes. He didn't care about things like traditions in the slightest. He only cared about whether or not something was right and wrong from a purely objective standpoint. This was an incredibly naive way to view the world, but, at the same time, she couldn't really find the words to explain why he was wrong for thinking that society, as a whole, was filled with hypocrites and double-standards...

Unable to come up with a reasonable argument for why this was bad and the other things weren't, Yui ultimately chose to remain silent. Instead, she began to gently run her fingers through his hair, something her mother would do when she received lap pillows as a young girl. Those were happier times, so, rather than complicate the moment with politics and platitudes, Yui decided to simply go with the flow and enjoy it while it lasted...

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After resting for approximately half an hour, Nobu and Yui continued their ascent until they reached a large temple complex at the very top of the mountain. The front looked like any normal Japanese shrine, complete with a pyre and a blessing box. What made it stand out from the two Nobu visited in his past life were the manor-like compound connected to the back and an annex that seemed to contain a hot-springs like bath if the rising steam was any indicator.

Similar to the clearing below, this place also had a few Mikos present, but, unlike the youthful girls situated further down the mountain, the women here were bonafide beauties with mature, overtly seductive, features. One was even wearing an outfit cut so low that Nobu was pretty sure he could make out part of her pale-pink nipples. She also took notice of him the moment he ascended the final step, so, for a brief moment, their eyes remained locked in frozen time until Yui stepped in the way and said, "Haruko-sama...this man is a guest of the Matriarch..."

As if she had only just noticed Yui, the buxom fox woman shifted her attention away from Nobu, hand cupping her cheek as she mused, "Ara~? That's too bad~." in a seductive tone that felt like warm water washing over the minds of any man 'fortunate' enough to hear it.

Blinking back to awareness the moment Haruko looked away from him, the fog that had shrouded Nobu's mind quickly faded away as he held his head and asked, "What the fuck just happened? Did that bitch just charm me...?"

"Oh my~."

Answering before Yui could, the buxom beauty immediately appeared in front of Nobu, almost as if she had teleported, before saying in a seductive yet threatening tone, "Calling any woman a bitch is quite rude. Addressing a kitsune as such is just asking to be bullied~."

As those words left her lips, pale pink hearts appeared in the depths of Haruko's oceanic blue eyes. She had only passively charmed him the first time, but, now that Nobu had insulted her, she wanted to teach him a lesson about inadvertently offending others. After all, were it not for the fact he was a guest of the Matriarch, she, a Rank 3 Platinum Lord, could have flattened him with a slap.

Unable to form any thoughts due to the icy fog that had pervaded his mind, Nobu could only gawk as Haruko grabbed the sides of his face and gingerly guided him to her breasts, whispering, "When I snap my fingers, you're going to open your eyes and greet me like the good little puppy dog you are. Understood~?"

As Nobu was lazily nodding his head, drool leaking from his mouth, Yui manifested a pair of golden katanas and shouted, "Haruko-sama! That man is a son of the Oda Clan! If you force him to commit such an act, you will be betraying the trust of our Masters...!"

Hearing Yui's outburst, Haruko immediately deactivated her charm, confusion visible in her gaze as she tilted her head to the side and asked, "What are you talking about, Yui-chan? I have memorized the names and faces of every son and daughter of the Oda Clan. This man...is...ara?"

Though Haruto was about to argue that Nobu didn't resemble any of the known members of the Oda Clan, closer inspection revealed that he actually shared quite a number of features with the current Lord. She hadn't noticed it at first, largely due to the fact he was dressed like a commoner, but, now that she looked past his disheveled bangs, realization gradually dawned upon her as she absentmindedly muttered, "Nobunaga-sama...?"

Despite the drastic difference in their cultivation bases, Haruko suddenly felt as if she was hugging a bomb to her chest. At the same time, however, the tiny flame that had been ignited in her lower abdomen quickly built into a veritable bonfire as a tremendous amount of saliva began to build in her mouth. Fortunately, she was no longer a young kit, so, while her body was burning up from the inside, she managed to appear relatively calm on the surface as she handed Nobu over to Yui and said, "He should recover in a few minutes...please express my deepest apologies once he wakes up."

With that said, Haruko leaped several tens of meters into the sky, her destination the forest further down the mountain. The fire in her body was quickly turning into a blazing inferno, so, while she would have liked to personally express her sincerity, staying around Nobu in her current state was simply too dangerous. She didn't know what the Matriarch wanted with the abandoned son of the Oda Clan but it was clearly beyond her paygrade. If she intervened, there was a very real chance that she would be executed just to amend any perceived grievances between the Yoshitsune and Oda Clans...

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Nursing the kind of headache typically associated with hangovers, Nobu released a pained groan as he forced himself to a seated position and looked at his surroundings. He was in a moderately sized Japanese-style room, complete with tatami mats and a sliding bamboo door. There was also a small table in front of him, its surface lined with a number of different porcelain containers that contained tea and other types of herbs.

Ignoring this, Nobu continued to look around, one eye open and hand massaging his head as he grumbled, "Where the fuck did that fox bitch go? Yui...?"

Forgetting everything that had happened after Haruko stepped in front of him, Nobu had carelessly insulted the woman a second time. This kind of behavior would very quickly come to bite him in the near future, but, for the time being, he remained blissfully ignorant to the 'rule of the strong'. Thus, like a lamb exploring a tiger's den, utterly devoid of fear and hesitation, he climbed to his feet and attempted to leave the room by opening the sliding bamboo door.

"Oh? I understand your desire to stretch your legs, but this isn't a place you should be wandering about. Are you searching for Yui...?"

Looking down quite a bit, Nobu found a petite yet confident-looking woman with heterochromatic red and blue pupils staring up at him with a faint smile and sharp, intelligent, eyes. She was dressed in a loose red kimono that showed off a fair amount of skin despite being wrapped by a black obi, but, rather than eyeing her virtually non-existent cleavage, he continued looking into the woman's eyes, veiled by silvery-white hair, for several seconds.

"Hmmmm...? You're rather bold, aren't you? It's no wonder Yui was behaving so strangely. You must have left quite the impression on her..."

Though the woman standing in front of him appeared no older than 25, the aura she exuded was something Nobu had only experienced with much older women. Thus, after hearing her speak, he asked the first thing that came to his mind, inquiring, "Are you...Yui's Grandmother...?"

Smiling in amusement, the woman promptly replied, "Minus thirty points. Even if you hit the nail on the head, it would have been more tactful to ask if I were her mother. It's a shame. Had you tried to flirt with me, you would have been able to experience the techniques of the most skilled kunoichi in the Yoshitsune Clan. Now you'll just have to settle for letting me pour you tea..."

Punctuating her words, the ostensibly elderly woman took a step forward, and, though he had no intention of doing so, Nobu found himself taking a step back and to the side. This allowed her to casually slip past him, but, the moment he turned his head, Nobu's pupils shrank when he noticed she was already seated on the other side of the table, eyes closed as if she were patiently awaiting someone's arrival.

Noticing the incredulity in Nobu's gaze, the silver-haired woman adopted a slightly teasing smile as she stated, "It only took you thirty-seven seconds to recover. That's not bad for someone at Rank 5 of the First Realm. Plus ten points..."

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(A/N: The Yoshitsune Clan is a dangerous place...)