Though they weren’t very familiar with each other yet, they were chatting quite enthusiastically on their way to the sushi restaurant.

The reason was that Nagakura and Harada were both very friendly people, and the two of them actively found topics to chat about along the way, preventing the atmosphere among the group from becoming too dull.

"I used to work here before," Harada pointed around. "I worked as a bodyguard for a merchant here for a while, so I’m quite familiar with this area! I even recognize how many trees there are in this place!"

"Hmm? Here..." Fujimura, walking beside Harada, seemed to recall something at this moment, raising his head to look around, "Here... I have some impression. I remember, isn’t the Military Academy nearby?"

"Yes." Harada answered, "The Military Academy is located here. Look, that large collection of buildings up ahead is the Military Academy!"

Aoto followed the direction Harada pointed to and saw—a vast complex of buildings stood ahead of them.

"So that is the Military Academy..." Aoto murmured, "This is my first time seeing it."

Six years ago, feeling the might of the Western Powers, the Edo Shogunate established a school in 1854 to strengthen national defense, teaching cannon art and Western military tactics alongside traditional martial arts.

This military school was the "Military Academy."

The Edo Shogunate was quite attentive to the operation of this academy. They spent a fortune recruiting famous teachers and invested vast resources to continually expand the academy’s scale...

In 1857, after the Military Academy merged with the naval training school dedicated to cultivating naval talent, it became a comprehensive military school for both army and navy training.

The Military Academy, which the Edo Shogunate invested heavily in establishing, naturally wasn’t a place just anyone could attend.

Only the descendants of the Hatamoto could become students of the Military Academy, meaning vassals from various Vassal States, and even members of the Imperial Family like Aoto, were not eligible to study there.

Since the Military Academy was outside of Aoto’s jurisdiction and far from where he lived, Aoto only saw the full view of the famous Military Academy now.

Aoto wasn’t particularly interested in the Military Academy. After glancing at its big gates, he withdrew his gaze.

However, suddenly—the heavy gates of the Military Academy were slowly pushed open at that moment.

Next, they saw a middle-aged man surrounded by several samurai-like guards, striding out from within the Military Academy through the opened gate.

The middle-aged man was in his early forties, with a relatively lean build, slightly tanned skin, graying at the temples, looking ordinary in both appearance and demeanor—someone who would be impossible to find if he were placed in a crowd.

By right, such an average-looking middle-aged man shouldn’t have caught Aoto and his group’s attention.

But in truth, as soon as this man emerged from the Military Academy, his figure immediately drew Aoto’s group’s attention.

Not because of any peculiarities in his clothing or physical appearance.

But because he was holding something still quite rare in Japan— a globe.

This globe was large, with a diameter of about 40 cm, and the middle-aged man embraced it with both hands as though it were a treasure.

Suddenly, a sakura petal, dirtied with mud, landed on the globe as the breeze blew.

Seeing this, the middle-aged man immediately, nervously blew the petal away and then wiped the spot the petal had dirtied with his sleeve.

At this moment, one of the guards beside him said something to him.

Though they were a bit distant, Aoto faintly heard the guard seemed to be asking if the middle-aged man needed help holding the globe.

The middle-aged man waved his hand, his lips moving.

Though Aoto couldn’t hear what the middle-aged man said to his guard, he guessed from his actions that the man was politely refusing the guard’s "offer to help hold the globe."

Aoto felt the middle-aged man’s face seemed somewhat familiar...

As Aoto carefully observed the middle-aged man’s face, pondering where he might have seen him before, he suddenly heard Nagakura beside him muttering hesitantly:

"Walking around the street so boldly with a globe... Could he be that Katsu Rintarō?"

Nagakura’s mutter dispelled the puzzled and pondering look on Aoto’s face instantly.

"Yes." Aoto showed a sudden look of realization, "I remember now... Nagakura, you got it right, this middle-aged man holding the globe is indeed Katsu Rintarō."

As soon as Aoto finished speaking, everyone around him, including Saito, had a slight change in expression, and they all focused their mixed looks of surprise and curiosity on the middle-aged man, Katsu Rintarō.

"So he is the very Katsu Rintarō who is currently highly favored and regarded by Lord Shogun..." Fujimura muttered to himself.

Katsu Rintarō: One of the brightest new stars in the political world in recent years.

Anyone with even slight attention to Japan’s recent political situation would know of this legendary figure, seen as the epitome of a rags-to-riches story.

Aoto’s memory contained quite a bit of information about this person.

Katsu Rintarō came from a lower-level Hatamoto family. In this extremely hierarchical society, someone of his family rank could at most hold a minor official position in the government.

Yet, he managed to defy fate with his talent and luck.

As early as 1841, before the Western Powers had invaded Japan, he realized that the era was no longer one for wielding swords after watching a Cannon Master’s Western-style artillery and gun formation military exercise, and decisively abandoned swordsmanship to study Western weapons and naval and military knowledge.

In 1853, after the Black Ship Fleet from the United States "visited" Japan, the Shogunate, clueless in the face of Western invasion, widely solicited ideas on maritime defense from Shogunate officials, Daimyos of the Various Clans, and even townsmen.

It was then that Katsu Rintarō, who had been studying Western military tactics for over a decade, submitted a "Maritime Defense Proposal" to the Shogunate cabinet.

This proposal by Katsu Rintarō was highly appreciated by the ruling Senior Councillor Chief at the time, Abu Masahiro, who promoted Katsu Rintarō without regard for his family status.

Katsu Rintarō rose to prominence from then on.

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I had many personal matters yesterday, so today’s update is slightly less.

I’ll try to update more tomorrow (crying uncontrollably.jpg)