The next day—
Ansei 7 (1860), January 14th, early morning—
Edo, Hatchobori, Aoto’s home—
“Kyubei, I’m leaving.”
“Young Master, please be careful on your way.
Here’s your bento.”
Aoto, wearing a wine-red haori for warmth and a black scarf, with two katana and wakizashi hanging from his left hip, took the bento wrapped in thick cloth from Kyubei.
In this Edo Period, there were naturally no employee canteens, so most officials brought their own bento for lunch.
After leaving his house, Aoto took a deep breath of the cool, unique morning air, then simply stretched his muscles before jogging out of the small path in front of his house in a perfectly standard slow-running posture.
Yesterday, after deeply realizing at Shieikan that his physical fitness urgently needed strengthening, Aoto spent the entire night formulating a series of fitness plans for himself.
To try to run wherever he went—this was one of the fitness plans Aoto set for himself last night.
—It’s really inconvenient to run with katana and wakizashi at my waist…
Aoto looked at the katana and wakizashi hanging at his waist with a helpless expression.
These two katana and wakizashi were excellent blades forged by Aoto’s great-grandfather at a hefty price of 100 ryo, and were considered heirloom treasures of the Tachibana.
After Aoto’s father passed away, these two katana and wakizashi naturally passed into Aoto’s hands.
And these two katana and wakizashi were indeed worth the price; both their toughness and sharpness were top-notch.
When running with katana and wakizashi at his waist, the longer katana would always hit his left calf, so Aoto simply unfastened the katana and carried it on his shoulder.
Following his memory, Aoto arrived at the North Precinct next to Gofuku Bridge, a famous bridge in Edo, and then went straight to Arima’s office, his direct superior, to report in.
Every morning, the first thing to do after entering the Magistrates Office was to report to your superior—this was one of the rules of the Magistrates Office.
Halfway there, Aoto suddenly heard two familiar voices from behind him:
“Tachibana-kun!
Good morning!”
“Tachibana, good morning.”
Aoto: “Ushiyama-sensei, Inotani-sensei, good morning to you too.”
The two young men walking behind Tachibana, who were greeting Tachibana, sped up a little and walked alongside Tachibana.
Inotani Hanjirō, Ushiyama Masatsugu—those were their names.
They were Aoto’s true colleagues—like Aoto, they were both Doshin directly commanded by Arima.
The Regular Town Patrol, specializing in maintaining public order, had two Yoriki and six Doshin under its jurisdiction.
Each Yoriki was responsible for three Doshin.
The three Doshin under Arima’s jurisdiction were Aoto, Ushiyama, and Inotani.
These two also participated in the search operation for the “Benevolence and Righteousness Gang” the night before—at that time, the two people sitting on Aoto’s left and right sides while waiting for the operation to begin in the Magistrates Office were Ushiyama and Inotani.
Although Inotani had a surname with a touch of humor, he had a handsome face that was completely unrelated to “pig.”
Ushiyama’s appearance, however, matched his surname very well—he had a simple, honest face like an ox.
“Tachibana-kun, you had a rare extra day off yesterday, did you go anywhere fun?” Inotani leaned his handsome face close to Aoto.
“I went to apprentice in swordsmanship yesterday.” Aoto, still a bit sleepy from just waking up, let out a big yawn.
“Apprentice in swordsmanship?” Inotani’s eyes widened.
“Tachibana-kun, didn’t you always have no interest in swordsmanship?
Why the sudden change of heart?
Which dojo did you apprentice at?”
“Shieikan of the Tennen Rishin-ryu.” This chapter is updated first at novelping.com.
“…I haven’t heard of either the style name or the dojo name.”
“It’s normal that Inotani-sensei hasn’t heard of it; after all, it’s a relatively obscure style.
As for why I suddenly wanted to learn swordsmanship, I’ll tell you slowly when we have time later.
What about you two?
Did you and Ushiyama-sensei spend your holiday anywhere yesterday?”
“Hmph hmph!” Inotani showed a proud expression, gave himself a thumbs-up with his right hand, and said proudly, “We two spent the whole day yesterday in the pleasure quarter!”
“Ah, I knew it…” Aoto chuckled helplessly.
“There’s no helping it.” Ushiyama, who had been silent until now, interjected, “After all, Inotani and I only have this hobby.”
“If I remember correctly—Arima-sama just lectured you two a while ago, telling you to restrain yourselves…” Aoto showed a helpless expression, “If Arima-sama scolds you again later, I won’t speak up for you anymore, you know.”
Inotani and Ushiyama… these two colleagues of his, in a certain sense… were a pair of celebrities—celebrities in a certain circle in Edo.
These two brothers, whenever they had free time, would head straight to the pleasure quarter!
The two were much older than Aoto, who was only 18 this year; they were a generation older than Aoto.
Both exactly 32 years old this year, at such a young age, they had successfully achieved the feat of having their “active presence in every pleasure quarter in Edo”!
If it were just frequenting such places, it wouldn’t be enough to make them celebrities in that circle, after all, Edo had over a million people, and with such a large population base, Edo naturally didn’t lack people who wished they could live in the pleasure quarter twenty-four hours a day.
What truly made these two brothers famous was that they both possessed unique skills.
And the unique skills these two brothers possessed… well, they were truly extraordinary!
Inotani not only had a handsome face but also handsome fingers.
Despite having ten such beautiful, slender fingers, they possessed formidable explosive power and agility that were extremely mismatched with their appearance.
Inotani, with just his two hands, made countless women reluctant to leave him.
If Inotani possessed “physical skills,” then Ushiyama possessed “magical skills.”
Although Ushiyama had a simple, honest face like an ox and was usually quiet, in reality, he was quite eloquent.
All sorts of sweet talk that women loved to hear flowed from his mouth.
A few words could make a newly acquainted woman overjoyed, coaxing countless women to boldly declare: “No need for money tonight!
Customer, please help yourself!”
The two, each possessing these two great skills, were given nicknames in that circle—Golden Mouth and Silver Fingers.
Because the two had the same hobby, the brothers often went to the pleasure quarter together, and on every holiday, their figures could always be seen there.
People in that circle in Edo referred to these two, who were always inseparable, as the “Golden and Silver Brothers.”
Previously, these two had also invited “Kitsutachibana Aoto,” hoping to turn the “dynamic duo” directly into the “Three Musketeers of the Pleasure Quarter.”
However, because “Kitsutachibana Aoto” was a very honest and upright person, he always politely declined invitations to places like the pleasure quarter, so Inotani and Ushiyama’s every invitation was politely refused by “Kitsutachibana Aoto.”
The three of them chatted as they hurried to Arima’s office.
A moment later, they all stood before the door of their direct superior—Regular Town Patrol Yoriki Arima Hideyuki’s office.
“Arima-sama!” Inotani called out loudly towards the door, “Inotani Hanjirō, Ushiyama Masatsugu, Tachibana Aoto, reporting for duty!”
“Come in.” Arima’s voice sounded from behind the door.
“Excuse us!” Inotani slid open the door and entered first.
After the three entered one by one, they lined up in front of Arima.
Aoto: “Arima-sama, good morning.”
The three bowed and greeted Arima.
Arima’s office… was so clean and tidy that it was hard to imagine a human working in it.
The floors, walls, and ceiling were all spotless.
Books and files were all neatly categorized and arranged.
Arima was currently kneeling behind the desk, reviewing files, his back perfectly straight, forming a perfect 90-degree angle with the tatami mat beneath him.
But in terms of personality… compared to Arima, these two were truly insignificant.
Arima was… to put it nicely, eccentric; to put it bluntly, he had something wrong with his head.
Perhaps it was a matter of upbringing, but Arima’s values were like this: since he was a samurai, he must set a good example for commoners, never do anything that would violate the image of a samurai, he must act upright!
Sit properly!
Walk steadily!
His clothes and living quarters must always be neat and tidy!
So Arima’s back, whether sitting or standing, always formed a 90-degree angle with the ground.
His office, his clothes—always spotless and perfectly neat.
Aoto had never been to Arima’s house, otherwise, he would really want to see what Arima’s house was like.
His back always straight, his clothes and workplace always spotless—these were still within the realm of understanding.
But some of Arima’s other behaviors were truly perplexing.
For example: when Arima turned a corner, he would absolutely never turn at an angle other than 90 degrees.
When turning a street corner, Arima would first walk straight to the exact center of the intersection, then make a 90-degree turn to the street he wanted to go to, and then walk straight forward again.
Another example: Arima would never look sideways, no matter when.
Whether sitting, standing, or walking, Arima’s eyes would always look straight ahead, never allowing his gaze to tilt.
If his gaze accidentally tilted, he would show an extremely panicked expression, even breaking out in a cold sweat, like a monk who had accidentally broken a vow.
If he wanted to look at something beside him, he would turn his neck, not his eyeballs or his gaze.
Do you know owls?
An owl’s eyeballs cannot move.
Arima’s eyes happened to be very large, and he happened to be someone who blinked very infrequently.
So—when you were stared at by Arima, Arima would give you a strange feeling of “being stared at by an owl”!
And yet another example: when Arima ate, he would also bring food to his mouth at a 90-degree angle.
The specific operation was as follows: pick up the food with chopsticks, raise it directly in front of his face, and then deliver it straight into his mouth.
The trajectory of the food being raised to Arima’s face and then delivered into Arima’s mouth formed a perfect 90-degree right angle.
Arima drank water the same way, making a 90-degree angle to bring the cup to his lips.
So when Arima ate with a group of people, he was always the most striking one!
If you went to eat with Arima, you would see—a guy who, whether eating food or drinking soup, always ate at a peculiar angle…
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[Currently Available Information]
Arima Hideyuki: 27 years old
Ushiyama Masatsugu: 32 years old
Inotani Hanjirō: 32 years old
Tachibana Aoto: 18 years old
At first glance, their ages don’t seem to be very far apart, but in the Edo Period, Inotani and Ushiyama were old enough to be Aoto’s fathers.
After all, Japan at that time was still an ancient society, and it was not uncommon for people to marry at 13 or 14 and have children at 15.
Because ancient Japan practiced a hereditary system for officials, it was very normal for leaders to be much younger than their subordinates, and it was quite common for people to reach high positions in their twenties or thirties.
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