Although almost the entire hall was far away, at this moment, Fujita Goro seemed to be able to see the smile on the corner of the young girl's lips.

He quietly stepped back into the shadows in the corner behind him, his left hand pressed somewhat uncomfortably on the hilt of the knife on his left.

Of course, the Nakatsu Police Department knew that he was left-handed, but tonight even if he was disguised and lurking, if the saber was placed on the right side of his body in order to make it easier to draw the sword at any time, then everyone's attention would be attracted by this unusual position of the saber. Of course, the Nishino Police Department and the Nakatsu Police Department didn't want to see everyone cast their eyes on Goro Fujita, who should have been silently hidden in the crowd, because of this.

Therefore, if there is a commotion, his reaction speed must be faster than before, because there is one more left hand to pull the knife and then turn his hand to the tip of the knife forward, and he may lose the opportunity because of this

Speaking of "losing the opportunity", he remembered the night before, the young man with a clear voice, jumped down from the high eaves, stood in front of him, showed a sly smile, and said, "The moonlight tonight is so beautiful."

With just such a simple sentence, he snatched the opportunity to launch the offensive first from his hands.

Smart, cunning, and not bad, even if he is injured, he will not easily admit defeat in front of a strong opponent

All of these qualities are very much like a person.

He was just immersed in his thoughts for a moment, and the hall was already filled with the melodious music of violin and piano ensembles. Immediately, a man's voice was raised.

"Ladies and gentlemen," the man seemed to be reluctantly reciting a pre-written speech in his hand modeled on Western etiquette, speaking very slowly, and occasionally stumbling because he was not used to the way he was worded.

"Tonight is the engagement banquet between Inuko Michiji and Miss Ikuko, the daughter-in-law of the Kirino family, and I am deeply honored to have come to see it."

Fujita Goro stood in the corner of the hall, his gaze silently brushing over the face of the young girl who had just crossed the hall to look at him.

Is she the "Ikuko Kirino" lady?

The next moment, however, he saw something surprising.

As the dignified middle-aged man said the name "Miss Ikuko" again, two brand-new Western-style doors on one side of the hall were suddenly opened at the same time.

Behind the door, an expressionless girl in a gorgeous dress stood there. Almost at the same time, Fujita Goro noticed that the young man standing in the middle of the crowd seemed to stiffen, and his movements and postures seemed rather unnatural.

At this moment, the young girl who he had mistaken for "Ikuko Kirino" pushed the young man very naturally, then automatically released his arm, took two steps back and joined the crowd of applause beside him, and also applauded the young man with the same grace, and nodded to him encouragingly, signaling him to walk towards the two open doors to greet the expressionless girl.

The young man froze in place for a moment, but he still moved his steps slowly and walked slowly to the two large open Western-style doors, came to the expressionless girl, seemed to hesitate, bent one arm awkwardly, and stretched his arm towards the girl, the movement was very stiff and unnatural from beginning to end, as if he was a little overwhelmed, but he had to force himself to finish this scene, this is the feeling that came to the mind of Fujita Goro as a bystander.

Fortunately, although the girl was expressionless, she did not embarrass this young man who was about to become her fiancé. She also grabbed the young man's outstretched arm in a stiff gesture, and the two of them walked slowly together to the middle of the hall.

The people in the hall applauded enthusiastically, as if this pair were a perfect match made in heaven, and they could not see the strangeness and stiffness of their interaction with each other.

Fortunately, this kind of engagement banquet modeled on Western style is not too cumbersome. The two of them are now standing in the middle of the hall for people to watch, no, they are receiving everyone's congratulations and blessings. The young girl was expressionless throughout, and her overly upright demeanor was almost out of place with the long Western-style dress she was wearing, and the young man, who was slightly pale and gloomy, occasionally pulled the corners of his mouth and forced a smile, but he did not look at his fiancée beside him from beginning to end, but looked a little dazed and did not know where to look.

The marriage between these big shots, that's probably it.

Fujita Goro rarely thought of such an exclamation made by the Nakatsu Police Department on the way here today, and then his face became more serious.

The music began to play in the hall, and all the music was a tune that Goro Fujita had never heard before, probably Western music.

He noticed that the young girl who had just crossed the hall and looked at him was no longer where she was, to be exact, she seemed to have left the hall, and there was no sign of her anywhere.

Fujita Goro breathed a sigh of relief for some reason. The presence of that girl always made him feel a little inexplicably nervous, and this tension was completely subconscious, just like many years ago, when he was still in the Shinsengumi, his intuition always allowed him to be the first to detect the murderous intent or malice around him.

Of course, the girl's intentions towards him were by no means ill. His instincts told him so. However, the girl was still dangerous, because she was unaware of the undue attention she paid to him, and as a young girl who could show up with the young master of the master's house tonight, even if she was not the protagonist of the engagement, her identity was by no means simple, and the behavior of such a girl, who for no reason was to pay attention to a young soldier with a strange face in a hall full of dozens of people, was simply confusing.

Goro Fujita slowly straightened his back.

Can't be careless.

Even if it is no longer the era of crisis of the Shinsengumi, Saitoichi, who was the leader of the Shinsengumi Sanban group and the new government once tried his best to pursue it, even if he changes his name and lives like an ordinary person, it does not mean that he can really live such a peaceful life immediately.

There is still a huge shadow behind this seemingly peaceful life, and I don't know when it will open its hideous mouth, swallowing up all his efforts to survive so far.

The new government, which was controlled by the Sacho and others, said that it would pardon the crimes committed by the old shogunate and the "crimes" of the Shinsengumi members of the year, but none of the surviving names that were shiny on the list when it was compiled could be used again.

As he said at the beginning, he had fought desperately with Aizu with dignity, and in that place where the soul of the samurai had been inherited, he did his best as a samurai to fight the tide of the times.

He has a clear conscience.

So now, there is no need to waver for the sake of a name, or recklessly abandon this hard-won life for the sake of a name.

Because he made an agreement with a man to fight desperately, and then, desperately live.

The lights were brilliant, the foreign wine reflected in the glasses, the Western band played Western music, there were no more sake, shamisen, costumed geisha, no cherry blossoms, konpeito, and light shallot-colored haori, and the indoor lights drowned out the clear moonlight, and a couple of men and women in Western clothes crossed each other's waists and danced a Western dance that he could not understand

At this moment, a low, soft, feminine voice suddenly sounded in his ears.

"Hey, don't you have a dance partner?"

Goro Fujita

With his vigilance, even though there were many guests in the hall tonight, he didn't notice that there was someone next to him who took advantage of the crowd to get so close to him

His left hand, which was pressed on the hilt, subconsciously clenched his five fingers in an instant.

In the next second, a thin, soft, feminine hand spread its fingers and covered the back of his left hand, which held the hilt of the knife, and held it tightly.

There was a hint of a smile in his voice.

"I have no ill intentions, so don't be nervous. ”

Fujita Goro felt the woman approaching him from behind, and with this movement, she was close to him, her body pressed against the back of his left shoulder, and the soft snort brushed past his left ear, causing his back to stiffen immediately, and cold sweat slowly oozed from his back.

He heard his own voice ringing out, still as calm as ever, but there was a hint of rigidity, repulsion in it, which made his voice sound extraordinarily cold.

"I don't remember who approached me, what my intentions were. ”

The woman chuckled softly.

"Yes, but I know you. ”

It seemed that someone happened to pass by her at this time and accidentally bumped into her, Fujita Goro heard a very short and small body collision sound from beside him, and she let out a small "ah" exclamation in surprise, and then the next moment her body slammed against his left shoulder with the inertia of this collision, making him immediately gasp, and his back straightened as if he thought that by doing so, he could separate her without losing manners.

She laughed under her breath as if she thought it was funny.

"I know you. She said it again. This time, her voice was a little closer to his left ear.

"My knife is still in your hand, I can't not know you."

Goro Fujita