In order to become a Heroic Spirit, I had no choice but to cause trouble in history.

......

Ryoma temporarily settled Zuocun in his own room at the inn.

A doctor was brought in to bandage and treat the wound. Ryoma and Miss A-Long looked at the still unconscious Zuo Cun and remained silent.

He wondered if he had become too complacent.

Having learned the Hokushin Ittō-ryū style and having Miss Aryū by his side, are you perhaps being a bit presumptuous in your actions?

I subconsciously wanted to assess this gentleman, so I naturally followed him.

Unexpectedly, this gentleman's swordsmanship was extremely superb. If it weren't for Miss A-Long's quick reaction, even if Ryoma wasn't killed instantly by this gentleman, he would at least have been seriously injured.

Later, they failed to stop Miss Ah Long's pursuit, leading to this battle that should never have happened.

How can someone of my caliber possibly fulfill their wishes...?

The still-young dragon fell into self-blame and self-doubt.

Miss A-Long hugged Ryoma's arm.

"Ryoma, did I do something wrong?" Miss Ryoma looked at the guilty Ryoma and felt a little sad.

"It's not your fault, Miss A-Long, it's mine." Ryoma's face was devoid of a smile, which made Miss A-Long feel a pang of heartache.

"Even if you're wrong, Miss A-Long is wrong too. We're the ones who're wrong." Although Miss A-Long still dislikes the guy lying on the ground, she doesn't mind putting aside this little bit of grudge for the time being to make Ryoma happy.

“...Thank you, Miss Ryoma.” Ryoma was silent for a moment before smiling and speaking.

"I should be grateful for this incident. Although I feel very sorry for this highly skilled swordsman, at least I didn't make a mistake I will regret forever, and there is still a way to make amends." Ryoma sighed deeply.

“Mm!” Miss Ah Long smiled as well.

Ryoma is happy, and so is she.

"Ah, judging by the time, it's about time to change this gentleman's dressing." Ryoma suddenly remembered.

"Speaking of which, this gentleman is really strong." Ryoma exclaimed as he changed the bandages.

“Yes!” Miss Alon touched her forehead, where the wound had disappeared, leaving her smooth and delicate. “In all my years, this is the first time I’ve met someone who could hurt me, except for the gods in heaven!”

"Oh, is that so? That's amazing, Miss A-Long."

Zuocun felt a sudden wave of discomfort while he was asleep.

------------

Chapter 296 Like-minded People

Zuocun woke up.

He looked at Miss Ah Long, who was staring intently at him in the darkness, and couldn't help but smile.

"I never expected that the first person I'd see in hell would be the one who killed me... How did you die?"

Miss Ah Long remained expressionless.

"What nonsense are you spouting, you bastard?" She nudged the sleeping Ryoma. "Hey, that guy's awake, Ryoma."

"Huh?" Zuo Cun realized.

"Oh dear, he actually fell asleep." Ryoma rubbed his head, sat up, and immediately saw the bewildered look in Samura's eyes.

Ryoma sighed.

The two people were sitting facing each other.

"I lost, so why weren't you killed?" Zuo Cun asked, frowning.

In his mind, in a duel, the victor would not hesitate to kill his respected opponent, while the loser would not hesitate to give up his life.

The bandits killed by Zuocun: ? ? ?

"I'm sorry." Ryoma lowered his head without hesitation and pressed Miss Ryoma's head down as well.

In his interactions with Ms. A-Long, Ryoma rarely made decisions for the not-so-bright Ms. A-Long, but this time, he truly felt sorry for her.

"I'm sorry..." Miss A-Long said to Zuo Cun somewhat reluctantly.

"Why...why are you apologizing to me?" Zuo Cun was a little confused.

"Let me explain." Ryoma raised his head, revealing an embarrassed expression.

Samura sat on the tatami mat, looking at Ryoma.

He could feel that his injuries were... quite severe. The pheasant feathers were placed on the table on the other side of the room.

But the sense of danger from before was gone, so Zuocun decided to listen to what this man had to say.

"My name is Sakamoto Ryoma, from Tosa, a member of the Hokushin Ittō-ryū school." Ryoma bowed slightly, giving a brief self-introduction. "This is Miss Aryu, she, uh..."

Miss Ah Long looked bewildered.

Ryoma was a little stunned. How should he introduce Miss Ryoma?

“If you’re willing to explain to me, I won’t tell anyone,” Zuo Cun said voluntarily.

Judging from the current situation, the other party is not like yesterday, so it would be acceptable for me to show a little goodwill, especially since my body has already been bandaged up.

Although the injury was inflicted by the opponent.

"Ah, I see... Thank you for your understanding." Ryoma smiled.

Yesterday, Zuo Cun attacked without any explanation, and he was still a little worried about Zuo Cun's personality, but now it seems...

Well, if someone is following you, it's only natural that you'd draw your sword.

"My name... is Zamura Anno, a wandering samurai, a member of the Hyakudori-ryu school." Zamura placed his hands on his lap, his gaze slightly cold. "Could you tell me why you've been following me?"

Ryoma fell silent.

He only shared his ideas with his two closest friends and family, Ms. A-Long and Okada Izo; he never mentioned them to anyone else.

Therefore, instead of answering Zuocun's question directly, he chose to ask it back.

“Mr. Samurai, I can answer why I’m following you, but before that, I’d like to ask you something.” Ryoma looked at Samurai Anno’s young and thin face in the moonlight. “What do you think of this country?”

Zuocun was somewhat confused.

This problem...

"I'm just a wandering ronin with no fixed abode, why would you ask me such a question?" Zuocun shook his head.

“You are a powerful samurai, and you must have your own insights or beliefs. I just want to hear them.” Ryoma maintained a smile as he looked at Samura.

"Can I express my opinion first, and then you can say yours?" Ryoma asked.

Zuo Cun thought for a moment and nodded.

"This country needs change."

"And the best time for change is fast approaching."

The two said these two sentences one after the other.

Ryoma's eyes gleamed, and Samura looked at Ryoma with astonishment.

“Mr. Samura…” Sakamoto Ryoma was somewhat excited.

Miss A-Long hid behind Ryoma, watching the increasingly awkward atmosphere with a disgusted expression.

"Mr. Zuocun, the reason why Ms. Along and I followed you yesterday was simply to see what kind of person you are."

“We met at the inn a few days ago. At that time, you didn’t have a knife in your hand, but your aura was fierce. I took notice of you then.”

Ryoma relaxed a bit and quietly began to narrate to Samura, who sat quietly to the side and listened.

"I originally intended to make friends, but it backfired unexpectedly."

Ryoma bowed again in apology: "I'm so sorry, Samura-kun. I will take full responsibility for what happened yesterday and your injuries. I..."

"Miss Ah Long will take responsibility too!" Miss Ah Long was clearly apologizing, but she struck a strong pose.

Zuocun sighed.

So that's how it is...

"If you had approached me in any other way, I wouldn't have drawn my sword," he retorted.

"I'm sorry..." Ryoma sighed.

The atmosphere suddenly became awkward.

"Samura-kun just mentioned change, right?" Ryoma continued the previous topic, "So, from Samura's perspective, how should change be implemented?"

Zuocun stroked his chin.

"I don't know, I'm currently measuring the land of Japan with my own two feet."

"I chose to travel to Japan precisely to find the answers."

"However, there is one thing I am very clear about."

When he meets someone who shares his interests, even the usually aloof Zuo Cun starts talking.

“I spent some time in Kyoto, and it was during that time that I came to know it.”

"The root cause of this country's incompetence is the shogunate."

"After Perry's second voyage, two ports were opened." Zuocun's gaze was sharp. "After that, the country's economy undoubtedly revived."

"But it also made the whole world see the incompetence of the shogunate."

"Completely unprepared and arrogant, the enemy is so frightened that he loses all composure just by standing in front of him."

"Both the number of foot soldiers and the number of weapons and equipment were severely insufficient. The emergency transfer of personnel from various places caused the already panicked people to panic even more, resulting in a surge in the number of bandits in various places."

During the time it took to travel from Kyoto to Nagoya, no fewer than a hundred of the bandits under Samura's command had perished.

This number is much higher than before.

"But I don't know how to change all of this. In the end, I only have myself and my knife."

"That's why I embarked on the journey to find the answer."

Ryoma's eyes lit up as he looked at the serious-looking Samura.