Chapter 46: What Will the Leader of the Pirates Do?

Ōigawa Castle – Okuyama Chikamoto

1561. Fall.

The man who was guiding me appeared to be a subordinate of the Isshiki retainer who was in charge of everything related to their port. From the faint scent of sea coming from him, I could tell that he had been out at sea until recently.

“Can I ask you something?”

“Please, ask away. Though, I’m afraid there won’t be much I can answer. I am just a low-rank personnel, after all.”

Though his body was well-built, his answer made him sound like a weakling. Unlike before, I wasn’t tied up. With only him here, I could probably escape with ease.

Of course, that would mean I’d be abandoning my men, and in the past, I would’ve done it without hesitation. But then again, in the past, I wouldn’t have been so foolishly captured in the first place.

However, for some reason, the option to ‘escape’ was the furthest thing in my mind right now.

It was a strange thing. The notion of serving that man, who was about the same age as my own daughter, left me excited.

“I just want to ask a simple question. The head of Isshiki… what kind of person is he?”

“Do you mean Masataka-sama? He… is quite the unpredictable person, I think. For example, he willingly welcomed a bride from Matsudaira of all places. Then, there is his decision to build a naval force from nothing, and his policy to protect the merchant clans as a way to secure funds. Our Isshiki has always been prosperous, but it wasn’t this prosperous before. It was only after the previous lord fell at Okehazama and the current lord inherited the position did our Isshiki grow this prosperous. And now, everyone puts their trust in him, no matter what he says. But, whether they can accept his words right away or not is another matter entirely.”

He said, laughing dryly. This man had suffered through a fair share of hardship, for sure.

Regardless, his words only grew my excitement further. But that didn’t matter, what did was the opinion of my men. Now, what to do about that, hm…?

As I was contemplating that question, I noticed a particularly magnificent looking resident. On its gate was the word ‘Someya,’ indicating that this was the residence of the clan that housed the escort fleet that managed to capture us.

Us, who had successfully raided ships belonging to various daimyōs, were outmaneuvered by a single merchant clan and wiped out. Even though it was exactly what happened, it was still absurd to think about.

“Is anyone home?!”

When the man beside me raised his voice, someone came out from the door to the side. A woman who dressed like she was from a wealthy family.

“My, if it isn’t Koyama-sama. Kumakichi-sama is still at the castle, isn’t he?”

“Kumakichi-sama isn’t the one I have business with right now, Haruyo-dono. I wish to visit Someya’s warehouse.”

“Our warehouse? But right now…”

So the man’s name was Koyama. The woman, Haruyo, stared at my face and showed a look of understanding. Then, she turned her face toward Koyama again.

“I’ll send someone to escort you. Please forgive me for the inconvenience, but I’ll have to ask you to wait here.”

“It’s okay, please take your time.”

“Alright, please excuse me…”

After saying that, she went back inside. That aside, this place was truly big. Even if we were to spend all the money we got from our raids, we still wouldn’t be able to afford getting a place this big.

Not long after, a man came out of the side door. In his hand was a sturdy looking key.

“Please come this way.”

“Sorry for the trouble.”

After that, we walked for a bit. The further we walked, the stronger the scent of the sea became. It felt like it had been a while since I last smelled this unforgettable scent. Once again I realized that I had been away from the water for so long.

Before long, we reached the port—the part of the port which was filled with nothing but a bunch of warehouses. Seeing that there were names plastered in each of them, it wasn’t hard to guess that they belong to the merchants.

We walked through the street lined with such warehouses until we reached a single, solitary warehouse further down the street.

“It’s over there.”

“Why is it isolated from the other warehouses?”

I couldn’t help but ask that question. The sight bugged me that badly.

“Why, indeed. Well, Masataka-sama instructed us to treat you accordingly, so I guess there is no harm in telling you. As you know, our Someya provides escort services, so naturally, we have to procure weapons. Incidentally, our main weapon is the fire arrows. For that, we store a huge amount of oil in that warehouse, so much that if it were to catch fire, the whole building will just burn and there’ll be nothing we can do about it. The fire will just spread further if there are other merchants’ warehouses nearby. Hence we built it so far away from the others.”

So there was a proper reason. And here I thought they were isolating themselves just because.

“Alright, the rest of the pirates who follow you are there, Okuyama-dono. I am not privy to the details, but I heard  from Masataka-sama that you have something you have to discuss with them. Please, go ahead.”

When we reached the locked door, Koyama said that to me. After that, the man from Someya unlocked the door and the sturdy looking padlock fell to the ground.

Immediately, noises from inside rushed out. Familiar voices that I hadn’t heard for a few days now. When I was first captured, though Someya’s escort fleet took me back to Kamitaka Island for a while, I was then taken to the castle without being given even a chance to see these guys’ faces. I thought I’d be executed right away, so I never expected this kind of development would happen.

My ancestors lost their place in the Hōjō clan and went to become pirates. Since I had been a pirate since birth, I had thought that I’d also die as one.

Never in my wildest dream did I ever expect that the head of the Isshiki would try to recruit me. Alright, time to talk with the rest of them.