Chapter 221 - 155: No, No, No, No, No, It’s Not You!

Words : 1143 Updated : Sep 29th, 2025

As for this whole "Owari’s Number One Beauty" thing, Harano didn’t take it to heart at all. It was clearly a political marriage—looks and personality didn’t matter one bit. Even if Princess Dog actually looked like a Shiba Inu, nobody would care. Still, this was a big deal after all. There’s no way Oda Nobunaga would just send his sister alone to New Wanjin—she’d definitely come with a huge entourage. Letting this group of people into the "Nozawa family," it’s hard to say if that’s a good thing or a bad thing. Besides, although he had considered being stuck in this era and needing to get married, the person he liked wasn’t Oda Nobunaga’s dog sister... This whole thing was too much. He didn’t dare agree right away, and started dodging the question, refusing to answer directly. Niwa Nagahide and Maeda Toshie couldn’t do anything about him either, but could more or less understand. They knew he’d need time to think about something this important, so they just gritted their teeth and kept him company, chatting about old acquaintances before finally ending the feast and going off to rest, leaving things for tomorrow. After Harano got them all settled in, he paced around his room for a bit, spinning his wheels both literally and figuratively, when Ah Man caught a whiff and came in. The moment she walked through the door, she exclaimed in surprise, "I heard Oda Nobunaga wants to marry his sister to you?" Harano wasn’t surprised at all that her info was so up to date. His household’s ability to keep secrets was actually quite solid—she was just the exception. I mean, she was the Wanjin East Depot Director after all, and even had people among the maids. Harano just nodded casually and went back to pacing, then asked her offhandedly, "What do you think I should do about this?" Her lord was getting married, and Ah Man took this seriously too. She sat down, arms folded and legs crossed, frowning as she pondered for a while, then said thoughtfully, "I think it’s pretty decent. Sure, Oda Danjo Chonosuke’s family isn’t high status—they’re practically country bumpkins. But you, my lord, your background is unknown, basically a Wandering Samurai, not even as respectable as a bumpkin. So marrying Oda Danjo Chonosuke’s daughter is actually a pretty good match." "And haven’t you always wanted to avoid falling out with Oda Danjo Chonosuke’s family? Becoming in-laws is a great option. That way, we can keep shipping goods out of Atsuta Port—nowhere else nearby can take so much of our stuff." Harano nodded slowly. He’d already thought of all this long ago. At this stage, he was technically free, but still stuck in an awkward surrounded situation. If he wanted the economy to recover and keep developing, or if he wanted to conveniently buy raw materials and sell finished goods, he still desperately needed Owari’s support. He was still heavily dependent on the trade line Oda Nobunaga controlled: Atsuta—Shimazu—Kaido Town—Seto Inland Sea. So originally, he’d been ready for a massive heartbreak—like promising to send Oda Nobunaga a huge batch of gunpowder, or offering him big discounts when he bought powder in the future, just to mend the relationship. But if he married his sister, all that could be saved. But what about Ah Qing? He actually kinda liked Ah Qing. At first glance, Ah Qing seemed cool and distant, but upon closer look, she was gentle and gracious, and didn’t talk much, always emotionally stable, and even kind of pretty. Now that she kept her hair in a princess cut, it matched his aesthetic perfectly. Their heights matched too. As far as he could tell, as long as he worked harder to keep Ah Qing eating well, quietly telling Yayoi to cook her bone broth regularly, she’d probably reach over 1.6 meters tall. That’d be average by modern standards, but in the Japan Middle Ages, that height was seriously rare, and just being gentle and emotionally stable made her already one-in-a-million, even by modern standards. He couldn’t help but fall for her. Not to mention, after all, he and Ah Qing had been eating and living together for more than two years, and she’d even saved his life. Saying there were no feelings built up was just impossible. The only reason he’d never said anything was because Ah Qing was still too young—barely thirteen. As someone from modern times, he really felt too embarrassed to confess before that. It just felt...weird. He wanted to wait another year or two, at least until Ah Qing turned sixteen by lunar age, and then have a proper talk. It should be fine. Kids were grown up early in this era, and he vaguely felt that Ah Qing treated him differently from other people—maybe even better than she treated the second-hand mule or the calico horse at home. She probably had a pretty good impression of him, some special feelings mixed in. Now suddenly, out of nowhere, Oda Nobunaga’s dog sister popped up. If he chose her as a marriage partner for the sake of the territory’s future, he’d just feel he was letting down Ah Qing’s feelings—he felt embarrassed and ill at ease. When he was young, Old Man Meng Ziqi had a huge impact on him, and he’d always wanted to be someone like that—putting serious weight on the things others thought didn’t matter. After another round of spinning his wheels, he sat down cross-legged and let out a sigh. He still couldn’t make up his mind—if he didn’t break Ah Qing’s heart, he was a hundred percent sure Oda Nobunaga would be pissed and probably come over to beat him up, and now New Wanjin really couldn’t take a war. Ah Man watched as he frowned in deep thought, with no idea what he was thinking—what’s this guy overthinking now? Why not just take a free wife? She waited a bit and, seeing Harano still quiet, fell into thought herself, her gaze gradually shifting down to his lower body. She stared for a while, and the more she thought about it, the more convinced she was. She couldn’t help crawling over on her knees and tugged him hard, dragging him sideways before leaning in to whisper, "My lord, our relationship isn’t what it used to be—we’re a family now. That...there are some things you really don’t have to hide from me. Are you really... not able to?" "Not able to what?" Harano didn’t get it for a moment, but then followed Ah Man’s gaze down to his own hips. After a moment, he finally understood and was so insulted he couldn’t stand it. Angry, he said, "What the hell are you thinking about all day! There’s nothing wrong with my health! My body works just fine—everything works! Nothing missing at all!"

Chapter 221 - 155: No, No, No, No, No, It’s Not You!

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