I assembled the strongest swordsman group.

The woman in the middle is neither fat nor thin, and neither tall nor short.

The girl on the far right is very petite.

With their physiques and their group of members, you can tell who they are without even needing to explain.

“Mr. Anthony, there are no outsiders here. You may take off your hats and face coverings.”

Upon hearing Qingdeng's words, Elodie, Anthony, and Leroy quickly took off their straw hats and face masks.

"call……"

Anthony let out a long sigh of relief.

"Finally, I can breathe a sigh of relief..."

Fine beads of sweat covered the faces of all three.

Elodie's face flushed red from the heat, and strands of her golden hair clung to her delicate features.

Although it is still the cold winter season, wearing a straw hat and face towel all day long... just the feeling of not being able to wipe away sweat is enough to make people uncomfortable.

"I'm sorry, but thank you for your hard work. From today until we arrive in Kyoto, you'll have to play the 'masked people'."

No sooner had Qing Deng finished speaking than Anthony hurriedly interjected:

"Not at all! Mr. Tachibana, please don't apologize! We're more than grateful to you!"

Having accepted Kiryu's request to "escort the Angoulême family to Kyoto," Aoto will naturally do his best and will not slack off.

To avoid attacks from soldiers who held pro-King views, Elodie and the others had to disguise themselves and conceal their distinctive Western faces.

Fortunately, General Dong was still alive, so even though he was wearing a straw hat and a face mask, he wouldn't arouse suspicion.

Once the appearance issue is resolved, all other problems will be easily solved.

All three of them can speak fluent Japanese.

Elodie's Japanese is so fluent and standard that it doesn't sound like a foreigner at all.

Although Anthony and Leroy had heavy accents, it didn't matter much.

Japan under the rule of the Edo Shogunate did not have universal compulsory education, nor did it promote standard language.

Or rather, since the Tokugawa family established their shogunate, there has never been an official standard language.

The people of Edo, Kyoto, and Osaka—these three major cities—all consider their own accents to be the standard language and look down on each other's accents, especially the people of Kyoto.

People in Osaka are extremely proud of their "Osaka Ben".

The people of Kyoto regard their own "Kyoto dialect" as a noble and elegant language.

The more remote the region, the stronger the accent and the more easily one understands the local dialect.

Especially in the southwestern region... for example, the Satsuma dialect has basically nothing to do with Japanese; they are completely different languages.

Therefore, even if outsiders heard Elodie and the others speaking, they would not doubt their identities because of their accents, but would only think that they were country bumpkins from some remote mountain village.

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Today I've managed a rare 6000 words! Asking for some monthly votes isn't too much to ask, right? (Crying leopard head.jpg)

Leopard is in great form right now! I need your encouragement! Without your encouragement, Leopard has no strength! The current monthly vote count is 156. If we can reach 210 votes before 10 o'clock tomorrow, Leopard will update 8000 words tomorrow!

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Chapter 556 The Shinsengumi's Rebellion! [5200]

As for how to explain "three unidentified people, one large, one medium, and one small, following closely beside the orderly ranks of soldiers," that's not difficult.

Qing Deng lied and said that Elodie and the others were his friends, and that he was giving them a ride because they were also going to Kyoto.

To ensure the safety of the Angoulême family, Qingdeng placed them all in the central army camp where he was stationed, ensuring that they were always under his watchful eye.

To be fair, Qingdeng's behavior can be considered as using public office for private gain.

However, it does not harm the collective interest; it is merely a trivial matter, so no one dares to say anything.

Snap, snap, snap, snap...

Just then, crisp footsteps suddenly came from the direction of the corridor, approaching from afar.

In an instant, Anthony and Leroy reacted as if on impulse, quickly grabbing the straw hats and face masks they had just taken off.

Only Qingdeng and Elodie remained calm, the latter even looking delighted—because they were all too familiar with the sound of those footsteps.

“Mr. Anthony, Miss Leroy, there’s no need to be nervous.”

Qing Deng smiled.

"The person who came is an acquaintance of ours; I asked her to come."

No sooner had he finished speaking than a soft voice, belonging to a girl in red, rang out from outside the door:

"Qingdeng, it's me! May I come in?"

"Okay, come in."

The next moment, Kinoshita Mai impatiently pushed the door open and entered.

After the paper sliding door that blocked her view was pushed aside, she first glanced at Qing Deng on the main seat, then quickly scanned her eyes as if searching for something.

Soon, she found her target—the blonde girl who was looking at her with shining eyes.

"Elodie!"

"Miss Wu!"

Kinoshita Mai rushes towards her opponent in two quick steps.

Elodie also stood up and leaned over.

The two girls hugged each other tightly.

Gazing at this exquisite scene of "beautiful girls sticking together," Qing Deng couldn't help but smile—not because he had any strange hobby, but simply because he felt happy after seeing his lover and apprentice's joyful smiles.

One side consists of socially anxious individuals who are tongue-tied and inarticulate.

On the other side is a lonely girl who has left her hometown and is living abroad.

Both sides regard each other as their most important friend.

Currently, besides Aoto, only Kinoshita Mai knows the true identities of the three people who "hitch a ride" in the Shinsengumi.

The reason Qing Deng suddenly called Kinoshita Mai over was partly so that the two best friends could meet and have a chat.

To avoid attracting attention, Elodie and the others had to avoid contact with people as much as possible, so the two women did not communicate during the day.

The other reason is more serious.

Although I really wanted Kinoshita Mai and Elodie to spend more time together, there were more important things to do.

“Mr. Anthony, Miss Elodie, Miss Leroy, I’m sorry, could you please go and rest for a while? I have something very important to discuss with Awu.”

Elodie is an obedient, sensible, and mature child, so naturally she wouldn't act willfully in this situation.

She nodded slightly, and then, together with Anthony and Leroy, put on their straw hats and face coverings again and filed out.

After the footsteps of the Angoulême family completely disappeared at the end of the corridor outside the house, Kinoshita Mai asked:

"Qingdeng, what do you want to discuss with me?"

She paused, then, as if remembering something, hurriedly crossed her hands and said in a flustered voice, her cheeks flushed:

"I...I want to make this clear beforehand! I've been walking all day and haven't even taken a shower yet. I really don't have the mood to do...that kind of thing!"

"Who said I wanted to do that kind of thing with you?"

After saying this in an annoyed tone, Aoto waved to Kinoshita Mai.

She immediately crawled on her knees to him.

"A-Wu, I'll be frank. The main reason I summoned you here tonight is to talk about your Ninth Division."

Kinoshita Mai looked puzzled:

"My Ninth Division?"

Qingdeng nodded and continued the conversation:

"Have you noticed that the members of your Ninth Division are all ordinary-looking, average-built people who you could easily lose in a busy city?"

Kinoshita Mai blinked a few times.

"Huh? Now that you mention it...it does seem to be true..."

“This was done on purpose. I deliberately put the least noticeable people into your team.”

"Huh? Why would you do that?"

Qingdeng straightened his back, sat up straight, and adopted a serious tone:

"Ah Wu, to win the war, we must focus on two aspects."

He held up two fingers.

"First, logistics; second, intelligence."

"As long as you have access to supplies in one go, and know your enemy and yourself, you can remain invincible even if you can't defeat them."

"My new faction must have a brand-new, independent, and more efficient intelligence gathering agency."

"Therefore, I intend to transform your Ninth Division into a ninja unit specializing in intelligence gathering."

"This important task is best suited for you."

"After all, you are a genuine female ninja."

Kinoshita Mai, eyes wide open, lips moving slightly:

"Intelligence gathering... Ninja squad..."

After a moment, she came to her senses and said nervously:

"Someone like me, how could I possibly have the ability to shoulder such a heavy responsibility!"