Why was Kuronaga, the elder of the Hirose clan, so kind to him?
After the God Sacrifice Competition ended, Kuronaga came to Ogata in person, smiled and patted Ogata on the shoulder, praising Ogata's performance on the competition field just now.
Subsequently, Dr. Genyasu, who was one of the best in their Hirose domain in medical skills, was sent to treat Ogata.
Moreover, he paid all the expenses for Ogata's treatment out of his own pocket.
Not only that, Kuranaga also gave Ogata a paid leave - during the period of recuperation, he no longer had to go to the feudal hall to carry out his work as a treasurer, and during this period of recuperation, Ogata could still receive his salary, and Ogata would not be affected by it.
He worked less for a period of time and deducted Ogata's salary.
Ogata is puzzled that Kurunaga takes such good care of him.
Ogata dared to swear on his own life that he had absolutely no intersection with Kurunaga before.
Ogata couldn't understand why Kuronaga, who had never interacted with him before, showed favor to him in every possible way.
When Xuan An was treating Ogata on the first day, Ogata asked Xuan An his question.
However, the only answer Ogata got was Xuan An's vague answer.
Afterwards, Ogata kept asking Xuan An this question, explicitly or implicitly.
But no matter how Ogata asked, Xuanan kept his mouth tightly closed and refused to utter a word.
Ogata's treatment is now over.
For a long time in the future, Ogata felt that he would not be able to see Xuan An.
Ogata hesitated again and again, and definitely took advantage of this last opportunity to ask Xuan'an again the question that had troubled him for more than a month.
Originally, Ogata was already prepared to be perfunctory by Xuan An again.
But it didn't happen - Xuan An actually pursed his lips and fell silent after hearing Ogata's question.
And Ogata also followed Xuan An quietly in silence, waiting for Xuan An's answer.
After a while, Xuan An opened his lips and said quietly:
"...I actually don't know why Lord Kurunaga showed his kindness to you in every possible way."
"but I know--"
Xuan An changed the subject.
"There must be a reason for Mr. Kurunaga's kindness to you. And it's not an ordinary reason."
"I have known Mr. Kurunaga for a long time, so I have some understanding of his personality."
"Kurayaga-sama is a very determined person."
"No matter how great the difficulty is, Kuronaga will bite the bullet and face it head on."
"At the same time, he is also a... very cruel person."
"He will never waste time on useless people, people he is not interested in."
When Xuan An said this, he stopped talking and didn't go on.
Although Xuan An only said this, the amount of information contained in what he just said was enough for Ogata to slowly understand and digest.
"...Anyway, I told you everything I know."
Kerala.
Xuanan opened the door of the Ogata family.
"We have no time to wait, Ogata-kun."
bump.
The door of Ogata's house was closed.
In the dilapidated and small house, only the silent air remained to accompany Ogata.
"Forget it." Ogata sighed softly, "If all the goodwill Kuronaga gave me needs to be repaid... then let's wait until he comes to ask for a 'debt'..."
…
…
"It's almost time..."
Ogata looked at the sky outside the window and muttered.
At this time, Ogata was fully dressed.
Tonight, he will hold a banquet with his master and fellow apprentices. In order to match the banquet that Ogata has been waiting for for a long time, Ogata specially changed into the latest and cleanest clothes in his wardrobe.
My hair, body, etc. were also washed thoroughly.
Looking at the sky outside, Ogata kept hesitating whether to go out now or later.
At this moment, a strange shout suddenly sounded outside the door:
"Is Ogata Ise-kun at home?"
--Um?
Ogata frowned slightly and looked at the door of his room following the sound.
——Is it someone from the Ishikawa Sword Hall who came to take revenge on me...
Ogata quickly grabbed the knife placed beside him, and then tiptoed toward the door...
However, the person outside the door seemed to have a pair of clairvoyant eyes that could clearly see what Ogata was doing inside the room, and shouted:
"Ogata Ise-kun! Please don't worry! We are not from the Ishikawa Kenkan!"
——Not Ishikawa Kenkan?
Although the person outside the door said so, Ogata still did not relax his vigilance.
Although the people outside the house said so, Ogata would not let down his guard foolishly because of the one-sided words of the people outside the house.
Standing two steps behind the door, Ogata pulled out his katana and inserted the blade into the gap between the door and the door frame.
Because the door of Ogata's house is the most common sliding door, you can push the door open by pushing it to the right.
After inserting the blade into the gap between the door and the door frame, Ogata pushed horizontally to the right and opened the door.
The door opened, and two young samurai with extremely unfamiliar faces who had never seen them before appeared in Ogata's field of vision.
The hands of these two young warriors hung naturally at their sides, standing normally without drawing their swords or assuming any fighting posture.
No hostility - this is the current state of these two young samurai.
But Ogata still didn't let down his guard.
Ogata silently took two steps back, widened the distance between himself and the two young samurai, raised the sword in his hand, and used the sharp blade to separate himself from the two samurai.
"Are you Ogata Ise-kun?"
The leader of the two young warriors spoke up.
Although the sentence structure he used is that of a question, his tone is that of an affirmative sentence.
"That's right... I am. Who are you? Why are you looking for me suddenly?"
"We are the retainers of the family elder, Kurunagazaemon. We have taken the liberty to come here to invite you to come to my lord's residence."
"Kurayaga...Zaemon...?"
A look of surprise appeared on Ogata's face uncontrollably.
…
…
Hirose Domain, Sakakihara Sword Hall.
The Sakakihara Kenkan was quite busy at this time.
On the wooden floor of the dojo, there were enough tables to seat Hanbei and all the disciples of Sakakihara Kenkan.
Because it was almost the appointed time for the banquet to start, half of the people had already arrived at the dojo.
Those who came to the dojo in advance each performed their duties.
Some are responsible for placing drinks and food on the table.
Some are responsible for wiping certain areas on the floor that have not been wiped clean.
There are also some people who simply gather together and chat to pass the boring time.
Makino was one of those people who had nothing to do and was sitting around chatting with other fellow apprentices.
Makino and his senior brothers who were usually close to each other chatted about all the topics they could think of.
"By the way -" Makino said in a long tone, "I recently heard some very interesting news from a friend. Are you interested in knowing it?"
"News? Makino-senpai, what's the news?" The person who spoke was the youngest and latest junior disciple of their Sakakihara Sword Hall—Goro Sawamura, who is only 15 years old this year.