Extra Chapter: A Lady's Day Out, Kusanagi Kyoko (Part 1)

In the castle city of Fumetsu, the lady daimyo of the province of Shinka is sitting amongst her retainers as they present the recent advancements that they achieved since their last meeting.

"So, if I may direct everyone's attention to our mining towns at the south, you can see that our current dependence on them alone wouldn't meet the huge demand that our rapid industrialization projects need. I suggest that we request the assistance of the merchant alliances of Kise to open the trade of rudimentary metals with us."

"Wouldn't the Daigo clan intervene? They are also busy with industrialization, so I believe they won't like it if we ask for their own stocks of metal supplies."

"That won't be a problem, Ayanami-sama. Kise has been designated as a cultural land to be supplied with modern technology, but never truly replaced. I have read the contract of the alliance and asked Kise's ambassador for his opinion about this and he said that there are no reason for us to feel wary of this trade deal. After all, Kise is a trade center, it would be more profitable for them to sell surplus goods rather than letting it deteriorate at their warehouses."

"Hm. Well spoken. What do you think, Kusanagi-sama? Oh…"

"…"

"Ahaha… it seems like the princess has went on another all-nighter."

After looking back at her, they noticed that the princess was already asleep, and they simply giggled before wordlessly agreeing that she shouldn't be bothered now.

"Shall we continue with the meeting, Ayanami-sama?"

"Hm. Please write a transcript of our meeting subjects and agreements for Kusanagi-sama's later perusal."

"Understood."

Shinka is the largest province in the four-way alliance. Yukonami and Kise is on its north, Kiko on the west and Fuku on the south. To put it simply, Shinka is the heart of the allied states, an accessway to the other lands and a major player in the diplomatic and political landscape of the alliance. It is also the province with the largest army, and if the army of their vassal territory of Yukonami will be included, that number will bloat up to almost half a million.

So, the fact that her retainers decided to just let her sleep is an evidence of how stressful and tiring it is to be the leader of such a large swathe of land.

"Ah… Uwaaahhh… Huh? Wait! Where is-"

"Good morning, Kusanagi-sama."

"Argh! I slept in the meeting again!"

It was only after the meeting was concluded and the meeting room was being cleaned that Kyoko woke up and was greeted by Mitsuhide, her military general and close friend.

"My, my… No need to feel so guilty about it, Kyoko-sama. Everyone knows how much work you put on your table for our sakes. A power nap or two wouldn't be unwarranted for you to take."

"What I am concerned for is the place! I was there to listen to their reports and I fell asleep!"

"Ahaha! Don't worry. I made sure to ask a scribe to write an outline of the topics reported in the meeting. You don't have to worry about what you may have missed."

Mitsuhide handed her a book and Kyoko opened it to scan each page. It was cleanly written, and every subject and information were concise yet informative.

"Now, I guess its time to bring you to your bedchamber, Kyoko-sama."

"E-Eh? Wait! I still have a lot of things to do today!"

"Gojo-dono is already handling that. Don't worry about it."

"Huh?! That's my work! Why are you guys taking it from me?!"

Kyoko was actually very tired, but her sense of duty wouldn't let her rest right now. She wants to do more even if her mind and body is already too tired to do anything.

"You know, I have a suggestion, Kusanagi-sama."

"Hm?"

"Why don't you take a day-off tomorrow? You know, leave the castle to us and go out to relax or something."

"D-Day-off? Hey! I am the Daimyo of Shinka! I can never leave my land just to fool around somewhere!"

"Kusanagi-sama… We appreciate your dedication to your duty towards us, but you should also know how to take care of yourself."

"I don't want to! I mean, what kind of fool will leave his land just to go around and do things that he doesn't even have to do?

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Meanwhile, in the plains between the city of Myoko and the port city of Onnoki where a group of travelers are resting at noon…

"Achooo-!!!"

"Geh! Iwasawa-sama, did you catch a cold or something?"

"Huh? No, no… I just feel like… someone is talking crap about me…"

"Eh?"

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

"That's not my intention, Kusanagi-sama. As I said, your efforts to serve us our leader and master is something that we greatly admire and love about you. But whenever we see you tired and haggard like this, we have the desire of wanting to give you a break every once in a while."

"And just like I said, I don't need it! Case closed and no more words! Come on! I want to inspect the city today."

As Kyoko turned around to leave, Mitsuhide noticed something off with her master and jumped forward just in time to catch her after she almost fell down.

"W-wha?"

"See? You are not okay, Kyoko-sama. You really need some rest and if you will complain again, I won't be taking it now."

"Argh… damn it…"

Kyoko cursed beneath her breath as her retainer slung her on her back and lifted her to her bedroom.

"You'll rest for today and I'll redirect your workload to us tomorrow. You don't have to worry about anything, just go and enjoy yourself at your day-off and I'm sure you'll understand how to be more lenient with yourself."

"Okay…. If you guys would really insist…"

Kyoko finally surrendered to her retainer's demand and accepted their suggestion of taking the day off tomorrow.

"If I will go and enjoy myself anyway… Can you go and buy me a train ticket to Kiko, then?"

"A train ticket? Oh! I remember. The transportation team did say that the train bridge between Kiko and Shinka is finally open. So you want to go to Kiko, Kyoko-sama?"

"Mm… I want to eat at that restaurant in Aoya again… drink the herbal teas in Kagetsuchi… read the books at that huge bookstore in Naka and…"

"And?"

"I want to see that dork again…"

Before she succumbed to her sleepiness, Kyoko spoke those words that alludes to one man and one man alone.

"…Kusanagi-sama."

And as she knows who it is, Mitsuhide's face turned into a frown for a moment.

"Why… why did I feel like I didn't like that?"

Mitsuhide tried to think of it, but simply waved her head to dismiss the thought.

"Whatever it is, I should forget it now while I still have a work to do."

After laying her master in her bed and closing the curtains to darken the room, Mitsuhide bowed to her and let her sleep at peace.

"…"

Tomorrow quickly came for the female daimyo of Shinka. At 4 AM, she was eating a simple breakfast while her servants are packing up her belongings for the day-off trip she will be having for the next three days.

"You guys… you really are too much."

"Oh please, Kyoko-sama. This is the least we can do to let you rest for a while."

Ishigawa Gojo, the cross-dressing chamberlain of the castle, spoke after tidying up the clothes of his master who is about to leave.

"Have a nice trip, Lady Kyoko. Don't worry about us, we can handle everything here until you get back."

Ayanami Mitsuhide, her military general, spoke as well and patted her lord's shoulders to reassure her that everything will be alright.

"Well then, I'll be off for three days! Don't burn down Shinka while I'm gone, okay?!"

"""Understood, Lady Kyoko!"""

She rode a horse to the town of Kota, the only place in Shinka that has a rail station. She was wearing normal clothes and has tied her hair in a simple manner, so although her face was well-known amongst the populace, not many noticed her presence and those who did simply waved at her as a greeting before going back to their business.

"Passenger and Steed ticket, my lady?"

"Oh! Umm… here."

Kyoko gave the conductor her seat ticket and the ticket for the train cab for her horse. The conductor opened a book where the serial number of sold tickets are recorded and after confirming that it was legitimate, he snipped a small portion of it to show that the ticket was already used for one trip.

"Welcome aboard the train, my lady. We wish you a joyful and peaceful trip."

Her horse was taken to the rearmost cab and with her luggage taken by a train employee, she walked inside the cab filled with locals who seem to be nervous with the uncommon vehicle they are in.

"Did you see the big, black head of this beast? I heard tanukis are paid with nuts to move this thing around."

"Huh? No way! This thing moves with steam. I learned about it from the train driver when I bought our tickets."

"S-Steam? You think simple boiled water makes this monster move? No way! This is surely a work of a Youkai."

"Argh! It's pointless to argue with you!"

There were those who are arguing about how the train moves.

"Mom, why did you bring those bags? We're not shopping there, aren't we?"

"Ahh… the conductor gave it to me earlier. He said some of you might vomit because of the shaking."

There was also a woman sitting with three kids while holding a bag provided by the train conductor.

"3 hours and we're already in Naka? Wow, this vehicle is super fast."

"Very cheap too. If we paid for a horse-drawn carriage, we'd spend 3000 Kan and probably spoil our goods after the 4-day trip."

And there are also merchants who thanked the train for saving their wares and time during the trip.

"This is your seat, miss. Enjoy your trip!"

The employee placed her luggage on the shelf above her head and Kyoko sat at her seat by the window.

"This takes me back… the first time he made me ride this, I really enjoyed it."

What was it? About a year and a half already? At first, Mitsuha and I were scared of this thing, but as soon as I felt the thrill of its speed, I even sat by the windowsill to feel the rush of the wind on my face.

"All aboard!"

"All aboard!"

"All aboard!"

One by one, the conductors of each train cab shouted out at the station, giving the ones who went down for a moment to buy some snacks from the vendors on the station some time to get back in the cab. Once the last whistle has sounded and each train door was closed, the cab's conductor went to the front of the cab to press a button and spoke "Passenger cab 2 is closed".

["Ahem, ahem… Good morning, dear passengers. This is your captain speaking."]

Suddenly, the box at the top of the cab door at the front spoke. I wasn't new to it as I am already aware of this thing called a "radio", but the other passengers who wasn't aware of it wore shocked, scared or wonderous expressions.

["Again, I welcome everyone for this trip and guarantee that I will do my best to give everyone a nice and joyous trip. I would like to direct all of your attention to your cab conductor who would be visualizing the safety precautions and answers to frequently asked questions in the train."]

The conductor took off his cap and placed it over his chest before bowing to us and raising his head to start with his visualizations using a set of flash cards in his sleeve pocket.

["We would like to remind all parents and grown-ups with children to watch over your kids and not let them loiter at the cab aisle. As the vehicle would be moving fast and there are places where the rails would take sharp turns, it would be to their best interest to keep their child seated on their comfortable seats."]

After the train captain spoke that through the radio, the children who were running about and playing at the aisle went back to their seats and wished that they won't be scolded by their parents.

["Next, please take a look at your luggage shelf and make sure that it is locked properly to avoid it tussling and pouring into the aisle and other passengers during the trip. In other cases, if your belongings were placed in the cargo cab, please keep the cargo stub in your person to make sure that it would be easily taken later once you have disembarked."]

Some of the passengers, including me, looked at the shelf above us and after tapping the cover to make sure it was sealed, went back to sit down.

["Lastly, there are washrooms at the rearmost parts of each cab. If someone wishes to use the toilet, please raise your hand so you can be assisted by your cab's conductor who would unlock it for your convenience."]

Following that short introduction, the loud whistle of the train engine sounded and slowly, the train moved forward while some relatives or friends of the other passengers waved them a goodbye from the station platform.

"Haah… I already know that this would be quite the trip."

It took about half an hour for us to arrive at the border town of Tohou where we disembarked mid-trip to line up at a booth that I haven't seen before.

"What is this line for?"

"Huh? Oh. Haven't you heard? When you enter the province of Kiko, you need this thing called a "passport" and something called a… um… what was it again? Ah! A Visa, yes."

Once I heard that, cold sweat trickled down my neck.

Why haven't the others told me about this?! And what the hell is a passport and Visa?!

"Hey, don't tell me you don't have those documents!"

"I-I don't…"

"Agh! You're screwed! They throw those who doesn't have their documents back to Shinka! My brother once came here and after was caught after he pushed his way through the immigration booth, he got beaten up and sent back to Shinka!"

Argh! Damn you, Iwasawa! Why the hell did you have to be this strict with letting people cross to your land?!

When I stepped out of the line and was quietly fuming in anger and frustration, someone tapped my shoulder and when I look around, I saw an old man who seems… a bit familiar.

"Do you remember me, Kusanagi-ojou-sama?"

"Wait… aren't you one of Iwasawa's ministers? Ah! Minister Kurogawa, right?"

"Ahaha! It's an honor to be remembered by you, Lady Kusanagi."

We exchanged some greetings before he went to the point.

"Your chamberlain called our embassy last night and asked for them to quickly issue you a passport. They weren't able to catch you earlier before you left Kota, so the immigration office in Tohou made you one before you arrive here."

He handed me a small booklet with the Iwasawa clan's Eternal Kirin symbol printed in gold ink and the words "Passport for Kiko" on the cover and another sheet of paper with the words "Special Diplomat Visa" along with a long paragraph of words narrating my identity as the Lord of Shinka and giving me unlimited days to travel around Kiko.

"T-Thank you."

"Ahaha! No need, no need… I was just asked by your retainer for a favor. There is no need to thank me for such a little thing."

He gave me a bow before leaving and once I looked at my documents, I lined up again until I arrived at the booth.

"Papers please."

"Ah, yes…"

I slipped my passport and Visa through the two-way drawer in the table and the immigration officer inspected them.

"…"

"Reason for entry?"

"A-ah. I… I am on a vacation."

"I see. Can you state the contents of your belongings?"

"Some clothes, some food, my pocket money and my sword."

He continuously tapped some kind of contraption on his desk, and it made some small hammers to press into a piece of paper. From how it looks like, it seems to be a writing tool to quickly write up letters.

"Welcome to Kiko, Lady Kusanagi. Please take this as well as your guide about travelling around our nation."

He placed a booklet at the drawer and after pressing a stamp onto my passport and my Visa and placing the piece of paper where the contents of my luggage is recorded, he slid the drawer back to my side where I took them back.

"We wish you a wonderful time with your trip. Please hand your passport and your list of belongings to the soldier outside before you ride the train again."

I passed through the exit of the booth and once out, a soldier extended his hand to ask for my passport and the list. After reading it and giving it back to me, he opened the gate and I finally set foot at the province of Kiko.

"That's quite the security… is he wary about spies entering his land?"

I rode the train again and went back to the seat where I was sitting at earlier. About an hour passed before we moved on and that is when I noticed that some of the passengers weren't there.

"Umm… I have a question."

I spoke while the cab conductor was walking near me.

"Ah, yes. What is it?"

"Where are the other passengers? Some of them aren't here."

"Ah! Some of the passengers are traders whose main destination is the town of Tohou. Unlike the others here who are off to Aoya or Naka, they didn't have to ride the train anymore."

"I see…"

"There are also those who don't have any documents and were brought back to Shinka or made to wait in line for passport application, though I doubt that they will get to ride the next train later this afternoon due to how thorough the immigration office is when it comes to background checking and certification of each person's identity."

So, he really is wary about spies… I hate to say it, but I can forgive his strictness if it was for this.

"Thank you for answering my questions."

"It's an honor, Kusanagi-sama."

"-!"

After the conductor replied, I was shocked. I didn't expect that all this time, the conductor was aware of my identity.

After another half an hour, we arrived at Aoya, the place I first wanted to visit.

"Woah, woah!"

Along with a few other people, I went down at Aoya station and went to the cab for horses where I took my horse.

"The passage for passengers with horses are that way, miss. Thank you for traveling with us!"

"Yes, I enjoyed it."

I rode my horse and passed through the wide exit where other mounted passengers went through and finally, I set foot at Aoyama Domain, my first destination.

"Let's see… should I rent an inn or go around first?"

I opened the travel booklet and read that most of the places that piqued my interest would soon be closing for lunch breaks.

"Ahh! I have to hurry!"

I went to a sweets shop, a clothing store, a jewelry store and even a toymaker's store that had some cute animal plushies that I bought as a set.

"Err… I think I overdid it."

It was only an hour later when the stores closed down that I saw how much I bought with my shopping spree. Each of the baskets on my horse was full and I kind of regretted how I swept through my pocket money that I was supposed to spend in three days.

"Wait… I forgot to rent an inn…"

At this point, I felt like an idiot. I big idiot that failed at anything she planned ahead of the time because she rushed everything.

"Hah… As expected, I knew that it was you."

While I am contemplating my mistakes, a raspy voice came from behind me that can only belong to one person that I know.

"Che! It's the bald old man again…"

"Heh! Are you in any position to complain now?"

I turned around and saw his face. One that I didn't want to see now when I am meant to rest from my duties as a daimyo.

"So, you're penniless and your bags are full… how are you supposed to enjoy your vacation now, Kusanagi-sama?"

"Grr! Piss off, old fart!"

He surely was mocking me with that remark, and I did my best to show that I will not back down, but suddenly, he sighed and looked at me neutrally.

"Whatever… Come to my house. You can stay the night in there."

"Huh?"

"You don't have a place to go, right? You can stay at my estate, just treat it as some kindness from me."

I was skeptical of his intentions, but with no place to go to, I followed him to the estate at the middle of the city.

""Aoyama-sama!""

"It's alright. No need to salute me. By the way, she's a guest. Don't block her entrance or exit or else, she'll clobber you to death."

""Y-Yes!""

We passed by the gate where the guards looked at me to remember my face. One of them noticed my true identity and seemed to have been nervous as I passed by.

"I don't know why you invited me here, but let me remind you that even if I am in a vacation, I am still the lord of Shinka and if you harm me, it will cause your lord to-"

"I am aware of that, you brat. Why are you acting worse than your father when we last fought by Iso river?"

"Tch!"

"Let me tell you this right now. I let you come here under my own personal disposition and not because I am after something."

"And that is?"

"I guess you can say that this is my way of thanking you and your subordinate for shaping my daughter into a lady worthy of her name."

When he said that, I remembered what he is trying to say.

"Mitsuha sure became rough with her, given that the loan she gave to that woman almost made her clan collapse… I want to apologize for the hurt that she gave to your daughter."

"My sister… No, that woman has caused all of us great shame and grief. I am ashamed of even considering the fact that we share the same blood. He tricked my brother-in-law, left her son traumatized, made the Aoyama clan a target of insults and I even have to give my daughter to another family that she tricked just to recoup that cost."

"…"

Aoyama Natsuki. I was still a child when I heard that name and how the young Mitsuha asked my father for his approval to hunt her down outside of Shinka just to cut off her head. At first, when I heard the name "Aoyama", I was reminded of the man with the moniker of "Asura" and how I was thought to hate them due to our losses against him.

It was only after Chiyo became my subordinate for a time did I learn the truth and instead of fearing or hating them, I just became indifferent and thought of the Aoyama clan as a family bearing the shame of sharing the family name of a woman undeserving of any honor.

"A room for a night is nothing compared to all the things you thought to her that made her the fine lady that she is now."

I still remember the day that I shot this old man when he tried to stop my army from marching into Kiko which delayed our actions and forced me and Mitsuha to charge into the castle by ourselves, only to learn that Iwasawa had become the Daimyo.

"And how about my stuff? Where am I supposed to place them?"

"Huh? I'm surprised that you don't know about the local courier service."

"Courier service?"

"It's a paid service where they will take the things you want to be sent somewhere, place them in a box and send it to the address that you write it to go to."

"Ah! Like a post office or something?"

"That's a near guess, but the postal office is public and would take a while to be shipped unlike private couriers that would only take a day or less to get what you want sent out."

"I see… I'll place my luggage here then and head out to one of these courier stores."

"I'll order a soldier to help you out then."

I went to the room that he lent me and placed my belongings at the nearby dresser. I changed clothes before heading out and saw that a soldier was waiting near my horse to assist me in the sending of the things I bought.

"Welcome to Konan Courier services! How may I help you?"

"Ah… I want to send these to Shinka."

"Oh, that's a lot. Please wait here while our bagger is arranging for a cardboard box for that…"

A man looked at the two baskets that the soldier brought in and after estimating how large the box would be, he took a large carboard box from a pile and carefully packaged it.

"Where in Shinka would this be sent, miss?"

"In Fumetsu castle. To the office of the Provincial Daimyo."

The receptionist looked at me for a moment, seeming to be confused, but quickly shook her head and wrote on a piece of paper the address that I said.

"Please provide an identification card for security purposes. This parcel is addressed to an important person after all."

Identification card? Hmm… oh.

"Is my passport alright?"

"Why, yes. Yes, it is."

I took out my passport and showed it to her and as I expected, she was shocked after learning that I am Kusanagi Kyoko herself.

"Umm… Sorry for doubting you… Kusanagi-kou-sama."

"It's alright. Just act normally, I'm not in official work right now."

She finished the rest of the procedure and asked me to pay 50 Kan for the express shipping fee. With that, I no longer had any worries and I went to a place where I know I can get some money.

"Odd or even, odd or even! What could it be?!"

"I bet on odd!"

"I'm winning this! I bet on even!"

Of course, what else can it be other than the area in Aoya that I read in the travel guide is the most frequented place of travelers who ran out of cash.

It's the gambling district of Aoya, a small portion of the city where casinos and mahjong houses are legally allowed to conduct large-scale gambling activities under the regulation of the local domain and national government.

"Is this seat taken?"

"Oh, there is no one there, please do join if you wish."

I sat at a mahjong table just before they are about to start another round.

"This is a high-roller table, missy. I don't know much about you, but you won't survive in this game if you won't bet big."

One old man spoke as he I placed 100 Kan on the table as my bet.

"Haha! We will see about that later, old man."

I don't pick fights that I can't win. And unbeknownst to these people, one of the things taught to me when I was still learning to be a Daimyo is gambling games, which is also a kind of negotiation tactic.

"Winner, the lady on seat 3! Here is your slip, please claim your winnings there since this table has ran out of Kan pieces to give to you."

"Ahaha! Thanks a lot!"

By evening, doubled the money given to me back at Fumetsu so I decided to spend it at where I really wanted to spend it.

"Welcome to Kurayama Diner! Would you like a seat?"

"Yes. One seat at the second floor, please."

I went to the same restaurant that Iwasawa brought me to when I first visited it.

"Huh? Wait, is that you, Kusanagi-sama?"

"Huh? Oh! You still remember me, Rie-san?"

Kurayama Rie, the owner of the restaurant, saw me and recognized my face as she hopped over the counter to welcome me personally.

"Ahaha! How can I forget about a special customer like you, Kusanagi-kou-sama? Girls! We have a special person in here! Don't embarrass me and cook those dishes perfectly, okay?!"

"""Got it, Mama Rie!"""

When I heard her all-female kitchen staff call her like that, I involuntarily giggled which she noticed and made her giggle as well.

"They're like my daughters to some extent. With Aoyama-sama's help, I opened a culinary college at the university town outside of Aoya. Those girls over there are culinary students who are working here to get their diplomas."

"Culinary college? I never expected that cooking can even be something that needs certification."

"Of course, someone who doesn't have a diploma can be a chef, but the certificate that the college gives just ensures that the owner has all the knowledge needed to work at any food establishments."

Rie-san walked up with me to the second floor and talked to me while I waited for my food. We exchanged some recent experiences, she gave me some personal advice as a woman and before she left to man the counter again, she gave me a book that she says contains all kinds of recipes that she has.

"I-Is it really alright for me to have this?"

"Of course, of course! You said you want to learn how to cook too, right? I'm just doing my part of helping you out."

I ate heartily afterwards and once I left, I have never felt so full and satisfied ever before. I walked back to the Aoyama estate to digest my dinner and that was how my first day of vacation went.