Ogata now only feels... that he is in a dilemma that he doesn't know how to describe in words.
Ogata's rationality told him: At this time, something must be done quickly.
But now he just feels like his head is empty... he can't think of any good way to get out of this predicament.
He can neither move nor move now - especially with the palms of his hands raised.
Not only that, I don't even know what to say.
And Isshiki is now motionless, which makes it more difficult for Ogata to make a decision.
But fortunately - the savior who rescued Ogata and Isshiki from this embarrassing atmosphere appeared in time.
"Excuse me - is there anyone in there?"
A middle-aged male voice sounded outside the entrance and exit of the bathhouse.
This male voice that suddenly penetrated the ears of Kanata and Isshiki immediately woke them up from their chaotic state.
"Yes, someone is coming in." Isshiki said hurriedly, "But, can you block it for me?"
If an outsider sees a woman taking a bath in a men's bath, it may take a long time to explain.
Ogata instantly understood what Isshiki was worried about.
So after hearing Isshiki's stammering words, Oubon said "Okay" almost without hesitation, and then quickly put down the pair of heavy objects he was holding with both hands, turned around, and faced
The entrance and exit of the bath, sit back in the pool.
"You hide behind me."
Hearing Ogata's words, Isshiki immediately obeyed Ogata's words without any hesitation and hid behind him. Because Isshiki's body is smaller than Ogata's, it was more than enough to hide his body behind Ogata.
.
After the two of them finished this series of actions, the middle-aged male voice sounded again from outside the door at the entrance and exit of the bathhouse:
"Is there anyone in the bathtub?"
"There is someone!" Ogata replied, "Is something wrong?"
"Is it convenient for me to come in?"
"Please come in!"
As soon as Ogata finished speaking, the door at the entrance was slowly opened, and a middle-aged man about 40 years old, dressed as a male waiter, appeared in Ogata's field of vision.
The middle-aged male waiter quickly took a look at the situation in the bath, and then fixed his gaze on Ogata:
"My guest, are you the only one in the bath?"
——It seems that he didn't notice Isshiki...
While Ogata was thinking this in his heart, he replied calmly:
"Well, that's right, I'm the only one. What's wrong? Is it time for the bathhouse to close?"
Ogata had not forgotten that he did not have a human skin mask to cover his face, so in order to prevent the middle-aged male attendant from seeing his face clearly, Ogata lowered his head to make it difficult for the other party to see his face clearly due to the angle of view.
"Well, that's it." A look of shame appeared on the middle-aged male waiter's face, "The curtain at the entrance of the bathhouse was exchanged by someone."
"What was supposed to be a men's shower curtain became a women's shower curtain. What was supposed to be a women's shower curtain is now a men's shower curtain."
After hearing the words of the middle-aged male waiter, both Ogata and Isshiki, who was hiding behind Ogata, now widened their eyes in shock.
"You mean..." Ogata's expression became weird unconsciously, "Is this supposed to be a women's bath?"
The middle-aged male waiter nodded: "That's right. But fortunately - it's late at night, and not many people will come to take a bath anymore, so it didn't cause any big disaster."
"So it's... like this..." Ogata twitched the corner of his mouth involuntarily.
"Sir, do you want to continue taking a bath? If you want to continue taking a bath, please move to the real men's bath next door."
"...Can I continue to bathe here?" Ogata was silent for a moment, then said softly, "Your bathhouse should be closed soon. I'm too lazy to change places. I'll bathe here for a while and then leave.
."
Hearing what Ogata said, the middle-aged male waiter looked embarrassed.
But fortunately - after a moment of silence, the middle-aged male waiter nodded:
"...Okay then. Let's change the curtain back after the bathhouse is closed."
Seeing that the middle-aged male waiter agreed to let him stay here for a while, Ogata secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
Afterwards, the middle-aged male waiter said some clichés such as "Sorry for the inconvenience" and reminded Ogata that the bathhouse will be closed soon, so he should pay attention to the time, and then closed the entrance and exit of the bathhouse.
The door disappeared from Ogata's field of vision.
In the bathhouse, only Ogata and Isshiki were left again.
After confirming that the middle-aged male waiter had left and there was no one else outside the bathhouse door, Ogata tried his best to adjust his face, trying his best to look calm, and then slowly turned around.
In order not to see anything he shouldn't see, Ogata raised his gaze to look at the ceiling above his head.
"Um...can you walk now?"
"Barely...okay..."
"Then I'll put my back on you and leave here first..."
After saying that, Ogata turned his whole body and faced the east side of the bath.
After Ogata turned his body so that Isshiki's body could not be seen, Isshiki raised his gaze and cast it towards Ogata...with complex emotions mainly of annoyance and shyness.
She placed her hands on the heavy object that Ogata had just lifted.
The touch of Ogata's palm still lingers on her skin.
Feeling the touch that had not yet dissipated, the complex emotions in her eyes became even stronger.
Her lips moved, as if she was planning to say something to Ogata.
But in the end - she didn't say a word.
Silently, he crossed his hands to cover his chest and walked silently towards the bathtub without saying a word.
Probably because his head was still dizzy, and also because he wanted not to repeat the mistake of accidentally falling down just now, Isshiki walked very slowly.
Ogata didn't rush her and waited quietly.
The atmosphere between the two did not fall into a slightly awkward silence.
Because not long after, Ogata said to Isshiki with a ashamed face:
"I'm sorry...I accidentally entered the women's bath..."
"It's not your fault..." Isshiki responded softly, "The curtain was changed, and you are also one of the victims..."
Although Isshiki's understanding was obtained, Ogata did not relax at all.
Because there is another more serious thing waiting for him to apologize...
"I just... accidentally touched some places that I shouldn't have touched..." The shame on Ogata's face turned into embarrassment at a speed visible to the naked eye, "I'm really... very embarrassed..."
Because of the angle, Isshiki couldn't see the embarrassment on Ogata's face.
And Ogata couldn't see Isshiki's cheeks that were now slightly red.
"... You were also there to hold me up when I almost fell... Just pretend what happened just now never happened."
After saying this quickly in a tone that made it difficult to understand the emotion, Isshiki said nothing.
Isshiki actually wanted to scold Ogata loudly.
Although Ogata's intentions were good, the final result was still unacceptable to Isshiki.
Just now, it was the first time in her life that she had been treated so frivolously by a man—and a man she had only known for a short time.
To be honest, she is full of anger now.
And the strange thing is - she can't muster the slightest motivation to reprimand Ogata now...
"Thank you for your understanding..." Ogata showed a relieved expression.
"...In order not to cause you misunderstanding, let me explain..." Isshiki suddenly said slowly, "I dressed up as a man to make it easier to move around when I followed my grandfather to study. It was not for any special reason.
…”
Ogata nodded gently: "So that's it..."
Although in the Edo period, women could openly show their faces on the streets and work as restaurant waiters, the overall atmosphere in society was still one of male superiority and female inferiority.
This can be regarded as the normal state of this kind of feudal society.
In feudal society, due to various reasons such as productivity, men were basically superior to women. In a society where men were superior to women, it was much easier to do many things after dressing up as a man.
Wow…
Finally, after an unknown amount of time, Ogata heard the sound of splashing water coming from behind him - Isshiki's feet finally stepped out of the bathtub.
After Isshiki left the bath, the red glow that had been hanging on his cheeks expanded rapidly.
When she first soaked in the bath, because her whole body was surrounded by hot water, it gave Isshiki the feeling that something was covering her body.
But now after leaving the bath, there is nothing else around except air.
There was a man not far away who had just met him not long ago, but he was naked and exposed in the air. This was such a weird feeling that it made Isshiki's face turn red uncontrollably.
Isshiki made a simple assessment of her current physical condition - the distance from the bathhouse to the room where she and her grandfather lived was not very long. Although her head was still dizzy, it would be a problem to walk back.
Not big.
"...I'll leave first..." Isshiki turned his head and said slowly to Ogata, who still had his back to her, "Remember - what happened tonight will be treated as if it never happened. I will not mention it to outsiders.
Don’t tell anyone else what happened tonight.”
Ogata nodded vigorously: "Yes, I will."
After leaving these words, Isshiki once again moved his slightly heavy feet towards the entrance and exit of the bath.
But when he came to the entrance, Isshiki stopped.
She turned her head and looked at Ogata.
His eyes were still full of complex emotions.
After looking at Ogata deeply for a while, she finally withdrew her gaze and opened the door to the entrance and exit of the bath...
…
…
Isshiki quickly put on his goose-yellow kimono, supported the wall, and walked slowly back to the room.
Probably because it was already late at night, not only were there not a single guest in the corridor, but there were not a single hotel waiter in sight.
——So hard...
Isshiki originally thought that with his current physical condition, it wouldn't be a problem to walk back to the room.
But after putting it into practice, Isshiki discovered that her evaluation of her current physical condition seemed to be a bit overestimated.
It was okay at first and I could still keep my energy up, but the further I walked, the more dizzy and nauseous I felt.
When he was still more than half way from the room, Isshiki finally couldn't stand the dizziness in his head and the strong nausea that surged from his stomach. He held on to the wall and slowly squatted on the ground.
——Just... take a break... ugh... so disgusting...
Isshiki was squatting on the ground, panting, taking deep breaths, and rubbing her temples vigorously, trying to keep herself awake, but unfortunately, her actions had little effect.
However, at this moment, a male voice with obvious helplessness sounded from behind her:
"It's really too much to ask you to go back to your room alone... Can I carry you back?"
Isshiki's eyes widened and she looked behind her in surprise - standing behind her was Ogata, who was now fully dressed.
"Why are you... here...?"
"I always feel that in your current state, it is a bit too reluctant to go back to your room alone." Ogata squatted down so that his eyes were level with Isshiki, "So in order to avoid any accidents, I decided to follow you quietly."
"You look so ugly now. Are you feeling uncomfortable?"
Isshiki wanted to say, "My body is fine now. I just need to rest and get better, so you don't have to worry about me." But as soon as she opened her mouth, she felt a strong sense of nausea that made her frown.
She now felt that if she said a few more words, she would vomit tonight's dinner.
As the daughter of a samurai, she would not want to do such an indecent thing in the corridor of the hotel in front of outsiders.
Seeing that Isshiki couldn't even speak now, Ogata remained silent.
After a moment of silence, he helped Isshiki up without saying a word and held him behind him.
"I'll carry you back." Although Ogata's voice was soft, his tone showed a touch of determination, "Where is the place where you and your grandfather live? If you have difficulty speaking, just use your fingers to show me the way."
Seeing that Ogata was so tough and didn't even say hello to her, he helped her behind him. Isshiki's first reaction was to protest loudly, saying that he didn't need his help.
But... after his eyes met Ogata's eyes, for some reason, he had already thought of the words to reject Ogata's kindness, but he couldn't say anything.
After lying behind Ogata who was squatting on the ground for a while, Isshiki slowly stretched out his right index finger and pointed at the intersection ahead of him to turn right.
"Is that over there...Hold on tight, I'll walk a little slower. If you still feel uncomfortable, pinch the back of my neck, and I'll walk a little slower."
After that, Ogata picked up Isshiki on his back and walked slowly towards the place Isshiki just pointed at as slowly as a turtle crawling.
Lying on Ogata's back, Isshiki had a place to rest. At the same time, Ogata's speed was just right, which made the dizziness and nausea in Isshiki's head slowly lessen.
The dizziness and nausea dissipated, and a strange feeling of peace of mind came out.
Isshiki's head slowly lowered and rested on Ogata's left shoulder.
"...Thank you..." She struggled to hold back her dizziness and nausea and said with all her strength.
"You're welcome." Ogata responded softly, "I just did what I should do."
After the two sang and reconciled, they fell silent again.
But strangely, this silence did not exude embarrassment, but instead revealed a bit of tranquility.
…
…
"In front...the second room on the right is where I live...just send me here...if grandpa sees you coming back with me on your back...it's hard to explain...
"
Ogata looked towards the second room on the right in front - it was about 7 steps away, not too far away.
Hearing what Isshiki said, Ogata said stubbornly that he would send her to the door. After Isshiki's words fell, he obediently put down Isshiki behind him.
"Do you feel better? Can you walk the remaining steps?"
Isshiki nodded gently: "Well...at least...I can finally speak...there is no problem in walking the last few steps..."
Although I didn't lie on Ogata's back for a long time just now, I finally got a little rest.
"That's good..." Ogata nodded lightly, "In that case, let's say goodbye here. It's almost time for me to go back. If I delay it any longer, my family may worry about me."
"...Isshikihua."
"Um?"
"Isshikika—my real name." Isshiki looked directly into Ogata's eyes and said every word.
"Isshikika..." Ogata smiled, "It's really a good name. It sounds nice and also has a meaning."
There was no hint of compliment in Ogata's words.
The name "花" may be ordinary for a woman.
But when paired with the surname "Isshiki", the name instantly becomes a bit more poetic.
"At dawn tomorrow, my grandfather and I will leave here and return to Osaka." Isshiki continued, "After tonight, we may not have any chance to see each other again... so... take care of yourself..."
Isshiki now has no idea what he is talking about.
The lips and tongue moved on their own as if they had a will of their own.
He reported his real name without permission, and then told Ogata to take care of himself without permission.
When he came back to his senses, the words "Take care of yourself" had already been spoken.
After Ogata heard her words, he was stunned for a moment, and then slowly showed a smile:
"You too. Take care of yourself."
…
…
"Xiaohua, you're finally back... huh? What's wrong with you? Why do you look so ugly?"
As soon as Naoshu's eyes turned to Isshiki, who had finally returned, he was immediately startled - because Isshiki's face was now frighteningly white, as if he was sick.
"I'm fine." Isshiki said, "I'm just a little dizzy."
"Bubblehead?" Zhizhou said angrily, "Really, you are not young anymore, why are you still acting like a child...Huh? What's wrong? Why are you smiling? Did something good happen to you?
"
——Smiling?
Isshiki was stunned for a moment, and then he quickly raised his hand to touch his lips - the corners of his mouth were really turning up slightly.
She didn't even realize she was laughing.
She recalled, recalling when she subconsciously smiled.
Memories flash back.
In the end, it was fixed at the moment when Ogata smiled and said to her, "You too. Take care of yourself."
…
…
"Why did you take a shower so late tonight?" Amachi asked Ogata, who had just returned.
"Because I haven't taken a bath for a long time." Oufang said without changing his expression, "so I couldn't help but soak in the bathtub for a while longer."
Ogata promised Isshiki that everything that happened tonight would be treated as if it never happened.
For the first time, he felt lucky that he had the ability to lie without hesitation...
"Okay, let's get under the covers quickly." In order to prevent Amachi from questioning what he just said, Ogata took the initiative to change the topic, "We have to go on the road tomorrow morning."
Having said that, without waiting for Atachi to react, Ogata took the lead in taking out a set of futons and laying them on the tatami.
Atachi has always had unconditional trust in Ogata.
So after hearing what Ogata said, although I always felt that "soaking in the bathtub for a long time because I haven't taken a bath for a long time" was not something Ogata would do, I didn't ask any more questions and started to concentrate on paving the floor with Ogata.
bedding.
When the two of them worked together to lay down the bedding, Ogata's eyes accidentally glanced at Omachi's breasts, which were only covered by a thin layer of clothing.
Then, a certain memory that happened less than half an hour ago appeared in Ogata's mind...
Ogata, whose expression became strange, quickly looked away to prevent any strange memory fragments from appearing again...
…
…
At this moment——
Edo, inside a certain izakaya—
"Huha——!" Makimura put down a large bottle of empty sake, "How about it? Do you still want to compete with me?"
"I, I can't do it anymore..." Shimada, who was blushing like blood, put down the half-empty bottle of wine and burped loudly, "I can't drink any more."
"Humph." Makimura showed a proud expression, "If you want to compete with me in drinking capacity, you are still far behind."
"Shimada, stop drinking." Asai reminded at this time, "I don't want to carry you back like I did a few days ago."
Makimura, Shimada, and Asai are now sitting in the three corners of the wine table in the shape of a cross.
In recent days, in order to pass the boring time, Makimura and the others often drank in the izakaya for half the night and chatted for half the night.
"Speaking of which -" Asai continued, "We should be going back soon."
Asai did not participate in the "drinking competition" between Makimura and Shimada, and only drank silently, so unlike Makimura and Shimada, his whole face turned red, and his cheeks were only slightly red.
"It's still early." Makimura said as he opened a bottle of sake again, "Let's drink for a while."
"You guys really love drinking..." Asai said helplessly.
"That's wrong." Makimura grinned, "I don't like drinking, I like to drink in places like izakayas. Because when you drink in izakayas, you can often hear some interesting stories."
Makimura used his chopsticks to pick up fennel beans, which were used as drinks, and stuffed them into his mouth.
"When I was still in the army, I would often instruct my subordinates to hang out in places like izakayas. A lot of useful information could often be collected in places like izakayas."
"I only feel that a place like an izakaya is very noisy, and I have no other thoughts..." Asai let out a long sigh.
As soon as Asai finished speaking, a loud noise suddenly broke out from a large table some distance away from them:
"Wow! It's really fake!"
"Everything I said is true!"
"Is that person so powerful?"
…
"What are the people at that table doing..." Asai frowned and looked at the table surrounded by eight people, "It was so noisy all of a sudden... it scared me..."
"Okay, don't worry about this little thing." Makimura comforted, "Continue to drink."
"It seems that the appetizers are not enough." Shimada suddenly said at this time.
"Then let someone bring out a few more plates of fennel beans. Miss Aqian!" Makimura waved to a young girl who was cleaning the table not far away.
During this time, Makimura and the others often came to this izakaya, so after going back and forth, they became familiar with the people in this izakaya.
The young girl whom Makimura called "Miss Aqian" walked quickly with a plate: "You guys are really good at drinking... You have drank so much..."
"Because the wine you make here is good." Makimura chuckled, "It's just because the wine you make here is good, that's why we come to your place so frequently during this period."
"Mr. Makimura's mouth is as sweet as ever. What do you want? Appetizers, or a few more bottles of wine..."
Before A Qian could finish her words, a sudden burst of noise interrupted her - the source of this noise was the table that had just attracted the attention of Asai and others because of its excessive noise.
guest.
"What are the people at that table doing..." Asai frowned again, "Even in an izakaya, we can't be so noisy, right?"
"This is also the norm in our izakaya." Aqian looked helpless, "I have long been used to it. The guests at that table are also our regular guests, so we are too embarrassed to say anything more."
"What are they talking about...talking so loudly..." Makimura also became curious about the guests at the table.
"I don't know the specifics." Aqian shrugged, "But I just heard a little bit of their chat."
"They just seemed to be talking about the number one swordsman in Edo - Yamada Asaemon Fumaki, and the demon sword Chana that has been passed down from generation to generation in the Yamada Asaemon family."
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