Miss Heber is fighting her way out of the Lostbelt!

But that has nothing to do with Hebe anymore.

......

Miss Aaron had a very long dream.

She dreamed that she and Fox were dancing in a field full of brilliant mountain flowers, chasing each other's tails. The dream was so sweet that she was still smiling when she woke up.

Walking along the path, Miss Aaron's steps were light and lively. She didn't understand why the road to the top of the mountain became rugged and difficult to walk on, but this did not bother the clever Miss Aaron. She changed into her original form and easily crossed those obstacles.

At the end of the road, the big snake saw a scarlet tree growing obliquely on the rock wall.

Hebe was leaning against the tree, as if he was sleeping quietly, or just resting.

A few red camellia flowers fell on her head.

A butterfly folded its wings and landed quietly on her dry fingertips.

There was a amulet lying on the ground.

It should have been pink, but maybe it was stained with some mud, making it look a little gray.

Miss Aaron picked it up curiously.

She was very happy and wanted to pull Hebe aside to talk to her, but she was afraid to disturb her.

"Fox, Fox, don't sleep."

Miss Aaron swam over, rubbed Heber's cheek affectionately, and whispered in her ear.

"Let's play together."

Eastern Region Volume 86: Observations during the End of the Edo Period

[The door to the next era has opened.]

"You completely brought the Heian period to a close, bringing an end to the chaotic times of demons and demons.

You ingeniously created a system called swordsmanship, allowing Scarfather's skills to flourish here.

You ingeniously taught the method of sublimation, enabling the Eastern Kingdom to move from ignorance to civilization.

You witnessed the end of the wrestling match and used your own life to add an unquestionable, unchallengeable and unchangeable touch to Scar Father's victory!

You taught the generals and the emperor of the East, allowing the country to move forward steadily under their eternal will..."

【A ruling official is taking notice of what you are doing.】

"The Shogun ponders eternally in endless meditation, while the Emperor maintains the existence of the 'singularity' in the cracks of time and space. However, history continues to proceed according to the demands of the ruling parties, and thus the shogunate continues to head towards the end you are familiar with."

"The warships of the United Federation's East Bharata Fleet, using the power of their celestial trolls, opened the door to the East Kingdom and forced the shogunate to sign a series of unequal treaties that were detrimental to the nation and aroused public discontent.

"Faced with internal and external troubles, individuals with lofty ideals raised the slogans of 'Respect the Emperor and Expel the Barbarians' and 'Purge the Imperial Court' and launched a military rebellion. The anti-shogunate faction, led by the four clans of Satsuma, Choshu, Tosa, and Hizen, prepared to hold a secret meeting in Kyoto to plot a coup against the Tokugawa magistrate, hoping to awaken the shogun and the retired emperor."

The current main storyline has been revised. After completing the main quest objectives, you can advance your progress towards this era, thereby opening the gate to the deepest part of this Lostbelt.

[Current main storyline: Sword hunting.]

[Countless famous swords gathered in Kyoto. Find your sword before the 'Deepest Gate' opens.]

The thick darkness gradually dissipated from Hebe's eyes, and the skylight illuminated her surroundings again.

His body felt light again, and the severe pain that had almost shattered his thoughts disappeared without a trace, as if it had never happened.

Heber stretched his arms and began to slowly think about the background of the current era.

In her previous life's history, the Black Ship Incident occurred in 1854.

By 1865, the anti-shogunate faction of Satsuma Domain, including Saigo Takamori and Ōkubo Toshimichi, had successively taken control of the domain.

In 1867, Emperor Komei, who had suppressed the anti-shogunate faction, died, and the 14-year-old Emperor Meiji succeeded to the throne. Meiji himself sided with the anti-shogunate faction, and the secret meeting of the three feudal domains of Satsuma, Choshu, and Aki also took place in 1867.

This year was probably the most chaotic year for the situation in Kyoto. Most daimyos adopted a wait-and-see attitude. It was not until the Battle of Toba-Fushimi the following year that the anti-shogunate faction completely controlled the capital.

The subsequent Meiji Restoration ushered in a wave of industrialization, making Japan the first country in Asia to embark on the path of industrialization.

But the problem is that the Eastern Country in the Lostbelt is fundamentally different from the Japan of the previous life.

The shogun, Minamoto no Yorimitsu, held the reins of power, not the shogunate minister, Tokugawa Yoshinobu. Furthermore, the retired emperor, the same old Bull-Headed Heavenly King, "Ugly Gozen," remained the same throughout history.

In this situation, it is a bit ridiculous to talk about the return of power to the right hand - power is nothing more than being transferred from the left hand to the right hand.

The surrounding environment became completely clear, and it was a bustling market town.

Even within the confines of Kyoto, this area is quite prosperous—vendors hawk their wares along the streets, while teahouses, shops, and bathhouses line the roadside. Women and geishas walk briskly in colorful kimonos, while samurai with swords at their waists wear snow-shoes. There are also some blond, blue-eyed Westerners.

There were also many imported goods in the shop. Heber glanced at the makeup mirror placed in the shop window.

In the mirror, she was dressed like a typical ronin, with fox ears fitting neatly under the straw hat on her head, a dull-colored haori on her body, and a furry tail sticking out from the hem of her clothes.

Of course, the tail and fox ears are obscured by illusion.

[Heber Stanton/Tamamonomae]

[Path: Sky Fox]

[Principle: Cup (Lootbelt-only). Represents the principle of desire, temptation, and pain.]

[Rank: Daylight (Lootbelt-only). The second rank on the path to ascension.]

[Current Lostbelt Conquest Rate: 0%]

"As a ronin, you should at least carry a sword—but where is your sword?"

Words appeared on the mirror and then quickly disappeared.

Heber couldn't help but twitched the corners of his mouth.

She realized she wasn't actually starting over.

On the one hand, her tail is still there, even though there is only one now, but the abilities granted by the first three tails have not disappeared.

In other words, Hebe can now also be seen as a fox with four tails.

On the other hand, she had finally embarked on the "Path". As far as she knew, there didn't seem to be any "Sky Fox" paths among the paths under the Cup Code.

Then there is only one answer.

"I'm opening up a new path..." Heber rubbed his eyebrows and felt a little pressured.

In addition, another problem at the moment is "food and accommodation".

In the Heian period, Hebe really had no choice, but now it is the end of the shogunate, so there is no need to put herself in a difficult position, right?

The sword can be found slowly, but before finding it, Hebe plans to "insure" his identity first.

The fox demon put his hands in his sleeves, asked a foreigner for directions, and then turned into the French Consulate.

With his outstanding knowledge, Heber quickly found a temporary clerical job, and with his excellent work ability, he received a considerable daily salary.

Heber strolled leisurely on the street and bought some snacks.

Charcoal stoves only became common in the late 18th century, and street vendors sprang up like mushrooms. They sold snacks like grilled squid, eel, dumplings, and sushi, each costing just four cents, earning them the nickname "four-cent houses."

At this time, there was a saying that went, "To enter a street vendor's shop requires subtle courage." This was probably because the samurai still couldn't bring themselves to buy food from street vendors.

In addition, Heber's biggest feeling is that the layout of Kyoto is very different from that of the Heian-kyo era.

Heian-kyo was divided into two parts: the left part was modeled after the city of Luoyang in China, and the right part was modeled after the city of Chang'an. Later, the right part was abandoned, but the left part survived and was continuously expanded, forming the present-day Kyoto.

The Shogun was the supreme ruler of the shogunate and the leader and symbol of the samurai family. However, when the Shogun was offline for a long time, someone was always needed to take over the administration, so the "Shogunate Bugyo" came into being.

The daimyos were still fighting, but the target they were fighting for had changed from generals to "executives".

Naturally, the Tokugawa family was the ultimate victor. In order to control other daimyo during the Edo period, they invented the so-called "Sankinkotai" system, which required the lords of various regions to come and report on their work progress at regular intervals.

In fact, this method was mainly to make it easier for the shogunate to play around with the daimyo - after all, the less time the daimyo spent in their territory, the less likely they were to rebel.

Thanks to this, the inns along the way have developed significantly. The so-called "hatagoya" is very similar to the inns of later times, providing one night and two meals, and also having corresponding waiters.

Of course, if given a choice, Heber didn't want to live in a cage house.

The reason is very simple. Hatagoya of this era usually provided gambling equipment, opened private casinos, and even worse, sold prostitutes part-time.

Heber spent some money and hired a local as an intermediary. Under the power of copper coins, the intermediary worked very hard. Unfortunately, Heber didn't like the positions he recommended.

Just when the smile on the brothel man's face became a little stiff, they passed by a secluded courtyard.

"It would be nice to have a yard like this," said Heber.

"This yard is also rented out." The broker shrugged and lowered his voice, "But no one dares to rent it."

Heber raised his eyebrows: "What do you mean?"

ps: No more tonight, I will get up at 4 o'clock tomorrow morning to update (desperate), mainly because I have to send someone off in the morning, so I can't stay up long tonight

Eastern Volume: 87 Why the Shinsengumi!?

The middleman was embarrassed and lowered his voice.

"Oh... you don't know, there's a consumptive patient living in this yard."

Heber frowned slightly: "Tuberculosis - are you sure?"

"Of course it's true!" the broker's voice rose. "Every evening, that coughing sound... Once you hear it yourself, you'll understand everything!"

Heber's long eyebrows raised slightly. She was about to say something when her body suddenly leaned to the other side.

The person behind him wanted to bump into him without any hesitation, but Heber's timing was too precise, causing the person to stagger.

Heber turned around and looked at the tall, well-built man... and the other warriors following him with blazing eyes and swords at their waists.

Kondo Isami cast a doubtful look at Heber.

The moment their eyes met, the warriors with swords drew their swords one after another. In the gradually darkening sky, the cold light of the swords stung people's eyes. The calves of the yamen could not stop trembling. He looked at the haori on those people and let out an uncontrollable scream.

“Ah, huh?! Shinsengumi, Shinsengumi… why, huh!”

In a flash, all the news were connected together under the dim sky.

Hebe glanced at the door to the secluded courtyard.

The consumptive...is it Okita Souji?

Of course, this action did not escape the eyes of the leader: "Shinsengumi, please tell me your names!"

The Shinsengumi is a grassroots security force that enforces the law with violence. When they feel that someone is problematic, they can directly "Kisaya Gyomen" - that is, they have the power to kill without mercy.

Kondo Isami originally came to visit the seriously ill Okita Souji. When he saw Heber standing in front of her door, he just wanted to push her away.

But the problem is that Heber avoided it.

This proves that her identity and abilities are not simple.

What does such an unknown person with an unknown identity want to do when he appears at Souji Okita's door?

You have to know that as the sharpest knife in the Shinsengumi's hand, Okita Souji's hands are stained with countless blood, and how many people want to take revenge on Okita Souji!

No matter what the reason, Kondo Isami must first take down this uninvited guest.

"I just want to rent a house." Heber shrugged. "If you don't want me to, I'll leave now."

She tried to go back, but the forest of sword lights blocked her way.

"Nothing to discuss?" Heber looked at the sturdy man, "Are you Hijikata Toshizo or Kondo Isami—"

Before he could finish his words, a fierce sword light rose from under the raised haori of the sturdy man and pierced into Heber's eyes like a white rainbow!

There was originally plenty of space for maneuvering on the street, but now it had been artificially narrowed. Heber frowned.

You're not talking properly, are you? Then forget it.

Heber took a step back, then swung his fist at the sword that was less than a few inches in front of him.

Now, it was the sturdy man's turn to change his expression suddenly.

So fast, and so heavy!

The fist collided with the side of the sword, pushing him aside.

Kondo Isami almost couldn't catch his breath.

But while he was adjusting his breathing, the short ronin wearing a straw hat had already rushed into his scattered sword circle with his bare hands.

Heber reached out and grabbed Kondo Isami's collar, lifted him up and threw him to the ground.