Chapter 88

From Mr. Aspen, here is the power map as of Chapter 55.

http://img1.mitemin.net/17/ac/krfgcqjgchkncsqklt0ziciul4fn_14yg_1de_1as_a2tl.jpg

Thank you.

And by Chapter 56, there were many changes in territories.

Why?

Because Oda Nobunaga is a one-man boss, lol.

Once the Kyushu campaign is over, there will be more territory changes...

"Sit, Pochi."

"Woof!"

"Shake hands."

"Woof!"

"Down."

"Woof!"

"You've learned it already, good boy."

In the courtyard of Edo Castle, Kyouko was teaching a puppy some tricks.

It was a puppy that looked like a Shiba Inu, which she had picked up while playing in the town of Edo.

Kouki thought this kind of dog was called a red dog.

He learned this from a Korean colleague while doing transportation work, and apparently, red dogs are delicious to eat.

In the future, animal rights groups had significant influence, getting politicians elected and causing severe criticism for eating whales, dogs, and kangaroos, but there were secret places that served them.

Kouki had eaten whale before but never dog or kangaroo.

If asked if he wanted to eat them, he couldn't say for sure, but he wouldn't complain about those who did.

He believed it should be a matter of personal freedom.

Even on planets that had been terraformed and raised for food, radical animal rights groups were actively hindering farming.

Some extremists even committed crimes, such as killing farmers.

Of course, such people didn't exist in this era.

With food shortages, the concept of animal rights didn't even come up.

It was probably only prohibited by religious laws.

Thus, there were many dogs in Japan, and it was unclear whether they were for food or pets.

There were also stray dogs in the wild.

The Tsuda family was working on registering pet dogs, requiring them to be leashed, and mandating rabies vaccinations, but the situation wasn't improving.

They had to prioritize hunting stray dogs for rabies prevention.

The puppy Kyouko was training had been saved before it was to be euthanized.

After getting its vaccinations, it was kept in the courtyard of Edo Castle, and the Tsuda family members took turns feeding it, walking it, and teaching it tricks.

"Huh? You learn pretty quickly. I thought you were a dumb dog."

The puppy, named Pochi, a classic and cliché name, followed Kyouko's commands well.

Seiki, seeing this, looked surprised.

He had thought the puppy was a dumb dog.

As for why Kyouko named the puppy Pochi...

"Even if you give it a Western name, people in this era won't understand. Old names are definitely better."

For no particular reason, the puppy was named Pochi.

"Kiyochan, Pochi is smart."

"Really? He doesn't follow any of my commands. Pochi, shake hands."

"..."

The puppy ignored Seiki and turned away.

"See, he's a dumb dog."

"Ahaha! Silly brother! That's not it!"

"What? Brother, you suddenly—!"

Seiki, mocked by his brother Kouki, complained angrily.

"No, no, dogs are pack animals."

Actually, Kouki had always wanted a dog since childhood.

Though it never happened, he studied dog behavior in preparation.

Dogs confirm their rank within the group, including their owners, and faithfully follow it.

Therefore, they are loyal to the commands of the pack leader or higher-ranking members.

"Brother, what does that mean?"

"The puppy thinks you're lower in rank than Kyouko, so it listens to her. It ignores you because it sees you as lower in rank."

"Even a puppy is so cheeky..."

Seiki glared at the puppy, but the puppy completely ignored him, busy listening to Kyouko, the pack leader.

"Too bad. The puppy is really smart. It can tell that Kyouko is higher in rank than you."

In other words, the puppy thinks it's third in the hierarchy.

Kouki, the head of the Tsuda family, is first, Kyouko is second, and the puppy is third.

"Seiki is seen as lower in rank."

"Alright, it's not my dog, so it's fine."

"Sounds like sour grapes. Dogs are smart and can accurately judge human groups. Pochi, shake hands."

"..."

Kouki tried to prove his theory by commanding the puppy to shake hands, but the puppy yawned and ignored him.

"Shake hands!"

"..."

"Brother, he's not shaking hands."

"That's strange. Shake hands!"

No matter how many times Kouki commanded the puppy, it ignored him.

"Brother, hahaha..."

Kouki, embarrassed by the failure of his theory, felt like hiding in a hole.

Seiki tried hard not to laugh at him.

"Damn dog..."

"Brother, you're lower in rank than a dog."

"That's not true! Shake hands! Shake hands! Shake hands!"

For a while, Kouki kept commanding the puppy to shake hands, but it only listened to Kyouko.

"Are you bringing the dog?"

"Why not, it's cute."

"I won't take care of it..."

The Tsuda couple was heading to Ishiyama by boat, and the puppy was running around the ship.

Kyouko had brought the puppy because she liked it.

"I'll take care of it, and I won't show it to the lord, so it's fine."

"Alright, but..."

However, Nobunaga, who somehow heard about it, wanted to see the puppy, and Kyouko made a promise to show it to him.

"Lord, it's just a stray dog."

"Do you dislike dogs, Mits?"

"No, it's not that, but..."

The puppy didn't listen to Kouki at all, so he didn't find it cute.

He didn't want to be mocked by Nobunaga, so he didn't reveal the truth.

"Cute puppy, isn't it?"

Nobunaga, who apparently liked dogs, smiled at the puppy Kyouko brought.

The former yakuza, Nobunaga, seemed to have a fondness for dogs.

"Saru keeps a cat, and some of my retainers keep monkeys."

Nobunaga mentioned that many of the Oda family's retainers kept pets.

He was a lord who didn't interfere much in his retainers' private lives as long as they did their jobs.

"Lord, keeping a pet provides mental healing. When I'm tired or frustrated, seeing the dog calms me down."

Kyouko explained that keeping a pet helped stabilize her mental state, essentially describing the early theory of pet therapy.

"I see."

Nobunaga nodded in agreement.

He was quick to understand new knowledge and theories for his time.

For example, he instantly understood the concept of a round Earth when he saw a globe brought by the Portuguese.

However, he criticized the accuracy of the globe, saying that the world map the Tsuda family had presented earlier was more accurate and detailed.

"Still, I laughed at the story about the dog's hierarchy."

Ultimately, Kouki's recent mishap was revealed to Nobunaga by Kyouko, and he laughed heartily.

"Mits, you said dogs determine their rank within the group, including their owners. Yet, you were ignored by a dog. I couldn't help but laugh."

Nobunaga found it hilarious and continued laughing.

"So, the puppy will listen to me, the lord, as Kyouko's superior."

Kouki had a bad feeling, but before he could stop him, Nobunaga commanded the puppy.

"Pochi, shake hands."

"..."

The puppy, oblivious to the tension, scratched behind its ear with its hind leg, ignoring Nobunaga.

The expressions of Nobunaga's attendants, Mori Ranmaru and Hori Naomasa, froze.

"Pochi, shake hands!"

No matter how many times Nobunaga commanded, the puppy ignored him.

Finally, the puppy yawned and curled up to sleep.

"Well, it's just an animal..."

Nobunaga's mood soured, and the atmosphere became icy.

Just then, Nobunaga's wife, O-Nobu, appeared and commanded the puppy to shake hands.

"Shake hands, how cute. But, it's a male, so it probably only listens to women."

"I see, that's interesting. A puppy that likes women from the start."

Nobunaga, thinking the puppy only listened to women, suddenly cheered up and laughed.

Ranmaru and Naomasa breathed a sigh of relief.

"(Does it really only listen to women?)"

Kouki had a hypothesis.

Perhaps the puppy accurately assessed the power dynamics of the group and only listened to O-Nobu, the most powerful person in the Oda family.

However, there was no benefit in saying this, so Kouki remained silent as the audience with Nobunaga ended.

"Ah! We forgot something!"

After finishing their business in Ishiyama and returning to Edo, Kouki and Kyouko realized they had forgotten something.

"Pochi's food and treats."

"Oh, that..."

The forgotten items were dog food.

They mixed meat from poultry and pig farming with organs and bones, processed it into a paste, and canned it as "dog cans."

The canning factory quickly produced trial versions at Kyouko's request.

They also made dog biscuits and canned them for long-term storage.

The puppy enjoyed these foods, but they concluded that pet food wasn't yet profitable.

They predicted that few wealthy people would use expensive canned food for their pets.

Kyouko brought the dog cans and biscuits to Ishiyama for convenience, but she didn't use them all and forgot the leftovers.

"Where did you forget them?"

"Hehe, in Ishiyama Castle."

The Tsuda family's Ishiyama residence wasn't complete yet, so they stayed in the guest room of Ishiyama Castle.

They had forgotten the dog food in that room.

"It's fine. We can just feed it regular food here."

"That's true, but..."

"What are you worried about?"

"Will Lord eat it by mistake?"

"Surely not, it's dog food..."

But then Kouki started to think.

The dog cans and biscuits were trial versions with no labels or markings.

Someone who didn't know might not realize they were dog food.

"Besides, it's not like humans can't eat it."

"It's completely fine, but the taste is very bland."

"In the worst case, he'll realize after one bite."

Without communication devices, it was difficult to inform Ishiyama, so Kouki and Kyouko decided to forget about the dog food.

Even if someone ate it, it wouldn't be fatal. In fact, it was nutritious and might even be healthy.

It was purely an emotional issue.

"Sanzemon, it seems Mits and Kyouko forgot something."

"Yes, I have it."

When Kouki and Kyouko had almost forgotten about the dog food, Nobunaga was asking his attendant, Hori Naomasa, about the items they had forgotten.

"What did they forget?"

"Cans. There are no markings, so it's unclear what's inside."

Naomasa, who had received cans from the Tsuda family before, remembered they had markings indicating the contents.

However, the forgotten cans had no markings, as he reported to Nobunaga.

"I see, let's open them."

"Lord, that's not—"

Naomasa, though competent, was a man of common sense and advised against opening someone else's cans.

"Sanzemon, I think this is what happened."

Nobunaga began to explain his theory to Naomasa.

"Do you think Mits and Kyouko would forget such valuable cans? This is likely a new product they're not confident about. They're too embarrassed to present it to me, so they pretended to forget it to get me to try it."

"Ah..."

Naomasa was impressed by Nobunaga's self-centered thinking.

He realized that such a person was necessary to rule the land.

"So, let's open them."

"Haha..."

Naomasa had no choice but to comply.

When he opened the cans, the contents were dog food and dog biscuits.

"Looks delicious. Meat-based 'paste' and these are biscuits."

Unaware that it was dog food, Nobunaga started eating both.

However, he soon stopped.

"Hmm, it's very bland."

It was normal for dog food, but even Nobunaga didn't realize it was dog food.

Instead, he suggested a possibility to Naomasa.

"Since Kyouko is involved, this might be a low-sodium can for those who need to limit their salt intake."

"That makes sense."

Naomasa was impressed by Nobunaga's insight.

He remembered Kyouko often advising Nobunaga to limit his salt intake to avoid strokes.

"But, it's too bland. Sanzemon, tell Kyouko that."

"Understood."

"Add some flavor and try it again."

Nobunaga added miso to the dog food and jam to the biscuits, eating everything.

"It's good with added flavor, but it needs more work as a trial product."

Following Nobunaga's orders, Naomasa wrote a review of the low-sodium paste and biscuits and sent it to Edo.

This was a kind gesture from Nobunaga to help improve the new product.

"Hey... Kyouko..."

"Lord, you ate it! What? Low-sodium menu? Why is it a low-sodium menu?"

"Lord likes strong flavors."

"Oops, it's bland because it's for dogs..."

"Looks like we need to develop a low-sodium menu to cover it up."

"Right..."

Kyouko was relieved that Nobunaga didn't realize it was dog food, but for safety, she temporarily banned pet food development and started working on low-sodium diets for adults.

Surprisingly, many wealthy and powerful people had such conditions, and the canned meals developed as a cover grew into a significant market.

She also published a book with menus for diabetes, gout, high blood pressure, and obesity, which became a bestseller for centuries, widely sold around the world.