I assembled the strongest swordsman group.

Perhaps thinking that he couldn't leave smoothly without getting rid of Qingdeng's entanglement, after breaking free from Qingdeng's control, the man in black quickly turned his upper body to face Qingdeng, raised his right hand, put his five fingers together, and punched out at Qingdeng's left shoulder!

Despite his small stature, the black-clad man's palm strike was incredibly powerful!

That whooshing sound of wind breaking... it didn't seem like an attack that someone of this size could deliver.

Before he could be surprised by the force of the attack from the man in black, Qing Deng quickly turned to the side, bent his left forearm downward, and flipped his left elbow upward, aiming the tip of his elbow at the palm of the man in black who was striking out.

Before the man in black could strike and before his hand could reach its maximum speed, he deliberately thrust out the tip of his left elbow!

This is precisely the classic "vertical elbow defense" and "getting close to the opponent, shortening the opponent's punching distance, and making it difficult for the opponent to exert force" in unarmed combat.

The man in black's right palm collided heavily with Qing Deng's left elbow.

The bone at the tip of his left elbow is thick and hard. Since he copied the "steel bone" talent from Nagakura Shinpachi, Aoto's bone hardness has been further enhanced.

Even so, after his left elbow touched the palm strike from the man in black, Qingdeng still felt a tingling and sore sensation in his left elbow.

In order to neutralize the powerful force contained in the black-clad man's palm strike, Qing Deng had no choice but to take a step back.

The man in black seized the opportunity when Qing Deng took a step back and stopped fighting.

He shook his right hand violently as he fled.

--hateful……!

Qingdeng gritted his teeth and hurriedly prepared to chase after him.

But at this moment... it must be because the man in black voluntarily withdrew from the battle with Qing Deng, so the system determined that the battle between the two had ended.

The system voice rang in Qing Deng's mind.

[Ding! Talent detected]

[Successfully replicated talent: "Milk"]

[Talent Introduction: Produces more abundant and nutritious breast milk]

[Beep beep beep beep!]

[Warning: This talent is incompatible with the male host.]

This talent is not active.

This was the first time Qing Deng had heard such a long system notification tone since he transmigrated to this era.

This was also the first time Qingdeng had heard such a system notification tone...

—Breast milk? The talent isn't working?!

The system message that had just popped into his head completely stunned Qing Deng...

At this moment, Saito, Nishino, and the others who had rushed over after hearing the commotion finally arrived.

The group that appeared at the other end of the corridor caught a glimpse of the figure of the man in black fleeing.

Nishino's expression changed instantly.

Those who changed color as well were Nishino's followers.

"Lord Nishino!" One of Nishino's men pointed at the man in black. "Look! It's Neko-kun!"

"I see it." Nishino, his eyebrows slightly furrowed, waved his hand. "Quick, after them!"

——Cat Monk...? !

One shock had barely subsided when another arose.

Before Qing Deng could fully recover from the shock of copying the indescribable talent and hearing the indescribable system voice, a new wave of extremely impactful "waves" crashed into Qing Deng's brain.

Qing Deng couldn't help but cast a surprised glance at the man in black in front of him.

Saito, Nishino, and others join the pursuit of the man in black... or rather, the cat-boy.

Everyone was chasing after it with great effort.

But no one could keep up with Cat Monk's speed...

Cat Monk, who had been leaving Qingdeng and the others far behind and whose distance from them was increasing, did not enter the dead end this time.

He successfully found a window leading to the outside.

He pushed open the window and jumped out.

Qingdeng and his team arrived at the window almost 7 seconds late.

Tonight is a bright and sunny night.

Looking out from this window, the beams of bright moonlight from the crescent moon cast long shadows of the cat-monk who was darting across the rooftop of a shop outside the magistrate's office.

Cat Monk really is just like a cat, walking on the roof with such a steep slope as if it were flat ground.

After skimming over the roof of the shop, he nimbly leaped into the open space between the buildings.

His small, thin figure completely disappeared from Qing Deng and the others' sight.

"Master Nishino..." Nishino glanced out the window at the now-gone Nekozono, then looked at Nishino beside him. "Should we... go after them?"

“No need.” Nishino replied without hesitation, “Since taking on the ‘Neko-sō’ case, haven’t you had enough of Neko-sō’s ability to escape in the past two months?”

"By the time we rush out of the magistrate's office and chase after him, Cat Monk will have already disappeared."

Aoto shared the same opinion as Nishino.

Although he hadn't known Nekosō for as long as Nishino, he could tell from the chase just now that they couldn't catch up with him at all on the flat corridor, so chasing Nekosō now, who was like a fish out of water, would be impossible.

"That person... was Cat Monk...?" Qing Deng muttered softly, looking in the direction where Cat Monk's figure disappeared.

Upon hearing Qing Deng's muttered remark, Xi Ye said calmly:

"Since taking over the 'Nekomono' case, I have seen Nekomono up close twice during the various operations to capture him."

"I will not admit my mistake."

"Moreover, apart from Nekosō, there shouldn't be another thief in all of Edo with this ability to scale walls and leap across rooftops."

Qingdeng couldn't help but glance a few more times in the direction where the little cat monk had just fled.

This was the first time Qing Deng had met this phantom thief who had already caused quite a stir in Edo.

Before this, Qingdeng had long heard of his great reputation but had never had the chance to meet him.

Just as I'd heard the rumors—Neko-sō is truly a phantom thief who's like a cat.

The cat monk's technique of breaking free from his control and the palm strike that forced Qingdeng back left a deep impression on him.

With such agile movements and such remarkable hand-to-hand combat skills... Qing Deng began to understand why no one had been able to capture this little cat monk until now.

Of course—compared to the legendary agility of Cat Monk, it was the talent that Qing Deng had just copied from Cat Monk that left him speechless.

Qingdeng opened his personal system interface:

Name: Tachibana Aoto (?)

[Currently possessed talents:]

Night Vision, Sword Prodigy, Sleeping God, Lone Wolf, Eagle Eye, Left-Handed, Fitness, Skillful Hands, Eloquent Tongue, Iron Waist, Steel Bones, Strong Muscles, Cat Turn, Photographic Memory, Demon Heart, Breast Milk

The newly acquired talent, Milk, is prominently displayed in the talent list.

However, this new talent is significantly different from the other talents on the list.

Of the entire list, only the word "milk" stands out in a dull, dark color.

Qingdeng speculated: This probably means that the talent cannot be used.

It was copied to a talent that couldn't be used... This is the first time Qingdeng has ever done this.

Clicking on each talent entry in the list allows you to review the specific details of that talent.

Qingdeng tapped the "milk," and a new virtual screen appeared in front of him.

The resulting RU juice is more abundant and more nutritious—looking at this talent description written on the virtual screen, Qing Deng was momentarily at a loss for what expression to make…

So she had such talent...?!

Since that cat monk has such talent... doesn't that mean she's not male?

Qingdeng's expression uncontrollably turned strange.

He never expected that some of the rumors circulating in the city would actually come true... the famous Cat Monk was indeed a woman.

The notorious thief who stirred up trouble in Edo, was impossible to catch, and brought great shame to the Edo Magistrate's Office, turned out to be a woman... If this were to spread, who knows how much of a shock it would cause to the Magistrate's Office and the common people.

—Breast milk…If you calm down and think about it carefully, this talent is quite remarkable…It can make your offspring grow up stronger.

—I wonder how old that cat-monk is this year, and whether she has a husband and children.

—If she had children… I really want to see if her children are much healthier and stronger than other children.

At this moment, Qingdeng's thoughts were uncontrollably drifting in strange directions...

—I don’t know exactly how “more nutritious” this means.

—If her husband drank it...would it also benefit the health and nutritional intake of adults?

At this moment, Nishino's words interrupted Aoto's thoughts, which were gradually heading in a wild direction.

"Ju, what exactly happened just now?"

He encountered Nekozono inside the magistrate's office—this incident spurred Nishino on, making him much more energetic.

He asked Qingdeng with a serious expression.

"Where did you encounter Cat Monk?"

……

……

Edo, the leased territory, the Angoulême family mansion, Elodie's room—

Wearing an orange-yellow maid outfit, with her hands clasped in front of her, the maid Leroy whispered to Elodie beside her:

"Miss, it's late, you should probably go to sleep."

Because there was a warm fireplace in the room, Elodie, wearing only a thin white dress, was sitting in a chair.

The chair was a little too tall for the petite Elodie.