"Mr. Tachibana, tonight... I truly owe you my deepest thanks."
Katsu Rintarō bowed sincerely to Aoto, nearly at a 90-degree angle.
"Mr. Katsu, there’s no need for such formality." Aoto raised his hand to help Katsu Rintarō stand up, modestly saying, "I was just fortunate, and rely did what a ’Three Tis’ samurai should do."
After learning that Katsu Rintarō wanted to see him, Aoto guessed that Katsu probably wanted to thank him in person.
Since he was free at the mont anyway, Aoto took the initiative to et Katsu Rintarō.
As expected, upon seeing him arrive, Katsu Rintarō imdiately bowed respectfully and expressed his gratitude solemnly.
Although Katsu Rintarō was older and held a much higher official rank, Aoto, despite having saved his life, did not act casually or disrespectfully when facing him, and always used respectful language while speaking.
After expressing his thanks to Aoto nurous tis in one breath, Katsu Rintarō finally straightened up, showing a complex expression of emotions.
"Mr. Tachibana, I have heard of your reputation before."
"You truly live up to your na... no wonder you’ve beco quite the young hero recently."
"Hmm?"
Katsu Rintarō suddenly widened his eyes and closely scrutinized Aoto from head to toe.
"Mr. Tachibana... haven’t we t recently? I feel like you seem sowhat familiar."
Aoto raised an eyebrow and laughed, "This afternoon, I went out for lunch and passed by the gate of the Military Academy; at that ti, I brushed past you as you were coming out, Mr. Katsu, so you might have seen then, and that’s why you rember ."
Katsu Rintarō showed a sudden realization: "Yes, yes, I rember now, you were one of those tall individuals I saw outside the Military Academy this afternoon."
"Haha, it seems we have quite the peculiar fate, don’t we?"
After a brief half-joking reflection, Katsu Rintarō turned his head, looking with a sowhat lancholic gaze at the Foreign Language Research Institute building beside them, half burned down.
"Mr. Tachibana, tonight you not only saved us but also saved this Foreign Language Research Institute."
"If not for your tily arrival, this academic center, built with the tireless efforts of countless people, would have been completely destroyed by those madn..."
"You have done a great favor for , for our Foreign Language Research Institute."
Katsu Rintarō shifted his gaze from the Institute back to Aoto, displaying a grateful smile.
"Mr. Tachibana, if you ever find yourself in need of assistance, feel free to co to us; we will do our utmost to help wherever we can!"
"Do our utmost to help...," Aoto smiled, "...well then, Mr. Katsu, I actually have a matter requiring your assistance now."
Katsu Rintarō was briefly taken aback but quickly responded, "What is it? Please do tell."
"Actually, it’s nothing much, just a question I’d like to ask you."
Aoto raised his hand, mimicking pulling a trigger.
"Mr. Katsu, how did you co by that revolver of yours?"
Outside the Institute, during the skirmish with the Anti-foreigner Group’s "Surrounding Team," Aoto had consistently heard faint gunfire erging from inside the Institute.
After the battle, upon inquiry, he learned that the gunfire ca from a revolver owned by Katsu Rintarō.
"Hmm? Mr. Tachibana, why do you ask?"
"Just curious," Aoto replied casually.
"Oh..." Katsu Rintarō nodded slightly, then without suspicion, pulled out a completely black revolver from his coat, "I got this gun two months ago when I visited the United States; a friend from Arica gave it to ."
"Although it’s powerful, loading it and aiming are quite troubleso. Hitting distant targets relies entirely on luck if not trained hard."
"I see..." Aoto murmured, "A gun from a friend..."
— So it wasn’t bought on his own...
Aoto couldn’t help but feel a twinge of disappointnt.
He had hoped to extract so information from Katsu Rintarō on where to purchase a gun...
For Aoto, whose soul hails from the 21st century, firearms had long captured his interest.
If there were a channel to acquire guns, he would have long abandoned swordsmanship and gone to buy a pistol!
Unable to obtain the desired information from Katsu Rintarō... Aoto felt regret, but he wasn’t overly anxious.
— Well... acquiring a gun... let’s leave it to fate then...
Aoto consoled himself with these thoughts.
...
...
Tonight, for many in Edo, would be a sleepless night.
The Magistrate’s Office "Three Tis," having exerted themselves since daylight pursuing the Anti-foreigner Group, were a given.
The townsfolk, to escape the fire, were fleeing with their families to safer places.
The Town Fire Extinguisher officials, trying to prevent the blaze from spreading, all had their faces blackened by smoke.
After nearly an hour of battle, the fire across Edo was finally extinguished gradually.
This swift containnt of the fire was owed to two factors.
Firstly: The favor of nature.
Although there was a light breeze tonight, the wind overall wasn’t strong, which greatly slowed the spread of the flas without the wind assisting it, granting the Town Fire Extinguisher officials ample ti to clear firebreaks.
Secondly: The mobilization by the Shogunate, specifically Tokugawa Iemochi.
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