If you don’t hurry to escape, you might not make it out in ti.
More and more townsn were awakened by this series of sudden fires, then fled the fire scene in fear.
Because everyone was busy escaping, hardly anyone noticed that—around each fire site—there were just a few suspicious figures lurking.
Without exception, these lurking figures were samurai with swords at their waists.
They all lifted their heads in delight, gazing at the growing flas and firelight with a look as if admiring their masterpiece...
...
...
Aoto was currently in a castle town nad "Key-cho".
Among the more than a thousand castle towns in Edo, this Key-cho was the most ordinary and unremarkable.
It neither had any famous stores or special industries nor did it house any notable figures worth ntioning.
But tonight—more accurately, just now—this usually inconspicuous castle town suddenly beca "eye-catching".
Because it was on fire.
The fire ca suddenly and swiftly.
When Aoto led Saito and others to patrol this Key-cho, he suddenly noticed a flash of orange light at the far left end of his view.
As his gaze shifted, the orange light gathered into distinct flas, ravaging the surrounding buildings...
Due to the dense population and architecture, Edo has always been a city prone to fires, with over a hundred fires occurring each year. Thus, the townsn of Edo had developed profound experience and skills in avoiding fires.
Upon discovering the fire, the townsn of Key-cho scread while hastily taking their families and important belongings, fleeing to places further from the fire scene.
The sudden fire left Nagakura, Harada, and the others stunned.
"Tachibana, Mr. Tachibana!" Fujimura stutteringly asked Aoto anxiously, "What, what should we do now?"
Aoto was also shocked by the sudden appearance of the fire but quickly cald down after a mont.
A fire breakout—in a place like Edo where hundreds of fires occurred annually—was not a rare thing, especially when it was the season where warming weather could easily start fires.
Yet Aoto felt the fire broke out a bit too conveniently!
Why did a fire suddenly arise at this pivotal mont tonight?
Aoto pressed his lips and, after a brief thought, quickly made a decision.
"Do any of you know where the nearest Town Fire Extinguisher station is?" Aoto quickly asked his subordinates around him.
Nagakura, Saito, Fujimura glanced at each other.
"I! I know!" Harada raised his hand high at this mont, "I previously worked for a certain noodle shop here washing dishes for a period! I know where the nearest Town Fire Extinguisher station is!"
Washing dishes?
Harada’s experience of washing dishes made Aoto feel a bit curious, but now wasn’t the ti for idle chat. He suppressed his curiosity and quickly said to Harada:
"Alright! Harada, you go imdiately to find the nearest Town Fire Extinguisher and have them co to put out the fire quickly! Go now!"
"Understood! I’ll be right back!" Harada swung his long spear onto his back and rushed to the street corner nearby, rapidly lding with the night.
Without ti to watch Harada leave—Aoto cast a sharp glance towards Nagakura and the others.
"You guys are responsible for coming with to the fire scene!"
Without any extraneous talk and having swiftly issued the orders, Aoto decisively turned his body and sprinted straight towards the increasingly bright firelight in the distance.
The hem and sleeves of his wine-red feathered robe were blown by the rushing wind due to his swift running, making a flapping sound.
...
...
Edo, the Foreign Language Research Institute, Katsu Rintarō’s office—
"Mr. Katsu! Mr. Katsu! Stop working for now! Sothing serious happened! A castle town in the west is on fire!"
Outside the room, Ugorō’s anxious shout interrupted Katsu Rintarō, who was still working overti translating.
"On fire?" Katsu Rintarō was first stunned, then hurriedly put down the brush in his hand, rushed to the nearby window, and peeked outside.
The western sky was illuminated by orange-red light.
Although the intensity of the firelight suggested so distance from the Foreign Language Research Institute, no one was sure whether the fire would spread over.
A small spark eventually evolved into a fire that could burn surrounding castle towns and even turn half of a city into a scorched wasteland. Such incidents were frequent throughout the Edo Era.
"Quick! Ugorō! Quickly help move these important books and manuscripts! Have the people currently studying and working at the Foreign Language Research Institute co to help too!"
With a face as somber as water, Katsu Rintarō walked swiftly in steps, turning three into two towards the corner of the office where the bookshelf was located, taking the books off one by one.
"Okay, okay!" Ugorō nodded vigorously.
However, suddenly — from the first floor of the Foreign Language Research Institute ca rapid footsteps, accompanied by the reprimands of the guards. The reprimands abruptly turned into exclamations, quickly followed by screams...
Amid the urgent transportation of books and manuscripts, Katsu Rintarō’s figure suddenly halted, tense, eyes fixated, gazing down at the tatami below: "What’s going on on the first floor...?"
...
...
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