Chapter 32: A Suggestion for the Isshiki Naval Forces

Atsumi Bay – Isshiki Masataka

1561. Fall.

When I returned to the cabin, I found one of the retainers looking exhausted. He was Isshiki Masaaki. As his name suggested, he was a member of the branch clan, the younger brother of Masatomo.

Unlike Masatomo, he liked to fight more than dealing with internal affairs, so he came here to accompany me as one of my guards.

“Are you okay, Masaaki?”

“F-forgive me for showing you such a pathetic sight of me, my lord…”

His pale face grew even paler as he spoke, making me even more worried. He looked like he’d throw up the content of his stomach at any moment.

This was real, so there’d be no sparkle censor to cover the scene if he really did, and there was a huge chance that some of it would splatter onto my clothes or something. Been there before. Back in my previous life.

“Come outside. I’ll have Kureishiya send someone to care for you.”

Masaaki made a troubled face. As one of my guards, he probably loathed the idea of leaving my side, but Michifusa and the other guards were here, so there’d be no problem even if he were gone.

Besides, we were out at sea. There was barely anything to be worried about.

“Take on the lord’s offer. Your sickness might spread to others at this rate.”

“I’m utterly ashamed…”

With Michifusa’s urging, Masaaki finally went outside. Then, I told one of the guards to relay a message to Kureishiya and to stay by Masaaki’s side.

“He’s a fierce man on land, but to think he’d be so helpless on the water…”

“The ship isn’t even rocking around that much…”

“Indeed. Even us, who’ve been living on land all our lives, feel comfortable staying here.”

They told me that this sekibune had been modified for a merchant’s use. It only carried the bare minimum of combat equipment, so it could be used for a variety of purposes.

Apparently, the first thing they worked on was its storage, so that they could store their goods safely. Then, they moved on to work on the cabin they’d use for business meetings, and finally, the hull to make the ship rocked less.

Thanks to the latter, I didn’t remember experiencing the ship rocking around back during our journey to Yoshida Port from Ōigawa Port.

Even when the pirates attacked just now, the ship didn’t rock around.

“Well, there are few other causes of seasickness other than that. Maybe he can’t stand the smell of the sea for example.”

“Perhaps so. Speaking of, my lord, did you get to see something?”

Ohisa-sama and I sat down so that we could talk properly—though I was the only one talking.

“Their tactics surprised me, to the point that I couldn’t believe that they were actually merchants. With such great leadership, there’s no way mere pirates could do anything to them.”

“I see.”

“Also, I found someone interesting.”

As I said that to Michifusa, I recalled what happened earlier.

Standing on a small ship, a young man was commanding the other guards who were spread out over a wide area like they were his own hands and feet.

He could read the enemy movements with ease, and understand the situation of the battlefield like it was his second nature. The preparation to establish the naval force was still underway back at Ōigawa. We didn’t have enough people who were experienced in naval combat, and the few who had that experience, had only fought a few small-scale battles with pirates.

Compared to them, he was nothing short of exceptional. Skills and experience, he got them all. What was more was, the group he commanded was pretty much a ragtag bunch compared to a real army.

“Someone interesting, my lord?”

“His name is Someya Torakichi, Someya’s younger brother. Apparently, he doesn’t have much talent on the business side, so he supports Someya as a guard.”

“I see. He must’ve been formidable if you rate him so highly. But, will Someya let go of such a younger brother, my lord?”

“That’s why we need to establish our naval force quickly. Because it will take time to train them so that they are ready for an actual battle. While they are at it, we can make them guard the merchants’ fleet.”

However, Michifusa didn’t have a favorable impression on that suggestion. Well, I got it. After all, the suggestion had a major issue: it might just ruin the connection between Isshiki and Someya for good.

“What about Someya’s business? If our navy were to provide escort services to the merchants, and his brother were to join the navy as its commander, that would eliminate one of Someya’s sources of income.”

“That’s something I’ve considered as well. My plan is to have Someya act as an intermediary between the navy and the merchants. He will gain the profit, our navy will gain the experience they need. After that… well, I have plenty of other ideas. The point is, I won’t do anything to take away Someya’s business.”

“Your suggestion is sound, my lord. That won’t take away Someya’s profits, and our navy will gain the experience they need.”

After that, Michifusa fell silent. Up until now, the idea of our Isshiki having a naval force wasn’t something that sounded particularly realistic, even though the plan had been thrown around for a while now.

But now, that same unrealistic plan had a chance to finally move forward.

“Anyway, we won’t know the result unless we talk it out with the Someya brothers first. The older brother is going to visit the castle soon, so we can talk about it with him then.”

“Understood.”

At this point, the darkness outside had begun to be chased away by the light.

A familiar view began to appear on the small window of the cabin. We had finally reached the Ōigawa Port.