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I threw away the place to die.
Keiji was enjoying a solitary moonlit sake on the veranda. The countless stars shining brightly in the night sky, the moon shining particularly bright, the shimmering beauty of the night sky that cannot be experienced in modern times, all served as accompaniments to his drink. He would lie down and savor the night sky, then sit up as if remembering something and take a sip from his cup. Keiji was savoring the leisurely yet free flow of time.
“Listen.”
As soon as Keiji heard footsteps, a voice called out to him. The owner of the voice seemed to have been planning to sit down from the beginning, as they sat down on the veranda without waiting for Keiji’s response.
“Bring along one of those cute girls, Saizo.”
“There’s no need to bring a girl just to drink sake.”
Keiji called out to Saizo, who was sitting next to him, in a playful voice, but when Saizo responded seriously, Keiji chuckled. He wasn’t serious to begin with, but Saizo always took things seriously. However, Keiji found that comforting.
“I have a question.”
They had been silently enjoying their moonlit sake for a while, but it was Saizo who broke the silence. He continued speaking while keeping his gaze on the moon.
“Lately, it seems like you’ve been feeling a bit empty. Do you have something on your mind?”
“…Not really. I just thought I no longer have a place to die.”
“I see.”
Saizo replied with just that and took a sip of his sake. Keiji interpreted Saizo’s attitude as “If you want to say something, say it. If you don’t want to talk, change the subject.” Keiji chuckled softly once and emptied his cup of sake.
“Sanada, who fought against me, said, ‘The era of firearms is coming.’ I had already understood that long ago. When I saw that gun.”
“And what does that have to do with losing a place to die?”
“It’s simple. That gun is a powerful weapon. The battles fought with swords and spears will decrease from now on. With the power of money and that gun alone, enemies will surrender. The battles that I consider a place to die no longer exist anywhere. It’s terribly sad.”
“A place to die… You’re right. The era of samurai might be coming to an end. The world revolves around money, and those who don’t move with money are treated as outcasts.”
“It’s a lonely world. But maybe this is the flow of the world.”
After finishing their sake, Keiji lay down. Seeing this, Saizo also took a sip of the remaining sake in his cup and followed suit. The two men lay down on the veranda, gazing at the moon. There was no extravagance, but there was a pleasant atmosphere that allowed them to relax.
“The era of firearms, huh? I actually knew about it much earlier. Shizuko’s way is to reduce battles and bring peace to the world.”
“I see.”
“I understood that, but I still wondered what kind of world Shizuko envisions. Even if it means giving up a place to die. Haha, Sanada might be laughing right now. ‘Don’t change your place to die so easily.'”
“That’s fine. A place to die is not limited to the battlefield.”
Saizo said that and tilted his cup to drink the sake.
“I am simple. I have served Lady Shizuko until now, and I will continue to do so. If possible, even after death, I want to serve her.”
Keiji thought it was typical of Saizo. As he looked at the moon, Keiji reflected on what had happened so far. At first, he thought it was an odd combination. The rowdy Katsuzo (Mori Nagayoshi), the difficult Saizo, and himself, the eccentric. Normally, it wouldn’t seem like they would function well together. But with Shizuko as the lubricant, the mismatched gears began to turn together. Keiji genuinely thought Shizuko’s presence was amazing.
“What about Katsuzo (Mori Nagayoshi)?”
“Hmph, he says a lot of things, but he always relies on Lady Shizuko. I can’t imagine him leaving Lady Shizuko now.”
“Ah, that’s for sure. If he were ever about to be separated from her, he would throw a tantrum with all his might.”
The two of them imagined what Nagayoshi would do if he were ever separated from Shizuko and stifled their laughter.
“Well, I have no intention of leaving either.”
“Because there won’t be any good food or sake.”
“Good food and sake are important for living a rich life.”
“That’s right. But talking about food makes me hungry.”
“I have the key to the storehouse, but it would be a problem if we made the same mistake as before.”
“That’s true.”
Keiji’s previous mistake was when he opened the storehouse in search of a snack to accompany his sake and ended up eating all of the “Awabi Liver Salted Fish” that Shizuko had prepared to present to Nobunaga. There was a sign on the jar that said “No snacking,” but it seemed to have come off when he took it out, and he didn’t notice at all. Of course, the next day, when Shizuko found out that they had eaten it all, Keiji, Saizo, and Nagayoshi, who wasn’t present here, all apologized.
“But even though she can’t drink sake, how can Shizuko make such delicious snacks?”
“I heard that she often made them for her father and grandfather. So, she said that if she has the ingredients, she can make them to some extent.”
“I see. But I assume the Oda clan’s lord still has a prohibition on alcohol. It’s a shame that she can make such delicious snacks but can’t drink sake.”
“Snacks go well with food, so it shouldn’t be a big problem.”
“That’s true.”
The conversation continued, and the two occasionally drank sake, gazed at the moon, and continued their conversation while lying down.