Aman is an outstanding "Original Ninja", or rather her grandfather is definitely an excellent representative among the Koka group, an experienced intelligence dealer very familiar with the situation of various countries along the East Sea Road. However, their judgment skills...
Oda Nobuhide fought with all his neighbors nearby and then got beaten up by them in turn. According to Aman, Oda Danjo Chonosuke's rule in Owari is already on the brink of collapse, with severe losses among the retinue and household retainers. The local magnates and warriors have begun to harbor ulterior motives, and his enemies are already gearing up for a victory party.
But none of these people expected that Oda Nobuhide still had a very fierce son...
Harano shook his head: "That may not be the case."
Aman sneered at his "judgment" as well, disdainfully saying, "Stop talking nonsense, you outsider clearly don't understand the East Sea Road!
Oda Danjo Chonosuke's family is beyond saving. Such an occurrence has happened countless times before, a minor local magnate rises and falls suddenly, nothing could be more normal, you just haven't seen enough——an intermediate magistrate family serving as a guardian family, being a lord of a city, managing to dominate a whole Owari for over twenty years was a stroke of luck, and now that luck has run out. Do you think they stand a chance against fate? Don't talk nonsense if you don't understand, or you'll be laughed at!"
As she spoke, she suddenly got excited, sat up straight abruptly, and stared at him with shining round eyes saying, "If you don't believe me, we might as well bet on it! My grandpa says Oda Nobuhide's days are numbered, and once he dies, Oda Danjo Chonosuke's family is bound to collapse. It's something anyone with eyes can see—if you don't want to admit it, do you have the guts to bet with me?
As soon as Oda Nobuhide dies, Oda Danjo Chonosuke's family will surely be finished!
If I lose, I'll give you my head, but if you lose, you just have to give me ten kan... no, eight kan, no, five kan of money!"
Fearing Harano wouldn't bet with her, she took the initiative to lower the price over and over.
"I'm not interested, and I don't like betting." Harano is no preschool kid, he's not so childish as to play some bet with heads.
"You're just scared, aren't you?" Aman teased provocatively, eager to get his five kan for nothing, feigning disdain and said, "You're such a coward, five kan is nothing to you, even if you lose, you'd still have ten kan, don't you even have that kind of courage?"
"I just don't like it."
Aman failed to deceive him, quite disappointed, tilted her head and mumbled quietly, "You really have no bit of a manly demeanor, truly grown this big for nothing, probably won't achieve much in your life either."
Harano glanced at her, even if he didn't like such joke-like bets, he decided to teach her a lesson, turning around and agreeing, "If you don't want your head, you can give it to me!"
Anyway, if a head comes to your door, take it for free, winning it could just serve as something to toy with.
Aman didn't expect such a turnaround, the cooked duck flew back, and she was overjoyed, saying immediately, "Then it's settled! Once Oda Danjo Chonosuke's family is done, I'll come right away to collect money from you!"
"What if they aren't done?"
"Don't worry, I, Aman, have top-notch betting ethics, never doubted even a little bit. Our Koka group keeps its word, a good reputation for almost a hundred years! If Oda Nobuhide dies and the Oda Danjo Chonosuke's family still retains most of the territory within five years, no, three years, no, two years—they'd be lucky to shrink back to Shoban Castle, let alone losing the ancestral estate—by then, no matter how far, I'll bring my head to you!"
"What if you don't come?"
"If I don't, let me—not just me but my grandpa—not just us, but our whole family be struck by lightning in the rain, drown in the river when crossing, buried alive in a mudslide when hiking, choked to death by lack of water when eating!" Aman pressed for the five kan, her beansprout eyebrows stood excitedly in a figure-eight shape, super thrilled and said, "No matter what kind of vow you make me take, it's okay because I won't lose anyway—Oda Danjo Chonosuke's family will definitely fall!"
"That may not be the case, Oda Nobuhide has a successor, and it's not certain that Oda Danjo Chonosuke's family will face the worst-case scenario." Harano still couldn't agree with her words, because even those not familiar with Japan's history have surely heard of the famous "Sixth Celestial Demon King" Oda Nobunaga, confident in his ability to restore family fortunes.
Aman was taken aback, stared blankly at Harano for a while, then leaned back laughing heartily, "Hahaha, you're killing me, you clueless outsider, you're actually counting on Oda Nobunaga, that 'big fool of the Oda Family'."
This must be the best joke of the year Tenbun 20. Had she not been injured, she would have laughed herself rolling on the ground.
Harano wasn't angry and found himself curious about why Oda Nobunaga had such a nickname. In Japan's Warring States Era, "reincarnations of deities, Buddha, and bodhisattvas" were rampant, and there were plenty of flashy nicknames like "Tiger", "Demon", "Fierce", or "First of so-and-so". "The Big Fool" was refreshing, with a hint of a little fresh taste.
He couldn't help but ask Aman, "Why do you call him the Big Fool of the Oda Family?"
Aman forced herself to stop laughing, sat up and wiped the tears of laughter from the corners of her eyes, snatched the pen from his hand, and drew the "Magnolia Crest" on the paper.
This is a type of lucky pattern introduced from the Tang Dynasty into Japan. Often used on the forehead of curtain caps in shrines, it was originally called the "Curtain Cap Eyebrow Pattern," but because the pattern resembles the cross-section of a sliced papaya, and also resembles the "nest (a bird's nest on flat land or river, called '巢' in trees or mountains)" floor plan, the ancient pronunciation of "nest" is similar to "papaya", hence the pattern is colloquially known as the "Magnolia Crest."