Emperor's Armed Forces in the Warring States

Chapter 18 - Situation in Japan from the Fall of 1556 to the Next Spring

This is a new chapter.

It does not mention a specific date, but it will be at the end of September 1556.

- Yamaga

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18-1

"Gradually, the sun is setting earlier. It's natural since we've already passed the autumnal equinox," murmured Kazuko Kamisato to herself as she walked home. After finishing her elementary school classes today, Kazuko stopped by her stepsister, Yoshiko's house to help with the household chores, as she had been asked to do.

Though she thought of it as part of her bride training, a part of Kazuko couldn't help but feel that Yoshiko and her husband were trying too hard to have children and that they should take it easy. She felt sorry for Oichi, who lived with them as their sister-in-law. Despite being in the third grade, Oichi rarely got to play with her friends and was always occupied with taking care of her two nephews. Moreover, Yoshiko was expecting their third child, and she was approaching the end of her pregnancy.

Their father was considerate of Yoshiko and provided support by hiring only one maid to help with household chores. From Kazuko's perspective, she thought it would be better if Yoshiko hired a wet nurse instead. When Aiko chimed in, saying that if they had to hire a wet nurse, they should not have had so many children, Yoshiko snapped and argued that a maid would be fine. The two of them really have a strained relationship. As Kazuko walked home, she blurted out a sigh as she recalled the incident.

Thinking too much about her stepsister's family weighed heavily on her mind. As the evening approached and the surroundings grew darker, Kazuko noticed that there were more street lamps now compared to when she lived in Ayutthaya until the age of six, where there were no street lamps at all.

According to her elementary school teacher, in the future where the teacher came from, the street lamps were electric, not gas. Although the teacher said that it would soon be the same here, Kazuko knew that she was going to leave this town and go to North America. It would be a long time before electric street lamps appeared in the towns there.

"I'm home."

"Welcome home," Kazuko's foster mother, Aiko, greeted her as she returned home.

"I didn't prepare dinner because you said you were going to eat at Yoshiko's place. I thought you might come back later than this, so I was worried that I made a mistake. After all, we haven't eaten yet."

"I had an early dinner because Yoshiko told me to come back before it gets dark. I ate properly before returning."

"That's good, then."

Mother and daughter exchanged such conversation. As they talked, the sun set, and it grew darker. Aiko lit an oil lamp to brighten the room. Kazuko remembered that Yoshiko's house still used traditional paper lanterns. She probably had multiple of them, but she mostly used one simple lantern. The hired maid was only there during the day.

Yoshiko's family was not wealthy, which was why she jokingly pretended not to want to waste oil and suggested they go to bed when it gets dark.

According to Yoshiko's real mother, Pricha (Eikenni), "She lived like that in Ayutthaya until she was six years old, so she is used to it."

However, from Kazuko's perspective, it seemed more like Yoshiko's stubbornness.

Perhaps it was more surprising that her brother-in-law, Nobunaga, and sister-in-law, Oichi, were enduring this lifestyle. Nobunaga might have been able to handle it due to his experiences with voyages to the Ottoman Empire. As for Oichi, she had lived a truly princess-like life until she came to Osaka. Yet now...