Chapter 48: The Southern Quartet Alliance
The day of the official meeting finally came. At the town of Kota at Shinka province, the four lords will be meeting today to officiate their alliance in front of the eyes of their people. After this would be a three-day long festival to celebrate the occasion.
But due to certain circumstances, the end of the celebration would be mired with some worry and concern from the people. A so-called "calm before the storm", as some people may say.
"Kusanagi-sama!"
"Welcome to Kota!"
The first to come was the host of the celebration and lord of the province, Kusanagi Kyoko. She was riding in a palanquin instead of her usual steed and was dressed in a Furisode kimono (kimono with long drooping sleves) while her hair was styled into a pair of buns with golden pins.
It made for quite the sight for her people. They know about their princess' unkempt battle appearance where she simply bunches her hair into a ponytail and wears her armor over a dull Yukata, but with her luxurious appearance today, no one can deny that she really is a princess and a captivatingly beautiful one, to be specific.
"Your Holiness!"
"Banzai! Diago-sama!"
Next came the Chief Shrine Maiden of Kingo Shrine and the Princess-Lord of Kise named Daigo Reika. Carried atop a palanquin adorned with Mayoke charms and Shime ropes, instead of showing her secular title of being the lord of a province, she seem to have chosen to come as her priestess self instead.
The people who saw her fell on their faces and cheered for her arrival that was accompanied by Shinto music from a group of taiko drummers.
The next one to arrive was Yamaguchi Koshiro, the 12-year-old lord of Fuku province who rose to power under the sponsorship of Hiroshi. Along with his adjutant named Nayoko who was dressed in a court lady's kimono, the group entered the city that received them quite lukewarmly.
"Welcome to Kota."
"May your stay be peaceful, Lord Yamaguchi."
The plain welcome was only to be expected. Unlike the first two who received massive cheers and reverence, the young boy came from a clan that was previously one of the sworn enemies of Shinka province. Still, the townsfolk were mindful to not antagonize him and still gave the boy some common courtesy as a sign of their acceptance that the past opponent are now working with them.
"He's here!"
"Everyone! Gather up!"
The last one to arrive was also the one that the townsfolk has been waiting for all this time.
"Iwasawa-sama!!!"
"Welcome to Kota, Iwasawa-sama!!!"
"Look here, Iwasawa-sama!!!"
As he slowly rode across the town, Iwasawa Hiroshi of Kiko province garnered the adoration and joyous cheers of the people. From the rooftops and windows, some people threw down flower petals to make their welcome a bit more special while those on the ground waved at him as he returned the gesture with a gentle smile.
There are a number of reasons for this extraordinary welcoming, but one of the most obvious reason is the fact that the town of Kota is a residential area where most soldiers and their families stay in. And many of them were the ones that the Iwasawa clan army fought alongside with in the Battle for Yukonami.
To them, the army and its lord was one of the reasons why they were still alive after the war. Considering that most of the veterans were killed in an explosive village ambush and the newbies who was caught was saved by the lord and returned well and safe in their homes at Shinka, this welcome was something that one would give out of genuine gratitude.
"W-Wait! That flag is-"
"K-K-Kirin?!"
But nothing prepared them as they saw that the leading flag of the Iwasawa clan that denotes their clan insignia was nothing more but the revered and highly prestigious flag of the Kirin. Something that can only be given by the four chief shrine priestesses and cannot be taken by anyone else once given.
"B-bow down!"
"How…? I've never heard about this news! When did Iwasawa-sama became the Kirin Lord?!"
But that is not important right now. Because today, this meeting might just change the entire fate of the country caught in a free-for-all civil war.
-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-
"…You look magnificent today."
"Stop flattering me, idiot. I don't want to hear anything from you."
"Ouch… when did you become so harsh, Kyoko…? You're seriously hurting my delicate heart."
"Like I care about you! And when the hell did you get a delicate heart, you doofus?!"
As usual, that was the first exchange. Hiroshi was simply complimenting her appearance, but the aggressive princess sure didn't see it in the right way.
"Now, now… You two… Iwasawa, stop provoking her and Kyoko-chan, stop ruining your beautiful image right now with your outbursts."
Daigo Reika spoke up and scolded the two while she elegantly sipped her tea.
"I wasn't even provoking her…"
Hiroshi can only sigh and scratch the back of his head after he was scolded for being misunderstood.
"Hmph! Scold him, not me!"
And Kyoko, heaving a prideful air, just crossed her arms and looked away from him.
"Ugh… you two… you're making my stitches ache again."
"I apologize in advance for saying this, but hearing you say that make it seem like you've given birth through caesarian section, Daigo-dono…"
"I don't know about this "caesarian section" that you speak of but say something rude like that again and I'll perform a curse ritual just for you."
"Sorry. I won't do it again."
"Good boy."
And seeming to not be in his usual serious self, Hiroshi even blurted out a quite rude joke to the still ailing shrine maiden who countered by threatening him with a curse.
"Uhh… Excuse me?"
"Yeah? Something you wanna say, brat?"
"Eeek! N-nothing! Please don't mind me!"
Koshiro wanted to get into the conversation too after feeling that he was being left out, but when Kyoko asked him if he has something to say, the boy crossed his gaze with her and immediately had his courage sink down to the floor after feeling the pressure on her eyes.
"Hm? What's wrong with this Kappa?"
Meanwhile, Kyoko was unaware that she scared the boy as her sharp, discerning gaze was nothing more but normal for her already.
"Anyway, let's start the meeting."
With Kyoko's leading, the hall was opened for the entrance of the delegates of each province who sat behind the cardinal direction relative to their leader.
"Representing the Kusanagi Lordship of Shinka province, my name is Ishigawa Gojo, chamberlain of Fumetsu castle and direct retainer of Lady Kusanagi Kyoko."
"Representing the Kusanagi Lordship of Shinka province, my name is Ayanami Mitsuhide, Commander of the Kusanagi Army and direct retainer of Lady Kusanagi Kyoko."
"Representing the Ayanami Dependent Lordship of Yukonami province, my name is Ayanami Mitsuha, semi-independent lord of Yukonami and direct retainer of Lady Kusanagi Kyoko."
The first one to present their names were the subordinates of the host province. Surprisingly, the provincial daimyo of Yukonami was also here. She seems to have chosen to sit behind her master simply as a show of her subserviency and loyalty to her.
"Representing the Yamaguchi Lordship of Fuku province, my name is Kocho Nayoko, Adjutant of Lord Yamaguchi and Chamberlain of Yamagata castle."
The Yamaguchi clan, on the other hand, only had the Nayoko to represent their selves, but it was supplanted with a myriad of scholars who was hired for this meeting and didn't actually serve the young lord, but being a really young administration, there wasn't much to ask from the 12-year-old boy.
"Representing the Daigo Lordship of Kise province, my name is Daigo Shizuka, Assistant Shrine Maiden of Kingo Sanctum and Secretary of Lady Daigo Reika."
"Representing the Daigo Lordship of Kise province, my name is Itsuki Ichigo, General of the Daigo clan army and Captain of the Kingo Shrine Guards."
Hearing the familiar clan name, Hiroshi turned to the young man with a samurai's top knot and asked him a question.
"Itsuki? Pardon me for interrupting the ceremony, but are you perhaps…?"
"It's as you think, Iwasawa-kou-dono. I am originally from Shinka but found my allegiance to belong to Lady Daigo, although I have also sworn to be of assistance to my birthland's leader in times of need."
"Mm. Thank you for the response."
As he replied to the young general's thoughtful response, Hiroshi looked at the Kusanagi official who is currently dressed as a woman and saw that he suddenly wore an anxious expression.
"Hey. Whatever you are thinking right now, I won't allow you to insult my retainers."
"I wasn't even thinking about it. Even though I don't know much about him and our first encounter wasn't that good, I actually have a lot of respect for Ishigawa-san for his dedication to his work and ability to think in parallel with you to provide his assistance."
"Huh? Wow, I didn't expect you to be like that towards him. Everyone else who insulted him in front of me had their heads sliced off by this sword in less than a minute."
The two whispered to each other before the ceremony continued.
"Representing the Iwasawa Lordship of Kiko province, my name is Shimura Nobisuke, General of the Kiko combined armed forces and direct retainer of Lord Iwasawa Hiroshi."
"Representing the Iwasawa Lordship of Kiko province, my name is Ishida Takeo, Commander of Kiko's Provincial Defense Force and direct retainer of Lord Iwasawa Hiroshi."
"Representing the Iwasawa Lordship of Kiko province, my name is Nagisa Masami, Internal Government minister of Kiko and direct retainer of Lord Iwasawa Hiroshi."
"Representing the Iwasawa Lordship of Kiko province, my name is Aoyama Chiyo, Secretary and direct retainer of Lord Iwasawa Hiroshi."
Hiroshi, on the other hand, brought all of his top-of-the-line officials which sent some unsettling vibe in the hall as all of the names spoken by his people are of great renown and not to be underestimated.
"You seem to be preparing something, Iwasawa."
"Don't worry, I'll let the townsfolk have their alliance celebration first before I officially declare this. I'm not the kind to ruin everyone's happiness just because I want to say something."
Reika can only sigh after hearing that. After all, everyone in the room already knew about the attack that happened in Naka Harbor a week ago that made Hiroshi push for this meeting to be held earlier than planned.
"Anyway, where should we start out?"
"I suggest we start with the road-laying project and rehabilitation of the trade routes in the southern triad… I mean, quadrad."
"It would be a pentad if we include my Yukonami. We're not to be unincluded since your merchants immediately went for each other's throats just to get the rights for the mines there."
"I apologize as their lord. I didn't except them to already be raring for trade just after we left the province after that war."
"No need to apologize. I've already told them that the next time they do it, I'll blacklist them off of Yukonami."
The serious tone of Ayanami Mitsuha was not absent as she partially scolded Hiroshi for the attitude and cunning acts of his merchants who abused the poverty in Yukonami's mining villages to buy the rights to mine there so they can join in the military-industrial trade back at Kiko.
"To continue that, I believe that you already met my city planner and public works minister named Fumikage Rie. If not, she would've at least sent one of her people or wrote a letter to introduce herself."
"I've met her when she stayed at Fumetsu castle to hand me the plan for the city's rehabilitation. Unlike her silent father who is the embodiment of Shinobi values, she sure almost blew my eardrums out and drove me to insanity with her talkative mouth."
"Ahaha… I'm sorry. She's too enthusiastic with her work."
"I-I've also met Fumikage-san. She told me about the plan to make tunnels at Fuku's northern mountain range to ease up the cost and time that it takes to cross the border to Shinka. I've mostly given the work to her team and the people suggested to me by Nayoko-san."
"Good. That's wise of her to ask considering that I forgot to mention it to her before she left."
"I didn't meet her since she was said to have been busy with something when she went to Kise. But her assistant, Goemon, talked to Shizuka and told us that Kise wouldn't need to be rehabilitated anymore. He said that we just need better roads leading to Shinka."
"I noticed that too. I think Lady Narukami Ayaka had done it earlier since the roads and avenues in Kingo was undoubtedly structured from Old Tokyo. I think she even attempted to recreate Shibuya Crossing at the city center because of how many people cross it to get to a different section of the city."
"Shibuya Crossing? Is that a place in your original world?"
"Yep. A well-known spot in Old Tokyo. Well… it used to be a well-known spot until the city was almost abandoned, but that is not important right now."
"Yeah. Who would be interested in your lousy stories about your past, anyway?"
"Umm…"
When Kyoko tried to tease him, Reika, Koshiro and all the other people in the hall raised their hands except for Ishigawa Gojo and Ayanami Mitsuha. For some reason, the younger Ayanami commander also raised her hand while covering the left side of her face where her sister was pressuring her with a gaze to force her to take her hand down.
"Well… Majority wins, I guess?"
"Urk… why did you have to rub it in after that…?"
After her jeering failed, Hiroshi simply wanted to say that him being the otherworlder here made the others interested with his past world but Kyoko, who was shamed back for the unsuccessful attempt, gritted her teeth as her face turned beet-red and her fists curled up into tight knuckles.
"S-sorry… L-Let's go back to our discussion."
Hiroshi sensed that if he won't apologize, she'd probably hurt him again, so he redirected the subject of the talk back to their topic and said nothing else more.
"As I said, Rie-san will handle the road-laying and I ask that you gave her and her team the needed financing, materials and manpower for the project. I know that this is a pretty hefty request but considering that this would make economic trade and troop movement easier for all of us, I wish you'll understand that this is all for our mutual benefit."
"Of course, we do. We're prepared to support her work and will look forward for the modernization of our cities to lessen the damages on it for the foreseeable future."
"Same to us in Shinka, she can look forward to giving my people opportunities to find work."
"W-we too in Fuku. The tunneling was said to take longer than the normal road-laying, but we'll try to do our part now and chart out the parts of the mountain range that can be easily drilled and maintained."
The other lords spoke and with the discussion seeming to be finished, their officers wrote the summary of the plans and their leaders moved to the next subject.
"The next discussion is about the weapons production in the rest of the provinces."
"Hmm… Mitsuha, can you handle this?"
"Yes, Kyoko-sama!"
The female general replied and sat just behind her master's left side to not interrupt with the pattern of the meeting.
"As you may know, I already proposed to you that Shinka's arms factories should be placed in the iron-rich land of Yukonami. It is economically efficient, and we won't have to bring the raw materials over to Shinka only to send the produced firearms back to Yukonami."
"My people took that into consideration and said that it is an excellent proposal. So instead of an arms factory, I want to request if you are willing to build an ammunitions plant instead near your border with Fuku."
"I can, but why exactly do you want to build it in our border with Fuku?"
"Umm… Lady Kyoko. That place is…"
"Huh?"
"That place is barren land. I saw it as I passed by after Koshiro-kun's enthronement. It was unusable land where no plants grow because of the scorched earth tactics done by your clan to stop the Yamaguchi clan from encroaching back to Shinka."
"Ah. That clay-filled plain on our south. Sure, I get your point. It's better to build there than to leave it useless. Ishigawa-san, if you may."
"Got it, Kyoko-sama. I'll handle the planning once we start out."
Next to speak was Koshiro who raised his hand and spoke with a clear voice.
"For Fuku, we've already made our weaponsmiths study the blueprints we were provided and are currently centralizing the production on a few small factories. For the machines that you'll be sending, we'd try to construct the dedicated factories for them."
"Good job, Koshiro-kun. Are you trying your skills in leading now without much tutoring from Nayoko-san?"
"U-umm… Yes, I'm learning bit by bit."
Hiroshi turned to the woman behind him, and she simply gave him a wry smile, saying that she still is having a hard time teaching the young boy about how to be a leader.
Next in line was Reika. She put down her now empty teacup and spoke elegantly.
"For Kise, there is nothing to fear, Iwasawa-kun. We did have an agreement about us preserving our feudal-style army, but rest assured that we will also teach them how to fight in this new technique and armaments."
"I appreciate it. When the right time comes when we either have to defend our borders or reach out to the rest of the country, I wish to fight beside all of you with the clarity and trust that none of us would become too greedy and end up going out of line."
"I'm a Priestess first and foremost. You can rest assured that I won't become such a savage."
"Ehehe… I'm not really that interested with that. Fuku is already enough of a headache for me."
"Heh. I might be an ambitious warrior, but I already learned a couple of lessons from the battles I fought. And… you requested that thing to me so I don't want to end up being the one who has to be stopped like that."
Hiroshi heard their replies and Kyoko's was the one that stuck out to him the most. After all, she is the one that he asked to stop him if there will come a time when he becomes a tyrant or monster.
"Thank you for remembering that, Kyoko."
"Hmph! What do you expect from me? Unlike an idiot like you, I'm not one to forget about things that is asked for me."
She heaved a prideful air again and Hiroshi can't help but just smile wryly because of her attitude.
"Anyway… Now that we've cleared the most important things, let's talk about finances. Koshiro-kun. How is Fuku doing now?"
"Ah. We've mostly revived our most integral trades like agriculture and livestock. Special products are also becoming a bit more prevalent after the province was re-opened to open trade. There are still concerns about banditry and abusive merchandising, but we're on the way to resolving that."
"Has our embassy's people successful in training the artisans you sent to be taught?"
"They are. Many goldsmiths are already producing the products that are highly sought after in Naka. We believe that in a few months, we'd be able to compete with the products in other provinces."
"Good. It's a fact that competition makes an economy grow and become better. It's because each vendor has to attract more customers that they try to take as many measures and compromises as possible to either lower the cost of buying the raw materials or lower the price needed to sell their products to attract patrons."
"Hahaha! That is the same to us in Kise. You'd be surprised during the summer when tomatoes basically become free of charge just because everyone is selling them. There were even some people who would collect the tomatoes that are starting to become stale and would throw them to each other just for fun. They call it a tomato fight fest."
"That sounds like a waste, but I guess it's better than just throwing them away. As I sometimes say about things, when you can't eat it, it's probably better to use it in someway that would be of use to you."
The last is Kyoko who looked into a scroll given by Mitsuhide before speaking.
"I know that this might worry you, but Shinka isn't having any significant rise at all for the past few weeks. There was the sudden growth when your merchants came and jump-started the economy, but now, Shinka isn't growing at all in the financing aspect."
"Can I see that?"
"Sure thing."
Kyoko handed him the scroll and Hiroshi scanned the information before saying his edict.
"This is actually good, you know?"
"Huh? What do you mean?"
"Shinka just hit its economic growth ceiling for now. In truth, your province is in its all-time low in the inflation rate."
"E-eh? I don't understand but…"
"Economic growth ceiling is the maximum point where your economic growth cannot outrun the supply and demand situation anymore, it basically means that because the supply of products and the demand for them by the consumers are in an equilibrium, the economic growth also becomes constant and cannot rise up anymore."
"Hmm… interesting…"
"If that is so, is it possible for Shinka to raise this ceiling that you speak of in the future?"
"You sure can. Once Shinka stabilizes socially using advanced medicines and better employment salaries, it's evident that there would also be an increase in fertility rates as families become bigger and require more needs and wants. With that, we'll supplant the production of items to meet the future demands and thus, raise the ceiling of growth, leading to better opportunities and stability for the area."
"This is quite wonderful. I usually retort when you say all this mumbo-jumbo, but if this is for the good of my citizens, you can have my thanks."
"That sounds like the most insincere and haughty thanks that I ever received…"
"H-hey! I'm being genuine here! Are you so dense to not know when someone is actually thanking you truthfully?"
"Then you're welcome. I was just teasing you back after every rudeness you did earlier."
"Hmph! Idiot!"
With the two bantering, their subordinates can only smile wryly and giggle awkwardly with the situation.
"Iwasawa-sama…"
Meanwhile, one of his subordinates seem to carry a worried expression as she saw his smiling face towards the infuriated Kyoko. Her face seemed to have changed when she saw him seemingly enjoying the meeting with Kyoko.
"No... I should think about this... but..."
She looked down with worry in her eyes and wished that her worry is not true.
CREATORS' THOUGHTS 
Ephraim_Chronia
Ephraim_Chronia Don't worry, Chiyo-chan. We all love you so don't be down. You're the best girl of Hiroshi and our waifu of choice. Isn't that right, everyone? (Seriously, please tell your waifu of choice so far.)
-Editor KEY.
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