I assembled the strongest swordsman group.

Qing Deng turned his head at the sound and saw a large orange cat walking gracefully towards him from the inner room of the Senjiya.

This big orange cat doesn't seem to be afraid of people.

Upon seeing Qingdeng, a stranger, she not only did not run away, but also took the initiative to move closer to him.

Aoto recognized the big orange cat—it was Kinoshita Mai who first appeared in this Senjiya carrying this big orange cat when she first met her.

He remembered that the big orange seemed to be named "Dodo".

Qingdeng happened to be free right now, so he smiled at Duoduo and then raised his hand to wave at the big orange cat.

"Duoduo, come here."

Meow~!

Duoduo meowed at Qingdeng, then quickened its pace and ran to Qingdeng's side.

Qingdeng ruffled the fur on Duoduo's head and belly.

This big orange cat is clearly well cared for; its fur is soft and shiny. Its belly is solid, and you can feel all the plumpness in it.

Qingdeng looked down at its tail—yes, it was a female cat.

Duo Duo seemed to enjoy Qing Deng's caresses quite a bit.

After being petted by Qingdeng a few times, it comfortably half-closed its eyes, then lazily lay down on the floor, revealing its white belly to Qingdeng.

Just then, Kinoshita Mai returned to the front hall carrying a tray with two cups of hot tea.

Seeing the cat that was letting Aoto pet it freely, Kinoshita Mai was first surprised, then smiled and, with a gentle movement that was quite in the style of a Yamato Nadeshiko, knelt down beside Aoto and handed the two cups of hot tea on the tea tray to Aoto and Sai respectively.

"Dodo seems to really like you."

"Haha, maybe it's because both it and I are 'orange'," Qing Deng said in a joking tone, making a lame joke that he had just thought of on the spot.

Because Qing Deng's joke was so lame, even Saito, who was standing next to him, couldn't help but twitch his lips.

Qing Deng just wanted to say something silly on purpose to liven up the atmosphere.

But to everyone's surprise—after hearing Qing Deng's lame joke, Kinoshita Mai blinked hard twice, then raised her hands to cover her mouth and giggled.

"Haha... They're all 'orange'... Haha... Hahaha...!"

Kinoshita Mai's shoulders trembled slightly from laughing so hard.

Kinoshita Mai was actually amused by his lame joke, and she laughed quite happily—Aoto couldn't help but look dumbfounded when he saw this.

Was my lame joke really that funny?

As for Saito, who had just been so taken aback by Aoto's lame joke that his lips twitched, he was now staring blankly at Kinoshita Mai, who was still laughing, with his mouth slightly agape.

After laughing for a long time, Kinoshita Mai finally stopped laughing, wiping away the tears that welled up in her eyes.

Because he was already quite familiar with Kinoshita Mai, Aoto didn't feel awkward or uncomfortable even though he was alone with her now.

After taking a sip of the tea that Mai Kinoshita had just brewed, Aoto initiated a conversation with Mai Kinoshita:

"Ms. Kinoshita, have you encountered anything interesting or noteworthy lately?"

Have you encountered anything interesting or noteworthy lately? Qingdeng loves to use this question to start a conversation.

"Something interesting or worth mentioning... there really is."

Kinoshita Mai lifted Toto onto her lap, stroking Toto's belly as she spoke softly.

"A couple of days ago, when I went to the market to buy vegetables, I went into a teahouse to drink tea because I was thirsty."

"As I was quietly drinking tea in a corner of the teahouse, I overheard a young couple, who appeared to be siblings, arguing at the next table."

"The topic of their argument was whether the great thief Nekosō was actually a voluptuous female ninja."

"That older brother insisted that Cat Monk was a very voluptuous female ninja, and he even quoted various classic texts to support his claim."

"The younger sister angrily rebuked her brother for watching too many pornographic films about female ninjas and for indulging in pointless daydreams."

[Note: Yellow Paper: A type of yellow-covered erotic publication popular in the Edo period, featuring many themes that remain relevant even today.]

"The siblings were arguing loudly, which attracted many onlookers who then joined in the argument."

"When I finished my tea, most of the people in the teahouse started arguing about whether Neko-sō was a female ninja or not."

"I was completely dumbfounded."

"Is it really necessary to argue so heatedly over something like this? Does it really matter whether Neko-sō is male or female, or whether he's a ninja?"

Upon hearing this, a faint, strange smile appeared on Qingdeng's face, barely noticeable unless you looked closely.

He thought to himself:

—I don't know if Neko-sō is a ninja, but I do know now that she's a woman…

Qingdeng still vividly remembers the scenes of copying the "milk" talent from the cat monk who raided the Northern Barbarians' quarters at night.

Qingdeng did not report to the authorities that "he discovered that Maoxiaoseng was a woman"—there was no way he could report it.

He couldn't very well just tell his superiors directly: "He's discovered that Cat Monk has a talent for having abundant and nutritious breast milk..."

Whether Cat Monk is male or female is not particularly important. Even if Qingdeng manages to report Cat Monk's true gender, it won't benefit Qingdeng himself.

What's more—Qingdeng actually quite likes this little cat monk.

After weighing the pros and cons, Qing Deng finally decided to keep the information that "Nekosō is a woman" to himself for the time being.

"Besides—how did this rumor about 'Neko-sō being a voluptuous female ninja' even start?"

Kinoshita Mai's voice rang out again.

She pursed her lips and continued:

"As far as I know, that Nekomamushi has never shown his face, has he? The government hasn't even confirmed whether Nekomamushi is male or female, yet so many people firmly believe that Nekomamushi must be female, and a female ninja at that..."

After glancing at the puzzled look on Kinoshita Mai's face, Aoto chuckled softly.

"People have always been willing to believe only what they want to believe."

"'Neko-sō is a short male,' 'Neko-sō is an unattractive female'... Compared to such rumors, it is obviously more eye-catching and easier to like the idea that 'Neko-sō is a voluptuous female ninja'."

"After all... many people just like this kind of thing."

"Naturally, the rumor spread like wildfire."

After speaking, Qingdeng raised his teacup and took another sip of the tea.

"This cat monk's fame is really growing... The quarrel between the brother and sister can actually attract most of the people in the teahouse to join their argument."

"Yes, that Cat Monk is indeed becoming more and more famous." Kinoshita Mai nodded slightly. "Recently, whenever I go to places with a lot of people, I always hear people talking about this phantom thief."

At this point, Kinoshita Mai paused for a moment.

"...As his fame continues to grow, so do the strange comments directed at Cat Monk."

Kinoshita Mai's hand, which had been stroking Toto's belly, slowed down slightly at this moment.

"Some people say that Cat Monk, who only steals from evil people, is a respectable chivalrous thief."

"Many people say that this Cat Monk is just a thief. No matter whose property he stole, it does not change the fact that he is a thief. Cat Monk's behavior of punishing a person purely based on his personal likes and dislikes is unacceptable."

Kinoshita Mai stopped petting the cat.

"...Tachibana-kun." Kinoshita Mai winked at Aoto, "What do you think of Neko-san?"

"Me?" Qing Deng downed the tea in his cup, which had cooled considerably, in one gulp. "I quite like that cat monk, you know."

"Tachibana-kun, you really like that cat monk?" Kinoshita Mai, a hint of surprise in her eyes, winked at Aoto.

“I’m very interested in these chivalrous thieves and phantom thieves who specialize in targeting the wicked.” Qing Deng turned his head and smiled calmly at Kinoshita Mai. “If I had the chance… I would quite like to try being a phantom thief with a code of honor, like Nekozo.”

The phantom thief – this profession is also a part of Qingdeng's passion.

Although Qingdeng was an excellent student in his previous life, he was also a boy who loved playing games in private.

His favorite game is the masterpiece hailed as "the best Japanese role-playing game in the world": Persona 5.

When Qingdeng came into contact with this masterpiece, he was just in the second year of junior high school.

The game's basic premise—"a high school student by day who transforms into a 'heart-stealing' phantom thief challenging decaying adults by night"—along with its trendy music that made you want to get hyped, amazed Qing Deng, who was in his teens at the time, and he exclaimed, "The creator of this game is a fucking genius!"

From then on, the profession of "phantom thief" became Qing Deng's passion.

This sentiment made Qingdeng view Maoxiaoseng with a friendly filter.

"I am just an ordinary person, not some saint of high moral character."

Qing Deng then continued.

“I understand all these big principles, such as ‘Robin Hood’ and ‘Phantom Thief’ are just thieves’, and ‘Personal likes and dislikes cannot be placed above the law’, but I don’t want to pay attention to them.”

"All I know is that the kind of behavior that Cat Monk does, which only targets evil people, makes me feel very good and satisfied, so I have a good impression of Cat Monk—it's that simple."

"Of course, if one day in the future, Cat Monk falls into depravity and starts preying on ordinary people, then I will no longer be able to be friendly to him."

After saying that, Qingdeng subconsciously raised the teacup in his hand, wanting to take a sip of tea, but after bringing the cup to his lips, he realized that he had already finished the tea, so he could only awkwardly put the teacup down.

At that moment, Kinoshita Mai's long, velvety eyelashes fluttered a few times.

After giving Qingdeng a long, sweeping glance, the corners of her mouth slowly began to turn up, a smile emerging, which finally transformed into a pure, childlike smile.

"Ju-kun, as a member of the 'Three Times' Tongxin, isn't it a bit inappropriate for you to say you like Cat Monk?"

Qingdeng smiled, then raised his right index finger to his lips, making a "shush" gesture.

"Then you'd better keep this a secret for me, Miss Kinoshita," Qing Deng said jokingly.

Mai Kinoshita raised her hand to cover her lips, smiling sweetly.

"Mmm!" After lowering her hand from her lips, she nodded vigorously. "I'll keep it a secret!"

"Hehe, hehehe..." Kinoshita Mai suddenly chuckled a few times, "In that case—this matter can be considered a secret between the two of us."

Kinoshita Mai then noticed that Seito's teacup was empty.

"Mr. Orange, wait a moment, I'll go get you a fresh cup of tea!"

Kinoshita Mai grabbed the teacup that Aoto had dropped and ran back to the kitchen in the inner room with a "clatter".

After Kinoshita Mai left, Saito, who had been quietly sitting next to Aoto drinking tea, looked up at the inner room of the Senjiya with a mixed expression.

"A secret between the two of us... Has Ms. Kinoshita forgotten about me?"