He had quite a few titles: “Nioh,” “Shogunate’s Peerless Blade,” “Pillar of the Nation,” “Friend of France”… However, before acquiring so many glorious titles, he was merely a minor government figure, disparagingly called “Detarame-to.”— Volume 1, “Aoto’s Detective Chronicles,”
Foreword
Ansei 7 (1860), January 12th, Night —Edo (the ancient name for Tokyo; Edo is present-day Tokyo), North Magistrate Office —
“When we charge in later, those who surrender will be spared; those who resist will be executed on the spot.
That is all.”
This low, masculine voice reached Tachibana Aoto’s ears, Aoto looked blankly at the owner of the voice.
The owner of that voice was a young man, roughly 27 years old.He had thick eyebrows, large eyes, and an upright demeanor.
He wore a kimono and a jin-gasa (battle hat).
The wide sleeves of his kimono were tied with a thin cord, and two samurai swords, one long and one short, were tucked into his left waist.
— Where am I?
Tachibana Aoto’s bewildered gaze swept across his surroundings.
He found himself in a spacious room.
Although it was night, the room was quite bright due to candles placed throughout.
Tachibana Aoto first looked down at himself — he was sitting on a small folding stool, wearing a haori primarily in a wine-red color.
The haori and the sleeves of the kimono underneath were also tied with a thin cord.
Two samurai swords, one long and one short, were tucked into his left waist, and a strange-looking weapon was tucked into his right waist.
Looking at the odd weapon tucked into his right waist, a term popped into Tachibana Aoto’s mind: Jutte.
[Note: Jutte: A type of short weapon in Japan, which can be understood as a strange-looking iron rod.
It was the standard weapon for “police” during the Edo Period, serving as a kind of police baton]
Tachibana Aoto felt his body was unusually heavy.
He raised a hand to his chest and found that he was wearing chainmail under his kimono.
What exactly… is going on…?
Tachibana Aoto’s gaze, full of confusion, rotated as he surveyed his surroundings.
On his left and right sides, a young man dressed similarly to him sat, Both had samurai swords and Jutte tucked into their waists.
One had an ordinary appearance, with half-closed eyes, looking half-asleep.
The other had a handsome appearance, with wide-open eyes, looking as if he was in a daze.
In front of him, there were about twenty people standing.
Unlike Tachibana Aoto, they had no stools to sit on; they were all standing, holding various weapons.
Tachibana Aoto felt himself slowly understanding the current situation.
— Am I… in ancient Japan?” His mouth gradually widened in shock.
“Tachibana-kun, what’s wrong?
Why do you look like you’ve seen a ghost?”
Tachibana-kun — a name both unfamiliar and yet very familiar.
Hearing someone call this name, Tachibana Aoto immediately looked in that direction instinctively.
The person calling this name was the same young man with thick eyebrows, large eyes, and an upright demeanor who had just been shouting, “Those who surrender will be spared; those who resist will be executed on the spot”.
Looking at this young man, a name popped into Tachibana Aoto’s mind: Arima Hideyuki.
A Yoriki of the North Magistrate Office, his direct superior.
[Note: Yoriki: An official title during the Edo Period, which can be understood as a mid-level manager in the government]
We’re about to charge into the Benevolence and Righteousness Gang’s stronghold” Arima said seriously, “Quickly, pull yourself together”.
What came out of his mouth was fluent Japanese, and yet Tachibana Aoto, who had never studied Japanese before, could understand everything he was saying.
“My apologies” Tachibana Aoto said instinctively “I’ve made a fool of myself”.
What instinctively came out of Tachibana Aoto’s mouth was equally fluent Japanese.
Arima looked at Tachibana Aoto with a puzzled gaze for a few more moments, then ignored him, crossing his arms over his chest and closing his eyes to rest.
Tachibana Aoto was still in a state of confusion, not yet adapted to the current situation.
He took several deep breaths, trying to calm himself down.
Just as Tachibana Aoto’s emotions slightly settled, fragments of memory suddenly leaped into Tachibana Aoto’s mind—
His name is Tachibana Aoto.
He is 18 years old.
He is one of the Machikae Doshin of the Edo North Magistrate Office.
North Magistrate Office: Also abbreviated as “North Precinct,” it can be understood as the city government of Edo.
Regular Town Patrol: A department specifically responsible for maintaining urban public order.
And Doshin, is an official title, ranking below Yoriki, and is a grassroots official in the government.
The so-called “North Magistrate Office Regular Town Patrol Doshin” refers to a grassroots official responsible for urban public order, which can be understood as a grassroots police officer.
His mother passed away from illness when he was young.
His father was originally a Doshin in Edo, but unfortunately died of illness half a year ago, and he subsequently inherited his father’s position, becoming the new Doshin of the North Magistrate Office.
At this very moment, he was preparing to charge with his colleagues into the stronghold of a bandit group calling themselves the “Benevolence and Righteousness Gang,” to capture all these bandits in one fell swoop.
Although this bandit group had a pleasant-sounding name, “Benevolence and Righteousness Gang,” in reality, they were a band of villains who engaged in burning, killing, looting, and all sorts of evil deeds.
As early as a month ago, the government began tracking the movements of the Benevolence and Righteousness Gang, and finally found their stronghold a while ago.
Then, they assembled their forces tonight, preparing to capture them all tonight.
And Tachibana Aoto was one of those participating in tonight’s operation.
While Tachibana Aoto was still processing the memory fragments constantly surfacing in his mind, the door to a nearby room was suddenly pulled open—a plump, chubby man, accompanied by several attendants, entered the room through the open door.
After this large, chubby man appeared in the room, Arima suddenly opened his eyes, then stood up and bowed to the chubby man: “Constable!”
Everyone else in the room also quickly stood up and bowed to the large, chubby man, just like Arima as for Tachibana Aoto, he also instinctively stood up and bowed.
Usui Tadatsugu—that was the large, chubby man’s name, He was the Town Magistrate of the North Precinct, which can be understood as the mayor of Edo.
Usui waved his hand, signaling everyone to rise.”Tonight, I entrust you all!” Usui said loudly “According to intelligence from our informant, the ruffians of the Benevolence and Righteousness Gang are still at their base…”
Usui babbled on for a while, which, when summarized, was to encourage everyone to work hard tonight to catch the thieves and ensure the arrest operation was a complete success.
After this brief motivational speech, Usui winked at an attendant nearby, and the attendant, quite alert, handed Usui what he had been holding—bonito flakes, dried squid strips, konbu seaweed, and a flask of sake.
Usui took these items and personally handed them to Arima.
This was one of the rules of the Edo Period: during large-scale arrest operations, the Town Magistrate would personally hand over sake snacks like bonito flakes and sake to the Yoriki in charge of the operation to boost morale.
Arima took the sake and other items and finished them in a few quick bites.
“Arima-kun, I wish you a triumphant return” Usui patted Arima’s shoulders forcefully.
“We shall dedicate our lives!” Arima responded loudly, then handed the empty sake bottle back to Usui.
“It’s time!” Arima shouted to Tachibana Aoto and Others, “Follow me!”.
With that, he gripped the sword at his left waist and, First to Act, rushed out of the room.
The Others in the room followed closely behind.
Still in a dazed state, Tachibana Aoto could only jog along with the flow of people.
They rushed out of the Magistrates Office in one breath and, under the cover of night, galloped towards the western suburbs of Edo.
After jogging for nearly 20 minutes, led by Arima, they finally arrived in front of an unassuming private residence.
At first glance, this residence seemed quite ordinary.
However, through their government’s investigation, it had been confirmed—this residence was the stronghold of the “Benevolence and Righteousness Gang”.
According to intelligence provided by the informant, the core members of the “Benevolence and Righteousness Gang” would all be holding a meeting inside this residence tonight.
Upon arriving in front of the Benevolence and Righteousness Gang’s stronghold, the leader, Arima, without any hesitation, drew his long sword from his waist with a “thwip” sound, then kicked open the residence’s main door:
“We are officers of the Edo North Precinct!
Performing official search!” After Arima drew his sword and rushed in, the Others also drew their swords and surged in en masse.
Astonished shouts and painful screams began to rise and fall within the room.
The unpleasant smell of blood began to permeate the air.
Tachibana Aoto followed the crowd into the Benevolence and Righteousness Gang’s stronghold.
Soon after entering the stronghold, Tachibana Aoto saw a bald man frantically swinging his sword, attempting to break through the encirclement of his colleagues.
However, just as he broke out of the encirclement, a sword unexpectedly struck down from behind him, splitting his head.
Blood spurted from the bald man’s wound, directly splattering onto the ceiling.
This realistic, bloody scene made Tachibana Aoto gasp in shock.
His colleagues who had rushed into the house had already scattered, pursuing members of the Benevolence and Righteousness Gang in various corners.
Just as Tachibana Aoto was wondering what he should do now, the corner of his eye caught a strange dark shadow wriggling to his left.
Turning his head to the left—it was a middle-aged man with wide-open eyes, yelling angrily as he charged at Tachibana Aoto with a raised sword.
His target was Tachibana Aoto!
Looking at the middle-aged man charging at him with a raised sword, Tachibana Aoto was first startled, then, as if by reflex, drew the short sword from his waist, which was easy to wield in confined spaces.
He gripped the hilt with both hands and quickly positioned the sword.
A strange sensation appeared in Tachibana Aoto’s palms.
Although he felt it was his first time holding a samurai sword, he clearly remembered how to hold it, and — how to swing it!There was a window right next to Tachibana Aoto.
The bright moonlight streamed through the window onto Tachibana Aoto and his sword.
Under the moonlight, Tachibana Aoto’s sword reflected a dazzling white arc.
“Die, Shogunate dog!” When the middle-aged man charged to a distance where his sword could reach Tachibana Aoto, he roared and heavily swung the sword in his hand down towards Tachibana Aoto’s head.
Tachibana Aoto took a deep breath, then quickly shifted his body to the side, dodging the middle-aged man’s downward strike.
Missing his strike, the middle-aged man relentlessly attacked Tachibana Aoto again.
Having just transmigrated, Tachibana Aoto’s mind was still in disarray.
He didn’t know what time it was or where he was.
But he knew one thing—it was definitely correct to take down the person in front of him who was clearly trying to kill him!
Clang!
Tachibana Aoto intercepted the middle-aged man’s incoming sword with the short sword in his hand
The middle-aged man pushed with one measure of force, and Tachibana Aoto pushed back with the same measure of force.
They engaged in a struggle of strength.
This struggle did not last long.
After only a few seconds, Tachibana Aoto seized an opportunity and delivered a kicking, striking the middle-aged man’s abdomen hard with his firm kneecap.
The middle-aged man let out a desolate scream, then his entire body curled into the shape of a shrimp, unable to even hold his sword steady.
Tachibana Aoto pressed his advantage.
He lunged forward and struck the middle-aged man’s side neck hard with the pommel of his short sword.
“Ugh…”
The middle-aged man made a sound like blowing bubbles, then his eyes rolled back, and he collapsed to the ground face-up.
Seeing the middle-aged man finally fall, Aoto couldn’t help but let out a long breath.
However, at this moment, a strange sound suddenly rang in Tachibana Aoto’s mind:
[Ding!
Talent detected!]
[Successfully copied talent: “Night Vision”]
[Talent Description: Clearly see even in pitch-black environments]
*****
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