Chapter 44

It was bustling, the scene of many people walking along the main street that was not uncommon in cities .

Including the place where we lived, if one asked which one was more like a city, I have walked in a crowd that had more people than the one in front of me .

However, we were all in the middle of the road, dumbfounded with our mouths gaping open .

We were definitely not surprised by the number of people .

What we were surprised at was, the appearances of those people .

「Aah, there was a certain theme park that is quite similar to this place . The one where you can experience throwing shurikens and things like that . 」

「A period village?」

「Yeah, that . 」

I kept the conversation between Asahina-kun, and the wind magician Nanase Rintarou-kun who got along with even Akira in the back of my mind .

The men were either fully dressed in a hakama or in a kimono without the hakama with a sword at their waists, and the women were either in a kimono or dressed as a miko with ornate hairpins in their hair .

TN: when the trouser was introduced, the its style was adopted by the Japanese in the form of the hakama . They are tied at the waist and fall to around the knees and are worn over a kimono . While men wear them during formal occasions, women rarely do, with the exception of graduation ceremonies . The most iconic hakama that women wear are those worn by mikos, or shrine maidens .

It was like a scene out of the Edo period period dramas that were often broadcasted in the evening .

Although the miko costume was somewhat strange, all the women who wore it were heading towards a certain building that I was trying not to look at, so perhaps the miko costume was a form of female attire .

「And, that over there, no matter how you look at it, that’s Himeji Castle, right . 」

「Even though I was trying not to look at it… . 」/

Were you aiming for that, I responded to Asahina-kun who had accurately muttered what I had not wanted to say, and looked up at it .

It’s size was about, the same as the Himeji Castle in Japan that had been recently restored .

It looked extremely similar to it, but the castle walls being varnished with white plaster was the same .

It made me think that it was the Himeji Castle .

That huge castle that we could see even when it was so far away, it didn’t seem as luxurious and gorgeous as the royal castle, but it had the impressiveness that awed those who looked at it .

In addition, when I looked at that castle, my back was trembling, was I imagining it .

「Ah, sorry . 」

「That’s fine, but onii-chans, don’t just stand there in the middle of the road . 」

As we were looking at the castle, we bumped into a guy who came walking towards us .

When I reflexively apologized, the man laughed and quickly left .

「… . 」

「Asahina-kun?」

Perhaps something was on his mind, Asahina-kun just, stared at the man’s retreating figure .

Asahina-kun glanced at me, and chased after the man .

「Wait . Oi, somebody stop that guy, he’s a purse snatcher . 」

「Eh?」

I was confused and checked to see if I still had my wallet .

「…it’s gone . 」

My wallet that was definitely there when we entered Yamato was gone .

Come to think of it, how I had bumped into the man was obviously strange .

In addition, even though we were properly looking in front of us, there was no way that you would bump into people who were standing still .

「Tsukasa-kun? What’s the matter . 」

Ueno-san, along with Hosoyama-san, approached me .

The surrounding people too gradually began to realize that something was wrong .

「My wallet had been pickpocketed . Asahina-kun helped me chase after him just now . Are you guys fine?」

Immediately searching for their wallets when they heard my words, the look on their faces were immediately filled with relief .

It seems that, it was just me .

「Luckily, there wasn’t even a single cent in that wallet, but there was something that I had from the other world . 」

「Was it something that you receive from someone?」

「…aah, it was something that I had received from my older brother for my birthday . 」

Although we never stopped fighting, it didn’t change the fact that they were important memories .

After a while, Asahina-kun came back .

「It seems that there are a lot of good people in this country . 」

「!!」

He said that, and held out my wallet .

I gave a sigh of relief and accepted that wallet .

「Thank you . Even so, you were able to properly catch up with him?」

「Aah, after I yelled that, like the telephone game, the surrounding people copied me and yelled it, and people similar to the Shinsengumi arrested him . 」

TN: the Shinsengumi was the shogunate police and military force located in Kyoto and were dedicated to suppressing anti-shogunate activites during the Edo period . The shogun was the ruler of the country and the shogunate was the government

It seems that, there was even an organization that maintained the public order .

It seems that the nth hero liked the Bakumatsu period .

TN: the Bakumatsu period was the end of the Tokugawa shogunate as well as the end of the Edo period .

「Pale blue-green haori?」

TN: the haori is a Japanese formal coat, usually worn over traditional Japanese attire, like the kimono or hakama, and is worn mostly by men .

「Yeah . they even had the headbands, so I thought that they were cosplayers for a moment . 」

Asahina-kun said that with a serious look on his face, and Ueno-san looked on in envy .

Come to think of it, when we started learning about the Bakumatsu period during Japanese history class, Ueno-san was excitedly following along .

「Alright, for now, let’s look for an inn to stay in for the night . We’ll go to the Adventurer Guild after that . 」

「Roger . 」

Even so, pickpocket, huh .

Even though the public order was good and the standard of living seemed high, there will always be crimes being committed .

Come to think of it, this wasn’t an inn, but an Edo period lodging for travelers, huh .

TN: these lodgings, or hatago, are built on national highways as a place for travelers to rest . They offered meals as well as other foods for their guests . There are many traditional hatagos that still exist today .

Perhaps it’s the confusion from being pickpocketed for the first time in my life, irrelevant things were coming to mind at a time like this .

I focused my mind and ran after my friends .