Chapter 33

In April of the tenth year of Eiroku, after concluding the battle against the Miyoshi faction in the Kinai region, Koki returned to the new land. Although there were casualties from the battle, they were within an acceptable range, and since he was recruiting new soldiers, there should be no problem.

Due to the victory of the Oda forces, the Oda family gained control over most of southern Omi, Yamashiro, Yamato, Settsu, Kawachi, and Izumi. Nobunaga seemed to be busy with the administration of these new territories.

Koki was praised by Nobunaga and received a commendation, a sword, paintings, and gold coins for his contributions in this battle. Other generals, including Nagamasa, also received rewards.

Even Yoshimasa, who had successfully recovered the shogunate's lands in Yamashiro, had already begun his administrative duties. While his abilities were unknown, Koki hoped that he could at least manage the politics. If the Ashikaga shogunate had a certain level of authority and mediation skills, the hardships of Nobunaga and Koki would be significantly reduced.

To be honest, Koki had not expected much.

"The names for the girls will be Iori and Chacha."

Koki named the second daughter, born to Kyouko, Iori, and the first daughter, born to Oichi, Chacha. Iori was Kyouko's suggestion, and Chacha was Oichi's. Koki had also proposed a few names, but they were rejected by Kyouko.

"Kochan, no good this time!"

"Naming is difficult..."

Oichi, the head of the Shinchi family, was no longer surprised that Koki, despite being the head of the family, could not name his daughters by himself. In the Oda family, this would be unthinkable, but in the Shinchi family, it was quite common. Koki and the others were relieved that the girls seemed healthy, and it seemed that a guest had arrived today.

"Kyouko, Lord Toyokichiro has been unfaithful!"

The visitor to Shinchi was Nene, the wife of Kudayama Toyokichiro. She admired Kyouko and usually communicated through letters, but occasionally visited Shinchi to have tea and talk. Despite the considerable distance from Sumata to Shinchi, she managed to visit while serving as the castellan of Sumata Castle in Toyokichiro's absence, traveling by horse.

Inspired by Kyouko, Nene had also learned to ride a horse.

"Indeed, I haven't been able to have children yet..."

Nene seemed troubled by her inability to have children with Toyokichiro. While Toyokichiro did not say anything in front of her, it was also possible that he was having affairs because he wanted children.

"Lord Toyokichiro, he's quite something."

Koki was impressed by Toyokichiro, who had been unfaithful without showing any signs of having affairs elsewhere. While he wished he could emulate him, Koki knew that he would be immediately seen through by Kyouko, and besides, he had little interest in women other than Kyouko and Oichi.

"You shouldn't be impressed!"

"Even if I don't actually do it, a bit of envy is natural for a man."

"There's no helping it..."

Kyouko was exasperated by Koki's honesty, even though he was her husband.

"Is it the same for Kiyoko?"

"Who knows? That couple always seems to be having fun."

Kiyoko, the wife of Seiki, used her noble upbringing to assist her husband in his work.

"For the next new book, what about making Yoshitsune and Benkei women? And make Yoritomo a seemingly unpleasant woman who is actually a tsundere."

"How about a forced battlefield coupling book with Seisho as the dominant and Mochisuke as the submissive?"

In their free time, the two were deeply involved in creating new works. Despite this, Kiyoko had confirmed that Kiyoko was pregnant, and the retainers were delighted. Mochisuke, Seisho, and Ito, who had been used as models in Kiyoko's books, had slightly contorted faces but could not say anything since the author was the wife of their lord's younger brother.

"Why are we the subjects of these books?"

"Being the subject of a shudo story..."

"We are samurai, but our status is not that high, after all."

Shudo was not strictly prohibited in the Shinchi family. The idea was that people with strong homosexual tendencies could engage in romantic relationships in their private time without interference. The exception was when a superior forced such a relationship on a subordinate, which was treated as sexual harassment and abuse of power.

Originally, neither Koki nor Seiki had an interest in shudo, and since such behavior would not lead to advancement and would only lower their evaluations, shudo had become less common in the Shinchi family.

Kiyoko's books were, after all, just stories.

"So, Kiyoko is also... already treated as a barren woman in society, I see. I..."

Despite Toyokichiro becoming a castle lord, Nene was deeply troubled by her inability to bear children. Kyouko tried her best to comfort her.

"Kyouko, why don't you examine her?"

"I'm not a specialist in obstetrics, but I'll try."

"It's fine, Kyouko is a skilled doctor, isn't she?"

Kyouko was a military doctor by training, but her specialty was surgery because soldiers often suffered injuries.

Therefore, the Shinchi family had a unit dedicated to treating wounded soldiers, who received stipends as samurai. In the Shinchi family, having special skills meant that even those who were not physically strong could advance, and medical treatment soldiers and military doctors were one such path. Their training was conducted according to a manual written by Kyouko.

"It's better to be examined by Kyouko than by a strange male doctor."

"Alright, I'll do it."

Kyouko immediately began examining Nene, starting with a consultation, physical examination, and using a small diagnostic device. Kyouko took the data to Kanagawa for analysis and provided the results the next day, keeping the process a secret from Nene.

"Hmm, as it is, you won't be able to get pregnant..."

"Really..."

Nene's shoulders slumped at Kyouko's diagnosis.

"However, a simple surgery should fix it."

"I'll have the surgery!"

Nene decided to have the surgery if it meant she could have children.

"It won't take long, and it's not a major surgery. It requires delicate technique, so I'll practice a bit."

According to Kyouko's diagnosis, Nene's condition was a type of "ovulation disorder." A minor incision would resolve the issue. Instead of a regular scalpel, a small camera and a remote-controlled electronic scalpel would be used to cut the affected area. The surgery would take less than an hour but required technical skill, as Kyouko explained to Koki.

"For surgery, a small mistake is acceptable."

"Hey!"

Koki scolded Kyouko, finding that comment too harsh.

Kyouko practiced using the equipment at Kanagawa, then secretly transported Nene, who was under general anesthesia, to Kanagawa, completed the surgery in about thirty minutes, and returned.

"The surgery was successful. If you rest for three days, you'll be back to normal."

"Thank you."

Thanks to a cell repair agent that sealed the post-surgical wound, Nene would be fine in just one day, but Kyouko extended her rest period to three days as a precaution.

"Thank you, Kyouko."

"It should be fine unless something unusual happens. Good luck."

"Yes, I'll have a healthy baby!"

On the morning of her return to Sumata, Kyouko saw Nene off, who repeatedly expressed her gratitude. Two months later, a letter from Nene arrived, confirming that she had successfully become pregnant.

"Wow, my talent is scary."

"You're impressive, even though you usually specialize in surgery."

"It's surgery, so there are many commonalities with surgery, which was good."

Koki was impressed that Kyouko, despite a gap in her practice and being out of her specialty, had successfully performed a difficult surgery.

"Battlefield injuries like severed limbs are easier. You can just cut them off."

"You make it sound so easy to cut off limbs."

"It's the connection of nerves that's difficult. Modern prosthetics can restore everything."

In the future, after such injuries, new prosthetic limbs would be attached. They were high-performance and restored sensation, so they were not particularly inconvenient, and some soldiers had prosthetic limbs.

However, Kanagawa did not have prosthetic limbs on board, and they were special items that could not be produced in the ship's factory. In this era, the only option would be to amputate limbs.

"Fortunately, I'm still in good health."

Koki had become quite accustomed to the battlefields of this era, but since he only issued orders from the main camp, he had not been in any particular danger. Direct combat was not his forte, so it was extremely convenient for him.

Thus, the summer of the tenth year of Eiroku passed, but when the harvest ended in autumn, Koki was called back to Kyoto.