The time has slowly come to the end of March of the second year of the Meiji era.

It has long been reported that the new government army will send a fleet north. However, the Kaiyo Maru, the flagship of the old shogunate navy, had already run aground and sank during the raid on Ezo.

No, if the Kaiyang Pill is here, it may not help. Because I heard that in the fleet that went north this time, there were ships of a new type that were even newer than Kaiyo Maru.

Therefore, the cadres of the Goryokaku were anxious, and the Turkish army, as an army, was even busier in order to prepare for battle.

For several days, the air pressure inside and outside the entire Goryokaku was very low.

On that day, until late at night, various combat meetings and countermeasure meetings were held in Hijikata's room.

As the junior surname pursued by the Turkish Army rather than the acting leader of the Ichiban Group of the Shinsengumi, Liu Quan can only linger outside the door at the moment, fulfilling the responsibilities that a small surname should fulfill.

Sometimes she would go in and refill the tea. But at that time, he could always see Hijikata frowning, or thinking without saying a word, or looking at information or maps, at most, when Liu Quan was refilling the teacup at his hand, throwing an expressionless look at her, and then quickly returning to work.

Like his companions who drank the water and became a rakshasa and were overdrawing their lives to gain greater power, he tried to overdraw his own life in order to find a glimmer of life or more time for the old shogunate, which was already at the end of its rope.

His desperate appearance, even if he just stood by and watched silently, made people feel a pang of pain.

But Liu Quan knew that at this time, he couldn't actually help him.

The Ezo Republic is doomed, just as even Zhuge can't save Shu Han from the demise of Shu Han even if he is reincarnated. All she could do was to be on standby as much as possible in this desperate situation, to be vigilant and sober, trying to find an opportunity to save Hijikata's life.

Finally, in the middle of the night, the door opened.

Yanagizumi, who was sitting on a chair outside the door and was reading a book, immediately stood up, only to see that the first person to come out was Shimada.

When Shimada saw Willow Spring, he hesitated for a moment, but still stopped in front of her. Others streamed out from behind him.

When the men were gone, Shimada spoke.

"Kiyohara-kun, the meeting is over. ”

Yanagizumi nodded, smiled, and said, "You've worked hard, Shimada-kun! Today's meeting is so long, I'm going to get some snacks for Mr. Hijikata now—"

Shimada had a look of embarrassment on his face. "No, it's better not to do that now. ”

Liu Quan was stunned. "Why?"

Shimada paused. "At the meeting just now, a heated dispute broke out between the two sides with different opinions...... Hijikata-kun seems to be in a very bad mood. Now let him be alone for a moment. ”

Liu Quan was speechless for a moment.

Seeing her like this, Shimada seemed to hesitate again before lowering his voice and saying, "...... In addition, there has been a request that you be reinstated as the acting head of the Shinsengumi Ichiban Group, accept your appointment to a position in the Army, and participate in your current work. ”

Willow Springs' surprise.

"What......?!"

She used to be a woman disguised as a man to join the Shinsengumi, but now it doesn't seem to be a secret. Perhaps after she came to Ezo, there were still many people who couldn't see the truth that she was actually a woman, but it is not excluded that there are some smart people here who can see the secret behind her disguise - after she came to Ezo in a men's dress, she did not disguise herself as rigorously and vividly as she did when she participated in the Shinsengumi in Kyoto.

By simply wearing her long hair in a ponytail at the back of her head, changing into a men's dress, and speaking in a manly voice—she didn't even bother to deliberately lower her voice now, speaking in a deep voice—these little tricks seemed a little inadequate to dispel the doubts of some well-intentioned people. There will probably always be people who can't help but wonder why the former Shinsengumi Ichiban Group leader has grown into such an indistinguishable appearance.

Of course, no one dared to directly address the Army of the Republic of Ezo and ask such a reckless question with his little surname. However, the two parties don't know whether they are intentional or unintentional, as if they have no intention of carrying out the seamless disguise in the past to the end, and they don't seem to have any intention of deliberately covering up the perfunctory dress now, which really fuels more and more doubts and other derived ideas in the hearts of those who have a heart.

A few years ago, some of the biased or radical Shinsengumi members might have proposed to deal with Willow Springs with the Law of the Ingame, which did not stipulate the punishment for women disguised as men for joining the Shinsengumi. But now that the talent in Ezo is withering, and the Shinsengumi have suffered several large-scale defeats, the sacrifice of the capable cadres and the departure of the team, so the storage of Yanagizumi looks too conspicuous.

Someone must have thought that it would be a waste for a person like her, who grew up with the Shinsengumi and completed many difficult tasks, not to give advice in difficult times of war, nor to go into battle to kill the enemy, but only to follow Hijikata alone and serve as his nickname. At least Liu Quan's combat power is still very impressive, in addition to the previous swordsmanship, she can also use foreign guns. Such a person can be used as a gun to kill the enemy at least in a big war.

The Great War is coming. They finally couldn't hold their breath. Even if he can't directly ask Hijikata about whether his surname is male or female, he can still hide behind the mask of righteousness and speak in a high-sounding manner by asking Yanagiquan, a former important cadre of the Shinsengumi, to reappear and charge into battle at such an important moment.

Shimada saw from Yanagiquan's face that she had understood the meaning behind this tiyì, so he nodded to her and said comfortingly, "Hijikata-kun will not agree to such a request. Those people want you to die...... Even as Shinsengumi's companions, we must not agree to such a thing. ”

Liu Quan forced a smile.

"Thank you...... Shimada-kun, I appreciate your kindness. ”

Shimada looked at her with a worried look, then said nothing more and left.

Liu Quan looked at the door that had been carefully closed by the last person to leave, and took a deep breath.

"Mr. Hijikata...... I came in. ”

With that, she opened the door and walked into the room.

…… In an instant, she stopped.

Hijikata left his desk and was standing in front of the window. The two windows were wide open, and he leaned against the window frame, staring out with a stern expression.

The soles of Willow Spring's boots slammed against the wooden floor, making a crisp footstep sound. Even after hearing this, Hijikata did not look back for a while.

“…… I don't remember allowing you in. He said coldly.

"I'm sorry. Liu Quan apologized insincerely, "But I heard that the meeting is over...... I've got a snack in the kitchen, can I go get it now?"

Hijikata replied briefly and sternly, "No need, I'm not hungry." ”

…… What questions were on his mind right now: how to deal with the new government army that was about to cross the sea, or how to deal with the call for her to return to her man's clothes and accept her official position to join the army?

"Is there a ...... What can I do?" asked Willow Quan tentatively, staring at his displeased face.

“…… Nope!"

The earthwork rushed out of the mouth almost immediately. Then, for a moment, an expression of annoyance and bewilderment appeared on his face because the tone of this refusal was too blunt and rude.

But Liu Quan pursed his lips and smiled slightly.

“…… This shows that there really is something I can do. She said softly.

Hijikata suddenly turned his head and looked at her face.

“…… No. Yukiba, listen to me...... You don't have to go so far. There's really nothing you can do right now. …… I seem to have been angry with you just now, I'm sorry. ”

He seemed desperately trying to explain something, to clear up the so-called "misunderstanding" she had generated.

Liu Quan looked back at him, slowly walked around the desk, and walked in front of him.

His body language did not indicate any objection to her approach, just stood there quietly looking at her. But the closer she got to him, the more she could see the sorrow and anger floating in his deep eyes.

"It doesn't matter. She stopped a step in front of him and looked him in the eyes.

“…… Only, if there really isn't anything going on...... Why do you have that expression?" she asked, looking up.

Hijikata's hands were still folded in front of his chest, and his face had a tired look, and his eyes were solemn and sad.

"I'm just a little tired from the whole day's meetings......" he said as if refused, as if he was going to send her out at once.

"I think I should take a break......"

"Mr. Hijikata?" Liu Quan called out to him suddenly tentatively.

"You know that...... I'm willing to do anything for you, huh?" she said slowly, watching Hijikata's face slowly turn from initial shock to complexity.

“…… Deputy Chief. ”

“…… Take back that title just now!" Hijikata suddenly shouted.

"Now, right now!"

Liu Quan was stunned.

Her change of calling him "Deputy Chief" was actually a temptation, and now it seemed that her suspicions were fully confirmed.

Hijikata is worried, in addition to military affairs, there is also the mention of yì mentioned by Shimada.

However, his attitude illustrates a qiē. Compared with the overall situation of military affairs, he now wants to defend her more as a person-this realization makes her feel a warm feeling in her heart for some reason. She pursed her lips, a pleasant smile tugging at the corners of her lips.

…… It's no longer the time when he was in the brightly lit Shimahara, where he decided to leave her alone in the corner house where the crisis lurked behind him, and said, "She has enough skills to deal with those things on her own", is it?