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He still wore a smile on his from the time he had spent enjoying the company of those who had served in his unit.

’Or perhaps now they will be members of my unit indefinitely?’

There was still something that bothered him though.

’What exactly does ’Special Forces unit’ mean?’

He wondered how much Nakatane might expect from him, or whether the duties might even be related to battle at all.

Suddenly, a shadow was cast out in front of him, causing him to tense up and turn with a start.

He immediately relaxed as he saw a familiar figure blocking the light of a flickering torch.

"You came back early as well?"

Nakatane shrugged.

"There did not seem to be much point in staying. May I?"

He motioned toward the entrance of the house.

"But of course."

Gengyo gestured inwards. It was the master’s house in the first place, what right did have to refuse him?

The young man went on ahead, fetching a bottle and two glasses, before sitting down at one end of the table with a relieved sigh. He was joined a moment later.

"I had been wanting to talk to you, Niwa-san."

Nakatane reached forward, pulling the cork from the bottle, and giving it a brief sniff before nodding with approval. He quickly poured himself half a glass, closing his eyes pleasurably as he enjoyed the bitter flavour of the sake.

"That much was obvious, hence why I’m here."

He drained the glass before pouring himself another.

"Really though lad, you should spend some time thinking before accepting positions like that... Had I been Toda you would have been signing your life away."

"But you are not Toda."

Gengyo rebuked pointedly.

The master held his gaze for a few moments before chuckling.

"No... At least I am not Toda."

He cleared his throat, cradling his glass with the fingers of one hand, whilst he toyed with the bottle in the other.

"I’ll level with you boy, you have a talent. One that is rarely seen."

He took another sip from his glass.

"You have more than proved your worth... and for me to ignore you would be a great foolishness on my part."

"Ha... A great foolishness. Well, that certainly would not be the first time."

He lamented to himself.

The young man was getting the sense that Nakatane had more going on in his mind than just the contract. No doubt it was about Ishiyama, or perhaps even about the deaths of the other villagers.

"Anyway, this village owes you a debt. It would be wiped out had your unit not achieved what it did. Thus my reasoning. I offered you something that was mutually beneficial: you offer me your services, and I help you in cultivating your talent."

Gengyo nodded his ascent.

"It is more than satisfactory for me, Niwa-san. You forget that I am merely a peasant. Whatever you were to offer me, I would gratefully accept, even if you did not explain your reasoning."

"Ha! Those who only look at birth are fools. It does not determine talent."

He brought the cup up to his lips before pausing with a frown.

"Well... Clearly. That did not even need to be said."

He took a sip, that look of distaste remaining.

"Anyway... The terms. That’s the reason I came here... Mmm let’s see..."

He looked toward the ceiling as his fingers unfurled from around the bottle and he spent a few moments contemplating.

Gengyo waited patiently, not showing any signs of urgency, his attention remained unwavering.

"Firstly, you’ll have to move house."

The master announced raising a finger as he nodded to himself. His behaviour was a little more erratic than normal – the alcohol was clearing having an effect.

"Pardon, Niwa-san?"

"What I said. You need to move house. If you’re going to be leading men, then you’ll have to have your door open to visitors at all times. It would be easier to do that by moving you away from your family."

"Hoh... I see..."

Picking up on that reaction, Nakatane teased him lightly.

"What, you going to miss your family? Haha, you’ll be 5 minutes away. Ishiyama-"

His smile faded as he mentioned his departed retainer’s name, and he had to make a visible effort to stop himself from choking up.

"Ishiyama’s house... It will be cleaned, and then it will become yours. But I warn you, do not do anything within those walls that will sully his memory, or you’ll have me to answer to."

The young man could tell that he was dead serious, and he nodded firmly in reply.

"Good... Good. That house will also symbolise your status. It of a similar build to Jikouji’s, with two stories rather than one. It is perhaps more space than you might need... but I’m sure you will find some use."

"Forgive me for interrupting, but did Ishiyama not have any family? Would they not be residing in his house currently?"

His finger tapping grew a deal slower, and his eyes distant. It appeared the young man’s words had sparked a memory.

"No... He had a wife when he was a young man, but she died, and he never remarried... no children."

"Anyway. That’s not what I wanted to be saying. That house is now yours, do what you wish with it. Meals will be brought to your room at set times – Jikouji will handle that. You will no longer have to work in the fields. You will receive a payment of 1 silver coin each week."

He listed off each thing utilising his fingers, before waggling the few that were left, wondering if he had forgotten something.

"And what will my duties be, so that I can enjoy such favourable conditions?"

Nakatane grinned, carefully placing his glass back on the table.

"Now that’s the exciting part, is it not? Let’s see... Let’s see..."

"Ah, yes. You’ll be recruiting men for your unit... About 50 I suppose... Imagawa will come knocking sometime soon expecting men to be sent to fight on my behalf, so you had best train them quickly. I’ll leave everything regarding that unit to your discretion. Don’t let me down."

Gengyo’s fingers made their way to his chin as he already began to plan his next steps, and he almost forgot to reply.

"Ah, of course Niwa-san."

"Good. That won’t be all though – such conditions are too favourable. Your talent needs cultivating. Continue working on your swordsmanship as Jikouji told you, and begin to practice with the spear. There are numerous manuals on strategy lying around – you’ll be expected to read those. No one has time to teach you, so I hope you will do well by yourself. Ah, but an odd question here and there can’t possibly pose too much harm."

The young man barely listened to the second half. Those later terms were easily accomplished. His mind was entirely preoccupied with the possibilities that lay open to him in regards to choosing a unit.

"Young man? Are you listening?"

"Hm? Yes, those are fine too, Niwa-san. I’ll make sure not to let you down. Thank you."

"Eh? Alright I suppose..."

A little underwhelmed by Gengyo’s easy acceptance of the conditions, Nakatane flow was temporarily broken, and he instead filled the silence with a sip of sake as he watched the young man sit in thought.

’I wonder what he’s thinking?’

He pondered briefly, before shaking his head, realizing that was a futile question.

He eyed his empty glass before doing a brief shake of the bottle, realizing that there was but a slither of liquid remaining. He tutted lightly, before pouring it out.

With a swift motion, the glass was empty, and after a slight stretch the master struggled to his feet.

Awakened by the movement, Gengyo returned from his thoughts.

"Ah, are you leaving?"

"Aye. That’s all I needed to say. The night is still young, but you should get some rest. You’ll assume your post first thing tomorrow – so enjoy your last night as a simple working man."

The young man stood up alongside him, seeing him out.

"I will, thank you. You should get some rest too, Niwa-san. I imagine these past few days have been rather busy."

The master slipped into his shoes with practised movements before waving away Gengyo’s concerns with a limp hand, stepping off the porch.

"Don’t worry about it. I’ll take more than sleep to ruin this old body of mine!"

He shook his head lightly in response to the older man’s jokes, a slight smile on his lips. They both knew why it was that he could not sleep. But in time, he hoped, the grief would begin to abate for him. It was not pleasant to see such a decent person suffer.

Just before Gengyo turned to go back inside, Nakatane stopped him.

"Ah! I almost forgot. Be ready early tomorrow morning. We’re heading to Tobishima to set things in order. And of course, I’ll need my new retainer with me, haha!"

"Got it. I’ll be up early."

"Good lad. Goodnight then!"

He said with a wave of his hand, as he stumbled half-drunk back toward his mansion. Gengyo watched him go, almost expecting him to fall. When he disappeared from sight, he turned back inside, and hovered briefly by the door of his room, wondering what to do. It only took a moment for him to make his mind up, and he quickly prepared himself to slip into bed.

What he had hoped would be a good night’s sleep was ruined by his racing thoughts that endlessly rushed about, each holding a different piece of a grand puzzle. But such was the curse of the strategical mind.

// Author’s note

Thanks very much for reading this chapter. The support over these past few days has been insane, and our ranking is blowing up. I appreciate it so much! This novel means a lot to me. It’s a hope. On that note, I hope you, the reader, are able to accomplish something that you didn’t think you could do today. Push past your limits!! :) Thank you