Volume 5: Kyoto Summer Campaign Chapter 267: The Handsome Man and the Nobleman
Mamiya and Makimura led Ogata to run and jump in the mountains.
It was not until the sky was about to get completely dark that the shadow of the building finally appeared in Ogata's field of vision.
Looking at the building in front of him, Ogata was stunned.
Although he knew little about architecture, Ogata could still tell that it seemed to be the gate of a temple.
Mamiya, who noticed Ogata's confusion, explained:
“This place used to be a temple.”
"Then it was abandoned for unknown reasons."
"The lord saw that the location of this temple was good, so he slightly modified the temple and used it as the base of our Huluwu."
"I see..." Ogata muttered as he looked around.
I have to say - the location of this temple is indeed very advantageous.
There is a stream flowing next to the temple, with an abundant and stable water source.
At the same time, it is hidden in the deep mountains, in a concealed location and not easily discovered by others.
Although the temple gate was closed, Ogata could still vaguely see a faint light coming through the temple.
Mamiya walked forward and knocked hard on the temple door.
Mamiya's knock on the door immediately broke the silence of the deep mountains.
The knocking sound "hovered" and "echoed" above the temple gate for a long time before gradually dissipating.
Ogata noticed that Mamiya didn't knock on the door randomly.
Instead, he knocked on the door in a specific rhythm.
After the knock on the door, Ogata heard footsteps approaching from behind the temple gate.
Squeak...
The temple door was slowly opened a crack.
The gap at the door is small, but it is enough for people behind the temple gate to observe what is happening outside.
After the temple door was opened a crack, the person who opened the door looked through the crack to see who was knocking on the door. Then, a young man's voice sounded from behind the door:
"Mamiya-kun, Makimura-kun, you're back. It's been a long time since we last met."
"Well, it's been a while, Asai. It was winter when we parted, and now it's almost summer."
"It seems that you two have brought a guest back... Come in first."
After saying that, the temple door, which was originally opened only a small crack, was slowly opened, leaving a large opening large enough for people to pass through.
It was not until this moment that Ogata finally saw the appearance of the man who was responsible for opening the door and who had just talked to Mamiya.
What a beautiful boy—this was Ogata's first impression after seeing the man.
The man is believed to be between 20 and 25 years old.
Like Ogata and Mamiya, this beautiful boy did not shave his hair, but kept his hair long and tied in a proper bun.
His face was handsome enough to make people exclaim.
He was neither fat nor thin, with long and curved eyebrows, sharp and bright eyes, a straight and tall nose, rosy lips with beautiful lines, and fair skin. His skin was so good that Ogata was sure that this guy's skin must be the envy of women.
If we have to point out any shortcomings in this person, it would probably be that he is short.
If this person's height is converted into modern Earth length units, it should be only about 1.6 meters.
Of course, this height was considered acceptable in the Edo period and could be classified as "tall and slender".
All in all - this is a thoroughly handsome man who is absolutely popular with women.
He was the most handsome man Ogata had ever seen since she came to the Edo period. He was so handsome that Ogata couldn't help but feel a little envious.
While Ogata was looking at the handsome man, the handsome man was also looking at Ogata.
As for Mamiya, he was standing between the two of them, introducing them to each other.
"Ogata-kun, this is Asai Shichirobei. He is one of the other two members of our Gourd House that I just told you about."
"Asai. This is Ogata Yoshisei. He is the executioner Ittosai."
"Oh?" After listening to Mamiya's introduction, Asai raised his eyebrows slightly, "You are the executioner Ittosai..."
Asai spoke as if he had known Ogata for a long time - but Ogata was not confused by this.
After all, it is normal to know this kind of person, after all, his wanted posters can be said to be spread all over Japan.
After exchanging greetings with Asai, Asai led Ogata and others through the temple gate and headed towards the depths of the temple.
As Asai led the way, Mamiya kept throwing question after question at Asai.
"Is the lord here?"
"My lord and Master Yuan have gone into the mountains to practice asceticism."
"Have you gone to practice again... When will you be back?"
"They started their practice three days ago and will probably be back tomorrow morning."
"Tomorrow morning? That's not bad. It's rare to have guests. It would be troublesome if they can't come back for ten days or half a month. What about Shimada? Is Shimada here now?"
"Shimada is preparing dinner for today. You came back just in time. It's almost time for dinner. If you come back later, there will be no food for you."
"That's great. We're just hungry. Ogata-kun, let me take you to your room before we eat. We don't have much here, so most rooms are empty."
"Okay, thank you very much."
…
…
The room that Mamiya arranged for Ogata was very simple, and it should have been the wing room where the monks who originally lived here lived.
Although the room is not spacious, it is very clean and has all the necessary furniture.
Ogata bent down and casually touched the floor - his fingers were clean, without a speck of dust.
“It’s so clean…”
"The lord likes cleanliness." Mamiya said, "At the lord's request, this temple must always be kept spotless."
"Every day, villagers from the village at the foot of the mountain that serves as our gourd house outpost come to help us clean up."
"You can rest here for a while. I will have someone call you when it's time for dinner."
"Um."
After watching Mamiya leave, Ogata stretched hard and then sat down on the tatami at his feet.
He was riding a horse this morning and living in the gourd house tonight - for some reason, this rapid change in life made Ogata feel unreal.
Just as Ogata was thinking about how many days he would stay here, there was a soft knock on the door.
"Come in."
The sliding paper door was pulled open, and a young face that Ogata had never seen before appeared in his field of vision.
The young man who knocked on Ogata's door was holding a quilt in his hand.
"Excuse me, are you the guest brought back by Mamiya-senpai and Makimura-senpai - the executioner Ittosai Ogata Noriyoshi?"
"Yes." Ogata nodded. "Excuse me, who are you?"
"I am Shimada Katsurokuro. I am here on the orders to bring you bedding and invite you to dinner."
——Shimada Katsurokuro…
Ogata silently pondered over this name in his mind.
——This should be the last of the other two members of the Calabash House that Mamiya mentioned…
——Now, apart from their mysterious lord and Kinoshita Genichi, I have met all four members of Gourd House...
The first impression Shimada gave Ogata was that he was young.
He is very young. Judging from his appearance, he should be less than 20 years old, and there is still a childishness on his face.
He had regular facial features, sharp eyebrows and bright eyes - he could be considered handsome, but there was still a big gap between him and handsome men like Asai.
He had long hair in a bun, and two knives were neatly tucked on his left waist. If his height was converted into Earth's length unit, he would be only about 1.57 meters.
After respectfully placing the quilt in his hand on the ground, Shimada pointed his chin outward.
"Master Itosai, please follow me. I will take you to the dining area."
"Okay. You don't have to call me Ittosai-sama, just call me Ogata."
"Yes, Lord Ogata, please follow me."
"No need to add the suffix 'sir'... Never mind, call me whatever you like."
…
…
Led by Shimada, Shimada and Ogata walked one after the other on the way to dinner.
"We haven't had any guests in Calabash House for a long time."
Shimada, who was walking in front, smiled at Ogata behind him as he walked.
"I'm very happy. I can finally see new faces here."
"I won't stay here for too long." Ogata smiled, "After all, I'm just a guest here. I'll be gone in a day or two."
Through this brief contact, Ogata has discovered two characteristics of Shimada.
The first characteristic is that he is talkative and enjoys talking to others.
He never stopped talking while leading Ogata.
The second characteristic is that he exudes the temperament of a noble man.
Whether Shimada speaks or moves, there is an air of elegance in his manner.
This made Ogata certain that Shimada must have a good background and a very good family background.
"Shimada." Ogata took the initiative to say to Shimada, "How old are you this year?"
“17.” Shimada responded without hesitation.
"17... so young."
"Yes." Shimada smiled bitterly, "I am the youngest , so the lord, Mamiya senior and others all treat me like a little brother, which makes me very distressed. Obviously, I am already a man who can stand on my own."
"You must be from a well-off family," Ogata continued. "I see you have very good upbringing."
"Yes. In terms of family background, my family is indeed quite good."
"I am the eldest son of the Shimada family, a hatamoto with a 9,000-koku salary in Edo."
"Hatata?" Ogata couldn't help but tongue-tied.
Hatamoto samurai - samurai directly under the shogun, who had the power to meet the shogun directly and had their own territory, but the total koku of the territory was less than 10,000 koku.
There are also distinctions between high and low levels among the hatamoto.
According to what Shimada said just now, their family's territory is as high as 9,000 koku - this is already considered a high-level hatamoto.
"So you are from a prestigious family." Ogata couldn't help but sigh, "Why would you join Calabash House if you are from a prestigious family?"
The base is located in a gourd house deep in the mountains and forests - it doesn't look like a place where a nobleman would come.
"Why did you join Calabash House..." Shimada looked up at the starry sky above him, a hint of reminiscence on his face, "Because I admired someone, so when I came to my senses, I had already followed that person to join Calabash House."
"Although I am a member of the Gourd House, I have not been a member for long. I was invited to join the Gourd House last summer, and I am the latest person to join the Gourd House. Ah, Lord Ogata, we are here."
Ogata looked forward and saw a pot on the open space in front of him.
There was burning firewood under the pot.
There are 5 small stools placed around the pot, 3 of which have been used by Mamiya, Makimura and Asai, leaving only 2 empty stools.
These two stools must be reserved for Ogata and Shimada to sit on.
Seeing Ogata and Shimada coming, Mamiya waved to them and motioned them to sit over.
After sitting down on the stool, Ogata looked at the hot water in the pot in front of him that was bubbling and about to boil, and said:
"What are we having for dinner today?"
"Let's eat a mixed pot." Asai on the side answered expressionlessly.
"A big hotpot?" Ogata asked puzzledly.
"Except for the Lord, all of us are very... lazy when it comes to cooking." Mucun smiled bitterly, "Usually the Lord is responsible for our three meals a day. When the Lord is not around, we will cook a big hotpot to save trouble."
"The so-called hot pot..." Asai said, picking up a bowl of vegetables at his feet, "is to throw all the ingredients into the same pot."
After saying that, Asai threw all the vegetables in the basin into the pot.
And Makimura followed closely and threw in some dried meat.
Mamiya and Shimada were not to be outdone and threw all the materials they had into it.
Looking at the four Mamiyas throwing ingredients into the pot, Ogata somehow remembered the witch who was throwing all kinds of strange things into the black pot to make potion...
The color of the soup in the pot, which was originally clean, gradually became strange as more ingredients were added...
Looking at the soup that had turned into a strange brown color, Ogata gradually lost his appetite...
While waiting for the ingredients in the pot to cook, the five people began to chat casually.
"Mamiya." Asai asked Mamiya first, "Why did you bring the executioner Ittosai to our Huluya? Did you succeed in convincing him to join our Huluya?"
"No. I have already invited Ogata-kun, but he refused. Ogata-kun came to our Hulu House just to be a guest."
"Guest?" Asai frowned slightly, "Mamiya, the master doesn't really welcome us to bring in outsiders casually."
"I know." An intriguing look appeared on Mamiya's face, "But Ogata-kun is not an outsider."
"From a certain perspective, Ogata-kun can be considered as the lord's junior fellow apprentice."
"What do you mean?" Asai frowned even more tightly.
Even Shimada cast a puzzled look at Mamiya.
"Ogata-kun, he has mastered the Muga Nito-ryu."
"What?!"*2
Asai and Shimada shouted in unison.
