His books were either maps, geography texts, or travel journals.
"I'm looking for a way back."
"I'm looking for my hometown, Asakusa in Tokyo."
Chelsea's suggestion stirred something in Yorii Tsugikuni's heart.
If the people from Night Raid helped as well, then his chances of finding his hometown would undoubtedly be much greater.
"That really is a strange place name. I've never heard of it before."
"But I've written it down. When I get back, I'll help you ask around."
Yorii Tsugikuni's words surprised Chelsea. She had originally wanted to ask why he did not simply return the way he had come.
But Yorii Tsugikuni clearly was not that foolish.
Obviously, he had no way to return the way he had come.
Taking out the small notebook she carried with her, Chelsea wrote down the place names for Yorii Tsugikuni.
"Thank you."
Seeing Chelsea's earnest movements, Yorii Tsugikuni's cold expression softened considerably.
No matter what had happened between him and Night Raid in the past, one thing was one thing.
He would not lump everything together.
"It's only a small matter."
The change in Yorii Tsugikuni's expression gave Chelsea, who had been troubled over how to get along with someone as icy as him,
a glimmer of hope.
When she had first received the assignment to win Yorii Tsugikuni over, she had not held much hope.
She did not stay for long.
After chatting with Yorii Tsugikuni for a few moments, Chelsea soon left.
She did not want the little goodwill they had just established to be scattered by her impatience.
Everything needed time.
And even maintaining things as they were now was already a decent outcome.
If there's no way back at all, where should I go?
He read until late at night, then closed the books in his hands.
Having still found no clues whatsoever, Yorii Tsugikuni began to ponder.
It was not as if he had never considered this question before, but he had always subconsciously brushed it aside.
Because even someone as free of desire as him had things he longed for.
Especially when he thought that his family might, like him, still be young, that longing became even more intense.
But anything was possible.
The worst outcome was also possible. Yorii Tsugikuni knew he could not avoid it.
He had to think about this question.
If I can't return, I may have to stay in this place for a long time.
As he slowly considered it, Yorii Tsugikuni's mind became unusually chaotic.
But before he received a final answer, he still held on to some hope.
Tracking the Revolutionary Army, the Hidden Uses of Imperial Arms
The night quickly passed.
The Empire's weather had always remained sunny, and days with clouds in the sky were few and far between.
Town Under the Castle of the Imperial Capital.
This was one of the largest slums within the Imperial Capital.
Trash lay everywhere. The stench of excrement mixed with sweat and sour odors in the gradually rising heat.
Together, they created a nauseating experience.
Flies and mosquitoes buzzed incessantly.
"It's getting more and more crowded here."
"When we came before, it was still possible to walk through. Now it's completely blocked by refugees."
Ieyasu cleared a path at the front. Seeing those pairs of greenish eyes staring at him, he could not help but shudder.
"This famine seems to be very serious."
Yorii Tsugikuni swept his gaze over both sides of the street. Everywhere he looked, there were refugees sitting on the ground with vacant eyes and tattered clothes.
He had not seen such a sight in a long time.
He was not merely thinking of the Imperial Capital's situation, but of much more.
As the Empire's wealthiest region, the Imperial Capital was already in such a state.
One could imagine that the situation elsewhere in the Empire was undoubtedly far worse.
"The situation here has already been reported to the Imperial departments responsible for disaster relief."
"I hope approval from above comes quickly."
Although she had grown up in the Imperial Capital, this was the first time Sayo had seen a scene like this.
After discovering how serious things were here, she had reported it.
"Our targets are hiding among these people."
"The recent incidents of smashing, looting, and arson are all connected to them."
After looking over the general situation in the slums, the group returned to the street and stopped in an unoccupied spot.
Kurome from the assassination unit had already been waiting there for Yorii Tsugikuni's group.
"Because there are simply too many refugees and our department has limited personnel, we have no way to screen them all out."
"And those people are far too cunning. After noticing our pursuit, they never showed themselves again."
Kurome frowned as she explained the current situation to Yorii Tsugikuni and the others.
Earlier, the Security Force had cooperated with them by reducing patrols in the area, hoping to lure out the Revolutionary Army.
But after the assassination unit captured one person who had incited refugees to loot the city's grain shops, the other Revolutionary Army members never appeared again.
Now, as more and more refugees arrived, this place had become increasingly complicated.
Since the Revolutionary Army members here were not important figures, the assassination unit naturally handed this task over to the Security Force.
They did not want to waste too much time on such matters. They had more important targets to deal with. Kurome had come this time to transfer the task of arresting the Revolutionary Army members sent to incite the refugees to the Imperial Guard led by Yorii Tsugikuni.
As one of the Empire's lower-ranking organizations,
the Security Force was generally assigned this kind of dirty, exhausting work.
"I'll leave this matter to you, Captain Yorii."
"I'll have someone send you the leads we uncovered earlier."
Kurome twisted her neck. To be honest, compared to the meticulous work of investigating people, she preferred direct combat.
Facing all those despairing faces in the slums every day,
often made her feel irritated.
Because it reminded her of certain things from her past.
"Mm."
Yorii Tsugikuni nodded. Compared with finding the Revolutionary Army member among the refugees who had incited them to cause trouble,
he cared more about when these refugees would receive aid.
Several days had already passed since these refugees had gathered in the slums.
Yet the Empire had not launched a single meaningful disaster relief effort.
As for the Revolutionary Army, aside from inciting the refugees to seize the city's grain shops,
they had not taken any substantive action either.
There were simply too many refugees—more than a hundred thousand—and that number was still growing.
All Yorii Tsugikuni could do was have the Security Force members quickly transport away the dead.
He could also provide them with clean drinking water.
And together with Sayo and Tatsumi, he had jointly submitted a report to higher authorities in the Empire explaining the situation here.
Beyond that, he did his utmost to help some people.
In short, within the limits of his ability, he held nothing back.
But neither did he condemn or question the people in the city for failing to lend a hand to the refugees here.
Yorii Tsugikuni was not the sort of person to stand on moral high ground and judge others.
He had always adhered to one principle: do his own part and not interfere with other people's worlds.
"So many people."
"We'll probably have to spend a great deal of effort before we can weed those people out."
Looking at the densely packed refugees, Ieyasu could already foresee that he would likely have to lead people stationed in the slums for a long time.
"Perhaps Adai can help."
There were many troops stationed within the Imperial Capital, so Yorii Tsugikuni knew
that if these refugees attacked any of the city's normal commercial districts, they would undoubtedly be walking into a dead end.
Therefore, no matter what, he needed to find the Revolutionary Army members who had incited these refugees to seize the city residents' supplies and thrown the Imperial Capital into chaos.
Hearing Ieyasu's words, Yorii Tsugikuni thought of the rabbit ornament on Adai's body.
During his research over this period, he had discovered a function of that furry little rabbit.
The rabbit's fur could also be used for tracking and sensing.
Therefore, as long as a strand of fur could be placed on one Revolutionary Army member among the refugees, they could undoubtedly find more hidden Revolutionary Army members.
"Does Captain Yorii's Imperial Arm have tracking abilities too?"
Kurome, who had been about to leave, stopped when she heard Yorii Tsugikuni's words.
Before handing this task over to the Security Force led by Yorii Tsugikuni, she had actually discussed with Dr. Fashion the possibility of creating something like a detector.
And Dr. Fashion had already begun researching it, deciding to experiment on Sayo's Imperial Arm.
After all, Sayo's Imperial Arm, Koro, could sense the aura of crime.
It was just unknown when Dr. Fashion would be able to develop such a thing.
"Yes, Adai..."
Yorii Tsugikuni told Kurome about some of the things he had discovered from the Imperial Arm he had acquired.
He also proposed some of his ideas.
However, although he had made these discoveries, he had never actually tried them.
"That's a pretty good idea. But I think if Dr. Fashion learns about this ability of your Imperial Arm, he might be interested too."
After hearing Yorii Tsugikuni's description, Kurome nodded.
Before you continue