My Gang of Swordsmen

Chapter 54: Chapter 39: Call Him ”Nobi Tachibana Aoto Nobita

Just after finishing the ”work report” in front of Hosoi and others, Aoto was caught by Arima and taken to his office.

”Mr. Tachibana, I am very gratified to see you have undergone such a transformation in thought, recognizing the heavy responsibility on your shoulders and possessing such vigor!”

After pulling Aoto into his office, Arima immediately held Aoto’s hands and genuinely praised and encouraged him with words of encouragement.

As Aoto’s elder and superior, Arima was truly happy to see this younger subordinate finally become motivated.

Although Aoto’s case resolution today was somewhat less than glorious, acting alone without notifying Nishino and appearing to be seizing credit.

But — who cares!

Though Arima’s behavior and mannerisms are somewhat old-fashioned, his mind is not.

Between Nishino, who’s not under his jurisdiction, and his own subordinate—who should he favor? Isn’t it obvious?

Mr. Tachibana said he acted alone because he was worried that taking the time to persuade Nishino and himself to catch the criminal would result in the criminal escaping! He was not stealing credit! My subordinate has done nothing wrong—Arima etched these words deep in his blood in a nearly hypnotic manner...

Arima was so excited that he was talking more than usual.

He held onto Aoto’s hand, continuously praising and encouraging him for nearly half an hour before finally letting him go.

These Dōshin, handling cases, don’t just end things by escorting back a criminal.

Once the criminal is brought back, they still have a pile of tedious procedures to handle.

They must hand over the criminal to the Dōshin responsible for managing prisoners, report to the Dōshin responsible for managing records in the government office...

After completing all these messy chores, time quietly slipped into the evening.

The Magistrate’s Office adhered to a strict ”six to six” system.

Opening at 6 AM and closing at 6 PM, after closing, no one was allowed to stay inside the office, and those wishing to work overtime had to do so at home.

Considering how no one stayed inside to work overtime after closing time... the Edo Era’s Magistrate’s Office might be more people-friendly compared to some modern workplaces.

The sun was about to dip below the horizon, signifying—the rather long ”first day at work” for Aoto was finally coming to an end...

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There is a perk in working at Edo’s Magistrate’s Office that is enjoyable regardless of the era—land distribution by the government.

Yes, it’s not a house, it’s land!

Officials at the Yoriki level, like Arima, can be allocated land measuring 200 to 300 tsubo, while those at the Dōshin level, like Aoto, are allocated around 100 tsubo.

[Note: 1 tsubo = 3.31 square meters]

Since the land allocated to the Yoriki and Dōshin of the Magistrate’s Office is all located in Hachidori-bori, people in the Edo Era often used ”Hachidori-bori” as a synonym for the Magistrate’s Office.

For example, ”Go find someone from Hachidori-bori to help,” meaning go find someone from the Magistrate’s Office to help.

”The masters from Hachidori-bori are here,” meaning the Yoriki and Dōshin from the Magistrate’s Office have arrived.

For the large plots of land allocated to them, most would use only a small piece for building a house, leaving the majority as a yard for gardening or transforming it into a martial arts training ground.

After Tachibana Ryuzo, Aoto’s father, became a Dōshin of the North Station Town Patrol, the Tachibana Family moved their entire household to Hachidori-bori.

The land allocated to Aoto’s family was not too little and not too much—it was exactly 100 tsubo.

Forty tsubo of it had been used to build a house, while the remaining 60 tsubo was intended for a vegetable garden, but unfortunately—neither Tachibana Ryuzo nor their elderly servant, Kyūbē, knew how to farm.

Whatever they planted died, so the small courtyard at Aoto’s home had been left abandoned for the past year.

After successfully completing all the handover procedures related to Jinzāburō, Aoto, dragging his somewhat weary body, returned to his home in Hachidori-bori at dusk.

Upon entering the house, Aoto was met with the aroma of soybeans.

”Ah, Young Master, you’re back!” Kyūbē, as usual, holding a vegetable spoon, hurried from the kitchen to the door to welcome Aoto, ”Following your instructions from last night, I went to the market today to buy a lot of soy and yellow beans! Tonight, I made soybean soup! Please relax in the hall for a while! Dinner will be ready soon!”

The old servant, who has worked for the Tachibana Family for most of his life, has a unique trait—he rarely asks about Aoto and his father’s work.

He diligently does his duties, and once the master and young master return from their official duties, he serves delicious meals without asking unnecessary questions—this has been Kyūbē’s way for decades.

”Okay.” Aoto smiled as he removed the sword from his waist, ”These soybeans and yellow beans aren’t expensive, right?”

”Not very expensive, 25 mon for soybeans, 20 mon for yellow beans. Come, Young Master, let me take your sword.”

Since realizing at Shiwei Hall yesterday just how weak his body was, Aoto resolved—to improve his physical fitness as quickly as possible!

If he allowed his body to remain weak, he feared he would eventually become one of those ”traditional martial arts masters”—with graceful postures but delivering punches with 0.5 damage.

To enhance physical fitness, aside from scientific training methods, adequate nutrition intake is essential.