Cheongwon Snow Leaf ...... And the shadow behind her, her strange new skills that pop up from time to time that he didn't know, the qiē and qiē, seemed to imply that she was not an ordinary woman, but perhaps a cunzi that he couldn't fully understand.

Now, he didn't want to ask why she was, and how she had retained such astonishing calmness and foresight in so many things. Because for him, none of the things she did endangered Shinsengumi or him, but she had been trying to support him and maintain him all the time—and that was enough.

In retrospect, he probably subconsciously thought that she was a woman who seemed to be mentally strong enough to stand alone in the world without the help of a man.

So when he finally made up his mind to drive her away, he was convinced.

Even when she wasn't with him, she was able to live well. ...... It must be like this. She is a woman who does not need to be attached to men, and she is a rare woman in this world.

But she still chased after her. All his entanglements, contradictions, and struggles can't defeat her tenacious spirit at all......

“...... Because, as long as I get close to Mr. Hijikata, I can become stronger. He heard her voice ringing in his ears, and for a moment it coincided with what he was thinking.

"So please let me stay with Mr. Hijikata. In this way, I can continue to get courage from Mr. Hijikata. Because he looked surprised for a moment, and did not answer immediately, she added this sentence as if she was a little uneasy.

How long has it been since I left Goryokaku? Bentendaiba has fallen?

The old shogunate will surrender to the new government army. The Republic of Ezo is probably about to die.

The same may be true of the Shinsengumi.

The Chengzi banner will fall one day, so what about their deputy chief?

"Mr. Hijikata...... Can you please live?" She finally confided in her long-hidden greatest wish - and goal with difficulty.

She had never dared to say that. Because such wayward thoughts will anger him. Even if he weren't angry, he would probably be very troubled by it.

However, in order to achieve this goal, they have lost many companions and friends. Wasn't she repeating this goal in her heart over and over again every time she parted with tears, telling herself that any sacrifice was acceptable in order to achieve it?

In order to achieve this goal, she has become a rakshasa and has paid such a huge price, and it is her failure to let him die again.

She must not allow failure.

Fail...... It's ugly. Same as Rakshasa. It's the same with death.

How many of these ugly things have they faced together so far?

So...... No more - refuse it when you can......!

He was silent and did not speak for a long time.

I still want to go to Bentendaiba to have a look...... see how many of the companions left behind by the Shinsengumi are still alive, and see if the Shinsengumi Shoji Banner has fallen......

Can't you promise her a ...... before you determine that qiē?

But...... What if it's decided?

Would he have tied his life to the Shinsengumi...... and wouldn't it be enough to stop his determination even if he had already paid such a big price?!

The wound on the left lower abdomen seemed to be completely painless.

It's the power of the rakshasa that works.

“...... The new government forces seem to have gambled on the direction of Mt. Hakodate. ”

Hijikata suddenly said to himself.

"Their superiority in strength is actually overwhelming......" His gaze retracted from afar, and the arm hugging her body tightened slightly unconsciously.

"Now I'm coming out of Golenggo again to find your whereabouts...... No way...... There's no way anyone can send any more backup to Bentendaiba. And, even if I want to...... Now, there are no reinforcements to send out. ”

There was a touch of pain in his voice.

"Maybe it's because of this that I broke my oath and ran out of Wulengguo to find you without permission...... Because I already knew in my heart that the Shinsengumi had disappeared, I ...... I can't lose you again, can I......?"

There was a childlike blankness in his tone. This tone hurt Liu Quan's heart.

But at this time, she couldn't make decisions for him without authorization, saying sentences like "go to Bentendaiba" or "go to Goryokaku".

Because this decision must be made by himself.

What she could do for him was actually nothing anymore.

The poison of the water was still eating away at every inch of her body, making her hot and cold, and painful in many places.

But she couldn't show weakness at such a time.

Although what she is doing may be to forcibly tie him to her side with her own weakness, compared with heroically dying for her ideals, she survives secretly, and spends a life of resentment and regret like this-

She thought to herself as if laughing at herself in her heart, sure enough, this method of subduing the target of the raider with gentleness and weakness - this kind of nirvana of the heroine in the otome game, is really easy to use? Even if it is used by a cannon fodder female partner like her who is not likable, maybe it will have a miraculous effect? Look, isn't the deputy chief already shaken up a lot now?!

Hijikata was silent for a long time.

Liu Quan was passively hugged by him like this, his ears and cheeks pressed against his chest, quietly listening to his somewhat fast heartbeat.

It's because it's hard to calm down after all.,It's hard to let go of either side between the Shinsengumi and her.。

“...... We, back to Wulengguo. ”

Finally, he whispered his answer after a long thought.

“...... Mr. Hijikata!?"

Liu Quan couldn't believe his ears for a moment.

Her body, still eroded and tortured by the powerful poison of the water, was still extremely weak, so all she could make at the moment was a faint voice that was almost like a whisper.

Even that was enough to show her shock that he had chosen himself over Shinsengumi.

Hijikata's arm suddenly tightened, and after hugging her tightly, he slowly let go of his hand and lowered his head to take a closer look at her face.

“...... You can't do it on your own, can you? Riding a horse might be too bumpy...... I'll carry you, let's walk back slowly. ”

Liu Quan gasped.

...... from here Walk back to Wulengguo?!Moreover, you have to carry another big living person on your back?!Deputy Chief, how did your boyfriend's power soar from negative infinity to positive infinity since he arrived in Ezo, this painting style has changed a little fast, it's like a tornado......?!

"No...... I think I can take a break and move a little bit and ride a horse...... It shouldn't matter. She immediately politely declined his earlier offer.

Hijikata paused and smiled bitterly.

“...... It's good. Actually, it shouldn't matter when you go back...... After taking Bentendaiba, their next target should be Goryokaku...... Wulengguo won't last a few days, right...... Even if it is built into a defensible place, the army that has lost its faith will not be able to hold out for long, and it should be easily captured......"

He muttered, then stared at her haggard, bloodless face. His gaze was deep, as deep as if he could not see the dark pool at the bottom, making it impossible to see what was tumbling inside.

Liu Quan felt that he could not answer this inference, which sounded so correct.

Wulengguo is no longer safe-

Hakodate will fall soon.

The world is big, but if you want to live, where can you go?

"Perhaps, let them think I'm dead. That's the best. Hijikata said as if he had made up his mind.

"In this kind of place...... What kind of stray bullet can there be? I just refused to admit the fact that someone here wanted to kill me, and you were sending me to die instead......" he said gloomily, the expression on his face frozen like a mask.

"Is the one who wants to kill me an enemy, or is it one of my own?" he continued to mutter to himself, "to lay an ambush in this wood...... Did the enemy plan to ambush me in anticipation of my going to the rescue of the onslaught of Bentendaiba? Or ...... My own people don't want me to go to the rescue of Bentendaiba and hide here, and they want to stop me-"

His voice grew lower and lower, and finally disappeared into the night.

In fact, he himself should know that the attention of the enemies here is all in Bentendaiba, not to mention that if he wants to ambush, Enomoto or Otori, who have a higher status and more power here in the Ezo Republic, are also better choices than Hijikata, so why deliberately choose to kill Hijikata here?!

What? Why did you choose this place to ambush it, it means that the other party wants to be unfavorable to Hijikata and not Enomoto or Otori? Of course, this is because this is the only way to get to Bentendaiba? At this time, who else will rescue the Shinsengumi who are holding on to Bentenodaiba?!......

Liu Quan couldn't bear to listen to him draw more cruel and close to the truth of the inference, and reluctantly interrupted him.

"It's unnecessary to pursue this again...... Mr. Hijikata. ”

She tugged at Hijikata's sleeve, causing Hijikata's gaze, which had just drifted away from deep thought, to return to her face.

Just as after the return of Daimasei, the shogun left behind the shogunate army and the Shinsengumi and fled all the way back to Edo...... But even so, even the Shogun and his adults didn't care about the desperate battles that the Shinsengumi were fighting all the way to defend them...... However, hasn't the Shinsengumi been fighting to this day?"

Her voice was still weak, but it was undoubtedly better than when she had first drunk the water. In the approaching twilight, the sound of gunfire in the distance finally fell silent, and in addition to the sound of insects, it was her soft and quiet voice.