Today, I was teaching the same kids I invited to study a week ago. Most of them already knew basic arithmetic and some kanji characters, so all I had to do was fill the gaps in their knowledge during the past few days.
Surprisingly enough, someone who didn't come from the outside of the castle also joined in while I was teaching the kids.
"Waaah-! It's the mountain priestess!"
"E-everyone! Bow down to her!"
When I turned around when the kids became noisy while I was writing on the blackboard, I saw the former princess of Kiko province and Kaiho no Shiseijo's Chief Shrine Maiden, Akizuki Hisako.
"A-Akizuki-san… Why are you here?"
"Umm… The mountain temple where I was staying in is…"
Oh yeah. I forgot about that… That fire was partially my fault after all… For the time being, she was staying in a minor temple inside the castle courtyard while some Shinto believers in the town volunteered to fix the temple inside the mountain cavern.
"D-do you need something?"
"Umm… you see…"
She spoke softly while looking down shyly and fiddling her thumbs.
"Yes?"
"Can I also… listen to your lessons?"
Oh… I see… She is like that after all…
"Sure thing. You can sit between little Nana and Ichika-chan there."
After I finished the Kanji lessons, I gave all of them a small chalk rock and a flat piece of wood. It is time for arithmetic lessons.
"Okay, this is how you add numbers without repeating them over and over. This is called multiplication."
"Mm, mm…"
"For example, 3 multiplied by 4 means 3 plus 3 plus 3 plus 3. Confusing isn't it? So, you have to think about in this compressed manner while you are still new. 3 plus 3 is 6 and because you have two 6s just add them to get 12."
"""Mrm… Difficult."""
This went on for a while until I finally got satisfactory results from them and I thought that I should give them a break to eat lunch.
"Alright everyone. We'll be having a short break. Luckily for you guys, our dear mountain priestess brought some snacks with her. Ask nicely and share with everyone, okay?"
"Yesh~! Iwasawa-sensei!"
As they flocked the surprised Hisako to greet her and ask her for food, I retreated to a small table in the courtyard where a servant brought tea and some rice cakes.
"I pity her… being left isolated from the world, she developed that sickness…" I spoke softly as I blew on the teacup to cool it off.
"Kou-dono? What are you talking about?"
"It's Hisako's Global developmental delay… that disorder is still with her until now…"
There wasn't any concept of it yet, given that this place I got into is still in the Sengoku period. So not many people understood when I described her with that kind of disorder.
"Global developmental delay disorder?"
This is Asada-san, the head maidservant of the palace. Though in her mid-30s, her small stature that is only a foot taller than a 12-year-old, makes people either anxious to approach her or confused why someone who looks like a child is the head maid.
Those who knew her long enough or those who has no clue about her position in the palace always called her "Lolibaba" or kid-grandma, however, I knew from her aura alone that she is a respectable and professional woman who lives up to her occupational title and someone I shouldn't underestimate no matter what.
So, I rarely use that nickname even if I am her master, out of respect for her.
"Yes. It's a disorder in children who had a sheltered life. In the case of Akizuki-san, she lived almost her entire life in the depths of Kaiho Sanctum and the courtyards and palace of Kaiho castle."
"I can see that. The only thing she was taught in her life is temple duties and simple functions like reading, writing and basic arithmetic… As for her relationship with other people, almost all of us were forbidden to speak to her… so much so that she only knew the voice of her father… What should we do to cure that sickness, Lord Iwasawa?"
Being asked that question that I knew was coming, I already had the reply that even I can't accept.
"…If I am going to be honest, I don't know about it myself…."
I was being honest. I might be a doctor by occupation in my past life, but I was never an outstanding one who can compete with many of my peers.
"My family has worked here long before Hisako-sama was even born… My mother used to tell me that as a parent herself, she knew that Lord Akizuki… no, Akizuki-san loves his daughter far too much for it to be something beneficial to her in the future."
"…I noticed that too when I first saw her. She just believed whatever I said and never got cautious when a stranger came in her room. When fire spread in the temple, I had to pull her out because she neither panicked nor tried to stop the fire…"
"Like a woman that has the mind of a child."
I didn't expect her to say those words, even I was surprised by that.
"I didn't expect you to be that brutally honest. Are you the kind of person who enjoys making kids cry, Asada-san?"
"I-it's not an insult, Kou-sama! I-it's out of my concern for her!"
With a "hmph!" and a turn of her head, she tried to hide her face which was reddened a bit when she was talking about Hisako.
"Ahaha… Now I know why the other servants like you."
"Please spare me of their harassments. I am the head maidservant, but they seem to always be looking down on me. Imagine being called a lolibaba or being lifted to the air while they shout "upsy-daisy!" Hmph! Those kids, really!"
"I guess that's just their way of showing their love to you. You look out for them and they favor you, it's fair in my eyes."
"Haah… that's just how you see it, Kou-sama. You'll never understand unless you're on my position."
"Well, if you say so."
Having finished my break and rested my throat, I went back to teaching the kids until late morning.
"Thank you very much, Iwasawa-sensei!"
"You're welcome. It's nice to see that you kids are interested to learn. As the lord of Kiko, it makes me happy that not every kid just goes around to chase butterflies and make dirt houses."
"Well… our parents usually complain that we aren't interested in fishing or farming. They always tell us that we should inherit their jobs." the eldest of the bunch spoke up and it reminded me of something in the past.
"I understand that too. It's hard to argue with our parents about what we want to do in the future."
"Mm! That's right."
"Still, if you really want to do something and it isn't something wrong, you should push on and go with it."
"Kou-sama…"
"Remember this. Dreams will always just be dreams if you do it half-heartedly. The things we want to do and the things we should do are usually against each other. So, do the things that you should do so no one will complain once you do the things you want to do."
Before they left, something happened that made me think of how I should deal with that question earlier.
"G-goodbye… everyone."
With a shaky voice, Hisako spoke to them unlike before when she was overly cautious and simply sat silent in one corner in the presence of other people.
"Bye-bye too Mountain priestess!"
"See you tomorrow, Miko-nee-chan!"
Perhaps, the way to cure Hisako's disability is nothing more but letting her experience the world at her own pace. To know the people that was serving her that she hasn't seen even once in her life.
"Akizuki-san."
"Y-yes, Iwasawa-dono?"
"Do you want to see something amazing?"
Having finished the lessons with the kids, I brought Hisako and Asada-san to my workshop at the lower courtyard of Kaiho castle where the castle smithy is finishing up the work that I gave him the other day.
"Oh, Lord Iwasawa! Great timing, I am almost finished here."
He spoke from inside the thing that he was making.
"What are you doing, Lord Iwasawa?"
"Oh, this?"
"Yes, it looks like a cooking pot or something…"
"Well… That's not exactly it. But it sure looks like it…"
I wasn't surprised when Asada-san asked that, after all, the thing the smithy was working on is an old iron pot with a lid that has a set of wooden arms attached on the top of it.
"I call this a boiler engine."
I spoke and tapped the pot lightly.
"Enjun…?"
Asada-san wondered.
"Engine."
I repeated to align her thoughts.
"Enjean?"
Now, it was Hisako's turn to be confused.
"No, no. Engine… En-Jin."
"Ryuujin."
"I'm stupid. It's pointless to teach you guys English words…" I sighed and just gave up.
Anyway, I returned to introducing my machine and did my best to explain how it works as simply as possible.
"Asada-san. When you are cooking with the pot lid on, you notice that it sometimes shakes or pops out when the food inside is simmering, right?"
"Yeah. Because of the steam."
"That's the principle behind this engine. It uses that steam from boiling water to move something."
Well, that's my best explanation for it without saying the rest about axles, arms, gears and the law of motion.
"Instead of talking about it, why not just give 'em a demo, Kou-sama?"
"A demonstration, huh?"
"Yeah! Cuz I'm finished 'ere!"
Popping out from inside the pot, a young man landed on his feet while holding a pair of Japanese dog head hammers on both hands.
"Are you sure that we can use it already?"
"Yup! I did an all-nighter and even got that thing you asked me to do with this, kou-sama!"
He spoke and pointed to his table where a small round object not unlike a wheel's rim or a yoyo head made of iron is placed. It's a simple pulley wheel.
"If that's so, we really should test it out already. Are the arms done too?"
"Yes, sir! They are!"
With that settled, we brought the boiler and its funnel to a nearby well and attached the pulley on a length of rope with a bucket on the end.
Next, I asked Asada-san to start a fire under the pot and pour water inside of it before I and the smithy sealed the top of it with the funnel that made it look like a proper piston.
"Now, for the moment of truth…"
It took a while, but the wooden arms on the lid suddenly moved up and a puff of steam rose out from the exhaust pipe of the funnel.
"It's working! Awesome! It's working!!!"
We continued to watch as the wooden arms slowly picked up its speed and pulled the pulley where the bucket's rope was attached.
"Oh, it's getting near."
I was as excited as the smithy after the bucket full of water slowly rose while being pulled by the engine.
"That's enough! Detach the arm from the pulley!"
I spoke loudly and Asada-san was quick to understand which is which as she took off the moving wooden arm from the pulley that was moving the bucket up.
"Kou-sama… We did it!"
"Yeah! We did it on one try!"
I exchanged a high-five with the smithy who was beyond overjoyed with the results and he turned to ask the two women who was here with us.
"So, how was it, Asada-san?"
"Hmm? It was alright, I guess. For one, this might make our gathering of water more easily and safe. Still, I can't believe someone like you would think of an idea out of an occupational kitchen hazard."
"How about you, Hisako-sama?"
"Ummm… I didn't understand everything but… it was cute, I think…"
Cute… that's quite a weird thing to call a machine but I guess that's the extent of what she understood in this.
"Haah… still, we should make use of the watermills and windmills I prepared first in places where it can be put into place. After all, Kiko is a land of rivers and hills. The only reason why I made steam engines is to make that thing." I spoke while scratching the back of my head.
"Thing?"
Asked the smithy who seems to be hearing something new to make with my words.
"We're gonna make trains!"
""Tureinsu?"" mumbled Asada-san and Hisako in unison.
"Please don't make me start again."
Before I had lunch, I explained everything to the smithy, gave him a rough blueprint of the design that I meant and left a miniature wooden toy train as a comparison.
"Hmm… this seems like an arduous task."
"Well, it is. Even in my world… I mean, in my attempts to do it myself, I wasn't confident that a year is enough to get it done."
"Hmm… Say, Iwasawa-kou-sama."
"Yeah?"
"Can I ask some of my friends to help me in this?"
Unlike before, the overly excited smithy spoke seriously and there was a burning glint of desire to make it in his eyes.
"Sure. As for funds and supplies for metals, we are hard strapped right now. But I will find ways to help you guys do this based on your performance."
"Thank you, Kou-sama! I'm sure we won't disappoint you!"
Returning to the main palace to have my lunch, I heaved a sigh even when I am in front of the table among current bureaucrats of my provincial government.
"Haah…"
"Kou-sama, stop sighing in front of the food. It's bad manners."
"I know, I know… It's just that… who could've guessed that being a lord would be such a tiring task?"
"Please don't have such a lax attitude, my lord. You'd make the people worry if they heard you complaining about your work."
Nagisa Masami from the Nagisa Dojo, whom I hired to be the internal government minister with her management skills, spoke up in response to my comment.
"Yeah. I'm sorry about it, Nagisa-san. But still, I just can't get optimistic with this kind of work…"
"Mm, mm… I understand Iwasawa-kou-sama's point about his exhaustion."
Across her with the new position of trade and industries minister is Kurogawa Toshinori, the guy that I helped a week ago to retrieve his daughter. He replied before taking a piece of sashimi to his mouth.
"See? Kurogawa-san understands me."
"E-excuse me?! Why am I suddenly the wrong one here?!" Nagisa-san asked loudly in protest.
""Well, you are.""
"I'm not!!!"
The synchronized reply of me and Toshinori-san hit her nerves which amused me a little after I learned that such a disciplined lady can also get angry about little things.
"I have something to report, Iwasawa-sama."
"What is it, general?"
Next to speak up was the last present member of the main bureaucrats named Shimura Nobisuke, the nephew of Chief Aoyama and the cousin of Aoyama Chiyo. It was only announced yesterday, but he was sent to me as my first military general by Chief Aoyama.
"The reforms have been going smoothly. For instance, the cemented roadwork project has been extended from Naka to Aoya into Naka to Ise river after we received the support of several merchant alliances and rich investors. With this, we just have to connect with and refurbish the old paths from the Hikigaya and Fumikage domains to centralize the way of trade inside the province."
"How is the reception of this project to the soldiers from the Akizuki regime? I'm worried that they'll be angry since I made them do this as punishment. After all, cement is a new material for them to work with."
"I followed your order and told their officers to tempt them with the thought of cheaper Naka Sake in their towns. We said that with easier and safer travel, more vendors would go around and sell their favorite drinks in lower prices."
Yeah. Knowing how many people bugged the restaurant owner in Aoya for cheaper Naka Sake, I knew what bait I should use for these folks.
"Nice job, Shimura-kun. That's a good start for now."
"It is a pleasure, Lord Iwasawa."
Finally knowing what to do next, I covered my mouth to burp a bit before speaking to the three of them about our next course of action.
"I currently have an experimental vehicle under construction by a team of smithies. If it passed the preliminary inspection and is operational, we might not have to depend on wagon travel for primary goods anymore."
"Experimental vehicle?" Nagisa spoke softly.
"Mm. You can think of it as a horseless wagon or something."
"Lord Iwasawa… I'm afraid that no one in here can understand that…" Shimura-kun spoke up.
"Haah… forget that I mentioned it. It's probably months away from completion anyway."
Oh yeah… Sengoku period, I should really stop talking about things in my time as if it is common sense for them to understand it.
"Anyways, except for the cemented road building projects and my experimental vehicle, what are the status of the three other projects?"
"If I may, Iwasawa-kou-sama?"
"Mm."
Toshinori-san asked for permission to speak which I nodded to show my agreement.
"The collection of prices about every product in Kiko province has been finished. It was fortunate that I made quick friends in the local merchant guilds or else this would take more time to gather. Here is the list, Kou-sama."
Toshinori-san spoke and asked his servant to hand me the slightly thick pad of papers where the prices were written on.
"Hm… I see. For daily necessities and food, it seems like we have more than low prices in the commonly travelled areas. It's good that the first thing we finished was the highway, then. It will make everything else more affordable."
I just passed my eye on each item until I read a few lines that made me furrow my eyebrows a bit. I have to talk with Shimura-kun about it, but this is not the right time.
"How about you, Nagisa-san?"
"Oh. We have gathered the most accurate maps of Kiko from the palace library and from several scholars across the province. I'll have the whole map sent by our dojo's scholars by this afternoon."
"Good. I talked with some farmers these last few days and found out that many of them want to have new farmlands. With how the Iso river goes through Kiko, I already suspected that the land must be filled with streams and rivers which can regularly flood the lands. So, with these maps, I believe we can give those food growers more chance to have better harvests using dams and controlled irrigation."
That is another thing to do after this. If I can secure the food supply and distribution this early, we'd have no problems standing on our own feet after the semi-independence pact with the Kusanagi clan has been called off.
"Lastly, Shimura-kun. Please feed the sparrows after you've finished training the new recruits. It's not good to keep those fowls alone for too long."
"I… understand, Iwasawa-sama."
"Birds?" Nagisa-san wondered.
"But why ask that to general Shimura." Toshinori-san asked me.
"Ahaha… I was surprised it at first too, but Shimura-kun here is actually fond with them."
"Oh… It's good to know that a young warrior like you also have non-combat hobbies."
"I sure do, Toshinori-san. I don't understand why it should be such a surprise."
With all the current plans finalized, I spoke up after putting down my rice bowl.
"Mm… With that, let's conclude this meeting."
After lunch time, my schedule gives me an hour of rest time. I usually use it to take a nap or draw up blueprints for my new inventions.
"Come in, it's open." while reading the list of prices, someone knocked on my office's door.
But today is different.
"I've gathered enough people, Iwasawa-sama. The messenger I sent went back with a reply that they are ready."
Very, very different…
"…Is this really what Chief Aoyama wanted?" I asked after setting the document aside.
"Chief Fumikage and Chief Hikigaya also has plans… but they said that they can handle theirs' by their selves in their own ways."
"That old man, really… He has the title of Asura, but it seems like King Yama is better for him."
In Buddhist mythology, Asuras are power-seeking demi-gods renowned for their skill in battle. On the same note, King Yama or just Yama, is a wrathful god known for judging over the dead in hell and in charge of the samsara afterlife cycle.
"I think you are right… Uncle has always been someone who values justice. The only thing stopping him from taking action about this himself is that Chiyo is now home and it mustn't be known that he was the one who ordered it."
"I see… He's a terrifying warrior, but he's also a doting father and a great leader."
The good thing that happened for him is that I, who is now the lord of Kiko, also have the same set of values as him and his nephew about this thing…
"About "feeding the birds", Uncle has already placed his own loyal followers as the guards on patrol tonight, I don't think that we'll have problems with this plan as long as it will seem like just a random bandit attack with late response from the guards."
"Indeed. It's good that we have some of those former brigands on our side. It will help make the attack look more legitimate and we can also silence them afterwards to keep the secret."
"Yeah. Keeping this request from us as a secret to those bandits took some work. It may seem unsightly and unfair to other people, but expendable mercenaries are the best way to do this operation."
"Still, with what we are doing, I can't help but remember…" I spoke and walked to my office's window to stare out to the sea of Naka Harbor.
"If they knew that we're coming there soon, they would probably be hanging out there already… and I am not talking about enjoying their selves…"
I suddenly had a heavy heart when I remembered it…
"Haah… Can you really call it a good country if it was like that?"
I came from a country who can only boast that they are the most-disciplined people on the surface.
Under all of that culture of discipline, honor and respect, is a wasteyard full of immorality, hopelessness and lack of transcendent human value.
Everyday, I watched people going to their jobs and studies, following a clean rank and file, bowing down to those in power, going to places of leisure, spending all of their hard-earned money on temporary sources of bliss, coming home feeling happy yet waking up tomorrow filled with sadness to go through that cycle yet again…
A never-ending cycle of work and fun until they realize how pointless their existence has been while following this rule that lets them be accepted by other people…
I once made a comment about it that is so dehumanizing that I never dared to speak it out to anyone except for that one person that I truly trusted.
"In other countries during their month of festivities, they hang bright balls and a star on their trees. In this country full of despair and meaninglessness, we hang corpses every day on our trees."
"Iwasawa-sama… that is…"
"I know. It is insensitive and very offensive… but what should I do to make this thing known? If I kept my mouth shut and be the good, socially acceptable boy that they want me to be, how can those who are suffering from this despair be saved from it?"
"That… I…"
"I was never the ideal doctor nor am I the best one that ever existed… But one thing that I learned from being forced to be the one who will preserve it and sometimes needing to claim it myself is to value human life…"
"…"
"People die when they are killed. People are forever gone when they are dead. Their gravestones can speak any kind of pleasantry that it wants to say like "You will live on within our hearts" or "You are now in the bosom of the Almighty God". But one thing that cannot be denied is the truth that even the best doctor in the world cannot bring back someone once they have died."
We are also just humans… we cannot do things like that.
So, my blood really boils whenever I think about those people who say that they'll live to the fullest and choose when to die as well. They might have served their desires to the fullest, but what does that entail to use who will be left behind? Will their happiness make us happy as well? Will their actions be something of great value to us?
What a load of crap.
"Shimura-kun. I believe you'll be dressing up in a disguise to watch the show as well, won't you?"
I asked the young general as I turned around with my face that contains my anger.
"Yes… I want to see it as well. I want to appease this seething rage in my chest after I see those people suffering for what they have done."
"Good. Let's not dawdle here any longer. The attack will take place once the sun sets. It will take us some time to ride to Aoya, let's leave early so we can find a good vantage point."
I spoke and walked out of the room with Shimura.
As our horses ran across the roads leading to Aoya, there was a thought that kept going through my mind and I cannot stop myself from speaking about it.
These are the thoughts of someone who is carrying thousands of lives on his back… The thoughts of someone about what it means to be a lord.
"Those brothels in Aoya are parasites within this land. I aim to protect this country entrusted to me by its people from the same downfall that destroyed my world… and in order to do that…"
That night, Iwasawa Hiroshi has become what he needs to be in order to protect his people.
"I will not spare the lives of those who are ruining it."
The following morning, the entire pleasure quarter in Aoya was razed to the ground by attacking bandits. Both the male clients there and the courtesans who served them with various sensual services was brutally killed and every establishment was robed to the last coin.
"Wow, is that the news bulletin from Aoya?"
"This is so detailed… I can even imagine it from the words."
"No survivors… bandits really are relentless…"
"Did Lord Iwasawa say something about this already?"
The buzzing of comments and questions later reached the palace and Iwasawa Hiroshi took the opportunity to both calm the people and increase the support behind his position.
"The attack in Aoya is truly a horrendous sight. However, the forces of Chief Aoyama has already handled the situation and found the perpetrators… it is unfortunate however, that none of those criminals are alive to answer for their crimes anymore."
His answer was spread around Kiko and people began to think that their new lord is a heaven-sent peacekeeper different from anyone else who became their lord.
"It was successful."
"It is. It even helped to raise the public's support to the Kiko land guards."
"Shimura… no, Nobisuke."
"Yes, Iwasawa-sama?"
"Did your hatred against your mother… calmed down after seeing the death of those who are on the same labor as hers?"
But in his own words, Iwasawa Hiroshi never called himself a heaven-sent peacekeeper.
"No… It is still here. And I believe it will never be gone until I find her and make her pay for what she has done to me and the Aoyama clan."
Iwasawa Hiroshi is not a true saint, nor is he a pure sinner…
"Then, until that time comes when we get to the lands where she is as we push to the capital…"
Iwasawa Hiroshi and even Shimura Nobisuke…
"I want you to fight for our principles and goals."
"Yes, Iwasawa-sama. For the Peace of Kiko!"
"For the Peace of Kiko."
They are just humans. Beings needing a reason to live on.
And for Iwasawa Hiroshi, he must now live to serve and protect his people.
Even if it means that he has to claim the lives of others. For this is the Sengoku period.