Chapter 46

"President"

"That's a title I haven't heard in a while, Kiyomaro."

"Well, it's just you and me here, President."

Today, Kōki was working in the inner chamber of the Shinchi Castle in Shinchi City. Just then, Kiyomaro, who had finished his work, approached him.

"We've been regularly recovering treasures from sunken ships, but we're running out of options."

"Running out of options, huh..."

It has been about ten years since he came to this world, and it seems that most of the valuable items have already been recovered. Kiyomaro said that the only option left is to recover from ships that will sink in the future.

"Then, how about mining seabed resources?"

"Wouldn't that be inefficient?"

Kiyomaro said that it would be inefficient to send Kanagawa on an expedition to mine iron and copper. He suggested that it would be better to mine from the mountains.

In fact, mining has already started in the Ise and Kii mountains. Although the scale is not large, they are actively mining to establish mining and smelting techniques. They are also mining coal from coal mines, processing it into coke, and using it for iron production.

The issue here is the health of the miners. Many miners suffer from mining diseases due to inhaling dust and oil fumes from lighting. In this era, living to thirty was considered a long life. To address this, the Shinchi family provides goggles, dust masks, gas masks, battery-powered headlamps, battery-powered electric drills, and work clothes to the miners. They have also installed electric trolleys in the mine tunnels, implemented health and safety education, and enforced labor management to reduce cases of pneumoconiosis and accidents.

With good pay, many miners work, and towns have been built around the mines.

"Wouldn't it be good to search the nearby sea?"

"In such cases, it's generally better to leave the seabed mineral deposits off the coast of Japan for the future."

There is also the reason that no country would complain if they mined the seabed resources of other countries in this era.

"Wouldn't precious metals or gems be good if they don't take up much space?"

"We could place drilling and recovery robots with tanks and later use Kanagawa to recover them."

Kiyomaro suggested that by letting the robots mine resources on the seabed and store only the raw precious metals and gems in the tanks, and by placing these machines in seabed mineral deposits around the world using Kanagawa and recovering them regularly, they could obtain a large amount of resources.

"Let's give it a try."

"Then, I will do so."

When ordered by Kōki, Kiyomaro acts quickly. He sends commands to Kanagawa, which is regularly navigating the world's seas, to place resource drilling and recovery robots on the seabed around the world.

For example, they mine and recover diamonds near the beaches of the Namakwa coast in South Africa at night. Exploration of alluvial deposits and recovery of diamonds and other gems have also begun around the world.

They are also recovering precious metals from promising seabed hydrothermal deposits.

"There are a lot of rare metals and rare earth elements."

"Since they might be useful in the future, why don't we store them in a secret warehouse?"

"That's true. But the future is quite far away..."

"I won't be around anyway, so I'll leave it to Kiyomaro."

"Understood."

"Please don't say such sad things. It's also a compliment."

"Human lifespans are fixed. It's a sad story."

Kiyomaro, who can operate almost indefinitely with proper maintenance, couldn't quite understand the concept of a human lifespan.

"You're still not cute."

The recovered precious metals, gems, rare earth elements, and salvaged treasures will ensure that Kōki's descendants remain the richest family in the world for generations to come.

"Welcome."

Some of the precious metals and gems obtained by the Shinchi family were polished and processed by Shinchi craftsmen and sold at the Shinchi family's direct store in Sakai. The quality of the gems and the excellence of the polishing techniques are highly regarded. They also produce jewelry with both Japanese and European designs that would please nobles and the wealthy.

The craftsmen are protected, and their skills are preserved and accumulated. While Kanagawa has the data, it is humans who put it into practice. To expand the scale, they are also training human resources.

To foster loyalty to the Shinchi family, they are also raising and educating orphans. Other daimyo families don't have the luxury, but the Shinchi family, which can generate money, can afford it.

In recent years, they have gradually seen results, and some of these products are now on display in the store. Despite the high prices, the quality is excellent, and many customers are foreigners.

"Gems, please."

"Sure, gems."

The polished gems and various pieces of jewelry are selling well. Foreigners were happy to obtain Japanese gold in exchange for saltpeter and iron for their guns, and many of them also bought gems with the gold they obtained.

Thus, the Shinchi family's gold holdings gradually increased. They made it seem to the outside world that most of it was used for the large purchase of saltpeter.

"These are very beautiful, please."

"These are new products made in the Shinchi domain."

The Shinchi family has also started producing porcelain, and they have craftsmen make pieces with designs and patterns that foreigners like, which are displayed alongside the gems.

"The glassware is interesting and unique."

Glassware was dominated by Venetian glass in the West. Competing on the same level would be too competitive, so they mainly produce products like Edo and Satsuma cut glass using crystal glass.

This, along with gemstone work and porcelain, is a technology that the Shinchi family monopolizes.

"These are new brands, amazing. They are not too expensive, can we exchange them?"

The Shinchi family exchanges products made in the Shinchi domain, gold, Chinese silk, and Western crafts and artworks, and then sells them domestically to make huge profits.

"Strange! Are you okay?"

"Yes, I just have a slight fever."

"I see, but don't overdo it."

Immediately after Nobunaga moved into the newly completed Azuchi Castle, his eldest son, Kishōmaru, developed a fever, possibly due to the sudden change in environment. Although he is essentially a former delinquent, the doting father Nobunaga wants to call a good doctor for Kishōmaru.

"Shouldn't we call Kyouko?"

"There are distance issues, and it seems to be a mild cold, so wouldn't a doctor from Kyoto be fine?"

"No! Kishō is the heir to the Oda family! We cannot risk anything happening to him!"

Kishōmaru was treated much more importantly than Nobunaga's other children. When a retainer suggested a Kyoto doctor, Nobunaga lashed out, saying, "If his condition worsens and he dies, can you take responsibility?" The retainer was greatly flustered.

"Call Kyouko!"

"Yes, sir!"

Thus, Kyouko was hurriedly called to Azuchi Castle.

"Since a new road has been built, and we have new horses smuggled from the Middle East, let's debut the new carriage and go!"

"Oneesan, 'Let's go'... that's so outdated!"

Seikii made a comment and was scolded, but everyone is used to it and doesn't mind.

Kyouko, called to Azuchi, harnessed two castrated and shod foreign horses to an aluminum alloy carriage with springs, suspension, and a canopy and drove it at full speed.

Ten guards on the same horses, equipped with muskets, alloy swords, and lightweight armor, accompanied her.

"Since the roads connect Shinchi, Gifu, and Azuchi, we might arrive quickly."

"Kyouko-sama, the imported horses are fast."

While they require more care and are weaker on rough roads and slopes compared to smaller Japanese horses, foreign horses are effective for cavalry and carriages. Except for breeding purposes, they are castrated, making them safe to use even during the mating season.

"I'll make a quick stop."

"Suma?"

"Yes."

Kyouko made a quick stop at Suma Castle to see Nene.

"Kyouko-san, it's been a while."

"I'm just making a quick stop. I need to give the horses some water."

"Understood."

Kyouko took a break at Suma Castle to rest the horses and guards and talk with Nene.

"Is it for Kishōmaru's treatment?"

"According to the letter, it's just a cold, and I think it might be better by the time I arrive."

"Still, the lord dotes on Kishōmaru."

"Let's cut and eat this."

A small refrigerator was loaded in the carriage, and Kyouko took out a melon from it. It was a high-quality muskmelon grown in the Shinchi Castle's garden, and they are currently increasing production to use it as a gift.

"Are these children Nene's and Hideyoshi's relatives?"

Nene is pregnant with her second child but hasn't given birth yet, so Kyouko thought the two boys by Hideyoshi's side were Nene's or Hideyoshi's relatives.

"These are Tiger and Ichimatsu, and Hideyoshi assigned them to serve Hiyoshi."

The Kudō family is of peasant origin and has no hereditary retainers. Hideyoshi, wanting to prevent his eldest son Hiyoshi from feeling the same way he did, assigned promising children to serve Hiyoshi and take care of him.

"They look energetic."

Kyouko evaluated these two as promising for the future.

"Are they the same age as my Taro? Tiger and Ichimatsu, do you want to eat the melon?"

"..."

They seemed hesitant, and Tiger and Ichimatsu didn't immediately reach for the melon on the plate. However, they looked very hungry and kept glancing at Nene.

"You can eat it. Say thank you to Kyouko-san."

When Nene said they could eat it, Tiger and Ichimatsu smiled and said thank you.

"Thank you, Auntie!"

"Tiger... Ichimatsu..."

At that moment, Nene felt as if time had frozen. Kyouko is in her thirties, so being called "auntie" is accurate. Since it's what the children said, she couldn't correct them and was momentarily frozen.

"Well, I am a mother of four... I can't help it."

Kyouko quickly accepted it, but later, Kato Kiyomasa (Tiger) and Fukuzumi Masaharu (Ichimatsu) said:

"Compared to the many times I felt a chill on the battlefield, being called 'auntie' by Kyouko was the most terrifying."

"After eating the melon, Kyouko also gave us sweets. I saw a demon's face in her kindness. I almost wet myself."

After that, the rumor spread, and almost no one dared to call Kyouko "auntie" anymore.

"It's just a mild cold. Rest and stay warm."

After a quick stop in Suma, Kyouko and her party arrived in Azuchi smoothly. She immediately examined Kishōmaru and found that he had a mild cold.

"Let's eat something easy to digest."

Kyouko gave Kishōmaru a kudzu root drink and made him some rice porridge. She also...

"This is warm and sweet."

"It's a drink made with honey and ginger."

"It's sweet and delicious."

"It's an egg nog. I added sugar."

Kyou