I assembled the strongest swordsman group.

Who is so capable that they were able to become the head of the department?

In terms of status, the section chief is on the same level as the deputy chief, chief, and bureau chief, second only to Qing Deng, who is the general.

In other words, becoming the head of the finance department is no ordinary path to success!

He will surpass the squad leaders such as Souji and Nagakura Shinpachi, and directly become one of the senior leaders of the Shinsengumi!

Putting aside the utilitarian factors, the extremely high requirements for being competent in this position have also made everyone curious about this suddenly arrived new colleague.

Taking charge of the logistics of the newly formed group... Everyone was well aware of how difficult this task was.

The job duties of the director, deputy director, and chief of staff can all be supplemented by experience.

But the room leader is different.

The room manager needs to deal with mathematics frequently, and a major characteristic of mathematics is that "if you know it, you know it; if you don't, you don't."

Your hard work or the accumulation of personal experience will not make you a math whiz.

Because such "mathematical" talents are so rare, this position has remained vacant until now.

So, at this moment, everyone craned their necks and looked around, eager to see who the room leader was, how old he was, and what he looked like, who had finally filled the long-standing vacancy.

After everyone had calmed down a bit, Qingdeng raised his neck and said loudly:

"Come in!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the main door of the council chamber swung open.

In an instant, everyone in the scene raised their eyes and looked towards the direction of the gate.

Outside the main gate, there was nothing but a clean corridor.

We eagerly awaited its arrival... but in the end, not even a ghost could be seen.

This scene naturally left everyone puzzled.

However, Qing Deng seemed to have anticipated this.

He smiled slightly, then changed to a gentle tone:

"Don't be afraid, everyone here is one of us, there are no outsiders."

"..."

Qingdeng's words finally stirred things up outside the gate, breaking the silence.

Passa, Passa, Passa, Passa, Passa...

The sound of clothes rubbing against the floor.

Snap, snap, snap, snap, snap...

Footsteps approaching from afar.

A short while later, a petite and adorable girl appeared before everyone.

She wore a pale yellow inner garment, a light blue haori from the Shinsengumi, white hakama on her lower body, and a pair of clean white socks on her small feet.

She is a genuine Japanese girl—and that is certainly true if you look at her clothes alone.

Long, slightly curled golden hair; sapphire-like eyes; three-dimensional yet delicate facial features... Anyone with eyes can clearly see these three striking features that distinguish them from those of Japanese people.

Apart from Kondo Isami, Hijikata Toshizo, Kinoshita Mai, and others who knew the truth beforehand, everyone else stared wide-eyed at Elodie, their faces filled with disbelief.

Serizawa Kamo frowned and pursed his lips:

"Barbarians...?!"

Shinji Nishiki, standing beside him, also reacted with a similarly intense reaction.

They were both big fans of Mito Manabu.

The theory of "honoring the emperor and expelling the barbarians" originated from the Mito school.

Therefore, although Serizawa Kamo and others were not as insane as the radical supremacists, they had absolutely no goodwill towards Westerners.

As for Nagakura Shinpachi, Saito Hajime, and the others, their expressions at this moment were varied.

Through years of exposure and influence, they all developed more or less negative impressions of Westerners.

This cannot be blamed on them; it is purely a problem of the overall environment.

There is a lack of media channels at present.

Under these circumstances, the news circulating among the common people related to Westerners was almost entirely negative.

Let's not even mention the distant "Black Ships Incident" (1853).

Not long ago, the massive British fleet blocked Edo Bay, demanding huge reparations from the shogunate.

They couldn't distinguish between America, France, Britain, and Russia; they only knew that these guys were a bunch of hairy, smelly barbarians.

The British are to blame, and other foreigners should also share the blame!

Of course, there were also a very few individuals who displayed interesting reactions that were completely different from the atmosphere at the scene:

Inoue Genzaburo murmured:

"Hey... so this is what Westerners look like..."

Heisuke Todo couldn't help but ask in return:

"Mr. Inoue, have you never seen a foreigner before?"

Inoue Genzaburo shrugged:

“I’ve hardly ever traveled far since I was born, and I basically stayed in Edo the whole time. How could I have ever seen a foreigner?”

Elodie stopped in her tracks when she reached the center of the council chamber.

It was clear that she was very nervous.

His lips were tightly pressed together, his face was slightly pale, and his limbs were stiff as if his joints were screwed in.

Everyone present cast scrutinizing glances at her without any mercy, so much so that the air around her seemed to sink to the ground, exuding an indescribable sense of solemnity.

At first glance, it gives the illusion of "a pitiful little lamb and a group of big tigers watching her".

If judged by the current average height in Japan, Elodie, who is 1.42 meters tall, is not short.

When placed among the Shinsengumi generals, who were all tall, she naturally appeared short.

However, if you put her on the street, her height would be perfectly normal and nothing special.

Don't overestimate the average height of Japanese people.

The reason why figures like Nagakura Shinpachi and Saito Hajime are considered so highly is entirely due to "survivorship bias".

Anyone who is not tall enough will be excluded from the ranks of the strong due to this congenital defect.

Not to mention outside, even within the elite Shinsengumi, there are many people shorter than Elodie.

However, Elodie's frame was very slender, which made her body appear thin and small.

The light blue haori she was wearing was clearly a good fit, but because of her small frame, it gave the impression of being loose, like "a child wearing adult clothes."

Although the people present were exerting pressure on her silently with their sharp, intimidating gazes, she tried her best to straighten her back and hold her head high, not letting herself show the slightest sign of stage fright.

"Gentlemen, this is Elodie Angoulême, the first head of the finance department of my Shinsengumi."

As soon as Qing Deng finished speaking, Elodie immediately said loudly:

"Nice to meet you. My name is Elodie Angoulême, and I am from France. I look forward to meeting you in the future."

As soon as she opened her mouth, gasps of surprise rang out from the audience.

The reason is simple—his incredibly authentic, accent-free standard Japanese astonished everyone present.

People from remote areas, like Nagakura Shinpachi (from Ezo) and Harada Sanosuke (from Shikoku), are far less fluent in Japanese than this little girl from abroad.

Harada Sanosuke couldn't help but mutter:

"Is she really a barbarian? Why does she speak Mandarin better than I do...?"

After Elodie finished speaking, Qingdeng picked up the conversation:

"I know what you're all thinking."

"How can the prestigious New Selection Group appoint a Western woman and even promise her a high-ranking position? What kind of behavior is this?"

"It's normal for you to have such doubts."

"Next, I will answer your questions one by one."

"First of all, my new selection team's personnel philosophy has always been 'to recruit talents without being bound by convention'."

"Anyone with outstanding talent has the opportunity to become a member of my Shinsengumi."

"We don't ask about your background, gender, or age."

"Secondly, you don't need to worry about Elodie's personal abilities."

“I can say with absolute certainty that the position of ‘head of the department’ was practically tailor-made for Elodie.”

“Even looking at the entire capital region, there is no second person more capable of this position than her.”

“Yo, Toshizo and Keisuke have all experienced her skills.”

"Promoting Elodie to head of the finance department was not my personal decision, but rather the unanimous approval of me and Yong and others. It was truly what everyone wanted."

"Finally, I want to tell you all something."

“Elodie is not only Ah Wu’s good friend, but also my disciple.”

Qingdeng's words were like a stone thrown into still water, creating a huge ripple effect that had a greater impact on everyone than any of his previous statements.

Niou actually has disciples?

And she was a Western woman?

Apart from a very few people, such as Kinoshita Mai, everyone else only learned at this moment that Seido actually had a disciple.

"In short, Elodie is someone I completely trust."

"After Elodie accepted my request and offered to share my burdens, I secretly vowed to protect her at all costs."

"Therefore... you must not vent your resentment and anger on the wrong people."