110 The Inevitability of Fate

One of the benefits of staying in an upper-middle-class Ryokan was that the staff went above and beyond to make sure their guests had a pleasant stay. This included preparing meals on-demand, and, if guests were alone, they would even send by escorts to keep them company.

Though he had arrived alongside Yui, the Proprietress of the Ryokan, a beautiful woman with dark purple hair, still gave him the option of choosing some of the younger staff members to personally attend him for the night. He ultimately refused, but, after his encounter with the Geralt look-alike, Nobu still gave them a once-over to see if any of them resembled characters he might have known from his previous world.

In the end, Nobu spent a peaceful night alone with Yui. After they got out of the bath, they, more or less, just cuddled for the rest of the evening. There weren't any televisions, gaming systems, or even radios in Nian so there really wasn't much else to do besides work, train, and meditate.

With the technology present in their automata, Nobu suspected that Granus might have access to televisions and such but it was hard to be sure. According to what had learned from Suzune, most of their trade vessels were masted, iron-hulled tall ships. They generally brought 2-5 automata with them, but, unless it was an emergency, the bio-mechanical cyborgs stayed within coffin-like devices located in the ship's hull.

If Nobu's guess was correct, Granus did have the technologies he coveted, but, fearing they might be stolen, the burgeoning nation kept most of their quality-of-life devices back home. Granus was lacking in cultivation knowledge and resources, so, while there were a few powerhouses serving in their Navy, they predominately relied on firearms, cannons, and automata to fend off pirates and anyone else who might covet their technology.

Nobu would be lying if he said he wasn't among the crowd that coveted their tech. The problem was, even if he did eventually declare war on Granus, they would most likely just retreat overseas. After that, he was basically powerless to do anything because the supposed distance between the northern tip of Nian and Granus was a mind-boggling 79,492km.

While he couldn't recall the exact circumference, Nobu knew the Earth had come from was around 25,000mi or 50,000km. In other words, navigating the Eastern Abyss, the Nianese-given named for the Pacific Ocean, was the equivalent of circumnavigating his previous Earth more than 1.5 times.

With modern sailing technology, the trip was anywhere between 2-5 years depending on whether or not you encountered rough seas, pirates, or literal sea monsters. In other words, even if Nobu were to build a Navy to invade Granus, it would take years to prepare the ships and years more to complete the journey. Even then, the defenses of Granus were known to be monstrous, and, unless you were flying the correct flag, they would either raid or bombard you like a bunch of pirates. After all, what were you going to do? Turn around without resupplying?

Simply put, Granus took advantage of their advanced technology to close off their country despite expecting other countries to open their borders for trade. When Nobu had first learned about this, he almost felt like he was back home because this was inarguably one of the most American things he had ever heard...

With this and several other thoughts on his mind, Nobu stared up at the ceiling of his room with a listless look on his face as he remarked, "I'm bored..."

"Mmm..."

Instead of offering any advice, Yui just hummed her response without bothering to raise her head from Nobu's chest. She had become rather fond of moments like this, so, even if they just spent the rest of the morning lounging about in their room, she wouldn't mind.

Resisting the urge to ask where his training junky of a fiancee had gone, Nobu continued to stare up at the ceiling for a good twenty minutes longer before saying, "Let's go and explore the city. As much as I enjoy the peace and quiet, I didn't come all this way to remain indoors..."

Nodding her head, Yui pushed herself to a seated position before rising to her feet without a single strand of clothing to cover her naked form. This gave Nobu an obscured view of her full and round ass, her pale white cheeks periodically peeking through the glossy strands of her inordinately long, raven-black hair.

Noticing her Lord's gaze, Yui raised an eyebrow as she looked over her shoulders and asked, "Are you planning to walk around naked...?"

Smiling wryly in response, Nobu hopped up to this feet before searching for his carelessly scattered clothes. This took a little longer than he would like to admit, but, due to the preparation required by females to look 'presentable', he was still finished long before Yui. Thus, to speed things up a bit, he picked up a brush and lent a hand...

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With a surface area of more than 6300 hectares, approximately 62km², Shuto was unreasonably large for a City with just over 100,000 permanent residents. It wasn't really noticeable when you were in the poorer districts, but, as you moved closer to the massive wall separating the Nobles from the peasantry, the quieter things became.

Since the capitals of each Province effectively served as emergency shelters and military Garrisons, the only people allowed to live there were the families of Nobles, their vassals, warriors, and a few prominent merchant families. Everyone else was a tourist, so, while the actual population of the city was closer to 280,000, nearly two-thirds were just visiting.

Due to the cost of goods in the middle and higher-class districts, most people visiting Shuto simply couldn't afford to venture deeper into the city. Instead, they spent their time on the outskirts where all the street vendors and hawkers had set up shop. As a result, most of the people walking around the upper-middle residential district were wayward Nobles, soldiers, merchants, and their families.

Though the ambiance was a little strange, Nobu actually preferred this sort of arrangement as it let him explore the city in relative peace. Yui hadn't been lying when she said it was better to stand out and act as if you belonged rather than trying to blend in and lie low. Nian was a very conservative nation so most people tended to steer clear of people they didn't know. This was especially true if said people were dressed as warriors and mercenaries, so, while they were stopped a few times by random patrols, their exploration went largely unobstructed.

"This place really is beautiful..."

Nodding her head in approval, Yui continued to lean against Nobu's shoulder as they stared out over the city from the highest vantage point available to people living outside the inner walls. This wasn't her first time visiting the capital, but, seeing Nobu gawk at things other people would find completely normal, she couldn't help seeing everything in a new light. It could be the result of her conditioning but his child-like wonderment was infectious to the point of making the whole world seem just a little brighter.

Unfortunately, all good things invariably came to an end. Thus, just as Yui was about to suggest they move elsewhere, a brash and authoritative voice called out, "You there! What do you think you're doing this close to the Inner city? This isn't a place peasants can trespass at their leisure."

While Yui closed her eyes to suppress a sigh, Nobu turned back to find an arrogant-looking man with dirty-blond hair, amber eyes, and a cocky smile approaching them. The man was handsome enough to pass as a male model back in his previous world, but, due to the smug grin on his face, Nobu felt he was more punchable than attractive.

Accompanying the arrogant-looking blond was a slightly taller man with comparable features, wild black hair, and sharp, golden eyes. He stood behind the arrogant asshole like a servant, but, even at a glance, Nobu could tell he was strong. At the very least, he was the strongest among the group of servants following behind the man like a pack of dogs.

Resisting the urge to simply tell the man to fuck off, Nobu forced a smile as he said, "There seems to be some kind of misunderstanding. The soldiers near the base of the stairs said we were allowed to come up here. If it's truly off-limits, please accept my apology and let us be on our way. We will not trouble you further."

Furrowing his brows, the arrogant-looking youth snorted before shifting his attention to Yui and saying, "You, wench, what makes you believe you have the right to walk around in the attire of a warrior? That sword on your hip is an insult to the proud warriors who have given their everything to protect this land and its people. Have you...no...shame?"

Noticing the Golden III pinned to Yui's collar, the man's words gradually trailed off as his expression darkened. He was considered talented with a cultivation base of Silver VIII at the age of twenty. In his generation, the number of people more talented than him could be counted on one hand so he refused to accept that someone even younger, much less a peasant woman, could surpass them all in cultivation base.

With a look even pointer than the naginata he carried with him, the blond-haired man glared at Yui as he asked, "Where did you get that badge...?"

Instead of responding with words, Yui raised her hand to demonstrate that her Aura was, in fact, golden. Impersonating someone with Higher Realm was punishable by death so very few people attempted to do so. Those who did would never appear near one of the Capital Cities so she found it pretty senseless that anyone, much less a Noble, would question her base.

With an expression similar to someone that had swallowed a bug, the blond-haired man shifted his gaze from Yui before glaring at the badge pinned to the belt crossing Nobu's chest. He found this far more acceptable given Nobu's height and physique, but, at the same time, the notion that there wasn't just one, but two peasants stronger than him made him sick to his stomach.

Since there was a chance that Nobu and Yui were the children of dignitaries visiting from outside the city, the blond-haired man forced himself to remain calm as he asked, "What are your names?" and, "Why brings the two of you to Shuto?"

Though his desire to tell the man to fuck off had increased exponentially, Nobu forced himself to continue smiling as he answered, "My name is Nanamori Nobu. This is my fiancee, Yoshie Yui. We have come to the capital because we heard it was the most beautiful city in Owar-"

Interrupting before Nobu could finish speaking, the blond-haired man said, "I don't care about that. What I want to know is the name of the family or business you are affiliated with. I have never heard of the Nanamori or Yoshie Clans. Were you invited here as dignitaries from another Province?"

Realizing the direction things were headed, Yui stepped forward to place herself between the man and Nobu. This caused an ostensibly sadistic smile to develop across the man's face as the darker-haired warrior at his side slowly drew his weapon.

"I see. You have no backing yet thought you could wander around the capital with impunity? Even worse, you continue to stand proud despite being in the presence of a noble son of the Oda Clan. I don't know what things are like where you're from, but, here in Owari, there are rules. Refusing to pay respects to the ruling clans is more than enough justification to have you thrown into a prison cell or executed. Your status as Golden Warriors may have allowed you to act arrogantly among the peasantry, but, here, in Shuto, you are scum. If you refuse to lower your heads to the ground, don't expect to keep them for long."

Finished with his speech, the blond-haired man shifted his gaze to Yui before adopting an even more sadistic smile as he asked, "You said this woman was your fiancee...?"

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(A/N: And so it begins...)