Chapter 78

"Stepfather, please take care of me."

"Here, Mitsu-chan."

"Yoroshiku."

"That's not 'Yoroshiku'! At your age, don't act like a child!"

Hikaru is almost forty.

By the count of years, he is already well into his forties.

His eldest daughter, Aihime, turned seventeen, or eighteen by the count of years, and thus Nobunaga introduced a groom to her.

Oda Nobufusa, Nobunaga's fifth son and fourteen years old, was younger than Aihime.

Hikaru, who did not want to give his daughter away, tried to resist by pointing out the age difference to Nobunaga, but...

"Mitsu, isn't Kyouko also older than you?"

Nobunaga's words left Hikaru with no choice but to reluctantly accept the arrangement.

Hikaru lamented that his daughter would be going to the Kinai region, but to his surprise, Nobunaga had Nobufusa enter Edo as a groom.

Nobufusa was making his greetings in Edo Castle, and there was a reason for this.

Currently, Date Masamune was causing trouble in northern Tohoku, and after his expulsion, Nobufusa was to be transferred to Dewa.

The reason why he, only the fifth son, was chosen was that Dewa was to be a test case for the Tsuda family's complete implementation of the Tsuda family's method of governing the domain.

Nobufusa, as the fifth son of Nobunaga, held a somewhat delicate position, and many of his vassals were in similar positions.

Since Nobufusa's domain was next to Dewa and he had married Aihime, Hikaru would have to assist him as his father-in-law.

As a result, Hikaru would have to frequently travel to Dewa, which conveniently allowed him to see his daughter regularly.

"Groom, please take good care of my daughter... damn!"

"Don't click your tongue! He's a good groom, isn't he!"

Although slightly younger, Nobufusa was one of the tallest among the Oda family's children.

To put it bluntly, Nobunaga had asked Kyouko about her diet and lifestyle to see if she could make children as big as Mitsu and Kyouko, and had implemented this with good results.

Since he was the fifth son, he was raised experimentally, which was a very Nobunaga-like way of raising children.

"Yoroshiku."

In the end, Hikaru could only say this.

Actually, last year, his heir Taro had come of age and was now known as Nobuharu, and Nobunaga had served as his hatamoto, and at the same time, his fiancée, Nobunaga's daughter Fuyuhime, had also come to live with them.

Like Oichi, the women of the Oda family were often beautiful.

Nobuharu was overjoyed, and Hikaru thought it wasn't bad to have a daughter-in-law.

However, when it came to his daughter getting a groom, as a father, he couldn't help but be worried.

"Mitsu-chan, do you have any special instructions for the bride?"

"Nothing special. I won't treat her like a bride, so she should feel at home."

"I wouldn't do that either! What are you saying, taking advantage of the confusion!"

Hikaru, still upset about Aihime's marriage, said something unnecessary and was scolded by Kyouko.

"Is it true that the shadow ruler of the Tsuda family is the stepmother..."

Nobufusa, who had successfully entered the family, resolved to never go against Kyouko.

In any case, Oda Nobufusa's efforts to become the lord of Dewa began.

Since Dewa was still under the control of other daimyo, Nobufusa and his vassals had free time, but since the Tsuda family was generally short of manpower, even Nobufusa was not treated as a guest.

The vassals assigned to him were sent to various places to learn their jobs.

When they complained that they were Nobufusa's guards, Hikaru told them, "Do you plan to just guard Nobufusa when he receives Dewa? There are many other things to do, like governing and preparing the military. Are you going to let outsiders handle it and just guard him?"

Nobufusa himself was also given various jobs to do among the younger vassals.

"It's a bit different, but it's all about getting used to it."

Nobuharu, Hikaru's heir, was working alongside Nobufusa.

Although he had married Fuyuhime, he was still young and was given various jobs to do.

As the heir of the Tsuda family, he had vassals' children as attendants, but they were also busy with their own work and couldn't help him much.

Still, the fact that Nobuharu was helping the still inexperienced Nobufusa made Nobufusa realize that Nobuhara was an exceptionally capable person.

"Thinking about it, it's only natural... He is the son of Tsuda Hikaru and Kyouko."

"Mother is always nagging. 'Don't think you can get through life just because of your good blood!' That's how she usually is."

Nobufusa confirmed again that the shadow ruler of the Tsuda family was Kyouko.

Because it was something his own mother would never say.

"You'll get used to it in a month."

Many of the vassals' children, including Kishimaro (Kagemasa), Ii Mochinari (Nobutada), Honda Masahiro (Masaharu), Muto Kibei's son Nobuyuki, and the brothers of Tamura Mitsuari, were working together.

Until their coming-of-age ceremony, they had studied, trained, and played together every day, so they were set up to be important in Nobuharu's generation.

"Today, we're working on the river."

Nobufusa, along with Nobuharu and others, spent the day digging the ground with shovels, carrying soil with wheelbarrows, and pouring concrete into molds.

They gave instructions to a few laborers, helped with cooking and serving, and did things they had never done before in the Oda family.

"It's just the basics. When you give orders to the lower ranks, it helps to know what kind of work they do. You can't order people to do things you don't know about."

Hiroshige, the third son of Higo, who was training Nobufusa and others, explained why they were doing the menial work.

The education in the Tsuda family was completely different from that in the Oda family.

They were given various tasks and all the reasons why they had to do them were explained theoretically.

"Run!"

"Sir, yes sir!"

Of course, military training was also included.

Basic physical training, marching, and practical training with various weapons such as muskets and bayonets were conducted.

Watanabe Morinari, who was in charge of the training, had learned many things since joining the Tsuda family and was now responsible for training the next lord and potential leaders.

He was called the "demon instructor" by the trainees.

He was also a front-line commander who had defeated many enemies in battle.

"Too slow! Run faster!"

"Sir, yes sir!"

Nobufusa and Nobuharu also received harsh verbal abuse from Morinari and continued their rigorous training every day.

"Welcome home, sir."

When Nobufusa returned home, Aihime, who had officially married him, was waiting for him.

"Sir, please take a bath."

Sweaty and muddy, Nobufusa took a bath, and when he came out, a meal was ready. After eating, he fell asleep like a log.

The next day and thereafter, he assisted with paperwork, heard the petitions of the people, and went out to survey for development, leading a busy life.

"It's tough in a different way."

Nobufusa, being the fifth son of the Oda family, had received strict education since childhood.

He had some confidence, but the education in the Tsuda family seemed to be more efficient, stricter, and more intense.

"After the harvest, it seems we can join the army."

"Really? Nobuharu."

Since they spent every day together, Nobuharu and Nobufusa had become good friends.

They spoke to each other more casually.

"Father and the others seem to have a good grasp of the Date family's situation."

"Date Masamune, the new head of the Date family...?"

"Because of Father, they seem to be facing various difficulties."

"It seems so."

Hikaru had learned from Fuma Koutarou that the Date army was trying to reclaim Yamagata and was conducting diplomacy with the Nanbu and Ooura families.

Nobuharu had heard this through Hikaru.

"First battle... I have to do my best."

"Finally, the time has come."

After that, Nobuharu, Nobufusa, and the children of the vassals continued their rigorous menial work and training until the autumn harvest.