Chapter 235: Asuka Castle
"Daimyo-sama, your attire is in order. Please, this way."
The maid respectfully took two steps back, reminding the newly appointed Daimyo.
Raihara Yukihiro looked at himself in the mirror. Although he was wearing custom-made ceremonial robes, years of indulging in wine and women had left his body withered and thin. He looked incompatible with the gorgeous and intricate robes, like a coat draped over a bamboo pole.
Especially with the fan on his head representing his status as Daimyo, he looked even more like a flagpole.
However, Yukihiro himself was very satisfied. These clothes were something he had dreamed of. Before he turned thirty, he hadn't even dared to hope for them. But now, this was just the most insignificant part of what rightfully belonged to him.
unable to contain his excitement, he grabbed the maid who had helped him dress and thrust his hand directly into her collar, groping her. He had noticed while changing that this young maid had a particularly pretty face and a very shapely figure.
The maid struggled, but she was too intimidated by his status as Daimyo to fight back properly. Otherwise, with Yukihiro's shriveled physique, he might not have been able to overpower a healthy woman.
"Daimyo-sama... please don't... the retainers are waiting for you..."
Feeling his mood dampened, Yukihiro shoved the maid away and readjusted his clothes. "Wait for me in the bedroom tonight. Do you hear me?"
The maid could only press her forehead to the floor, terrified to speak.
Yukihiro sniffed his hand with a lecherous grin, then left the room.
In the assembly hall, dozens of retainers were already lined up. Some of them usually didn't qualify to be here, but for the new Daimyo's first official appearance, their presence was required.
Mimicking the tone of the Daimyo he had imagined in his head, Yukihiro walked in from the side of the hall. He kept his steps flat and his chest held high, trying to keep the giant fan on his head steady.
"We respectfully welcome the Daimyo!"
"We respectfully welcome the Daimyo!"
As the attendants announced his arrival, Yukihiro slowly walked to his seat. Although it was just a cushion, it represented the unique status of the Daimyo.
Below him, dozens of retainers knelt on the floor, prostrating themselves. Only one person remained sitting upright in seiza.
The Head Retainer, Jun'en Furuya.
The reason Furuya chose not to prostrate himself was twofold. First, he knew the man in front of him was his own flesh and blood, and the idea of a father kneeling to his son was repulsive to him. Second, as the Head Retainer who had managed all affairs of the Land of Lightning for months, his status was transcendent.
Even the other retainers weren't surprised. Most of those standing here today had long been won over by Furuya. They knew perfectly well that Prince Yukihiro could become the Daimyo entirely because of Furuya's support.
Without Furuya, Prince Yukihiro would be nothing more than a prodigal son shunned by the nobility.
Everyone felt that Furuya didn't need to kneel, and shouldn't kneel. It was only natural.
Except for one person.
The new Daimyo, Raihara Yukihiro, felt that Furuya sitting upright among the prostrating crowd was incredibly glaring.
He forced himself not to show any displeasure on his face.
With the ascension of a new Daimyo, many matters needed to proceed according to custom: announcing it to the ninja world, handling the funeral arrangements for the late Daimyo, and receiving envoys from other countries.
As resolutions were passed one by one from the assembly hall, Yukihiro realized that Furuya was doing almost all the talking. The retainers were also accustomed to obeying Furuya's orders. As for himself, even when he wanted to interject, he couldn't find a way to grasp the key points.
He couldn't even distinguish which retainers below were responsible for which affairs.
The only thing that made him happy was that all the countries in the ninja world had sent congratulatory gifts. especially the gifts from the Five Great Nations and the Land of Hot Water—they were not small sums.
Hours later, late into the night, the day's proceedings finally ended. Yukihiro walked toward the top of Asuka Castle with a dark expression.
He pushed open the door to his bedroom, but didn't see the beauty he had imagined waiting for him. Already in a foul mood, Yukihiro could no longer suppress his anger.
"Where is she?! Someone! SOMEONE!"
"Miss, the new Daimyo ascended today. How come I never heard of Prince Yukihiro before?"
Natsu opened her eyes, glanced at Momo, and stopped her training. "It doesn't concern us much."
Raihara Yukihiro was already forty years old, while Natsu was only seventeen. Long before Natsu came to Asuka Castle, Yukihiro had been kicked out by the late Daimyo and became a prodigal living in the capital. As his scandals piled up, he gradually became a taboo topic in Asuka Castle. No one with any sense would mention him to the late Daimyo, and in most cases, Yukihiro didn't qualify to be mentioned anyway.
This meant that Natsu, who had followed Dana's advice and stayed out of these matters for the past few months, didn't really know what kind of person the new Daimyo was. She only knew he was her brother by blood—a brother she had never met.
Momo leaned on the window sill, daydreaming. "Only four months until your wedding, Miss! I wonder if Young Master Dana's house is big... Will there be a special room for maids? If not, squeezing in somewhere isn't impossible. sleeping while hugging you is very comfortable."
Natsu blushed and said anxiously, "What kind of nonsense are you thinking about?! And what do you mean 'sleeping while hugging me'? It's more like I'm hugging you. You're so chubby and soft."
Momo pinched herself innocently. "Am I fat? Everyone says I have a good figure in the bathhouse..."
"Don't touch yourself randomly!!"
Interrupted by Momo, Natsu lost interest in training. With the Number One Genius of the Ninja World giving her remote guidance, Natsu hadn't been training blindly these past few years. Although she started very late, she felt she should have Chunin-level strength by now.
Her "Kunai Thrust" technique had arguably entered the realm of proficiency.
Probably...
Unlike the naive Momo, Natsu had some worries about the new Daimyo's ascension. Fortunately, Dana had left a kunoichi in the capital. The existence of that "Big Sister" reassured her greatly.
Because Asuka Castle was a special location, the kunoichi couldn't stay inside twenty-four hours a day. However, Natsu's room was near the bottom edge of the castle, so the kunoichi had stationed herself in a civilian house just across the wall from Natsu's room.
"Miss, do you think Young Master Dana's house has a kitchen? I heard ninja clans are different from noble families. Do they all sleep in trees? Do they cut vegetables with knives or kunai? I only know how to use a kitchen knife..."
"Momo... what exactly do you think a ninja clan... is like? Why would there be a family that sleeps in trees? What are they? A family of monkeys?"
Momo thought about it, then turned back to stare out the window in a daze. "Forget it. I can't figure it out. I'll just follow you, Miss."
Just as she finished speaking, a dark shadow plummeted past the window.
THUD!
A loud, dull sound of a heavy sack hitting the ground echoed from below.
"M-Miss... I think something just fell!"
Natsu heard it too and hurried to the window to look.
It was late at night, but by the moonlight, they could see a distorted human figure twitching on the ground several meters below. Blood flowed freely, staining the stone slabs red.
The figure was barely recognizable as human, but judging from the clothing, it seemed to be a young woman, barely dressed.
"How could this..."
Natsu covered her mouth in shock.
"Did she fall...?"
Clearly, they weren't the only ones who noticed. Soon, people who had been awakened went to check, and cries of alarm rang out.
Just as Natsu was still reeling in fear, letting her imagination run wild, a scream came from above.
"AHHHH.....!"
Another dark shadow fell rapidly, smashing heavily onto the ground.