Gorou didn't know how to answer. If he were to speak, the fact that he was a man would be exposed.
It was simply too embarrassing.
Washizu looked thoughtfully at the silent young woman before him and sighed to himself.
From her attire, she should not be a member of the resistance or from Tatarasuna. It was highly likely that she was a foreign tourist or someone from Narukami Island. That pair of ears did remind him of the resistance leader Gorou, who was just across the gorge.
But that General Gorou was a man and seemed to have no sisters. It should just be a coincidence.
"Leave as soon as possible..."
Washizu had originally wanted to persuade Gorou to leave, but halfway through his sentence, he seemed to have heard something and fell silent.
A moment later, he looked at Gorou again.
"Guest, the weather is cold and the rain is heavy. Why don't you come inside and sit for a while?"
Although Washizu still had a kind smile on his face, this smile, compared to before, was a little strange.
Because within this kind smile, there was a hint of ill intent.
As the general of the resistance, and with a canine's instinct for danger, Gorou immediately sensed the other party's malice.
His ears, which had been folded back in nervousness, immediately perked up. He subconsciously reached for his bow and arrow.
"Damn it, when I was changing just now..."
After grasping at empty air, Gorou remembered that in order to change clothes conveniently just now, both the short sword and the longbow on his body had been left with Mr. Himura.
"Miss, be careful not to catch a cold."
Washizu's expression became more and more wrong. He was like a completely different person from when he had just saved Gorou. The originally friendly smile on his face had also become ferocious.
The surrounding villagers seemed to have heard some kind of summons and also showed a tendency to close in.
Crisis was imminent.
"Village Chief, it's time to take your medicine."
Just at this critical moment, another voice sounded at the entrance of the village.
And this voice was like a bucket of ice water in summer, making all the villagers, including Washizu, shiver, and their eyes became clear again.
Gorou looked at the entrance of the village and saw a young man dressed as an apothecary standing there.
The young man was pushing a small cart. The only oil-paper umbrella was placed on the cart, shielding the barrels of medicinal liquid on it.
Rainwater and sweat were intertwined, and it was impossible to tell them apart. But he still held onto the small cart, which seemed to be on the verge of collapsing at any moment, and looked in this direction with a determined expression.
"Yas... Yashumoto."
Washizu also noticed his own abnormality just now. He subconsciously dropped the hoe in his hand and took a few steps back. He didn't even dare to look at Gorou again, and the frequency of his chest rising and falling was much faster than before.
Under the cover of the rain, it was impossible to see his expression clearly.
"It's time to take the medicine. Everyone, come and take your medicine."
Yashumoto gave Gorou a look, signaling him to go to the village entrance and wait for him. Then he began to distribute the "medicinal liquid" he had pushed over.
These villagers should also be aware of their own situation, so they did not resist the medicinal liquid sent by Yashumoto and even actively cooperated in drinking it.
It was just those who were terminally ill. They would only stare blankly at the sky, and then one night, they would quietly disappear at the village entrance.
No one knew where they had gone.
In fact, when everyone was still healthy, Yashumoto's teacher had once tried to follow a patient.
But after she came back, she went mad. The village chief, fearing that she would harm others, locked her in the village's cellar.
She hadn't made a sound for several days.
"Yashumoto, this medicine can cure our illness, right?"
Looking at the bowl of sweet-smelling medicinal liquid before him, Washizu was silent for a moment before asking Yashumoto.
Yashumoto's action of distributing the medicinal liquid paused for a moment, but it quickly returned to normal.
"It can, it definitely can."
After getting Yashumoto's promise, Washizu said no more and tilted his head back, drinking the medicinal liquid in one gulp.
"Send that young lady away. It's too dangerous here."
After helping Yashumoto collect the porcelain bowls from the villagers who had finished drinking the medicinal liquid, Washizu said in a low voice.
He himself also knew that if not for Yashumoto's shout, they would probably have... he never thought that even he had been affected.
"Village Chief, are we still going to the shrine today?"
Looking at Washizu's departing back, Yashumoto couldn't help but ask.
"Although the ward has been destroyed, it should still have some effect. I must do my best to maintain it, otherwise..."
Washizu did not continue, because they had all seen the power of the Tatarigami.
It was a serious illness that even Yashumoto's teacher could not solve. Now... it seemed that they could only pin their hopes on the ethereal gods.
"Village Chief Washizu, look at this."
Touching the bedsheet he had been hiding in his clothes, Yashumoto gritted his teeth and took it out.
This was posted on his door after the Shogunate's spies had infiltrated Yashiori Island.
[Residents, please do not panic. Lord Kujou Takayuki of the Tenryou Commission is deeply sympathetic to the suffering of the refugees on Yashiori Island and has come to rescue you. The Tenryou Commission will escort you all safely off this island. If you are in urgent need of assistance, please come to the Kujou Army's forward camp immediately.]
Logically speaking, Washizu should have been happy that the officials were willing to help them.
But after seeing this leaflet, Washizu's originally calm face became ferocious again.
"The Shogunate and the resistance are all cut from the same cloth. None of them are any good!"
The reason why Higi Village had become like this was all thanks to these two sides.
The people of Higi Village were just ordinary farmers. They just wanted to live. What was wrong with that?
Why did they, the ordinary people, have to bear the mistakes made by the Shogunate and the resistance?
After realizing that his condition was a little off again, Washizu quickly suppressed his anger, but the bulging veins on his forehead showed that he was actually not feeling very well.
"Show these leaflets to them. If they want to leave... I won't stop them."
Washizu knew that he was the village chief, and there were many things that required him to make decisions.
But since it was a matter of everyone's life and safety, he could not make decisions for everyone.
What if the people from the Shogunate had a change of heart and really helped everyone? Maybe some of the people in Higi Village could still survive.
He gave everyone the choice to stay or leave.
He would not hold back those who wanted to leave, and he would not drive away those who wanted to stay.
"Hey, Yashumoto kid, are you leaving?"
Looking at Yashumoto, who had begun to sort out the leaflets, Washizu asked him this question before he left.
Neither Yashumoto nor his teacher, Miss Nao, were natives of Higi Village. They were traveling doctors who went around to diagnose patients. In other words, even if they had left when the Tatarigami broke out, the people of Higi Village would not have said anything.
But that Dr. Nao had still insisted on staying, even at the cost of her own life.
"I'm the only doctor left here. Even if my medical skills are not as good as my teacher's, but... who isn't afraid of death?"
The first part of the sentence was a bit righteous, but the last sentence was a bit discouraging.
"So you're leaving too?"
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