Chapter 76

In the middle of the cherry blossoms dancing in the wind, Misaki opened the old diary and read the words of the promise written there.

---

Takemasa, who had recovered from his illness, spent his days being busy with miscellaneous tasks within Edo Castle. In the Tsuda family, when one becomes an official, they are first rotated through various departments for about a year to perform menial tasks. This process clearly identifies their strengths and weaknesses, after which they are assigned to a formal department.

"You're quite skilled."

"Is that so?"

"Most people have their strengths and weaknesses. In your case, you handle everything skillfully. You might catch the eye of the lord."

Praised by his superior, Takemasa continued to process the documents without letting his guard down. However, it was a beautifully written document he had never seen before.

The document was designed to be easy for anyone to read, with uniform characters and formatting. It excluded difficult language and unnecessary modifiers, making it clear and reasonable. Takemasa realized that this significantly improved work efficiency.

Takemasa had seen a few documents in the Asai domain, but some were so illegible due to extreme handwriting that it took time to read them, and some were hard to understand. The unified and standardized documents eliminated such issues, making the Tsuda family's governance more efficient.

"It's already noon..."

In the Tsuda domain, a bell was installed to announce the time, and most people took their lunch break when it rang. They were free to eat in the castle's cafeteria or go out for a meal, but since Takemasa's salary was still low, he often used the cafeteria.

The cafeteria was very cheap and the food was delicious, thanks to the Tsuda family's subsidies.

"Over here, Heima!"

At the cafeteria, his friends Ishida Saki and Nagatsuka Masaharu had already taken seats and were waiting for him.

"What's for today?"

"Salt-grilled ayu."

"That's quite a treat."

The meal consisted of a mix of brown rice and barley, miso soup with wakame, cold tofu, salt-grilled ayu, pickled daikon radish, and pickled daikon leaves. The cafeteria was always crowded because of the affordable and delicious meals. While higher-ranking officials often went out to eat, the three young men, who were short on money, appreciated the cafeteria's meals.

"New three, how's your work going?"

"I'm currently working in the accounting department, but the Tsuda family handles an enormous amount of money."

The Tsuda family paid their retainers in cash and managed all other expenses in the same way. The workload was massive, and even a single coin's discrepancy was not allowed. Sometimes, the accounts didn't match, and they had to recalculate until late at night, Masaharu explained to Takemasa.

"What about Saki?"

"I'm currently in the department responsible for supplying the guard units, and I'm more of an assistant."

The Tsuda army had a standing army, so it constantly consumed a large amount of supplies. They had to purchase, store, and transport the necessary quantities to the required locations, resulting in a huge amount of paperwork every day, Saki explained.

"What about Heima?"

"I'm currently assisting with personnel evaluations."

Takemasa was rotated through more departments than Masaharu and Saki. Since his evaluations were consistently high, he was actually being considered as a future executive, as recognized by Hikaru.

"Heima is good at everything. I envy you."

"Actually, being good at everything might make you poor, you know."

"No, Heima seems destined for a promotion. I'm told I have a talent for arithmetic, so my apprenticeship will be shortened, and I'll be assigned to the accounting department. They call it finance in the Tsuda family."

"I'm told I'm suited for logistics and military administration. I think I'll be assigned to that department."

Masaharu, as a potential executive in the accounting department, and Saki, as a military administration trainee, were likely to be assigned to their respective departments.

"What about me?"

Takemasa, who was talking casually, would soon be appointed as an assistant to Muto Kibei.

---

In the first month of Tensho 7, the construction of a massive fortress by Tanba Nagashige was underway in Ishiyama. The town layout was being planned, and Nobunaga had ordered the merchants of Sakai to relocate to Ishiyama.

Although it was far from completion, Nagashige was building a mansion intended to be a separate wing. Nobunaga was now conducting his political affairs from there.

Until the completion of Ishiyama Castle, Takigawa Ieyoshi, who was given control of Yamato, dispatched his army to guard and protect his lord Nobunaga.

With the new year, Nobunaga ordered his generals to come for the New Year's greetings. Naturally, Hikaru also brought his retinue to Ishiyama.

"It's good that we can go by boat since it's Ishiyama."

"Yeah, it feels nice."

Hikaru and Kyoko traveled to Ishiyama on the fast clipper ship "Edo Maru," operated by Kuki Sukenaga. Upon arriving at the Ishiyama mansion, Nobunaga greeted them with a smile.

"Mitsu, Kyoko, you made it."

Due to the vast number of fiefs and advanced proprietary technologies, many of Nobunaga's retainers, including Shibata Katsuie, advised him to eliminate Hikaru and seize his territories. However, Nobunaga did not act on this.

For nearly twenty years, Hikaru had consistently exceeded Nobunaga's expectations, bringing great benefits to the Oda family. Furthermore, he planned to marry his beloved daughter to Hikaru's heir, Taro. Nobunaga could not even consider the idea of eliminating Hikaru.

"Is it Shoda rather than Sozai? You've come well."

"Hehe."

On Hikaru's ship, Matsunaga Hisahide, who ruled Suruga, was also traveling. Having smoothly ceded Yamato to his son Hisahiro, Hisahide had retired and taken the name Shoda. He was now working on completing a tea ceremony using coffee and tea, striving every day.

However, his retired name was not often used, as he was still involved in the Matsunaga family's operations, making him half-active.

"Monkey, unfortunately, you weren't the first to arrive."

"Oh, Lord Tsuda might have already arrived. I might have overslept a bit."

"Speak up, Monkey."

Hideyoshi, who had successfully governed Kai and secured the gold mines, used the gold to conquer Harima. He had hired many former Takeda retainers and was advancing the war against the Mori with their help.

Today, he had left his younger brother Koichiro, Takenaka Hanbei, and Kuroda Kanbee to manage the domain while he came to Ishiyama.

"Hanbei wanted to thank Kyoko."

"It's nothing much."

Hanbei, who had recovered from his chronic cough and was still actively fighting the Mori, wanted to thank Kyoko, but it didn't happen this time.

"Lord Tsuda, it's been a while."

"Ah, Lord Masahisa."

Next, Maeda Toshiie, who ruled half of Kaga, appeared and greeted Hikaru.

"Yusa, there's no need to greet such a person."

"Indeed, come over quickly."

Seeing this, Shibata Katsuie, who ruled Echizen, and Sassa Narimasa, who ruled the other half of Kaga, said that there was no need for Hikaru to be greeted, making a snide remark. Narimasa, who often worked under Katsuie, was also known for his dislike of Hikaru, which earned him Katsuie's favor.

"I'm sorry, my father seems to be frustrated due to the lack of battles recently..."

The serious Toshiie apologized to Hikaru and returned to Katsuie's side.

"Yusa, it must be tough. Katsuie is always longing for battles, as he is only involved in the suppression of the Ikko rebels and the governance of Echizen."

"Lord Hideyoshi, I can't understand. I find it more enjoyable to develop and enrich the domain."

"Well, Lord Tsuda might feel that way, but there are people who love battles more than their three meals a day."

Hikaru couldn't understand Katsuie's love for battles. While he eliminated any threats to himself without hesitation, he wasn't particularly fond of war.

"Of course, loving battles is one thing, but it's more accurate to say that he wants to constantly show his achievements to the lord..."

According to Hideyoshi's information, Katsuie had once tried to remove Nobunaga and make his younger brother Nobusada the head of the Oda family. Hikaru vaguely remembered hearing such a story before.

"Even Lord Hayashi, though pardoned, cannot erase the fact that he betrayed the lord."

Therefore, Katsuie was constantly driven by a compulsion to continue achieving great feats for Nobunaga, as Hideyoshi thought.

"By the way, I heard that Lord Hayashi is retiring..."

Although he was also one of Nobunaga's chief retainers, Hayashi Hideyasu had supported Nobusada. He had remained nominally the chief retainer, but in terms of contributions to the Oda family's expansion, he had been far surpassed by his juniors, and his fief had not increased much.

For a long time, he had been a nominal chief retainer.

"Lord Hayashi's heir, Tsunemasa, is a favorite of the lord, so he was probably forced to retire."

Tsunemasa, the heir of the Hayashi family, was a valiant warrior known as "Spear Forest" and was highly trusted by Nobunaga. It was likely that Nobunaga had requested Hayashi to retire for the sake of the Hayashi family.

"During the Ishiyama campaign, Spear Forest performed exceptionally well. As a reward and to celebrate his succession as the head of the Hayashi family, he was granted Iga."

Iga, which was now easier to govern thanks to Hikaru's development, was an ideal gift for a favorite retainer.

"Of course, not all news is good..."

After the fall of Ishiyama, some