"My lord."

Xuan An turned his head and said to Cang Yong behind him.

"Ogata-kun is recovering well from his injuries."

"It's so good that I even wonder if Ogata's army took some elixir."

"When I treated Ogata-kun's injuries from the God Sacrifice Competition, Ogata-kun's recovery speed was not astonishing."

"If nothing happens, Ogata-kun should be back to his original state soon."

"Okay." Cang Yong nodded gently, "Xuan An... thank you for your hard work."

After saying that, Kurunaga bowed solemnly to Xuan'an.

…

…

After sending Xuan An away, Kurunaga also asked Tobiru to leave temporarily.

He and Ogata were left alone in the room.

"Ogata-kun..." Looking at Ogata who was covered in injuries, Kuronaga sighed, "It's really...thank you for your hard work..."

After saying "Thank you for your hard work" to Ogata——

"thank you."

Then he thanked Ogata.

"My lord, there is no need to say these words." Ogata smiled, "I didn't risk my life to swing the sword just to get your thanks."

"By the way, how is Gennai Matsudaira?"

"...If I can't wait for you to come back, and I can't wait for my lord and the others to come out of the wild boar forest, I will ask Fei Yuan to go into the wild boar forest to find you."

"However... Fei Yuan found you who had passed out due to serious injuries, and... the lord who was stabbed with hundreds of knives and died tragically next to you."

"When Fei Yuan dragged the lord's body to me... to be honest, I didn't even recognize that this huge piece of meat with so many holes was the lord..."

"That's it..." Ogata said softly, "If that's the case... then I'm relieved."

"...Ogata-kun."

Kuronaga looked at Ogata with complicated eyes.

Then--

"...please...forgive me."

Suddenly he apologized to Ogata.

"I have...no way to protect you anymore."

"When your injuries heal, please leave Hirose Domain."

"If you continue to stay in Hirose Domain, it will only be a matter of time before the shogunate discovers that you are the murderer of my lord and arrests you."

"There is no way the shogunate will let me off as the mastermind behind this."

"I will also not let go of you who killed the lord and all his guards with your own sword."

"While the shogunate still doesn't know that the name of Hirose Domain has been assassinated by you, you should leave Hirose Domain as soon as possible and run away as far as you can."

"My lord..." Ogata said softly, "Matsudaira Gennai, all his bodyguards are dead, and now there is no one left alive... Even so, can the shogunate find out that it was me who killed Matsudaira Gennai?

"

Hearing Ogata's question, Kuronaga sighed softly.

"Ogata-kun..."

"The capabilities of the shogunate...are beyond our imagination..."

"The daimyo of a feudal clan has been assassinated...and the daimyo of a feudal clan has been assassinated. The shogunate will never sit idly by and ignore it."

"With the capabilities of the shogunate, it is easy for them to find out who is behind the scenes..."

"If nothing else... the shogunate can easily find out with just a few clicks that a merchant has recently sold me several pairs of chainmails and many good knives..."

"Then just move your fingers and you will find out that before my lord was assassinated, the Sakakibara Sword Hall was wiped out, and you were the only one left alive."

"And you happen to be a warrior whose swordsmanship is far superior to ordinary people."

"You automatically become the biggest suspect."

"Ogata-kun, think about what will happen if you stay in Hirose Domain..."

"You will be regarded as the biggest suspect by the shogunate, arrested, and then tortured..."

"So you can no longer stay in Hirose Domain no matter what..."

"From now on, it will be a while before the shogunate sends people to investigate the Hirose Domain."

"Ogata-kun, please seize this time and recover from your injuries quickly. Then leave Hirose Domain? Run as far as you can."

"The world is huge, just escape from Hirose Domain? Ogata-kun might still have a chance to survive..."

After listening to Kurunaga's words quietly, Ogata didn't show any strange expression on his face.

"That is to say... I have to become a ronin and wander around the world..."

Not only did there not appear any strange look, but there was also a bit of a smile on Ogata's face.

"If you want to be a ronin, just be a ronin."

"Being a ronin has the advantage of not having to do the boring job of a warehouse officer anymore."

"My lord? Let me ask you one more question - now that Matsudaira Gennai is dead? What will happen to the Hirose Domain in the future?"

"Right now, the shogun is busy working with Lao Zhong on the reform of the shogunate." Kuronaga said softly, "He is in a very busy state and has no time to devote too much energy to things other than reform."

"In addition, the 'Tianmei Great Famine' has just passed, and the world has finally regained some stability? In order to continue to maintain this rare stability? The shogunate has been deliberately reducing the number of ronin in recent years."

"In the past, when the lord was killed, the domain would often be removed, and all the retainers in the domain would certainly not escape the punishment of being demoted to ronin."

"And now the shogunate is focusing on the reform of the shogunate and in order to maintain the stability of the world? It is no longer possible to directly withdraw our Hirose Domain like before."

"So the Hirose Domain will definitely be retained by the shogunate, and nothing will happen to the innocent retainers in the domain."

"My lord has a cousin. The shogunate should make my lord's cousin the new daimyo of the Hirose Domain."

"Is my lord's cousin a courteous and courteous person? If he becomes the new daimyo of Hirose Domain, Hirose Domain may usher in a new atmosphere."

After listening to Kuronaga's words quietly, Ogata sighed:

"Won't it hurt innocent people... That's good..."

Speaking of this, Ogata suddenly paused.

After a long pause, Ogata continued:

"My lord...I have a heartfelt request."

"Please say."

"I have two friends in Hirose Domain? They run an izakaya."

"I worked as a guard at that izakaya for a while."

"When I leave Hirose Domain and the shogunate sends people to investigate? I'm worried that my two friends will be embarrassed by the shogunate because of their friendship with me."

"Besides - I have a lot of grudges with some people at the Ishikawa Sword Hall."

"After I leave Hirose Domain, I'm worried that those guys will take advantage of my absence to pour out their hatred and anger on my two friends."

"So - can you help me think of a way to protect my two friends?"

Upon hearing Ogata's request, Kuronaga was silent for a while, and then said:

"No problem. I'll go ask some friends from the feudal government later."

"These friends of mine are all holding high positions in the domain."

"I asked them to help take care of the izakaya you mentioned."

"Although the people in the shogunate are basically arrogant, they don't even deny face to some high-ranking officials in the domain."

"In order to give face to my friends, the shogunate will definitely ask your two friends for questioning, but they will not be too rude to your two friends."

"Because of the reputation of my friends, I might be extremely polite."

"At the same time - with the care of my friends, you don't have to worry about people from the Ishikawa Sword Hall looking for trouble with your two friends."

"Among the few friends of mine, there happens to be one who is responsible for all the power and unity in the domain."

"I asked him to set up a Tsuji ban in front of your friend's izakaya. This way, people from the Ishikawa Kenkan will not dare to trouble your two friends again."

"I can't thank you enough." Ogata Asakura Nagaga showed a grateful smile.

However - the grateful smile on Ogata's face did not last long, and he took it back again.

Ogata, who put away the smile on his face, looked at Kuranagi seriously, and then said seriously:
To be continued...