My Gang of Swordsmen

Just a moment ago, he was all smiles, but suddenly he’s furious… The rapid emotional shift of Shimizu Gosaku sends shivers down one’s spine.

Yet, Sasaki seems accustomed to such situations.

“No more wine… Truly unlucky…”

Shimizu Gosaku supports himself against the wall behind him and slowly rises from the ground.

“Can’t be helped… Hey! Let’s go! Time to buy some wine!”

He arrogantly and brusquely orders his subordinates nearby.

As he staggers forward, about to lead his men past Sasaki—

“…Lord Gosaku, you’re already drunk. Perhaps it’s best to return home for a rest?”

Sasaki calls out to Shimizu Gosaku in a humble tone.

“…Ha?”

Shimizu Gosaku pauses, slowly turns his face, and casts an extremely oppressive glance at Sasaki.

“Sasaki… I’m enjoying my drink… Don’t bother me.”

With that, Shimizu Gosaku ignores Sasaki.

He withdraws his gaze and continues to lead his men out of the alley.

But just then, something happens.

“Ugh…!”

Shimizu Gosaku, who seemed fine a moment ago, suddenly clutches his head and lets out a groan of pain.

“Lord Gosaku?”

“Lord Gosaku!”

“Is the illness acting up again?”

…

His subordinates call out in panic and concern.

Sasaki also casts an astonished, worried gaze at Shimizu Gosaku.

“Medicine… Medicine… Medicine…”

Shimizu Gosaku shakily reaches inside his robe, feeling for a small thumb-sized porcelain bottle.

“?!” Seeing the porcelain bottle in Shimizu Gosaku’s hand, Sasaki’s expression instantly becomes strange.

“Gulp…! Gulp…! Gulp…!” Shimizu Gosaku hurriedly pours out a pill, purple and red, from the bottle and swallows it whole without even chewing.

After swallowing the strangely colored pill, Shimizu Gosaku’s expression visibly returns to normal.

“Much better…”

Shimizu Gosaku presses his palm against his forehead, leaning against the wall, and after a long pause, lets out a sigh of relief.

“Let’s go…”

Shimizu Gosaku detaches from the alley wall and heads out once more.

Sasaki doesn’t call out to Shimizu Gosaku again… Instead, he just stands still, watching him leave.

Only when Shimizu Gosaku’s figure completely disappears from view, does Sasaki take a deep breath and let out a silent sigh.

Regarding their boss’s nephew… Sasaki always feels a deep sense of pity.

Shimizu Gosaku has suffered from a strange illness since childhood, with frequent headaches.

When the illness first appeared, the symptoms weren’t severe, just a light pinprick sensation.

But as he aged, the symptoms worsened, with increasing frequency and intensity of headaches.

Now, the “pinprick” has turned into a “hammering.”

During the worst attacks, he would often roll on the ground, letting out agonizing screams not humanly possible, and couldn’t bear any touch on his hair, as if his scalp was being pricked.

Their boss, Shimizu Eiichi, always cared deeply for his family.

Unwilling to see his nephew suffer, he took Shimizu Gosaku to numerous renowned doctors.

Traditional Chinese Medicine Practitioners, Dutch doctors… In short, any doctor who could offer treatment was visited.

Unfortunately… Most doctors couldn’t even diagnose Shimizu Gosaku’s condition.

Only a few who barely discerned the cause had a strikingly consistent opinion: though the illness won’t kill, no medicine can cure it, and it can only be suppressed through sheer will.

Having lost hope in treatment, Shimizu Gosaku spends his days in torment, even attempting suicide due to unbearable headaches.

His painful life persisted until one day… Shimizu Eiichi suddenly handed him a peculiar medicine.

This was the same purple and red pill that Shimizu Gosaku had just consumed.

It isn’t a cure, as Sasaki knows, but a Pain Reliever that greatly diminishes the pain during attacks.

The medicine does work wonders; whenever an attack occurs, swallowing a pill makes the pain vanish.

However… Sasaki can’t shake the feeling that this Pain Reliever… is somehow eerie.

Since Shimizu Gosaku started taking it, his personality has become increasingly bizarre.

He seems to be losing control over his emotions and desires.

Purely based on talent, Shimizu Gosaku is hardly remarkable.

He loves alcohol and lust. Daily entertainment revolves around wandering the city’s izakayas, licensed pleasure quarters, and Yoshiwara. Beyond drinking, gambling, womanizing, and smoking, he’s utterly incompetent—a typical good-for-nothing.

Yet despite his ineptitude, he seldom causes trouble outside by flaunting his identity as the “Shimizu Clan leader’s nephew.”

The shift began when Shimizu Eiichi gave him that oddly colored Pain Reliever.

After taking the medicine, Shimizu Gosaku started causing frequent trouble outside.

Often, minor issues would escalate into fierce street brawls.

Spotting a woman he fancied, he’d directly harass her, even dragging her to secluded spots for assault.