[Mito Komon #7] The Case of the Surprisingly Strong Old Lord ~The Old Lord's Grumbling~

It is I.
Mito Mitsukuni.

I hear this series of mine isn't exactly popular.

It must be Kakunoshin.

He is skilled, and since he doesn't use a sword like Suke-san, it's good that he doesn't cost much in expenses.

However, he is just too serious.

When a town girl gets harassed at a teahouse, he immediately flies in asking, "Is something the matter?"
It's fine to have a strong sense of justice, but I can't even eat my dumplings in peace.

That seriousness of his is probably what makes readers drop off early.

And besides, why is it that town girls are getting harassed at every teahouse we visit?
Is there something about town girls that makes them love dumplings so much?

If that's the case, he's a good match for Hachibei.
Why is he always so hungry when he barely moves a muscle?
He's the least cost-efficient person we have.

And his blunders where he almost reveals my true identity,
calling them "careless mistakes"
as if to imply it wasn't intentional or malicious.
Truly, he is a troublesome fellow.

Mostly, because of Hachi,

＼ Whoosh!🎯 ／

Eek—!!

A windmill... Yashichi again.

It always flies right past my nose, so I never actually feel safe.
What does he plan to do if he misses and hits someone?
Even if it hits one of us, there's no workers' compensation.
If it hits a guest—that's a personal injury accident. Wouldn't the cleanup be a nightmare?
I think he should just hand it over normally.
What do you think?

For the most part, Yashichi lacks cooperation. He can't work in a group.
Since there are no smartphones or GPS,
I wish he wouldn't wander around alone so much.
It's a problem when we actually need to get in touch with him.

Ogin is the same way.
Just when I wonder where she is all by herself,
before I know it, she's soaking in the inn's bath.
She's a pragmatic one.

When I'm in the bath,
she doesn't even offer to scrub my back.

No, compliance is strict these days, so cut that last part.

By the way, where on earth does one get that skin-tight black outfit?
Oh, no, cut that part too.

By the way—

The one I can rely on is Sukenoshin... or so I'd like to say.
His only flaw is that he's incredibly weak when it comes to women.
Well, he's handsome, so he's popular with the ladies.

This is just between us, but because he's handsome, I let Suke-san carry the Inro.
When a cool guy smoothly pulls out my precious Inro, it makes the Inro look better.

Kaku-san won't do.
At best, he just looks like a rugged antique.

Oh, right, there's one more reason.
So he doesn't pick up girls here and there,
disappear to who-knows-where,
and carelessly take off his clothes,
I make him carry the important Inro.
It's like the golden headband, the kinkoji, on Sun Wukong's head.

The sword fighting always starts at 8:40 on Monday nights.
Well, if I leave it to Suke-san and Kaku-san, things usually work out.
Yashichi and Ogin also suddenly appear when things get dangerous, even though I don't know where they've been.
If they just traveled with us from the start, things would probably be settled much faster.

Hachibei, you ask?
Well, Hachi acts like my bodyguard during that time. He can't use a sword at all, you see.
But when an enemy attacks, he goes 'Eek!' and, of all things, hides behind me.

Though I may look like this, I am the Lord of Mito, a daimyo. I know a thing or two about martial arts.
So, using the cane I always carry to say 'Ei!' is a piece of cake for me.

Even so, Hachi is unreliable, Yashichi and Ogin are always wandering about, and while Suke-san and Kaku-san are skilled, there are too few of them compared to the number of enemies.

Why won't they let me carry a sword?
Even if I say myself,
'Won't you leave it to this old man?'
there's a limit to how much they can treat me like an old geezer, isn't there?

What do you think?

Oh, I forgot about the windmill.

(End)

Next time:
[Mito Komon #8] I Want the Inro

Stay tuned!!