I assembled the strongest swordsman group.

"I just...miss Grandma, Mr. Kiryu, and Toto..."

Although no real war has yet broken out, Kyoto is undoubtedly the front line where various factions clash, such as the "Kōbu-Uratai Faction" and the "Zōmyō-Jōyō Faction," the "Hōshū-Dō" faction and the shogunate, the "Ōshio Party" and the shogunate, and the "Hōshū-Dō" faction and the Ōshio Party!

Bringing a cat to the battlefield... especially a much larger, fat orange cat, is definitely going to be a huge inconvenience.

Therefore, Kinoshita Mai did not bring her beloved pet to Kyoto.

Dodo... This big orange cat is probably lying lazily on the floor of the Senjiya right now, keeping Kiryu-sensei company.

At the very moment that Kinoshita Mai finished speaking, Qing Deng stopped writing with his brush.

He blinked, then turned his head, staring intently at Kinoshita Mai with a serious expression.

“Amai, I’m not blaming you, but… we haven’t even been away from Edo for a month, and you’re already homesick after such a short time… that’s really not right.”

Upon hearing this, Kinoshita Mai immediately defended herself:

"Qingdeng, I'm not being pretentious."

“I’m 18 years old this year… This is the first time in 18 years that I’ve been away from my family…”

"Although I am an orphan who does not even know what my biological parents look like, my childhood memories are too vague, so I have been adopted by my grandmother since I can remember."

"Even during the time when I was forced to go to Edo for training under my grandmother's orders, Mr. Kiryu was by my side."

"I've never been in a situation like this before, completely alone and without any relatives or friends..."

Having said that, Kinoshita Mai rested her head back on her lap.

Looking at the beautiful woman curled up like a small animal, Qing Deng's expression gradually relaxed, and the lines of his face softened.

“…Ah Wu, you can’t say that.”

"Although you won't see your old family members for the time being, you now have me, Xiao Si, and... many more new family members."

Qing Deng wanted to say "and Sanako", but considering the subtle relationship between "noble fox" and "dwarf cat", he swallowed the words that were already on the tip of his tongue.

"Speaking of which... I haven't praised you yet."

As he spoke, he put down his brush, reached out, and gently rubbed Kinoshita Mai's head with a soothing motion.

"Thanks to your infiltration and reconnaissance, we achieved a complete victory in the battle against the Nanmu Group the night before last, at a much lower cost than we had anticipated!"

From any perspective, the "Kusunuki Group Extermination Operation" the night before was an impeccable and resounding victory!

Under the cover of night, they launched a surprise attack; the entire army was mobilized, with all their elite troops deployed; they attacked the unprepared with the prepared... They had the advantage of timing, terrain, and popular support!

The lightning-fast attacks never gave the opponent a chance to recover or regroup their defenses.

Therefore, as soon as the war began, the entire Nanmu Group suffered a complete defeat, the situation was stabilized, and the surprise attack turned into a one-sided war of defeat and annihilation.

After the battle, Aoto sent Yamanami Keisuke to tally the number of wounded and dead.

Upon receiving the exact casualty figures, Aoto… no, not just Aoto, but anyone who witnessed such a glorious victory would surely be astonished: not a single member of the Shinsengumi had died! Only seven unlucky souls suffered minor injuries!

Without a doubt, Mai Kinoshita deserves much credit for achieving such a brilliant record.

If she hadn't infiltrated the Kusunoki Group's headquarters alone before the battle, and figured out the internal structure of the mansion and the location of important figures like Ayase Taichi, Aoto and the others' attack would have been repeatedly thwarted—just finding their way around would have taken a lot of time.

In fact, the reason why Aoto entrusted Kinoshita Mai with the important task of "reconnoitering the main camp of the Kusunoki Group" was, on the one hand, to ensure the victory of the battle, and on the other hand, to allow the Shinsengumi generals to adapt to Kinoshita Mai's identity as a "female ninja" as soon as possible.

Not only is she proficient in movement techniques and martial arts, but she also has another identity: the phantom thief Nekozo, who strikes fear into the hearts of countless corrupt officials, shady merchants, and crooked businessmen in Edo. Therefore, she has extremely rich experience in stealth... If we don't train Kinoshita Mai to become a female ninja, it would be a real waste of her talent!

Kinoshita Mai's special skills meant that she could never fight the enemy head-on with weapons like Souji and Sanako.

Her battlefield should be an inconspicuous but dangerous hidden front, no less dangerous than the main battlefield!

Since Kinoshita Mai joined the Shinsengumi, Aoto has described her as a "skilled female ninja" and a "top agent who can move freely even in the most dangerous places."

Otherwise, he wouldn't have entrusted the Ninth Division to her—in Aoto's plan, the Ninth Division would be the Shinsengumi's future intelligence agency.

The importance of intelligence and specialized intelligence gathering personnel to an army is self-evident—old proverbs such as "know your enemy and know yourself, and you will never be defeated" have almost exhausted the importance of these two.

Although ninjas are not highly regarded in traditional Japanese thought, no one can deny that having a skilled ninja who is good at gathering intelligence is like having a million-strong army!

Qing Deng knew how formidable Kinoshita Mai was, however... the others were unaware of her true abilities.

Kinoshita Mai? Oh, that girl with a baby face, big breasts, who's very pretty, loves wearing red, and is very skilled in martial arts—that's how everyone, including Souji and Sanako, knows Kinoshita Mai.

Therefore, in order to change people's "stereotypes" of her, it is necessary to give Kinoshita Mai a stage to showcase her abilities—and at the same time, give her a good opportunity to build self-confidence.

It appears that Qingdeng has already achieved its goal.

Fearlessly venturing into the enemy's lair alone, she brought everyone the most urgently needed intelligence in a very short time... Her impeccable performance made everyone look at her with new respect.

Even Sanako, who always gets along with her, looks at her differently than usual.

Kinoshita Mai, whose head was being ruffled by Aoto, awkwardly shifted her gaze.

"This kind of exaggerated praise doesn't make me happy..."

"No, I'm not exaggerating."

Qing Deng put on a serious face.

"The current new electoral group is not lacking in strategists and fierce generals."

"The paper contains the erudite, courageous, and resourceful writings of Shannan."

"In terms of martial arts, there are Koshi, Nagakura, and Saito who can take on a thousand men."

"However, what we lack are people with special skills."

"For example, a doctor with miraculous healing skills, a craftsman with superb skills, a merchant with great abilities, and a ninja with great wisdom."

At this point, Qingdeng couldn't help but sigh.

A doctor who can save lives.

Craftsmen capable of making advanced weapons such as guns and cannons

A businessman who can earn ample funds.

The above three types... especially the last one, are the three types of talent that Qingdeng currently desires most.

We can only gather these talents slowly, like collecting Pokémon... After thinking this to himself, Qing Deng continued to say to Kinoshita Mai:

"You are not only indispensable to me, but also to the Shinsengumi."

Although Kinoshita Mai says things like "I'm not happy at all," her body language tells a different story.

Her whole face softened, and she started giggling foolishly—this was what Qing Deng loved most about Kinoshita Mai.

She's easily flattered; even corny and cheesy love quotes can make her happy for a long time, followed by an adorable expression.

However, suddenly, as if she had remembered something, her expression froze.

Immediately afterwards, the look of joy on his cheeks faded at a visible speed:

"Although we eradicated the Kusunoki Group... we only eliminated a small scourge for the people of Kyoto."

"There are even more pests, more despicable than the Nanmu Group, still at large...!"

At this point, she raised her eyes and cast a resentful glance at Qingdeng.

"Qingdeng, did you see how infuriating the expressions on the faces of those high-ranking officials and dignitaries at the banquet tonight were when they heard you were willing to let them off the hook?"

As soon as Kinoshita Mai finished speaking, Aoto's eyes flickered slightly.

"...Yes, of course I saw it."

The girl continued to grit her teeth.

"These fat, bloated bastards have probably done countless evil deeds...!"

A strong sense of resentment, carried by the words, rushed towards Qingdeng.

Aoto smiled helplessly—Kinoshita Mai's intense reaction was very much in line with her personal style.

After all, looking back, he had experienced her sense of justice many times.

To punish the villains of Edo and to build a technical school specifically for the poor, he travels around as a phantom thief.

In order to eradicate the evil Fazhu Party, he resolutely signed up to join the Shinsengumi.

This is Kinoshita Mai, a girl full of a sense of justice, a girl who thinks more about others than herself.

If all those nobles adorned with gold and purple at tonight's banquet were dragged out to be shot at, innocent people would surely die unjustly.

But if we kill one and release another, there will definitely be some who slip through the net!

Never expect anything from the moral bottom line of the privileged class in feudal times.

They probably wouldn't resort to open robbery with gleaming swords like the Kusunoki Group.

However, their methods of robbing and killing were far more efficient and cruel than those of the Kusunoki Group!

The phrase "eating people without spitting out the bones" perfectly describes these privileged classes!

“…Ah Wu, when it comes to aversion to ‘greed’ and ‘brutality,’ I am by no means inferior to you.”

Qingdeng channeled his surging emotions into his voice with a "whoosh".

"If I could... I would certainly like to slam my fist on the table and order all these guys to be dragged away, tried one by one, released the innocent and convicted the guilty, and all the scum to be beheaded in Sanjogahara."

"But... I don't have that power yet."

"The guests who are able to attend tonight's banquet are all local bigwigs with deep roots in Kyoto."

"Do not act rashly before you are fully prepared."

"If we rashly break ties with them, it will only bring temporary satisfaction, and the 'disadvantages' will far outweigh the 'advantages'."

"Given the current circumstances, what we need to do is to stabilize them and even make use of them."

"When the time is right, we'll settle accounts with them slowly!"

In short, let's take it slow.

The large, broad hand began to rub Kinoshita Mai's head again.

"When we have the ability to confront them, we will definitely teach them a lesson: what goes around comes around!"

Looking at Qing Deng's firm and confident smile, Kinoshita Mai blinked her beautiful eyes a few times, and the gloom on her pretty face gradually dissipated.

"Hmm...then I sincerely look forward to that day coming soon!"

The two looked into each other's eyes and smiled simultaneously.