No...... Mr. Kondo, you don't know, the head secretary is actually not wrong, I was just a pathetic liar girl......

Although I'm not the original "Kiyohara Yukiba" who was ordered to infiltrate the Shinsengumi to spy on information...... No, the "Nine Rules", but I also have ulterior motives. My admiration and trust for the Shinsengumi, for you, and even for the deputy chief have all been discounted from the very beginning.

Although I didn't really plan to complete the task assigned to Noriko by the ghost beast Nissan of Kujo Michikiyo, I had my own mission to complete. Such a me...... Why are you so trusting, so forgiving, and even now you plan to risk your life to defend me as you did when you did your own brother? It's not worth it—

However, this qiē is unspeakable. Liu Quan felt weak tears welling up in his eyes.

"I'm sorry...... Director, I, I have lived up to Mr. Hijikata's expectations...... And you have been living up to the ...... Tolerance and trust in me......"

“…… No. Kondo suddenly interrupted her in a very gentle and calm tone. He stood in the middle of the alley, facing the entrance of the alley, as if he was on the alert to the pursuers who might catch up at any moment, and his thick shoulders still looked as calm and reliable as a mountain.

"Please don't say that, Yukiba-kun. I'm sure you've done everything you can do for me. Originally, this matter was too harsh to be put on your shoulders alone...... This is something that even the lords of the shogunate can't do, so how can I blame you for it? Kondo said serenely, with a hint of a smile in his tone.

"Yukiba-kun has been fighting as a woman as a new sengumi since the beginning, and she has not wavered until now...... This is something I had never thought of when I was in the Gym before. ”

"Yukiba-kun has been guarding the Shinsengumi like this for so long...... As the director of the Shinsengumi, I am very grateful. ”

Kondo took out a neatly folded piece of paper from his placket and calmly handed it to Yanagizumi.

"So, can I give you one more task at the end?...... Please bring this back. That's the last thing I want to say. ”

Liu Quan: !?

She took it and quickly unfolded it, and immediately understood everything.

…… It's a poem.

On the paper is Kondo's handwriting.

[The lone soldier came to the aid of the prisoner, and Gu Nianjun's tears flowed even more.

A piece of Dan can be martyred, and Suiyang is my eternal life.

What do he say today, take righteousness and give up my life.

Quickly receive the three-foot sword of electric light, and only repay Jun's grace with one death. 】

Willow Springs: !!

Seeing that she couldn't say a word, Kondo suddenly smiled slightly.

…… Can you rest assured? Entrust Ah Sui to this girl?

When did it start, there seems to be a bit of a ...... atmosphere between Ah Sui and this girl. A little subtle, huh?

He thought of Katsunuma outside Kofu Castle, and while they were busy arranging the formation, Harada's boy took the initiative to ask this girl to send Ah Sui, who was going to rush back to Edo immediately to bring back reinforcements. At that time, in the face of the question mark on his face, Harada smiled mysteriously and said: Well, Mr. Kondo, believe me, I am doing a good deed.

…… Speaking of which, he hadn't noticed this girl's heart for Ah Sui before. If it weren't for the summer festival in the second year of Keio......

He still remembers that night, on a whim, he prepared yukata for the two women living in the Shinsengumi, Yukiba and Chizuru, so that they could get dressed up for a night and go out, and after he and Shannan-kun managed to convince Ah Sui to take Yukiba-kun out with him, Shannan-kun turned his head with a strange smile on his face.

[For Kiyohara-kun, Mr. Kondo has done a great thing. 】

He was momentarily confused.

[Ahh......h I just prepared a yukata...... That one...... It's not a big deal......]

Shannanjun smiled strangely, and his eyes drifted to the door ambiguously.

[No, Kiyohara-kun will thank Mr. Kondo for this, but not for the yukata.] 】

This explicit hint finally made Kondo, who married a wife in his hometown and had a concubine in Kyoto, understand.

[What, what, what?!, you, you, you mean...... He remembered that his voice had changed pitch in fright.

【Snow Leaf Gentleman...... How, how can it be ......?!]

He remembered that there seemed to be a shadow on Shannan-kun's face, but that face quickly regained its usual gentle smile.

[Huh, of course.] That's what I can see. 】

He still remembered the very soft voice of himself under Shannan. He didn't know why, his ears were so good at the time.

【…… Just take a moment and look carefully at the girl's eyes, and you will be able to understand. 】

So, in the end, he can rest assured that Ah Sui is entrusted to a girl with such sincere eyes, right?!

He smiled thoughtfully.

“…… Think about it, I was just a poor little dojo owner in the countryside of Tama, and Ah Sui, the son of a medicine merchant, how incredible things I have accomplished. ”

He said in a nostalgic tone.

"Even on the day I left Tama, I never thought that I would become a daimyo one day...... Although it is only a short dream, the eldest husband has realized his dream of serving the country and gaining fame in his life......"

"In a story like this, the final ending is usually blood-stained. I'm ready to come to my senses. With a hint of a joking tone, he drew conclusions about his retrospectiveness.

"Now, Yukiba-kun, let's go. ”

The bummerling group of people with torches in the streets of Edo Castle will soon be searched for here.

In fact, it is not a problem to escape tonight, the question is, where are they going to hide after that, how can they hide for a long time without being discovered, and when will they have to hide before they can leave here safely and meet Ah Sui?

Come to think of it, these are questions that can't be answered.

The director of the Shinsengumi escaped under the noses of the wolves of Tosa, and what will happen to the Tosa people who are desperate for his life, and the Satsuma people who may feel that they have lost face and also want to find him and let him die. And what great plan that the Shogun and Lord Katsuyasu have been longing for and planning will be completely destroyed because of his escape? What if the Tosa and Satsuma people were so angry that they wanted to wreak havoc on Edo Castle as a vent?

…… All these problems are what he has to consider and scruple about. It's not that Isamu Kondo escaped, and these bad things will be completely gone. No, actually, on the contrary, if you escape a Kondo Isamu , these bad things will multiply tenfold and unpredictably until the bad consequences of ruining Miè Edo or hindering the Shogun's plans occur.

He couldn't allow himself to become such a being who brought disaster to the general and the city.

So, so be it. Generosity is righteousness, sacrificing one's life for righteousness...... You have to have the appearance and dignity of a general, don't you?

So—

"Xue Ye-kun, can I ask you for one thing?...... In the future, the Shinsengumi and Ah Sui, I'll leave it to you. ”

Willow Springs was taken aback!

"Huh?!" she exclaimed, her mouth wide open in disbelief.

"Bureau, Director............! What the hell are you talking about?!"

Kondo, however, had a determined expression and began to explain what prompted him to say the trust.

"From the beginning, Ah Sui was a stubborn person. ”

"Sometimes I think he's probably going to be the kind of person who sticks his mind until he dies. No, it should be said that his insistence on his own opinions may not bring him death. ”

"I can't ask you to follow him until that moment so willfully, but ......"

There was a look of embarrassment on his loyal face.

"I always think that you can understand what he is experiencing. ”

"When I say goodbye to my friends and companions again and again, I bear a qiē...... You'll get the idea. ”

"So, can you continue to support him as before?"

Yanagizumi looked at Kondo with a stunned face, as if he couldn't believe his ears at all.

Kondo continued to smile calmly, as if he had never spoken so fluently and at length in front of her.

"Will you grant me a wayward request?"

"Please don't give up on Ah Sui. ”

"Along the way, countless people have left first...... I knew that Ah Sui would definitely persevere until the end for the sake of the Shinsengumi. In those moments, if he was alone...... Hey, that's really reassuring. ”

Kondo said heavy words in a tone that bordered on a joke.

A bright glint flashed in Liu Quan's eyes.

Then, she nodded vigorously and said simply, "I swear I will follow the deputy chief until the end." ”

“…… And I'm going to do my best to keep the name of the Shinsengumi alive and make it last as long as possible. She thought for a moment and added.

Kondo looked a little surprised, and a little caught off guard. Probably didn't expect that a female streamer could really agree to such a tragic request that was almost like going to death without hesitation, his face turned a little red and smacked his lips.

"Oops...... You've said something reassuring. He laughed embarrassedly.

“…… Then, once qiē is all please. He bowed deeply to her. When he straightened up again, the embarrassment on his face that seemed to force a woman to do something very difficult had all disappeared.