Volume 1: Re:Zero -Starting Life as a Samurai Chapter 43: Demolishing the Ishikawa Sword Hall (Part 1)
“Hu…chi…hu…chi…”
The cold, dry wind kept blowing into Ogata's throat from afar.
Swallow your saliva.
Just like clear water flowing into dry ground, the warm saliva moistened Ogata's dry throat, making Ogata feel a slight soreness in his throat, but also a little more comfortable.
In Ogata's impression, this was the first time he ran so desperately since he came to the Edo period.
Ryuya finally appeared within Ogata's field of vision.
——We’re here! We’re here! It’s okay! It should be okay! The Yuanshan gang shouldn’t be so crazy as to bully two weak women!
Ogata rushed into the stream house in one breath.
But I didn't see Ah Fu busy at work.
There was no sound of Asaki fiddling with drinks and ingredients from the kitchen either.
All I could hear was light conversations and soft sobbing coming from the second floor.
The ominous premonition in Ogata's heart had become extremely strong.
He climbed up two steps at a time and quickly went up to the second floor. After opening the door of the room where the sound came from, Oobian saw Afu, Asaki, and a middle-aged man with a shaved head, dressed like a doctor.
Ah Fu lay in bed with his eyes closed.
Asaki knelt beside her, trying to hold back her tears.
The doctor knelt on the other side of the bed, touching Ah Fu's belly with a serious face.
"O... Ogata-sama...? Why are you here?"
“Azaki!” Ogata walked quickly to Azaki’s side, then knelt on one knee. He looked anxiously at Afu on the bed, and then looked at Azaki whose cheek was swollen. “What on earth happened?!”
"It was the samurai who harassed Fuku before who did this...! He suddenly broke into the Ryuya with several other samurai."
"He said he was looking for you."
"We said you weren't here."
“But they didn’t believe it and wanted to force their way into our house to search it.”
"Afu won't let them in."
"So they just..."
At this point, Asaki couldn't say any more, raised her hands, covered her face and burst into tears.
Even if Asaki didn't say anything else, Ogata could guess what was going to happen next.
Asaki, whose face was half swollen and who was lying in bed receiving a doctor's examination, had already told Ogata what happened afterwards.
Ogata's face began to darken at a speed visible to the naked eye.
The right hand resting on the leg and the left hand hanging naturally also began to clench slowly.
Of course Ogata knew who the samurai who had harassed Fuku was before.
It’s Itagaki from Ishikawa Sword Hall!
So many things happened that night when Itagaki harassed Afu, which was very memorable.
It was difficult for Ogata to forget all the details of what happened that night.
At this moment, the doctor at the side finally finished his diagnosis of Ah Fu.
"Your daughter is fine. She didn't suffer any serious injuries, just a lot of bruises."
The doctor said.
"Just rest for a while. I'll prescribe some medicine to help you recover."
After hearing what the doctor said, the heavy weight that had been hanging in Asaki's heart finally fell.
Asaki quickly clasped her hands together and kept thanking the doctor.
Just at this moment, Ah Fu, who had had his eyes closed , slowly opened his eyes.
Ogata was the first to notice that Fuku had opened his eyes. He leaned over and looked anxiously at Fuku who had just woken up.
"Afu! How are you? Are you feeling okay?"
Afu first looked at Ogata in front of him with a blank look.
Then he looked at Asaki and the doctor beside him.
"Ms. Asaki... Lord Ogata... I'm sorry..."
One word after another, with a crying tone, came out of Ah Fu's mouth.
"I...I soiled the clothes you two gave me..."
After saying that, big tears rolled down from Ah Fu's eyes.
After hearing what Afu said, Ogata noticed that there was a touch of cherry blossom color in the corner of the room.
Ogata looked over.
This cherry blossom color was exactly the cherry blossom color kimono that he and Asaki had jointly purchased for Afu.
If it weren't for what Ah Fu had just said, Ogata would have mistakenly thought that this was just a rag that was thrown aside casually...
"…Miss Asaki, were these clothes soiled by Itagaki and his gang?"
"Yeah..." Asaki nodded while wiping the tears from the corners of her eyes.
This is ancient society, there are no washing machines and no strong laundry detergents.
This dress has been so dirty that it is difficult to wash it thoroughly by hand.
"...Ms. Afu." Ogata raised his fingers and gently wiped away the tears on Afu's face. "Don't be sad. It's just a small matter that the clothes are dirty. Just buy another one."
"But...but..." Ah Fu's tears still didn't stop.
When Fuku-chan seemed to want to say something else, Ogata spoke first:
"Ms. Ah Fu, you should have a good rest first."
After saying that, Ouba turned his head and looked at the doctor who was kneeling opposite him.
"Doctor, please prescribe the best medicine for Miss Ah Fu. I will pay for all the medicines."
"No problem. Please rest assured, Samurai-sama. I will make sure that Miss Afu gets well soon."
"Lord Ogata," Asaki said urgently, "How can I let you spend money!"
"Ms. Asaki, please don't be polite to me. I need to take some responsibility for the situation you and Ms. Afu are in today. Please let me pay for Ms. Afu's medicine."
After saying this, Ogata steadied the two swords on his left waist and slowly stood up.
"Ms. Asaki, please stay here and take care of Ms. Fuku. I need to go out for a while."
"Go out...? Lord Ogata, where are you going?"
"…Ishikawa Sword Hall."
After leaving these words, Oobian left from Asaki and the others' sight without any reluctance.
Asaki and the others didn't even have time to call out to Ogata.
…
…
Ogata walked quickly through the busy streets.
Even though there were many men, women, old and young standing, walking or running in front of him, Ogata did not slow down his pace at all.
"Uh... Hey! You bastard! You're walking without your eyes! Uh..."
Ogata walked straight forward and bumped into the shoulder of a sturdy man who passed by him.
Although he bumped into someone, Ogata still had no intention of stopping, nor did he apologize to the burly man. He continued to walk forward without saying a word.
The sturdy man seemed to have a bad temper. After being hit on the shoulder by Ogata, he immediately angrily called Ogata a "bastard" and loudly accused him of "having no eyes."
He originally wanted to scold Ogata a few more times, but after seeing the sword hanging on Ogata's left waist and the expression on Ogata's face, he swallowed back the dirty words that were about to come to his mouth.
It turned into groans of surprise and fear.
