I assembled the strongest swordsman group.

"I'm not preoccupied with anything," Qing Deng smiled. "I'm just thinking about hiring some Gang Yin to help out."

Aoto told Okita in detail about his plan to hire Okabiki.

Finally, Qing Deng paused, then asked Okita in a half-joking tone:

“Okita-kun, aren’t you very interested in the ‘three-times’ job? Would you be interested in becoming my guide?”

“Okabiki?” Okita’s eyes lit up.

But in just a moment, the light in Okita's eyes faded.

“I’m quite interested in being your guide…” Okita reached out and smoothed the ponytail at the back of his head, a hint of regret on his face, “but I probably won’t have much time…”

"At this stage, I still want to focus my energy on honing my swordsmanship and helping to manage the Testing Hall."

Okita politely declined his invitation—but Aoto wasn't annoyed, after all, he had only asked casually.

“I’m thinking of recruiting now,” Qing Deng said with a helpless smile, “but I don’t know where to find a reliable candidate.”

"Why don't you ask your seniors?" Okita asked. "Your seniors should all have the relevant connections, right?"

Qingdeng raised his hand and touched the back of his neck: "Well, that's all we can do... hmm?"

His words suddenly stopped.

The fingers that were rubbing the back of the neck also stopped.

“Oh yeah… how could I forget…” Qingdeng grinned, muttering in a voice only he could hear, “Don’t I have a great way to find part-time workers…”

"Okita-kun," Aoto lowered his hand from the back of his neck, "Could you do me a favor tomorrow?"

"Hmm? What is it?"

"I'd like to ask you to go to Mr. Kiryu's Thousand Things Shop tomorrow..."

……

……

Edo, a leased territory of foreign powers, home to Antony, Elodie, and their ilk—

The Edo-style new house that Anthony and his family live in was bought by Anthony from one of his friends at a relatively low price.

Although it is a "second-hand house", both the walls and the furniture are quite new.

Having just taken a relaxing hot bath, Elodie, accompanied by her maid Leroy, took cheerful steps toward her bedroom.

Because she had just taken a bath, Elodie was still steaming warmly. Her long, light golden hair with curled ends was casually draped behind her. She was wearing a white French-style long dress, and her fair, pink feet were wearing a pair of cotton slippers made in the Middle East.

“Miss,” Leroy, who was following closely behind Elodie, asked, “you seem quite happy. Did something good happen?”

"Hehe." Elodie turned her head and flashed a big smile at Leroy. "Yes, something happy has indeed happened."

Elodie raised her right hand and placed her palm on the top of her head.

"I measured my height while I was showering—I think I've grown a bit taller!"

Seeing Elodie's pure and radiant smile at this event, Leroy paused for a moment, then smiled with satisfaction:

"I see... That's certainly something to be happy about."

As the master and servant chatted and laughed, they passed by the hall, which was still brightly lit.

Inside the hall, Anthony sat alone on the soft sofa.

Because Anthony's back was turned to Elodie, Elodie couldn't see Anthony's face or expression; she could only see his shadowy back in the candlelight.

Elodie winked at her grandfather's retreating figure, her smile deepening slightly.

She decided to share the joyous news of growing taller with her grandfather as well.

So she told Leroy to go back to her bedroom alone and wait for her, and then she tiptoed into the living room.

“Grandpa…” Elodie called out sweetly to Anthony as she walked up to him.

Immediately afterward, Elodie froze on the spot.

She saw her grandfather huddled on the sofa, his face full of worry.

"Oh... Elodie." Seeing Elodie arrive, Anthony belatedly forced a smile onto his face.

Although he tried his best to turn his frown into a smile, he was still a step too late; Elodie had already seen his expression clearly.

"Grandpa, what's wrong?" Elodie rushed to Anthony's knees. "Why do you look so worried? Is something bothering you?"

Seeing Elodie's concerned expression, Anthony smiled with emotion.

He raised his old, rough hand, gently stroking Elodie's pale golden hair, and sighed heavily.

"...It's nothing. I was just wondering...whether deciding to bring you to this Far Eastern island nation was a mistake..."

After speaking, Anthony sighed heavily again.

"The 'anti-foreign patriots' in this country are far more xenophobic and radical than I had previously imagined..."

“Last time, if we hadn’t been lucky enough to have Mr. Tachibana and Mr. Komuro protect us, we might have already lost our lives to those ‘anti-foreign patriots’.”

"Having lived in this Far Eastern island nation for so long, the country's 'anti-foreign sentiment' has not only not subsided, but has actually intensified..."

A wry smile appeared on Anthony's face.

"I feel so guilty... I promised you I would take you to a safe place, far away from that empire..."

"It is indeed far from that empire... but it is not safe at all."

Anthony sighed again.

After his sigh, silence reigned over the entire hall.

It wasn't until the night wind outside the window suddenly brought a "whoosh whoosh" sound that Elodie finally broke the silence of the hall with her childish voice.

"Grandpa, what are you saying?"

Elodie gave Anthony a big smile.

Then... she raised her hand and gently stroked Anthony's cheek, as if trying to smooth out the wrinkles that had gathered from his sorrowful expression.

"You have nothing to feel guilty about?"

"Although some people in this country hate us foreigners, it doesn't affect my current happiness at all."

“After we fled to this country together, I was very happy every day.”

"There are many beautiful sights here that I've never seen before."

"There are lots of delicious foods here."

"I also made some precious friends here, like the dancers."

"More importantly—now I can play with you, Grandpa, without any worries!"

At this point, Elodie took a half step back, then reached out and grasped the sides of her white dress, lifting it slightly. She then bent down and gave Anthony an extremely elegant French curtsy.

“I am no longer the princess of that empire, I am the daughter of an ordinary French merchant—Elodie de Angoulême.”

"For me, just that is enough to make me feel extremely happy."

After saying that, Elodie smiled brightly at Anthony.

It was a smile as beautiful as an angel descending to earth.

*******

*******

Long time no see, please vote for me! (Like a leopard crying.jpg)

Thank you so much to reader [Donghai Xiaoyucun] for the generous donation! I'm so grateful! QAQ, it's been so long since I've seen you, my patron.

Chapter 109 Obtaining God-Level Talent:

The next day—

Edo, the Thousand Things Shop—

It's currently around 7 a.m.

Kiryu, who had just opened his shop, sat behind the counter, flipping through the ledgers and verifying the shop's recent income.

As he was engrossed in reading the ledger, he suddenly heard the sound of the shop door being pulled open.

"Welcome, oh...? Okita-kun?"

"Good morning, Mr. Kiryu!" At the shop entrance, Okita, who was holding a bag of newly bought konpeito, closed the shop door behind him and flashed his signature cheerful smile at Kiryu.

Kiryu closed the ledger in his hand and smiled, "Good morning, Okita-kun."

Okita looked around: "Hmm? Where's Ms. Kinoshita?"

"Young Master is still sleeping. She usually doesn't wake up until 5 a.m. (8 a.m.)."

After exchanging a few pleasantries with Okita, Kiryu cut to the chase and asked Okita the purpose of his visit: "Okita-kun, why did you come here alone so early in the morning?"

“It’s nothing serious,” Okita chuckled. “I’m just here to discuss business with you, Mr. Kiryu.”

"Oh? To discuss business?" Kiryu's smile deepened slightly. "I'd like to hear the details."

"It's like this—Tachibana-kun's workload has increased dramatically, so he wants to hire two or three Okabe-hiki to do his work," Okita said casually. "Since you happen to run a job placement agency, Mr. Kiryu, I'd like to ask you to recommend some suitable people for him."

"Mr. Tachibana is still very busy right now, and it will probably be a few days before he has time to visit you in person."

"So he asked me to come and greet you first, so that you can help him find a suitable person in the next few days."

"That way, when he comes to you later, he can come directly to pick him up."

“Oh, I see.” Kiryu nodded slightly. “Tachibana-kun wants to hire Okabiki… No problem.”

After saying that, Kiryu picked up the paper and pen that were placed next to the counter.

"Did Tachibana-kun tell you what kind of subordinates he wants, and how much salary he can offer?"

Okita nodded: "Tachibana-kun's requirements are very simple. Since Okabiki's main job involves all sorts of hard and tiring work, as long as he is reliable and hardworking, that's fine. If he knows some martial arts, that would be even better. There are no other requirements."

"Ju Jun is willing to offer each person a reward of 2 taels of gold per month."

"Two taels of gold a month..." Kiryu smiled. "That's quite a high reward."