Volume 3 Buddha's Enemy Chapter 138: Exchange of Intelligence (Part 1)
After his purse was stolen, the only two pieces of luggage Ogata had left were Sakakibara Ittoryu's Menkyo Kaiden certificate and the secret book of Muga Nito-Ryu.
Both of these items were tightly wrapped by Ogata with a thick black cloth.
Ogata put the two items wrapped in thick black cloth and his two swords into the locker.
I have to say - Ogata thinks this bathhouse is really good. In addition to the laundry service, there are also many lockers for guests to store their belongings.
Moreover, each locker can be locked and the key is kept by each guest.
In order to make it easier for guests to carry keys, each key is attached with a ring-shaped rope, so that guests can wear the key directly on their wrists through the rope.
The management concept of this bathhouse was so advanced that Ogata was dumbfounded...
Mamiya also took off his glasses and placed his glasses, sword, purse, and an unidentified object wrapped in white cloth in the same locker with Ogata's sword and his only two pieces of luggage wrapped in black cloth.
Ogata and Mamiya took off every piece of clothing they had on and handed them to the staff member.
Mamiya, who was completely naked, looked at Ogata, who was also completely naked.
To be precise, he was looking at Ogata's crotch, which was also naked.
"I didn't expect that—" A strange smile appeared on Mamiya's face, "Ogata-kun, you are quite powerful there."
Ogata cast a speechless look towards Mamiya.
"Don't suddenly say such strange things to me..."
After taking off their clothes, the two walked deeper into the bathing area.
Behind the dressing room is the shower room.
For guests to wash themselves.
Pushing aside the bamboo mat that separated the shower rooms, the hot air and the sound of people talking immediately hit Ogata and Mamiya in the face.
The shower room is quite big.
There were more than ten guests bathing inside at this time.
What a coincidence - the dozen or so guests who were bathing in the shower room at that moment were all middle-aged men with big bellies.
More than a dozen naked middle-aged men were twisting their huge bodies to take a bath - in Ogata's eyes, this scene was just... quite an eye-catcher.
"Come on, Ogata-kun."
Mamiya brought two basins of hot water and handed one of them to Ogata.
"Thank you very much."
The two of them randomly found an empty corner in the shower room and brought in two small stools that were currently unused.
They just sat on small stools, scooped hot water from their respective basins with their hands, and washed their bodies.
Since neither of them brought a towel, they could only wipe their bodies with their hands.
Ogata hasn't had a good bath in a long time.
The hot water hit his body and then rubbed the skin gently.
The originally transparent water immediately turned into light black sewage...
However, Mamiya's body was much cleaner. From his relatively clean skin, it was not difficult to tell that Mamiya must have just taken a shower a few days ago.
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After washing their bodies, Ogata and Mamiya could finally step into the deepest part of the bathhouse, which is also the most important place to go after arriving at the bathhouse - the bathtub.
Passing through the pomegranate door connecting the shower room and the bathtub, hot air several times more intense than that in the shower room rushed towards Ogata and Mamiya like a tide.
At this time, many people were already sitting in the bathtub.
However, because the bathtub was quite spacious, even after Ogata and Mamiya sat in it, they did not feel crowded at all.
Ogata first tested the water temperature with his toes.
It's a little hot, but not to the point where it's unbearable.
After stepping into the bathtub one after the other, they both moaned in comfort and leaned their bodies against the edge of the bathtub behind them.
"The heat is just right..." Mamiya closed his eyes, looking very enjoyable, "I feel like my whole body is about to melt..."
"Mamiya, do you like taking baths?" Ogata asked while taking a bath.
"Only when I take a bath do I realize how happy it is to be alive." Mamiya replied in a half-joking tone.
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"Come to think of it... I haven't asked you yet."
Mamiya, who was originally taking a bath quietly with Ogata, suddenly spoke to Ogata.
"What's your grudge against the Negishi family?"
"I don't have any big hatred or grudges." Ogata said, "It's just that their people stole my purse, and I want to take it back."
"No wonder you said you had no money when we went to dinner just now. It seems like the Negishi family is really unlucky. They stole money from anyone else but you."
"What about you, Mamiya?" Ogata looked at Mamiya beside him, "You said that you have a grudge against the Negishi family, so you came all the way here to seek revenge. Could it be that your purse was also stolen by the Negishi family?"
"Well... my feud with the Negishi family is also related to money. But it's not about the money bag being stolen. And... to be more precise, it's not me who has a feud with the Negishi family, but my lord who has a feud with the people of the Negishi family."
"Lord..." Ogata frowned, "Mamiya, didn't you say you were a ronin? How can you be a lord as a ronin?"
"I am indeed a ronin. I have long since left my master's family. I no longer work for the shogunate or any of the feudal domains. The person I work for now is... a businessman."
"For the sake of convenience, my companions and I have always called him 'Lord'."
"As for what my master usually sells, please let me keep it a secret."
"The Negishi family bought my lord's things but didn't pay for them, which angered my lord."
"My lord hates dishonest people the most."
"So I was sent here to teach the Negishi family a lesson...ah."
Before he could finish his words, Mamiya suddenly let out a strange cry.
"I seem to have forgotten to wash my hair just now."
Ogata looked at the hair on Mamiya's head, recalled, and found that Mamiya really did not wash his hair in the shower room just now.
"What are you doing..." Ogata cast a speechless look at Mamiya.
"Sorry, I'll be back soon after I wash my hair."
After saying that , Mamiya jumped out of the sink and walked quickly back to the shower room.
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After returning to the shower room, Mamiya slowly filled a basin with hot water.
He looked around the shower room and found his target - a young man who was sitting in the corner of the shower room, washing his body slowly.
Mamiya brought hot water and a small stool, walked slowly to the young man and sat down.
As soon as Mamiya sat down, the young man said to him in a calm tone that was neither salty nor bland:
"Mamiya, it seems you haven't forgotten the rule of 'exchanging information at the bathhouse in Matsumachi every other night at 12:00 p.m.'"
"How could I forget?" Mamiya shrugged. "I was just concentrating on taking a bath in the bathtub, so I came a little late."
