Even while riding a horse, Arima's spine remained perfectly perpendicular to the ground.
Seeing a familiar face approaching, Aoto felt a surge of warmth in his heart and quickly moved forward to greet him.
"Lord Arima, are you leading this troop?"
"Yes. Upon receiving Lord Governor's orders, I immediately rallied our forces and rushed over to support you."
With that, Arima dismounted and stood before Aoto.
"Mr. Tachibana…" Arima, with a mix of emotions including relief and joy, looked Aoto over several times before urgently asking, "You're not hurt, are you?"
"If I were seriously injured, I wouldn't be standing here talking to you like this." Aoto joked.
Arima chuckled softly, then raised his hand and patted Aoto's shoulder with a moderate strength, "It's good that you're not seriously hurt, it's good that you're not seriously hurt…"
Countless words were expressed with that gentle pat on the shoulder.
...
...
Edo, in a spacious residence, a certain room—
