How long had it been since the order confining her to quarters was issued? A thin morning mist clung to the rooftops of the castle town visible through the latticed window of the East Tower. A damp wind drifted from the direction of the Toki River. The oppressive heat of summer had nearly vanished, leaving only the faint scent of autumn in the early morning and evening air. 晴音 (はるね) sat with her hands folded in her lap, gazing absently at the light filtering through the paper screen. (I've been summoned by 織田信勝.) The message had arrived last night through the attending maidservant. "Come to the war council chamber in the morning." That was all. No reason given. Was it punishment? A test? Something else entirely? 晴音 (はるね) could not say. Her fingertips drifted to the cloth at her waist, searching. The familiar weight of the broken smartphone. Its hard, rectangular shape. The one thing she had not been able to let go of since being pulled into this era. (I have no choice but to go. That's all there is to it.) 晴音 (はるね) rose to her feet. As she walked the corridor, the boards creaked softly beneath her, their sound echoing through the quiet morning of the castle. The attending maidservant followed one step behind. Two sets of footsteps. That was the breadth of 晴音 (はるね)'s world now. She stopped before the war council chamber. She drew a deep breath. "Forgive my intrusion." She slid open the paper door. 織田信勝 was already there. He knelt in the place of honor at the far end of the room, seated before a desk spread with maps. Black *hitatare*. Hair cut short and dark. The same face as yesterday, as the day before. But the map on the desk—it depicted the border between Owari and Mikawa provinces. "Sit." He spoke curtly. His voice was low and devoid of emotion. 晴音 (はるね) settled herself quietly. The distance between them was three tatami mats. Neither far nor near. "The plague among the people has stabilized." "Yes." "How many patients at Jōen Temple?" "The last time I confirmed was before the confinement order, but... there were seven recoveries and only one new patient in three days. If we maintain strict isolation and hand-washing practices, I believe we can contain it within the month." "You believe. Do you have certainty?" There was a brief pause. "If you're asking for absolute certainty—no treatment can offer complete guarantee. However, the combination of boiling sterilization and isolation has proven effective based on our progress thus far." 晴音 (はるね) realized something. Her manner of speech had drifted slightly from the language patterns of this era. When nervous, she reverted to it—the modern, logical, direct way of speaking. 織田信勝 said nothing. He simply watched her face. His eyes—they were always as if calculating something, quiet and still. "I grant you permission to go into the castle town." 晴音 (はるね) went rigid. "...Truly?" "I have business at the medicinal herb merchant Tokiwadō. I will take you with me." *Take you with me. You.* What 織田信勝 himself felt upon hearing those words leave his own mouth, he could not say. But those words—they also meant he had overruled 景虎's opinion. At least, that is how it sounded to 晴音 (はるね). (Why?) She wanted to ask. But she could not. Asking "why" of this man felt premature. "Thank you very much." Her voice came out more honestly than she expected. 織田信勝 did not nod. He simply turned his gaze back to the map. The audience was over. --- The noren curtain of Tokiwadō swayed in the wind from the Toki River. The main street of the castle town was filled with its usual bustle. The rumble of cart wheels, the patter of children's running feet, the calls of fish merchants. During the confinement, 晴音 (はるね) had heard these sounds only through the latticed window of the East Tower. Now, reaching her ears directly, they felt strangely nostalgic. 織田信勝 had changed into an unobtrusive black *haori*. Even so, the air around his body was taut, and merchants and craftsmen naturally bowed their heads as he passed. In this castle town, everyone knew the face of their lord. 晴音 (はるね) walked half a step behind him. The attending maidservant followed further back. They were like a small procession. When 織田信勝 opened the sliding door of Tokiwadō, the scent of medicinal herbs wafted out thickly. The aroma of dried grasses, the earthy smell of roots, all mingling into a distinctive fragrance. No matter how many times she came, 晴音 (はるね) never quite grew accustomed to it—yet she did not dislike it. "Welcome—" A voice began from the back of the shop, then stopped. 伊助 stood there. A sturdy man in his late fifties, his white-streaked temples disheveled. The proprietor of the medicinal herb merchant Tokiwadō—the only herb merchant in Narumi District. His eyes took in 織田信勝, and in an instant, he understood. He dropped to his knees and bowed with a speed that belied his age. "M-My lord! What an honor to receive your visit!" "At ease." 織田信勝 spoke simply and surveyed the shop. Bundles of medicinal herbs arranged on shelves, rows of drawers, dried plants hanging from the ceiling. 晴音 (はるね) could not read what his gaze was taking in. "晴音 has been receiving your assistance." 伊助 lifted his head. He looked at 晴音 (はるね). She bowed slightly. "Not at all. We are grateful to—" 伊助's words trailed off. "You seem to have something to say." His voice was quiet. Not accusatory. Simply seeing through. 伊助 hesitated for a moment, then spoke. "[serious]Since 晴音様 could no longer come to the castle town... the patients' recoveries have slowed. To be specific, there have been two households where hand-washing became careless and medicinal decoctions were prepared incorrectly. I have come to deeply understand how vital her personal instruction is." 織田信勝 said nothing. 晴音 (はるね) glanced sideways at 織田信勝's face. It was expressionless. Yet—he was thinking about something. His eyes moved slightly. "How much expense does this incur?" "The procurement of medicinal herbs comes to roughly thirty *mon* per month. However, Tokiwadō provides them at half price. The venerable priest Kakumei of Jōen Temple has provided the location—" "Thirty *mon*." He spoke curtly. There was a pause as if the calculation had been completed in that single moment. "[serious]Continue. The castle will bear the cost." 伊助's face relaxed just slightly. "...Thank you very much." --- While 織田信勝 spoke with the maidservant outside the shop, 伊助 came to stand beside 晴音 (はるね). He lowered his voice. "[gentle]Are you all right?" "Yes. I apologize for the worry I've caused." "I heard you'd been confined to quarters. It became the talk of the castle town." "Talk?" "Those you've helped have been saying so everywhere. Why has she stopped coming? Even Osato's mother comes here every day now." 晴音 (はるね) had no response. Her throat felt tight. She remembered that slip of paper—the letter from 伊助 that had arrived the night of the confinement order. "[serious]May I ask you something?" "Yes." "Who... exactly are you?" It was a quiet question. Not accusatory. Simply a genuine desire to know. 晴音 (はるね) considered for a moment. If she were to answer this question honestly... "I don't quite understand it myself." 伊助 fell silent. "Where I came from, where I'm meant to go—I don't know. But one thing is clear: if someone is suffering before me and I can help them, I want to. That much I know for certain." After she finished speaking, 晴音 (はるね) was somewhat surprised. It had been a long time since words came out so honestly. 伊助 said nothing for a while. He picked up one of the bundles of herbs from the shelf and made a gesture of smelling it. Then, slowly, he turned to face 晴音 (はるね). "[gentle]...That's enough. That's all you need to know." "Pardon?" "I too, when I was young, didn't know who I was. I was born the son of a medicinal herb merchant, but I knew nothing of herbs at first. I simply wanted the patients before me to feel better—and I've been doing this for forty years on that alone." 伊助's voice was gentle. Not boastful, not lecturing. Simply the voice of someone stating facts. "I'll help. Ask me for anything." Something deep in 晴音 (はるね)'s chest grew warm. "...Thank you very much." Her voice cracked slightly. "And—" 伊助 lowered his voice even further. "Did you see the lord's face? Just now?" "What do you mean?" "When he said the castle would bear the cost. That wasn't just calculation. I've been in this trade a long time. I know how to read a person's eyes." "..." "That man is concerned about you. But he doesn't know how to handle it." 晴音 (はるね) could not respond. Instead, she glanced through the sliding door at 織田信勝's back. He was tall. His back was straight. He was speaking quietly with the maidservant about something. From this angle, he looked nothing like the cold-blooded reputation he carried. He looked like simply a man. (What lies behind those cold eyes?) She did not know. Not yet. --- On the way back to the castle, 織田信勝 walked one step ahead of 晴音 (はるね). When they turned off the main street, 織田信勝 suddenly stopped. 晴音 (はるね) stopped as well. He was looking at something. In the depths of an alley, a small child leaned against a pillar, asleep. Thinly dressed, with a poor complexion. "...That child may have a fever." "Check." 晴音 (はるね) entered the alley. She approached the child and placed her hand on their forehead. Hot. But the skin had resilience. There was no sign of stomach trouble. "I don't believe it's the plague. Just fatigue and a slight fever." "Can you confirm?" "Not completely right now. But if I could take them to Jōen Temple—" "Take them." He spoke curtly. That was all. 晴音 (はるね) gently lifted the child. The child's eyes opened slightly, and seeing an unfamiliar face, they gazed blankly. "It's all right. Don't be afraid." The child closed their eyes. 織田信勝 watched from a distance. He said nothing. Yet—in the moment 晴音 (はるね) lifted the child, his eyes moved, just barely. It might have been her imagination. But 晴音 (はるね) was certain she had seen it. --- After leaving the child at Jōen Temple, they began the journey back to the castle. The sky was approaching evening. The surface of the Toki River burned orange, and a water bird flew low across it. "[cold]Continue the cooperative arrangement with 伊助." Walking, 織田信勝 spoke suddenly. "Continue the plague countermeasures. The castle will bear the cost. However—" "However?" "Do nothing without permission. Report before you act." It was a command. But the weight of his words was different from when he had issued the confinement order. Not "do not," but "report." That was—a statement that assumed continuation. "Understood." "...As you said, boiling sterilization and isolation show promise in cost-effectiveness." After saying this, 織田信勝 turned his face toward 晴音 (はるね) for just an instant. His profile. The evening sun caught it. "If plague spreads, the annual tax decreases. If the people are healthy, the domain's yield increases. That is all." "That is all?" As soon as she said it, 晴音 (はるね) regretted it. It was an impertinent way to ask. But 織田信勝 did not grow angry. He was silent for a moment. Then he turned his gaze back to the road ahead. "[serious]...That is all." He repeated the same words. But something was different from the first time. By repeating them, was he denying something, or confirming it? 晴音 (はるね) could not say. The sound of the Toki River reached them from a distance. The evening wind passed between them. (Is this man truly "that is all"?) She did not know. 伊助's words lingered in her ears. "He's concerned about you. But he doesn't know how to handle it." Yet—that was true of her as well, 晴音 (はるね) thought. This man frightened her. That had not changed. But today, when she saw the child in the alley, there was that momentary movement in his eyes. She could not believe it was mere coincidence. Even if h