“You little wretch!” one of the drunkards shouted.
“You injured someone, and you don’t even intend to apologize?”
The girl answered timidly, “B-but I only brushed against you by accident… Where are you even hurt?”
Crash!
The sound of shattering porcelain rang through the izakaya again.
One of the three drunkards snatched another sake bowl from the table and hurled it at the girl’s feet.
“Ah!”
She jumped in fright.
“You still dare talk back to us?”
* * *
Ogata did not know exactly what had led to this confrontation, but one thing was obvious: the three drunkards needed to be brought under control first.
O-Saki, the proprietress of Nagareya, had hurried inside carrying her lantern.
At the same time, Ogata strode toward the three men.
“Honored guests, please stop causing trouble,” he said calmly.
The moment he spoke, all three drunkards turned toward him.
“What business is it of—urk!”
One man started to curse, but the insult died in his throat when he noticed the uchigatana and wakizashi at Ogata’s waist.
These three were clearly not as intoxicated as the four men Ogata had encountered on the road.
They still recognized a samurai’s swords, and they still remembered how frightening an armed samurai could be.
The sight of the daishō sobered them considerably.
No longer in the mood to continue drinking, they hurriedly left payment for their sake, scrambled to their feet, and made for the door.
They had taken only a few steps when Ogata stopped them.
“The three of you—wait.”
All three shuddered.
With stiff necks, they slowly turned back and looked at him uneasily.
Ogata nodded toward the fragments of two sake bowls lying near the girl’s feet.
“You broke property belonging to this establishment. Don’t you intend to pay for it?”
“Y-yes, of course…”
The three drunkards searched through their pockets and pooled the coins they found.
They presented the money to Ogata with exaggerated respect.
Ogata accepted it and immediately showed the coins to the girl.
“Is this enough to buy two new sake bowls?”
The girl did not know who Ogata was or why he had suddenly come to their aid.
Though she had not yet recovered from her shock, she obediently counted the money in his hand.
“You heard her!” Ogata called.
“This isn’t enough to replace the bowls.”
“But…” One drunkard’s face crumpled miserably.
“We don’t have any more money.”
Ogata had no interest in listening to their excuses.
His left hand had rested beside the mouth of his saya.
Now his thumb pressed against the tsuba, pushing the uchigatana slightly free with a sharp click.
The instant that sound broke through the room, all three men spoke at once.
“We do! We do have more!”
“Ah! I just remembered—I still have some private savings!”
“Samurai-sama, please wait! We’ll gather the rest immediately!”
They rummaged frantically through their clothing again and finally produced several more coins, which they handed to Ogata.
He showed the additional money to the girl.
“How about now? Is the total enough to purchase three new sake bowls?”
“Yes.” The girl nodded obediently.
“It is enough.”
Ogata nodded and slid the small exposed section of his uchigatana back into its saya.
“Since the compensation is sufficient, I wish the three honored guests a safe journey home.”
The drunkards fled Nagareya as though they had received a pardon from the shogun himself.
Once they were gone, O-Saki—who had watched Ogata handle everything from the side—approached with an excited expression.
“Ogata-sama, that was magnificent!”
“I hardly did anything.” Ogata smiled.
“I merely showed them the swords at my waist and said a few words.”
“Hiring you to protect Nagareya was undoubtedly the right decision!”
“Um… Proprietress…”
The girl they had forgotten beside them spoke hesitantly.
“Who is this samurai-sama?”
“Oh! We became so absorbed in talking that I forgot to introduce you.” O-Saki gestured between them.
“Ogata-sama, this is the only waitress working at Nagareya—the girl I mentioned earlier. Her name is O-Fuku.”
Ogata had been too occupied with the drunkards to examine her closely before now.
She was remarkably petite.
Converted into the measurements of modern Earth, she stood only about 145 centimeters tall.
Looking directly into Ogata’s eyes required her to crane her neck.
Ogata himself was approximately 170 centimeters tall.
Because of diet and genetics, people in old Japan were generally short, making his height rather impressive in the Edo period.
During his two days in this era, Ogata had paid attention to the height of the people around him.
O-Fuku’s features were delicate and attractive, but she was painfully thin.
She appeared somewhat malnourished, as though a strong gust might blow her away.
After studying Ogata several times with her large, dark eyes, she bowed with impeccable courtesy.
“Good evening, samurai-sama. My name is O-Fuku.”
“Good evening.” Ogata hurriedly returned the bow.
“My family name is Ogata. I am Ogata Issei.”
After introducing himself, Ogata hesitated before asking, “O-Fuku-san, forgive me for asking something so personal, but how old are you?”
He was genuinely curious.
Judging from her appearance, her features had not fully matured, so she could not be very old.
“Me? My age?” O-Fuku pointed to herself.
“I am thirteen this year.”
Thirteen…
She was even younger than Ogata had expected.
He turned toward O-Saki with a helpless smile.
“O-Saki-san, you are employing child labor…”
“Child labor?” O-Saki looked utterly confused.
“What does that mean?”
“Ah…”
Realizing he had used a modern expression, Ogata waved a hand.
“It’s nothing. Please forget I said anything.”
After brushing the matter aside, he silently reflected on his mistake.
It seems I still need time to become fully accustomed to the customs of the Edo period.
The concept of “child labor” did not exist in this age.
Because average lifespans were short, children generally assumed adult responsibilities early—a pattern common throughout the ancient world.
In the Edo period, a fourteen-year-old girl was no longer necessarily regarded as a child.
She could already be treated as an adult, and many girls married at that age.
Some who married particularly early became wives at only twelve.
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