I assembled the strongest swordsman group.

"..."

Qingdeng silently turned to the side and cast another strange look at the girl in red.

“No, sis?!”—He launched into a silent question with his gaze.

It's understandable that they don't know the exact address of the Old Shepherd couple, since this kind of thing is quite normal.

But you didn't even know that Elodie was an expert in accounting?

Are you and her really best friends who can talk about anything?

Although Qing Deng didn't say a word, he conveyed what he wanted to say through his eyes.

Kinoshita Mai let out a strange "coo," slowly lowered her head, her gaze wandering, her face flushed red with embarrassment.

It's just like a child who has done something wrong and is now facing the wall in self-reflection.

"Um... well, there's nothing we can do about it!"

She tried her best to explain.

"I don't like to pry into other people's secrets."

“Elodie never told me she knew how to keep accounts, so naturally I know nothing about it…”

Upon hearing this, Qing Deng couldn't help but chuckle.

In fact, he had no right to mock Kinoshita Mai.

Although he hadn't known Elodie as long as Mai Kinoshita, it had still been more than three years.

But as it turned out, he knew nothing about Elodie either.

If he hadn't encountered the Old Shepherds today, he really didn't know when he would have learned about Elodie's ability.

Because he himself was a person with many secrets, Qingdeng rarely spoke out unless absolutely necessary, and seldom pried into other people's secrets.

As for why Elodie kept this a secret and delayed revealing her special skill to Aoto and Kinoshita Mai... it's probably because she's a rather low-key person.

Elodie was a humble, gentle, and never competitive girl, truly the ideal daughter.

People with certain personality types... As far as Aoto knows, there's also Kiryu-sensei.

To this day, Aoto still doesn't know how many fields of knowledge Kiryu is proficient in or how many skills he possesses.

Mr. Kiryu is like Doraemon, always ready to grant any request.

Whenever someone asks him for help, he always resolves their doubts or averts their troubles, then calmly adds: "I used to study YY at XX."

Even though he was such a remarkable person, Mr. Kiryu never boasted about it or used it as a source of pride.

Qingdeng lowered his head, his gaze returning to the ledger in his palm. After flipping through a few more pages, he gently closed it, his hand stroking the cover.

—That's great... If only "Otsubo" could be this quality... Hmm? Wait a minute...!

In that instant, Qingdeng felt a flash of inspiration in his mind.

As if he had thought of something, he stared intently at the ledger in his palm.

Goro Komaki brought up "Elodie is good at bookkeeping" purely to change the subject and lighten the mood.

However... judging from the current situation, the atmosphere on site has not only failed to liven up, but has become even stranger.

Leaving aside Kinoshita Mai and Elodie for the moment, Qing Deng stared intently at the ledger in his hand, his face filled with deep thought, his concentration terrifying.

Goro Komaki wanted to ask, but considering that Aoto seemed to be thinking about something, he suppressed the urge to ask.

Fortunately, Qingdeng's strange state did not last long.

After a moment, he looked up as if he had come to his senses.

He first glanced at the Old English couple opposite him, then suddenly turned his head and stared intently at Elodie.

“...Elodie”.

"Huh?! It's here!"

The sudden call startled the blonde girl.

She straightened her back reflexively, tensed her nerves and muscles, pursed her lips, and looked at Qingdeng with a nervous expression. Their eyes met.

Qingdeng opened his mouth—about to say something—but then suddenly stopped.

"...Never mind, let's talk about it later."

Qingdeng's sudden outburst left everyone present completely baffled.

Fortunately, just then, two crisp "slap" sounds were heard—A-Machi clapped his hands.

When Qingdeng and the others looked in the direction of the sound, she said with a smile:

"Alright, alright~ Let's leave the topic of ledgers here for now! Let's talk about something more lighthearted and enjoyable!"

Although Qing Deng's strange behavior just now left everyone puzzled, no one asked any further questions.

Everyone present, including Qing Deng, consciously cooperated with A-Machi and stopped talking about the ledgers and Elodie.

A new topic—coincidentally, Qingdeng just happened to have a brand new, imminent question in his mind at this moment.

There was something about what Atachi had just said that really bothered him.

After a moment's hesitation, he cleared his throat:

"Mrs. Old Mu, you just said you are a mother who has raised many children... Excuse my boldness, but where are your children now?"

As he asked the question, he turned his head and looked around.

It has been quite some time since they visited the Old Shepherds' home.

So far, apart from the Old Mu couple, Qing Deng has not seen anyone else in this house.

It appears that only the Old English Sheep and her husband live in this house.

There were no other guests besides the two of them.

Logically speaking, given the age of the Old Shepherd couple, they should have children.

Is it because they have already separated from their children?

Or is there... some other reason?

Anyway, it wasn't something he couldn't ask, so Qingdeng just asked all the questions at once.

Atachi seemed quite happy to answer the question posed by Aoto.

As soon as Qingdeng finished speaking, she said with a big smile and eagerness:

"Wow, that's a great question!"

“We separated from our children a long time ago.”

"Nowadays, they are all living peaceful lives in other places."

At this point, Atachi paused for a moment, as if keeping someone in suspense.

When she spoke again, a playful expression had already appeared on her face.

"How about it? Would you be interested in hearing about the kinds of jobs our children are doing now?"

Before Qingdeng could speak, the girl in red spoke first:

"I want to hear it! I want to hear it!"

Kinoshita Mai leaned forward, looking at Omachi with great interest.

They practically have "curiosity" and "gossip" written all over their faces.

Qing Deng was already used to this—he knew that the oblivious Kinoshita Mai would definitely know nothing about the descendants of the Komaki couple!

Elodie, standing to the side, also showed an expression of great interest.

Atachi leisurely picked up the teacup beside her lap, took a small sip, and then adopted a long, drawn-out tone, like an old woman telling her grandson a bedtime story:

"My husband and I have a total of 6 sons and 8 daughters."

"Fortunately, they all grew up healthy, and none of them died young."

Upon hearing this number, Qingdeng was taken aback.

14 children!

Judging from their appearance, the Old English Sheep couple should be under 50 years old.

The ideal age for women to give birth is under forty.

It becomes more difficult to conceive after the age of forty.

Even if you get pregnant, there are extremely high risks associated with childbirth.

In other words, a woman's "optimal period for pregnancy" is not very long.

One person gave birth to 14 children... That's incredibly prolific!

At a rate of one child every two years, it would take at least 28 years to produce them.

Having given birth to children for 28 consecutive years, Aoto couldn't help but cast an admiring glance at Atachi.

Atachi noticed Aoto's gaze and understood the meaning behind Aoto's eyes.

She smiled gently, her eyes filled with tenderness.

“I love children, so I don’t think having children is a difficult thing. Anyway, I enjoy it.”

"Whenever a new life is conceived within me, I feel only heartfelt joy."

"After all... my husband and I have suffered a lot before we were able to live a peaceful life where we could have children."

"Oh, sorry, I seem to have gone off-topic."

"Where was I? Oh, right, I remember now."

"As I just said, our children are now living peaceful lives in other places."

"My eldest son loved medicine, so he became a doctor."

"My eldest daughter loves clothes, so she became a tailor."

"The second son likes lively atmospheres, so he opened an izakaya (Japanese pub)."