Volume 6: Edo Castle Imperial Court Test Chapter 344 [Ogata Town]
Because time was tight, Mamiya only had time to cook a pot of ordinary rice porridge.
While eating dinner, Lin briefly briefed Mamiya and Genichi on what happened in Kyoto, their alliance with Ogata and Atachi, and their plan to completely eliminate the hidden danger in Shiranui.
Because it was late, and they had been traveling all day and suffered from the fatigue, so after dinner, Lin said that everyone should rest early and talk about business later.
After dinner, Mamiya invited everyone to see the things he had made out of boredom over the past few months.
According to Mamiya, when he was renovating their base in Huluwu, he made a lot of cabinets and boxes with discarded wood for fun.
Anyway, there was nothing to do, so everyone except Lin who had already gone downstairs to rest, Genichi who already knew what Mamiya had done, Shimada who was ordered by Lin to prepare the bedding that Ogata and Atachi would need for their stay at this time, and Atachi who was preparing to take a bath, followed and watched the cabinets and boxes made by Mamiya.
All the cabinets and boxes made by Mamiya were piled up in a corner of the temple.
The pile of cabinets and boxes came in a variety of styles and sizes.
Mamiya pointed at the pile of cabinets and boxes he had made and told Ogata, Makimura and Asai that they could take any of them if they liked them.
Neither Makimura nor Asai had a shortage of cabinets and boxes.
Instead, Ogata took a fancy to one of the cabinets.
The cabinet that Ogata took a fancy to was very short, with only one layer of drawers, but it was very long and wide, enough for two adult men to lie on it side by side.
"Mamiya-kun." Ogata pointed at the cabinet he liked, "Can you help me carry this cabinet to my room?"
"Of course you can. But... do you want to change to another cabinet? This cabinet can't hold much, and it's not very useful."
"It doesn't matter. I'm not going to use this cabinet to store anything anyway."
"Huh?" Mamiya looked puzzled. "If you don't use the cabinet to store things, then what are you using it for?"
"Well...I'll tell you after you help me move this cabinet to my room."
…
…
Ogata and Mamiya worked together to move the low, yet long and wide cabinet into Ogata's room.
The room Ogata stayed in was the same room he stayed in when he first visited Huluya a few months ago.
After entering this room, Ogata felt as if it had been a long time since he entered it.
Just now while having dinner, Lin arranged rooms for Ogata and Atachi.
There was no shortage of vacant rooms in their Huluwu, so Lin arranged a room for Ogata and Atachi respectively, and their rooms were not far from each other.
At Ogata's request, Ogata and Mamiya worked together to place the low cabinet in the center of the room.
"Okay." Mamiya said while wiping the sweat from his forehead, "Can you tell me what you plan to do with this cabinet?"
"I intend to--to do so."
As Ogata spoke, he picked up the quilt at his feet.
This bed and quilt should have been delivered by Shimada just now.
Just now after dinner, Lin asked Shimada to prepare bedding for Ogata and Atachi, so Shimada did not go to see the pile of cabinets and boxes made by Mamiya.
Ogata spread the mattress on the cabinet and lay directly on it.
Mamiya raised his eyebrows:
"Ogata-kun, are you planning on sleeping on it?"
"That's right."
"Wouldn't you feel uncomfortable sleeping on top of the cabinet?"
"Mamiya, let me tell you the truth." Ogata looked at Mamiya seriously, "I'm actually not used to sleeping on tatami."
"Huh? Not used to sleeping on tatami?" Mamiya looked at Ogata as if he was an alien.
Ogata could understand the look Mamiya was giving him.
After all, in 18th century Japan, if you told people that you were not used to sleeping on tatami, they would think you were a super weirdo.
"I didn't expect you to have such a strange habit, Ogata-kun." Mamiya shrugged and walked out of the room, "Ogata-kun, I'm leaving first. Have a good rest."
"Yeah. Good night, Mamiya."
After Mamiya left and closed the door, Ogata, who was lying on the cabinet, stretched hard.
Although it has been more than a year since he came to this Edo period, Ogata is still not used to sleeping on tatami.
Every time when he opened his eyes and found himself lying on the floor, Ogata felt an indescribable strange feeling.
The reason why Ogata took a fancy to this cabinet was because it was short enough to be used as a bed.
Lying on this cabinet made Ogata feel nostalgic.
Today's daytime has been spent in a bumpy ride.
Lying on the futon, Ogata felt waves of sleepiness gradually taking over his mind.
While Ogata and Mamiya were working together to move the cabinet to his room, Atachi went to take a shower.
Now she must have returned to her room and prepared to go to sleep.
Unconsciously, under the influence of sleepiness, Ogata slowly closed his eyes...
…
…
After falling into a hazy sleep, Ogata suddenly heard footsteps outside the room.
The long years of ronin life since leaving the Hirose Domain had trained Ogata to develop the ability to "not sleep too deeply and wake up immediately at the slightest movement."
As soon as he heard footsteps outside the room, Osamu suddenly opened his eyes and quickly picked up the Daishiten that he had been holding in his arms.
As Ogata sat up, he heard a voice that was very familiar to Atachi outside the room:
"Ayi, it's me."
"A-Machi...?"
After hearing Atachi's voice, Oobian slowly put down the Daishikuten he had just picked up, and at the same time slowly relaxed his tense muscles and nerves.
Wow.
Ating outside the room slowly opened the door.
With her hair loose and wearing the yukata she bought in Kyoto, Ah-machi stood outside the door of Ogata's room in a coquettish manner, with her cute white feet bare and wearing a pair of wooden clogs.
Before Ogata could ask Atachi what she was doing outside his room so late at night, Atachi slowly walked into Ogata's room and closed the door again.
"Ating, what's wrong?" The look of surprise on Ogata's face had not yet disappeared.
A-Machi did not answer Ogata's question immediately. Instead, she slowly walked to the cabinet under Ogata and asked Ogata with a confused look on her face:
"Ayi, why are you sleeping on this cabinet?"
"Well... to put it simply, I feel that sleeping on the cabinet is more comfortable than sleeping on the tatami."
"I didn't expect you to have such a strange ."
After saying this, which was almost exactly the same feeling as what Mamiya had just expressed, Atachi kicked off her wooden clogs and sat on Ogata's bed.
"Ating, what's wrong? Can't sleep? Do you want to chat with me?" Ogata put away Daishakuten and Daishizai and sat cross-legged.
"Well... I guess so..." Ating said softly.
Amaji lifted her legs, put her feet on Ogata's bed, then stretched out her arms and hugged her legs.
"I... I'll tell you, don't laugh at me." A Ting's face showed a bit of bitterness, "I was just about to go to bed."
"But... as soon as I close my eyes, I feel... there seems to be pursuers from the Shiranui outside the house..."
“I’ve been wondering why I’m like this.”
"I slept soundly every night on the way from Kyoto to Owari. Why is it that as soon as I close my eyes now, I feel like the pursuers from Shiranui are coming to kill me..."
"After thinking hard for a while, I finally figured out the reason."
Having said this, Atachi turned her head and gave Ogata a faint smile.
"Because I'm missing you."
"During the journey before, I didn't feel scared because you were with me."
Ogata was slightly stunned when he heard what Atachi said.
After a long silence, Ogata said softly:
"Don't be afraid, Ating. I'm here."
After hearing what Ogata said, the smile on Atachi's face became more obvious, and both of her eyes curved into crescents.
"Ayi, come and chat with me."
"Then... after we get tired of chatting and I fall asleep, could you please carry me back to my room?"
"...Yeah." Ogata nodded without any hesitation, "Okay, no problem. Then... let's talk about some ordinary topics first."
"Something more ordinary? Like?"
"A-Machi, is there anything in particular you want to do after Shiranui is destroyed?"
"It's such a common topic... Ayi, is there anything special you want to do?"
"Now I'm asking you. After you tell me what you want to do next, I'll tell you what I want to do next."
"What I want to do next..."
After muttering this, Ating fell silent and lost in thought.
After a while, Ating said softly:
"…The bride."
"Huh? What?" Ogata, who didn't hear clearly what Atachi said, asked again because the words he just said were like the hum of a mosquito.
After a long silence, Atachi blushed and spoke word by word in a slightly louder voice:
"When there are no more pursuers from the Shiranui, I want to be a beautiful bride..."
“…What a simple dream.”
"What's wrong with being simple?" Atachi raised his hand and patted Ogata's shoulder unhappily.
After taking back the hand that patted Ogata's shoulder, A-Machi was silent again for a while, and then continued:
"Although it is indeed a bit simple, this is an unattainable dream for me..."
"When I was very young, I knew that as a female kunoichi, just planning to live an ordinary life is a luxury..."
Ating's words made the atmosphere around them suddenly become a little heavy.
Ating remained silent again for some reason.
Ogata also remained silent, not knowing what to say to ease the somewhat heavy atmosphere.
The two of them remained silent, making the atmosphere around them even heavier...
Just when Ogata was still trying to figure out what to say, A-Machi suddenly spoke up and broke the silence:
"I don't know when this simple dream of mine will come true, and ... I don't know if there will be a chance for it to come true."
There was a mixture of teasing and distress in Ating's tone.
Looking at A-machi, whose face showed a hint of melancholy, Ogata pursed his lips slightly, and then -
"Hmm? Ayi, what's wrong?"
Ogata suddenly stood up, causing Atachi to question him.
"A-Ting, follow me."
Ogata stood up, stretched out his big palm, gently held Atachi's slender, small hand, then held Atachi's hand without saying anything, and asked Atachi to stand up with him.
"What are you doing? If you want to go outside, let me put on my clogs first!"
Although she didn't know what Ogata was going to do, A-machi still obediently let Ogata hold her hand and pull her to the window.
There is only one window of medium size in Ogata's room.
Ogata opened the window, and the cool evening breeze immediately blew towards the two of them.
Ogata raised his head, determined the directions of east, south, west and north based on the position of the moon, then stretched out his finger and pointed eastward:
"That's the East."
"Going east from here, we can reach Mikawa, Totomi, Suruga, and finally Edo."
"That area is commonly known as the Kanto area."
"As the ruling center of the shogunate, Kanto must be much more prosperous than my hometown and Kyoto."
Ogata twirled his fingers.
" That 's the North."
"Going north, we will reach Ezo."
"Ezo is a northern country, and once winter comes, everything is covered with snow."
"I'm a little ashamed to say that I've never seen a snowy mountain. I really want to see it."
Ogata changed the direction of his finger again.
“That’s the West.”
"Go west from here and you'll reach your hometown, Omi."
"Go west and you'll reach my hometown, Izumo."
"It has been almost a year since I left Izumo."
"Although I don't have many acquaintances in Izumo anymore, I would still be happy to go back to Izumo if I have the chance."
Ogata slowly retracted his fingers.
"Japan may seem big, but compared to the rest of the world, it's just a tiny country."
“There are many countries in this world.”
“There are definitely many sights in these countries that you can’t see in Japan.”
Ogata folded his arms across his chest, looked at the high mountains , and said calmly:
“That’s what I want to do next.”
"Huh? What...?" Ating looked confused.
“This is what I want to do next.”
Ogata repeated what he had just said word by word.
“I want to see different scenery all over the world without any restraints and freely. This is what I want to do next.”
"After I destroy Shiranui and cure the immortal poison in my body, I will carry a sword like before and become a wanderer who regards the world as my home. I will then wander aimlessly and see the scenery everywhere."
"Different from my simple dream, Ayi, your dream is so grand." A-Cheng said in a half-joking tone.
"That being said, if I were to wander alone without anyone to support me, I'm afraid that one day in the future I wouldn't be able to pursue my dream."
As he spoke of this, a faint smile began to appear on Ogata's face.
"So - Ah-Ming, come and help me realize my dream."
“Huh…?”
"I'll help you realize your dream, and then you can help me realize mine."
After saying this, Ogata slowly turned his head and looked directly into Atachi's eyes.
His extremely clear eyes, which made people think of the sky and the sea, clearly reflected the figure of Ating.
"We have been working together seamlessly since we were on Butterfly Island. With our tacit understanding, we will definitely be able to realize each other's dreams beautifully."
When Ogata looked straight into Atachi's eyes, Atachi was also looking straight into Ogata's eyes.
The look in his eyes, which were looking at Ogata earnestly, seemed as if he was looking for something in Ogata's eyes.
Her big eyes revealed a hint of surprise, and in that surprise there was a hint of joy.
Her rosy lips were tightly pursed, with the corners of her mouth slightly raised.
"Do you know what you just said? Are you planning to change my name to 'Ogata-cho'?"
There was a hint of helplessness in Ating's tone.
Ogata did not respond to what Atachi said.
Just smiled.
Then——
Without any warning, Ogata slowly raised his hands, put them around Atachi's back, and held her in his arms.
The movements were as gentle as scooping up beautiful flowers floating on the calm water.
A-Ming did not resist Ogata's sudden hug.
After being held in Ogata's arms, Ating hesitated for a moment, then slowly raised her hands and gently hugged Ogata. That action was like a mother bird spreading her wings to protect her chicks.
While hugging Ogata from behind, Atachi stood on tiptoe and leaned her cheek against Ogata's.
Ogata also cooperated with Atachi and bent his waist slightly.
Their cheeks were almost touching, and Ogata could clearly feel the burning sensation emanating from her cheeks.
Ogata looked at her face intentionally or unintentionally, and saw a faint smile on her face, but she was biting her lower lip, as if she wanted to cry again.
Although it's strange to say this, Ogata just feels that Atachi at this moment is very... girly.
In front of Obe, A-Machi always shows heroism and strength far beyond other women of the same age.
This was the second time that Ogata deeply felt that the person in front of him was a delicate and fragile girl with a delicate heart.
The first time was during that long night in Kyoto, when Atachi was shaking with fear.
And the second time is now.
The two of them just let time pass by quietly.
These are chaotic times.
There is unrest everywhere.
In a world that is still in chaos, only this place at this moment is like a small boat floating on the sea at a quiet night.
