I assembled the strongest swordsman group.

Hijikata Toshizo's expression was strange:

"Xiao Si? What brings you here too?"

The commander smiled gently:

"Even Kondo noticed your unusual behavior, how could I not?"

What kind of relationship do you think we have?

"It's understandable that Qingdeng and the others didn't notice anything unusual about you."

"But we are siblings."

"We can immediately detect the slightest abnormality in the other party—that's the ability we have, isn't it?"

After hearing this, Hijikata Toshizo said nothing more in his defense.

Looking at the two people who were "pincering" him from the left and right, Hijikata Toshizo sighed and spread his hands, his expression dominated by strong helplessness.

"Sigh... I just can't do anything with you guys..."

"You guys can even spot something's off about this? I'm really impressed..."

Although he was complaining, there was no sign of annoyance on his face; instead, he even showed a faint smile.

Then he fell silent, not uttering a word, as if he were trying to find the right words.

Kondo Isami and Souji were not in a hurry and waited quietly.

He did not keep them waiting for long.

In a short while, a faint voice rang out:

"...About two weeks ago, I kept having a strange dream."

“I dreamt that on a vast, boundless land, you were all moving forward.”

"As for me... I'm stuck in place, unable to retreat or advance."

"No matter how hard I try, I can't move my legs forward even half a step."

"I can only watch helplessly as you drift further and further away from me."

"To be honest, I don't know how to interpret dreams, and I don't understand the specific meaning of this dream."

"All I know is that whenever I wake up from a dream, an inexplicable unease always arrives as expected, enveloping my entire body..."

"Thinking about the upcoming 'Choshu Campaign,' I couldn't help but wonder: Could this dream be a premonition of my death?"

At this point, Hijikata Toshizo curled the corners of his mouth into a calm smile.

“If I go to the underworld and meet King Yama, I will naturally be unable to keep up with you.”

"I'm not bragging, but I'm not afraid of death."

"After going to Luoyang with Ju, I was prepared to die at any time and never hoped to die of old age."

"If I were to die a heroic death in the 'Changzhou Campaign,' I would accept it willingly and without any regrets."

"But... for some reason, ever since I started having this strange dream, I suddenly have a peculiar and intense desire—I inexplicably want to leave some trace of my existence in this world, especially the trace of my struggle alongside you."

"So I thought of cameras, and that led me to Kenzo Tamoto."

"And then comes today's story."

Hijikata Toshizo finished speaking.

As soon as he finished speaking, Kondo Isami, in a deep voice, slowly murmured:

"No wonder you were so enthusiastic about taking photos today, constantly pulling people to take pictures with you. So that's why."

If we're talking about who was the most enthusiastic photographer today, then Hijikata Toshizo might be a worthy contender for a spot.

He kept pulling people to take pictures with him, and almost everyone took a photo with him.

Hijikata Toshizo nodded slightly:

“That’s right, exactly. The thought that I might die on the battlefield of Changzhou makes me want to take as many photos as possible…”

"Mr. Hijikata, what nonsense are you spouting!"

Before Hijikata Toshizo could finish speaking, Souji interrupted him rudely.

She furrowed her brows, her face filled with displeasure.

"What 'died on the Changzhou battlefield'? Bah! Bah! Bah! That's all just your wild imagination!"

"It was just a strange dream, how could you connect it to 'dying on the battlefield'!"

"In my opinion, you're completely overthinking it!"

"I often dream of being overwhelmed by mountains of konpeito (Japanese candy).

"Why hasn't this dream come true after all these years?"

"A dream is just a dream, don't overthink it!"

"How could the dignified 'Demon Vice-Commander' die under the blade of the Choshu people?"

"Don't say such unlucky things again... cough, cough! cough cough!"

Suddenly, Souji stopped speaking and began coughing violently.

The cough came on so quickly and violently that it startled both Kondo and Hijikata, causing their expressions to change.

Kondo Isami asked first:

"Xiao Si, what's wrong?"

After coughing a few more times, Souji patted his chest lightly while taking deep breaths to regulate his breathing.

"No, it's nothing... I just caught a slight cold recently, don't worry about it."

Although Souji is the "Heavenly Sword" of the Shinsengumi and possesses physical abilities far exceeding those of ordinary people, in reality, his physical health is far from satisfactory.

She often catches a cold or fever when the seasons change.

It is currently the time when autumn is transitioning into winter, and the temperature difference between day and night is extreme, making it very easy to catch a cold.

Hijikata Toshizo and Kondo Isami were quite used to Souji's tendency to fall ill.

Therefore, after offering a few words of comfort, they stopped thinking about it.

Kondo Isami's gaze returned to Hijikata Toshizo:

"Ah Sui, this is really not like you."

"If it were you in the past, you would have just scoffed at these mysterious and absurd things."

"I would never go out of my way to take photos with people as souvenirs."

Upon hearing this, Hijikata Toshizo gave a playful look and shrugged.

"Yes, that's true."

“If it were ‘the old me,’ that would certainly be true.”

He emphasized the words "the old me" when he spoke.

“I certainly wouldn’t have done such fussy things in the past.”

"But now..."

He paused briefly at this point.

Then, he turned his head, raised his gaze, and looked at the crowd not far away who were still enthusiastically taking pictures.

Instantly, his eyebrows and eyes relaxed, his facial lines softened, and his expression gradually became gentle.

"I've become much more timid now."

After saying that, he stood up abruptly.

"In any case, it can't hurt for everyone to take more precious photos, can it?"

After leaving those words, Hijikata Toshizo said no more and strode away.

Before leaving, he added loudly:

"Don't tell anyone what I just said, especially not Tachibana."

"I don't want my personal reasons to affect Tachibana's judgment and command."

After leaving those words, he quickened his pace and strode away.

Kondo Isami gazed at his retreating figure with a complex expression.

After a short while, he let out a long sigh.

"Xiao Si, what kind of situation is this?"

“Ah Sui’s state of ‘prematurely settling his affairs’ is making me very worried…”

Seeing Kondo Isami's melancholy, Souji smiled helplessly.

"There's nothing we can do but take it one step at a time."

"I still stand by my opinion—it was just an ordinary dream."

"Mr. Hijikata is simply overthinking things."

"There was a time when I often dreamed that my teeth were rotten because I ate too much konpeito."

"It made me depressed for a long time, fearing that I would end up toothless at such a young age."

"As a result, to this day, my teeth are still in good condition."

"As it turns out, a dream is just a dream, nothing special, and there's no need to worry about it."

"Besides, who is he anyway?"

"He's none other than Hijikata Toshizo, the 'Demon Vice-Commander'!"

"Who has the ability to take his life?"

"From another perspective, this is actually a good thing."

“The ‘Demon Vice-Commander’ sometimes has the side of the ‘Bodhisattva Vice-Commander’.”