The sprinting Taishakutsukimo stopped in a certain rural area, and there I stood up again to take another look at my surroundings.
Basking in the warm spring sunshine, I mobilized all five of my innate human senses, which I had been rediscovering in this era, and took in every detail of my surroundings.
"Where am I?"
However, it's impossible for a horse like Taishakutsuki to respond in human language.
It was a flat area further southwest from Sawayama Castle.
You can intuitively tell from the air that this is not a particularly fertile area.
The road is unpaved, the bare ground is completely exposed, and even the boundary between the soil and the fields is not clearly defined.
It is in such spaces that farmers diligently cultivate their land.
Indeed, it's safe to say that it's quite different from the rural villages I, a modern person, am familiar with.
The very concept of land readjustment seems to be weak—as I mentioned in my earlier conversation with Hisashi, I had no idea how they were calculating the rice yield.
"Kyuon"
Taishakutsukimo cried as if to say, "Just follow me."
That cool, vibrant voice quickly resonated throughout the entire farming village.
I could see the farmers suddenly lift their heads and turn towards me.
But no matter how many eyes they were watching, the Taishakutsukige, carrying me, would not stop moving.
She strutted through the people who made way for her and bowed before her, her demeanor dignified and regal, like a unicorn appearing in a painting.
It's probably meant to enhance my authority through visual means, but unfortunately, Taishakutsukimo is so beautiful that I can't help but feel like my own figure is relegated to the background.
As Taishakutsukimo continued along the road, the mud-walled houses typical of rural areas gradually came into view, taking on a clearer form.
Their size is not uniform; they vary greatly in size.
Indeed, in front of each house, women and children, presumably the wives and children of farmers, were kneeling and waiting for me to pass.
However, the area in front of such houses is naturally the ground, and their shabby clothes get even dirtier.
(This is reality.)
When I see people like that, I think...
In the governing structure of the Asai family, headed by Asai Nagamasa—or rather, in any nation, the existence of governing power inevitably implies the existence of a poor working class like them.
Alternatively, one could say that the structure of government is creating poverty.
Much of the wealth, which is not infinite but finite, is siphoned off by a small number of people in the superstructure, like myself, within the governing structure, and the remnants are fought over by the countless people belonging to the lower structures.
In that case, the poor would have to create rules for sharing their limited and scarce wealth and standardize them within themselves.
Otherwise, order will easily collapse, and what will emerge is a struggle for the monopolistic control of wealth.
And within the internal order constructed to avoid such conflicts, various forms of discrimination—economic, ethnic, or personal—are produced and reproduced.
(Or perhaps that is the reality of human societies that utilize money as a tool, from a historical perspective.)
However, this comes with the caveat that it is merely one viewpoint.
Ultimately, the human world is a world made up of subjectivity.
People see the world differently, and there is no such thing as an absolutely correct way of looking at things.
(A clash of subjective perspectives... This world can only exist through intersubjectivity... Perhaps even the relationship between a man and a woman.)
But while I was thinking about that, Taishakutsukimo continued to move forward.
The narrow road suddenly widened, and as we emerged in front of a particularly large mansion, the voice of an old man echoed through the previously silent farming village.
Because I had been listening to nothing but the sound of the wind and the crunching of the earth under Taishakutsukimo's feet for so long, I couldn't immediately recognize that it was a human voice.
Taishakutsukimo thoughtfully stopped, allowing her to consider how to deal with the old man prostrating himself at her feet.
Judging by his relatively good attire, he's probably the village headman or something similar.
He must be the owner of this big house.
"Master, I am Mitsui Yohachi, the village headman of Todo Village. Please forgive my impertinent question—where exactly are you planning to go?"
To be honest, I'm at a loss for words when asked something like that.
In reality, I just followed wherever Taishakutsukimo was going—I simply rode along, letting her run, and ended up here.
Nevertheless, I am the head of the Asai family.
They absolutely could not afford to do anything that would invite contempt, and it was necessary to always maintain dignity—at least in public.
"—This is an inspection. I have come to inspect Todo Village myself, so that it may become even better."
Yohachi looked up at me blankly, with a look that said, "I can't believe what you're saying..."
Well, I was just making it up, you know. I'd never even heard of a place called Todo Village before.
"That's all. Is there anything else? Feel free to ask."
Yohachi shook his head slightly and prostrated himself, rubbing his forehead against the ground.
"I see... Well, keep up the good work."
When I said that, there was a brief pause, and then Taishakutsukimo began to walk.
It seems she intends to go even further into the woods, beyond the village headman's house.
鬱葱UssouThe overgrown area was dimly lit and filled with a miasma that suggested some kind of monster might be lurking there.
"M-Master of the family! That's unacceptable! That's absolutely unacceptable!!"
And sure enough, when it finally lifted its head, it must have sensed the place we were heading.
Old man Yohachi comes running, his face pale with fear.
"What's going on? It's so noisy."
"You must not go that way!"
He had circled around to block Indra's path and was prostrating himself.
It seems they really don't want us to go.
However, when someone adopts such an attitude, it's only human nature to want to know what comes first.性Saga
"Then you must tell me why you are trying to block my path. If it's just a matter of monsters appearing, that shouldn't be a problem. After all, I am a hawk —I shouldn't be outmatched by most monsters."撃摧Gekisai
At this, Yohachi stiffened, as if at a loss for words.
Incidentally, I had acquired quite a bit of knowledge about monsters in this world.
Among the countless books that Princess Osamu had begun to move from Bodaiyama Castle, there was one called "The Encyclopedia of Monsters."
Incidentally, although the book was extremely general and only covered very basic information, it was like a very easy-to-understand textbook, with illustrations and references to related topics.
Thanks to that, my knowledge of monsters and related matters should be at least equivalent to a standard score of 64 if I were to take a test.
"Is there something shady up ahead?"
"Th-that kind of thing is...!"
Yohachi said this, desperately trying to explain himself.
He had a kind-looking face—and to me, Yohachi certainly didn't seem like a bad person.
"Hmm..."
I took my eyes off the old man for a moment and observed the forest stretching out before me.
The densely growing trees were of a type I had never seen before—
However, there are many trees in this world that did not exist in Japan, the world I came from—for example, that giant tree that made up the forest of northern Mino.
The forest looked like it had a bad environment, and with the presence of miasma, I felt like my lungs would get messed up if I stayed there for too long.
I got off Taishakutsukimo and walked past Yohachi, who was prostrating himself.
It was clear that if I continued on with Taishakutsukimo, I would crush him.
"M-My lord!"
With surprising agility, Yohachi, whose old body seemed to have no remaining strength, clung to my feet.
As I looked down at the old man, he pleaded, his whole body and voice trembling.
"Th-that's the dwelling of beasts...! It's absolutely forbidden for you, my lord, to come into contact with the ' ' clan...!"座敷童Zashiki Warashi
It was as if the voice was exposing the entire village's shameful secrets.
I clenched my fist.
It was unpleasant, extremely unpleasant.
I shook off Yohachi and charged into the dimly lit, miasma-filled forest—somewhat giving in to my anger.
"Kyuon"
Taishakutsukimo, who had been chasing me from behind, bit my collar to hold me back.
It was as if a mother or older sister was trying to restrain a boy who was about to lash out in anger.
I turned back to Taishakutsukimo and opened my mouth.
"—I can't forgive that attitude!"
Overwhelmed with frustration and resentment, I yelled, trying to vent the turmoil in my heart.
"We are all the same people! To be discriminated against simply because you are a zashiki-warashi—such absurdity is rampant in my territory...!"
Zashiki-warashi—that is, a mixed-race child born between a human and a demon, and their descendants.
I was already surprised by the fact that humans and monsters can interbreed, but it seems that's normal in this world.
However, Zashiki-warashi are ostracized and discriminated against by humans as "non-human beings."
For generations to come, forever.
"..."
However, even in the face of my anger, Taishakutsukimo remained calm and simply watched me quietly.
As I watched her like that, I was seized by the feeling that my anger was slowly fading away.
Everything suddenly made sense.
I finally understand why she brought me to this place—her intentions.
"I see... so that's how it is, Taishakutsukimo."
I looked directly at the silver-haired horse with golden horns and asked, as if to confirm something.
"The Takamine clan from Koga that Naotsune brings along—those guys are also zashiki-warashi (house spirits)."
Indeed, Taishakutsukimo affirms this.嘶Inana
—Yes, it was unnatural.
The first question is whether Naotsune even succeeded in recruiting a faction that makes up the 21 Koga families, which are exceptional even among the 53 Koga families that serve as ninja for the Rokkaku clan.
And why is the Takamine clan—one of the 21 Koga families—persecuted by the other Koga ninja?
I recall my first encounter with Taishakutsukimo once again.
" On the eve of Lord Nagamasa's wedding to the princess of the Oda family, he finally returned after several years of running away... but he seems to be quite excited...!"child
I believe Hikobei, Hisashi's late brother, said something like that.
It's likely that Taishakutsukimo wanders around various countries, gathering information through a network of horses.
That's why they know that the Takamine clan are zashiki-warashi (house spirits), and also that a family of zashiki-warashi lives in this Todo village.
"So, you brought me here with the intention of making sure I understand the people's reaction to the Zashiki-warashi before preparing the roof and food supplies?"
"Kyuoooon"
Taishakutsukimo affirms and cries out.
I instinctively clutched my chest, turned around, and started walking.
I was simply saddened, because I felt like I had been confronted with a reality that was far removed from my ideal—the image of "Kita-Omi united and moving forward into the future."
The gloomy scenery of the forest flows by, and countless insects hop and crawl around at my feet.
And just as I was about to step into the bushes despite the path ending, I was stopped once again by Indra's Moonflower biting my collar.
"Kyuoooon"
The voice contained a tone of reproach.
I had a strong feeling that I shouldn't do anything reckless.
"...sorry"
I was apologizing to Taishakutsukimo.
She knows I'm not a resident of this world.
That's probably why they're trying to give us various hands-on experiences like this.
—There are also the murky, unpleasant aspects of this society that cannot be described by ideals alone.
"Yes... I still don't know much about this world."
I approached Taishakutsukimo and, hugging his large body, murmured.
Her body is very large and warm.
Unlike me, an impurity that has wandered into this world and is nothing more than an unstable existence, she was a pure being who was truly there, devotedly supporting me.
"You've always been like that. You never try to force this world on me. You just help me with the really basic things needed to live in this world. For example, this time it was about mindset."理rule
Taishakutsukimo uses his neck to hug me.
It was as if trying to merge with a beloved being.
I have absolutely no idea why she's being so devoted to me.
I am not the real grandson of Asai Ryosei, the first person she served.
I'm not granting them any favors out of familial affection.
All I know for sure is that Taishakutsukimo is a very warm and comforting presence.
I pulled away from her and jumped onto her back.
As Taishakutsukige thrusts out as if treading through the bushes, a blue spray immediately spreads.
It was enormous . It was probably lying in wait in the bushes for prey that would bravely wander in.鼠mouse
Riding on Taishakutsukimo, I ventured off the beaten path and came across a small clearing—and there, sure enough, was an old Japanese house.
A charming, traditional wooden house. Despite being located in such a poorly maintained forest, it is a remarkably fine structure.
Taishakutsukimo stopped and gestured for me to get off.
I slowly and carefully placed my feet on the muddy ground.
Indeed, I could clearly sense a human presence in the Japanese-style house before me.
They clearly recognized me and seemed to be observing my movements.
I glanced back at Taishakutsukimo, gazed into her gentle light green eyes, then took a deep breath and approached the house.
The sign on the house reads "Todo."