On this day, envoys from the Imperial Court have come to visit Shurei Hong.
They've come to inform her of the results of her aptitude test, and based on that, let her know whether or not she'd be permitted to take the last test of the National Exams.
Shurei Hong, Aptitude Test, pass.
Now it is up to Shurei to study for her first and last attempt at taking the final.
It's a big step toward realizing her childhood dream of becoming a court official.

Discretion is the Better Part of Valor

I finally meet it.
This is the end of the road.
It's just over a month until the final.
There's been a shape increase in visitors as result.
How's town's security?
As in past years, the gangs will see to it that the streets are safe.
However, there are some new rumors going around, I’ll look into it and provide you with a full report once I've gathered more information.

Things are likely to get busy.
I'm counting on you both.
Leave it to us, Your Majesty.
hey you wanna get some food?
I'd Love to, but unfortunately I've got somewhere to go.
Actually, I'm heading to the red-light district.
red-light district?!
Don't look at me like that, this is also part of my duties here.
Oh, is it Really?
Shurei.
Hey, come on.
You're going somewhere again, aren't you?
I hear you've been making farewell visits all around town.
You know, you're at that ripe age now.
Why not quit wandering around and settle down already?
You're getting a bit old to be unmarried.
It's gonna get more and more difficult to find a good partner that'll take you without a dowry.

But, I , Well, I am from a pretty rich family, so I wouldn't ask for a dowry.
It's none of your business how late I marry, or how few men are gonna take me, you're just a childhood friend so it's not any concern of yours!

Uh, the point I'm trying to make is...
Look, at any rate, I don't have the time to deal with you today.
Why don't you just hurry up and go home, Santa.
Don't call me Santa, please call me Keicho!
You never seem to grown up, so I’d say Santa is more than appropriate.
My, my, if it isn’t Master Ou's young son come to visit.
Oh, Miss Kocho!
What is it this time, young man?
Are you trying to hit on her again?
Oh, You never learn.
Dear boy, just wait until nighttime, then I promise I'll play with you.
I'll even set some time aside specially just for you.
No, that's fine.
I'd never have enough money to pay for your services anyway, Miss Kocho.
Later!
Honestly! Talk about gutless!
I'm surprise to see you up and about so early ma'am.
My client left my bed in the middle of the night yesterday.
Someone left early from the room of the number one lady of the red-light district?!

There are some truly foolish men out there.
But there is a bright side to it, it means I can spend more of what little time you have left here with you.

Soon you'll be leaving us, by my reckoning you'll only be working for us for seven more days.
Yes.
When I look at you, I still remember that little girl who came to my door all on her own, you bowed your head and asked politely if you could work here.

You'd obviously been brought up very well, even beyond bearing the Hong name and being part of that noble family.

You had such a grim look on your face, you were more than prepared yourself to come and work in the red-light district, whatever that entailed.

But ma'am, I have to prepare dinner in the evening so I'll need to be home by sunset every night.

Miss Kocho please, I asked you to forget about that already!
Quite a long time has passed since then.
The days go by so quickly.
Oh, by the way, would you do me a favor, make certain you come and see me on your last day of work here, I have something I wanna give you.

Please, you mustn't...
No no child, there's no need to be so cold and polite about it.
You're the only person I've come across who's ever been able or will ever be able to make me promise an honest day and keep it, Shurei.
Got that? As I said, a promise.
Otherwise, I'll be forced to tell Mr. Hong and Seiran that you've been working in the red-light district.

No, no, please, anything but that! I'll come! You have my word!
By the way, I forgot to mention it, we had a rather unusual guest arrived yesterday.
An unusual guest, you say?
A child?
I'm guessing he's around twelve or thirteen years old at most.
That... certainly does qualify as an unusual guest.
Hey. What is this place?
It seems like he's awake.
So you don't even remember how you got here? Um...?
Oh right, I'm Eigetsu To.
Hey, Eigetsu.
Let's see, I just arrived in Kiyo yesterday and got tangled up with some gangsters.
I remember everything up until the point of them dragging me into a restaurant, but... Um, how did I end up in this place?
It's quite simple really, one of our regulars carried you here and asked us to put you up for a little while.

He was willing to pay us very handsomely for it, so we agreed.
What?! I can't possibly impose like that!
How much did he pay?
I can pay for everything, so please give him back his money.
Huh? Why is this so light?
What? This is nowhere near what I'm supposed to have!
You don't even have enough for a month at the cheapest lodging in town!

I was sure I had a lot more in my bag yesterday, what should I do?!
Why not accept the men’s generosity and stay here for the time being?
I...But...!
If not, how about at my place?
Well, it's a bit rundown, but there's lots of space.
And last year, we had a bear-like man stay without any notice, so we're used to having unexpected visitors.

I'm truly sorry for imposing on you like this, are you sure it's really all right for me to stay?
If you worry, why don't you help me with something?
What?
To tell the truth, I could use some help finishing the accounting.
Oh, sure! I'm pretty good at that sort of thing.
In that case, I'll leave it all to you, Eigetsu.
Yes, ma'am!
Wow, you're really something else, Eigetsu.
Who could've guessed you'd be so fast and accurate with your calculations, You're amazing!

Thank you, but you're too kind.
My Lady.
Hello Seiran, what is it?
I thought we might go to a restaurant for dinner tonight, so I came to meet you.

But Isn't that extravagant?
I know it's a little bit on the late side, but you can consider it a special dinner to celebrate passing the aptitude test.

Huh? For me?
Thank you so much, Seiran.
My my my, must've been quite a journey all the way from Koku Province.
Well, sort of.
Pretty impressive, considering he's only thirteen.
But just to warn you, the final exam is coming up, and lots of people are here from out of town.

It's kind of a dangerous time to be in the capital if you're not familiar with it.
I don't know what brings you here, but I suggest you finish up quickly and return home.

I guess you're right.
By the way, have you heard those rumors about this year's final?
They say a lot of kids are showing up to take it.
Rumor has it that there's even a girl.
Yeah, I heard about that!
She's only sixteen or seventeen, and supposedly she's guaranteed to win top position,
so I'm gonna put thirty percent of my fortune on her getting the number one ranking.
Didn't you lose your entire fortune doing the same thing a few years back?
Geeze, you keep bringing that up, that was the time those two long shot teens took first and second spot, nobody expected that to happen.

Oh yeah I remember, but as I recall, they were both kids from really high-class families, weren't they?
Must be nice.
Have your parents pay for everything while you focus on studying and your future will be safe and secure.

But all that aside, I don't think I've never heard of women being allowed to take the National Exams.

I mean a highly respected teacher once tried and didn't get anywhere.
So there's no way some ordinary woman can make it to the final exam!
You got that right!
Besides, what business does a woman have taking the exams in the first place?!
Wh-What just happened?
I wonder, very mysterious.
Serves them right anyway.
We should really start eating before all this food gets cold.
Eigetsu, you'll be sure to drink all your soup, you look like you need to warm yourself up.
Yes, sir!
One thing’s for sure,
No one in this entire world can hope to gain what's truly important to them unless they're willing to work hard for it.
Take General Ran and Lord Koyu for example.
In the beginning, they were constantly ridiculed because they were so young,
But in the end, they shut everyone up and proved themselves, thanks to the type of strength we call effort.

This is just my opinion, but perhaps all you really need is effort.
Thank you, Father.

The Story of Saiunkoku

Here, have some wine, Father.
Thank you.
Would you like to try a sip of this as well, Eigetsu?
No thank you!
Really, are you positive?
Ah, yeah! I'm really weak when it comes to alcohol.
To tell you the truth, I try to avoid even smelling it if I can.
Hey, that reminds me, do you think it’s possible that the money you're missing could be stolen by those gangsters you mentioned?
Maybe they forced you to drink some strong wine and you passed out or something?

No, I don't think that's very likely, but...um...
I guess it'd be possible that there'd be one or two very skilled people in the capital who could do it...maybe but...

If that's the case, it would have to be the Seikin Gang.
Seiran, you know something about this?
A little, from what I’ve heard, it's a gang of thugs and hooligans who arrived in town just recently.
They wear a blue cloth somewhere on their bodies to mark themselves as gang members.
Oh, That is not good.
Do you mean to tell me that the crime bosses have been turning a blind eye to them?
Up until now, but lately the Seikin Gang have been getting more flagrant and open in their criminal activities.

In that case, maybe it would spur the bosses into making their move soon?
Well, by the sound of it, it seems pretty clear that this gang's leader is from outside the capital.
I agree, otherwise their actions would be suicidal.
Excuse me.
Of course I'm sorry, you don't know too much about this city, do you?
Not really.
Kiyo city maybe the capital, but there’s a very clear distinction between who governs the state and who governs downtown.
A clear distinction?
Yes.
In Kiyo, the underground crime bosses were responsible for managing the downtown hooligans.
At this time of year, when there are increasing visitors from other provinces for the final, it's their job to protect the peace of the downtown core.

The bosses take pride in ensuring everything is kept under control, specifically their control.
Usually that's the case, but then what're the bosses waiting for?
They've let it go too far, Eigetsu even had his money stolen.
Let’s not jump to conclusions just yet.
Actually the money wasn't mine, it was gathered from the people in my hometown.
I feel really bad about losing it, but...!
That makes matters even worse!
But it's not the end of the world.
I'm fine as long as I still have this...!
What's wrong?!
I-I-I-I-It's gone!
Wh-Wh-Wh-Wh-What's gone?!
I'm really sorry, I have to go back!
Wait what...where are you going?
Just hold on a minute! Eigetsu!
I'll follow.
Where'd he go?
There he is
They are wearing blue clothes, they must be the Seikin Gang.
Hey, you're the one we are looking for, aren't you?!
The little brat who not only embarrassed my boys last night, but ended up robbing them blind too.
Oh my goodness, I did that? I'm so sorry, please forgive me.
Eigetsu did what? I can't believe it, these guys have got to be mistaken.
You making fun of us, kid?
Um, do you know if I dropped something yesterday? A token around this big, did you happen to see it?

A token? Yeah, we've got it, we've been making a little collection.
A collection?
Hey! Eigetsu!
Who the heck is she?
Now's not the time to be having a chat, hurry up and run!
Nice try!
Damn, go after them and get that money back!
-Right!
-Let’s go!
Miss Shurei! We shouldn't run, wait a minute!
I'm not waiting! It's no use trying to talk sense into that sort.
Discretion is the better part of valor!
Eigetsu, was it true what they said back there?
About you taking their money, do you remember anything about it?!
No, but maybe yes.
Which is it?!
Where those two brats go?!
Oh, no!
There they are!
Damn!
I'm the one they're after, so please try to get away by yourself, Miss Shurei.
Hey, wait!
That's no good, you don't know your way around this town, I can't just abandon you like that.
But Miss Shurei.
At last, found you!
Hurry, let's go, Eigetsu!
Wow!
Seiran told me that if you kick a man in the groin, he drops like a rock.
Yes, I did...good job Shurei.
Seiran! Did you just see that?
Thanks to you, I couldn't make much of an entrance.
Hey! Did you find them?!
They can't have gotten far, they should still be in the area, search everywhere!
Right!
We can't go home, at this rate, they would probably follow us to the residence.
Eigetsu, where were you going when you ran out?
A place called Kogaro in the red-light district.
Where I met Shurei in the...!
Lady Shurei, I've been looking for you everywhere!
Really?
Yes My Lady, Miss Kocho sent me to find you, it's not safe out here.
Please return to Kogaro along with the young man and if it's not too much of a problem, Mr Seiran as well.
We'll have our underlings take care of those annoying Seikin Gang members.
What? Take care, how?
It's a good idea, given Kogaro's status those hooligans won't be able to enter the premises.

What...Seiran! How the heck do you know Kogaro?
We'll talk about it later! Hurry!
Ah, right!
Give me a break! What on earth were you thinking when you left that boy at some brothel?!
I was thinking that it was the safest place for him.
But the red-light district is dangerous!
That's just your prejudice talking, it's actually very safe.
Keep in mind that the underground is in control here.
Of course, considering you never come here, it's not surprising you have no clue about such things.

You come here way too much! By the way, what's with all these women?!
You haven't been here for a while, we missed you!
Hey, hello there Mr. Ran, my..you're here early today. you've brought two friends with you!

This place is incredible, is this district your harem, Shuei?
Well, I guess you could say so, although its purpose is rather different from yours.
It's a place for men to enjoy themselves and have fun.
If you wanna think of it in other terms, think of it as every man's harem.
The brothel we're going to now has many women who are both beautiful and accomplished.

That are easily to equal as any of the ladies in your residence.
You've got something to look forward to.
Kocho!
Oh, Lord Ran, as always your timing is perfect.
And who might these two young men be?
They are my companions.
They've come to see the boy I left with you.
Your companions? Interesting.
She certainly is beautiful.
I've seldom seen so much beauty.
She's equal to Shusui.
Dear me, I'm afraid that last part is absolutely unacceptable, young master.
If you mean to compliment a woman, then you must never dream of comparing her to another.

Oh, is that so?
What, I don't believe it!
You let them get away?!
This is no time to be fooling around!
We're here to make a name for ourselves in the capital and become the boss of the downtown core!

So why in the hell aren't you able to catch one single boy?!
You're right boss, but we got it covered.
In fact, we have word of him going into a place called Kogaro, along with some girl who's carrying an abacus.
Kogaro? Hey, Keicho!
Yes!
What is Kogaro? Some kind of a brothel?
Yes.
Actually it's the top brothel in the whole district.
The famous courtesan Kocho has clients paying one thousand gold coins for her.

All right.
To make up for the trouble I've been through, I think I'll make this Kocho my girl!
Boys I got a great idea, why don't we make Kogaro our new base of operations!
A girl carrying an abacus?
Could it be...?!
I definitely made the right choice going after those.
Steal that thing from simply threaten them, and they'll pay any price to get it back.
This business is good, this is a great one.
Okay, then boys! Start getting things packed up!
Yeah!
Shurei!
Geeze, what are you doing here?!
So, you decided to sneak out with General Ran and Lord Koyu and go have some fun at the brothel, did you?
No you're wrong, Shurei!
I don't need to come to this kind of place for that, I can do as much as I like in the palace
Ah, well, I mean... I …um…!

Next Episode

Before I knew it, I was back at Kogaro.
But what is Ryuki doing here? And why is Eigetsu being hunted by gangsters?
Hey, Santa! What’s that you’re saying?
The Seikin Gang is gonna attack Kogaro?!