Ryosai Returns to Hirado

Ten days after the day he made his pledge with Orsanti at the Nanban temple, Ryosai was already standing on the deck of a ship overlooking Ikitsuki Island. By ship from Sakai, westward through the Seto Inland Sea. Then through Shimonoseki to Hirado. Orsanti had parted ways before that, heading to Bungo to search for Frois and Almeida. The covert operation that absolutely must not be discovered by the Jesuits in Nagasaki where Tomás Costa resided could be said to have gone well for the time being.

During this journey, it was Miguel who assisted the blind Ryosai well and accompanied him to Hirado. Now Miguel stands beside Ryosai on the deck, taking in the sea breeze of Hirado with his entire body. Miguel is a boy with a straight and steadfast character, like an oar made of hard oak wood. Though he is not yet of an age to understand the complexities of the world or the pathos of life, he intuitively senses that his first mission is something of great importance, and his heart burns with a sense of purpose.

Ryosai clears his mind and takes in the air of his homeland with his entire being. He can hear the faint sound of small, gentle waves modestly washing up on the sandy shore. Flying fish are probably being opened and dried in the sun. The smell of fish mingles with the scent of the tide. That aroma immediately draws Ryosai's heart back to the past. His boyhood growing up always feeling alienated in a fishing town full of rough characters. When he later became a biwa priest and fled this place, Ryosai's heart was filled with emptiness toward living. However, when he returned to Hirado several years later, his heart laden with hope for missionary work contained not a trace of the wretchedness or emptiness of the past.

And when he left Hirado again, Ryosai's heart was once more stained with setbacks. Since then, he had never set foot in this place again. But now, there is no time to indulge in past sentiments.

"Master Ryosai. Thank you for returning all the way to Hirado. Though I believed my letter had been delivered safely, to think that Master Ryosai himself would come in place of a reply! And so quickly at that. This Koteta expresses his deep gratitude. Tonight I would like to gather around Master Ryosai and converse leisurely. Please rest well from your journey's fatigue. Tomorrow I shall also contact that female doctor we discussed."

Koteta Yasunori Antonio personally welcomes Ryosai as he disembarks from the benzaisen. His face beams with joy at reuniting with the long-awaited Ryosai. In contrast, it goes without saying that Lorenzo Ryosai's face is rigid and completely haggard. Ryosai approaches Koteta with minimal greetings and conveys the situation in a small voice that cannot be heard by those around them.

"Master Koteta. I have come to Hirado this time due to special circumstances. Time is truly of the essence. I apologize, but I have no leisure to receive hospitality. I would like to explain the situation at your residence. This matter must absolutely not leak out. I request that you thoroughly clear away all people."

The unusual atmosphere of the normally gentle Ryosai causes Koteta's expression to change completely. The man who instantly transformed from the face of a devout and gentle Christian to the face of a Sengoku military commander feared throughout Hirado barks sharp orders to his subordinates.

"Escort Master Lorenzo and Master Miguel to the residence immediately. Make haste!"