This is a story that happened at the beginning of this volume, when Ogata, Omachi, and Azuki had not even seen the Fuma in Kyoto.
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The third year of Kanzheng (1791 AD), March 26
In a small town in Owari
"Azhu, listen up."
In the hotel, Ogata took advantage of the gap when Atachi was pushed away by him, and continued to say sternly to Atachi:
"Tomorrow afternoon, I will ask you and Atachi to purchase various necessary supplies for the trip."
"I have done some research in advance. There are two commercial blocks in this town, the east and the west."
"Tomorrow afternoon, you two will be shopping in the 'Eastern Business District'. Don't come to the 'Western Business District'."
"If A-Machi plans to go to the 'Western Business District', you should try your best to stop her."
Azhu blinked twice in confusion:
"Master Ittousai, I understand the first half of what you said."
"But I can't quite understand the second half."
"Why can't Miss Atachi be allowed to go to the business district to the west?"
"Because I don't want Atachi to see me in the Western Business District." Ogata replied seriously.
"Tomorrow is A-Machi's birthday, so I plan to buy some gifts for A-Machi at the Western Business District tomorrow to give her a surprise."
"So I can't let her see me buying her a gift..."
When he heard the word "birthday", Azhu's eyes immediately lit up.
"Huh? Tomorrow is Ms. Atachi's birthday?"
"Yes." Ogata nodded, "Tomorrow, March 27th, is Omachi's 19th birthday."
"I see... I understand!" Azuki patted his chest and replied cheerfully, "Ittosai-sama, please feel free to leave it to me! Tomorrow afternoon I will do my best to stop Azuki.
Miss, head to the 'Western Business District'!"
"You can buy gifts in the 'Western Business District' with peace of mind!"
"Yes." Ogata nodded with satisfaction, "Then I'll leave it to you."
"Ittosai-sama is really kind to Miss Atachi." Tsukuru put his hands on his hips and praised sincerely, "If Miss Atachi knows that you treat her birthday with such care, she will definitely be very happy."
"As long as she doesn't dislike the gift I bought her," Ogata responded half-jokingly.
"Ittosai-sama, I've actually always been very curious." Tsukuru lowered his voice and asked Ogata in a tone as if he was discussing some important information that should not be divulged, "Ittosai-sama, how do you know Miss Atachi?"
Yes? How did you fall in love with her after that? Can you tell me? "
There was excitement and expectation in Azhu's tone.
Azhu is the kind of girl who rarely has contact with the opposite sex of her own age.
Throughout Azhu's short life, there is almost no trace of people of the same age and the opposite sex.
Lack of contact with members of the opposite sex of the same age, and at the same time being at an age where he is very sensitive and curious about things between men and women, Tsukuru has been curious about the love story between Ogata and Atachi for a long time.
"How did I meet and fall in love with Atachi?"
Ogata was stunned for a moment when he heard the question asked by Azuki.
Then... Ogata forced out a dry smile that was a bit embarrassing.
"Well..."
"How did you meet A-Machi? It's a long story. I'll tell you more slowly when I get the chance."
"As for how I fell in love with her...well...ahem..."
Ogata coughed a few times unnaturally and cleared his throat.
"This...actually there's nothing to say."
"Just by getting along with Amachi, I gradually became attracted to her strength and courage."
"Then one day, I found that the person I cared about most had unknowingly become her."
"Oh!" Azuki looked excited, "It means that Mr. Ittosai, you are attracted by Miss Atachi's character!"
"Yeah, yeah, that's right." Ogata nodded, "It's just that I was attracted by Atachi's inner self."
After saying that, Ogata waved his hand, showing a righteous and awe-inspiring look.
"Only the kind of vulgar man would fall in love with someone casually because of their big breasts, good-looking face and other random reasons."
"Azhu, you should pay more attention in the future."
"When looking for a man, you have to find someone like me who values the inner qualities of others."
"Oh..." Azhu nodded seriously, "Do you value others' inner qualities..."
"Well, that's right. Okay, Machi will be back soon, so please go back to your room."
Ogata, who didn't want to continue discussing this topic any longer, quickly raised his hand to dismiss Azuki.
"Master Ittousai, can you please allow me to say one more word?" Azuki raised his hands high, "What gift are you planning to buy for Miss Atachi tomorrow?"
"Huh?" Ogata was startled.
The man who just said very proudly that he wanted to buy a birthday gift for his wife... fell silent...
Looking at Ogata who fell silent, Azuki's lips twitched: "Ittosai-sama... Could it be that you haven't decided what to buy yet?"
"A few days ago, I started thinking about what to give to Amachi." Ogata hurriedly said, "But I can't think of anything to give to Amachi..."
"Wouldn't it be nice to give Ms. Atachi something she likes?" Asuki said in a matter-of-fact tone.
"A-Machi only likes firearms..."
"It's impossible that you don't like anything besides firearms, right? Master Ittousai, haven't Miss Atachi ever said before that besides firearms, you also like anything?"
Ogata: "..."
The young husband fell silent again.
"I did say that...but there's no way she can buy something like this."
"Ah? What is it? Why can't I buy it?"
"...For a kid like you, it's better not to know."
"Eh? Why?"
"I won't tell you. Okay, go back to your room quickly. A-Machi will be back soon. I will think about what gift I want to buy for A-Machi later."
After pushing Tsukuru away, a conversation that happened one night in the past was recalled in Ogata's mind uncontrollably...
…
(…Ayi.)
(what?)
(Compared to lying on my stomach...I really prefer sitting on you.)
(Let’s talk about this kind of thing tomorrow night... I’m so tired and want to sleep...)