I assembled the strongest swordsman group.

……

After chatting idly with Chiba Jutaro and Sanako for a while on a bench next to the dessert stall, Aoto politely extended an invitation to the brother and sister.

"Mr. Jutaro, Ms. Sanako, there's still more than an hour before the competition starts. It's still early. Would you like to stroll around the 'Plum Blossom Festival' with us a little longer?"

As soon as Qingdeng sent out the invitation, he quickly received a response from the siblings: "Sorry, we won't be able to continue our trip with you."

The reason why Chiba Jutaro and Sanako declined Aoto's invitation was quite simple—before they met Chiba Tamon Shiro, the two of them had already spent a long time exploring Yushima Tenmangu Shrine, visiting all the places they wanted to see and enjoying all the beautiful scenery.

Neither of them had any interest in continuing their sightseeing; they just wanted to go back to the competition venue to rest and quietly wait for the afternoon's match to begin.

Since neither brother nor sister had any intention of going on a trip, Qingdeng didn't force them.

After chatting for a while longer, Qing Deng and the others parted ways with Sanako and the others.

Chiba Jutaro and Sanako returned to the competition venue.

Aoto, Okita, and Saito headed straight for the areas they hadn't yet visited.

It's currently around 11 a.m.

More and more tourists are coming to Yushima Tenmangu Shrine to participate in the "Plum Blossom Festival" and admire the white plum blossoms in full bloom.

After struggling to squeeze through a dense crowd, Qing Deng looked up at the sun, which was almost at its highest point in the sky, then turned to Okita and Saito behind him and asked:

"Okita-kun, Saito, it's almost lunchtime. Is there anything you'd like to eat?"

As expected, Saito replied casually, "Whatever."

From the very beginning, Aoto had not expected Saito to give him any concrete answer, so after replying "okay" to Saito, he turned his questioning gaze to Okita.

As soon as Aoto's gaze fell on Okita's face, he was surprised to find that Okita, who was usually all smiles and seemed carefree, was now pursing his lips, as if he had something on his mind.

"Okita-kun, what's wrong? Is something on your mind?"

"Huh?" Okita paused for a moment, then grinned and said, "No, I'm not worried about anything."

"I just... feel a little guilty."

"Guilt?" Qing Deng raised an eyebrow.

"...Tachibana-kun, you were amazing just now. You were able to stand up in front of so many people and boldly demand that Chiba Tamon Shiro take back his derogatory name for our Shieikan and apologize to us."

Compared to you... I'm so pathetic...

"Don't let my usual carefree attitude fool you, I'm actually quite timid."

The smile on Okita's face slowly turned bitter.

"I never dare to do anything that attracts attention in front of others."

“I was also very angry when I heard Chiba Tamon Shiro call our Shieikan a third-rate swordsmanship school.”

"But I don't dare to stand up as boldly as you, and loudly demand that Chiba Tamon Shiro retract his previous statement in front of so many people..."

"Haha...the more I think about it, the more embarrassed I feel..."

Okita slowly lowered his head, stretched his right hand behind his head, and listlessly played with the ponytail at the back of his head.

"You, who have only been with the Swordplay Hall for less than two months, dare to confront those who slander our school. And I, an 'old man' who has been an apprentice at the Swordplay Hall since I was nine, have done nothing..."

Because Okita's head was drooping, Aoto could only see the whorl of hair on Okita's head, but not his current expression.

Looking at Okita, whose low spirits were palpable even without seeing his face, Aoto pursed his lips and slowly let out a long breath—

"...Okita-kun."

"Hmm...?" Okita responded softly to Aoto's call without looking up.

"You seem to have some misunderstanding about yourself."

"Huh...?" Okita slowly raised his head, blinked twice, and looked at Aoto in confusion.

"Do you feel like a coward because you didn't come with me to demand that Chiba Tamon Shiro retract his slander against our Shieikan?"

Aoto put his hands on his hips, let out another long breath, and then gave Okita a faint smile.

"The fact that you are angry because Chiba Tamon Shiro called Shieikan a third-rate swordsmanship school shows that your feelings for Shieikan are only deeper than mine, not shallower."

"The reason you didn't directly demand that Chiba Tamon Shiro take back his words like I did is simply because—you are more gentle and kind than me, and Chiba Tamon Shiro's words and actions haven't completely angered you yet."

"If, later on, someone says something extremely offensive to Shieikan that could anger you..."

"So--"

Qingdeng paused, then adopted a firm and resolute tone:

“I believe you will be angrier than anyone else and more eager than anyone else to demand that person take back his evil words.”

“Your feelings for Shieikan and your determination to protect Shieikan are second to none—I firmly believe this.”

Okita stared blankly at Aoto, who looked completely confident.

"Believe me, my feelings for Shieikan and my determination to protect Shieikan are no less than anyone else's..." After softly repeating what Aoto had just told him, Okita chuckled, "How do you know that my feelings for Shieikan and my determination to protect Shieikan are definitely stronger than anyone else's?"

“Based on my observations and understanding of you over this period of time,” Qing Deng replied without hesitation, “a person who doesn’t love the Sword Guard Hall wouldn’t be so enthusiastic in teaching the disciples swordsmanship, nor would they be so proactive in protecting this sword hall.”

When Aoto first moved into Shieikan, he noticed that Okita, who was usually a bit lazy, became unusually diligent in all matters related to Shieikan.

When it came to cleaning the bamboo sword, protective gear, and the dojo floor, Okita was always the one who cleaned the most diligently.

When helping Shusuke and Kondo teach and instruct their apprentices in swordsmanship, Okita was always dedicated and never ambiguous.

The observations he had made of Okita's behavior gave Aoto the confidence and courage to say those words.

Okita's expression became blank again.

"...Haha." After a moment, the blank expression on Okita's face slowly transformed into a smile filled with complex emotions. "Tachibana-kun, I always feel like you're trying to comfort me with some strange sophistry..."

"Never mind, though."

Okita took a deep breath, then stretched his hands toward the sky and stretched like a cat.

Immediately afterwards, Qing Deng saw Okita's signature bright smile on his face.

“Even if it’s sophistry, I’ll accept it.” Okita chuckled a few times. “Tachibana-kun, thank you… I feel much better after hearing what you just said.”

"Haha, when I'm in a good mood, I get hungry." Okita chuckled and patted his stomach. "Tachibana-kun, Saito-kun, let's go! Let's go get lunch!"

Seeing that Okita had finally regained his spirits, Aoto unconsciously revealed a cheerful smile: "Yes, let's go. There's a really nice fragrance coming from that direction, let's go check it out."

Okita, now back to his usual cheerful self, skipped and hopped in front of Aoto and Saito.

"Tachibana-kun, I never realized before that you were such a good person at comforting others," Okita suddenly turned around and teased Aoto.

"Well..." Qing Deng smiled awkwardly, "I admit I have a bit of eloquence."

"But I only become a little eloquent when I'm around men."

"I rarely have close relationships with women, so I'm not good at getting along with them."

"If a woman confides in me, I'll be completely at a loss."

"Wow, I see..."

Okita's smile suddenly became even brighter, his eyes turning into two crescent moons.

"Huh? Why are you laughing like that?" Qing Deng blinked at Okita in confusion.

"It's nothing." Okita chuckled a few times before turning his head and gaze back to the front.

……

……

At this very moment—

“…Brother, I am still not mature enough.”

"Huh?" Chiba Jutaro opened his mouth wide at Sanako beside him. "What's wrong? What do you mean?"

Sanako, with her eyes half-closed and her gaze lowered, spoke to her small toes:

“Just now, when my fourth cousin spoke rudely to the Imperial Guard, I should have spoken up to stop him immediately.”

"If I had spoken up and reprimanded them immediately, so many unpleasant incidents wouldn't have happened..."

Seeing the look of guilt on his sister's face, Chiba Jutaro raised his hand, scratched his hair, and then sighed heavily.

"Alright, there's no use feeling guilty all the time. Just be careful not to repeat this mistake in the future."

"Looking back carefully, I realize that I made bigger mistakes and acted more immaturely than you."

"After Qingdeng and the others showed up, I was only thinking about smoothing things over and getting rid of this matter as quickly as possible... I also need to be careful not to make the same mistake again..."

After saying that, Chiba Jutaro sighed again.

My sister and I were both sighing and lamenting... it seemed a bit disorganized.

So, in order to help himself and Sanako recover quickly, Chiba Jutaro cleared his throat.

"Tachibana-kun really has guts... In that situation, he dared to stop a swordsman he didn't even know and make him retract his words and actions... Not everyone can do that..."

Chiba Jutaro wanted to chat with Sanako about something light and fun to ease the tension between them.

But for some reason, the topics that came out of my mouth were related to Qingdeng...

Sanako did not immediately respond to the question that Chiba Jutaro had just posed.

She remained silent for a while.

After a moment, she slowly nodded.

She responded to what Chiba Jutaro had just said with a gentle movement.

……

……

After having a simple lunch with Okita and Saito, and then strolling around Yushima Tenmangu Shrine for a while, it was already past 1 p.m.

There's less than an hour left before the match against Chiba begins.

Although Qingdeng hadn't had enough of the beautiful scenery of plum blossoms fluttering and petals falling, he had no choice but to end his visit as the competition was about to start.

Just as he returned to the competition venue with Okita and Saito, a startled exclamation uncontrollably escaped from Aoto's mouth.

"So many people...!"