I assembled the strongest swordsman group.

"Meow meow meow~~"

The big orange cat, Duoduo, sat on the entryway and meowed loudly at Qingdeng.

It must have smelled Qingdeng's scent, so it waited here in advance to welcome Qingdeng.

"Meow meow."

Qingdeng meowed twice, responding to Duoduo's greeting while raising his eyes to scan the store.

Behind the counter, the "old and young duo" sat facing each other.

Kinoshita Mai was no longer wearing her red hakama kendo uniform, but had changed back into the bright red women's kimono that Aoto was most familiar with. She clenched her fists and raised them to her chest, her expression excited.

The Kiryu boss crossed his arms, his lips turned down, and he looked helpless.

Qingdeng's sudden appearance interrupted the argument between the two.

"Hmm? Qingdeng?"

"Tachibana-kun, I knew you would come."

"Please don't fight."

With a wry smile, Qing Deng untied the Vairocana and Ding Guishen from his waist, held them in his right hand, and naturally sat down next to Kinoshita Mai.

"I could hear you two arguing from a great distance."

Kinoshita Mai pursed her lips.

"We didn't argue! I was just stating my reasons!"

The Kiryu boss let out a long sigh.

Fearing the two would start arguing again, Qingdeng quickly interjected:

"Ah Wu, don't get agitated."

As he spoke, he reached out and gently patted Kinoshita Mai's back, as if to soothe a frightened cat.

At the same time, he couldn't help but cast a surprised glance at it.

Although Kinoshita Mai often appears in a terrifying state when she is intimate with other girls in Aoto, especially when she is intimate with Sanako, with her eyes "stained with darkness" and "muttering horrifying words", most of the time she is a lovely girl who speaks softly and has a gentle and kind personality.

This was the first time Qing Deng had seen her speak to her beloved Kiryu-san with such excitement.

Conversely, Kiryu's boss's assertive stance in front of Kinoshita Mai was also something Aoto had never seen before.

Even when he announced that he was going to marry three girls, including Kinoshita Mai, he didn't lose his composure like this.

Qingdeng's words of comfort and "caresses" immediately had an effect.

Kinoshita Mai's breathing gradually became steady.

His shoulders, which had been slightly tense with indignation, gradually relaxed.

While Kinoshita Mai remained silent, Kiryu tacitly kept quiet as well.

This struggle between the old and the young has transformed from a fierce "hot war" into a somber "cold war."

Caught between her mentor and one of her lovers, Aoto suddenly realized that the conflict between Kinoshita Mai and Kiryu was more serious than she had imagined.

To lift the suffocating air from the already oppressive atmosphere, Qing Deng took a deep breath:

"Anyway... let me understand the situation first. Ah Wu, I'll get straight to the point. Tell me: why do you want to join the Zhenfu Army?"

As soon as Qing Deng finished speaking, Mr. Kiryu sighed softly, his brows furrowed with deep helplessness.

It seems that Kinoshita Mai has already told Kiryu-sensei her reasons for wanting to join the military.

Judging from the old man's reaction... the reason the girl in red joined the army doesn't seem to be very comforting.

Kinoshita Mai… This shy, introverted girl who rarely speaks loudly shouted at this moment, a rare occurrence for her:

"I want to eliminate the Party and its followers!"

"what?"

With the talent "Wind Perception +1", Qing Deng could not possibly mishear or miss what Kinoshita Mai said.

However, the other party's answer was so unexpected that he couldn't help but ask, "What?"

Kinoshita Mai cleared her throat, then spoke in a louder voice, with a more forceful tone, and with more detailed information, enunciating each word clearly:

“Qingdeng, more than ten days ago, when I visited the Shiwei Hall with that person, you said in person that one of the tasks of the Zhenfu Army was to monitor and resist the Fa-Zhu Party.”

"If that's the case, then I have no reason not to participate!"

"Qingdeng, long before your conscription ceremony even began, I had already made up my mind to go to Kyoto with you to fight against the Fa-Zhu Party!"

"I finally managed to sneak out today, but unfortunately, Mr. Kiryu still found out..."

Qingdeng blinked, surprised by the brief outage.

The reason Kinoshita Mai gave for joining the army—to eliminate the law and punish the party—truly surprised him.

At this moment, Mr. Kiryu sighed again, thus breaking his silence:

"Young Master, please listen to me patiently."

"If you want to follow in the Lord's footsteps and contribute your efforts to the struggle between the Gourd House and the Law Extermination Party, or if you want to help Tachibana-kun so that he can live a peaceful life without being threatened by the Law Extermination Party, then you don't need to..."

Before Kiryu could finish speaking, Kinoshita Mai interrupted him, saying:

"Huh? Mr. Kiryu, you seem to have made a mistake."

Kiryu raised an eyebrow, looked up, and asked Kinoshita Mai with a questioning gaze: I made a mistake? What do you mean?

Kinoshita Mai sits upright with a proper posture.

"Mr. Kiryu, you're overcomplicating things."

"My hatred for the law and the suppression of the party has no complicated reasons."

"They're a bunch of lunatics who throw bombs into crowded streets—isn't that enough reason to eliminate them?"

At this point, Kinoshita Mai gritted her teeth, her eyes flashing with indignation, and her delicate hands clenched tightly.

"Of course, I don't deny that I had a selfish motive to help Grandma and Qingdeng."

"However, even though I have no grudge against the Law Enforcement Party, I will not let these bastards get away with this!"

"Heaven knows what other shocking and terrifying things they might do in the future."

"I will not rest until the Party is eradicated by law!"

Kinoshita Mai's words unsurprisingly drew complex emotions from Aoto and Kiryu.

After a brief moment of surprise, Aoto adopted a calm gaze and stared directly into Kinoshita Mai's eyes.

Just by looking into her eyes, you can clearly feel her strong desire.

Her eyes conveyed a message to Qingdeng: what she just said was not a joke, nor was it something she was playing around with.

Upon seeing this, Qingdeng's lips curled up slightly, revealing a smile brimming with emotion.

Because the girl in red always showed his innocent and silly side in front of him, he unconsciously forgot that, whether in his past life or in this life, Kinoshita Mai was the most righteous person he had ever met.

She's a chivalrous woman who dreams of building a school that can teach people from the lower classes how to make a living. To raise funds for the school's construction, she even goes so far as to transform into the phantom thief "Neko-sō" and steal money from the rich and heartless!

Throwing bombs into crowded streets—the incident Kinoshita Mai mentioned is most likely the recent assassination attempt on Aoto by Niizuma Hiroshi.

The stampede caused by the explosion resulted in the deaths of dozens of people... This tragic loss of life still haunts the people of Edo to this day.

To eliminate the wicked Fazhu Party, she resolutely enlisted in the army... This is indeed Kinoshita Mai's style.

Kinoshita Mai's speech and aspirations were undeniably passionate, righteous, and inspiring.

However... it did not impress Kiryu.

Instead, it made Mr. Kiryu's expression even more gloomy.

“…Young Master, if that’s the case, then I can’t let you join the Zhenfu Army.”

"Why?!"

Kinoshita Mai's eyes darted around intensely, her pretty face filled with confusion.

“Young Master, I’ve been dealing with the Fazhu Party since before you were even born. I know better than anyone how bloodthirsty and brutal the madmen of the Fazhu Party are. Since you’re determined to fight the Fazhu Party to the death, I’m even less likely to let you join the Zhenfu Army.”

Kinoshita Mai bit her lip lightly, her expression unwavering and serious:

"Kiryu-san! Don't treat me like a child who still needs your protection..."

"I just see you as a child who still needs our protection!!!"

The sudden shout startled not only Kinoshita Mai but also Aoto.

The usually gentle and refined Mr. Kiryu was now staring wide-eyed, his expression ferocious, and veins seemed to throb on his forehead...

*******

*******

I didn't sleep well last night... The air conditioner broke down and kept leaking water, so I wasn't really in the mood to write today, hence the slightly shorter word count. I'm so sorry! (crying leopard head.jpg)

Thankfully it was fixed in time, so I should be able to get a good night's sleep tonight (crying face).jpg

Chapter 514 Kinoshita Mai: I've already made peace with Aoto! [4400]

Although Mr. Kiryu's words had fallen, the air inside and outside the Senjiya still echoed with a sharp, lingering sound, like a slash.

In an instant, the air seemed to freeze.

Kinoshita Mai's expression was blank.

Qing Deng could not hide his astonishment.

He'd known Kiryu for a long time... but this was the first time he'd ever seen Kiryu get angry...

Judging from Kinoshita Mai's reaction, she probably rarely... or even never had ever seen Kiryu boss so angry at her before.

The two men's astonished gazes brought Kiryu back to his senses.

With a look of shame, he slowly concealed the ferocious expression on his face.

"...I'm sorry, I lost my composure."