Nobunaga Oda's Isekai Cultivation Experience

Though he didn't wake to find her sleeping next to him, Yui's stirring caused Nobu to awaken two hours earlier than usual. He could have easily gone back to sleep, but, after lying in silence for a few minutes, he ultimately rolled to a seated position, suppressing a yawn as he asked, "Do you get up this early every morning?"Hearing the question, a tired sigh escaped Yui's mouth as she momentarily set aside her comb and answered, "A structured routine serves as the foundation for a disciplined mind. It also takes a long time to comb my hair. If I don't care for it properly, it would only take a few days for it to become a hindrance and a liability..."Having heard something similar in his previous life, Nobu nodded his head without pressing for a more detailed explanation. He had about two year's worth of growth on his own head, and, due to the way he had been living, it wasn't exactly pleasant. As for Yui, her hair was longer than any of the women he had encountered in his past life. The longest strands were only an inch or two away from touching her ankles. Had they been back on Earth, she could have easily made a career modeling various hair care products...Feeling Nobu's unabashed gaze linger on her for far longer than most would consider appropriate, a slight frown marred Yui's face as she asked, "Was there something else...?"Though he shook his head, Nobu, without averting his eyes, casually answered, "I was just thinking that I've never seen someone with such long and healthy-looking hair. I bet you make a lot of other girls envious, right?"Unsure of what to make of his 'compliment', Yui stared at Nobu in contemplative silence for several seconds before asking, "You really have no idea, do you...?"With a slightly annoyed look on his face, Nobu asked, "About what?" in an audibly defensive tone. If she intended to insult him, he wasn't just going to take it lying down.Taking note of the sudden 'resolution' contained within Nobu's eyes, Yui's feelings of exasperation began to increase. Nothing good ever came from arguing with him, so, after carefully considering her words, she patiently explained, "Tradition dictates that an unmarried woman should not cut her hair before the even of her twentieth year. In this way, we pay our respects to Ōhirume-no-Muchi-no-Kami, the Great Goddess of the Sun, Amaterasu-sama..."Though she wanted to follow up by saying she shouldn't be the first woman he had seen with hair of this length, Yui allowed her words to trail off as she observed Nobu's reaction. He reacted like a child learning something new for the first time, his face and body language utterly devoid of deceit or subterfuge...Realizing she hadn't been trying to insult him, the tensions in Nobu's body gradually relaxed as he replied, "Cool. I'm not fond of traditions and all that other complicated bullshit, but this is one I can get behind. Chicks with long hair are pretty cool. I bet you could even weaponize it if you attached a weight or something to the end."Blinking in surprise, Yui was about to comment about the foolishness of such an idea, but, realizing it wasn't a 'serious' suggestion, she chose to remain silent. It was gradually becoming apparent that Nobu didn't actually mean anything when he spoke. He was just making conversation, and, so long as she didn't take his words at face value, she could spare herself a number of headaches.("He really is just like a child...")As that sentiment became stronger within her mind, Yui shook her head before promptly resuming the long and arduous process of combing her hair. This time, she completely ignored Nobu's gaze, as, despite her initial impression of him, he didn't seem to have any ill intent. His eyes were devoid of the possessiveness present in the gazes of the many men who had covered her. Instead, the way he looked at her was filled with genuine intrigue, and, though she didn't want to admit it, boredom. In other words, he wasn't looking at her because he desired her body...he simply had nothing better to do...After watching Yui for the better part of twenty minutes, Nobu's boredom eventually got the better of him. He alleviated this by pulling out the stone tablet and proceeding to make some headway on his stockpile. From Yui's perspective, however, he appeared to be fidgeting like an unruly child who had grown impatient waiting for their mother to prepare breakfast.........While they weren't exactly on good terms, the tensions between Nobu and Yui gradually waned from the moment they started sharing a bed. They still didn't talk very often, but, after a few days had passed, Yui began delaying her trips to the outside in order to oversee Nobu's training.Though the advice she offered sounded extremely archaic, Nobu was unsurprised to discover that her methods were remarkably effective. This was, after all, a fantasy world with a cultivation-based power system. Unlike the self-proclaimed and consistently ridiculed Grandmasters of his world, this was a place where children as young as four could gather Aura into their hands before shooting it off like a character in DBZ. Thus, while it made him feel like a complete tool, Nobu closely followed Yui's instructions even when she forced him to pose and hold a squat for a full thirty minutes.Unfortunately, even after several days had passed, she vehemently refused to teach him anything related to Aura. This was pretty annoying, but, so long as he had the stone tablet, Nobu knew it was only a matter of time before his familiarity with the Ki-like energy increased. This sentiment became even stronger when his total Aura increased to 1000 points..."Rank Progression Tab...?"Though he had also unlocked an Achievement, Nobu had grown weary of thumbing through the seemingly endless list in search of specific achievements. Thus, without any hesitation whatsoever, he opened up the brand new tab to find what could best be described as a Skill Tree."Holy shit...and here I thought Path of Exile had a massive fucking skill tree. Are each of these a different cultivation method...?"While the path of Metal Infusion was the default method listed, there was a total of 108 different empty nodes branching from the point at the exact center of the screen. Clicking on these nodes caused a metric shit ton of other nodes to pop out, each branching into a mind-boggling number of cultivation paths. The only real limit seemed to be that you could only upgrade to a major realm, each possessing ten Ranks, a total of ten times before the branches disappeared into a mysterious fog..."What's the point of being so mysterious? It's obvious that fog is the realm beyond what mortals are able to achieve...how dumb..."Shaking his head, Nobu decided to pointless to think about the various cliches he had encountered in this world. Every time he attempted to dodge a flag, he ended up being beaten into a near-death state or having his ass handed to him by fate. He needed to get a lot stronger if he wanted to avoid being the plot's bitch, so, after a bit of deliberation, he clicked on the node representing the Copper Metal Infusion Technique.Though he had already noticed it while clicking through random nodes, Nobu was surprised to see there were more than a dozen different methods to advance to something as mundane as Copper Rank 1. The simplest method required absorbing the essence contained within 100kg of unrefined Copper Ore. As for the most difficult, one tasked him with obtaining the Reverse Scale of a Copper Dragon while another required him to find a material known as 'Essence of the Mountain God'.Based on this information, Nobu could infer that there were drastic differences between cultivators even at Bronze Rank 1. After all, there was no way someone who had obtained the Reverse Scale of a dragon would be weaker than someone who had used unrefined ore to advance their cultivation. If that were the case, there would be no need for Heavenly Treasures as everyone could become the strongest in the world by sucking stone...Unfortunately, even if he wanted to pick the best possible route, Nobu wasn't exactly in a position to be picky. His savings were probably enough to purchase the requisite amount of copper ore, but, without connections, it was unlikely anyone would be willing to sell him the refined material.Even without Yui's behavior to serve as a foundation to derive conclusions, Nobu could guess that mines and refined materials were heavily regulated. There was no way the government would allow peasants, farmers, and other common-folk to freely trade materials that could be used to produce weapons or empower loose cultivators. Commoners weren't even allowed to carry weapons without a permit, so, with the exception of talented youths, conscripted as early as eight years old, everyday citizens were forced to rely on the Feudal Lords and their forces for protection.Shaking his head, Nobu backed out of the Metal Infusion Path and began cycling through the other 107 basic paths. Aura seemed to be able to acquire the properties of anything it had been exposed to. The only reason people adhered to the Metal Infusion Path was because they simply didn't know the proper route to follow a different path. After all, you couldn't simply start off with Orichalcum as your first infusion. Every path had a specific set of requirements for ascending to the next Realm, so, unless you belonged to a lineage that had developed their own method over thousands of years, it was utterly impossible to pursue an unorthodox route."If I compiled a few of these methods into a book, I'd probably go down in history as a Great Sage or some shit..."Shelving that idea for a time when he could actually defend himself, Nobu continued to filter out cultivation methods until he was left with only three options. From what he could tell, these were the easiest, and, as a result, the best options available to him. He would probably be a little weaker than cultivators of the same Rank, but, unless his hand was forced, it wasn't like he was intending to go around picking fights. Only idiots, fools, self-righteous prick, and bloodthirsty psychopaths went around starting fights with Clans, Sects, and other organizations. Since the thought of killing people didn't exactly give him a raging boner, Nobu would rather just stick to becoming a merchant or an advisor to some rich asshole willing to pay for the 'knowledge' he could provide."So my options are to basically become a Priest, a Bard, or a Hippie..."Though the methods were known as the 'Nine Divine Sacraments', 'Ten-Fold Path of Entertainment', and 'Breath Progression Technique', Nobu believed his own descriptions were spot on. As for what made them easy, well, the first simply required him to pray and offer donations to a God known as the Divine Dragon, Albion. As for the other two, the Ten-Fold Path of Entertainment required him to have fun while the Breath Progression Technique, as the name implied, literally only required him to breathe a specific way for a set period of time.While others might find it difficult to become stronger using such methods, Nobu could circumvent the more annoying aspects of cultivation thanks to his stone tablet. He could literally just laze about all day, and, so long as he continued to click its surface, his strength would gradually increase. Sure, he could probably benefit from some actual training, but, even after pushing himself for the last five days, his points hadn't increased in the slightest. Since his parents had also shoved hundreds of rare and expensive herbs down his throat, many of which were supposed to help increase his cultivation base, there was a very real chance that his Aura could only be increased using the stone tablet.........(A/N: Which path will our beloved asshole choose? Let me know what you think in the comments section~)

After considering the positives and negatives for the better part of five hours, Nobu had separated the three paths as such...------------------------------------[Nine Divine Sacraments]Pros: Free heals, Divine Protection, Maces are pretty cool, potential favor of a GodCons: Healers are incredibly rare in Nian, costs a shit ton of money, the God might be an asshole[Ten-Fold Path of Entertainment]Pros: Fuck lots of women, get hammered, shit ton of buffs, extremely liberalCons: The 'need' to fuck lots of women, alcohol is expensive, support specialist, extremely liberal[Breath Progression Technique]Pros: Breathing is easy, Low threshold for entry, doesn't require resourcesCons: Requires traveling to numerous, potentially dangerous, locations.------------------------------------Though the last one might not sound like much of a con, the requirement for advancing to the Fifth Realm, Breath of the Mountain, forced him to scale numerous mountains without the use of tools or external support. As for the Ninth Realm, Breath of the Heavens, he was required to spend an entire year at an altitude of 40,000m. This was practically space, so, unless he learned how to fly, there was a chance he would be stuck at the Eighth Realm, Breath of Transcendence, for the rest of his life.Fortunately, even if a person were stuck at a specific Realm, there didn't seem to be any cap to their Aura reserves. One of the cultivation paths, Mandate of Heaven, literally required him to accumulate 1,000,000,000 Aura just to attain Rank 1 of the First Realm. Using the Metal Infusion Technique as a standard, this was equivalent to reaching Adamantine, the Eighth Realm.As tempting as it was to select the most powerful cultivation method, Nobu needed strength now, not a hundred years from now. His father, one of the most powerful Feudal Lords in the present era, was a mere Mithril Lord after more than sixty years of cultivation. This was considered a monstrous achievement, but, from the perspective of someone who wanted to return home in the next couple of years, Nobu couldn't afford to follow convention."Ah, fuck it..."In the end, Nobu decided to just leave things to fate. It had been pretty keen on dictating his path thus far, so, using a coin, he pitted each option against each other, round-robin style, to determine his path moving forward. This resulted in the Ten-Fold Path of Entertainment losing out to the other two, and, once everything was said and done, fate had decreed he would become a Hippie."Well, that takes care of that. Guess I'll need to invent a hot air balloon or some shit..."Shelving that idea for the future, Nobu adopted a halfhearted lotus position before doing his best to follow the instructions listed for obtaining Rank 1 'Breath of the Mortal'. It told him he needed to take a single breath in a single minute, so, assuming a breathing technique wouldn't require him to hold his breath, he did his best to take a single, slow, and steady breath...After a mere nineteen seconds, Nobu felt as though his lungs were about to burst. His follow-up attempt clocked in around twenty-five seconds, but, no matter how many times he tried after, he could not exceed twenty-three. Even taking a series of deep breaths to try and oxygenate his body didn't help. Instead, his vision began to turn black around the edges, almost as if his mind had been primed to continue taking in more oxygen and was now panicking due to its sudden absence...Exhaling a frustrated sigh, Nobu was about to try lying on his back when the silence of the cave was broken by a soft, "What are you doing...?"Starling to a sitting position, Nobu exclaimed, "Holy shit! What are you, a fucking ninja!? At least say something when you come in!"Furrowing her brows, Yui's voice became stern and somewhat defiant as she flatly retorted, "Did I not just say something...?"Though he was highly tempted to shout a rebuttal of his own, Nobu just massaged his temples for a few seconds before answering, "A certain someone won't teach me any cultivation techniques so I'm trying to create my own. Now, if you don't mind, I'm busy training."Contrary to his words, at least from Yui's perspective, Nobu promptly rolled onto his back, crossed his feet, and folded his hands behind his head. From an outsider's point of view, he was just lazing about, but, in reality, he was doing his best to regulate his breathing.To her credit, Yui was actually able to perceive what Nobu was doing, but, thinking nothing would come of it, she just shook her head before taking a seat and preparing their meal. Aura Breathing Techniques were quite common, so much so that she knew thirteen different variants, but, as far as she could tell, Nobu was breathing normally. His ability to control Aura was around the same level as a child throwing a tantrum, as, without being extremely angry, he couldn't muster even a fraction of the ever-growing reserves in his body. Thus, without some kind of miracle, he would forever be stuck at the Foundation Building Realm.........Matching Yui's expectations, days passed without Nobu making any observable progress. The only things that kept him going were the knowledge that he could perpetually increase his aura through clicking, and, more importantly, the notion that he was tantalizingly close to success.Staring at the time on his tablet, Nobu's eyes were on the verge of becoming bloodshot as he did his best to force additional oxygen into his lungs. He had been able to consistently clock in around 55 seconds, so, with a bit of effort, he was sure he could reach a minute. The key, strangely enough, had been exhausting his body before attempting the breathing technique. This was the opposite of what he would have thought, but, after working out for three hours and lying on the cold floor for around two, he felt as though he could naturally draw out each and every breath.("Tick faster you stupid motherfucker...!")As that thought crossed his mind, Nobu's body seemed like it was about to force him to breathe out, but, just as he was about to smash the seemingly indestructible tablet against the ground, he suddenly felt as though he could keep breathing. At the same time, a powerful aroma assaulted his senses with such intensity that he could have been convinced that someone invisible asshole had just smacked him in the face."What the actual fuck...!?"Covering his nose in an effort to block out the extremely pungent smell, Nobu's eyes widened as he quickly realized where it was coming from."Holy shit! Is this me!? And...oh god! My fucking breath! Did that bitch feed dog shit to me in my sleep!?"Feeling a sudden and intense urge to vomit, Nobu ran to the isolated area at the back of the cave that served as a latrine. It was basically just a massive hole that Yui had dug out using her aura, but, as it was far more dangerous to venture outside, it was the only option he had to relieve himself.Before he got anywhere near said hole, Nobu felt as though he had walked into a physical wall of shit and piss due to how powerful the aroma was. It existed outside the barrier intended to conceal their presence, so, while the aroma was prevented from invading their living space, it was effectively confined to a much smaller space.Overtaking by an indescribable feeling of nausea, Nobu emptied the contents of his stomach onto the cave floor. This caused an even more pungent aroma to spread through the air, and, much like a person who had just gotten a whiff of someone else's vomit, Nobu couldn't prevent himself from heaving even as stomach acid began to burn the interior of his mouth and throat.("Oh god...! This can't be happening...! Shit...! Fuck...!")Unable to voice his thoughts, Nobu was left with little choice but to scream out in his mind as tears and mucus began to pour from his eyes and nose. He felt like a drug addict that had been forced to ingest a spoonful of ipecac, as, no matter how desperately he resisted the urge, he continued to dry heave with such intensity that every muscle in his body was beginning to seize.........Returning with the day's harvest, Yui was about to announce her presence when she noticed that the cave was empty. This caused her to momentarily freeze in place, but, after confirming that her Scouting Owl was still stationed outside, she quickly calmed down, muttering, "He must be using the bathroom..."Convinced this was the case, Yui sat down in her usual spot and began peeling various fruits. One of the downsides to an all-fruit and berry diet was that it could cause gastrointestinal discomfort if you ate too much all at once. Thus, with the intention of balancing out his diet, Yui pulled out a handful of wild chestnuts and began carefully extracting the oil-rich nuts within. It was only after a half-hour had passed that she began to seriously worry, muttering, "Don't tell me he fell in..."Though she typically would avoid walking in on someone trying to relieve themselves, the hole Yui had dug was nearly five meters deep. If Nobu really had fallen in, there was a very real chance that he might have injured himself. Even a minor wound, once infected, could become a life-threatening injury, so, without any discernible hesitation, she rounded the slight bend leading to the back of the cave."...!"Seeing Nobu collapsed on the ground, Yui immediately flashed to his side without any regard for the putrid vomit covering the ground and staining his clothes. When she turned him over, his face was completely pale, sweat staining his face as his heavily dilated eyes darted around sightlessly in their sockets.Feeling more panic than she would have anticipated, Yui smacking the unconscious Nobu before shouting, "Wake up! I need you to tell me what happened! Did something bite you!? Did you eat anything strange...!?"Rather than responding to her calls, Nobu's eyes promptly rolled upward and towards the back of his head. This caused Yui's already racing heart to beat loudly in her chest and ears as she borrowed a page out of Nobu's book, shouting, "Fuck...!"Looking around, Yui's eyes turned to the vomit on the ground before setting Nobu on his side and rummaging through the foul-smelling contents without any hesitation. She was looking for any sign of poisonous herbs, plants, or mushrooms that might have been mixed in. She would need to know what he had eaten if she were going to carry him back to the city for treatment. If she failed to find the cause, even a common toxin could be fatal.Failing to find anything out of the norm, she would know, Yui's next course of action was to quickly strip away Nobu's clothes. Though slim, there was a chance a poisonous snake or spider had been able to penetrate a gap in the barrier. There were a number of insects smaller than a fingernail who could even drop experienced warriors with their venom. If Nobu got bitten by one of those, he was almost guaranteed to die. The most she could do at that point was put an end to his suffering, but, as such creatures were typically bred in captivity, she held out hope.Finding no traces of any injuries or puncture wounds anywhere on his body, Yui was starting to feel incredulous as she quickly yet methodically combed through Nobu's hair for the third time. She was checking him for ticks, fleas, lice, or any other type of insect that might have attached itself near the base of his hair or scalp. Unfortunately, even after searching every nook and cranny of his body with a comparable degree of scrutiny, the only abnormality she discovered was that an inordinately large volume of snot was trickling from his nose..."Nobu...what the fuck..."......(A/N: It seems our boy is slowly corrupting our naive young heroine...)

With time gradually marching forward, Nobu found himself wondering if something had happened to the raven-haired woman. She would normally return between 3-4 hours after departing. By now, more than six hours had passed, so, unless something had transpired outside, it was safe to say she was either abandoning or avoiding him."Well...no skin off my teeth. It'll be a pain in the ass but I can probably scrounge something up if I'm careful..."A stark contrast to his words, Nobu was currently lingering around the mouth of the cave, his gaze periodically scanning the snow-covered landscape for signs of movement. Humans were, after all, social creatures. He could tell himself a thousand times he didn't care, but, when it came down to it, he would rather put up with someone giving him the silent treatment than spend the rest of winter cooped up in a cave all by himself.What Nobu didn't know was that his scouting potential was truly abysmal. In reality, the person he had been keeping an eye out for had been observing him for the better part of two hours. He was like a farmer-turned-mountain-bandit, completely unaware of the presence observing him from a mere forty meters away."..."When she had first arrived, Yui had thought that Nobu might have approached the mouth of the cave in order to get some fresh air. The barrier inside was designed to keep scents trapped, so, after living inside for a prolonged period of time, it had started to become noticeably 'musky'."Could he be waiting for me to arrive? No...it's more likely that he's just hungry. That must be it..."Having convinced herself this was the case, Yui emerged from her hiding spot, and, after brushing herself off, approached the cave with a completely neutral expression on her face. She didn't even bother to greet Nobu as she passed him. Instead, she just looked towards him for a brief moment before making her way deeper into the cave.Similar to the raven-haired woman, Nobu pretended to pay her no mind as he focused most of his attention on the invisible tablet in his hand. It was only a few minutes after she had passed him that he turned around, shaking his head as he returned to the comparably steamy depths of the cave.........After an extremely awkward meal, Nobu waited until the raven-haired woman was in the middle of her meditation before sneakily taking a picture of her with his Camera App. This caused him to feel like a voyeur or a common pervert but that wasn't enough to inhibit him from taking full advantage of his perks. Unfortunately, just as he had anticipated, acquiring detailed information on the woman would cost an additional 22,419 Aura.("Well...at least it wasn't a complete waste of time...")------------------------------------Name: ?????????? YuiAge: ??Gender: Female, H: 149.7cm, W: ??kg, B: ??cm, W: ??cm, H: ??cmBlood Type: ??Cultivation: Rank 2 Golden Warrior(Purity: ??%)Aura Units: ?,???,???/?,???,???Status: Cursed, Life Essence Fatigue, Mental Exhaustion, Confusion, ????????, ????Main Hand: Left, AmbidextrousPreferred Weapon: Katana, ????????, Bow, ????????, ????Strengths: ????Weaknesses: ????Orientation: HeterosexualPreferred Position: Reverse Cowgirl, ?????????, ??????????, ???????...Favorite Food: ?????, ????, ???????, ?????, ????...........------------------------------------Though there was a bunch of useless and missing information, just being able to use his Camera on people was enough to bring a smile to Nobu's face. He had also, finally, learned the woman's name. This was something that had been bothering him since the time he introduced himself, but, due to the perennial awkwardness that existed between them, he simply refused to ask.("Those Status Effects though...seems like she's been putting up a front. If you're injured, you should be resting...stupid bint...")As that thought crossed his mind, Nobu's eyes around the cave before eventually staring down at the thatch mat he had been sleeping on. The woman, Yui, had been allowing him to make use of it ever since they arrived in the cave. As for herself, she either meditated the entire night or curled up near the back of the cave, back facing away from him as she used stacked armor plating as a pillow.If she really wanted to, there was nothing to prevent Yui from taking the thatch bedding for herself. She was exponentially stronger than him, yet, in spite of this, she had allowed him to continue using it. This realization caused Nobu to frown, but, even if it was the 'right thing to do', there was no way in hell he was going to give up the comparatively cozy mat and sleep on the cold, hard, ground.While this might have made him sound like an ass, Nobu didn't particularly care. The facts of the matter were that the woman was a lot more durable than he was. She could also use her Aura to protect herself, so, if anything, he would rather share the bedding than yield it because of some archaic sense of pride or chivalry. He wasn't a simp who treated women like the very ground they walked on was sacred. Thus, once the sun had started to go down, he plainly asserted, "We should bunk up together. You've hidden it well, but I can tell you're still recovering. Besides, we've already fucked. Might as well help each other stay warm."With nary a peep coming from him since their previous confrontation, Yui was both surprised and taken aback by Nobu's sudden proposal. It actually wasn't uncommon for groups traveling during winter to share the same tent or find comfort in close proximity to their fellows. It was a natural and cost-effective way to preserve body heat, as, not only did it require no additional resources, it made making and breaking camp much faster.Believing he might be trying to proposition her, Yui's expression visibly darkened as she said, "Very well...I will share your bed. However, you will need to have your hands and feet bound..."Adopting a frown, Nobu practically scoffed as he said, "You can fuck right off with those bindings. I was just trying to be nice. Damn. You act like I'm going to pounce on you in the middle of the night. Do you really think I'm so desperate that I'll pounce on a washboard brat just because she's next to me? Get over yourself."Finished with his rebuttal, Nobu immediately turned away from Yui before lying with his back facing her. He made sure to leave a bit of space for her on the mat but he no longer cared whether or not she actually took it. He was just trying to be nice but she had to go and react like he was some kind of sexual predator. Considering she was the one who initiated their previous sexual encounters, this kind of reaction was uncalled for. After all, even if he did try something, she could literally smash his head with a single punch.Seeing Nobu turn away from her, almost like he was brooding, Yui, once again, found herself at a loss for words. For a brief moment, she even felt like she had wronged him, but, considering they were neither a couple nor legitimate travel companions, she didn't think it was excessive to bind his hands. After all, he was an adult man and she was an unmarried woman. It simply wasn't proper for them to share a bed without some form of restraint...("It's like he is completely ignorant of our customs and traditions...no...it's more like he lives in direct opposition to them...")Recalling how he had spoken ill of her family without a single shred of fear, Yui couldn't help staring at Nobu's back with a curious yet pensive look on her face. He was unlike anyone she had ever met, and, for reasons she couldn't put into words, she didn't feel that his way of life was 'wrong'. Most of the individuals living in opposition to established norms and traditions were bandits, robbers, and other forms of petty criminals. In other words, they were generally villains who preyed upon people for their own personal gain.Though his behavior and way of speaking were extremely brash, Yui didn't get the impression that Nobu was a bad person. He wasn't complaining about the existing system or calling into question any particular governmental policy. He also wasn't looking for a way to take advantage of others or manipulate them into doing his bidding. Instead, he was like an extremely confident child who had noticed that something was wrong and wasn't afraid to question it...("It's strange...this man may very well be the greatest fool in Owari. Yet, for some strange reason, I can't help feeling as though he is right to question things. It's a shame he wasn't born into one of the Noble Clans. Then again, had he grown up alongside other Nobles, he likely would have turned out the same as everyone else...")Realizing the dangerous direction her thoughts were headed, a soft yet exasperated sigh escaped Yui's lips as she shook her head in self-admonition. It was fine for 'normal' people to think like this but she was a member of a Minor Noble Clan. She was honor-bound to dedicate her life in service of the Oda Clan, who, despite having a few bad apples, worked tirelessly to maintain the peace and stability of the region. They were infinitely better than Clans like the Ashikaga, who, after purchasing the Shogun position from the Imperial Family, had slowly been leading Nian towards its ruin.Though a full-scale war had yet to break out, tensions between the various provinces had been on the rise in recent years. To make matters even worse, the demons of Onigashima had been pushing south after forming a marriage-alliance with the Date Clan. Were it not for the efforts of the Uesugi Clan, specifically their leader, Uesugi Kenshin, the Ashina and Satake Clans might have been wiped out as progressively more powerful demons felt emboldened enough to venture south.Simply put, Yui wasn't in a position to have doubts. If war were to erupt between the provinces, she would be required to dutifully follow orders until death. She could not show fear, hesitation, doubt, or any other kind of weakness. After all, while their most important duties were to fight and protect their land, one of the many Noble Burdens forced upon warriors was maintaining the morale of the citizens and troops. They were the Heroes of their respective provinces, so, even if they believed no one was looking, warriors were expected to present themselves as honorable, dignified, and fearless beings. Thus, even if she was beginning to have serious doubts about the path she was walking, Yui couldn't afford to show even a hint of fear or hesitation...Forming her resolve, Yui removed her armor, and, after performing the necessary maintenance, set it off to the side. Once that was finished, she removed the bindings from her hair before spending the better part of an hour combing through it with a comb soaked in camellia oil. Her Grandmother had taught her that a woman, even a warrior, needed to appear presentable, so, even though it was an arduous process, Yui made sure to clean and maintain her inordinately long and silky black hair every night before bed.With that out of the way, Yui bound her hair using a linen wrap that was intended to soak up excess oil and keep loose dirt out of her hair. Then, when everything was said and done, she made her way over to where Nobu was already fast asleep before lying with her back facing his. This caused her to become aware of his body heat, but, after a few minutes of regulating her breathing, she fell asleep without any notable issues.........(A/N: I'm not sure if the MC is a Chad or just damaged in the head...as for Yui...well, it can't be easy growing up in that kind of environment...)

Chapter 19: Decisions, Decisions...