I assembled the strongest swordsman group.

But to everyone's surprise, before Noriyuki Ryōsuke and the others could even respond, trouble arose on their own side:

"Ju, you are mistaken!"

Hijikata Toshizo stood upright, his expression solemn and extremely serious.

He continued speaking, word by word:

"Kyoto is the birthplace of geisha!"

"Geisha themselves have become an important treasure inseparable from Kyoto!"

“We are all from Guandong and are not very clear about everything above.”

"I don't think it's a bad thing to gain a more comprehensive understanding of Kyoto through interacting with geisha!"

Although Hijikata Toshizo spoke eloquently, as if expounding some worldly truth, anyone could tell that he was completely talking nonsense! His words were incoherent and illogical!

What does it have to do with you getting to know Kyoto if you're frolicking with geishas?

However, Aoto understood what Hijikata Toshizo meant: I want geisha! I want to see a geisha performance! Hurry up!

With him taking the lead, the others began to express their opinions.

"Um... Mr. Tachibana, I think... it would be nice to have geishas entertain us."

Nagakura Shinpachi said so.

"That's right! Mr. Tachibana! It's so boring to just eat and drink like this!"

Harada Sanosuke slapped his thigh, his expression filled with impatience.

Tu, Yong, and Yuan's gazes converged and fell upon Qing Deng.

Their gazes were so intense, it seemed as if they might set Qingdeng's clothes on fire at any moment.

Throughout the entire Shieikan (Imperial Examination Hall), there were probably no men more lecherous than these three. Back in Edo, they were frequent visitors to Yoshiwara.

Therefore, it was not surprising that Qingdeng said such a thing.

Qing Deng twitched the corner of his mouth, then scanned the room with his gaze.

Looking at the group, aside from the cold and dignified Saito Hajime, the pure and self-assured Yamanami Keisuke, and the three girls, people like Kondo Isami, Todo Heisuke, and Serizawa Kamo, while not as openly expressing their strong desire for geishas as the "prostitute trio," generally all had an air of "Kyoto's number one beauty... I really want to see her."

The attitude of the Shinsengumi generals naturally spurred on Nose Ryosuke and others.

Suddenly, calls for geisha arose once again.

Seeing this, Qing Deng felt helpless.

To be fair, this is such a trivial matter that it is not worth Qingdeng going against the will of the people for it.

If he goes along with everyone's wishes, everyone can have fun, but he himself will likely face rather severe... ah, no, correction, dire consequences...

Just when he was in a dilemma... his "little cotton-padded jacket" (his wife) who never disappointed him stepped in.

Souji blinked her beautiful eyes a few times, looked at Aoto, and then at her companions beside her.

Suddenly, a loud "smack" was heard as she clapped her hands forcefully, drawing everyone's attention.

“I think Mr. Hijikata is absolutely right! I’ve long wanted to see the famous Kyoto geisha in person! Ms. Kinoshita, what do you think?”

As she spoke, she turned to look at Kinoshita Mai sitting to her right—the three girls sat side by side, with Souji in the middle and Sanako and Kinoshita Mai on her left and right sides respectively.

Her sudden question drew all eyes to Kinoshita Mai.

Kinoshita Mai froze for a moment, then became flustered, her eyes darting around, her speech slurred, and she mumbled incoherently:

"Huh? Ahh... Ugh...!"

Not only was it noisy, but there were also many strangers... For a socially anxious girl like Kinoshita Mai, such a place was a nightmare!

Therefore, from the very beginning of the banquet, Kinoshita Mai kept her shoulders hunched, head drooping, and remained silent, doing her best to be a nobody.

She was completely unprepared for the CEO's sudden question.

Her innate introverted personality, the countless gazes weighing on her shoulders... the combined tension created by these two factors directly exceeded the limits her brain could handle.

In her haste and confusion, she stammered for a long time without uttering a coherent sentence.

As luck would have it, the commander pressed further:

"Ms. Kinoshita, you also want to see geisha, don't you?"

"Huh? I...I don't really know much about geishas..."

"Right?"

"Huh?! This...that...!"

"Right?"

"Yes, yes..."

Kinoshita Mai seemed to have given up struggling, her shoulders drooping and her head lowered, her delicate body shrinking even smaller.

Looking at the subdued girl in red, Souji's lips curled up slightly, and a hint of "planning in the making" appeared on his pretty face.

"Miss Sanako, what about you? What do you think?"

Her gaze turned 180 degrees and looked at Sanako sitting to her left.

"..."

Sanako did not respond immediately.

She turned her head slightly, gave a meaningful look at Qing Deng on the main seat, then let out a long sigh and said softly:

"...I don't care."

The commander's "planner-savvy" expression deepened.

Immediately afterwards, she raised her gaze and gave Qingdeng a meaningful look.

He specifically sought Sanako and Kinoshita Mai's opinions on geisha... No matter how stupid Aoto was, he could understand what Souji's actions were all for.

Qingdeng's cheeks instantly flushed with emotion, and a wave of感慨 (gǎnkǎi, a feeling of deep feeling or reflection) washed over him:

—Xiao Si is indeed a girl as bright as the sun!

Now that he had obtained the three women's permission, he no longer had any worries.

He immediately turned to Matsudaira Katamori beside him and said:

"Lady Higo, since everyone agrees, let's invite Miss Shiyo to entertain us."

Matsudaira Katamori nodded slightly:

"Alright then. Nose-kun, this task is entrusted to you. Make sure to invite Miss Shiyou... no, invite as many geishas as possible, including Miss Shiyou, as quickly as possible!"

Yoshisuke Nōse abruptly stood up and said loudly:

"Lady Higo, please leave it to me!"

After speaking, he rushed out of the banquet hall, his footsteps fading into the distance.

……

……

Gion is located on the east bank of the Kamo River, and it is not very close to Kinkai Komyoji Temple.

Qing Deng originally thought he would have to wait at least an hour to see the geishas' graceful figures.

Unexpectedly, Yoshisuke Nose acted quite quickly.

As the minutes on the clock ticked halfway around, Qingdeng, whose hearing was exceptional thanks to his talent "Wind Perception +1", heard soft footsteps approaching from afar.

Then—with a whoosh—the paper sliding door of the banquet hall was pushed open.

Yoshisuke Nose: "Come in with me!"

Like ducklings following closely behind their mother, a group of elegant, well-dressed, and barefoot geishas filed in, led by Yoshisuke Nose.

In an instant, the banquet hall was filled with the alluring scent of cosmetics.

With the exception of a very few people such as Saito Hajime and Yamanami Keisuke, the vast majority of people present stared intently at the geisha with wide eyes.

Or perhaps it's to admire someone's pretty face.

Or they might scan the back of someone's neck repeatedly.

Or they might stare intently at someone's small feet.

When a woman is dressed lightly, your gaze will be drawn to the areas with fabric; when a woman is dressed heavily, your gaze will be drawn to the areas without fabric—men are such simple creatures.

Women's kimonos are very conservative; once worn, not even half of the lower leg is visible.

In addition, the design of the kimono also serves to conceal the figure.

Unless you're someone with a voluptuous figure like Sanako, Tenshōin, or Kinoshita Mai, your chest will just be pressed tightly against the hem of your kimono and stand straight up.

Her fair skin and alluring figure were completely hidden... As a result, the men's attention was naturally drawn to the parts that the kimono couldn't cover.

For example: the back of the neck.

For example: feet.

During the Edo period, most men were "neck fetishists" and "foot fetishists," while women were proud to have a pair of "beautiful feet."

Her body was tightly wrapped in beautiful clothes, but a pair of slender, jade-like feet were exposed, half-hidden, half-revealed, lightly stepping on wooden clogs and tatami mats... Such a scene was praised by countless literati and poets in the Edo period.

A very small number of "radical individuals" have even made outrageous statements such as "I want to become a tatami mat" or "I want to become a tatami mat that has been stepped on by XXX".

Therefore, in order to attract customers, even in the coldest winter months, courtesans and geishas would not wear socks.

Wearing white socks is a symbol of nobility, while not wearing socks is a symbol of fashion.

In the eyes of courtesans and geishas, ​​wearing socks was an extremely old-fashioned thing to do.

As the saying goes, "A beautiful woman, at the age of twenty-eight, can finally wear foot bags," and "I have never known the size of my own foot bags for more than twenty-seven years."

Qing Deng was also keeping a close eye on the geishas.

However, his eyes did not contain any lewd or obscene expression.

He has spent many years with top beauties like Sanako, Tenshōin, Kinoshita Mai, and Souji, so his threshold for women has been raised to an extremely high level.

It is undeniable that the geishas who have entered so far are all very beautiful.