After a brief hesitation, Budō finally stepped inside and shut the door behind him.
"Well… I just wanted to ask, old man, if there are still some jobs that need doing? The usual?" he asked hopefully.
"Aren't you already well-off by now?" the old man grunted. "You've already got two daughters in prestigious martial clans, right?"
"And haven't I been paying you well enough for sharing your farming knowledge?" Oya added with another deep grunt.
Three years ago, the village had been in an uproar. For reasons nobody could explain, the Furutsu farm's dying fields had suddenly become vibrant and bursting with life, while the surrounding crops remained withered and dry.
The superstitious types had immediately cried witchcraft, claiming the family was siphoning vitality from neighboring lands—and naturally, pointing fingers at the young boy with black hair and black eyes.
Chief Oya had held his position for a long time. He wasn't about to start a witch hunt based on village gossip. Peasant bickering was one thing; inciting riots was quite another.
Fortunately, he had reached the Furutsu household and spoken to Budō before the angry mob did, demanding a rational explanation.
Luckily, Oya had already formed a good bond with Budō—the man was the only one who helped procure rare medicine for Oya's sick wife. Lately, his wife had even begun looking years younger!
...Maybe I should take some of that medicine myself, just in case something good happens to me too, Oya thought.
The Furutsu family willingly shared their advanced farming techniques with the village. With a slight push from Chief Oya, the other landowners followed their example.
The results were immediate and undeniable. By the very next year, the village had grown into one of the largest food hubs along the outer ring of Sekigahara.
It was a massive turning point. More food meant more trade. More trade brought more people. More people meant more martial artists protecting their borders.
So, in truth, Oya owed Budō a massive debt of gratitude. But he was far too much of a tsundere to ever say it out loud.
"Well… you never know what the future will bring," Budō said, puffing his chest up slightly. "Besides, I don't have much to do at home. Helping the village gives me purpose." He paused, rubbing the back of his neck. "Also… the knowledge didn't really come from me."
"Hmmm. Right. A wandering trader sold you advanced agricultural methods," Oya said dryly.
"Ahem… yes. A very mysterious soul," Budō laughed nervously.
"Mysterious indeed!" Hideyoshi suddenly chimed in, his face lighting up with unbridled delight.
"What else did this mysterious trader sell? Were there other magical items? Secret martial manuals?" he asked, eyes sparkling like an eager hound begging for a treat.
An overwhelmed Budō offered a weak smile. "Ah… well… it was really just farming techniques."
"I see…" Hideyoshi said, his shoulders slumping in visible disappointment. Then he brightened right back up. "Ah! Where are my manners? I haven't introduced myself."
He extended a hand warmly. "I am Hideyoshi Toyotomi."
Budō flustered, taking the hand immediately. "Ah—Budō. Budō Furutsu."
At the sound of his surname, Hideyoshi's expression faltered for the briefest fraction of a second—so fast that neither man caught it.
Chief Oya seized the moment.
"Ah! Since you two are acquainted now, Budō, why don't you show Lord Toyotomi around the village while we prepare a feast in his honor?"
He shot the young noble a meaningful look. "You're of marriageable age, my lord. Perhaps this is a fine opportunity to meet Budō's last daughter still living at home?"
Toyotomi laughed off the suggestion. "What? No, no. My purpose here is quite different," he assured Budō. "I'm on a personal quest to find someone very important to me."
"I understand," Budō nodded respectfully. "Come, let me show you our village. I'd be honored to invite you to our humble home afterward."
"That sounds wonderful."
Budō led the young noble through the quiet dirt streets.
There wasn't much to see, and the unusual sight of a high noble drew wary glances from the locals. Lately, more outsiders had been passing through Mino... and not all of them were friendly.
Speaking of unfriendly—
"Please let go of me, it hurts!" a young woman cried out up ahead.
"Calm down. I'm not hurting you, peasant," a man replied smoothly, gripping her wrist and forcing her chin up. "I just want to know your name."
He was average-looking, carrying a heavy battle-axe slung across his back, clad in a gold-embroidered dougi and wearing an ornate headpiece, practically screaming his status to the world.
"Fuck. Another arrogant bastard," Budō muttered under his breath. "He's from the Kinzoku Clan too…"
Suddenly, Budō froze in his tracks.
A suffocating pressure flared right beside him, as if an apex predator had just bared its fangs.
He turned slowly to look at Lord Toyotomi. The young lord's face had darkened into pure, cold fury, radiating a bloodlust so thick that even Budō's experience as a high-grade Martial Apprentice couldn't stop the shivers running down his spine.
But before Toyotomi could even unwrap his weapon—
THWACK.
The noble's head snapped back violently.
His eyes rolled into his head as he collapsed onto the dirt, releasing the shaken girl as he fell.
"Stop rizzing my friend!" Mikan growled, following up with a brutal, blindingly fast uppercut that sent the noble flying backward straight into the flooded rice fields.
"Sister… I've told you a hundred times, that is not how you use that word..." Merun sighed heavily, stepping in to catch the stumbled girl. "Well, technically it kind of fits, but the sheer cringe hurts my soul..."
He turned to the girl gently. "Are you alright, Yōfuku?"
The girl's face turned beet red. She let out a tiny squeal and bolted down the path without saying another word.
"..."
"...See? You have zero rizz," Mikan wheezed out, laughing.
Merun grabbed her by the shoulders and began violently shaking her back and forth as she cackled.
"Stop. Using. That. Word!"
Budō felt as though his heart had been violently yanked from his chest.
His jaw hit the dirt.
OH MY MARTIAL SAGE.
MY DAUGHTER JUST ASSAULTED A KINZOKU NOBLE.
WHAT ARE WE GOING TO DO?! IS IT TOO LATE TO APOLOGIZE?!
As Budō spiraled through every horrific outcome running through his head—
"…Budō," Hideyoshi said softly. "Are you acquainted with that young lady?"
Budō snapped back to reality. "Ah?! Y-yes, my lord." He briefly considered fabricating a lie, but swallowed hard and owned it. "That... girl is... my youngest daughter, Mikan."
He braced himself for the noble's wrath.
Instead, when he looked over, Hideyoshi's handsome face was illuminated by the widest, most radiant smile Budō had ever seen. His cheeks were flushed red, and his eyes practically shimmered with glowing hearts as he stared at Mikan.
...There's no way. Right?
"Uh… Lord Toyotomi?" Budō asked hesitantly.
"Yes, father-in-law?" Toyotomi replied cheerfully.
"..."