Chapter 104 Tail

  Not long ago, the newly selected warriors who could go on stage all went to war. Although they also advised me to go together, seeing the general's half-dead appearance, I endured the pain and didn't follow them. However, the harvest was still quite abundant. Just as they were not there, I went to the market to buy a lot of things, which would be priceless antiques if brought back to my era.

  What surprised me was that this time's expedition was actually the very famous "Ikedaya Incident", and it seemed like the Shinsengumi members had encountered a formidable enemy, including Fuwa from the previous battle at Ikedaya where he fought to the death with Hijikata. It seemed that because of Fuwa, Totsuka-san and his group didn't rush over immediately to kill the enemy, and all of their targets, the spies from Choshu, collectively committed seppuku.

  However, there were also fugitives who set fires in Kyoto while escaping, and the wind blowing from the north burned the southern part of the palace into a wasteland. It is said that for this reason, the pro-imperial anti-foreigner faction's political prisoners were also executed together.

  Afterwards, a new member joined the Shinsengumi - Itō Koshitarō, who was left in Edo with Hijikata, and brought back by Niimiya. This Itō was the master of the Hokushin Ittō-ryū sword school, which had a close relationship with Hijikata.

  However, Ito's arrival made some people happy and others worried (only Kondo was happy). Especially Sanan's face turned as black as a pot bottom, and he had to force a smile, which was terrifying. Both Sanan and Ito were from the Ittoryu school and also belonged to the Sonno Joi faction. Ito's arrival gave off a feeling that he wanted to replace Sanan, no wonder Sanan looked unhappy.

  Most of the members in the new squad didn't like Itou Kozutarou, and Totomi even bluntly stated that he disliked him. Harada thought he was annoying, while Shinpachi felt he was pretentious and fake. I also dislike Itou Kozutarou, giving off a bad impression at first glance with his suspicious-looking face, and from now on, I'll definitely keep my distance from him.

  It turns out that I've never had any leads on the father of this body, and that guy named Yukimura Kōdō is really good at hiding. And the information in this era isn't very good either... if Sabas were here, he should be able to find some clues about that old man quickly...

  It seems like Yamazaki has been researching something suspicious lately, let's sneak a peek at what he's doing with Kaguya. I thought to myself while looking around the dormitory, but I don't know where Yamazaki's research room is located... my room is in Yaguchi residence... Ah, I'll ask Kaguya first.

  "Na-chan, where did you say the laboratory of Yamazaki-san is? Is it Yagii Manor or Maekawa Manor? As an animal, her intuition should be much better than ordinary people's."

  Master, I think it's the Maekawa residence. The Yagi residence is where you and the executives live, so no one should be researching near the Tsuchida residence. The Maekawa residence is for ordinary squad members, and besides, I heard some strange noises last night.

  →→How can you hear that when Yagii's residence and Maekawa's residence are so far apart? I don't believe this rabbit comes with a built-in wind-ear function.

  Qaq master...... I was just playing with the little animals nearby. Sena discovered that she had exposed her tracks and instantly became teary-eyed, looking at me with a pleading gaze.

  Is that so? I'll withdraw my gaze for now; investigating what's going on in the south of the mountain is most important.

  …………

  ………

  Waiting until night, I and Sena sneaked out of the house. The ancient air was unexpectedly good, but the dark night and the rustling tree shadows in the wind had a very eerie feeling...

  "Good evening, Little Crane. Where are you thinking of going? Are you thinking of running away?"

  A voice suddenly emerged when I was distracted, making me tense up even more, and a single syllable of fright escaped my mouth. I looked at the source of the sound in terror "Ah!"

  "Haha... Wow, what an unexpected surprise! I've never seen Xiaochi look like that before~" Zong Si was stunned for a moment, and of course, he couldn't help but burst out laughing on the spot.

  I glared at Soji, why does this guy always suddenly pop out of nowhere and scare people to death at night? "Soji, have you had enough laughter?"

  "Anyway, you should go back home first, it's not the time for kids to be out at night." General Tong saw me staring fiercely at him with an unusual smile, and his face turned serious. "However, if you encounter something scary, call for help immediately."

  "...but I've never screamed or shouted loudly before." I lowered my eyes, and for some reason, a hint of sadness flashed through my heart. "What's the terrible thing?"

  The general blinked his eyes and smiled slightly "Like a terrible nightmare, a terrible monster. Hmm, and the devil vice-captain in the cave?"

  "Monsters, huh... Mr. Tsuchida's scowling face and sharp gaze are quite intimidating, though." I muttered to myself.

  "......I'm going back, let's consider this as a midnight snack, it's delicious." He took out a bag of strawberry daifuku and handed it to the general, then carried Shina and walked towards the room.

  "....Strawberry Daifuku, it's quite rare." General Sari smiled with narrowed eyes, took out a strawberry daifuku and put it in his mouth, walking towards the central courtyard.

  I looked up at the sky with some helplessness, is it because of my poor character? I thought about sneaking a peek but got caught, I guess I'll just go back to sleep. It's quite troublesome to sneak past Soji's eyes and into Maekawa's residence. But what is Soji doing here so late at night? Is he having a secret meeting with Koharu?

  Walking back and forth in boredom, but just now it seemed like someone's shadow flashed before my eyes, the direction was probably towards Hiroba... "Nayu-chan, do you think we should follow that shadow? As long as it's not a ghost, I'm scared of ghosts."

  "Let's go, Master! It's so boring staying in the Shinsei group all the time! That person just now was a human!" Sena poked her head out from my chest, and her drowsy expression instantly became energetic.

  Although I really want to scold Shinana, it's better to follow that person's shadow, even if it's a ghost I'm not afraid! I'm from the blood clan, how can I be afraid of ghosts? Probably...

  Sneaking behind the figure, I unexpectedly discovered that it was actually Shannan Sang. He was holding a glass test tube and shaking it, with a transparent reddish liquid inside, but it didn't look like blood, more like something with added spices.

  "It's unexpected that you'd see me." Shannan turned around to look at me, but his expression was a bit strange, as if all his worries had been resolved, and he wore an unexpectedly pleasant smile.

  "......Have you seen this?" Shannan was holding a small glass bottle in his hand, filled with dazzling red **, which was the ** from the glass test tube just now. "This is the medicine made by your father Nagato under the secret order of the shogunate."

  I looked up at him with a gaze, this is actually the legendary father Shige Michi made, but what is this thing used for?

  "It was originally something that came from the West, a kind of secret medicine that could cause people to undergo intense changes. The most primitive effect is to enhance the self-healing power of the person taking it, but this medicine has a fatal flaw, and its excessive efficacy can make people lose their nature. What will happen to those who take the medicine... you've seen it before, haven't you?"

  I've seen it? It makes people lose their true nature... Is it the Rakshasa that the main god mentioned? I feel like it's similar to Levele, and it feels suspicious.

  "It seems you've remembered, those frenzied soldiers you encountered. After taking the medicine, they lost their sanity and became bloodthirsty monsters. If they go berserk at the sight of blood on the battlefield, then even the strongest will be meaningless. The organization has been improving this 'medicine' in a testing facility called 'Shinsengumi'."

  "Unfortunately, his whereabouts are unknown, and the research on 【medicine】 was interrupted. Based on the data he left behind, I modified and completed this." Shannan smiled gently, lightly shaking the small bottle in her hand.

  "If the potion is diluted as much as possible, and I drink it down, my wrist will be healed, provided that the medicine is successfully brewed." Shannan's smile disappeared.

  "It's not with this thing, my wrist won't heal! I'm already a useless person, even ordinary soldiers are talking behind my back. If as a swordsman I'm dead, only leaving a corpse-like body... then as a human being... I should also die. If successful, my wrist will heal, it's not a bad gamble." Shannan said, getting more and more agitated, his eyes revealing a madness I've never seen before, his mind has become twisted...