This is really good of you, Onii-chan.
Huh?
You never let a year go by without doing this.
Yeah, well.
It would be nice if we could visit his grave,
but Dad's grave is all the way in Edo...
Yeah.
The hydrangeas were just as beautiful on the day he died, too...
Hey...
Isn't it about time you told me the truth about Dad?
You've always dodged it by saying you'd tell me when I grew up,
but I'm not a child anymore.
Koharu...
What was our father like?
Well...
I guess you might say...
He was a huge guy.
Huge? Was Dad really that big?
How big?
As big as that guy who was with Yanagisawa-sama?
Even bigger? Like as big as Nio-sama?
Might've been.
Come on, Onii-chan! Tell me already!
Maybe once you've developed a little more adult appeal!
What?! You stupid brother!
Bakumatsu Gijinden Roman
Helpers
Just a second, Sakura. I'm coming...
It can't be!
Shred And Throw For A Lavish Banquet!
Gone! Everything is gone!
What's going on here?!
Well, this is quite a bold redecoration.
You came up empty headed.
I think you mean "empty handed."
Dr. Hans, you live so close by. You didn't notice anything?
My precious zombies were sick with colds,
and I had no time for anything else.
However, I made a major discovery!
Major Discovery
When zombies catch colds, their snot is blue!
We're the ones who don't have time for this!
Oh, my...
This is...
Kanade-san!
There's nothing left at all?
No! Not a thing!
What is it, Sakura?
How'd this get here?
This is...
What is it?
"I challenge you for the title of second generation Nezumi Kozo.
If you win, I'll return all of your furniture."
Red
"Red"?
Read? A book?
This suddenly sounds very intriguing!
Onii-chan...
Do you have any idea who it might be?
Not a clue...
How does this guy know I'm Nezumi, anyway?
You want to know?
There, there, now. Good Fido.
Sakura!
When did the red loincloth guy get here?
I didn't sense him coming at all.
Who are you?
They call me Red Loincloth Seibei.
We're in the same line of work.
So this "Red" meant "red loincloth"?
Yes. It's somewhat of a trademark.
Red Loincloth?
Rather chic, isn't he?
Huh?
I figured you must have read my letter by now.
Manjiro-san the Helper...
No, the second generation Nezumi Kozo,
Roman, is it?
How do you know about me?
With all the excitement you've caused throughout the capital at night,
how could I not know you?
Being in the same line of work myself, I couldn't just sit quietly by.
If you're in the same line of work as me,
then show me proof that you stole all our stuff!
You want proof?
Here.
No way! That's my underskirt!
Damn, that feels nice.
It definitely smells like Koharu-chan!
Idiot!
There's no mistake! He is the thief!
Well? Do you accept my challenge?
Of course, if you refuse, it counts as a loss,
and I'll have to dispose of all your furniture.
My gut has already made the decision. I'll do it.
Then, we will face off in three contests.
First to win two takes the name of second generation Nezumi Kozo.
Do you agree?
Sounds fun.
I'm in!
The Noble Thieves' Best of Three Challenge:
Contest 1! A Race to Open 100 Locks!
The first contest is a race to open 100 locks.
Any man who calls himself a thief must be able to open any kind of lock.
What's more, no two of these 100 locks are the same.
I'm impressed you got all these together.
I provided a few of them!
There are some Western style locks, too!
The one who opens the most locks in 30 minutes wins.
Well? Easy enough, right?
Yep. There'll be no draws.
You can do it, Onii-chan!
Just watch, Koharu. I won't lose to an old geezer like him.
All right, ladies, be sure to keep count.
Leave it to us!
Red Loincloth Roman
All right, ready!
Begin!
He's fast!
- 3
They're working at nearly the same pace!
- 4
Wow! Talk about lightning speed!
There's no lock I can't open!
32
33
34
This is quite a good match.
But Onii-chan is...
Onii-chan! What are you slacking off for?!
Yeah, don't worry! I'm just about to get serious!
Damn it!
All right!
This will end it!
What?!
Right, this is my last one, too.
What's wrong with you?! He's caught up!
Just trying to make things more exciting!
This is a tough one...
99 99
Red Loincloth-san is having trouble with the last one, too?
It comes down to this. The terms are the same.
If I pull this off, I win!
That's if you do.
No fair! Is that even legal?!
Looks like I've won.
Time's up!
The winner is Red Loincloth Seibei!
I can't compete like this!
And you call yourself a noble thief?!
This isn't a sideshow.
What reason is there to
open them all cleanly when nobody's watching?!
To distribute treasure to the townsfolk,
a noble thief has to steal quickly and hightail it out of sight.
If you can't bust open any lock,
no matter how you look doing it, you're not fit for the job!
Just... who is this guy?
The Noble Thieves' Best of Three Challenge: Contest 2!
A Race on the Rooftops Carrying 1000 Ryo Boxes!
The next contest is a race across rooftops.
1000 Ryo
So it's a test of escape speed.
Exactly.
Run across the rooftops to that watchtower,
while carrying this 1000 ryo box.
The first to reach it wins.
Got that?
A 1000 ryo box, huh?
It weighs the same as a real 1000 ryo box.
Don't lose this time, Onii-chan!
Naturally!
There are no more chances after this.
What's the matter? Hurt your back?
Don't be ridiculous! I run with this much weight all the time!
All right, ready!
Begin!
Wow, Helper-san is so fast! So fast!
Go!
Yeah!
You can't beat youth, old man!
Go suck in that pot belly and try again!
You gotta be kidding!
Contest over.
That's two wins for Red Loincloth.
So the Nezumi name...
At that rate, I can't believe you've never been caught.
Maybe the government officials have been going easy on you?
Onii-chan...
But fair is fair.
I'll be taking the Nezumi name.
You're not cut out to be a Helper or a Get-backer.
Shut your business down.
Your predecessor must be crying.
My predecessor...
Onii-chan...
I can't shut my business down.
What?
There's a reason I can't quit.
Must have been been seven or eight years now...
Just after I took the name of
second generation Nezumi Kozo, after my father,
Helper
and started my business as a Helper and a Get-backer.
The Helpers, the Get-backers, all of us noble thieves...
The source of our strength is the
thanks we get from the townsfolk.
The smiles on our customers' faces after a job is done.
I was able to keep it up because I wanted to see those.
I realized the work of a noble thief is necessary in this world.
That was when I met her...
Are you a courtesan's attendant?
What's your name?
They call me Manjiro the Helper.
I'll take any job to help someone.
I guess you wouldn't know about that...
What, you're hungry?
Here.
No need for modesty.
Eat up.
Hey...
You ran away, didn't you?
What happened here?
Why don't I help you out?
Otsu.
Huh?
My name.
Oh! Your name's Otsu, huh?
What province are you from?
I'll take you there.
Then, is there anywhere else you'd like to go?
Anywhere but Shimabara.
Okay!
Can you run?
We'll get as far from here as we can before morning.
We can run away?
Sure we can! I'm a Helper, after all.
Just leave it to me!
I won't let go of your hand until we get
to a place where you can smile.
No matter what!
I took Otsu, and we ran and ran.
Of course, I'd get no money from this.
I just wanted to take her someplace where she could feel at ease.
Hey, you're awake?
It's morning already.
It's just half a day's walk from here to Ise Shrine.
You've done great.
Oh?
You've got a nice smile!
I just love seeing smiles like that.
That's why I can't quit this job.
You'll never make money that way.
Huh?!
You'll never get anywhere with girls, either.
Sh-Shut up! You're talking like a grown-up!
Okay, you must be hungry, huh?
I'll rustle us up some breakfast.
Okay.
There she is!
Damn!
We've been looking for you, Otsu.
You ran pretty far, didn't you?
What the hell?
All of you against one little girl?!
Talk about overkill!
That's just how much money we've invested in her!
We can't let her run away!
What do I care?! Beat it!
You've got balls, I'll give you that.
Get out of here before you get hurt.
Shut your mouth!
You're the ones who better get—
Shut up!
Who do you think you're talking to, brat?!
Get him!
No!
Come with me!
Stop!
Let go of her, bastard!
Hold him down!
Forget him! Cut off his hand!
Do you wanna die?!
Take her, now!
Stop!
You...
I swore I wouldn't...
but I let go of her hand.
I protected myself before Otsu.
I thought letting go of her hand would save my life.
Shortly after that, I heard that Otsu died in Shimabara.
There's something I have to do.
Oh? What's that?
I have to see my customers smile.
If I don't see that, my job's not finished.
That's why I won't shut down.
What's a smile worth?
Do you think you can get through life on sentimental junk like that?
Sorry for intruding.
From this day forth, I'm taking the name of Nezumi Kozo.
So long.
Hold it!
Can we do one more contest?!
The competition is over. I won twice.
I didn't say we should do it for free.
Oh? What are you willing to wager?
My life!
If I win, give me back the Nezumi name.
But if I lose...
You can take my life.
The Noble Thieves' Final Contest!
The "Which is More Important?" Race!
Here's how it goes down, Roman.
We have your little Fido
and this adorable treasure that the
inventor values over his own life.
The moment I take one of them, the other will fall into the moat.
The one that falls is instant dinner for him.
Why is there a shark in the moat?!
Onii-chan, save Sakura!
No! My treasure!
My adorable treasure!
If either one falls into the moat, you lose,
and it becomes shark food.
Fine.
Why are you doing this?!
There, there...
Onii-chan...
Koharu, give us the starting call again.
Okay...
Just wait there, Sakura! Onii-chan's going to save you!
Okay, okay...
Get ready...
Begin!
What?!
I'll be taking my name back!
What?!
That tickles!
I'll never lose my way again.
A noble thief's job isn't over until he sees his customer smile.
Your father often said the same thing.
You really knew my dad?
I'll walk away for now,
but you still fall far short of your predecessor.
It's naïve to want to save everything.
What?
Who do you think you are?!
I, Seibei, was the partner of the first Nezumi Kozo, Jirokichi.
What?! You should've said so in the first place!
You knew our father?
That little baby sure has grown up into a fine young lady.
Wait...
I leave the Nezumi name in your care, Roman.
Yeah.
Okay, that should be all of it.
Thanks for letting us borrow your zombies, Dr. Hans.
Just being a fishy neighbor.
I think you mean a "friendly neighbor."
Right, that's what I mean! Fishy!
I said it's "friendly"...
Decorative chopsticks?
Correct.
It's said that the spring cherry blossom lies with chopsticks
engraved with a family crest.
Find them.
Understood.
Next Time
Good evening, everyone.
I'm Suzuki Magoichi of the Kyoto Mimawarigumi.
One clam, two clams, three clams...
Now, for the next episode of Roman, we have:
Alleys, Cellars, and a Lavish Banquet!
Four clams...