I assembled the strongest swordsman group.

After sending Kondo and the others back to sleep, Aoto quietly changed his shoes, slipped out of the Shieikan, and headed straight for the alley behind the Ninagaku Ramen.

As soon as he entered the alley, Qingdeng left and found the person he was looking for.

Kinoshita Mai, having pulled her black face mask back up to cover her face below her eyes, squatted at the deepest part of this damp alleyway, her hands clasped around her knees.

She rested her chin on her rounded knees, her head bowed, as if she were looking at something.

Qing Deng, who possesses powerful night vision due to his "cat's eye" talent, looked around and saw that Kinoshita Mai was actually watching a row of ants carrying food on the ground.

Upon catching sight of Qing Deng striding towards her from the corner of her eye, Kinoshita Mai quickly stood up and hurried towards him.

“Ju-kun,” she said, “you came much faster than I expected.”

"..." Qing Deng subconsciously wanted to greet Kinoshita Mai.

But after opening his mouth, Qingdeng found that he couldn't utter a single word.

To be honest... he still has a sense of emptiness and unreality, as if he is still floating in the air, walking on soft clouds.

That famous phantom thief, Neko-sō... turns out to be his close friend, Kinoshita Mai...

Qingdeng didn't know what words or phrases to use to describe his current feelings.

This kind of thing... if he hadn't just seen with his own eyes that it was indeed Kinoshita Mai's face under that black mask, he would never have believed it was true.

Kinoshita Mai noticed the strange expression on Aoto's face at that moment.

As if she had anticipated Qingdeng's reaction, she put her hands on her hips and laughed a few times.

"Tachibana-kun, you look surprised."

"However, it's normal that you'd be shocked."

After saying this in a smug tone, Kinoshita suddenly straightened her back and began to perform a strange little drama, as if a famous detective was about to explain his brilliant reasoning to everyone.

"That's right!"

"Just as you just saw!"

On the surface, she is the unassuming job placement agency, Kinoshita Mai.

"But his true identity is actually the great phantom thief who strikes fear into the hearts of countless villains, Cat Monk!"

As she uttered this last sentence, Kinoshita Mai bent her right leg upwards, standing on one leg, then spread her hands out flat with palms facing upwards and raised her arms high.

quiet……

After Kinoshita Mai finished speaking, the secluded alleyway suddenly became exceptionally quiet.

"..." Qing Deng stared at Kinoshita Mai, who was maintaining this strange posture, with his mouth slightly open, looking completely at a loss for what expression to make or what to say.

After a while, Kinoshita Mai, who had not received a response from Aoto, awkwardly chuckled and silently lowered her arms and right leg.

"Tachibana-kun, your reaction is so bland... I was hoping to see some interesting reactions from you..."

"Ah, I'm sorry... I'm actually very emotional right now, but I just don't know what to say..."

The scene that Kinoshita Mai just pulled off has only increased the number of questions in Aoto's mind...

Qing Deng took several deep breaths to calm himself down.

"Ms. Kinoshita, isn't it uncomfortable for you to talk while wearing such a thick mask? Since it's just the two of us here, why don't you take off the mask?"

Having said that, Qing Deng was about to lift Kinoshita Mai's face mask.

Upon seeing Qing Deng's outstretched hand, Kinoshita Mai's expression under her face mask changed drastically.

"Don't take off my face mask!" Kinoshita Mai hurriedly raised her hands to cover her face with the face mask, then quickly took two steps back. "Without the face mask, I won't dare to speak as loudly as before."

—So you're the type who lets loose as long as you cover your face!

Qing Deng carefully recalled the scene after his reunion with Kinoshita Mai in this alley—indeed, the Kinoshita Mai standing in front of him was much more cheerful than he remembered.

Her tone of voice, demeanor, and movements have all become more lively, making her seem like a completely different person compared to her usual introverted and shy self.

Since Kinoshita Mai didn't want to remove her face mask, Aoto couldn't force her.

Qingdeng silently let out a long breath, then lowered his head, raised his right hand, and used the second joint of his right index finger to vigorously massage his brow.

Qing Deng originally intended to sort out his still chaotic thoughts and organize the current information.

However... because Qing Deng lowered his head, his gaze also lowered.

His lowered gaze... happened to fall on the chest of Kinoshita Mai, who was a head and a half shorter than him...

Because she was wearing loose clothing, Kinoshita Mai's exceptionally large bust, which was outstanding among her peers, did not reveal its true size.

When his gaze swept over Kinoshita Mai's chest, which appeared rather flat under her loose clothing, Aoto's right arm instantly "recalled" the strange sensation he had felt when he tried to subdue Kinoshita Mai inside the Shieikan.

At the time, Qingdeng did not know what the heavy, soft, and elastic water bag that his right arm had touched was.

Now, these memories flooded Aoto's mind, and he finally understood where he had run into Kinoshita Mai back then...

Qing Deng's expression turned strange at a visible speed.

Whether in his past life where he had never had a girlfriend or in this life, Qing Deng has never touched a girl's private parts.

Shame, embarrassment... all sorts of emotions began to surge in Qingdeng's heart.

Just then, Qingdeng suddenly remembered something...

—Ms. Kinoshita is Neko-sō...

—So that means… I… copied the “milk-producing” talent from Ms. Kinoshita…?

With that thought in mind, Qing Deng couldn't help but glance at that part of Kinoshita Mai's body a few more times.

The description of the "milk" talent kept playing uncontrollably in Qingdeng's mind, and he couldn't stop it no matter how hard he tried.

The continuously playing talent introductions made Qingdeng's expression grow increasingly strange.

Kinoshita Mai noticed Aoto's gaze fixed on her chest and the strange expression on Aoto's face.

Like Qing Deng, she recalled the scenes that had just occurred inside the Shiwei Hall.

Because of the face mask, Aoto didn't see that Kinoshita Mai's face was turning red and hot at an extremely fast pace.

She unconsciously tucked her shoulders in slightly, hunched her back, and turned her body slightly to the side, with her right shoulder facing Qingdeng.

Aoto, realizing how impolite it was to stare at Kinoshita Mai's chest, quickly looked away and coughed a few times to cover his embarrassment.

"Ms. Kinoshita, um... I'm so sorry about what happened at the Shieikan earlier."

“It’s alright…” Kinoshita Mai murmured, “I understand…”

The atmosphere between the two at that moment was...an indescribable awkwardness.

To avoid the suffocatingly awkward atmosphere around him, and in order to get the answers to the pile of questions in his mind as soon as possible, Qing Deng coughed a few times after a short silence, and then looked at Kinoshita Mai again with a stern face.

"Ms. Kinoshita, I have a mountain of questions I want to ask you one by one."

"First of all—can you tell me why you became a phantom thief and caused such a stir in Edo?"

Upon hearing Aoto's question, Kinoshita Mai paused for a moment, then chuckled dryly a few times:

"Haha... You're asking me such a serious question right off the bat..."

"Why did you become a phantom thief...?"

Kinoshita Mai softly repeated the question that Aoto had just asked, then pursed her lips and remained silent for a moment.

"Actually, the reason isn't complicated."

"It's simply about punishing evil and promoting good, and extending a helping hand to the powerless poor people."

"From a young age, I always heard all sorts of heroic stories from my grandmother, Uncle Makoto, and Aunt Makoto."

A look of reminiscence appeared between Kinoshita Mai's brows.

"For example, Sanada Yukimura, known as the 'greatest warrior of the Sengoku period,' personally led a cavalry unit to charge straight into the Tokugawa army's main camp during the Siege of Osaka in order to save the Toyotomi clan from collapse, and almost took the head of Tokugawa Ieyasu."

"For example, 'Shura' Ogata Itsuse broke through seven formations and killed nine generals in the 'Red Moon Battle'. With only a few dozen cavalrymen, he defeated the shogunate's army of ten thousand and forged the reputation of 'the unparalleled eternal sword saint'."

“I grew up listening to these heroic stories, so I gradually came to admire these heroes.”

“Tachibana-kun, do you remember the story about me that Mr. Kiryu told you before? A year ago, my grandmother asked me to leave Osaka and come to Edo to serve as Mr. Kiryu’s assistant, so that I could ‘start from the bottom and train’.”

Aoto nodded. He still remembered the stories about Kinoshita Mai that Mr. Kiryu had mentioned to him before.

"I'm from Osaka."

Kinoshita Mai continued.

"Before coming to Edo, I lived in Osaka and learned all sorts of things from my grandmother and some of her friends and subordinates."

"Sinology, history, arithmetic, martial arts..."

"Back then... under my grandmother's protection, the 'world' I could see was always very small."

“I am well protected by Mr. Makimura and Mr. Asai every day, and can only move around at home and in a few specific areas.”

"It wasn't until I left my grandmother and came to Edo that the 'world' in my eyes finally became wider."

"Then... as the 'world' I saw expanded, I also saw many sights that I had never seen before in Osaka."

At this point, Kinoshita Mai paused for a moment, then let out a low, self-deprecating laugh.

"Before coming to Edo, I had no idea that there were so many people in this world who were so poor that they couldn't even afford to eat a meal a day..."

"Tachibana-kun, you probably don't know, but in a job agency like our Senjiya, we see so many... heartbreaking customers almost every day."

"A young woman whose husband was persecuted to death by the Yakuza, who has to support her three children on her own and works four jobs every day."

"Despite suffering from a serious illness, I still have to grit my teeth and drag my sick body to the job shop to find work for my family."

"She was not even up to my waist, but because her family was so poor, she cried and begged me and Mr. Kiryu to help her find a job that someone her age could do in order to help ease her parents' burden."

"So many poor people are living in dire straits... It makes me so sad to see them like this."

"Perhaps it's because I've admired heroes and great men since I was a child, so I've always aspired to become a hero who can do something practical for the people!"

"So, at the end of last year, I finally made up my mind—I would use my abilities to help these poor and needy people to the best of my ability!"

"This is the origin of the great phantom thief 'Neko-sō'."

After listening quietly to Kinoshita Mai's story, Aoto remained silent for a moment, then let out a long sigh.

"...Then why did you suddenly come to find me tonight, disregarding the fact that your identity has been exposed?"