Episode 9 – Days in the Sengoku Period and Nobunaga’s Change

Side: Kazuma

It’s been two weeks since I came to Owari. 

Nobunaga-san comes over to visit us often.  The reason why he always brought all kinds of wild game such as deer, boars, and ducks as presents was due to the rumor that Nanban people liked eating meat. 

Ohashi-san also told me that if I wanted to eat meat, he would immediately procure it for my sake. 

The renovation of the mansion was progressing smoothly, and although the kitchen garden wasn’t that large, we had finally completed preparing it. So now, it’s about time to think about what to plant. 

「You seem to be having fun.」

「Yeah. It’s fun thinking about what to cook with the ingredients we currently have. It’s interesting.」

There have been some changes since we came to Owari. First of all, Elle has been enjoying cooking quite a bit.  In this era, doing housework was pretty labor-intensive so we all shared the burden. But for some reason, Elle found the challenge of cooking with troublesome heat management and limited ingredients quite novel and interesting. 

We originally didn’t plan to stay for that long, so we didn’t bring that many ingredients and seasonings that could be stored at length. 

「I’ll be going first.」

「Come on.」

Julia and Celes started training in martial arts with wooden swords and spears.  Galaxy of Planets employed a military-grade melee combat system, but a lot of the techniques didn’t correspond to the weapons and martial arts of this era, so they were planning on making some improvements to it. 

Melty said she wanted to take up painting as a hobby.  Katie, on the other hand, seemed to be interested in the lives of the people in this era and has been asking the carpenters about various things. 

I didn’t particularly enjoy the inconveniences that come with living in this era, but I am honestly happy that everyone seemed to have found something that genuinely interested them and were having fun. 

「This is delicious!」

「I am going to be addicted to this prickly sensation on my tongue!」

And as for Nobunaga-san and his friends, ever since they tasted the daifuku when they visited the mansion, they have been coming over frequently to sample even more of our food. 

Today, we served them boar steak seasoned with black pepper, and it seemed to be a big hit. 

「Pepper is quite expensive. So, be sure to savor the food.」

It was basically Elle and Katie who cook our food.  They liberally used seasonings such as sugar, mirin, sake, and other spices such as chili and black pepper which were all treated as precious in this era whenever they cooked.  That’s why our cooking was on another level compared to this era’s usual fare.  

I asked Elle if it was alright to serve Nobunaga-san and the others’ stuff that was too extravagant. But she told me it was fine because we’ve already ended up changing history. 

「Kazu, what are the sweets for today?」

「We’re having youkan today.」

Yeah. Before I knew it, Nobunaga-san was already calling me “Kazu”. Historical records did say he was fond of giving silly nicknames to his vassals, so I suppose “Kazu” isn’t that bad.

「This is youkan? The taste is completely different. It is smooth, sweet, and delicious.  Does this also contain sugar?」

「Elle made them. Elle’s specialties are Nanban and Ming cuisine, so her dishes might be different from those commonly served here in Hinomoto.」

Whenever Nobunaga-san comes to visit our mansion, he looked forward to sweets the most. It seemed that he had a sweet tooth, just like what was written in historical records in our original world, and he especially enjoyed sweet treats. 

We served neri or red bean paste youkan today.  Did they not have it in this era? Anyway, I tried to brush things off by saying that it was made by Elle. 

「Is doing business with Nanban really that profitable?」

「We do make quite a bit of profit, but if our ships sink, we’ll end up losing everything.  It’s similar to samurai going off to war.」

「Is it truly that dangerous?」

「Well, yes, I suppose.」

After finishing off the barley tea and youkan that was served for dessert, Nobunaga-san and the others started relaxing. 

Perhaps because he was finally full, Nobunaga-san started talking about business again.  He was really curious about Nanban and Ming from across the sea, about business practices, and so on. 

Moreover, he is quite knowledgeable about business himself.  Ohashi-san, who came here the other day as well, did say that Nobunaga-san was quite famous in Tsushima due to the fact that he liked to listen to stories about business.  

He seemed to be on very good terms with the Tsushima merchants. 

「Kazu, do you think you can make money together with me and these fellows?」

「But I heard that your clan was quite wealthy, Young Lord. Do you not have a castle and territory already?」

「My old man is the one in charge of the territory.  I cannot interfere with matters too much.」

According to the Shincho Koki or the Chronicles of Nobunaga in our original world, Oda Nobunaga was rigorously trained in horse-riding and swimming when he was young.  Moreover, it wouldn’t look good for a territory’s young lord to work with seemingly suspicious fellows in order to earn money, right? 

「Would you like me to donate some?」

「No, I want nothing of the sort. These fellows are the second and third sons of farmers, and they are quite idle outside of the busy farming season.  Hence, I thought of securing another source of income for them. It would be best if they can make money without the need for a ship like yours.」

I thought he was asking money in a roundabout way, but it seemed I was wrong. 

He does have a point though. Trading was inherently risky, so another way to earn income was ideal.  It would benefit both Nobunaga-san and his friends. 

Thinking of benefits for everyone does sound like a good idea, but it really felt like something other than something a samurai would do.  Well, there was a historical anecdote about Oda Nobunaga charging an entrance fee for a tour of Azuchi castle though. Was it really possible to come up with such a forward-thinking idea in this era with just a little impetus? 

「Hmm. Any ideas, Melty?」

「Ufufu. I do have one, in fact. Actually, I have more than one. Something that doesn’t require much time, and something that does. Which one would you prefer?」

I couldn’t come up with an idea on the spot, so I called out to Melty instead, who was sitting next to me after bringing Nobunaga-san and the others some more barley tea. She responded with a suggestive smile on her lips. 

「Do you truly have some ideas?」

「Indeed. Let’s see. If you want to start earning money right away, then how about brewing sake? Sumizake would be good.」

「Sumizake?」

「Sake that is not cloudy. It’s almost time to harvest the rice, so if you buy them cheaply and start brewing sake now, you can start selling them at the start of the next year.  This can make a pretty profit.」

This Melty. She’s really recommending brewing alcohol to underage youths.  Was this really okay? 

「Sake huh? There are certainly many who like to drink sake.」

「It’s a popular consumable after all. Therefore, there is quite a market for it.」

「Alright. Kazu. Please proceed with that and hire these fellows.」

「Are you sure, Young Lord? Won’t your position get worse if you do something like this?」

It seemed that Nobunaga-san was pretty on board with Melty’s suggestion.  But is that really okay? The young successor to this territory’s daimyo would be engaging in that sort of business after all.

「I do not mind.  If one was only obsessed with keeping up pretenses, then isn’t that akin to a tiger made of paper? I have come to think so after observing you all.  The more one earns, the more power one holds.」

「Well, if you say so. But is it really okay for us who only just arrived here in Owari to do as we please like this?」

「I will give word to my father and Shigenaga.  They will probably not mind if you make them here in Tsushima and sell them internally in Owari.」

I wonder if it’s okay for him to be this hasty in making decisions like this. Especially since he hasn’t known us for that long yet. 

Well, it’s true that winter was the best time to make sake, and we also have a warehouse available in our mansion.  With a bit of preparation, things should be ready come winter. 

「Melty, is this really alright?」

「Of course. Alcohol is made everywhere.  The history of sake is not that clear-cut, but it’s certain that it’s been around since the Sengoku period.  Someone else will end up doing it, even if we don’t make a move ourselves.」

Nobunaga-san seemed to be really enthusiastic about the idea, so he took plenty of youkan as souvenirs and went back home in order to discuss things with his father.  He’s been recently bringing home sweets as souvenirs whenever he pays a visit to us, so we always made sure to prepare plenty of them. 

He wasn’t actually eating them all himself, right? Overeating sweets wasn’t good for the health. 

「Well, the warehouse isn’t being used anyway, so I suppose it’s fine.」

「Ufufu. We should take the opportunity to sell favors whenever we can.」

「You can be pretty crafty sometimes, Melty.」

Sake brewing huh? Melty seemed to want Nobunaga-san to owe us a favor.  Well, it’s certain that Nobunaga-san was dissatisfied with his current situation though. 

I haven’t really heard much about it, but it seemed that he really was being called a great fool.  Was he currently in his rebellious teenager phase? 

Hm. Even if Nobunaga-san and his followers made some money, it probably wouldn’t make much of an impact on history.   I’ll have to ask Ohashi-san to introduce me to a barrel craftsman. 

I also have to ask the carpenters working on renovating the mansion to include the warehouse on the renovation list as well. 

I originally planned on spending my days dozing on the porch while earning some money by selling goods every now and then, but it looked like I was gonna get pretty busy from here on out. 

But considering our position, it wouldn’t be a bad thing to cooperate with Nobunaga-san. 

It can’t be helped. I suppose I should pay a visit to Ohashi-san in a bit.