"Let's go. We'll talk inside the castle!"
Before the harbor, Kakizaki Mitsuhiro pondered only briefly before making his decision. In Kyoto, the only ones who could be addressed as "Ue-sama" were the emperor and the shogun of the shogunate. And for something to be called a "great matter," something that had sent Morino Kiyoshi hurrying here, it could only be the shogun. The shogun of the shogunate! How long had it been? The shogun of the shogunate had actually met with trouble again!
Kakizaki Mitsuhiro's thoughts were heavy. Pulling Morino Kiyoshi with him, he hurried straight to the horses. He reached out and pointed to the side, toward the pony Sukesaburo was holding, and smiled somewhat apologetically.
"Shopmaster Morino Kiyoshi, please ride this horse and come with me to the castle."
The elderly merchant Morino Kiyoshi looked at the pony before him. Its shoulder height was only around one meter twenty or thirty, and it had the look of an ordinary Nanbu horse, likely from Dewa Province on the main island. It was a typical native horse, not tall in build, nor heavy in weight.
Then he glanced again at Kakizaki Mitsuhiro's warhorse. Its shoulder height was around one meter fifty, a full head taller than the pony beside it. And this horse was snow-white from head to tail, powerfully built—a fine steed rarely seen even in Kyoto!
"What a fine horse!"
Morino Kiyoshi praised aloud. His expression stirred as he remembered the purpose of this trip, and he asked with a smile.
"Mitsuhiro, does such a fine horse come from the mainland across the northern sea?"
"That's right!"
Kakizaki Mitsuhiro nodded firmly. Before an old acquaintance, he did not conceal anything and answered frankly.
"This was obtained in trade from the Ezo People on Karafuto Island. And they, so