I assembled the strongest swordsman group.

[Powerful Skin] → [Powerful Skin +1]

【Be prepared】→【Be prepared +1】

In addition, eight new talents were gained—

[Dog's Nose]: Enhanced sense of smell; the brain's ability to process "smell" information is enhanced, and the brain will not have difficulty processing excessive information due to enhanced smell.

[Beef liver]: Liver function is superior to that of ordinary people.

[Hippopotamus's jaw]: Bite force is superior to that of ordinary people.

[Heart of a Lion]: A heart stronger than the average person's.

【White hair and youthful face +5】: Does not easily show signs of aging.

[Late Bloomer +7]: The older one gets, the sharper and more agile one's mind becomes. The aging rate of organs slows down.

[Top Quality Stallion +7]: Its excellent genes are easily passed on to its offspring.

[Born to Fight +9]: The more intense and fierce the battle, the better your physical and mental state will be.

These eight new talents are all highly practical, and Qingdeng is very satisfied with them.

An unprecedented bumper harvest.

However, if you were to say that the "Edo Campaign" had come to a "successful end"... Aoto doesn't think so.

"……Do not."

Qingdeng spoke loudly and firmly.

"Mr. Kubota, my 'Edo Conquest' is not over yet!"

Immediately, a barrage of questioning gazes fell upon Qing Deng.

"Both Otani Seiichiro and Kuboda Kiyone have been defeated by you. In all of Edo, who else can you wait to challenge?" they asked Aoto with their eyes.

Ootani Seiichiro was the first to react:

"Oh...right, I almost forgot, there's also him."

He smiled as he spoke.

“That’s right. If we can’t defeat the ‘strongest in Edo,’ this epic challenge against the entire Edo region can’t be considered a complete success.”

Qingdeng raised the corners of his mouth with a triumphant smile:

"I can't go to Luoyang satisfied until I defeat him!"

……

……

Outside the Military Academy—

As Qing Deng stepped through the gate of the Military Academy, the sky was still tinged with the pale white light characteristic of the morning.

Now, the dim, golden rays of the setting sun have spread across the land.

The public's patience is always limited.

In feudal society where productivity was underdeveloped, the vast majority of the urban class lived a life of "no work, no pay"—this was especially true for the people of Edo.

The flourishing of urban culture and entertainment, coupled with local customs, meant that people in Edo generally did not have savings. They would spend 10 copper coins as soon as they earned them, and spend 1 tael of gold as soon as they earned it. Hence the saying: "People in Edo do not spend money that will last overnight."

Who has the time to do nothing all day but wait outside the gate of the military academy for the Prince of Benevolence to come out?

One hour after Qingdeng entered the military academy, half of the crowd gathered around it dispersed.

By noon, only a quarter of the quantity remained.

Now, looking around the entrance of the military academy, the crowd is sparse, less than one-thirtieth of what it was in the morning.

Among those who remained until dusk, aside from the idle folks who didn't need to earn money themselves and had plenty of time, there were only Qingdeng's relatives and friends.

"Back then, there was this bastard who looked down on me! Guess what he mocked me for? He said I was an idiot who couldn't even do seppuku properly! I didn't like hearing that! So, I just pulled out my wakizashi from my waist and 'snap' shoved the knife into my stomach! I did seppuku right there and then! That guy was so scared he fell to the ground! He almost peed his pants!"

As Harada Sanosuke pulled open his shirt to reveal the scar on his stomach, he boasted to the children in front of him about the story of "committing seppuku but not dying," a story he had told countless times.

Saito Hajime stood beside him, and like a sloth, he didn't like to move. He had been in this position for a long time, so long that three pigeons thought he was a stone statue. They fluttered down and landed on his head and shoulders, sat down, and tucked their wings and feet into their feathers as if laying eggs. The sight of one man and three birds was quite comical.

Not far away, Yamanami Keisuke and Toudou Heisuke were chatting. Swordsmen of the Hokushin Ittō-ryū school always valued the bond between fellow students, and as they were both from the Hokushin Ittō-ryū school, they had a natural sense of closeness to each other.

In another direction, Souji and Kinoshita Mai sat facing each other on a clean stone step, playing cat's cradle, while Sanako watched from the sidelines.

Souji and others, who lived at Shieikan as apprentices and guests, had no shortage of time every day.

*******

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Please vote with monthly tickets! Please vote with recommendation tickets! (Leopard crying.jpg)

Damn it! I still can't come up with a plot that's both scary enough and can pass censorship! (Crying leopard head.jpg) As expected, the scary stuff should start tomorrow, but my leopard brain is still completely blank... (Leopard dead.jpg)

Chapter 538 Miss Okita's Huge Harem! [5200]

Is that so?

"That's right! Put your finger in, then turn it out, and you'll see it becomes this shape."

Souji and Kinoshita Mai sat side by side on the stone steps, taking turns playing cat's cradle, a folk puzzle game widely popular in East Asia.

All I could see was the souji's fingers... her long, slender fingers, like butterflies, darted back and forth among the pale purple strings, deftly twirling and turning. Her fingers seemed to symbolize her entire being, fair and delicate, but by no means frail.

It's easy to tell from Souji's nimble movements that she's a seasoned player at cat's cradle.

In contrast, Kinoshita Mai...

"Well……!"

Kinoshita Mai pursed her red lips, her whole body stiffened, even her toes, wrapped in white cotton socks, gripped her red-buttoned wooden clogs tightly.

Upon seeing this, the commander couldn't help but smile.

"Ms. Kinoshita, relax a little, there's no need to be so nervous."

"Ah... yes!"

Kinoshita Mai took a deep breath, and then, following the method that Souji had just taught her, she timidly stretched out her ten fingers, reached into the gaps in the thin rope, hooked them, and flipped them outwards... A beautiful flower immediately appeared in her hands.

"See? It worked! I told you, this game is very simple!"

Looking at the flowers in her hand and hearing Souji's praise, Kinoshita Mai paused for a moment, then slowly revealed a shy yet radiant smile.

Why are Souji and Kinoshita Mai playing cat's cradle here?

This all started with Mai Kinoshita's reclusive personality.

Shy, socially anxious, and not good at socializing—that's just Kinoshita Mai's personality, and it's not something she can change easily.

On the one hand, she longs to interact with outsiders and make friends, and does not enjoy the feeling of being alone.

On the other hand, her fear of strangers and her anxiety about interpersonal interactions held her back.

Although her awkward personality has improved considerably with Qingdeng's encouragement and companionship, it's only "improved" and is still far from being completely resolved.

She only becomes a little more lively in front of acquaintances like Aoto and Mr. Kiryu.

When she is not accompanied by relatives or friends, she will silently hunch her shoulders, fold her hands in front of her, try to make her body smaller, and remain silent, consciously becoming invisible.

For example, today: Kiryu-sensei needs to look after the Senjiya, so Kinoshita Mai has to come to the martial arts school alone.

From morning onwards, she stood alone in an inconspicuous corner, head down, silent, not interacting with anyone, completely out of place in the world—until Souji discovered her.

Upon discovering that Kinoshita Mai was all alone and could only pass the time by staring at the ground in front of her toes, Souji silently took out the purple armband he always carried from his pocket, braided it into a sturdy rope with the ends connected, and then strode towards Kinoshita Mai.

"Ms. Kinoshita! Let's play cat's cradle!"

"Cat's line? Huh? Ah, ah... I, I don't know how to play cat's line..."

"It's okay! I'll teach you! This game is very simple! You'll be able to pick it up right away!"

And so, with the chief's strong encouragement, the two girls started playing cat's cradle and played for most of the day.

People like Kinoshita Mai, who are shy and afraid to talk to strangers, are always powerless to resist the overly friendly gestures of cheerful people like Souji.

Cat's cradle, a children's game originating in China, has taken deep root in Japan after hundreds of years of development and evolution, enjoying a considerable popular base. However, it is primarily played by the lower classes, namely lower-ranking samurai and commoners.

As the young lady of the Gourd House, and having only Elodie as her friend since childhood, Kinoshita Mai had never played with cat's cradle before.

At first, she either got her fingers tangled or turned them into a strange shape.

However, no matter how many mistakes she made, no matter how ridiculous they were, Souji never showed impatience or made a laugh. She always wore a gentle smile and patiently taught her.

Under the careful guidance of the chief instructor, Kinoshita Mai gradually mastered the skills and fun of cat's cradle.

Her previously taut facial features softened, revealing a hint of a smile.

Not long after the two girls started playing cat's cradle, Sanako suddenly appeared out of nowhere from the side and stood beside them.

She didn't say anything, just quietly watched the two girls play their game.

Perhaps feeling uncomfortable under Sanako's gaze, or perhaps simply disliking Sanako standing beside her, Kinoshita Mai finally couldn't help but tilt her head back and ask:

"Miss Chiba, what brings you here?"

Sanako replied expressionlessly:

"Nothing, I just wanted to see what you guys were doing."

Kinoshita Mai: "..."

Sanako: "..."

They stared at each other, wide-eyed. An unfriendly atmosphere hung between them.

Seeing this, Souji blinked a few times, looked at Kinoshita Mai in front of him, and then at Sanako beside him, a strange expression that was neither a smile nor a frown appearing on his face.

This situation always occurs whenever the "noble fox" and the "dwarf cat" meet.

Normally, when faced with the "confrontation" between the two women, Souji could only force a smile and remain helpless.

But things are different today.

Because today, she has mastered a "killer move" that might just improve the "fox-cat relationship" in one fell swoop!