It had been some time since Kojiro had left to make a bowl of eel and rice. There was a quiet air in the room, not a speck of clothing in sight.

　I knew Kojiro looked like he wanted to quit. But that's what he's been letting slip away every day for the past few years.

　Even though he said so verbally and smelled troublesome, he was still working properly as a swordsman, even though his sister, Kaede, and his mother, Ouka, were beating him on his butt.

　While letting out lazy words on a daily basis, he does the work he is asked to do, and if his subordinates ask him to do something, he doesn't say no, but leads them to a solution.

　He was a bit sloppy in his speech and behavior, but he was second only to me as a swordsman, and his character was a perfect vessel.

　The reason I gave him the sword is because I was confident that Kojiro would defend the country and train Shuichi well, saying he was a bother. I was confident that he would protect the country and train Shuichi well.

　I'm sure that not only me, but all of us who work at the castle thought so.

　Kojiro would fulfill his role well, saying it was too much trouble and that he wanted to quit.

　But what does this mean today? In addition to being Shuichi's bodyguard, he also asked to quit as a swordsman.

　I'm sure he had a fight with Kinugasa and Kaede at first, and the words just came out of his mouth.

　I thought so, but Kojiro came into the room with a very serious expression on his face and said he wanted to make unadorned rice bowls and open a restaurant.

　His eyes were not dead eyes like his old ones, but quietly burning with a will.

　Looking at Kojiro's eyes, I understood that his decision was not motivated by emotion or confrontation, but from the heart.

　Nevertheless, the Inaba family is a family that has served the Shogun family for generations. It's not an easy decision to make, no matter how much I am a shogun. I also regret losing Kojiro, and I don't want to let him go.

　I hurriedly called for Sakuraba and tried to persuade him to come to me.

　Even Kojirou will change his mind if he is persuaded by Ouka, who is not very good at it.

　Then he would be lectured by Ouka again, as usual, and he would return to his work as a swordsman.

　I was thinking of this, but then, unexpectedly, Ouka made this proposal to me.

'Then let's do this. If you can get the three of us, including me, to admit that Kojirou's eel dish will make us all quit as swordsmen, I'll allow you to quit.

　Although he didn't affirm it out of the blue, the words were clearly on Kojiro's shoulders.

　I never thought that Ouka, who used to be called a demon god and was feared, would say something like this.

　I had known her for a long time, but I didn't understand her true intentions.

　I had just expected her to shout at me and punch Kojiro to the ground to oppose me, but I didn't expect it.

　I couldn't read Sakuraba's thoughts.

　He coughed and asked to get rid of the badness in the still air.

''Ouka, why did you make such a suggestion?''

'I have always treated my son as the head of the Inaba family in the service of the Shogun's family. Give him the strength to support the Shogun's family, so that he won't be licked for being a commoner's child like me...

　Because the Inaba family has valued their bloodline for generations, there have been many marriages between noble families.

　However, Ouka is a commoner who has risen from the battlefield with a single sword. Under normal circumstances, she would never have been allowed into the Inaba family. It is said that there was a lot of trouble when she married into the Inaba family.

　As a result, Ouka and her late husband, Genichiro, convinced her to marry into the family by demonstrating their resolve and their military prowess, but the wind still prevails within the clan.

　That's probably why Ouka raised Kojiro and Kaede strictly so that they would not be licked by the family and would be given a firm position.

　That feeling was very understandable to me as a general and parent.

'I guess that's why I shouldn't have. Although Kojiro has acquired unashamed ability as a swordsman of the Inaba family, he has no aspirations at all. He is empty. Can such a man really be able to live with the Shogun's family in harmony?

　I had thought of that as a point of concern when I placed Kojiro as Shuichi's bodyguard.

　I'm not sure if Kojiro will run away in case of an emergency.

　However, it was a decision that was made by having Kaede as Haruka's bodyguard, thinking that it could be dispelled by having Kaede as her bodyguard.

''If that's the case, we can teach her that way now...''

Maybe if I had treated her as a mother a little more, she would have been like Kaede.

　Ouka says, somewhat self-mockingly.

　Kojiro was the first son that Ouka gave birth to.

　It was probably because the family's eyes were on him at the most difficult time that he was unable to show his motherly naivety as much as he wanted.

　Indeed, it might be difficult to teach that from Ouka now.

''But even with me like that, Kojiro has shown his intentions without fear. It was the first time he said he wanted to do something of his own volition like that. Seeing her like that, I wanted to help her as a mother.

　It was not the face of the stern head of the Inaba family, but the kindest face I have ever seen.

　I want to help my son as a mother, not as the head of the family, but as a mother.

　Hearing such a thought from Sakuraba, I was able to agree with her about the proposal I just made.

''However, are you sure?　If Kojirou were to quit, the wind from the clan would...

'It's okay. It's just a matter of me, my mother, doing my best. Besides, if Kojiro becomes a great chef as well as a swordsman, it will give the family a new lease on life.

　When he asked the question, his gentle expression tightened and became his usual dignified one.

　The Inaba family is a family of venerable and talented swordsmen, but the status of non-swordsmen is considered low.

　Not all of them are born with talent as swordsmen, and they intend to be a new light for them.

　But he's not just cheering for the child; he's trying to bring about a new kind of reform. That's just the way it is with Ouka.

　Seeing Ouka's reassuring smile, I felt somewhat relieved.

　However, just as the air has softened, Kinugasa interrupts the water.

''Haha, you needn't worry about Tsuyoshi-sama. There's no way that a guy can cook a bad eel properly.''

　Hearing Kinugasa's impatient smile, Ouka slightly tugged at her cheeks.

　Hearing Ouka's words just now, why would you make such an airheaded statement?

　It's because you talk like that that that you have a bad reputation in the castle.

　In a different way than Kojiro, I was worried about the vassal in front of me.