Chapitre 52: The Shape of her Love?
"Woohoo! I've got another job!"
"Iwasawa-sama…"
"I'm sorry, there's only one carriage left."
I left the camp at dawn alongside Ishida and… this guy.
"He's important to the plan, don't worry about it."
"I just wish that he'd be able to last long while working under General Mitsuha… given the short patience of hers…"
"Don't worry. If she does hit him just out of annoyance, it would be a diplomatic issue. Even when he's this hyper when given a job, he's still my retainer. Mitsuha-dono isn't dumb to create problems for her master."
"Well, you do have a point."
This guy who's been the subject of our conversation finally tucked his head back inside the carriage after he closed the small sunroof made of glass and finally sat down.
"You're too loud, Kaminari-kun. If Kyoko is here, she'd be asking me to cut off your tongue right now."
"Eh? I was just expressing my excitement to-"
"That's my point. You're too excited."
"EEHHH?!"
My goodness… this guy. It's hard to believe that before being caught and recruited by Nobisuke to work under me, this guy was a widely known swindler and connoisseur of courtesans.
"B-But… you did say that you don't like seeing your retainers with an unhappy expression, didn't you, Iwasawa-sama?"
"I did say that I like it when those working under me is wearing a smile. But I spoke that from my side and not on theirs. The expressions on their faces are my indicator of whether I am able to satisfy their desire to serve me. It's not the other way around. I'm not telling everybody to smile when I am around them. All of you are free to show what you really feel, I'm not a dense tyrant to demand you to be happy just because I want to see all of you happy."
"E-eh?"
"Why do you look so confused? You look like you've never spent a year under me at all. I don't know if you had the wrong judgements, but whatever image you have about me in your mind, it's probably not me at all."
It's quite strange, really… When he's around other people, Tatsu acts like a proper person, but when I am around, he seems like he's forcing himself to look excited or happy.
"I… I just remember some things, Iwasawa-sama. I feel like I always want to live up to what you want me to be."
"Don't be. It's not what I want at all."
"R-really?"
"Whether you are excited or disappointed with my orders, all of you are free to celebrate or complain about it. I'll even go as far as telling all of you to just say it right in front of me rather than chattering about it in secret."
"Wait, I don't think anyone can do that to a daimyo or their master, Iwasawa-sama!"
"You guys sure can. I might be your Daimyo and your master, but in the end of the day, I'm just a regular human like all of you. No need to give me any respect or elation that you don't actually want to give."
When I said that, I forgot that I left the window open to let the air in and the soldiers who are acting as our defensive convoy heard my words. They suddenly chuckled and spoke to me.
"Then, can you raise our salaries, Kou-sama?"
I heard their question that was simply said as a joke, but I agreed to it anyway.
"You sure can. But as you know, the higher the income, the more we'll have to tax you. Will you agree to that?"
"Damn! Kou-sama sure knows how to guzzle his investments back!"
"Hahahahaha!!!"
The group laughed heartily from our exchange and talked amongst themselves about things. With that, I returned to talking to Tatsu.
"Do you get it now? I don't need something that people aren't willing to give me voluntarily. If they think that I haven't earned their respect or affection, I won't hold their cheers as something that I really earned. The same goes for you guys who are serving me. Feel free to voice out your ideas and express your true feelings when you want to. It helps me in recognizing if I am in the right track in leading you and tells me what I should fix and improve in my decisions."
"I… I see."
Finally, Tatsu seems to understand it now.
"Iwasawa-sama. It's not as good as what you usually have, but I've prepared some tea for you."
"Why, thank you. Ishida-kun."
"It's a pleasure."
For some reason, Ishida prepared some tea using the tea set in the carriage cabinet and the hot water in the metal thermos. I took the cup and sipped some. It really isn't as good as Chiyo's green tea or the foreign recipe of Sister Camilla, but I sure can appreciate this mix of his.
"On the other hand, I have some concerns regarding your relationship with my daughter…"
"H-huh?"
"I was trying to find Kahono last-last week since she was supposed to send a letter to the Auditor, yet I can't find her in the castle. I only learned about the reason for her absence when I asked the guards at the main gate."
"U-Umm… Wait, Iwasawa-sama… I can explain the-"
"Tell me, Tatsu-kun. Where did you go with her?"
When I looked at him dead in the eye while I sent out a malicious aura, I saw him sweating profusely while shaking.
"Namu Amida Butsu…"
"I-Ishida-sama! Stop acting like I'm gonna die!"
"Don't worry. Buddha is merciful."
Meanwhile, Ishida seems to be enjoying the situation in his own way.
Later that trip, Tatsu told me that he and Asada-san went to the harbor to shop for ingredients for the castle pantry while also treating it as their date. He said that he knew some secret places with lower prices and has connections with merchants that provide fresher food so Asada-san took advantage of it.
On the other hand, I should have given some thought with my opening statement. If Asada-san is here and she heard me referring to her as my daughter, she'd probably hit me on the head with her fan. But I can't help it… A 30-year-old who looks like she's still in her early teens, that's not something that you see even in a lifetime.
Regardless, we finally arrived at the camp of the Kusanagi clan just outside of the city of Shime and the one who greeted me when I disembarked was the younger Ayanami general.
"W-Welcome to the camp, Iwasawa-sama."
"Thanks for the warm welcome, Mitsuhide-san."
She giggled a little after my reply, she seems to be glad that I made it here safely.
"Anyway, has there been any developments since the last time?"
"We've conquered the villages and towns that was on the way to here. I believe you passed by some of them if you followed the main road."
"Yeah. The fields at the second village still had the remnants of the battle while the last town seems like it was teetering to become a ghost town… Your master sure didn't let the enemy have any break, huh?"
"She sure did. She's like a slave driver during the march. I kind of felt bad for the soldiers."
Well, that's the usual Kyoko. Haphazard and headstrong, just as her father described her. Oh, that reminds me…
"Is Kenji-dono here? I heard that he insisted to watch the battle."
"Shh! Quiet down, Iwasawa-sama! That's not something that people must here."
"A-ah! Y-yes… sorry."
Mitsuhide looked around and whispered to me.
"He's at a hidden room in Lady Kusanagi's tent. He's spending his time on a bed since he's still a bit unwell. But I heard that he wants to talk to the enemy lord after this war ends."
"Hmm… Interesting. I think that's only warranted since even he was said to not stand a chance against the Satou clan's last invasion 25 years ago."
"Mm, that's right. I think he'll be trying to rub the salt on the enemy leader once we win."
"Ahaha… that's the old man indeed."
After the short walk beside her, we finally arrived in Kyoko's command tent and I greeted her as a friend rather than on the official and polite way.
"Hey Kyoko, how are you doing?"
"Oi, is that really how you're supposed to start our conversation?"
"Is that so? Do tell me how I should do it."
"You'll start by saying… no, wait… that's only for celebrations… no, that one is not right too…"
When I replied, she looked confident for a moment until she seemed to have forgotten the right words and began to mumble to herself.
"Should I help you, Kusanagi-sama?"
"H-Hold on, Mitsuhide. I'm just thinking here… Argh! Forget it! I can't remember!"
"I do know it. It is "Good day, my ally. How is the battle progressing as of now?"."
"Argh! Why did you have to make me panic about it if you actually knew it?!"
""Ahahahaha!!!""
Mitsuhide and I began to laugh after her reply, and she looked a bit embarrassed but also happy with what we did.
"Well, back to our topic…"
I spoke as she went to sit in front of the table beside Mitsuhide and I did the same.
"Before that, I have a question, Iwasawa."
"Ask away."
"Did you… send your men to the city?"
Wow, I didn't expect her to notice that.
"I did. I'm sorry if I kept it as a secret again. It's not like I don't trust you, but there are simply things that I have to keep under wraps until the right time comes when I can say it."
"I can understand that. I respect that you're taking the initiative and sending your men out before we go for the offensive, but I wish you won't be keeping your actions behind a cover when I can actually come and understand it."
"I'll keep it in mind, but when it's better to keep it between just me and my men, I want to tell you right here and right now that I cannot inform you beforehand. Would that be alright?"
"I have no complaints. I have trust in your judgement and your promise that you'll consider our safety on equal grounds as your safety."
"You're welcome."
She bowed in appreciation and I received it with respect.
"Now, can I ask about the siege's progress?"
"Yeah. Mitsuhide, if you may."
"As you wish, Kusanagi-sama."
She stood up to take a board from the bag behind her and placed it over the table along with a few wooden pieces that represents our forces and the enemy forces.
"Hmm… They've fortified the city walls and is constantly keeping watch of the camp?"
"That's right. I've already arranged for several offensive sorties to keep them on the edge and scouting around to look for weaknesses, but just like what our records say, Shime sure lives up to its title of "Iron turtle's unconquerable shell"."
"That's not something that any city can easily be named for… What are the reports of the scouts you sent?"
"Nothing. They said that each and every gate are guarded by a large and heavily equipped army while the walls between those gates and towers looks tougher than a mountain face."
"Heh… at least we have an image of it now."
I closed my eyes to think of how it looks, and I think it's not unwarranted to say that this really will be a tough thing for us to handle.
"So, what should we do?"
"You're asking me that? You're the one who has the big guns, Iwasawa. If I also have them, this city would probably be a stack of rubble now."
"Sorry Kyoko, but the laws in Kiko states that every product has their own price that is dependent on the value of their raw materials and the degree of technology and labor that has to go to them. If you want to equip your army with Nagisa factory's Rakurai artillery, you'd probably need to fork over Shinka's annual tax revenue."
"No way in hell that I'll do that!"
"Haha. I figured as much."
I wasn't joking at all. Shinka's army alone is already the largest among the alliance. If you'll add Yukonami's army that is also under her command, they'd already number to 400,000 soldiers. Second to them is Fuku that has 200,000 soldiers while Kiko has 175,000 if I will declare emergency conscription. But without that, we'll be in the last place with only 60,000 in comparison to Kise's 150,000 soldiers.
If Shinka will follow Kiko's usual army division structure during deployment where infantry, cavalry and artillery are mixed, she'd have to provide ten artilleries for a division made up of 15,000 infantry men and 5,000 cavalries. If you'll compute that, she basically needs 200 cannons for all of her 20 combined-arms divisions just to keep her army in uniform effectiveness.
And the cost for every artillery? A whopping 75,000 Kan. And that doesn't include the pay for teaching the artillery team, the two sets of primary ammunition like high-explosive and armor piercing shells and the tax needed to legally ship it to Shinka. If those are included, they'd be 120,000 Kan per unit. That's ¥1,080,179 or US $3,012,637 based on my calculations using the exchange rate at the last time I looked at it before I died in my past world.
(TN: If you are wondering why Yen is worth more than Dollars in Hiro's past world, let's just say that the prequel for this story pretty much had America recovering from internal and external conflicts. P.S: Don't read COMA: Code/Astra if you're easily disturbed about personal horror, even I didn't want to poke that other book made by Author Rai.)
"Your people are money grubbers."
"Hehe… They'd probably take that as a compliment, actually."
"Haah… All of you are weird."
Hearing her master's complaints, Mitsuhide simply giggled and patted her back to comfort her. Kyoko seemed confused but simply smiled after receiving the gesture.
"Anyway, what's our plan now? Since you're already here with your men, I believe we'll move to destroying the castle walls now?"
"No, we don't do that here."
"Huh?!"
Kyoko suddenly stood up after hearing my reply which reminded me of pretty scary memories when we first met up.
"You make me march in advance! Clear the way for your men! Wait here forever! And you're saying that you won't be doing anything?!"
She stomped her feet to the table and stood in a stance where she's ready to draw her sword.
"Wait, wait, wait! Hold up, will you?!"
"Speak up before my patience runs out!"
"We can't bomb a city full of civilians!"
After my panicked primary explanation, she slowly calmed down while listening to me.
"Aren't you concerned of our plans after we win? It's common sense to know that after defeating the enemy leader, you have to think about winning over his former subjects."
"Hm, hm. That makes sense."
Mitsuhide nodded and voiced her approval.
"My plan is already underway. Right now, one of my retainers are entering the city under the guise of a rice merchant, but his real mission is to spread rumors about Lord Satou leaving the city and leaving the peasants on their own."
"That won't work. I just told you that this castle city is known to be invincible. It wouldn't make sense for their leader to leave it behind."
"Unless of course, if you don't have the right amount of people to run it."
"Oh-!"
As I expected, Mitsuhide was the first to understand my point.
"Because you annihilated the main army, it will make sense why the enemy leader will leave this castle that needs a lot of people to defend!"
"That's right, Ayanami-san. 10 billion points for you!"
"Ehehe."
I gave her a little bit of praise which she seems to enjoy.
"Then what about the humongous numbers of soldiers in the gates? Did the scouts make a mistake?"
"That is probably a show of force. Even when your army is already on the outskirts of the city, I made a few of my soldiers to disguise as their messengers and send reports about their army's victories in Shinka. When you arrived here, the fake messenger brought an order for the already dead army to march back and find a way around your forces to enter and help in defending the city. Of course, there won't be reinforcements, they're already dead."
"As usual, you are depending on trickery. How uncouth for a daimyo and samurai, Iwasawa…"
"Hey, if I can avoid sending my men to possibly die in a battle, I'd use any trickery that I can make use of."
Still, there is still some merit and use for military action.
"That plan alone isn't gonna work by itself. It needs more pressure."
"Pressure, you say? What would that be?"
"This thing. Like before, they will hear- Abauf-!"
"STOP REMINDING ME OF THAT!!!"
"AAAAAAHHHHH!!!"
Wow, I've gotta use this against her someday. I can't believe that she already developed a phobia against the death whistle.
"Oww…"
"I-Iwasawa-sama!"
"My lord! What happened to you?!"
While I was rolling on the floor and holding my swollen cheek after she used her Gunbai (war fan, that one that looks like a metal paddle) to slap my face, Mitsuhide came to help me up while Ishida came running to the tent after hearing my scream.
"Kak!"
"M-My lord!"
"I-Iwasawa-sama! Someone, get something cold!"
"Argh… well, there goes my molar tooth. Ishida, get my medical box."
"Y-Yes sir!"
I spat out the broken tooth and with it, I finally felt the bleeding at the rearmost part of my mouth. I sent out Ishida to fetch my box where I prepared some cotton balls.
"I… This is…"
Kyoko began to mumble as I simply looked at her from the corner of my eye. She better be thankful that it's not a growing wisdom tooth. If so, I probably won't have the best time in here with working with her.
"Ayanami-sama! We got some cold water from the well in this leather pack."
"Come on, give it here!"
Mitsuhide carefully placed the pack on my cheek while placing my head over her lap. The coldness of the pack was quite relaxing, but I can still feel my mouth bleeding like a broken faucet.
"Iwasawa-sama, here is your medicine box."
"Are your hands clean? Use the alcohol and disinfect your hands then take a cotton ball and drop some povidone-iodine in there."
"Y-yes… what does that medicine look like again?"
"The one in the yellow bottle."
"Ah!"
Ishida was doing as I said while Mitsuhide was minding the swelling on my face.
"I… I…"
Meanwhile, she's just there. Still in shock and mumbling in a cut-off manner.
"Tch!"
And there she goes, she let go of her metal fan and immediately left the command tent.
"K-Kusanagi-sama! Where are you-?"
"Don't follow me! If I see anyone following me, I'll kill you!"
"Eeeeekkk!!!"
Oh, Kyoko… If I didn't know about your childhood, I'd probably be leaving you alone now… But as they say, once you feel pity and concern for someone, it would always weigh on your mind and compel you to tolerate their mistakes and actions.
"Is my tent ready, Ishida?"
"Yes, my lord. Do you want to be taken there?"
"Yeah. Can you guys help me walk to there?"
"No need, sir. Mitsuhide-dono, if I may humbly ask?"
"It would be a pleasure."
"What are you guys-? Oi! I said help me up, not lift me up!"
The two suddenly lifted me to my tent, making me feel a bit bashful. But I guess they are just really worried.
L’AVIS DES CRÉATEURS 
Ephraim_Chronia
Ephraim_Chronia "That reward better be a good one or I'll badmouth her."
-Editor ZERO
"That went so far off the bat for a tsundere quip. But as they say, love hurts!"
-Editor KEY
"If some of you want to be hit like that by Kyoko, I'm sorry for saying this, but you guys need some serious help."
-Author Rai
État de l’alimentation hebdomadaire
-- Classement
Power Stone 
-- Power
stone