“...... It's not like that!" Liu Quan shouted.

"Mr. Kondo...... How can it be wrong to be a person with great ambitions, and to assist such a person to become a person who will change this era and contribute to this country!" she said in an unquestioning manner in order to convince Hijikata as much as possible.

However, Hijikata completely ignored her persuasion. His back was sad and lonely, and there was intense pain in his tone.

"Huh...... Is this how I treat my lord......!!When something big happens, I only ignore the lord and leave him in danger......

His voice trembled, with obvious tears.

"Kondo-kun...... He has always said that he wants to be a loyal and good general like Emperor Guan Sheng...... Then I thought, when the time comes, I will be a loyal subordinate next to a loyal general, and watch him make great achievements...... But now, why should I obey his commands...... Without the general, my subordinates would be useless, right?!What is wrong-"

Liu Quan felt that he could not listen to it anymore.

“...... If there is anything wrong with that, then ...... It's also the fault of this era! This era is changing...... I can't tolerate the noble and beautiful things......! Those former bigwigs have long since begun to decay and cowardice in their own hearts......! However, as a samurai and a loyal subordinate, Mr. Kondo wanted to fulfill his responsibilities no matter what, and take on this qiē ...... for the lord and his subordinates...... Isn't this the best character of those famous generals from ancient times to the present?!"

I didn't want to say that. Because no amount of talk will actually help. But these words poured out of my heart like a tidal wave, and I couldn't stop it at all.

Hijikata's shoulders shook, as if he had finally listened to what she had to say.

However, after a moment of silence, when he spoke again, it was as if all his strength had been exhausted. The gloomy meaning revealed in his desolate and fragile back hit Liu Quan's heart in an instant.

"Take that guy ...... The dream of pushing that person to the top is the reason why I have been fighting for a long time......"

"As a result, I ...... I just abandoned him!!"

He roared suddenly, hoarse and high-pitched, as if his entire body had been torn apart by great remorse and grief.

"I ...... Isn't this the same as the general, who has given up people who should never be abandoned, and only survives by himself!!"

"Such a me...... What's the point of living in this world?!"

His voice shattered.

Standing behind the deputy chief of the demons, who had finally shown his vulnerable side, as if his previous strength was an illusion, Ryuzumi looked at his back, which was almost curled up in pain, and for some reason, his eyes moistened.

She suddenly felt that she could no longer stand so far away from him, watching this man suffer alone in agony.

Although she looked up to him with a heart that was much more complicated than in the previous two worlds, the hesitation and hesitation of those worries seemed to suddenly disappear at this moment. Liu Quan subconsciously took a step forward and rushed forward, regardless of it, he suddenly stopped from behind and hugged him.

Hijikata's back stiffened for a moment.

"It doesn't make sense to say anything...... Can't you see that your life doesn't belong to you anymore?!"

Liu Quan wrapped his arms around Hijikata's waist, his forehead rested on his back, and said vigorously word by word.

"The opportunity for you to live in this world is something that Mr. Kondo would rather give up than exchange it for. Because he has deeper expectations for you...... If you don't live well with such a person's expectations, you will be living up to Mr. Kondo's hard work!"

"If you're like this, you're really sorry for Mr. Kondo!"

"What was the reason why you and Mr. Kondo left Tama and went to Kyoto in the first place?!Isn't it because you want to prove that your background is not important, but your faith is important?!"

"Didn't you continue to live in order to fulfill Mr. Kondo's faith?!If you left Mr. Kondo, did you abandon his faith altogether?!Don't you want to continue?!Is this all you want to do with Mr. Kondo?!!Is this all you want to do with Mr. Kondo?!"

Contrary to the gentle gesture of hugging him, she spat out harsh words.

In fact...... Even if she said it so naturally, she knew that she was saying pretty things.

All he could do was say something beautiful - no matter what he did, he couldn't undo it, and no matter what he did, he couldn't really dispel the pain in his heart at the moment.

...... What can I do to support this man? like Kondo asked for earlier today?

"I'm sure Mr. Hijikata will figure it out. Just as Mr. Kondo is deeply convinced that Mr. Hijikata will understand. ”

Without warning, she softened her voice, and in the afterglow of the setting sun, the soft and beautiful voice sounded exceptionally serene and clear.

"Mr. Hijikata is the person that Mr. Kondo believes in the most. More trusted than anyone else in the world...... What he entrusts you with is what he thinks is more important than his own life—can't you really understand, Mr. Hijikata?!"

Hijikata was silent for a long time.

It wasn't until more than half of the setting sun had already set below the distant horizon that Liu Quan suddenly felt Hijikata's left hand slowly reach over and gently cover the hands she wrapped around his waist.

The tips of those fingers were cold, and they were still trembling slightly. The fingertips seemed to touch her hand cautiously, and then the whole hand gently covered the back of her hand, as if it didn't use any force, but it didn't move away.

Where she couldn't see, he slowly closed his eyes, his face drooping slightly, and the sides of his cheeks tensed into a tight line, as if he was trying to stand up straight while enduring great pain.

She stood still behind him, her forehead resting against his broad, solid back, her hands around his waist as if to support him gently.

The evening breeze blew from one end of the woods, and the air still smelled of blood, and the last rays of the setting sun fell gently on the two of them, outlining their silhouettes in orange-red warm lines.

On the other side of the horizon they were facing, the sun had completely set.

......

Later, after reuniting with Shimada and Saito, Hijikata decided to venture back to Edo and seek the help of the Shogunate's bigwigs, hoping that after their negotiations, intercessions, or exchange of interests, Kondo would be safely released.

Since the operation was secret and would be dangerous if the new government forces discovered their identities, Hijikata decided to sneak back to Edo alone, leaving Saito and Shimada and other cadres to lead the Shinsengumi.

However, as the acting leader of the Ichiban group, Yanagizumi strongly asked to go to Edo with him.

...... Of course, this request was eventually granted.

After arriving in Edo, Hijikata traveled every day to visit the people he could think of, who might be able to help Kondo get released safely. The important ministers of the shogunate, the people who were related to the high-ranking people of the shogunate or who could talk, he knew them, and he was not familiar with them...... No one is willing to let go, and they want to seize the slightest opportunity.

This desperate gesture made Yanagizumi, who had followed him to Edo, feel painful, but he couldn't show it.

She knew very well in her heart that all the efforts of the earth, running, pleading and lobbiing...... It's all useless.

No one was willing to help him. For the stormy and declining shogunate, since Satsuma, Choshu and their allies Tosa hated the shogunate who dared to murder Ryoma Sakamoto in the first place, what does it matter if they launch a Kondo to carry the black cauldron and delay a little time for themselves to survive.

The shogunate has reached the point where it will do whatever it takes, not morality, and even break its arms to survive. And Kondo is the arm that the shogunate intends to cut off.

But she could not stop the efforts of the earth. She could only put on a smile to thank and comfort him for his futile daily journey, as if she still believed that this method would work.

...... Speaking of which, why did he agree to her request to come to Edo with him in the first place?

His original order was for her to leave first, with Saito, Shimada, and the others, and as the cadres of the Shinsengumi, she reorganized the soldiers who escaped safely, and led the large army to continue to advance. But she didn't worry about him at the time - Kondo, who had just reluctantly regarded him as a brother and leader, and regarded him as one of his life goals, was ruthlessly left alone in a group of wolf-like enemies, and fled from the earthwork of the Kaneko Mansion on his own, although he did so in accordance with Kondo's death order, but this kind of action was tantamount to destroying his own three views and life aspirations, and if she let him go to Edo alone to run for Kondo's release, she would be destroyed by her own hands. What the collapsed spiritual world will do is really unimaginable.

So for the first time, she disobeyed his orders as deputy governor in public, and desperately demanded to come to Edo with him.

Although she was resolute, her reasoning at the time -- "If the deputy chief goes on the road alone, I will not be worried about the safety of the deputy chief in these turbulent times, and the Shinsengumi must not lose the deputy chief here again" -- was a very weak excuse. During the First Battle of Kofu, didn't the Turkish side leave the large army and go to ask for help on its own? Later, despite the defeat of the battle of Kofu, didn't Hijikata return safely?

...... However, perhaps because she didn't want the Shinsengumi to suddenly lose the director, as the deputy chief, she had a public dispute with the important cadres of the group and shook the morale of the sergeant, but Hijikata did not sternly refuse her to the end. After saying "No, you have to take responsibility for leading the Shinsengumi forward for the time being, along with Saito and Shimada", when she repeated his determination to follow him to Edo, he just sighed with an ugly face, and then, with a twisted expression, miraculously relented, and reluctantly agreed to her request.