Chapter 25

The invasion of the Kita-Machi army into the Shinchi territory delayed the start of Kōki and Oichi's honeymoon by about three months.

Still, since the Kita-Machi family, who had invaded, were driven out of Ise-Shima, Oichi thought Kōki was amazing.

He entrusted the remaining tasks to his vassals and returned to Shinchi, and their honeymoon began again.

"…Master?"

When she woke up early in the morning, Kōki, who had been sleeping in the same bed, was gone.

Oichi got out of the futon and looked for him.

The futon they were using was called a down futon, which apparently contained the feathers of waterfowl.

It was very light, warm, and a high-end product that was not even used by the Oda family.

"Did he go out for morning exercise?"

Oichi's brother, Nobunaga, often woke up early in the morning, went out for morning exercise with his pages, or practiced archery and firearms.

Oichi wondered if Kōki, who didn't seem to be good at such things, was also doing such training.

"Can't you sleep anymore?"

When Oichi, who had woken up, left the room, a maid was waiting outside.

"Where did Master go?"

"The lord is training with Kiyoko-sama."

"Is that so? I'd like to see it."

Oichi knew that Kiyoko trained every morning, but she didn't expect that Kōki, who had just returned to Shinchi, would also be participating.

"I will guide you."

"Thank you."

When Oichi was led by the maid to the outer perimeter of Shinchi Castle, she saw Kōki and Kiyoko running there.

"Good morning, Oichi-chan."

"Good morning, Oichi."

"Good morning, Master, Kiyoko-sama."

During Kōki's absence, Oichi and Kiyoko had become good friends.

Kiyoko called Oichi with the suffix "-chan," and Oichi called Kiyoko with the suffix "-san."

Initially, they called each other with the suffix "-sama," but Kiyoko had asked them to stop.

"Master is also participating in the training?"

"Running is something I can do."

Astronauts are recommended to do regular physical training, so Kōki participated in the training out of habit.

However, Seiki, who was originally not fond of exercise, had a normal level of physical coordination and was not an astronaut, so he skipped the training voluntarily.

"But, it was surprising."

"Mitchan, you have more stamina and endurance than you think."

Kiyoko evaluated Kōki's physical coordination and strength as average, his handling of guns and bayonets as slightly above average, and his stamina and endurance as quite good.

Otherwise, he wouldn't be able to endure a long military campaign, even if he was just a figurehead general.

"Didn't you do quite well last night too?"

Oichi blushed when Kiyoko, a woman, asked about their night life.

Although it was partly a joke, they needed to have children, and if Oichi couldn't have children, her position as a wife would be in jeopardy.

That's why Kiyoko increased the number of nights Kōki and Oichi spent together.

"Seiki-sama is not here, is he?"

"Kiyochan doesn't do training."

Kiyoko said this with a sigh, but she knew that Seiki not only found training troublesome but also stayed up late and couldn't wake up early.

"Training?"

"It's a word from the Nanban, meaning exercise."

"Kiyoko-sama knows the Nanban language too?"

Kiyoko, being an elite soldier, was proficient in English, Mandarin, Spanish, French, and German.

Kōki could speak a little English and Mandarin.

However, in the future, there were automatic translation devices, so there was no need to learn them forcefully.

"Seiki-sama, who manages the finances of the Shinchi family, doesn't need martial arts, does he?"

"Oichi-chan is so kind."

Kiyoko was moved by Oichi's kindness in defending Seiki, who didn't wake up early.

"Oh, right. How is the new futon?"

Kiyoko had prepared a low-rebound mattress for the couple to sleep on, a pillow that put less strain on the cervical vertebrae, neck, and head, and a high-end down comforter for two, and asked Oichi about its comfort.

"It was very comfortable."

"I'm glad to hear that."

After Kōki and Kiyoko finished their training, they took a shower and had breakfast.

Oichi was surprised by the shower, which she thought was a wonderful invention because it was troublesome to take a bath every time she sweated.

There were soaps, shampoo, a liquid soap for washing hair, and a rinse for conditioning hair, all of which she had experienced and found to be wonderful.

"Good morning…"

"Kiyochan, it's rare for you to be up so early."

Kiyoko greeted Seiki, who rarely woke up in time for breakfast.

"Well, I couldn't come up with any ideas for the new book, so I went to bed a little earlier than usual."

"New book…?"

"I'm working on a project where all the characters in the Taiheiki are female."

"Kiyochan, is there a point in making all the characters female?"

"It's just so cute."

Oichi couldn't really understand the concept of all the characters in the Taiheiki being female or why it was "cute."

To Oichi, Seiki seemed like a strange person she had never seen before.

"Oichi-chan, do you want some chocolate?"

However, when she talked to him, she realized he was gentle and kind, not a bad person.

"Let's eat."

The four of them immediately started their breakfast.

The menu included white rice mixed with barley and other grains, miso soup with wakame and tofu, dried horse mackerel, watercress in a light broth, onsen eggs, natto, and various pickles and cooked vegetables, which Oichi found lavish but was a regular menu for the Shinchi family.

Oichi, who had started eating meat and eggs to adapt to the Shinchi family, found them very delicious.

The food also included Nanban and Ming cuisine, and sweets made with the precious sugar were served as snacks.

In terms of food, Oichi thought the Shinchi family was far superior to the Oda family.

"Kiyoko-sama, should I also train a little?"

"Well, strengthening your legs and waist can make childbirth easier. But you don't need to overdo it."

Oichi thought she should do it, as many women around her had died in childbirth or from postpartum complications.

Kiyoko, who was also a doctor, suggested she follow her advice.

"Childbirth requires a lot of stamina, so I'll create a training program for you."

"Thank you."

After this conversation, Oichi decided to start training the next morning.

The training included light running, strength training, and stretching exercises.

"Is this level enough?"

"It's not the training for the security team. Three times a week is enough to be effective. Besides, it suits you."

"Really?"

Oichi was given a special tracksuit from Kiyoko and wore it immediately.

"Indeed, it suits you. You look like a club girl."

Seiki, who was struggling to come up with ideas for his new book, came to see the training and was excited by Oichi's tracksuit.

"Indeed, you look like a club girl."

"What is a club girl?"

"Well, it's like a group of people who do the same training together?"

Seiki's explanation reminded Oichi of the scene where Nobunaga made young vassals and pages wrestle.

"By the way, what about the bloomers?"

"Bloomers?"

"Kiyochan, go back to your work or start thinking about your new book!"

Seiki, intimidated by Kiyoko's stern tone, fled back to his office.

Oichi instinctively understood that she shouldn't ask about "bloomers."

"Having a good model boosts my creativity. I'll use Oichi-chan as a reference for the ill-fated general, Kita-Machi Akinaga."

Although Kiyoko scolded him for rushing, Seiki successfully completed the all-female version of the Taiheiki.

However, when it was first released, it faced criticism for having all female characters, and it only gained recognition long after Seiki's death.

"‘There are many surprises in the Shinchi family, but Master and Kiyoko-sama have been very kind to me’…."

Three months after Oichi's marriage, Nobunaga read her letter and felt relieved.

And then…

"Ah… This futon is the best. I don't want to get out of bed in the morning."

Nobunaga was delighted with the comfort of the futon set Oichi had sent him.

"This tracksuit is just right for training."

Nobunaga started wearing the tracksuit Oichi had given him for morning exercises and martial arts training.