Chapter 384 One more level of personal level! [6000 words]
"Hasegawa-sama." Makimura frowned slightly, "Why did you suddenly mention Ittosai?"
While saying this, Makimura became slightly wary.
"...It's nothing." Hasegawa coughed softly a few times, "Anyway...I'll tell you more about this later..."
"Makimura, let's end the greetings here." Hasegawa adjusted his already upright posture to sit a little more upright, "I just heard what my subordinates said - you came to Humble House to talk to me.
Let’s talk about Division 6.”
"Did you kill my sixth division?"
As soon as Hasegawa finished speaking, Makimura quickly raised his hands, and then said with a wry smile:
"I didn't do it. It was my friend who did it."
"I have a very close friend who is currently working at the Shirobei Club."
"That sixth division of yours entered Yoshiwara tonight, saying it wanted to capture a villain named Ju Xiaoseng."
"However, Kiku-chan was not captured by your subordinates. Instead, he was captured by the officers of the Shirobei Club."
"Then the leader of your sixth division was unreasonable and wanted to take away Kiku-chan and the credit of the Shirobei Club. He also took the lead in using violence against the officials of the Shirobei Club."
"My friend couldn't bear it anymore, so he decided to use a simple but very effective method to calm down your subordinates."
"My friend knows that I know you, so he asked me to talk to you."
"That's the general story of what happened."
Makimura's eloquence was not very good, but he explained all the key points of the matter accurately.
As soon as Makimura finished speaking, Hasegawa frowned.
"You mean...my subordinates stole credit from the Shirobei Club? Makimura, can you tell me what happened in more detail?"
After Ogata asked Makimura to help him negotiate with Hasegawa, Ogata told Makimura the details of the conflict between Shirobei Club and Huosuke Thief Kai tonight.
After hearing Hasegawa's request to tell the details of what happened, Makimura cleared his throat and then began to explain what happened in more detail.
…
…
at the same time--
Ogata, who was waiting for the negotiation between Makimura and Hasegawa to end, was bored, so he opened his personal system interface and checked the experience points he had just gained after defeating the gang of officials in the Huofu Rogue Kai.
In the battle with the more than 20 fire-fighting thieves, because Ogata only used the Sakakibara Itto-ryu to fight against the enemy, only the Sakakibara One-sword style gained experience points.
The battle just now increased Ogata's personal level experience value by 1,750 points, and Sakakibara's Itto-style experience value increased by 1,600 points.
His personal level was directly raised by one level as a result, to level 33, and he gained 1 skill point.
For this 1 skill point, Ogata plans to temporarily save it.
Currently, Ogata has three skills that have been upgraded to the "Master Level": Sakakihara's Ichitou style's bird stab, and Muga's two-sword style's flow and blade counterattack.
Now that the two major offensive sword skills and one defensive skill have reached the "master level", Ogata's dodge ability seems a bit weak.
Ogata plans to save up 4 skill points and then upgrade the first step from "advanced" to "master level".
After checking the experience points he had just gained, Ogata closed his personal system interface.
As soon as he closed the personal system interface, Ogata's stomach made a soft "gurgling" sound.
"...I'm a little hungry."
Ogata raised his hand and touched his belly.
Perhaps it was because tonight he was catching thieves again, and he was also beating up the officials who were angry with the thieves, so Ogata's physical strength was somewhat exhausted.
At this moment, Ogata could clearly feel the fire of hunger burning in his belly.
Makimura didn't know how long the negotiation with Hasegawa would last, so Ogata planned to find something to eat nearby.
After leaving the alley where he was currently, and turning around an intersection, Oufon came to a fairly popular street.
According to Ogata's estimate, the current time is probably around 21:30 in the evening.
On modern Earth, nightlife has just begun at this point in time.
But in the Edo period, this time was already late at night.
However, even though it is late at night, Edo still retains its vitality.
It would be better to say that night is when Edo shows its other vitality.
At night, many people who have worked hard all day will call their friends and take them to have a drink together.
Some fierce people even go to the next one after drinking at one restaurant, and go to many izakayas along the way, drinking until dawn the next day.
One very important reason why Edo is still so vibrant at night is that many Edo people in this era were "Nikko tribe".
During the Edo period, three types of currency were in circulation: gold, silver, and copper.
To use a vivid analogy in the Chinese language of modern earth, there are three completely different types of currencies, the Japanese yen, the US dollar, and the euro, circulating in the market at the same time. All three currencies can be used to buy things.
The exchange rates of gold, silver, and copper, the three currencies popular in the market, fluctuate frequently.
In other words, the 10 cents you have on hand can still buy 2 pieces of sushi today, but after a while, you may only be able to buy 1 piece of sushi.
Because the currency value fluctuates greatly, there is no means of preserving value, and the character of the Edo people makes many Edo people choose to enjoy themselves immediately and not save money at all in order to prevent the money in their hands from depreciating in value in the future.
In addition, it is very popular in this era to work on the same day and get paid on the same day, so many young people with no family pressure spend everything tonight after receiving today's salary.
Hence the saying "Edo people don't spend overnight money" was born.
In other words - the reason why Edo's nights are so prosperous is thanks to the existence of these "Nikko tribe".
After turning onto this relatively popular street, Obelo saw two drunken samurai in front of him.
The two samurai's faces were as red as a layer of blood, as if half of the bones in their bodies had been removed, and they were "moving" forward bit by bit like two puddles of mud.
While "moving", the two warriors continued to speak nonsense.
"It is said that... Hiccup... the Lucia Kingdom... Hiccup... is going to send troops to capture the Ezo enemy..."
"Lucia country...? Which country is that?"
When other passers-by passed by these two warriors, they seemed to be avoiding some "giant filth" and stood far away from the two warriors, with their heads lowered, not daring to look at these two warriors.
A glance at a famous warrior.
The reason for doing this is also very simple - I am worried that these two drunk and mentally confused people will draw a knife to kill them for some inexplicable reason.
A drunken samurai drew his sword to kill someone for inexplicable reasons - this was a very common thing in this era.
So unknowingly, everyone has developed a consensus to stay away from those drunk samurai and not even look at them.
One of the philosophies that Ogata has always adhered to is to minimize unnecessary disputes and troubles - even though he just had a fight with more than 20 officials who were reformed by Huo Fu Thieves...
After staying away from the two drunk samurai like other passers-by, Ogata looked for small shops and stalls selling food.
After a while, Ogata found a wagashi shop that was still open.
After buying a few daifuku at random, Ogata carried these daifuku and turned back the way he came.
When turning back, Ogata saw a clothing store located on the street on the right.
It's a women's clothing store.
Because the door of this women's clothing store was open, Ogata could see the clothes sold in this clothing store at a glance.
Although Edo is a bit cool at night at this time of year, the heat filled in the air during the day, especially at noon, can still make Edo people clearly realize that summer is not yet complete.
Leave.
Because of this, the clothes sold in this clothing store are still summer clothes, and they have not yet changed into autumn clothes or winter clothes.
A middle-aged lady stood at the entrance of this clothing store, shouting and beckoning passers-by to come and visit her store.
After seeing Ogata passing by her shop and taking a few glances at her shop, the middle-aged lady immediately shouted to Ogata enthusiastically:
"Sir Samurai, do you want to come to my store and have a look? I have a new batch of special clothes here!"
"Sorry. I have temporary needs in this regard." Ogata smiled and refused in a polite tone.
If this clothing store sells autumn and winter clothes, Ogata would be very happy to go in and take a look.
After all, winter is approaching, and it's time to buy winter clothes for himself and A-Machi.
After seeing that this clothing store was still selling summer clothes, Oufang lost interest in going in and taking a look.
After politely declining the proprietress of this clothing store, Oufon continued to carry the few daifuku he had just bought, and continued to walk straight back to the unobtrusive alley where he had just been.
…
…
Edo, fire bandits changed their headquarters——
"…Then the people from Division 6 pushed my friend roughly, and once again used force against the official of the Shirobei Club."
"My friend couldn't bear it anymore and finally decided to let your subordinates quiet down for a while."
"But my friend still maintained considerable restraint and only used the back of the knife, and he was merciful. Otherwise, even if he used the back of the knife, some people would definitely be seriously injured."
After finishing speaking, Makimura picked up the tea cup next to him and drank the tea in large gulps to moisten his throat that was dry from talking too much.
When describing the specific events, Makimura told the truth.
The members of the Sixth Division of the Huo Fu Thieves Kai who were determined to steal the credit were the first to use violence. They pushed a certain official who was a member of the Huo Fu Thieves Kai - Gua Sheng, causing her face to be injured.
Then he used force on Makimura's friend, Ogata, and pushed Ogata.
The official officer who was changed by the fire thieves used violence against the people of the Shirobei Club twice in a row, and the Shirobei Club began to fight back.
Of course - Makimura still performed some "artistic processing".
For example: Gua Sheng’s injuries were exaggerated.
In Makimura's words, Guaou, who was pushed down by the fire bandits, covered his injured face while getting up with tears in his eyes - in short, it made the people at the Shirobei club very pitiful and weak.
And Makimura's "artistic processing" has had an effect.
After learning that his subordinates actually made a female servant of the Shirobei Club cry, Hasegawa's already deeply frowned frown deepened.
After Makimura finished speaking and drank tea to quench his thirst, Hasegawa said in a deep voice:
"Makimura, is everything you said true?"
"It's absolutely true." Makimura put down the tea cup in his hand and nodded vigorously. "There were many passers-by watching at the time. You can find many witnesses to support my words."
After Hasegawa was silent for a while, he quickly stood up and came to the door.
After opening the door in one breath, Hasegawa shouted outside the room:
"Yamazaki!"
As soon as Hasegawa finished speaking, Yamazaki, who had been waiting not far away, quickly ran to Hasegawa and knelt down on one knee, waiting for Hasegawa's instructions.
"Is Natori still recovering from his injuries?"
"Natori-kun, he just woke up."
"That's just right. You can bring your name and come over to me this time."
"yes!"
After accepting the order from Hasegawa without any hesitation, Yamazaki quickly narrowed the scope of Hasegawa's field of vision with neat steps that were inconsistent with his age, and finally disappeared.
Not long after, Yamazaki's figure appeared in Hasegawa's field of vision again and quickly grew in size.
Natori followed closely behind Yamazaki.
Natori, who was knocked unconscious by Ogata's blow, just woke up.
Because Ogata was merciful, Natori didn't have any other discomfort except for some redness and swelling at the place where he was hit.
As soon as he woke up, he learned from Yamazaki that Hasegawa was calling him over.
When he learned that Hasegawa was summoning him, an ominous premonition arose in Matori's mind.
After seeing Hasegawa and his calm face, Natori's ominous premonition became even stronger.
"Natori, come in with me. Yamazaki, get out first."
"Yes!" After bowing to Hasegawa, Yamazaki retreated to a position some distance away from the room.
As for Natori, he followed Hasegawa into the room cautiously.
Entering the room, Natori saw a strange, burly man.
"Natori."
Hasegawa sat cross-legged in front of Natori.
"Tonight you wanted to rob Ju Xiaoseng who was captured by the officers of the Shirobei Club, and then you took the lead in using violence against the officers of the Shirobei Club. Am I right?"
Upon hearing Hasegawa's question, Natori immediately answered quickly like a conditioned reflex:
"I don't."
As soon as Natori finished speaking, Hasegawa immediately said:
"Natori, if you insist that you did not steal the credit, I will personally investigate the incident that happened in Yoshiwara tonight."
After hearing Hasegawa's words, Natori's expression changed slightly.
"If I find out that you really did not steal the credit, then I will help you come forward and hold the servants of the Shirobei Club accountable for beating my subordinates."
"But if I find out that you did steal credit and you lied to me...you should know what the consequences will be, right?"
The candlelight emitted by the candle behind Hasegawa hit Hasegawa's body, making Hasegawa's shadow grow longer.
The shadow stretched by the candlelight was like a mountain pressing on Natori who stood in front of Hasegawa.
It is clear that Hasegawa is sitting and Natori is standing, but the atmosphere surrounding the two of them makes people feel that Hasegawa is standing and Natori is sitting, and it is Hasegawa who is looking down on Natori.
Under the pressure of Hasegawa's momentum, drops of cold sweat began to appear on Natori's forehead.
"Natori, I'll give you another chance."
"Answer me, did you take any credit tonight? Did you take the lead in using force against the official of the Shirobei Club?"
A strong look of struggle began to appear on Natori's face.
The hands hanging down naturally were clasped tightly.
After an unknown amount of time passed, Natori knelt down on the tatami in a doge-seat posture with a mournful face.
"Hasegawa-sama! I'm so sorry! I, I, I'm obsessed!"
"It's been a long time since our Sixth Division has caught a serious criminal."
"In order not to lose to the first team, second team, and fifth team who have repeatedly accomplished extraordinary feats, my subordinates and I worked hard to track Ju Xiaoseng!"
"My subordinates and I spent so much energy and time trying to catch Ju Xiaoseng, but in the end we were caught by the officers of the Shirobei Club."
"I felt very unwilling, so, so..."
"So you decided to rob the young monk Kiku who was captured so hard by the officers at the Shirobei Club?" Hasegawa answered the rest of Natori's unfinished words for Natori, "Natori, I don't need to tell you, you should also know about rape, right?"
Stealing the credit of other organizations and departments is absolutely not allowed."
"I'm really, really sorry! I was obsessed!"
While apologizing to Hasegawa at the loudest volume possible, Natori's mind was filled with confusion.
Tonight is actually not the first time that he has taken credit from other departments and organizations.
Natori has actually done this many times before, taking credit from other departments and organizations.
But the few times he did it before, Hasegawa didn't notice it.
One of the very important reasons is that the parts that Natori robbed were only small departments.
It is completely incomparable to the Huofu Thief Kai that he belongs to.
Because he shoulders the important task of catching vicious thieves and arsonists, Huofu Thief Kai has a high status.
There are countless privileges just by name.
Because the status of Huofu Thief Kai and these small departments are very different, and there is no overlap between them, even if the people in these small departments want to complain, it is extremely difficult for their complaints to reach Hasegawa's ears.
The reason why Natori took credit for robbing the Shirobei Club tonight was actually just to repeat the same old trick.
The Shirobei Club, which is only responsible for the management of Yoshiwara, is a small department and organization with little say.
Natori thought that he would be able to take credit from the Shirobei Club tonight as smoothly as before.
Unexpectedly, accidents happened one after another...
First, all members of his sixth division were killed by a little-known servant of the Shirobei Club.
And now Hasegawa discovered his behavior of stealing credit...
It had only been a little more than half an hour since his sixth division was wiped out. Even if Hasegawa learned that the sixth division was wiped out and went to Yoshihara himself to investigate what happened, he would never be able to do so in such a short period of time.
It was found out that the cause of the incident was that he was taking credit.
In other words - someone must have tipped off Hasegawa, so that Hasegawa could learn the truth of the matter in such a short period of time.
Just when Natori was thinking about who had the ability to "reach directly to heaven", he suddenly remembered that there was a strange strong man sitting in this room.
While pressing her forehead tightly against the tatami and apologizing loudly to Hasegawa, Natori used the corner of her eye to look at the strong man sitting not far away who was leisurely drinking tea.
——Is this the person who reported it to Lord Hasegawa... Who is this person? Is he an official from the Shirobei Club?
Just when Natori was guessing the identity of this strong man, Hasegawa's words reached Natori's ears again.
"...Natori, go down and get ready. Later, you will go to Yoshiwara with me to apologize to the people at the Shirobei Club."
"As for your punishment...I will give it to you later."
"Yes..." Natori was like a defeated rooster, his body seemed to have shrunk in size.
"Makimura." Hasegawa cast his eyes on Makimura next to him, "Where is your friend now? Is he in Yoshiwara now?"
"My subordinate pushed your friend, so I want to apologize to him in person."
"At the same time, I also want to see with my own eyes what kind of hero he is who can single-handedly wipe out all of my bandits and thieves."
"He..." Makimura, with a hint of joking on his face, shrugged, then casually said, "He is quite afraid of strangers, so he didn't come with me to see you."
"I'll slowly ask him later if he's interested in meeting you."
After hearing the conversation between Hasegawa and Makimura, Natori's face suddenly turned paler.
Later, more intense emotions called "frustration" and "fear" filled Natori's face.
Through the conversation between Hasegawa and Makimura just now, Natori finally understood everything...
He had roughly guessed what happened.
It must have been the guy who wiped out his entire sixth division with just one blow, and asked his friend, this strong man, to inform Hasegawa...
Although he could guess what happened, a bigger puzzlement emerged in Natori's mind.
He didn't understand why a seemingly ordinary young man working in a small place like Shirobei Club not only had such strong strength, but also had the means to get in touch with Hasegawa, who was a thief turned commander...
…
*******
*******
Continuing from the previous chapter, we continue to talk about women’s underwear in the Edo period.
As you can see from the picture I posted at the end of the last chapter, this "waist roll" is no different from a long skirt. Even if you wear a "waist roll", your lower body is still in a vacuum state.
Compared with white waist rolls, red waist rolls are more popular among women.
Please look at the picture on the right. The painting on the right depicts a woman wearing a red waistband→
The reason why red waist rolls are popular is that they can effectively prevent the waist rolls from being stained during the menstrual period, so that even if there are stains, they are not easily visible and have a certain concealing effect.