This is not the date I wanted.

"Really, you are still haunting me like always."

Origami said without changing his expression.

"There may be one or two horses in the city, but there is absolutely no way there are that many. Moreover, kidnapping the city lord is obviously not a wise choice when Orihime is already a hostage. It is nothing more than planning to block the guards' sight, and then use ventriloquism to create chaos, trick the guards into gathering to the city lord's side, and then escape through the gap in the encirclement."

"Huh~ I've been using this trick for so many years. You're the first one who can see through it at a glance."

"Attendant Yuanyi, please do not hurt Lady Mengyue. Lady Mengyue is my friend. The reason why I took her out was just because I hoped..."

"Your Highness, Orihime, you have been deceived. This man is a thief who is known for his cunning and ability to see through human nature. He must have deliberately used all kinds of sweet words to deceive the innocent princess."

Origami stared at Meng Yue with cold eyes.

"No, no. Lord Mengyue is not what you think..."

"Hey, hey~ Shiori-chan, don't make things worse~"

Meng Yue shook her head helplessly. She looked around and couldn't help but smile bitterly.

This is really... a little bad...

The smoke bomb that Meng Yue threw had also dissipated at this time. The guards had regained their sight, and seeing Meng Yue and Shi Zhi not far away, they quickly surrounded the two.

"Orihime, my daughter."

The city lord, with a look of confusion on his face, walked over under the escort of the guards and looked at Shizhi.

"I feel very sorry for letting you encounter such a thing when you are about to get married, but don't be afraid. Soon, I will help you get rid of the little fly that disturbs your life."

Shiori couldn't help but tremble a little. Although his father, who had a look of "?" on his face, spoke in a very gentle tone, in fact, there was an undeniable seriousness in his words, and the content of his words was even more unacceptable to Shiori.

His hand was wrapped by a warm hand. Shizhi looked up and saw Mengyue giving him an encouraging smile.

Shiori's heart unexpectedly calmed down.

(If I were alone, I would definitely be unable to do anything, just like I was back then. But, things are different now...)

"No, it's not like that, Father."

Standing up from behind Mengyue, Shizhi, the city lord with a look of "?" on his face, denied it with an extremely firm attitude.

"This Lord Mengyue is not some annoying fly. He is my only and most precious friend."

After hearing Shiori's speech, the guards became confused about the situation and began to whisper to each other.

"I don't plan to get married, so I asked Lady Mengyue to take me away! And, even now, I have no intention of going back."

"Throat..." Shiori's answer seemed to be a little beyond the city lord's expectations, but he was not nervous about his daughter's slight resistance.

"So, if I let go of your precious friend as a condition, would you be willing to marry honestly?"

After hearing the words of the city lord, Shiori fell silent. Just when the city lord thought that Shiori was convinced by his conditions.

"That's true... It's indeed a very good condition. If possible, I don't want my friends to be in danger because of me."

"very good……"

Thinking that his words had shaken Shiori's heart, the city lord, who had a look of "?" on his face, showed a hint of pride.

"But please solemnly refuse."

"...?!"

"Are you asking why? Because what I, Gokawa Shiori, like to do most is to say 'No!' to those who think they are in an absolutely advantageous position."

"?!!!!!!"

"Lord Mengyue...please don't pretend to be my voice and say something weird."

Mengyue turned her head and whistled to indicate that she knew nothing.

Sighing helplessly, Shizhi looked at the man with a look of "?" and said, "Because, Lord Mengyue said it. He didn't save me for me, but came here simply because he wanted me. So even if he failed the first time, Lord Mengyue would come a second or third time. I believe that even with my father's tolerance, he would not forgive Lord Mengyue for being so unreasonable."

"..."

In response to the gaze from Origami that seemed to want to cut her into pieces, Meng Yue said that she still saw nothing and continued to whistle.

"So, are you planning to commit suicide here with that thief?"

"How is that possible? I have no intention of dying here at all."

Shiori blinked playfully, sighed, and a meaningful smile appeared on his face.

Looking at Shiori's devilish smile, Mengyue couldn't help but feel that maybe it was really like Origami said, that she had corrupted the innocent and pure Shiori.

"Lord Mengyue."

"Ok?"

"Should you...really use all your means?"

"Yes, I have used all the strategies I could think of. Without reservation."

"Then, Master Mengyue, can you take me to the outside world?"

"A piece of cake."

"Okay, I understand."

Although it was an inconsistent answer, Shiori showed a bright smile on his face.

Then, to the city lord who had a grim look on his face, Shiori gave a decisive answer.

"I will not go back! I want to escape from this birdcage and go see the mountains and rivers of this world with my favorite friend!"

"Hou, my daughter seems to have grown stronger. Very good! Very good!"

The city lord, who had a look of doubt on his face, was irritated by Shiori's unshakable look and laughed out of anger.

Origami looked at Shiori with some surprise. The princess's expression was different from usual firm and bright, and Origami couldn't help but fall silent.

"Tobiichi! Capture Orihime and that little thief!"

"……Yes."

Origami looked at the hesitant guards and sighed inwardly.

To be honest, Origami is now a little hesitant and curious.

Logically speaking, all of Meng Yue's schemes had been seen through by now. She was surrounded by guards and soldiers on all sides, and it was impossible to escape.

Why did Princess Orihime choose to believe the other party so easily? Then why did Liangyi Mengyue make such a confident promise?

What tricks does this most cunning ghost in the thieves' group have up their sleeves?

Wait! The Nurarihyon from the Gang of Thieves… The Gang of Thieves! Origami’s eyes widened involuntarily.

As if in response to Origami's guess, a figure landed in front of Mengyue and Shizhi with a "boom".

"Ah ah ah ah ah--"

The opponent roared and swung the giant sword in his hand. A violent air wave spread out from him, blowing down the surrounding warriors directly.

Hmm——Origami, who was standing closest to Meng Yue and the others, was within the sweeping range of the great sword. Origami held the samurai sword against her chest, but was pushed back more than ten steps by the unexpected force.

Sure enough, Meng Yue had never planned to come here alone from the beginning.

After realizing this, Origami couldn't help but clench his teeth.

"Oh, I found it, Mengyue, you are here. (chewing~)"

"A member of the thieves' group, Taotie - Yatogami Tohka."

PS: When I wrote this, I actually noticed that my imagination seemed to be a bit too big. . . . . . orz

19 Dream Moon Line 3rd day (Friday)

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The Yokai Thieves Gang, in the Edo period, there is probably no one who has not heard of this name.

Just like any other thieves' gang, the Yokai Thieves' Gang often steals valuables from trade routes or castles, and then distributes them to people in the slums.

Although the Yizhi Gang was seen as doing good deeds by the common people, it was undoubtedly a criminal organization according to the law. During the Edo period, there were other thieves groups that robbed the rich and gave to the poor, but they were basically captured by the shogunate soldiers after a short time.

However, this group of righteous bandits, whose number never exceeded single digits, has always been a difficult existence for the shogunate officials.

From the swordsman with natural powers, the witty counselor, the cruel and vicious musketeer, the strange man who uses the Qimen Dunjia, to the Yin-Yang master who is proficient in magic, etc.... Every member of the thieves group has magical powers in a certain field that are far beyond the scope of ordinary people's understanding. Therefore, they are feared as monsters.

According to the most exaggerated rumor, the shogunate once sent tens of thousands of soldiers to capture this group of thieves, but they were killed and slaughtered by the other side.

From then on, this nameless thieves organization was called the Monster Thieves Group.

"That iconic giant sword is undoubtedly Taotie - Yatogami Tohka!"

After one of the guards called out Tohka's name, the samurai who were originally planning to rush forward with swords in hand all took a few steps back unconsciously.

Different from the Nurarihyon Mengyue who was famous for his wisdom and deception, this monster was a real monster. With a sweep of his big sword, 90% of the people who approached would be chopped into meat paste.

"Oh, I found it, Mengyue, you are here. (chewing~)"

Looking at the big hole in the ground and the figure standing in the dust, Meng Yue sighed helplessly.

"Tohka, can't you be a little more restrained in the way you appear? A thief can't be so conspicuous."

"Hmm? I just happened to see that you seemed to be in trouble, Mengyue, so I jumped over from the cliff. Is that not okay (chewing~)?"

"No, to be honest, I should say that the timing is so good that I want to give it full marks. By the way, what are you eating?"

"Oh! This is what I bought from a foreign restaurant called a bakery. It's called kinako bread and it tastes really good. Mengyue, can you make it for me later? (Chew~)"

Meng Yue was speechless when she saw Shixiang, who was reluctant to put down the food in her hand while talking. Her brother was also particularly interested in eating. He often went to restaurants to participate in various big eater competitions and won the championship. Therefore, he was better known as a "glutton" by the shop owners who went bankrupt because of his cruel image on the battlefield.

"Hey, hey... After the flour is fermented, spread butter on the surface... Then save one for later. I'll study how to make it."

"Um... Lord Meng Yue. Is he an acquaintance of yours?"

Seeing that Mengyue and the other party could chat and laugh without any pressure in front of thousands of soldiers and guards, Shizhi couldn't help but ask curiously.

"Oh, this is the partner I was talking about, the ace (thug) of the Righteous Thieves, Yatogami Tohka."

"Hello, my name is Shizhi."

"Oh, my name is Tohka! Shiori, please give me your guidance!"

The city lord, with a puzzled look on his face, became furious when he saw Meng Yue completely ignoring him and chatting about family matters just because there was one more person.

"It's just one more reinforcement, you guys are more than enough! Soldiers, come on! Beat these two thieves to death..."

"Lord City Lord, something terrible has happened! Suddenly, several strange guys broke in from outside."

"Too strong! We are no match for him at all!"

"What……"

Upon hearing the bad news from the guards, the city lord's face turned pale.

“Kuku! Poor! Poor! A small fry like you is no match for the Son of Hurricane even if you bring along a mighty army!”

"Fearless. With an opponent like this, even if there are ten times more Xixian coming, I won't feel any pressure."

"Yoshi! Yoshino! We can't lose to them~"

"Well... I'll try my best..."

An exaggerated voice rang out in the crowd, and soon, with a sharp submachine gun as the skeleton, a long whip with a hissing sound and a huge rabbit-shaped Shikigami talking about wind and snow as cover, in just a few blinks of an eye, a gap was instantly opened in the originally thick human wall, and several figures appeared in front of everyone.

"Hmm~ Yakuya, Yui, Yoshino and Yoshina, it took quite a while. (Chewing)."

"Kuku~ You are indeed my followers. It seems that you have perfectly planted the seeds of fear in the hearts of people for our dark army."

"Complaint. Aren't the Xixians chivalrous thieves?"

"Really~ Tohka-chan can't do that~ When Yakuya-chan said she saw Yumezuki-chan, Tohka-chan actually jumped over the cliff. It was really scary~"

"...very dangerous..."

"Really? I just thought the shortcut was faster. (Gulp~)"

"Crow Tengu - Yamai Yakuya, Kamaitachi - Yamai Yuzuru, Snow Woman - Shiono..."

When the soldiers confirmed the enemy's formation, their faces turned pale at the same time.

To be honest, when the soldiers saw Yatogami Tohka, they had already begun to retreat, especially after seeing the other three monsters who were no less powerful than Tohka, they basically lost the desire to fight.

Although we have an overwhelming number of people on this side, no one wants to be the first to die.