"Young Master, what's wrong?"
Aoto's sudden action of slapping his own face gave Kyūbē a fright.
"...Nothing..." After vigorously rubbing his cheeks, Aoto turned and walked back to the main hall, "Kyūbē, do we have water? I'd like a glass of water."
"Huh?"
"Do we have water?! I'd like a glass of water!"
"Oh, oh..." Slightly hard of hearing, Kyūbē finally understood Aoto's words and nodded, "Yes, yes, I'll bring it to you right away."
Aoto walked back to the living room and casually sat cross-legged in a corner of the hall.
In those times, Japan still did not have the habit of using chairs and beds.
To sit meant sitting on the floor.
To sleep meant laying bedding on the floor and sleeping right there.
As soon as Aoto's bottom touched the floor, Kyūbē swiftly brought over the water.
Taking the cup Kyūbē handed over, Aoto drained it in one gulp and let out a long sigh.
Then, quite abruptly, he began taking off his clothes.
"Young, Young Master?" the stunned Kyūbē stammered, "What are you doing?"
Aoto ignored Kyūbē.
After stripping off his top, Aoto planted his hands on the floor in a prone position and began doing a classic exercise from his past life.
"Young Master, what exactly are you doing?"
"I'm doing push-ups. It's... a friend recommended it to me today as an effective way to exercise the body. That's enough, stop talking now, I need to concentrate."
Aoto was doing push-ups, an exercise habit from his previous life.
Back then, Aoto was fascinated with fitness to the point of obsession, and had a peculiar habit of doing push-ups when thinking through problems or trying to calm his mind.
When his mind was in chaos, doing push-ups gradually sharpened his thinking, making his thoughts clearer.
When experiencing tension or confusion, various negative emotions, doing push-ups gradually calmed his emotions.
So in his previous life, a favorite boast Aoto often made to his friends was: If he could do push-ups while taking exams, scoring 750 would be a stretch, but scoring above 700 would be no problem.
Although Kyūbē didn't understand why his young master started doing push-ups out of nowhere, since Aoto had just ordered him not to speak, Kyūbē had to swallow back his questions and quietly took the empty cup to the kitchen.
After doing five push-ups in one go, Aoto gradually felt his emotions stabilize and his thinking become more agile.
—Think of a way! I need to find a way quickly! Otherwise, I might end up dead by the roadside tomorrow!
Being targeted by both the "Radical Anti-foreigner Faction" and the Yakuza—such a hellish start made Aoto's heart skip countless beats just imagining the scenario.
In the memories of the "Original Tachibana Aoto," there was a lot of information related to the "Shimizu Clan."
Due to the incomplete legal system and the weak judiciary and law enforcement, the Yakuza of this era were far more dangerous and lawless than the modern gangs of his past life.
For a powerful Yakuza Group like the "Shimizu Clan," they had extremely professional and complete strategies to deal with debtors who couldn't repay their loans.
First, they would use every method to squeeze every penny from the debtor's home.
The first target was naturally any valuables in the debtor's home that could be sold for money.
In the process of forcing the debtor to come up with all their money, they would send many underlings to harass the debtor relentlessly, ensuring they squeezed every last penny from the household.
For example: assembling a large group of people daily to block the debtor's door, shouting "Pay up" and "Hurry and pay up."
Even if you cried and shouted that you "really have no money," they still wouldn't relent.
When they confirmed you truly didn't have a penny, yet still couldn't repay the debt... the Yakuza's methods would turn cruel.
If there were women in the house, they would be taken to sell themselves.
The men in the household would be forced to engage in all sorts of bizarre jobs.
Such brazen actions would be inexplicable in the modern world but were quite common in the Edo Era where Aoto now found himself.
The incomplete legal system allowed the Yakuza to brazenly use a debtor's dignity as payment, while the authorities were powerless to intervene in such chaos.
The thought of "the Shimizu Clan" using various disgusting methods to force him to repay the debt made Aoto's stomach churn just thinking about it.
However, Aoto wasn't particularly afraid of the "Shimizu Clan."
After all, this Yakuza only wanted money, not Aoto's life, and they might even hope he stays alive because only if Aoto stays well can they continue receiving money.
So as long as Aoto could continue to repay the money, people from the "Shimizu Clan" probably wouldn't do much to him.
As for the money issue, that's more manageable.
Aoto's home contained some fairly valuable items that could be pawned in dire situations to repay the debt.
If worse came to worst, he could still borrow from friends, as the "Original Tachibana Aoto" had a fairly wide social circle. Owing friends is better than owing the Yakuza.
Compared to the Yakuza, the "Radical Anti-foreigner Faction" was the real nightmare for Aoto at this time.
The "Shimizu Clan" only wanted Aoto's money, while the "Radical Anti-foreigner Faction" wanted his life!