"The old man."

Xuan An turned his head and said to Kuronaga behind him.

"Ogata-kun's injuries are recovering well."

"It's so good that I wonder if Ogata Jun has eaten some elixir."

"When I treated the wounds left by Ogata-kun in the god sacrifice competition, Ogata-kun's recovery speed was not so amazing."

"If nothing else, Ogata-kun should be back to normal soon."

"Okay." Kuranaga nodded slightly, "Xuan'an...... Thank you for your hard work. ”

With that, Cangyong solemnly bowed to Xuan'an.

……

……

After sending Xuan An away, Kurunaga also let the flying ape leave temporarily.

Leaving only himself and Ogata alone in the room.

"Ogata-kun......" Looking at the injured Ogata, Kuranaga sighed, "Really...... Thank you for your ......."

After saying "You've worked hard" to Ogata-

"Thank you."

Then he thanked Ogata.

"My lord, I don't need to say these words." Ogata smiled, "I didn't risk my life to swing my sword to get your gratitude. ”

"By the way, by the way - how is he in Gennai Matsudaira?"

“…… After I can't wait for you to come back, and I can't wait for the lord and them to come out of the boar forest, I will let the flying ape go into the boar forest to find you. ”

"And yet...... The flying ape found you, who passed out from your injuries, and ...... The lord who was stabbed to death with hundreds of knives next to you. ”

"When the ape dragged the body of the lord to me...... To be honest, I didn't recognize this huge piece of flesh with so many holes pierced in the first place as the main ......"

"That's right......," Ogata said softly, "in that case...... Then I'm relieved. ”

“…… Ogata-kun. ”

Kuranaga looked at Ogata with a complicated gaze.

And then—

“…… Could you please ...... Forgive me. ”

Suddenly apologized to Ogata.

"I've ...... There's no way to protect you anymore. ”

"When your injuries are healed, you can leave the Hirose Domain."

"If you continue to stay in the Hirose Domain, it will only be a matter of time before the shogunate discovers that you are the murderer of the lord and arrests you."

"The shogunate can't let me go, who is the mastermind behind the scenes."

"I will not let go of you who killed the lord and all his guards with your own sword."

"While the shogunate doesn't know that the daimyo of the Hirose Domain has been assassinated by you, you should leave the Hirose Domain as soon as possible, and then run as far as you can."

"The eldest ...... family," Ogata said softly, "Gennai Matsudaira and his guards are all dead, and now there is not a single living mouth...... Even if this is the case, will the people of the shogunate be able to find out that I killed Matsudaira Gennai? ”

Hearing Ogata's question, Kuranaga sighed lightly.

"Ogata-kun......"

"The Shogunate's Ability...... It's beyond your imagination......"

"The daimyo of the Ichijo clan was assassinated...... Moreover, it was the assassination of the daimyo of the pro-feudal domain, and the shogunate would definitely not sit idly by. ”

"With the shogunate's ability, it was easy for them to find out who was behind the scenes......

"Don't say anything else...... With the help of a finger, the shogunate could easily find out that a merchant had recently sold me several pairs of chain mail and many good knives......"

"Then you can move your fingers, and you can find out that the lord had destroyed the Sakakibara Sword Pavilion before he was assassinated, and you are the only one left."

"And you happen to be a samurai whose swordsmanship far surpasses that of ordinary people."

"You're going to be the biggest suspect of all time."

"Ogata-kun, think about what would happen if you stayed in Hirose Domain......"

"You will be treated as the main suspect by the people of the shogunate, and you will be arrested and tortured......"

"So you can't stay in Hirose Domain anymore no matter what......"

"From now on, it's not too short a time before the shogunate sends someone to investigate the Hirose Domain."

"Ogata-kun, you should seize this time, quickly recover from your injuries, and then leave the Hirose Domain, and flee as far as you can."

"The world is very big, as long as you escape from the Hirose Domain, Ogata-kun may have a chance to survive......"

After listening to Kuranaga's words quietly, Ogata didn't show any unusual look on his face.

That is to say...... I have to become a freelancer, wandering the world......"

Not only did he not show any unusual looks, but a smile appeared on Ogata's face.

"If you are a ronin, you will be a ronin."

"It's good to be a ronin, you don't have to do the work of a boring treasury officer anymore."

"My lord, let me ask again—now that Matsudaira Genuchi is dead, what will happen to the Hirose Domain in the future?"

"Right now, the Shogun is busy reforming the shogunate with Laozhong." Kuranaga said softly, "It's in a state of being busy. There is no time to invest too much energy in things other than reform. ”

"In addition, the 'Great Famine of Heaven' has just passed, and the world has finally regained some stability, and in order to continue to maintain this rare stability, the shogunate has been deliberately reducing the number of ronins over the years."

"In the past, when the lord was killed, the domain would often be removed, and all the retainers in the domain would definitely not be able to escape the punishment of being demoted to ronin."

"Now that the shogunate is focusing on the reform of the shogunate, and in order to maintain the stability of the world, it is no longer possible to directly dismiss our Hirose domain as before."

"So the Hirose Domain will definitely still be kept by the shogunate, and nothing will happen to the innocent retainers in the domain."

"My lord, he has a cousin. The shogunate was supposed to make the lord's cousin the new daimyo of the Hirose domain. ”

"The lord's cousin is a humble and courteous man, and if he becomes the new daimyo of the Hirose Domain, the Hirose Domain may be able to usher in a new atmosphere."

After quietly listening to Kuranaga's words, Ogata sighed:

"Won't it hurt the innocent...... That's good......"

Speaking of this, Ogata suddenly paused.

After a long pause, Ogata continued:

"The old man...... I have a reluctant request. ”

"Please."

"I have two friends in the Hirose Domain, and they run an izakaya."

"I worked as a bodyguard at that izakaya for a while."

"After I left the Hirose Domain and the shogunate sent someone to investigate, I was worried that my two friends would be embarrassed by the shogunate because they had a relationship with me."

"And—I have a lot of grudges with some people at the Ishikawa Sword Pavilion."

"When I leave Hirose Domain, I'm worried that those guys will take advantage of my absence and pour out their hatred and anger on my two friends."

"So- can you help me figure out a way to protect my two friends?"

Hearing Ogata's request, Kuranaga was silent for a while, and then said:

"No problem. I'll go and ask some friends in the feudal domain later. ”

"These friends of mine are all in high positions in the domain."

"I'll ask them to take care of the izakaya you mentioned."

"Although the people of the shogunate are basically arrogant, they don't even give face to some high-ranking officials in the domain."

"In order to save face for those friends of mine, although the people of the shogunate will definitely still ask your two friends about it, they will not be too rude to your two friends."

"For the sake of my friends' face, they might be extremely polite."

"At the same time, with the care of my friends, you don't have to worry about the people from the Ishikawa Sword Pavilion going to find your two friends."

"Of those few friends of mine, there happens to be one who has jurisdiction over all the forces and concentrics in the domain."

"I ask him to set up a Tsujiban in front of your friend's izakaya, so that the people of the Ishikawa Kenkan will not dare to come to trouble your two friends again."

"Thank you very much." Ogata smiled appreciatively at Asakuranaga.

But—the grateful smile on Ogata's face didn't last long, and he took it back.

Ogata who put away the smile on his face looked at Kuranaga with a serious face, and then said:

"My lord, there is one more thing, I hope you can promise me."

"Please."

Ogata's serious appearance made Kurunaga can't help but become serious with him, and he sat precariously, waiting for Ogata's next words.

"When my injuries are good enough to move freely...... Please give me enough coils, and two good knives and clothes. ”

"I don't want to wander in rags."

Hearing Ogata's words in a joking tone, Kuranaga was slightly stunned.

Then he laughed heartily a few times.

"Good! No problem! I'll do my best to get the best knives and clothes for you! ”

……

……

A month later –

Hirose Domain, Ryukaya –

"Ah Fu! Go and clean up the dishes and chopsticks of the guests at the table just now! ”

"Good!"

"Ahhh......h I'm so busy today, Ah Fu, we both have to work hard today! ”

"Hmm!"

Although it is daytime, the business of the drift house is unexpectedly good today.

On weekdays, drift houses are usually only crowded at night, but today it is very rare to have quite a large number of customers during the day.

Although the distance was a bit far, Ogata could barely hear the voices of Misaki and Fuku.

At this time, Ogata was hiding under the tree of a large tree not far from the flow house, and under the cover of the trunk of the tree, he silently watched the flow of people from afar.

"Ogata-kun."

Kuranaga, who was standing behind Ogata, asked Ogata.

"Don't you really go in and look at those two? If you don't take advantage of this opportunity to go in...... There may never be a chance to come back to see the two of them again. ”

“…… Not necessarily. ”

The corners of Ogata's mouth curled slightly, revealing a small smile.

"After meeting the two of them, the two of them would definitely pester me, ask me what I had been doing all this time, and then ask me where I was going next."

"I'm not good at dealing with this kind of sad atmosphere."

"And...... My current status is not suitable for me to contact the two of them anymore. ”

"I'm going to see them now, maybe I'll get them in trouble again."

Ogata raised his hand and pressed the hat on his head.

“…… Let's go, my lord. ”

With that, Ogata turned around first, and without any hesitation or hesitation, he slowly walked away from the large tree not far from the drift house.

Kuranaga sighed lightly as he looked at Ogata who had already turned away and was reluctant to enter the ryuya house, and then led the flying ape to follow.