This summary is becoming somewhat nonsensical, but I persevere.

Okay, on the second day, as previously mentioned, Suou amazingly turns up again. They go to Ouyou Gyoku (the assistant secretary of Public Works) for help. He basically just tells them that they should alert the authorities, including the Gyoshidai (Imperial Censorate/Internal affairs, the department that investigates official misconduct). However, Shuurei wants Ouyou Gyoku’s help in constructing a trap for the counterfeiters, which he agrees to do. After Shuurei leaves, Hakumei arrives, and a mysterious man… arg, okay, Ouyou Jun, who is Kairi’s husband (he was previously seen looking for his wife at the Kogarou. Unfortunately, Shuuei told him that there was no one named Karin there. Although Shuuei, knowing all of the courtesans working there, was not trying to deceive him, he unfortunately ended up misleading him.) They recognize the style of the forgeries and counterfeits, and begin to take action.

Afterwards, Shuurei returns home, and talks to Shouka. She reveals that she had consulted Dr. You (see Gaiden 2, last story), and as a result of this, vows never to marry. Shouka is fine with this, and not entirely surprised. (Huh, so for the first time, Shuurei is sort of keeping secrets from the reader. As for what is wrong with Shuurei, I have zero idea. The Japanese fandom doesn’t know either, so I guess it hasn’t been really developed. ) Later, Suou appears at Shuurei’s house. He just kind of hopped the fence, since there aren’t any guards. They discuss again the issue of motivation, and Suou recalls that not once has Shuurei asked him why he’s such a slacker.

Meanwhile, Ryuuki-tachi finally track down Karin, trying to scale the wall of a mansion. Although Shuuei catches her and prevents her from falling on her head, she still abuses them and then bursts into tears. At that moment, Shuurei, Suou, and Seiran appear. Suou consoles Karin and tells her what she is seeking is inside, then opens the mansion with some keys he has with him… yes, it’s his mansion, and Seiran and Shuuei take care of the guards, after which Suou opens a room, to reveal that the forger is… a five or six year old boy, Heki Banri.

What had happened was that Karin has been absorbed in painting, and had upon her arrival in Kiyou, sent Banri to go and live with Uncle Hakumei. Unfortunately, she just told him to go walk there, and someone told Banri he could go and paint some pictures. (0_o Uh…. how about telling your brother when you send your kid to him, so something like this can be prevented?) Upon seeing the forgery, she realized that something had happened with Banri and rushed off looking for him. Banri is upset that his mother took so long to pick him up, and says that he thought she didn’t like him because he was a boy, so he wanted to produce art so that she would pay attention to him, instead of ignoring him like she does his father. Karin tells Ryuuki that Heki Yuukoku was the one who produced the forgeries, but Ryuuki mercifully says that what had happened was that he, the emperor, sought Heki Yuukoku out to commission new currency. He concocts some story about how there were some test copies etc., and so Karin and Banri won’t get into trouble. So Karin now says she will instruct Banri, and considers giving him the name Heki Yuuzan.

Suou’s father appears, and his son confronts him. Although Shin Sr. is guilty of producing forgeries, he claims to be innocent of the counterfeiting, which Suou believes, because he knows his father doesn’t have the guts to do something involving a death sentence. He reveals his past: at first, his father had bought him a position in the Chuushosei (the office which is the secretary of the king), but although he worked hard and persevered, because of his tendency to say what he thought (during this time, it was all about flattering the princes, as the office answers directly to the king), he was continually demoted, to the point where he was chased out of the city and sent to the provinces. At that time, he pretty much gave up, and later his father purchased him another position, in the Gyoshidai, but by this point, he no longer felt like working, given that the system hadn’t rewarded his work. The reason he decided to help Shuurei was because she never once asked him why he was such a slacker, basically. Ryuuki seems inclined to deal with them mercifully, however, the Gyoshidai arrive and arrest both Suou and his father. All the time, it seems, they had been monitoring the entire show. Later, however, Shuurei manages to get Suou released, since his father insisted that his son didn’t know anything. Suou is fired from his job at the Gyoshidai and made a supernumerary official as well. Shuurei suggests to him that if he accomplishes some great deed, he may be able to get a pardon for his father. However Suou considers this somewhat unlikely.

We also learn about Karin’s past: the Heki family forced her to take on the name of Yuukoku because people wouldn’t respect the paintings as much if they were done by a woman. They even imprisoned her for a month before she agreed to do so, which caused her personality to change. (This made me much more sympathetic towards Karin. Like many of the nobles, she’s oppressed by her family’s expectations and can’t live as she pleases.) One of the reasons they’re considering making Karin the head of the house, though, is because Shuurei was able to become an official. Also, Karin agrees to paint Ryuuki’s portrait, should he so desire. (Amusingly, later Banri says he wants to take the professional name Heki Karin.)

Later, Keichou formally proposes marriage to Shuurei, and knowing he’ll be turned down, he then asks her to give her answer later. He’s going to go to Sa Province and become a researcher, then gives her some sake he’s made. Then, Ryuuki visits Shuurei, finally, and says that he cannot apologize for what he’s done as king, but says that as uh… a very good friend of the king, he’ll listen to what she has to say. So Shuurei basically tells him to tell the king “What the hell? Suspension?!? Are you kidding!” XD Ryuuki once again asks her to marry him, but with the expected reply.

Then, we introduce two new characters, Kouki and Anju, who seem to be of the noble faction (who oppose the national exam faction). They’re high ranking officials allied with Ou Ki, and Kouki seems to really dislike the national exam group, while Anju tries to be more of a go between. Anju seems to have taken a liking to Shuurei, to which Kouki asks whether he wants to marry her. Anju says there’s rather an age difference (at this point Shuurei is eighteen; Kouki and Anju are described as somewhere over thirty-five). Anyway, Ou Ki then proposes that all the supernumerary officials be gotten rid of. Uh oh.

My thoughts:

As I said, I felt that this story was a tad too long, and the main reason to read it (because really, it’s not news that Shuurei is Determined and Looking Ahead) is to meet Shin Suou, who will soon become a major character. He’s an interesting character because he’s mediocre in accomplishment and lacks strong motivation, as well as having a pessimistic outlook, so it’ll become interesting to see how he will change. (I personally think it would be ironic if he eventually did ascend to become head of the bureau he was kicked out off, as the king’s private secretary. The king needs an official who’s not afraid to say all kinds of negative things to him. XD ) The other thing that’s interesting are the appearances of the nobility faction, who are strong in the Gyoshidai and the Monkashou. (damn it, I NEED to translate the org chart, but I don’t know how the titles should be translated. )