"Get out of the way! The truck transporting wooden planks is coming! If you don't want to be hit, get out of the way!"
…
It's now about 11 o'clock in the morning.
Because it was approaching noon, a scorching sun was already hanging high in the sky. The sunlight flowed across the sky and the earth, melting everything in its golden-red brilliance.
Since about the 6th, the weather around Osaka has become particularly good.
There is no longer continuous rain, and the sunshine is not harsh. Even the sun at noon does not feel hot at all when it hits the human body.
This kind of perfect weather, neither hot nor cold, is naturally a great benefit to the "Osaka reconstruction work" that has been in full swing in the past few days.
The Toyotomi Army's raid on Osaka nearly half a month ago caused Osaka to suffer extremely serious damage.
That night, fires broke out all over Osaka, lighting up the night as if it were day.
But fortunately among misfortunes - the night when the Toyotomi army attacked Toyotomi, it was a windless night.
Because there was no wind to help, the fire did not spread on a large scale.
According to post-disaster statistics - about 40% of the houses were burned down.
This number may seem scary at first glance, but compared with the disasters suffered by the large cities of the same level: Edo and Kyoto, this number seems a bit insignificant.
[Note: In 1657, Edo suffered the "Meiretsu Fire", two-thirds of Edo was reduced to ashes, and the "Tenmei Fire" in 1788 burned 80% of the buildings in Kyoto]
The citizens who had originally dispersed to various locations on the outskirts of Osaka to escape the attack of the Toyotomi Army and the might of Zhurong have now returned to Osaka one after another and begun to rebuild their homes.
In the past few days, in the streets and alleys of Osaka, the most heard words are the shouts of the town residents for the reconstruction of Osaka, and the most seen figures are the town residents running around to rebuild Osaka.
Busy figure.
The damage to Osaka as a whole was not particularly severe, but the government office in Osaka was severely damaged.
All official facilities in Osaka were originally the main targets of the Toyotomi Army.
The execution office, the prison, the Dojima rice market... all the facilities related to the government were devastated, leaving the officials who were transferred to organize the reconstruction of Osaka to stay in various simple and crude buildings these days.
Working in a broken house.
…
…
At this moment, in a large mansion located in an inconspicuous place in Osaka——
Gudong... Gudong... Gudong...
In the kitchen, when he heard that the miso soup had been boiled, Fuma quickly ran to the pot, opened the lid, took out a small bowl, spooned out some soup, and tasted the taste.
"Hmm..." Feng Mo frowned, "The taste seems a bit bland..."
"Lord Fuma, let me help you."
At this moment, Atachi's voice suddenly sounded from the kitchen door.
After so many days of recuperation, A-Machi has made great progress in both physical and mental state. His cheeks are glowing red again and his eyes are bright.
"Oh, it's Komachi." Fuma smiled at the sudden arrival of Omachi, "You came just in time."
"The taste of this miso soup is too bland. I plan to increase the firepower. Can you help me add more firewood to the stove?"
After saying that, Feng Mo smiled bitterly and hammered his waist.
"Although my back pain has been relieved a lot, I still feel extremely uncomfortable every time I bend down. I really can't bend down to add firewood to the stove."
Naturally, Amachi readily agreed to Fuma's request.
Amachi skillfully added firewood to the stove, then took out the bamboo tube used to blow air and supplied air to the stove.
After Fuma yelled "Okay," Atachi put down the bamboo tube in his hand, stood up, and looked at the kitchen, which he had not been to much since he was focusing on recuperation these days.
"This is the first time I have seen such a luxurious kitchen... It is indeed the mansion that Miss Lin rented for 5 taels of gold per month..."
After returning to Osaka from Kii, in order to provide everyone with an environment most suitable for healing, Lin once again used her money ability.
Through my own connections, I borrowed this secluded and luxurious mansion for a rent of 5 taels of gold per month.
These days, Ogata and others have been staying in this mansion to heal and recuperate.
While everyone was recuperating here, the wind demon spontaneously came to help.
These days, Feng Mo is mainly responsible for helping with cooking and making medicine.
Feng Mo's cooking skills are quite high, and the meals he cooks are praised by everyone.
Today's lunch was almost ready, and Fuma, who had nothing else to do except waiting for the miso soup to be cooked, started chatting with Atachi.
"Komachi, I heard that Genichi came to ask Asuki to help him buy a bottle of wine outside last night. Is this true?" Fuma asked.
"Yes, it's true." A-Machi smiled helplessly, "Last night, Mr. Genda quietly found A-Zhu and asked him to go outside and help him bring back a bottle of wine."
"But as soon as Mr. Gennai's front foot reached Azuki, Mamiya's back leg came and took Mr. Genda back again."
"Oh, that guy Genichi..." Feng Mo sighed softly, smiled bitterly and shook his head, "You are already so old, but you are still the same as when you were young. If you don't drink for a day, you will feel uncomfortable all over your body, and you have suffered so badly.
I’m injured, and I’m still thinking about drinking…”
"What do you know... I just want to drink a little bit of wine to satisfy my craving. If I just drink a little bit of wine, it won't have any negative impact on the recovery of the injury."
Genichi's voice suddenly sounded from behind Atachi and Fuma.
The two raised their eyebrows and turned to look back at the same time - Genichi, whose entire upper body was wrapped in thick linen, was holding the door frame of the kitchen door with both hands.
"Drink a little bit of wine?" Feng Mo raised the corner of his mouth with a hint of teasing, "You often told me this before: 'I only drink a little bit', 'I only drink one cup and then stop.'"
"But when was it not 'when you came back to your senses, you were already drinking heavily'?"
"Nonsense... In my mind, there were times when I only drank a little bit."
"Yes, maybe 1 or 2 times out of 100 times, miraculously, I only drink a little bit."
"Master Minamoto." At this time, A-Machi tilted his head towards Yuan, "Why are you here?"
Hearing Atachi's question, Genichi looked around him with vigilant eyes, then stepped into the kitchen slowly and cunningly.
"Ah-Machi." Genichi lowered his voice and asked softly in a cautious tone, "Is there any wine hidden in the kitchen? Sake, rice wine, any wine is fine."
After asking, Yuan Yi, whose eyes had many red bloodshot eyes, swallowed hard while scanning everything in the kitchen, his eyes shining with a fiery light like a beast.
"No." As soon as Yuan Yi finished speaking, Feng Mo immediately said bluntly, "Before you moved in here, Xiaolin had thoroughly 'inspected' the mansion to make sure that
There wasn’t a bottle of wine inside.”
"Tsk..." Yuan Yi smacked his lips vigorously, "Do you need to do it so thoroughly? Do you really not trust your uncle..."
As soon as Yuan Yi finished speaking, a young man's voice suddenly sounded from the door of the kitchen, which made him stunned.
"It's because she trusts you so much and knows that you will definitely be tempted to go looking for a drink that my lord cleared all the drinks in the mansion in advance."
"Mamiya..." Genichi turned his head and faced Mamiya, who was standing at the door of the kitchen, looking at him expressionlessly, with an expression as if he had eaten coptis.
Mamiya, who was almost uninjured, his main job these days is to monitor Genichi to prevent Genichi, who is still recovering from his injuries, from secretly drinking.
For this job, Mamiya performed it perfectly.
Whenever Genichi tried to get some wine in various ways, Mamiya could immediately "teleport" to Genichi and drag him back to the room.
"Okay, Mr. Gendai, let's go back quickly." Mamiya waved to Genda.
"Mamiya..." Genichi tried to figure out what to say.
But just as he had time to call out Mamiya's name, Mamiya immediately interrupted:
"It's useless even if you beg me. No matter what, I won't let you drink. Just give up on this idea."
"Come back to the room with me quickly. If you stay here for too long and the master finds out that you sneaked out to drink again, you will be scolded again."
"...Mamiya. I'm discovering more and more: you are really suitable for being a nanny..." Genichi, with his shoulders slumped, dragged his feet and dragged his body out of the kitchen, while smiling bitterly at Mamiya, "In the future
If Xiaolin has children of her own, I will definitely recommend you to be Xiaolin’s child’s nanny.”
"Then this is my honor." Mamiya smiled gracefully, "I quite like working with children and education."
"Okay, don't be so talkative. Come back to the room with me."
Genichi, with a slumped face, clung to Mamiya's butt like a duckling following a mother duck, and left the room that had become much happier because of their arrival.
kitchen.
After watching Mamiya and Genichi leave, Fuuma smiled helplessly at A-Machi:
"I really hope that Genichi won't do anything stupid again just for drinking."
Gudong... Gudong... Gudong...
The sound of soup boiling sounded again.
Feng Mo opened the lid of the pot, glanced at the color of the soup, and said quickly to Ating:
"Komachi, can you help me get the box of salt over there?"
"good."
Atachi helped Fuma, and worked together with Fuma to make lunch.
While making lunch with A-Machi, Fuuma seemed to have something on his mind and kept raising his eyes to look at A-Machi from time to time.
Atachi, who noticed Fuuma's gaze, said in confusion:
"Master Feng Mo, what's wrong? Do you have something to say to me?"
"Indeed... I have something I want to tell you." Fuma pursed his lips, hesitated for a moment, and sighed, "Komachi, I want to tell you about that Isshikika."
"Miss Isshiki?" Atachi raised his eyebrows as if he knew what Fuuma wanted to say to her.
"Komachi, I think you... should pay more attention to that Isshikika." When he mentioned the word "pay attention", Fuuma specially emphasized his tone.
"Look, the relationship between Ogata brother and that Isshikika seems to be quite good."
"Isshikika has come to take care of us every day these days... She mainly comes to take care of Ogata brother."
"I remember I heard you say that when we were fighting against Toyotomi's army in Osaka, Ogata did such an intimate act of holding Isshikika tightly in his arms while fighting with others."
"I see that you don't seem to care about Isshikika. You turn a blind eye to all the affectionate behaviors between Ogata brother and Isshikika... and you often talk and laugh with Isshikika."
"It's not that I doubt that Brother Ogata will abandon you and switch to the arms of other women."
Feng Mo sighed softly.
"I just...want to remind you that when faced with this kind of thing, you have to be more or less cautious."
As soon as Fuma finished speaking, A-Machi chuckled a few times.
"Lord Feng Mo, you are worrying too much."
Atachi smiled.
"I know best what kind of character A Yi is."
The smile on A-Machi's face had a bit of a weird look.
"About Ayi and Miss Isshiki... I have only worried about one thing from the beginning to the end: whether Ayi will say too much to others and hurt them..."
…
…
Another room——
"Ah ah ah ah ah--!"
Asai, who was lying on the bed, screamed like a slaughtering pig to Makimura, who was sitting next to him and applying medicine to his waist and abdomen.
"What is this?!" Asai gasped frantically, "Are you applying chili oil to my wound?!"
"Don't move." Makimura said to Asai expressionlessly, "This is a new medicine, it will slightly irritate the wound. Just bear with it."
Makimura, who also suffered no serious injuries in the decisive battle against Toyotomi, has been taking care of Asai and Shimada as his main job these days.
Although Makimura looks tall and thick, he is also a person who is both thick and thin. When it comes to taking care of people, he can be considered a good one.
Her gentle and meticulous care techniques would put some professional nannies to shame.
But - because he had worked as an errand in Kyoto before, he would show his selfless side from time to time, saying "pleases are useless".
After saying "bear with it" to Asai, Makimura once again grabbed a large ball of ointment and applied it on Asai's wound.
"Ah ah ah ah ah--!"
Shimada, who lived in the same room as Asai, looked at his roommate who kept howling like a slaughtering pig, and was extremely grateful that he had no wounds on his body that needed to be applied with this ointment.
"Um... Asai-senpai..." Shimada reminded in a low voice with a helpless expression, "Miss Hatsumi's room is next door. If you keep your voice down, it won't be good if you disturb others."
…
…
Next room--
"Ah ah ah ah ah……"
Listening to the constant sounds of slaughtering pigs coming from the next room, Chu Guang, who was lying on the bed with his eyes closed to rest, slowly opened his eyes.
——What's going on next door...
She frowned and cast doubtful glances at the wall adjacent to Asai and Shimada's room.
Wow...
At this moment, Chu Guang heard the sound of the door being opened.
Looking up - Azhu walked into the room cautiously, carrying a bowl of steaming medicinal soup.
"Ah." After seeing Chu Guang looking at her, Azhu looked delighted, "Are you awake?"
"Sorry." Chu Guang showed a polite and apologetic smile to Azhu, "I have troubled you to deliver medicine to me again..."
After saying that, Chuguang propped up the bed with his arms and slowly raised his upper body.
"Ah, do you want to get up?" Azhu walked a few steps quickly, put the potion in his hand on the table beside him, and helped Chu Guang up.
"Thank you..." Chu Guang showed an apologetic smile to A Zhu again.
If we were to say who among all the people was injured the most, it was definitely Chu Guang.
After returning to Osaka, Chu Guang was covered in wounds. Unfortunately, the wounds became inflamed and she developed a high fever.
In this era before the birth of antibiotics, wound inflammation is quite scary, with a very high fatality rate.
Throughout the ages, many heroes and heroes did not die on the battlefield, but died of inflammation of small wounds.
In order to treat Chu Guang, Lin invited all the famous doctors she could.
And wound inflammation is indeed a desperate disease in this era.
Chu Guang, who had been suffering from a high fever and was bedridden, fell into a coma for a time, which made the attending doctor shake his head and said, "Maybe he won't survive."
But fortunately - perhaps because Chuguang's physical fitness was good enough, or perhaps due to luck, Chuguang miraculously survived the infection.
Since 3 days ago, Chuguang's physical condition has improved a lot.
Yesterday, Chuguang's body temperature returned to normal and she was able to sit up and eat normally.
After being helped by Azuki to sit up, Chu Guang, who had not seen Shibata since just now, asked curiously:
"Did you see where Shibata is?"
"He is currently helping to clean the corridors of the mansion." Azuki responded with a smile, "He told me yesterday: Your recovery is possible because of the shelter, meals and doctors provided by Miss Kinoshita."
"So he will try his best to repay Miss Kinoshita and the others."
"Ha..." Chu Guang showed a look of helplessness and a bit of relief, and shook his head, "Want to repay... That's fine, let him do it."
"This is freshly made medicine." Azhu pointed to the medicinal soup next to him, "It's still a little hot. You can drink it after it cools down a bit."
After that, Azhu started to help Chu Guang tidy up her bedding.
Looking at Azuki, who has been taking care of her meticulously with Shibata these days, a complex look appeared on Chuguang's cheek.
"...That...thank you very much..."
Chu Guang once again showed an apologetic smile to A Zhu.
Seeing the smile on Chu Guang's face, A Zhu was stunned.
After a long while, Azhu slowly came back to his senses.
Smiling, while continuing to help Chu Guang tidy up the bedding, he said softly and casually:
"You don't need to be so polite to me."
"After all... we are sisters, aren't we?"
Just like dropping a stone into a calm lake, ripples rippled the surface of the lake.
Her beautiful eyes are wide open at first light, and her red lips are slightly opened.
Surprised, confused, delighted...
In Chu Guang's eyes, it seems that he can see all kinds of human emotions.
"The first time I saw you...I already recognized you."
Although Azhu tried her best to use a calm tone, her voice still trembled slightly uncontrollably.
"I am your sister after all."
"How can a sister not recognize her younger sister?"
"Although when I asked you to get to know me, you insisted that you didn't know me."
"But I am also convinced that I will never admit the wrong person."
"I firmly believe that you are my sister: Ajiu."
A Zhu's tone gradually became a bit lonely.
"My brain is not bright."
"I don't know why you said you don't know me when I asked you to get to know me."
"But I believe that - if my sister, who has always been smarter than me, does not have amnesia, she must have deliberately pretended not to know me for some important reason."
Having said this, A Zhu raised his eyes.
He cast a look mixed with complex emotions towards Chu Guang.
"...Before, because outsiders were often present, I never mentioned this matter to you."
"And now...it's just you and me left in the room."
"So, you can tell me: Do you...remember me?"
This time it was Azuki's eyes, flashing with various human emotions.
A Zhu's eyes shone with a hint of shrinking.
He looked like he wanted to hear Chu Guang's next answer, but he didn't dare to listen carefully.
call……
A gust of breeze blew from the window at this moment, blowing the hair between Azhu and Chuguang's temples.
Among the gently fluttering black hair, a hint of... a strange smile flew onto Chu Guang's cheeks.
"...No wonder...sister, you have been eager to give it a try since you entered the house just now, as if you had something to say to me."
"It turns out... it's because it's rare that Shibata is not with me, so I can come and question him properly..."
What the rest of Chu Guang's words were saying - A Zhu didn't hear clearly at all.
Because when he heard the word "sister", Ashu seemed to be frozen, his expression and movements all froze.
"I……"
Chu Guang opened his mouth and was about to say something else——
call!
A gust of wind hit her - A Zhu rushed towards Chu Guang, opened his arms, and hugged Chu Guang tightly...or rather, he hugged her sister: Ajiu.
Azhu rested her chin on Chuguang's shoulder so that Chuguang couldn't see Azhu's current expression.
But Chu Guang could see that A Zhu's two thin shoulders were trembling slightly.
In my ears, I heard a low sniffling sound.
Chu Guang, with a gentle smile on his face, raised his hands, gently hugged Azhu, and then patted Azuki's back with gentle movements like soothing a cat.
"I'm sorry... I've been pretending that I don't know you before. It must have made you feel uncomfortable..."
"Why..." Azhu's murmur floated on his shoulder, "Why do you pretend you don't know me...?"
"...Ever since Shibata and I decided to kill Yoshihisa and destroy Iga no Sato, my daily life has been to be cautious and walk on thin ice."
Chu Guang's expression showed a bit of helplessness, as if she was recalling some bad memory.
"My every word and deed not only affects my life and death, but also affects Shibata's safety."
"Sister, if it were you, what would you think after seeing that your long-lost sister seems to have a very close relationship with a group of unknown people with unknown purposes?"
"At that time, I didn't know Miss Kinoshita or Mr. Ogata or the others. I didn't know their identities or their purpose of opposing the Toyotomi clan. I didn't even know... whether the sister in front of me was still me. The sister I was familiar with before..."
"Under such a situation where I don't know anything...to rush to recognize you is irresponsible to me, and also irresponsible to Shibata who was also captured by Mr. Kinoshita Genichi and others at that time."
"It's okay for me to die, but I can't implicate the only... friend I have had since I joined Iga no Sato."
"So I pretended not to know you."
"Continue to observe and collect intelligence as an outsider for the time being."
Having said this, Chu Guang tightened her arms around A Zhu.
"Feel sorry……"
The gentle smile on Chu Guang's face slowly changed back to a smile full of apologies.
"So that's it..." Chu Guang heard the voice bursting into laughter, "Ajiu, you too...did you recognize me the first time you saw me?"
"...I am your sister." Chu Guang closed her eyes slightly and rested her chin on Ashu's shoulder like Ashu did, "Isn't it natural that you can recognize your sister?"
Hatsuko, who had seen countless storms in Iga no Sato, was far better physically and mentally than his peers, and didn't cry like a child like Azuki.
But the strength from her arms holding Azhu front and back silently declared that her heart at this moment was not as calm as her face showed.
"At that time...I thought you had lost your memory, so you didn't recognize me...I was also thinking about finding a way to restore your memory..."
"Sister, although your mind is not smart, your imagination is very rich."
The laughter of the two sisters spread to every corner of the room along with the sound of wind.
…
…
My eyelids felt a yellowish warmth.
After being abruptly awakened by the sunlight shining through the open window, Ogata slowly opened his eyes.
Opening his eyes, the first thing that caught Ogata's eyes was the open window on the left hand side and the beams of sunlight projected through the window.
What came into view after the window and the sunlight was a... hazy and beautiful figure kneeling on Ogata's right side.
"Ah, Master Ittousai, are you awake? Sorry, did I wake you up?"
This beautiful figure turned around and faced Ogata.
Because he had just woken up, Ogata's vision was still a little blurry and he blinked hard several times.
The beautiful shadow slowly condensed into a specific appearance - like a wind demon, Isshiki Hana has been spontaneously running to take care of everyone these days.
"It's Miss Isshiki..." Ogata slowly sat up from the bed, "No need to apologize, you didn't wake me up, I woke up naturally."
After saying that, Ogata turned his head and looked out the window.
"What time is it now?"
"It's almost noon." Isshikika said softly, "Ms. Atachi and Mr. Feng are cooking in the kitchen right now. We can have lunch in a little while."
"Did you sleep until noon again..." Ogata said with a wry smile while squeezing his neck, which was slightly stiff due to sleeping too much.
These days, Ogata's main way of recuperating is to sleep.
With the "power of immortality", he does not need to ask a doctor for treatment at all. As long as he rests every day, his body can recover quickly.
"How are you today?" Isshikika asked with concern.
"Yes. It's getting better every day." Ogata grasped his right hand a few times and the color had returned to normal skin color. "After another ten days of rest, it should be back to the original state."
These days, Ogata, who has been living a life of "sleeping until noon before getting up" every day, finally recovered from his extremely weak body due to entering the "Yaksha Realm" and the "Selfless Realm" at the same time.
Able to carry out simple daily activities.
"That's good..." Isiseka smiled softly, then straightened her face, "I really... thank you so much for saving my family."
After saying that, Isshikika bent down and bowed deeply to Ogata so that you could clearly see the back of her fair neck.
Looking carefully at Isekihana's face, you can see that her eyes are still a little red and swollen - they were swollen from crying after seeing her family return safely.
Because Isshikika was so excited and cried so hard at that time, her eyes have not fully recovered until now.
"These days, I really hear you thanking me every day." Ogata smiled helplessly, "No need to say thank you."
"To be honest, I didn't make much contribution to the rescue of your family."
"The person you should thank the most is Mr. Hasegawa."
After hearing this, Isshikihua sighed, and continued with a grimace: "Mr. Hasegawa left in such a hurry... I didn't even have time to express my gratitude to him, and I don't know if I will have time to express my gratitude to him in the future.
Woolen cloth……"
At the beginning, after he split with Ogata and others and led his subordinates and Naoshu Isshiki and others back to Osaka, Hasegawa did not leave immediately.
He asked his subordinates to return to Edo first and report that they were safe at the camp where the bandits had reformed. At the same time, he informed the Edo shogunate that an unknown enemy was planning to raid Edo by boat and strengthen the defense of Edo Bay and inside and outside Edo.
guard.
Hasegawa, on the other hand, stayed alone in Osaka, waiting for Ogata and others to return.
After seeing Ogata and others return, and knowing that the battleship had been destroyed and Toyotomi Nobhide had been executed, Hasegawa left with satisfaction.
Because Hasegawa left in a hurry at that time, Ogata did not have time to express his gratitude to Hasegawa who had given them a lot of help in the campaign against the Toyotomi clan. This made Ogata quite regretful.
"That's right." Isseyka's pleasant voice sounded again, "Grandpa told me: He wants to see you in person again later, and apologize once again for his despicable behavior of betraying you."
After saying this, a somewhat ashamed apology appeared on Isshikihua's eyebrows.
"No need." Ogata smiled freely, "I have already said it, right? The fault is not his, it is Toyotomi Nobhide's fault. Now that the culprit has been killed, let this matter just go by."
After Ogata and others returned to Osaka, Isshiki Naoshu, who had been brooding about his "betrayal", had him, his son, and daughter-in-law arrested by the Toyotomi clan, and brought him to the "Ogata Society"
He informed the Toyotomi clan of this important information about "when to go to Yuina to get the sword" and informed Ogata.
At that time, he directly said that he was willing to commit seppuku and even took out the knife. Fortunately, Amachi, who happened to be present at the time, stopped him in time.
Who forced Isshiki Naoshu to betray Ogata? It was the Toyotomi clan who kidnapped his family and used his family as a coercion.
In other words, the Toyotomi family is the one who should be held accountable.
Ogata, who didn't think there was any need for Isshiki Naoshu to commit seppuku, chose without hesitation - just let the matter pass.
Ogata didn't want to dwell on this somewhat heavy topic for too long. After looking around, he took the initiative to change the topic:
"Were you helping me clean the tatami just now?" Ogata looked at the bucket and rag placed next to Isshiki Hana.
"Yes." Isshikihua nodded gently with a gentle smile on her face again, "Because I saw that the tatami on the floor of your room was a little dirty, so I brought some water to scrub it."
"This is the first time I've done this kind of housework."
"Because we have servants at home, so from childhood onwards, these houseworks were basically done by the servants."
"I thought scrubbing the tatami would be easy, but it turned out to be surprisingly difficult. I accidentally got the entire tatami wet."
After saying that, Isshikihua lowered his head slightly and showed a shy smile.
This was the first time Ogata saw this kind of expression on Isshikika, who usually always had a straight face.
At this moment, wisps of soft sunlight, like light dust, hit Isshiki Hana's face from the window.
Isshikihua's originally fair skin was cast in a dreamy color under the sunlight.
Looking at Isshikika's beautiful smile, a smile appeared on Ogata's face involuntarily.
However... as soon as the smile flew onto Ogata's cheeks, his smile suddenly froze.
Immediately afterwards, this smile slowly turned into a strange expression.
The reason for such a drastic change in expression was all because... Ogata suddenly recalled something... an important event related to Isshikika.
"...Um, Miss Isshiki." Ogata's eyes flickered slightly.
"Huh?" Isshikika noticed the change in Ogata's expression and slowly put away her shy smile.
"I... have something important to tell you."
"important things?"
"Yes..." At this point, Ogata's voice suddenly stopped.
I saw a bit of hesitation between his eyebrows.
After a look of hesitation appeared on Ogata's face for a moment, Ogata took a deep breath and relied on "brute force" to suppress the hesitation between his eyebrows.
"That night...your reply to what I said." Ogata looked directly into Isshikika's eyes and said seriously.
Ogata said it very cryptically.
But even though it was so obscure, Isshikika still reacted immediately... What did Ogata mean by what he just said...
Looking at Ogata who was looking directly at her with a serious face, Isshikika's eyes widened slightly, and she stared blankly... at Ogata.
(Ittosai-sama...I like you.)
Even though so many days have passed...that night, Isshikika, who thought she was going to die with Ogata in the encirclement and suppression of Zuemon and others, what she said to Ogata, for Ogata,
The words still ring in my ears...
Lips... I can still recall the feeling of being covered with soft petals.
After Ogata and Isshikika both escaped from the encirclement and suppression by the Toyotomi army, the reason why Ogata did not immediately respond to what Isshikika said to him was because Toyotomi Nobuhide had not yet been killed at that time, and Ogata did not immediately respond to what Isshikika had said to him.
Fang doesn't have enough time to take care of other things.
However... after Toyotomi Nobuhide was executed and his corpse disappeared into the vast sea, Ogata still did not respond to Isshikika on this matter.
It wasn't because Ogata didn't care about Isshikika's confession that he ignored it.
Rather, it's the opposite - Ogata cared a lot about Isshikika's confession, so he didn't know what to do, so he just kept putting it off.
It has been... delayed until now...
Ogata even thought - just keep dragging it out like this, pretending that Isshikika's confession doesn't exist.
But as soon as this idea emerged in Ogata's mind, he dismissed it himself.
He really had no choice but to let the matter remain so unclear...
Now, Atachi and others are not in the room.
At this moment, there were only him and Isshikika.
There is no better time than now to deal with this matter...
Having made up his mind not to let this matter drag on like this, Ogata, who was now responding to Isshikika's confession, took a deep breath——
"Miss Isshiki, I like you very much too."
Ogata tried his best to smile at Isshikika.
"I like your beautiful face."
"I also like your strong character."
"but……"
Ogata's conversation has just changed——
"...Ittosai-sama."
Ogata felt a gentle touch coming from his lips - Isshikika raised the index finger of her right hand and pressed his lips.
"...Needless to say." Isshiki Hana drooped her head, so that Ogata could only see her hair, "The reason why I... said 'I like you' at that time was not because I wanted to get some reply from you.
.”
"It's not just to make you like me too."
"Just because... I want to say that to you."
"I opened my heart to you, and you knew my heart...that's enough."
"Ever since I met you, the bond between you and Miss Atachi... I have always seen it."
"Therefore, I know very well in my heart what the only answer you can give me is..."
"So... don't say anything else..."
"If I continue talking, I might cry."
Isshikika changed into a joking tone.
"If I cry, it will be difficult to coax me."
After saying that, Isshikika raised her head.
She showed Ogata an expression that... made people feel heartbroken and felt like they would cry at any time.
"Miss Isshiki..." Looking at Isshiki's expression, Ogata's brows gradually showed a bit of guilt and sadness.
"Ittosai-sama." Isshikika put away the finger that pressed Ogata's lips, "Can I...ask you a question?"
Isshikihua's voice began to tremble slightly.
She pretended to be strong, but her voice was still trembling just like her various emotions that could not be concealed.
"If... I could get to know you first, Miss Atachi, would you be willing to accept me as your wife?"
Ogata: "..."
Ogata, who was silent for a long time, calmed down all the emotions on his face, looked at Isshikika, and nodded firmly.
"Hahaha..." Isshiki Hana, who still had an expression that looked like she was about to cry at any moment, laughed happily, "That's it... thank you for choosing me... In this way, I have no regrets."
.”
After saying that, Isshikika leaned over Ogata and buried her face in Ogata's right shoulder.
"Lord Ittosai...can you allow me...to be willful for the last time?"
"Let me lean on you for a while...please..."
Ogata didn't reply.
He just continued to straighten his back silently... letting Isshikihua just lean into his arms.
"Lord Ittosai..."
A soft but firm lightness floated in my arms.
"I like you……"
Countless messages came from her body huddled in Ogata's arms.
Not just trembling, but other...countless things were passed into Ogata's body.
After a long time... a long time... Isshikika finally left Ogata's arms.
"It's almost time for lunch."
Isshikika's expression has returned to its original appearance.
She slowly stood up while smiling softly at Ogata.
"Master Ittousai, go wash up quickly and get ready to have lunch."
After saying that, Isshiki no longer lingered in the room, as if she was eager to leave this place, she quickly opened the door and left without looking back.
Ogata didn't chase Isshikika.
After watching Isshikika leave with complicated eyes, he closed his eyes and let out a long sigh...
After leaving Ogata's room, Isshikika did not leave the door immediately.
She stood outside the room, looking down at the index finger of her right hand that was used to press Ogata's lips just now.
In the spacious and deserted corridor, Isshiki Ka, who closed his eyes and lowered his head, slowly raised the index finger of his right hand and touched his lips.
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Ahhhhhhhhhhhh! The author feels so uncomfortable! (The leopard head cries.jpg)
If possible, the author really wants Isshikika and Ogata to be together qaq
But this is obviously impossible. The bond between Ogata and Amachi destined Isshikika to have the same position in Ogata's heart as Amachi...
The author is now thinking about whether to write an if extra chapter in which Ogata becomes a scumbag and marries both Amachi and Isshikika at the same time...