The sounds that reached our ears were gentle, yet they also held a hidden power of nature—spreading and scattering into the air as if to make us aware of just how insignificant we truly are.
Lake Biwa is the largest lake in Japan in terms of both area and water volume.
Its serene presence gives those who behold it a strong sense of peace and tranquility.
Incidentally, it is not widely known that the origin of the name of Omi Province, where the Asai family had their power base, is Lake Biwa itself.
Due to its size, Lake Biwa was considered by ancient people to be one of the seas that, along with the Seto Inland Sea, was a counterpart to the Seto Inland Sea in Kyoto.
Naturally, this does not refer to Lake Biwa .鹹水Kansui淡水Tansui
Because of this fact , it came to be called "Kyoto's 'close' 'freshwater' 'sea'," and this name apparently evolved into its current name.近淡海Chikatsu Awami近江Oumi
"Kyuoooon"
Then, as I was lost in thought, Taishakutsukimo let out a sulky voice.
She seemed displeased that I had stopped washing her entire body in the lake .最中Sanaka
Right now, both my girlfriend and I are half submerged in water, and naturally, I'm undressed.
The water temperature of Lake Biwa was still quite cold in early spring.
If you enter the water while wearing clothes, the cold air clinging to your body will invade it even more, and you'll likely catch a cold.
And that was something that absolutely had to be avoided.
In this era, modern medicines such as antibiotics did not exist.
Therefore, in pre-modern societies, catching a cold could instantly mean death.
Therefore, I took them off. I had no choice but to take them off.
It's not like I have an exhibitionist tendency—although I do have a desire to make love to Ichihime under the open sky someday.
"Yes, yes... I understand, I understand. I'm sorry, I'm sorry."
As I slowly massaged and cleansed her entire body, Taishakutsukimo surrendered herself to me with a blissful expression.
Incidentally, the phenomenon of the body becoming stiff and painful is not unique to humans.
Whether it's a dog, a cat, or a horse, any living creature with bones and muscles that moves around will inevitably experience some kind of physical ailment as it goes through life.
As I slowly massaged the muscles in her back and legs with my fingertips , occasionally applying pressure, she began to tremble and let out hot breaths.解loosen
In truth, I wanted to quickly scoop out the semen of the stallions that was stuck between her legs, but I knew that touching her delicate area suddenly would hurt her.顰蹙disapproval
Indeed, I didn't want to be disliked by Taishakutsukimo, of all people.
To begin with, getting to a woman's lower body requires a certain process.
Don't be greedy. Being greedy is a privilege reserved only for virgins.
A virgin learns that being too eager will lead to failure, and that by learning to proceed cautiously, he becomes a man.
(...No, I'm not thinking about doing anything at all. Not thinking about it at all.)
Because, well, she's a horse. Even Taishaku Tsukige, if she's going to exchange love, would definitely prefer a handsome horse over a human like me.
With a vague feeling of unease in my heart, I put pressure on my fingertips and loosened, loosened, loosened Taishakutsukimo's stiff muscles.
And just as my hand moved from its shell to its very core, Taishakutsukimo slowly peered into my face.肋ribs脾腹Hibara腰角Koshikado
"It's okay, don't worry. Leave everything to me... okay?"
Indeed, she lowered her eyes and made a shy gesture, then let out a small cry.
I interpreted that as consent, and slowly ran both my hands over her beautiful, pure white buttocks.
It's probably due to the heavy use it's been subjected to up until now.
Her muscles were so hard and tense that even I, a complete amateur, could tell immediately by touching them.
It's like a basketball filled to the brim with air; it's really hard and rigid.
(I really need to take care of it regularly... After all, the only reason I'm still alive is because of Taishakutsukige...)
As I traced my fingertips along those muscles, Taishakutsukimo's body twitched.
This is a very girlish reaction, unlike the dignified and overwhelming presence she usually displays on the battlefield—it seems she's nervous.
I took my hands off her buttocks for a moment, gently stroked her neck, and lightly kissed her cheek.
Then, Taishakutsukimo's body slowly began to relax.
Wow, she's such a sweet girl to be so relieved by just a kiss from me.
"Your ass is so white and smooth... really."
"Kyuoooon"
"There's no need to be embarrassed, be proud. You have a really firm and nice ass."
Ignoring her embarrassment, I slowly massaged her pristine white buttocks.
In horse massage, the hindquarters are a very important area.
As any ladies who have actually played on all fours, or any gentlemen who have played in a similar position for various reasons, will understand—when someone presses down on your back, the parts that bear the most weight are the shoulders and the base of the legs.
Therefore, the buttocks inevitably become stiff and tense.
"What do you think? Because of those horses , they wouldn't do something like this for us, and they couldn't, right?"蹄hooves
Gently massaging Taishakutsukimo's hindquarters, I stimulated the area around the base of his moist, water-soaked tail by pressing in.尾根Bicon
Even so, it's amazing how simply getting wet can make someone seem twice as alluring; human perception is truly a mysterious thing.
Well, in my case, I'm just like any other ordinary person, a perfectly normal guy.
Indeed, when I pressed firmly on the lump on the ridge, Taishakutsukimo looked back at me with moist eyes.
"...I don't know how many men have tried to overpower you. I have no desire to know, nor am I interested in knowing—"
While continuing to push against the ridge with my right hand, I kissed Taishakutsuki 's soft back and kneaded his buttocks firmly.麗Urara
"—Finally, if you would just stay by my side, that would be enough."
"At least for this moment, be my female alone," he whispered, causing Taishakutsukige's body to twitch violently.
And indeed, at that moment, a thick, milky white fluid spurted out forcefully from between her legs.
It now seems certain that these are the remnants of the stallions that had accumulated inside Taishakutsukige's womb.
The foul-smelling bodily fluids that were expelled from her womb floated on the surface of the water and were carried away.澳Oki
Speaking of semen, it's essentially a mass of protein, making it an ideal food source for fish.
Apparently, the semen that leaks into the seawater during the dynamic mating of whales in the ocean is gobbled up and consumed by fish swimming around them.
Alas, the semen released into the ocean will not be able to impregnate Indra, but will instead end up inside the fish .胎Hara腹Hara
(Wait, what...?)
As I watched the semen floating away, I was struck by a trivial but fundamental question.
(Monsters can only be killed by fluorite or other monsters. Does that mean that monster semen and eggs can only be killed by monsters...?)
The term "zashiki-warashi" refers to a mixed-race child born between a human and a demon, and their descendants.
It could be argued that there are two possible origins for the birth of a Zashiki-warashi (house spirit), but that's precisely where my question lies.
First, let's look at the first pattern.
There was a male monster and a human woman. The monster and the woman had relations, and the woman became pregnant with the monster's child—a zashiki-warashi (house spirit).
This flow is easy to understand without any particular problems.
It simply means that the monster's sperm was capable of fertilizing a human egg, and the egg could only accept the sperm's penetration.
And here's the second pattern.
There was a female monster and a human man. The monster and the man had relations, and the monster became pregnant with the man's child—a zashiki-warashi (house spirit).
To be honest, I still don't quite understand this.
Monsters are beings that humans cannot harm. This fact remains undeniable.
However, their cells—that is, egg cells—are "broken through" and "invaded" by human sperm cells, becoming fertilized eggs...
(...So, there must be some kind of law governing its manifestation. How does a monster repel attacks from non-monsters?)
And most importantly, there's the fact that I'm currently able to give Taishakutsukimo massages.
Massage is, in essence, a direct act of contact with the skin and muscles being treated.
Depending on the method, it might even be possible to inflict damage on the opponent's muscle tissue.
(But Taishakutsukimo accepts it. And he accepts the stimulation from my human fingers, and even feels pleasure from having his muscles worked on—)解loosen
I didn't understand, there were so many things I truly didn't understand.
Could it be that only reproductive cells, such as sperm and eggs, are exempt from the monster's defense mechanisms...? No, that can't be.
"Kyuon"
And it was precisely at that moment, when I was about to get lost in a labyrinth of thoughts, that Taishakutsukimo tilted his neck sharply and pressed his lips against mine.
I can feel the warm breath of Taishakutsukimo.
Her presence is there.
It was a kiss that seemed to be trying to firmly imprint that fact on my heart—yet it was incredibly gentle.
(Now that I think about it, I'm always the one who makes the first move; she never makes a move on me...)
That's not all.
Up until now, I'd kissed her cheeks and other parts of her body, but I'd always avoided her lips—probably unconsciously.
And now that taboo has suddenly been broken, and I am kissing Taishakutsukimo.
I was stunned by the shock, when Taishakutsukimo slowly rose to his feet and looked down at me, who was slumped in the water.
She had beautiful eyes.
My reflection was in those light green eyes. Or perhaps, only my reflection was visible.
And the only thing that exists within my field of vision is Taishakutsukimo.
The blue sky and the azure lake have withdrawn from the stage of the world, leaving only white and gold at its center.翠Midori
Truly, literally, a bewitching force.
She is so captivating that she binds my will, and I feel—
"Hey, Taishakutsukimo—wabu!"
—Unconsciously, I tried to say something, but I got doused with water.
Suddenly, as if freed from a spell, my thoughts became crystal clear.
"H-hey! What are you—ugh"
And then, water splashes started flying towards my face again.
Indeed, Taishakutsukimo is using its beautiful tail to splash water everywhere.
"Kyuon"
The white-haired princess looked at my stunned face and seemed .嘶Inana
Then, with his back to me, he began running towards the waves gently lapping against the shore.
"You... you did it!"
"Kyuoooon"
Indeed, she was clearly just messing around.
It seemed to find it incredibly amusing, crying out in a laughing voice, occasionally turning back to me and smiling.
Under the bright, pouring sunlight, her pure white skin shone, basking in the light.
That sight was dazzling. In many ways.
And as for me, I was relentlessly chasing after her at the water's edge.
Naturally, completely naked.
In the world I came from, this would undoubtedly be considered a "crime," but in this Sengoku period, there's no need to worry about such things.
"Wait a minute, you...!"
"Kyuoooon"
If you approach Taishakutsukimo, her tail will immediately react, leaping out of the lake and splashing water everywhere.
And when I fought back against Taishakutsukimo by scooping up water with both hands, she neighed in a voice that sounded very joyful.
"I've got you...! Hey, don't run away!"
"Kyuoooon"
After a few minutes of splashing water at each other, I dodged the spray she was sending and clung to her from behind—and sure enough, Taishakutsukimo twirled around and fell with me into the lake with a splash.
Surrounded by cold water, I could still feel the warm body temperature of Indra.
As I held her in my arms in the shallow water, I realized something.
—Ah, this is exactly my current situation.
In a world where you know nothing, a world where you are constantly on the brink of death, this is the person you can truly be your absolute self with.
That was Taishakutsukimo, an irreplaceable, unique, and absolutely one-of-a-kind being.
They playfully toss and turn each other's positions in the water, laughing together.
To be honest, I have absolutely no idea what's fun about it.
Even about myself, I honestly don't understand.
But maybe that's okay... I think.
Or perhaps, even being alive is ultimately just that kind of thing.
And perhaps, only right before death will we truly understand what brings us joy and what meaning our existence in this world has had.
Humans live only to die.
To become aware of being alive, or to understand what it means to be alive.
"Kyuoooon"
"...Understood. Let's go up, Taishakutsukimo."
And so, the joyous time comes to an end with the voice of Taishakutsukimo.
—It's always been like that.
Since the dawn of history, or perhaps even longer ago, it has been women who have brought men back to reality from their obsessions and refocused them on what they should really be doing.
"That's right... What I should be doing isn't wasting time here. I should go and see what's happening in Tomokuni Village, even if just for a moment—oh, that's right."
"Kyuoooon"
But at the very least, this much must be said.
As I walked ashore, dried myself off, and put on my kimono, I began to speak to Taishakutsukimo, who was staring intently at me.
"It was a necessary time. At least for you and me."
"Kyuoooon"
As I straddled her, who neighed contentedly, I remembered what Masamoto had told me before we left the castle—and I smiled.
"I'm not alone... At least here, beside me, is Taishakutsukimo—you."
That, too, is everything to me—a hollow existence with no real place to belong in this world.
Once Taishakutsukimo confirmed that I was firmly straddling her, he slowly began to run.
When he first met her, the now-deceased Hikobei said:
I heard that Taishakutsukimo returned from being a fugitive for several years, just a few days before my wedding to Ichihime.
I don't know why she ran away, or why she returned at the exact time of my and Ichihime's wedding—but perhaps in her mind, she has formed a map of Omi Province from her experiences running around while she was on the run.
As I rode Taishakutsukige, moving forward with a firm stride and unwavering determination, I thought to myself once again.
It seems she is someone in this world who must never be lost .道標signpost
As we headed north, passing the currently developing town of Nagahama, we soon saw a settlement forming along the Ane River.
Taishakutsukimo slowly stopped, turned its head, and stared intently at me.
"...So that's Tomokuni Village."
"Kyuoooon"
Taishakutsukimo neighed in affirmation.
I gently stroked her neck, gazing once again at the village visible in the distance.
It is one of Japan's leading firearms-producing regions—and also a village where zashiki-warashi (house spirits) live.
Simply controlling this point will completely change the situation surrounding the Asai family.
As long as I live in this world as Asai Nagamasa, this production base is something I absolutely cannot avoid.
(Everything depends on my every move, huh...)
As I was rocked back and forth on the back of Taishakutsukimo, who had started moving slowly once again, I let out a deep sigh of nervousness at the sight of this unknown world.