Chapter 18 Part 2 - Since I was reborn as Saito Yoshitatsu, I'm aiming to hand over the territory to Oda Nobunaga and live longer!

1536 (Tenbun era, year 5)

TL: Yuina

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　It seems like the page boys (kosho) who will later become retainers are coming today. There was a sense of anticipation, but the point was whether there would be any surprises, since several of them had already come once to show their faces.

　As we gathered in the hall, Toyo came to call for us. She was cheerful and energetic, but nonetheless, she was greatly appreciated by the wet nurses for her ability to behave appropriately when necessary. Even the wet nurse, who had trained in Kitakoji, also seems to approve of her, and she said to me, "If you're going to make your first move, please, start with this girl." What are you talking about? Both Toyo and I haven't even started developing secondary sexual characteristics yet. And I'm not saying that I will be laying my hands on her after we grow up.

"Young master, the lord wants to see you."

"Thank you for everything, Toyo. I'm off."

　I left the room and headed for the hall. My father, Sakon no daibu Toshimasa, was already waiting for me, so I went in, and sat down on the upper seat. Now that I think of it, this is the first time for me to sit on the head seat. I had a clear view of the hall and, perhaps it was because I could see all the way to the back, but I felt that the room was larger than usual. There are quite a few vassals and people there. Most of them were about my father's age, accompanied by young children.

　I sat on the right of my father. I was instructed by my uncle the day before that I should not sit by the sword.

"Raise your heads."

　　I looked up and saw some familiar faces, and some I had never seen before.

"I, Sakon no daibu, can only thank you this much for always supporting us openly and even behind the scenes. I am also very grateful to you for entrusting your precious sons and relatives to my own child, Toshinari, as his pageboyss. I think it's really a great honor for the him."

"What do you mean, Sakon no daibu? How many times have we, the Kajita, been saved by you?"

"Sir, I am only wishing to repay your kindness, since you put in a good word for me when I surrendered to the Governor-General."

　The lord of Kajita-jo Castle, Saito Kiyofusa, who responded earlier, often came to the residence. His son was Tadataka, Sato Kii no kami (Governor of Kii Province), and has already celebrated his coming of age ceremony. He was older than me, and for a while he was a good partner for me in playing Go, although he stopped playing with me when I kept winning.

　Okuda Hidetane was the man who agreed with Kiyofusa. It seems that he belonged to a branch family of the Shiba clan, and then moved from the Okuda residence in Owari Province to Mino Province. Although he originally served Toki Masayori, about five years ago, he abandoned him and came here. My father acted as a mediator, and at that time, right in the presence of Yorinari-sama, he promised to leave his legitimate son in their care, which is why he came here today. His son was Okuda Sanemon Toshinao who celebrated his coming of age this year. When I first came to Inaba-yama, he was older than me and we trained together. He is incredibly tall, but it seems he is still growing. Although he was 14 years old, he was already 5'7" (about 171cm), which is way taller than the average adult man (who should be a little over 155cm), during this time period. In the future, I'm sure he'll become taller than anyone I've ever seen, even in my previous life.

　After that, many greetings and introductions of familiar and unfamiliar faces followed. To my surprise, he was among them.

"My name is Akechi Hikotaro. I am one year younger than the young master, and I hope I can be of any use to you."

　Based on my limited knowledge of history, this person should be Akechi Mitsuhide. It seems that he was in a delicate position in the territory of the Akechi because his uncle succeeded the lord of the castle after his father died. His uncle, Akechi Mitsuyasu, was not sure how to deal with him, but my father decided to take him in as a Kosho (noble's attendant), following the advice of Omi-no-kata.

　However, Toki Yorinari wasn't fond of this idea because of the delicate position of the boy, which could have led to a clan feud. Akechi Hikotaro and Okuda Shichirogoro Toshinao were the only two to be made Kosho of the local lord. This was good news for us, since a chief retainer under the Shugo usually can only gather Kosho from his Baishin (indirect vassals).[1]

　After the meeting during which the boys were assigned their new rooms at the Inabayama residence, it was decided to have another discussion with just the Kosho.

"Once again. I am Saito Shinkuro Toshinori. Please take good care of me."

"We feel honored to meet you."

　I've never been good at acting superior, but recently I've been told that I'll be continuously sucked up to by the people around me, so I've been training myself to be able to speak in a somewhat haughty manner, more suitable for my rank, at such occasions.

"My father ordered me to join the first battle in mid-November. I'm worried that I'm still inexperienced in terms of age and that I'm not going to drag everyone down. I've been told to take those who have already had their coming of age ceremony with me, so please make sure to have your armors ready."

"Since I've already experienced my first battle, I will inform the rest of how to prepare."

"Oh, Yajiemon is said to have played an active role in the last battle. We're counting on you."

"Haha, please leave it to me."

　Hineno Yajiemon Morinari had served my father, Sakon no daibu, since his father's generation, and because of his father's bravery, he quickly rose through the ranks to become the lord of Honda Castle in western Mino Province. It is said that his older brother, Hineo Tokutaro Hironari, who was not even 20 years old, was a spearhead in the battle against the Asakura last year and was the first to attack the enemy. Yajiemon also made a name for himself fighting in a skirmish that took place shortly before the battle. It is said that he used his bow to pierce the chest of an Asakura soldier and shot him dead. So scary for a first time.

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[1] Since there aren't much translator notes in this chapter, I've decided to add one, just in case, to make this paragraph clear. The titles of "local lord" and "chief retainer" should be loosely referring to Saito Dosan (hopefully I got that right), and the Shugo should be, of course, referring to Toki Yorinari.