Chapter 55

"Speaking of Suruga, the cherry shrimp is a specialty, isn't it?"

"I've never heard of such a shrimp..."

Hikaru, who had conquered Faru, Suruga, and Izu, was based in Sunpu Castle and was preparing for the governance of the three provinces and the final showdown with the Takeda family.

In the midst of these days, Hikaru suddenly felt a craving for the cherry shrimp, a specialty of Suruga Bay.

Once he felt the craving, Hikaru, who couldn't rest until he satisfied it, immediately decided to obtain the cherry shrimp.

"Shōshin, you don't know about cherry shrimp?"

"No, I don't."

"You're from Mikawa, which is nearby, aren't you?"

"Well, even if you say that, I don't know..."

Hikaru didn't know, but the first time cherry shrimp were caught in Suruga Bay was at the end of the 19th century.

It started when a net for catching mackerel accidentally went deep and caught cherry shrimp by chance.

This fact could have been found by searching Kanagawa's database, but Hikaru had no way of knowing it at the time.

"Well, it's about time for the spawning season to end, so I'll have the fishermen catch them..."

Hikaru issued an order to the fishermen of Suruga to catch cherry shrimp.

"My lord, I've never heard of such shrimp being caught..."

"Don't worry! They can be caught!"

The data on cherry shrimp fishing was in Kanagawa's database, so Hikaru had the fishermen of Suruga make the necessary tools and start fishing for cherry shrimp based on that information.

In exchange for adhering to the spawning season and the winter fishing ban, Hikaru granted the fishermen permission to fish for cherry shrimp and whitebait through a fishing cooperative.

"Process the caught cherry shrimp quickly!"

With the help of the New Land military engineering unit, a processing plant was built in the fishing village, and the fishermen were instructed to process the caught cherry shrimp and whitebait while they were still fresh.

Fresh cherry shrimp and steamed cherry shrimp were processed for local consumption, and dried cherry shrimp were produced for sale in remote areas.

If the deliciousness of cherry shrimp spread, it would become a source of cash income for the fishermen of Suruga.

Hikaru was also delighted to be able to eat cherry shrimp.

"At first, I was skeptical, but my lord was right. I didn't know such shrimp lived in Suruga Bay until I reached this age."

"Even the elder didn't know. But it's a good specialty now."

"During the fishing ban, we have to do other fishing, don't we?"

"If we catch them during the spawning season, the shrimp will disappear, and in the long run, the business won't be sustainable."

"Great people think about a lot of things, don't they?"

The fishermen talked while boiling the freshly caught cherry shrimp in the newly built processing plant.

"My lord wants cherry shrimp today. Don't slack off."

"I know that."

This way, the cherry shrimp caught and processed by the fishermen were delivered to Hikaru and his family at Sunpu Castle.

"Freshly caught products are the best. Let's make a bowl with fresh whitebait."

"Kyouko, it looks delicious."

"Oichi, you have to eat a lot to regain your strength after giving birth to your third child. Hako, it was also tough for you with your first child."

"Yes, I'll eat a lot for the baby."

Hikaru, who had entered Sunpu Castle, entrusted the relocation of the base from New Land to Seiki and had called all his family members.

Oichi, who had named her third daughter Hime, and Hako, who was finally pregnant with her first child, were very interested in the cherry shrimp dishes.

"Looks delicious."

"Sister, no snacking."

"Taro, Jiro, too."

"I want to eat it quickly..."

"Shrimp..."

"Sister Chacha, the shrimp has a beautiful color."

"Father knows everything."

The children, including Aihime, Taro, Jiro, Iori, Chacha, and Oe, were also very interested in the cherry shrimp they had never seen before.

One after another, various dishes such as cherry shrimp and whitebait bowls, fried cherry shrimp, tempura, okonomiyaki, fried rice, omelets, salads, and mixed rice were placed on the table.

"Brother, it's a feast today."

"I've never seen such shrimp before."

Seiki's family, who had been invited, also appeared, and on this day, everyone from the New Land family enjoyed the cherry shrimp dishes.

"(Brother, it's been since Neo Shizuoka, hasn't it?)"

"(Yes, it has.)"

"(It's nostalgic.)"

Hikaru, Seiki, and Kyouko recalled the time they had a celebratory meal at a cherry shrimp restaurant on the planet Neo Shizuoka after completing their first job with Ashikaga Transport.

Indeed, for the three of them, cherry shrimp was a nostalgic taste.

"Still, you can't eat fresh cherry shrimp unless you're in the local area."

"That can't be helped."

Despite this, expecting a request from Nobunaga, Hikaru sent dried cherry shrimp to Azuchi.

"Sadakatsu, this cherry shrimp is small but has a good flavor and is delicious."

"Yes, the tempura is also delicious."

"It's so delicious that I can't stop eating."

The cherry shrimp delivered to Azuchi became ingredients for various dishes prepared by the Oda family's dedicated chefs, who had recently improved their skills.

Nobunaga was particular about securing skilled chefs.

Furthermore, he had sent the chefs he had gathered to study in New Land, and the number of chefs with pufferfish preparation licenses, which are difficult to obtain due to the toxicity, had increased to five.

"It's a pity that they can only be caught in Suruga."

"Yes."

While enjoying the cherry shrimp dishes, Nobunaga spoke to Sadakatsu, who was accompanying him.

"But, there is one thing I regret."

"What is it, my lord?"

"Mitsu and the others ate fresh cherry shrimp in a bowl."

"Unfortunately, due to transportation issues, fresh shrimp will spoil before reaching Azuchi. Kyouko also strongly advises against eating raw seafood that is not fresh."

"That's true. Kyouko's medical knowledge is genuine."

There is a risk of getting sick or even dying from eating raw seafood that is not fresh, so Kyouko had warned them to absolutely avoid it.

Additionally, they had been advised to always cook river fish due to the possibility of parasites.

Nobunaga did not want to lose his vassals for such trivial reasons, so he had issued a decree as a rule of the Oda family.

While some still violated it and died, the number had significantly decreased.

"Sadakatsu, we must go to Suruga to eat fresh cherry shrimp someday."

"Yes, my lord. (I want to go with you... I need someone I can trust to stay behind...)"

While thinking that he might have to stay behind again, Sadakatsu still looked forward to the gifts from Hikaru.

"Damn, Hikaru of New Land!"

In the construction site of the North Nojo Castle in Echizen, Akechi Mitsuhide was in a rage.

After the death of Sassa Narimasa, who was the second in command but effectively the chief elder, Mitsuhide himself had achieved great success in the pacification of Echizen and the suppression of the Ikko Ikki in Kaga, and he was now the de facto chief elder.

Since the nominal chief elder, Hayashi Sadakatsu, was not prominent, Mitsuhide was enjoying the spring of his life in the Oda family.

Nobunaga also praised Mitsuhide's martial valor and governance of Echizen.

Once Kaga was settled, he would undoubtedly be granted the province of Echizen.

Yet, Mitsuhide was in a bad mood today.

This was because there was someone who had achieved even greater success than himself.

That person was Hikaru of New Land.

"My lord, why are you so angry?"

Mitsuhide's vassal, Kakei Katsuteru, tried to calm him down.

"I don't like it!"

"Is it about Lord New Land?"

Katsuteru could understand Mitsuhide's feelings, but he also thought it was not wise to say it too loudly.

While he had the sense not to say it in front of Nobunaga, he thought Mitsuhide would be a perfect lord if not for this.

"(By the way, I heard that Oichi gave birth to her third daughter...)"

The princess he admired had given birth to three daughters of the man he disliked... No, to Mitsuhide, Oichi was Nobunaga's sister and a figure close to the great lord.

The existence of Hikaru, who had made a son of a great woman his heir, was itself unpleasant.

Nobunaga recognized Taro as his heir, but Mitsuhide thought it was normal to make Oichi's child the successor.

Of course, since Oichi had only given birth to daughters, Mitsuhide's idea would never come true, but Katsuteru had the sense not to say it.

If it weren't for Hikaru of New Land, Mitsuhide would be an ideal lord.

"By the way, what happened to the Koga ninja we sent?"

"That's the thing..."

As a high-ranking vassal of the Oda family, all of them had a status close to daimyo.

There was also competition among rivals, and it was common to have their own informants to monitor their colleagues.

Mitsuhide, following the example of his lord Nobunaga, had hired as many Koga ninja as possible.

He used them for intelligence gathering against the New Land family, hoping to use the information to strengthen the Akechi family.

This was not out of malice on Mitsuhide's part.

It was something that any vassal of a certain status did.

"What happened? Katsuteru."

"None of them have returned."

None of the Koga ninja sent to New Land and Sunpu, where Hikaru had recently obtained, had returned.

In other words, they had likely been discovered and secretly disposed of by the New Land family, Katsuteru said.

"What! Not a single one?"

"Yes."

Katsuteru also thought it was abnormal, but the New Land family's counterintelligence was exceptionally excellent.

It was something that would not normally happen for none of the sent spies to return.

"We must obtain something from the New Land family at all costs!"

"(Something... Well, it's hard to say what exactly...)"

If the results obtained from the New Land family could be used by the Akechi family, Mitsuhide thought it would be a great favor from his lord Nobunaga.

"However, many spies have been sacrificed..."

"Such people can be used and discarded as much as you want."

It was not that Mitsuhide was heartless, but this was the sense of a samurai in this era.

Many samurai did not think highly of spies and ninjas who secretly gathered information or engaged in sabotage, and did not treat them as equals or with good treatment.

If they died in enemy territory, the other side would only speculate, "They must be spies of the XX family."

Since spies were not treated as samurai, if the sending family complained, the other side would simply say, "We don't have such people in our family."

Of course, there were no foolish samurai who would ask the enemy if they had sent spies.

In return, the sending family could not complain if the spies were killed.

Because they could not say, "You killed the spies we sent to gather information about your territory!"

"More than fifty have not returned."

"Is it that many?"

"Ugh..."

Katsuteru told Mitsuhide that further losses would significantly reduce the Akechi family's intelligence capabilities.

"Hikaru of New Land!"

Mitsuhide's hatred for Hikaru grew even more, but perhaps his determination reached the heavens.

A few survivors returned to North Nojo with souvenirs.

"In the New Land family, they use this thing called a refrigerator to keep food cold."

"There's no ice?"

"That's the mystery."

"It seems to