About an hour later——
"I said it feels like it's getting hotter and hotter! It turns out it's already this hour!"
Makimura looked up at the sky and took off his haori from his upper body.
The pale yellow sun had just emerged from behind a thin white cloud and was about to reach the highest point in the sky.
The weak beam of light struggled to penetrate the layers of cold fog and weakly hit the streets and alleys of Edo.
Compared with the coldness of winter, the warmth of the sun is nothing to mention, but it still makes the temperature in the air rise slightly.
"Hahaha! It would be better if the temperature gets higher! I don't like too cold weather!"
After saying that, Makimura held up the bottle of wine that he had already lost count of, and took another long gulp.
When Qingdeng saw this, he couldn't help but twitch the corner of his mouth.
He strongly suspected that Makimura had the talent of "Drunkard +9" in his body.
Although Kiryu very considerately prepared squid, fried beans and other snacks to go with the drink, Makimura barely touched these snacks and kept drinking.
Except for a moment's pause due to his sparring with Ayoto, Makimura never stopped drinking, and he kept drinking without stopping.
The temperature of the water above cannot be said to be very high, but if you pour so much wine into your stomach in one breath, your stomach will be bloated and uncomfortable even if you are not drunk, right?
However, Makimura's face was only slightly red and his belly was slightly bloated, and everything else was as normal.
The consciousness is clear, the words are clear, and there is no trace of drunkenness in the speech and behavior.
——What a great drinker... Mr. Makimura must be the kind of person who can "survive" to the end in various banquet scenes...
Qingdeng thought to himself.
At the same time, his mind couldn't help but recall the scene on New Year's Eve a few days ago when he accidentally drank a piece of wine.
"Well... Mr. Makimura... I'm sorry... I can't drink anymore..."
Kinoshita Mai said "hum" and let out a cute wine burp.
Kinoshita Mai's drinking capacity is very average, and she will start to blush after just a few glasses of ordinary sake.
At this moment, Kinoshita Mai looked slightly drunk, and her pretty and cute face was dyed a deep red.
Ayoto has always liked the way Kinoshita Mai blushes, so he thinks Kinoshita Mai's current drunken state is particularly cute.
"Hahaha! Young Master, your drinking capacity needs to be improved! Well, since Young Master can't drink anymore... Kiryu, Tachibana, the three of us will continue drinking!"
The sound of the wine bottle being opened, accompanied by Makimura's laughter, echoed in the courtyard and lingered for a long time.
Looking at Makimura, who felt like he could still drink for a whole day and a night, bits of embarrassment gradually appeared on Qingto's cheeks.
He looked up at the sky and thought: It's almost afternoon...
Qingto didn't forget his promise with Mai Kinoshita because he was enjoying drinking: he would go out with her this afternoon.
Based on Makimura's heroic personality and his ability to drink a thousand cups without getting drunk, I always felt that even if I drank with him until the sun went down, he would still be full of energy.
Should you continue drinking with this old-timer, or should you keep your promise and go out with Mai Kinoshita?
For Qingdeng, this was a question that did not require even a second of thought.
I, Ju Qingden, have always kept my promise! Whatever I promise to others, I will try my best to do it to perfection! So, how can I break my promise to Ah Wu?
After shouting in his heart with an extremely determined tone, Qingdeng paused for a moment, then changed to a tone as if he was whispering, and gently added in his heart:
It's definitely not because I'm horny, and it's definitely not because I want to go out with the girl I like more than drinking with my grandpa...
With this thought, Qingdeng began to think about how to use appropriate and polite words to reject this drinking party that he didn't know when it would end.
At the same time, he unconsciously glanced sideways at Mai Kinoshita beside him.
Coincidentally, as if she had a telepathic connection, Kinoshita Mai also turned to look at Aoto at the same time.
Affected by her shy personality, Kinoshita Mai is not good at making eye contact with others.
The moment her eyes met Qingdeng's, she subconsciously dodged her eyes, trying to avoid them.
However, in just a blink of an eye, she relied on her strong will and fiery emotions to straighten her gaze again and look into Qingdeng's eyes without flinching.
It's nerve-wracking. If I continue to drink with Mr. Makimura like this, I'm afraid this afternoon's outing plan will be ruined. Kinoshita Mai said this to Aonto with her eyes and expression, while showing a shy and wry smile.
The eye contact between the two is very hidden.
However, this "silent communication" was still discovered by others.
And the discoverer was the person with the worst eyesight at the scene.
Kiryu looked at Aoto, then at Mai Kinoshita. His eyes hidden behind the lenses flickered slightly.
"...Makimura, I'm here to have a drink with you. As for Tachibana-kun, don't let him drink anymore."
Makimura: "Huh?"
Aoto, Kinoshita Mai and Makimura cast surprised glances at Kiryu with uniform movements.
"Old people have their own lives, and young people have their own lives. The weather is pretty good today. It would be a waste to not let young people go out to vent their energy on this beautiful day, but to trap them under the roof.
.”
After saying that, Kiryu looked at Aonto and Kinoshita Mai with a smile.
"If I guess correctly, you two have an appointment this afternoon, right?"
A word to wake up the dreamer. When Kiryu said this, Makimura suddenly showed an expression of enlightenment.
"Oh! That's it! What, Orange, if you have an appointment with the young master, you should tell it earlier! Hahaha!"
Kinoshita Mai's pretty face, which was already flushed with alcohol, suddenly turned even redder.
As Kiryu and Makimura finished speaking, she quickly pretended to be an ostrich with the speed of a conditioned reflex, burying her little face low.
Kiryu actually saw through everything... This feeling, as if the girl's parents caught him having sex with the other's daughter, made Qingto very embarrassed.
However, the embarrassment is only a temporary thing.
In just the blink of an eye, Qingden adjusted his emotions and gave the considerate Kiryu a grateful look.
…
…
Thanks to Kiryu's intervention, Aoto and Mai Kinoshita successfully escaped from the endless drinking game.
Kinoshita Mai changed her outfit.
The outermost layer of clothing worn on her body is still the exquisite red kimono given to her by her grandmother; inside the kimono are a few more scarves for cold protection; a pink scarf is wrapped around her pink neck; two
Her little feet were covered with white cotton socks; her whole body exuded the unique youthful atmosphere of a girl of her age.
"Qingdeng, let's go..."
Kinoshita Mai squeezed the belt of her kimono tightly while whispering like a breath.
A green smile appeared on her cute face.
Although Aoto and Mai Kinoshita have a great relationship, so far they have rarely gone on dates together.
Under the watch of Kiryu and Makimura, the figures of the young man and woman disappeared at the intersection outside Qianshi House.
The two old men returned to the verandah of the courtyard.
Without the company of Qingnobo and Kinoshita Mai, the place suddenly became deserted.
"Young Master... you have really grown up..."
Makimura's emotions turned into a deep sigh.
“The older I get, the more I feel that time flies by so fast.”
Makimura stretched out his hand and gestured to his thigh.
"I think back in those days, when my lord picked up the young mistress, the young mistress was only so big, like a kitten, and it seemed that she could be strangled to death with just a pinch."
"Unexpectedly... In just a blink of an eye, the young master has become a properly married girl. There is also someone he likes... I'm afraid it won't be long before we can see the young master wearing a white gown.
It looks good."
Kiryu joked:
"Makimura, you seem to be extra sentimental today."
"Sentimental? Hahaha! Maybe!" Makimura folded his arms on his chest, raised his head, and looked at the distant sky. "Being sentimental and remembering the past - these are the privileges of us immortals, aren't they?"
"That's right...that's true." Kiryu agreed.
Makimura continued:
"To be honest, I used to worry that the young master with a weak personality would be deceived by the rhetoric of an unreliable wanderer."
“He did things like ‘obsessively giving money and sex’, ‘desperately running away with others’ and so on.”
"Fortunately, this worry has not turned into reality. Overall, I am very satisfied with Tachibana. The last time I met such an outstanding hero... was on Butterfly Island 70 years ago."
"Seventy years ago...Butterfly Island..." Kiryu raised his eyebrows, "Do you mean...Ogata-kun?"
"Who else besides him?" Makimura grinned, "Ah, speaking of Ogata...Kuro, let me ask you something."
Since there were no outsiders around, Makimura changed his name for Kiryu back to the nickname he had called for decades: Kuro.
Kiryu: "Huh?"
"I also accidentally discovered it when I was sparring with Tachibana. Do you think Tachibana is similar to Ogata and Gendai?"
"..." Kiryu was silent for a moment, then nodded gently with a smile in his eyes, "I already discovered this before I took Tachibana-kun as my disciple."
Seeing that Kiryu had the same feelings as him, the smile on Makimura's face gradually grew.
"Haha! You and I really thought of each other! Even though at first glance, Tachibana, Ogata, and Genichi don't have any similarities in appearance or temperament, they just give people the inexplicable feeling that they are very similar.
a feeling of."
"Especially when Tachibana is fighting, he will occasionally show an intoxicated look as if he is addicted to 'swinging the sword'... He is exactly the same as Genichi!"
"Oh, Kuro, tell me: Will Tachibana grow into a great swordsman like Ogata and Gendai in the future?"
As soon as Makimura finished speaking, Kiryu said in a decisive tone without hesitation:
"No, I don't think so."
Before Makimura could respond, Kiryu continued uncontrollably:
"I think: Tachibana will surpass Ogata-kun and Gendai-san."
The tone revealed by Kiryu's words was so firm, like a sharp sword suddenly unsheathed, making the air around him chirp.
Makimura stared at Kiryu dumbfounded.
"Uh... what, Kuro, Tachibana's swordsmanship talent is indeed outstanding, but..."
Before Makimura finished speaking, he was interrupted by Kiryu.
"Makimura, you misunderstood. I didn't mean that Tachibana-kun's swordsmanship would surpass that of Ogata and Genichi."
"What I mean is: Tachibana-kun is expected to leave a mark in the history books that is even greater than that of Ogata-kun and Gendai."
Makimura raised his face, and his eyes buried in layers of wrinkles suddenly widened.
"Kuro, you, you..."
His tongue seemed to be knotted, and he muttered for a long time without spitting out a single word with specific content.
"Do you think I'm exaggerating?"
Kiryu asked in a joking tone.
Makimura nodded seriously.
"You may find it incredible, but what I just said comes from the bottom of my heart."
"I sincerely believe that Tachibana-kun's future identity and achievements are by no means limited to being a swordsman and kendo."
Kiryu filled the small porcelain cup in his hand with a full glass of wine.
"Makimura, have you heard the roar of the times?"
"Overseas, Western countries are watching with eager eyes."
"In the sea, the vassals of the Western Kingdom are ready to attack."
"At the same time, there are independent forces such as the Hoshino Party and the remnants of Oshio Heihachiro Party hidden under the undercurrent, making moves and making plans at the right time."
"I had doubts before. But now, I am convinced that the new Warring States Period is coming."
"War, Warring States...?!" Makimura was dumbfounded.
He originally wanted to say, "No matter how chaotic the current national situation is, it will not repeat the Warring States Period, right?" However, after seeing Kiryu's serious expression, combined with his understanding of Kiryu and what he had seen in recent years,
Smell... Makimura gradually suppressed the smile on his face and put on a focused look.
"Although the Edo shogunate is declining, it is still strong."
"According to my observation, the current shogun of the shogunate, Tokugawa Iemo, is a rare wise master."
"Outside, there are powerful lords such as Aizu Clan and Kuwana Clan who are fully supporting it; internally, there is a Ming Dynasty at the helm. It is not impossible for the Edo shogunate to achieve a renaissance and revive the glory of 'Mitsuha Aoi'."
"Everyone in the Western Kingdom has their own hidden agendas, but they cannot be underestimated."
"The Choshu Domain has extremely strong financial resources because it controls the Shimonoseki Strait. Moreover, the Choshu Domain has the deepest historical grudges with the Edo shogunate."
"The Satsuma Domain is very ambitious, and all the warriors within its territory are brave and good at fighting. The most important thing is that under the reforms of the former feudal lord Shimazu Shibin, the Satsuma Domain has completed basic industrialization and has iron smelting reverberatory furnaces and smelting furnaces.
Forges, steam engine manufacturing plants, shipyards, gun factories and other advanced industries."
"Under the auspices of Yoshida Toyo, the Tozuo clan also began reforms to eliminate family status, colonize industries, and enrich the country and strengthen the army."
"The Saga Domain continues to 'make a fortune in silence' as always. Before the 'Black Ship Incident' occurred, the Saga Domain had already conducted in-depth research on Western culture by relying on the favorable geographical advantage of having Nagasaki at its back.
And launched a large-scale Westernization construction. After decades of accumulation and precipitation, the Zuohe Domain now ranks among the best in medicine, industry, military, technology and many other aspects."
"Whether it is Choshu or Satsuma, whether it is Tozuo or Saga, it is impossible for any one of the Western vassals to shake the authority of the Edo shogunate."
"But if they join forces, the situation will be completely different."
"If Choshu, Satsuma and other feudal lords form an alliance to form the 'Western Kingdom Alliance'...then unless the Edo shogunate recruits Aizu clan, Kuwana clan and other supporters to form an 'Eastern Kingdom Alliance' that can confront it,
Otherwise, the Edo shogunate will be in danger."
"Makimura, I can assure you with all my heart: In the not-too-distant future, there will be a war between East and West Japan."
"By then, the Keihan area sandwiched between the Eastern Kingdom and the Western Kingdom will inevitably become a frontline battlefield for fierce confrontation between the two armies."
"Therefore, the place that determines the world today is not in Edo, but in Keihan."
"Kyoto...Osaka..." Makimura was speechless, "Isn't this the base of our Calabash House..."
"Yes." Kiryu smiled slightly, "So, Makimura, be prepared to be involved in a raging war in the future."
"Ha..." Makimura smiled bitterly, "'War'... it's such a scary term. I never thought that at my age, I could still expect to encounter such a big war sweeping the country..."
Kiryu laughed bitterly with Makimura for a while.
"Well, yes... for people like us who have experienced countless bloody storms, just saying the word 'war' already makes our teeth run cold."
"Times create heroes. Once the war between East and West Japan begins, countless heroes will surely take advantage of the situation."
"Makimura, you just met Aoto today, so you probably don't know anything yet. What makes Tachibana-kun so powerful is not only his superb swordsmanship, but also his extraordinary talent in swordsmanship."
"Oh?" Makimura straightened his back and said, "I would like to hear the details."
"Tachibana-kun...has a very strong attraction."
"Attraction?" Makimura leaned forward a little further.
"Well, yes. It's 'attraction'. Mr. Orange can attract people from all walks of life with various personalities."
"I, young master, are all attracted to him."
"With such terrifying power, Mr. Orange may be able to achieve brilliant achievements that will impress countless future generations in the coming era of great conflict."
"?!
"Makimura was so shocked that he couldn't speak.
For a time, countless names flashed through his mind: Minamoto Yoritomo, Takeda Shingen, Uesugi Kenshin, Mori Motonari, Oda Nobunaga, Toyotomi Hideyoshi, Tokugawa Ieyasu...
"Of course, all the above are my personal conjectures. No one can say for sure what will happen in the future. But what is certain is that in this new era of great change, every young person is expected to make a difference.
"
"And we, the remnants of the old era..."
Kiryu lowered his head and stared at the wine glass in his hand.
The clear water reflects an old face full of traces of time.
For a moment, the water surface shook slightly.
As the ripples rippled around, the reflection shattered like a mirror.
When the water surface returned to calm, the old face in the water had undergone subtle changes.
It adds a smile.
A smile with mixed emotions.
"For the new era, the swords of us old people... are really too blunt."
Kiryu slowly raised his head and looked straight ahead.
"No matter when, the back figures of young people walking forward are so dazzling that old people like me want to look away."
Kiryu's eyes seemed to be staring at the distant world, and there seemed to be some kind of depressed emotion hidden in the depths of his eyes.
This emotion can be interpreted as regret.
It can also be interpreted as unwillingness.
"...Kuro, you guy..." Makimura shook his head and said helplessly, "Where did you get the confidence just now to say that I am sentimental? You are obviously the most sentimental person, right?"
Kiryu didn't comment, just smiled indifferently.
"Okay, let's stop talking about young people and the new era."
Kiryu drank the glass of wine that he had held for a long time in one gulp.
"While the young master is away, let's talk about some serious business. Makimura, are you really sure you want to go to Yokohama?"
"Ah, of course I am sure." Makimura answered without even a trace of hesitation, "In Yokohama, there are signs of activities of members of the Execution Party - this is reliable information that I finally obtained in Tohoku. If I hadn't seen it in person in Yokohama,
Eyes, I can't accept it."
"...I understand." Kiryu nodded solemnly, "When do you plan to set off?"
"The reason why I'm staying in Edo right now is, on the one hand, I want to take a break after a long absence, and on the other hand, I want to take the opportunity to see what Tachibana Aoden, whose name I've heard about for a long time, looks like and what abilities he has."
"Now, these two goals have been achieved, so I don't plan to stay in Edo for a long time."
"If nothing else happens, I will set off in a few days."
Kiryu: "...Yokohama is very close to Edo. If you encounter any trouble that urgently needs help, don't be polite, just come to me."
"Don't worry!" Makimura looked up to the sky and laughed a few times, "Even if you don't say it, I will make this decision! Hahaha!"
…
…
In the next few days, Qingdeng's daily life returned to its previous rhythm.
Every day I go around the five places including the Imperial Guard Hall, Chishiya, Little Chiba Sword Hall, Western Residence, and Tsukinomiya Shrine.
For Qingdeng, this kind of busy but leisurely life is really very pleasant.
It’s so comfortable that I don’t want to let the New Year holiday end like this.
If there was anything noteworthy that happened in the past few days... it would probably be Makimura's departure.
Just two days after Ayoto and Makimura met for the first time, that is, on January 8, Makimura packed up his simple luggage, shouldered his Odachi, and set foot on the road leaving Edo alone with a free and easy pace.
Avenue.
Out of curiosity, Aoto asked Kiryu, Mai Kinoshita, and Makimura himself: Where is Mr. Makimura going?
Kinoshita Mai said bluntly "I don't know."
Kiryu and Makimura kept secret.
Since they didn't say anything, it was inconvenient for Qingdeng to ask further questions.
Time passes bit by bit.
In the blink of an eye...despite all the reluctance, the day to "get back to work" finally arrived.
…
…
In the second year of Wanyan (1861), early morning on January 10th——
Edo, somewhere——
"Haa~~"
Qingdeng yawned loudly while walking slowly on the way to the Huofu thieves' government office.
Suddenly, a familiar male voice came from behind:
"Oh? Tachibana-kun?"
Qingdeng turned around and looked back.
"My grandson..."
My grandson walked quickly toward Qingdeng, taking three steps at a time and walking side by side with Qingdeng.
After the two said "good morning" to each other, my grandson was the first to start the conversation:
"Tachibana-kun, I always seem to run into you on the street~~"
Qingdeng smiled and agreed:
"This shows that we are quite destined."
"Tachibana-kun, you look like you haven't had enough sleep. It seems like you had a pretty fulfilling vacation."
…
Nurturing chat content was filled between Qingdeng and my grandson.
Although what I talked about with my grandson were all about random things, having an extra companion to talk to made this boring journey to work less boring.
Unknowingly, the government office that had been reformed by Huo Fu Thieves appeared within the sight of Qingdeng and my grandson.
However, at this time, Qingdeng and my grandson discovered something abnormal in no particular order.
"What's going on..." Looking at the large group of officials gathered outside the gate of the government office, Qingdeng couldn't help but frown.
Just when Qingdeng wanted to get closer and ask what happened, this group of officials actually took the initiative to walk towards... no, they rushed towards Qingdeng!
Crash, lala, lala... The sound of dense footsteps surrounded Qingdeng on three levels and three levels outside.
"Ju Qingden, you came at the right time, we were just trying to find you."
A middle-aged man whom Qingdeng didn't know came out.
"Captain of the third division of Huo Fu Thief, Tachibana Aoden, you have been arrested, please follow us obediently!"
*******
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