The Japanese diplomat went in upright and came out horizontal, then was sent straight to the hospital. Even now, Kader had no idea he had caused a colossal disaster, because he could never have imagined how mad these Japanese, who usually bowed and scraped before him, could become.
"Damn Germans! Did they beat him? Why was Lord Tsuruta Ichiro carried out?"
"The Germans must have laid hands on Lord Tsuruta Ichiro! Lord Tsuruta Ichiro has always been in excellent health, yet he met with misfortune at the East African Legation. There must be something fishy going on!"
"We must seek justice for Tsuruta Ichiro! We cannot just let this go!"
"Bastards! This is going too far! Damn Germans..."
Outside the East African Embassy in Edo, the unruly Japanese rabble began spinning endless theories of persecution, convinced that East Africa had bullied Kuroda Ichiro.
This was actually easy enough to understand. Newspapers in Edo had long reported that East Africa had "occupied" the Sakishima Islands, and to the Japanese rabble, this was undoubtedly a tremendous blow to their "self-respect."
Of course, where there were Japanese rabble burning with righteous indignation, there were also Japanese citizens looking on coldly. Especially farmers who had come from the countryside to Edo to scrape out a living: compared to these Edo residents who lived comfortably and at least did not have to worry about filling their stomachs, national righteousness had nothing to do with them. Some even took pleasure in others' misfortune.
In any case, the Japanese outside the East African Embassy held every sort of attitude, though there was no shortage of true extremists. After all, Japan's national education was rather extreme now.
Amid the crowd, several men in hats carefully observed the mood of Edo's populace. Hidden among the crowd, they looked no