Chapter 296: Chapter 123: The Sudden Appearance of Cat Monk

Aoto casually tossed the stone aside and unfolded the paper.

Saito and the others gathered around, joining Aoto to see what was written on it.

The paper bore this single line, written in extremely neat handwriting:

"A group of unidentified individuals is attacking the Foreign Language Research Institute. There are approximately sixty to seventy attackers."

"The Foreign Language Research Institute... is under attack?" Fujimura was incredulous.

Yong and Harada exchanged glances—both wore expressions of confusion.

The sudden appearance of the famous Phantom Thief, informing them of the danger to the Institute... it was beyond their comprehension...

Even Saito, who typically remained expressionless, now furrowed his brow slightly.

In unison, they all focused their gaze on Aoto.

Still scrutinizing the line of handwriting, Aoto furrowed his brow deeply.

The fog clouding Aoto’s mind was no less dense than that enveloping Saito and the others...

The deluge of questions left Aoto unsure where to begin his thoughts.

"Mr. Tachibana..." Harada slung his long spear over his shoulder, "What should we do now...?"

Yong chimed in, "Should we trust... that Cat Monk?"

After a moment of contemplation, Aoto exhaled deeply, carefully folding the paper and slipping it into his bosom: "...Let’s go. We should check out the Foreign Language Research Institute."

"Mr. Tachibana." Fujimura exclaimed, "Are we really going to trust that Cat Monk?"

"...Let’s take our chances." Aoto said gravely, "I honestly don’t know what else to do right now."

"It’s not impossible that the Institute is under attack."

"Better to be safe than sorry. Besides... I can’t think of any reason the Cat Monk would mislead me with false information."

"Even if it’s a wild goose chase, we have nothing to lose by going to the Institute."

"Let’s move!"

With Aoto’s decision made, Saito and the others could only comply.

The group hurriedly left the scene of the fire.

Just as they left behind the roaring flames, they suddenly encountered a youth dressed as a Jishinban Official.

"Ah! Lord Tachibana?" The young official was surprised to see Aoto, and greeted him.

This area was, after all, one of the patrol zones Aoto was responsible for, so the local Jishinban Officials were familiar with him.

The official was carrying a large hammer... Judging by his appearance, he intended to head to the fire scene in Key-cho to help demolish surrounding buildings and prevent the fire from spreading.

In fire-prone Edo, such courageous individuals who dared to join the Town Fire Extinguishers in battling fires were never in short supply.

After taking a good look at this brave official, Aoto gestured for him to come over: "What’s your name?"

"Me? I’m Sakesaburō!"

"Sakesaburō, come with me."

"Eh? Is... is there something you need?"

"Don’t ask too many questions now, just come with me."

"R-right!"

Not entirely sure what was happening, Sakesaburō followed Aoto towards the Foreign Language Research Institute.

As they hastened forward, the massive silhouette of the Institute soon came into view.

An equally striking sight awaited them... shadows outside the Institute.

With the "Cat’s Eye" night vision ability, Aoto clearly spotted several bodies strewn near the main gate of the Institute.

These were familiar faces—guards they had seen diligently keeping watch when patrolling past the gate earlier that night...

Though lacking Aoto’s night vision, Saito and the others could just make out, by the faint moonlight, the Anti-foreigner Group members moving outside the Institute.

Seeing the Institute under real attack left Saito and the others stunned.

"What... is this?!" Dragged along by Aoto, Sakesaburō stood dumbfounded, staring at the Institute surrounded by the Anti-foreigner Group.

Aoto initially froze too, astonished that the Cat Monk’s information was accurate, but soon collected himself.

"...Sakesaburō." Aoto said to Sakesaburō in a steady voice, "Go to the North Guard Station immediately and find Lord Hosoi. Tell him: The Foreign Language Research Institute is under attack by a large group of unidentified individuals, possibly from the Anti-foreigner Group, and reinforcements are urgently needed!"

Sakesaburō, a sharp and perceptive fellow, quickly grasped the gravity of the situation.

He hesitated only for a moment before quickly responding: "Yes, yes! I’m heading to the North Guard Station now!"

With that said, Sakesaburō threw the large hammer he had been carrying on his shoulder to the side, lifted the hem of his hakama, and rushed toward the North Guard Station like a shooting star.

After Sakesaburō left, Aoto turned his gaze back to the distant Foreign Language Research Institute—

"...Prepare for battle."

In a calm tone, he issued an attack order to the subordinates beside him while he straightened the Ghost-Slaying at his waist.

Harada blinked forcefully at Aoto: "Mr. Tachibana, we... are going to attack with just a few people? Shouldn’t we wait for reinforcements from the Magistrate’s Office?"

"There may still be survivors inside the Foreign Language Research Institute." Aoto said indifferently, "If we just wait for reinforcements from the Magistrate’s Office, the few survivors there might even have their bodies turned cold."

"Attacking now might allow us to save a few people."

"Besides—"

Aoto switched to a joking tone as he spoke.

"We, as officials bearing the significant mission of ’protecting Edo’, might get impeached later if we don’t charge forward immediately upon seeing the enemies destroying Edo."

Hearing this, Harada grinned foolishly and chuckled: "Alright, you’re the boss now, so however you say we act, we’ll act."

"Not waiting for reinforcements, just attack directly... Haha, it sounds exhilarating!" Nagakura showed an anticipating, excited smile, rubbing his fists.

The young Fujimura, who hadn’t seen much of the world, was tense but showed no sign of fear on his cheeks.

Saito remained as calm as ever—he silently drew his blade.

Seeing that none of the subordinates showed any intention of retreating, Aoto’s lips curled slightly.

"In that case, all of you must follow me closely!"

He swung his feathered robe, leading the crowd like a descending tiger, charging straight toward the distant battlefield.

...

...

After listening to Aoto’s recounting, Hosoi and Arima both showed an identical expression—dumbfounded, like clay or wooden sculptures.

After quite a while, Hosoi’s consciousness finally returned to reality.

"Mr. Tachibana, is what you said... really true?" He stammered a bit while asking.

"Of course it’s true." Aoto drew out the piece of paper the Cat Monk had tossed to him, which he had been keeping carefully, "This is the paper the Cat Monk tossed to me."

"Then my subordinates and the officials from the Town Fire Extinguisher who were present at the time can testify that what I said is not false."

Hosoi accepted the paper Aoto handed over, unfolded it, and examined it carefully.

After casting his gaze on the paper with only a simple sentence written on it, Hosoi’s expression became more peculiar and complex.

"This Cat Monk... what does he mean?" Hosoi murmured, "How did he know the Foreign Language Research Institute was under attack...? And why did he relay this information to us...?"

"Maybe he was being kind," Aoto joked.

These questions... probably require asking the Cat Monk himself to know the reason.

Hosoi was still holding the paper, looking thoughtful.

At this moment, a somewhat urgent calling voice sounded from behind Aoto:

"Mr. Tachibana, Mr. Tachibana!"

Aoto turned around in confusion and saw a Temporary Patrol Dōshin he wasn’t very familiar with walking toward him briskly.

This Temporary Patrol Dōshin was one of the reinforcements brought by Hosoi earlier. He had been leading his men to clean up the messy Investigation Office under Hosoi’s orders.

"What’s wrong?" Aoto asked.

"Someone wants to see you." The Temporary Patrol Dōshin raised his right thumb and pointed behind him, "What do you say? Do you have time now? Do you want to meet that person?"

"Someone wants to see me?" Aoto looked past the older man’s shoulder toward the person behind him.

Behind him... stood a middle-aged man with a strong aura of fatigue on his face, yet his spine remained quite straight.

It’s Katsu Rintarō.

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