I assembled the strongest swordsman group.

At this moment, Kinoshita Mai was only wearing a thin, bright red kimono, without socks. The wide sleeves were tied tightly with sashes, revealing a pair of delicate, jade-like feet and two arms as white as porcelain.

"Tachibana-kun!"

Kinoshita Mai put down her brush and abacus, her fair feet pattering on the spotless wooden floor as she darted out from behind the counter to greet Aoto.

"Good morning, Ms. Kinoshita." Aoto greeted Kinoshita Mai with a smile.

"Good morning to you too." Kinoshita Mai crossed her arms in front of her and bowed slightly to Aoto.

After exchanging pleasantries with Kinoshita Mai for a while, Aoto got straight to the point and asked where Mr. Kiryu was.

“Mr. Kiryu is making breakfast in the kitchen right now,” Mai Kinoshita replied. “Please wait here for a moment, I’ll go and call him now…”

Kinoshita Mai no longer needs to call Kiryu.

Before he could finish speaking, Kiryu's aged and refined voice came from the inner room.

"Young Master, I think I heard Tachibana-kun's voice. Is it Tachibana-kun who has arrived?"

Kiryu, carrying a ladle in his right hand and wearing an apron on his chest, slowly walked out of the inner room of the Senjiya.

The apron Kiryu is wearing is rather cute—it has an orange cat head embroidered in the very center.

"Good morning, Mr. Kiryu." Aoto bowed to Kiryu, who appeared from the inner room, and said, "I'm here to inquire about the progress of the commission I gave you a few days ago."

"Haha, Tachibana-kun, we've been waiting for you for a long time." Kiryu chuckled, then pointed to the cushions laid out in front of the counter, "Please have a seat."

"If it's convenient, could you wait a moment? I still need to make breakfast, but it will be ready soon."

"It's alright, it's alright." Qingdeng waved his hand. "You go ahead and get busy. Anyway, I have the day off today, so there's no rush."

Kiryu carried the ladle and went back to the inner room.

He wasn't lying; after only a short while, he came out of the inner room again, no longer wearing an apron or carrying a pot or ladle.

After telling Kinoshita Mai to hurry up and eat her breakfast while it was still hot, he sat up straight behind the counter with his knees bent.

"Mr. Tachibana, regarding your request... I've already found three excellent candidates for you."

Kiryu pulled out a large, green-covered booklet from under the counter.

"It's... these three people."

Kiryu turned to the last page of the large book, pointing to the three names written on it.

"Nagakura Shinpachi, Harada Sanosuke, and Toudo Heisuke."

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The author was busy yesterday, so there will be fewer updates today. I'll try to update more tomorrow (crying face).

Chapter 114 Qing Deng Wants to Be a Phantom Thief with Cat Monk [7600]

Harada Sanosuke and Todo Heisuke—Aoto doesn't recognize these two.

But Qing Deng remembered the name Nagakura Shinpachi.

“Nagakura Shinpachi…” Qing Deng looked at the name written in the large book and muttered softly, “This person… isn’t he the one I sparred with before?”

Aoki learned that he copied the "Steel Bone" talent from Nagakura Shinpachi.

Kiryu nodded: "That's right, it's him."

"That day, I recommended several jobs that would be very suitable for a swordsman like him."

"I thought that among the jobs I recommended to him, there would be one that suited his taste."

"But I later discovered that he is quite a picky person."

"After trying them one by one, he was not very satisfied with any of the jobs I recommended."

"It's either because they find it too boring, or because they dislike the boss's unpleasant body odor and don't want to work with him."

"So after going around in circles, he came back to me and asked me to find him another new job."

“I have spoken with each of the three people on the list.”

"They are all very willing to join your ranks and serve you."

“These three people all meet your expectations, Mr. Ju: they are willing to do all kinds of hard and tiring work, and they all have considerable martial arts skills.”

"You've met this Nagakura Shinpachi before, and even sparred with him. You should know his skill level, so I won't go into too much detail about him."

"Let me introduce Harada Sanosuke and Todo Heisuke to you in detail."

Kiryu extended his right index finger and pointed to the name "Harada Sanosuke" on the notebook.

"Harada Sanosuke was born in the Iyo Matsuyama Domain on Shikoku Island."

"He is 20 years old this year. He is a master of spear techniques, skilled in the Hozoin-ryu style."

"Hozoin-ryu spear technique?" Qing Deng raised an eyebrow slightly.

If you were to ask anyone on the street what the most popular and famous spear fighting style is right now, they would probably all answer: "It's definitely the Hozoin-ryu spear fighting style!"

Hozoin-ryu – a spear fighting style founded more than 300 years ago during the Warring States period by a monk named In-ei.

Due to its extremely high power and practicality, its fame spread rapidly throughout Japan as soon as it was introduced, and has lasted for nearly four hundred years without any decline.

Kiryu's finger then slid down to the name "Toudou Heisuke".

"Todo Heisuke was a native of Edo."

"He's a bit younger, he's 16 this year."

"Currently, I am studying under a master at the Ito Dojo, learning the Hokushin Itto-ryu style."

Ito Dojo – I've heard of this sword-making school before.

This sword school, which teaches the Hokushin Itto-ryu style, may not be as famous or large as the three major sword schools or the Chiba Sword School, but it is still a top-tier sword school with a very high reputation and status in Edo.

However—compared to the sword club itself…the owner of this sword club is probably more famous.

The head of the Ito Dojo, Ito Daizo, was a very famous and accomplished man.

He was proficient in both literature and martial arts. He had profound knowledge of Chinese studies, classical Chinese studies, and Mito studies, and possessed the complete mastery of both the Shinto Munen-ryu and Hokushin Itto-ryu schools.

Besides being skilled in both literature and martial arts, he was also a renowned handsome man with a gentle personality, tall stature, and good looks.

Qingdeng heard that there are often some infatuated girls who peek at Ito Daizo from the wall of the Ito Sword Museum.

Because of Ito Daizo's great reputation for being "a master of both literature and martial arts," many people flocked to the Ito Dojo in an attempt to befriend this famous scholar or become his disciple.

Kiryu's introduction continued at this point.

"Oh, by the way. Tachibana-kun, it seems that Toudou Heisuke really admires you."

"Admire me?" Qing Deng was taken aback.

Kiryu smiled and nodded: "After learning that the person who hired Okabiki was Tachibana Aoto from the Hokuban-sho, he immediately expressed his excitement and said, 'I am willing to serve under Mr. Tachibana.'"

"Ha..." Qing Deng couldn't help but chuckle.

"Whether it's Harada Sanosuke or Todo Heisuke, I've already asked a friend to check their strength."

"The level of these two is extremely rare among their peers."

"Of course—whether or not to hire them depends entirely on your thoughts and plans, Mr. Ju."

After saying that, Kiryu closed the large book.

"Tachibana-kun, would you like to meet these three people now?"

"All three individuals left their addresses for their permanent residences in Edo."

"If you want to meet them and interview them now, I can go and call these three people for you right now."

Today is a rare day off; if I miss it, I don't know when I'll have another holiday.

If possible, Qingdeng wants to get the "recruitment of candidates" done completely today.

After thinking for a moment, he bowed his head to Mr. Kiryu.

"Well then... Mr. Kiryu, I'll trouble you to bring these three people over now."

Kiryu laughed and said, "No trouble at all. This is one of the services that employment agencies like ours should provide. Anyway, the three of them don't live too far away."

Snap, snap, snap...

At that moment, the sound of light, cat-like footsteps came from the inner room of the Senjiya.

It was Kinoshita Mai who had just returned from following Kiryu's orders to go back to the inner room for breakfast.

Kinoshita Mai, who had just finished breakfast in the inner room, licked her pink lips, which were still glistening with oil, as she quickly walked back to the front hall of the Senjiya.

Seeing that Kinoshita Mai had returned, Kiryu slowly stood up from behind the counter: "Young Master, you've come back just in time."

"I need to go out for a bit and go and summon the three people that Tachibana-kun has chosen."

"I'll trouble you to look after the shop and take care of Tachibana-kun and the others before I get back."

Upon receiving the new mission, Kinoshita Mai paused for a moment, then quickly recovered and replied, "Yes!"

"Tachibana-kun, I'll probably be back in about half an hour." Kiryu picked up the wine-red haori hanging on the wall. "I'll leave you here to wait a little while until I get back."

"Okay." Qing Deng nodded. "Take care on your way, Kiryu."

After casually draping the wine-red haori over his shoulders, Mr. Kiryu strode swiftly away from the Senjiya.

Kiryu left, leaving only Aoto, Saito, and Kinoshita Mai in the front hall of the Senjiya—actually, if you really want to say it, only Aoto and Kinoshita Mai were left, because the taciturn and daydreaming Saito's presence was so faint that it didn't matter whether he was there or not.

After watching Kiryu leave, Kinoshita Mai turned her gaze to Aoto and Saito with a smile... mainly looking at Aoto.

"Tachibana-kun, Saito-kun, are you thirsty? I'll go make you some tea."

Before Qing Deng and the others could respond, Mu Shih Mai's two smooth little feet pattered on the wooden corridor as she ran back into the inner room.

Kinoshita Mai went back to the kitchen to make tea. Chatting with Saito was no different from chatting with Ishido. Feeling a bit bored, Aoto could only droop his head, look down at his nose, and drift into a daze.

As Qingdeng was lost in thought, suddenly—the cry of some adorable creature came from beside him:

Meow~ Meow~ Meow~

The sudden meow brought Qingdeng's consciousness, which had been scattered to the heavens, back into his body.