198 - - The Arrival of Gangdu

"Oh, so you saw Ibaraki Doji on the bridge."

"Yes. I can avoid most of the attacks, but I can't hit them. And I was at a disadvantage because of Ibaraki's range. I can run away from them without any problem.

The bridge is a kind of boundary, a classic place where strange things happen. Peter thought at first that it was the spirit of a human pillar buried in the abutment. --Why are you being so specific, Peter? Why are you being so specific, Peter? Why don't you just use the spirit of the white snake that lives at the foot of the bridge? Well, it turned out to be a white loincloth.

So how did you get him here without getting killed?

It was time for Ukon to ask questions over breakfast. Today's menu consisted of rice, miso soup, dried horse mackerel, simmered thick fried bean curd and bracken, nori tsukudani, and two kinds of pickles. Food prepared by others is 30% more delicious.

"They made a condition for us..." he said. If you can find a gentile with the sake-drinker as his god within three days, he'll be your god. If not, I'll take your heart. I guess."

"You got that, ......."

"Reckless. I thought you would be more cautious."

Sakon and Amane sigh in dismay, while Luba is surprised at what has happened in the next room while he was sleeping.

Luba can use chopsticks. He was invited to his late friend's house and sometimes ate Fuso's food (nihon kyoku).

"I knew the answer, you know."

He shrugs and looks at me.

"Well, if it wasn't Peter, I'd be the only one."

"What are you talking about, there were other Gentiles. ...... long time ago."

The reason why the residents recognize the Gentiles is because there is a past story that the Gentiles came in the past when the evil gods were active and joined forces with the residents of this world ....... It is because of this background that we came to this and were easily accepted by the Adventurers Guild and others. We are not the only Gentiles who have recently started playing the game.

But for both Peter and myself, the only Gentiles (players) in Fuso now are each other.

"More importantly, I've never seen them arguing over whether or not to stamp the devil's handprint.

Sakon looks at me sideways.

"I've often heard that ogres don't like to have their handprints stamped, though," he said.

No, it's not that. Ibaraki Doji is willing to press the button at all costs, but Homura doesn't want to."

"......"

"Huh?"

Ukon stopped moving as he lifted the teacup, and a dumb voice came out of Amane, its ending rising in pitch.

"After all, I accepted on the condition that you put on your clothes and behave yourself in front of me."

The dried horse mackerel fillets were a little small, perhaps on purpose for breakfast, but the meat was thick and tasty. As I was loosening the meat with chopsticks, I remembered Ibaraki Doji, who was so insistent on stamping his handprint on the second page of the book, even though I refused to do so, and who, without hearing me stop him, put his hand into his pocket to see if <> was there, and was bitten by a black man with tears in his eyes.

"Clothes ......?"

"Mm. I have no idea what's going on with Homura."

"The ...... part that's a headache is that it's still a word."

"Homura, you might as well just give up and let it be."

"Wait, it's not my fault this time, is it?　I think it's Peter's fault for picking up a girl with nothing but a loincloth and a bleached loincloth, not a loincloth......!"

Just as Amane and Ukon are puzzled, Sakon affirms that it is true. He then protests that Peter is placing the blame on him. In fact, Ibaraki-doji is now the demon on Peter's first page.

"I'm not talking about Ibaraki-doji, but the whole thing. --I'll teach him a lesson later so he won't get into trouble with Homura."

"Well, I hear you get into trouble a lot."

"What?　By whom?

Ruba has joined the fray.

"Galahad and his friends sometimes come here for a drink. They never say "what", so I was only half listening to what they were saying.

Luba stops talking and glances at me.

"It seems like you were right about the ingot, and now this."

"I'm just going about my day."

I'm discouraged. It's not my behavior that's getting me in trouble.

"Let me ask you one more time.　Who made Lord Thunder and the drunkard into a ceremony?"

"I escaped in the middle of the night and was favored at the demon banquet."

What about Kojiro?

"A pet I took for a walk gave it to me as a souvenir."

"And the pet, the dragon for whom Bahamut was named?"

"We had a standoff at first, but when I complimented him on how cool he was, he took to me. Maybe he is the type that grows from praise?"

"......"

"............"

".................."

As they answered Ukon's questions, the eyes of the three members of the Fuso-gumi became more and more fixed and steady. Peter and Luba are laughing aloud, as if amused.

"Is it partly because demons like to drink?

In the silence, Sakon blurts out.

"...... Well, from what I've heard of your exchange with Benibe, he must have caught your attention because he is a gentile without any ties here in Fuso, without making any unreasonable demands. Many things in the hidden world have grudges against those on our side. If Homura is the master, it seems unlikely that the balance of power will change. It's better for us too than a bad, ambitious person.

"So it's neither poison nor medicine. I warned you not to go out at night, by the way. I'm glad you're safe this time, but there are enemies whose magic doesn't work.

Ukon sighs and tells us that it seems that Shiki and the others have been resolved or shelved. Then Amane scolded him for walking around at night.

"No, I'm ......"

"Well, Shiki will protect you next time. But you should be moderate."

This sermon seems to have ended. It's nice that it wasn't a long sermon, or one that lingers. Amane's simple sermon gently reminds me of her concern for me at the same time.

One more night and one more day. We finally arrived at Koto!

We were surprised to see Momiji and Momiji standing on the other side of the shoji at the time of the ox, even though we said we didn't need them because of the warding. The shadow of the demon did not fall on the ground, but it appeared at the time of the ceremony?　When I asked him about it, he replied that the shadow would fall if it became a ceremony or if the person had a strong grudge against the object and was attached to it. It is a delicate choice.

Water flowing through a ditch, houses with tiled roofs facing the street. Looking into the back of the houses, we see shingle-roofed row houses. It is Edo, Edo. When I first landed in Fast, I imagined Europe in a theme park, but this is Edo in a period drama.

"Oh, that's nice."

"It's a little more exciting."

The inn towns along the way were also nice in their own way, but on a different scale and with a more sophisticated look. The indigo-dyed awning curtains of the stores on the main street are a rarity. It is a sunshade-like curtain made of a single piece of cloth like a large furoshiki, the top of which is attached to the eaves of the roof, with the lower part extending out into the street. The letters in white on a navy blue background, which appear to be the name of a store, look chic. I wonder if they are dealing with sun-sensitive items.　I'll check it out later.

Black but transparent. The ground hulls are scattered together like a hoshi (a kind of hoshi, or a kind of hull that has been ground together), and this also seems to enhance the transparency of the blackness.

They are buckwheat noodles. I prefer Sarashina Soba to Yabusoba, which is made from buckwheat flour ground with the hulls, but this Soba looks good. The reason why I don't like Yabusoba is because I have been fed a lot of bad buckwheat noodles by the old men in my parents' neighborhood, who only bought the ingredients for their buckwheat noodles when the buckwheat noodle making craze came. I remember that the buckwheat noodles were black with hulls, but they were kind of whitish and had a lot of chips in them. It must have dried out because of the process of connecting and putting them together. Why do they want to make difficult Jyuwari Soba?

"Be careful with the soba sauce, it is very thick here.

Amane, who has chosen the restaurant, warns me with some pride. Is that the Edo-kko way?　Following the advice, I dip the tip of the picked buckwheat noodle into the dipping sauce and take it out. It is quite late in the season since the fall when buckwheat noodles are made, but the aroma of buckwheat noodles in one's mouth is very nice. It may be due to the fact that I only put a little bit of the dashi broth and soy sauce on the tip of the buckwheat noodle, but the aroma of the dashi broth and soy sauce is not overpowering.

The kabayaki with kobashira and mitsuba (mitsuba) is also good. Quick!　The scallops are just the right consistency, fried to perfection!　The hot and steamy soba noodles that Peter and his friends are eating also look delicious. I don't like hot Soba for the same reason as Yabusoba, but on a cold day, I am a little bit attracted to it.

We were also taken to a sweet shop recommended by Amane, an accessory shop, a one-size-fits-all rice shop, a kimono shop, a bougu shop, a sweet shop, a sword shop, and a sweet shop.

"You're really excited!"

By the time Peter had finished his comment, Luba and Sakon had gone limp. Me?　I too have reached my sweet tooth limit. Gghh.

Amane, that's enough. I'm going home.

"Ukon-sama ......"

Ukon admonishes.

"Excuse me. When I get home, I have to take over the family business. I won't be able to do as much as I used to do.

"Is today the last time you'll be a free man?"

Peter confirms Ukon's words. It seems that Amane had been dragging Ukon around in order to let him enjoy his freedom until the very last minute. It is probably for the same reason that Sakon did not stop Amane.

"I wonder if that would be the case?"

"Well, then, shouldn't we go wherever Ukon wants to go?　I'll go with you, okay?"

Ukon didn't seem to be much of a sweet tooth either.

"I don't know many places. Besides, it's time to go. I don't want to get you guys in trouble.

"I don't know anything about the family business, so I say irresponsibly, you don't have to go back to such a cramped place.

I hate the fact that there are people involved in this long journey who are even bothering those who were with us just because we arrived a day or two late.

"It's a tight squeeze, but I'm satisfied with it."

Ukon laughs quietly as usual.

"Ukon, Sakon and Amane didn't look like they lived together, and I knew I would have to say goodbye to them when I arrived. There was a feeling that we would never see each other again."

I saw Sakon and Amane off to go with Ukon and am now experiencing the hot-spring house. They are soaking in the hot water in a dark room with the steam rising up from the hot water, and they are almost overtired and run away early, and are lounging around upstairs. There is a chess game and a yellow cover (manga) on the wall, so please laze around!　It's a space that just says, "I'm here.

"If you had told me earlier, the three of us could have had a little more time together."

"Well, I guess we were all a little too busy being cautious and stuffy with only those who knew what was going on."

I think of the three of them parting and say something like that, and Luba says the same.

Peter and Ruba, who appear to be depressed, are quietly getting heated up by playing chess. They are not taking their eyes off the board for their previous lines. It seems to be a good game, but I am not good at chess or shogi, so I don't know who has the upper hand. Anyone wants to play Go with me?

As mentioned on the road, we are meeting Sakon here, as we are going to visit his house. He also said that he would like to make a way for us to say that Sakon was there to watch us with a powerful demon to see who we are." Ukon said, "The old men will be very noisy when they find out. I'm planning to escape as soon as I wander around Edo to look for ingredients.

Since the two men don't seem to be interested in me, I flip through the yellow pages.

......Who's that!　Whoever replaced the cover of the spring book (erohon)!　Katsushika Hokusai's "The Octopus and the Diver"? I close the book quietly and quickly, and look at Peter and Luba with a face that says, "I'm not interested in pornographic books. They were so absorbed in playing chess that their eyes meet at such a moment.

"What's wrong?"

"Yes. It's nothing.