"So, what exactly does that mean?"
Ichihime asked in a voice like a police officer taking a statement.
It felt like about 30 minutes had passed since Taishakutsukimo left...
After closing the sliding doors to the veranda, Ichihime and Haruhime turned to face me, and I apologized for having slept with other women besides them—and then they finally brought up the topic of my beloved horse.
"For me, the fact that Lord Nagamasa embraced someone other than us is not a big deal. It was something I had been prepared for from the beginning."女子woman
But, said Ichihime.
"As if shaking off the Takamine faction who had been guarding Lord Nagamasa from the shadows, Taishakutsukimo disappeared... carrying Lord Nagamasa with him."
"..."
"That alone is a huge problem, but on top of that, that girl I didn't even know suddenly transformed into the form of a horse..."
My beloved wife, with her hands clasped together, asked with a very worried expression:
"What kind of being is Taishakutsukimo, Lord Nagamasa...?"
For someone unaware of the circumstances, it's probably a question that's bound to arise.
If I were in Ichihime's position, I would definitely have asked her every single question.
As for Taishakutsukimo, the subject of the problem, since its true identity had already been revealed, there was no point in trying to hide it any longer.
"Yeah... I think we should talk to Ichi and Osamu about it."
I'll say this after I've seen both Ichihime and Haruhime in turn.
"Taishaku Tsukimo is not just any horse. It's a fox-horse, born from the union of a fox and a horse."
"A fox-horse...is that it?"
Ichihime must have predicted my answer somewhere in her heart.
In contrast to the woman who calmly accepted the news, Haruhime's young wife-like appearance was filled with surprise.
"A fox-horse...! Isn't that a rare species, on par with the fox...? It's said to possess the power of transformation, just like the fox..."麒麟giraffe
"Ah, yeah... that's right."
I nodded with a serious expression.
I've never seen a kirin, but it would be troublesome if beings like Taishakutsukimo were wandering around.
Because they can easily infiltrate human society and then easily destroy it.
"In other words..."
Ichihime closed both her eyes and pressed her hand to her forehead as she said:
"Taishakutsukimo is a fox-horse, a demon that possesses the power of transformation and can communicate with us humans..."
"That's right."
But, I added.
"It seems that Taishakutsukimo cannot change its form anytime, anywhere..."
"Is that so?"
"That's right."
After saying that much, I lowered my gaze and hesitated.
But I suppose I should mention it anyway.
The more accurate the information, the more they will trust Taishakutsukimo.
When I looked up with that thought in mind, Ichihime and Haruhime were staring at me with puzzled expressions, their heads tilted. So cute.
"...It seems that Taishakutsukimo requires mating with a male when it changes form."
"Mating with a male...?"
Neither Ichihime nor Haruhime seem to really resonate with me.
I wish they had figured it out by this point, but oh well.
"In short, it seems they need male sperm...seed."
"S-S-!"
Ichihime's eyes widened, and she looked like she was about to fall over at any moment.
But unlike before, Haruhime nodded calmly, saying, "Ah..."
"So... it germinates using a man's seed as the base, right...?"華Hana
Haruhime clapped her hands together and then supported Ichihime, who looked like she was about to collapse at any moment.
She probably doesn't care much about sexual topics.
Conversely, Ichihime absolutely cannot tolerate the use of sexual words outside of the bedroom.
Perhaps it's because I became pregnant and distanced myself a bit from sex-related matters.
"I think both Ichi and Osamu know that Taishaku Tsukige has a large number of stallions around him..."
"...I see, so that's how it is."
He must have had something on his mind.
Haruhime spoke in a quiet, almost fading voice.
In contrast, Ichihime slowly regained her energy and began to ask me a question.
"For now, I've got a general idea of what's going on..."
Ichihime said this, frowning.
When a truly beautiful woman does it, it's incredibly beautiful.様Summer
"However, there is something I would like to ask Lord Nagamasa about..."
"What is it?"
"Where were you hanging out last night?"
Such a question that evokes the image of a beautifully straight hair.
I involuntarily let out a stupid "Huh?" but Ichihime continued to ask questions.
"As you may have guessed from what I just said...the reason I was able to recommend Lord Nagamasa's overseas trip this time is solely because of the existence of the Takamine Party. I thought that if they could protect Lord Nagamasa from the shadows and keep track of the women he was involved with...the rest would be a problem I could handle on my own."
"..."
What an incredible surveillance system!
It seems that Ichihime was on the verge of finding out everything about my private life.
However, when you're in a position of responsibility like mine, there's hardly any time for a private life.
"However, the Takamine faction was unable to pinpoint the whereabouts of the Taishaku Tsukimo carrying Lord Nagamasa. It did not go to the castle town of Sugawa, nor to Nagahama, nor to Tomokuni Village. The Takamine faction was aware that the Taishaku Tsukimo carrying Lord Nagamasa had gone in the direction of Lake Yogo, but..."
"..."
And the moment I heard Ichihime's question...
A feeling of indescribable terror began to rear its head from deep within my stomach, right around where it was.
To answer her question honestly would mean telling her about the background—the hidden circumstances—of the world I see.
And once I start talking—I'll have no choice but to tell them why I was brought there...
(I'm going to have to reveal my true identity...)
The root cause.
I must declare that the root of the problem with my insatiable libido lies in the fact that the original "Asai Nagamasa" and the modern-day "Fukai Nagamasa" have become intertwined.
Tormented by an indescribable terror, I opened my mouth.
"It's in the forest by Lake Yogo."
"Of the forest...?"
"Ah... Can't you guess why Taishakutsukimo had a human form from that?"
That was all that came out of my parched mouth.
The overwhelming fear of having one's true identity revealed.
The fear of losing everything is preventing me from saying anything truly important.
"Eh... ah... Lord Nagamasa..."
"Th-that's...you..."
Ichihime and Haruhime are speechless.
That's probably a perfectly natural reaction.
If taken at face value, it would surely be an act that deviates from the path of humanity in this world— the very definition of "heretical" behavior, such as having relations with a monster.所謂so-called
So, I decided to add just one more piece of information, shaking my constricted throat.
"To add to that, before Ichihime married me... my official wife was her."
A faint sigh escaped Ichihime's lips as she nearly lost consciousness and collapsed face down onto the tatami mat.
But, as expected of Nobunaga's sister and my wife, she managed to hold onto consciousness at the last moment—
"No way...that can't be..."
—He just keeps muttering things like that.
"Actually, I didn't know either...the truth."
I swallowed a large amount of saliva to force my throat to moisten and said as I tended to Ichihime.
"Last night, I was locked out of the city...but I didn't want to go anywhere, and I didn't want to sleep with any other women. Then Taishakutsukimo led me deep into the forest by Lake Yogo, and there Taishakutsukimo took on a human form...Yoriko. When I divorced her, I thought Yoriko was human...but it seems I was wrong. I really felt like I had been tricked by a fox..."
I continued helping Ichihime to her feet along with Osamuhime.
"Apparently, she couldn't bear to see me suffering. So she broke her own taboo as a monster and helped me... Ah, yes. It was her that I held. My ex-wife, that woman."
Ichihime's eyes were wide and frantic.
Haruhime gently embraced the current wife.
I don't think I've seen them touching each other like that very often.
The fact that such a rare act occurred right before my eyes must mean that the emotional barriers between us have been gradually disappearing in recent times.
"The demon known as Taishakutsukige...is an indispensable presence for Lord Bizen-no-kami."
Haruhime said it to Ichihime, not me.
"That monster always devotedly supported Lord Bizen-no-kami, and even tried its best to protect Lord Nagamasa during the battle with the hawk... And it even healed my body. At the very least, it doesn't seem to be a being that would bring us any harm."戦場war
"Yes, I suppose so. I suppose so, but..."
Ichihime muttered, holding her head.
Perhaps it's something that's quite difficult for her to accept.
And at that very moment, when Ichihime let out a cry of anguish—
"Lord Shigeharu!!"
—Bang! With such a satisfying sound, the sliding doors to the veranda were slammed open.
There stood a small, cute girl—she resembled a middle school student.
I felt like I'd seen her before.
When I went to Bodaiyama Castle in the past, I was always by Princess Osamu's side.
"Shu... Shuko...?"
"Yes! It's been a long time, Lord Shigeharu! Lord Bizen-no-kami!"
--A girl with chestnut-colored hair that she cut short.
The girl who was Haruhime's "wife" stood there, smiling.
◆
When Haruhime was a member of the Saito family under the name "Takenaka Shigeharu," she had a wife.
Since officially Osamu was a man, that was only natural.
And his wife was Naruko, the daughter of a powerful local lord in Mino Province.安藤Ando守就Morinari
Haruhime once told me that Morinari was one of the few sensible people who tried to protect her, and that he took in his daughter as his "wife" in order to protect her from Ryuko's madness.
Since Haruhime came to live with me, our marital relationship has effectively ceased to exist because I acknowledged that she was a "woman."
However, it seems that Naoko did not return to the Ando family, which had come under the control of the Oda family, but instead waited at Bodaiyama Castle for the return of her "former husband."
But no progress was being made, and then news arrived that Princess Osamu had been injured—
"Leave the care of Lord Shigeharu... no, I mean Lord Osamu to me!"
—Apparently, that's why he rushed all the way from Nishimino.
Apparently, the veteran retainers of the Takenaka forces accompanied them as far as the front of Sugawa Castle, but they insisted, "We men must not defile the mansion where Princess Osamu and Lord Bizen-no-kami are spending their honeymoon...!" and left.
And Shuko's hairstyle is a short cut.
In the era I used to be in, this style was quite universally established as a women's hairstyle.
However, during the Sengoku period, it was "normal" for women to grow their hair long.
One might argue that Yoriko has a truly bizarre hairstyle, but...
"I've become a nun! Because I've had to say goodbye to Shigeharu-sama... my husband!"
Shūko spoke decisively, as if she had no regrets, just like her cool, refreshing hairstyle.
Yes, women who become nuns are an exception and cut off their hair.
I heard she's 14 years old.
The phrase "14-year-old widow" sounds rather decadent—yet she is such a bright and cheerful girl that she doesn't evoke any such lustful thoughts.
However, it seems she also noticed that Haruhime's condition had completely improved.
He rose from his bed and blinked in surprise when he saw Osahime supporting Ichihime—
"Whether you're feeling well or not, leave the care of Lord Osamu to me! And of course, the care of Lord Bizen-no-kami as well!"
—And so, it seemed he had no intention of simply returning to Bodaisan Castle.
However, there isn't always a place for the girl to sleep.
When I told her that, she replied with a truly innocent and pure girlish answer: "It's okay! I'll sleep next to Osamu-sama!"
Being with Haruhime makes it difficult to make a move on her...
"What?! Lord Shigenori's wounds haven't healed yet?!"
Before anyone realized it, Shuko had approached Haruhime and started talking to her, and she let out a cry of surprise.
"So much time has passed, I thought he'd be better by now... This is terrible! I have to take care of him!!"
Saying that, the little attacker, his chestnut-colored short hair fluttering, bowed and leaped out from the veranda.
It was exactly the same behavior as Taishakutsukimo earlier—whether out of panic or just his own naiveté, he left the sliding door to the veranda wide open.
Moreover, she shouldn't know where Shigenori is...
Feeling as if I had been forced to watch a condensed video, all I could do was stare blankly and silently as the girl, who had appeared and disappeared like a storm, receded into the distance.
I catch a glimpse of Hisashi at the edge of my vision.
Just then, I saw that Shuko had rushed over to her and was bombarding her with a barrage of questions.
He probably realized that he didn't know where Shigenori, the person he was looking for, was.
Hisashi, who is introverted to begin with, was visibly flustered even from a distance.
Then, Shuko grabbed Hisa's hand and pulled her along, and they started running again.
"...It's great to be young..."
Ichihime, who, like me, was completely bewildered by the situation, let out a quiet utterance.
Yes, I know about Naoko, but Ichihime doesn't know anything about her.
For her, it was nothing short of a bolt from the blue—and those words were probably the result of her desperate search for the right words.
"It's great...to be young."
Haruhime also said in a heartfelt voice.
I thought, "You guys are young enough, aren't you?"
(Now that I think about it, a 20-year-old woman in that era was considered to be of a certain age.)
Remembering that, I quickly stopped speaking.
I knew from experience in my previous world that I shouldn't say things like, "No, you're young," to a woman who mentions her age.
If you were to say to a woman, "You're young," it would often be taken as sarcasm.
So what should we do?
The answer is simple. Just stand next to the woman, making random sounds like "ah" or "hmm," and nodding your head casually.
In most cases, they aren't even looking for an answer.
They value speaking out in a situation where their opinions won't be rejected.
"Lord Nagamasa, is something the matter?"
Ichihime reacted to me just as I was about to speak, asking me that question.
"No, age doesn't really matter, does it... That's all I thought."
"..."
"No matter how much time passes, Ichi and Osamu will always remain my beloved wives. In that sense, time no longer matters to me."
And that desperate answer—apparently—was enough to win their favor.
He embraced his two wives as they clung to him, whispering words of love to them...
I felt a profound sense of relief that I had managed to avoid revealing my true identity.
Even though I knew it was fundamentally wrong, I couldn't help but feel relieved.