I assembled the strongest swordsman group.

"Without any other choice, the higher-ups have decided to put you, the 'top detective in the Northern Garrison,' in full charge of this case."

"Heh... Sending you out here, it seems the higher-ups are in a hurry too."

"Hmm? Nishino, why do you look so unwilling?"

At this moment, Dongcheng noticed that Xiye looked like he wanted to say something but hesitated.

Nishino pursed his lips.

After a moment of silence, he said in a deep voice:

"...Lord Dongcheng, since you've asked, I'll be frank: Yes, I... am not really keen on taking on this case."

"The person whose belongings were stolen by that cat monk... is either a notorious Yakuza or a heartless, unscrupulous merchant..."

"Because they all have powerful backers, we have been able to only watch these scumbags do evil all this time."

"No matter the reason, stealing is stealing, and a thief is a thief."

"However... I still feel quite pleased to learn that such a master thief has emerged who specializes in targeting scumbags like these who are difficult for us to deal with."

"The villains who should have been imprisoned are instead being arrested by us, and we have to send our precious manpower to arrest and punish those villains... This is truly..."

Having said that, Nishino seemed to have no intention of continuing and shut his mouth.

After Nishino began explaining why he didn't want to take on the "Neko-sō" case, Tōjō remained silent.

Only after Nishino finished speaking did Toujou finally manage a smile.

“Nishino, I understand you very well.”

"I actually really like this cat monk who did things that we've never been able to do."

"But what can we do, no matter how much we don't want to accept these tasks we don't like?"

Dongcheng's grin widened even further.

After letting out a few forceful, cold laughs, a mocking and playful chill appeared at the corner of his mouth.

"Who told us to be samurai who have to follow this shitty Bushido?"

"Lord Tojo?" Nishino was stunned as he looked at his superior who had suddenly made such a statement.

Dongcheng seemed to be immersed in his own world.

Ignoring the astonished look Nishino gave him, he continued quietly:

"Although many random people use all sorts of fancy words to explain what Bushido is."

"But the so-called Bushido, in essence, boils down to one sentence—"

Dongcheng's head slowly drooped down.

Immediately afterwards, a deep voice, as if from the deepest abyss, entered Nishino's ears.

"Forget all concepts of right and wrong, good and evil, and be like a puppet without your own thoughts, wholeheartedly serving the lord you serve."

"If the lord says the coal is white, then you must also say the coal is white."

"Your lord has ordered you to bring back the heads of 1000 commoners... So you must find a way to kill 1000 people... No matter how wronged or resentful you feel, no matter how much blood and tears you shed, you must endure it and not disobey your lord in any way..."

"Ugh... this stuff that's even more disgusting than the diarrhea I had this morning is supposed to be the 'morality' that we samurai have to uphold? Isn't that hilarious?"

"Hahahahahahahahahahahaha—!"

Dongcheng suddenly tilted his head back as if he were about to rip open the ceiling, patting his round belly while laughing wildly.

"Lord Tojo...?" Nishino was completely stunned.

This was the first time he had ever seen his boss act like he was going crazy.

"Ah... so it seems... we samurai, who are forced to abide by this shitty 'morality'... are just a bunch of human-shaped dung blocks..."

Dongcheng slowly stopped smiling.

"Thinking about it... the people of this country are truly pitiful, ruled by a bunch of human-shaped turds... Hehehehehe..."

"Lord Tojo..." Nishino took a deep breath and mustered his courage, "What... is wrong?"

Upon seeing Toujou in this state for the first time, Nishino felt a surge of doubt, fear, and unease.

He didn't even know what to say.

After hesitating for a long time, he finally managed to utter only, "What's wrong?"

"Ah...it's nothing, it's nothing." Dongcheng's head drooped again, and he waved his hand at Xiye. "It's just that what you said just now made me...feel a bit emotional."

"Okay, sorry, I seem to have talked about too many things that are not related to the main topic. Let's get back to the main topic."

Nishino saw a familiar smile on Tojo's face.

"In short—the higher-ups have decided that you will be in full charge of the 'Cat Monk' case."

"No matter how much you dislike it, there is no room for refusal or negotiation."

Dongcheng paused.

“Nishino, you can be quite slow-witted sometimes.”

"Huh?" Nishino was taken aback.

"Since you don't want that cat monk to get arrested... then wouldn't it be perfect to hand over this case to you?"

Upon hearing Dongcheng's words, Xiye felt as if the clouds had parted and the sun had shone through, his eyes shining brightly.

“…Yes!” Nishino replied loudly. “I understand! Please entrust the case of ‘Neko-sō’ to me with confidence! I will do my utmost to help!”

Dongcheng smiled and nodded, then waved to Xiye.

"Alright, I've said everything I needed to say. You may leave now."

"Go find Lord Usui to hand over the 'Neko-monk' case."

"I need to focus on dealing with some documents that I haven't finished yet."

"Yes." Nishino turned and walked out of the room.

But just as he was about to pull the door open and leave... he stopped in his tracks.

The image of Toujou acting like a madman just now lingered in Nishino's mind.

Nishino couldn't help but turn his head and look at Tojo with a complex gaze, mainly filled with confusion and astonishment.

"What?" Dongcheng smiled at Nishino, who was looking him up and down. "Why are you staring at me like that? Is there something on my face?"

"No……"

"If you don't have anything, then get out of here. How am I supposed to work if you just stand there like that?"

“Yes…” Nishino gritted his teeth, withdrew his gaze, and left Higashi's office without further hesitation.

The moment Nishino left... the smile that Toujou had just given Nishino vanished at a speed visible to the naked eye...

"Ah..."

"They actually reacted so strongly to what Nishino just said..."

"Heh heh... Am I becoming more and more abnormal...?"

Dongcheng's originally straight body bent over.

It was as if all the bones in his back had been removed; his entire body appeared listless and dejected.

Dongcheng raised his thick hands, covered his face with his palms, and gripped his messy hair tightly with his fingers.

Despite having a large belly, Dongcheng's body was originally very fat.

But at this moment, he looked so small and insignificant.

Like a helpless child.

Dongcheng murmured in a trembling voice, as if in a prayer:

"Your Highness..."

"When... will I ever be able to wash the blood off my hands...?"

*******

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Chapter 44 Kondo Shusuke and Kondo Pen

Koishikawa Kohinata Yanagi Town, Trial Guard Hall, Dojo——

The Shiwei Hall is quite deserted today.

To this day, not a single apprentice has come to study the Natural Rinshū style.

Kondo Isami sat alone on the edge of the dojo, wiping and cleaning the bamboo swords inside with a rag.

After polishing another bamboo sword until it shone like new, he put down the rag in his hand, held the bamboo sword in his palm with both hands, and raised it high.

His gaze was fixed on the sword, and he looked deep in thought.

After a long while, a soft sigh escaped Kondo's lips:

"……well……"

"Hmm? Yong, what's with all the sighing? Hehehe, I heard you sighing as soon as I got back. That's not good. As a man, how can you keep sighing like that?"

Abruptly, just as Kondo's sigh subsided, an aged voice suddenly rang out from behind him.

Upon hearing these words, Kondo's eyes widened slightly in surprise, and he quickly turned around and stood up.

"Father! Mother! You're back!"

Behind Kondo, at the entrance of the dojo, stood an old man and an old woman.

This old man had a fairly common height for men of this era, at most around 1.55 meters tall.

He wasn't particularly tall to begin with, and his back was slightly hunched, making him appear even shorter.