I assembled the strongest swordsman group.

Although the exact reason is unclear, the skin becomes smooth after being bathed in hot spring water.

Of course, if you soak your skin for too long, it will still wrinkle.

Qingdeng's favorite pastime is taking a bath—he loves the feeling of being surrounded by hot water.

In a short while, Qingdeng felt his muscles gradually relax, his nerves also relaxed, and his body and mind entered a state of complete relaxation.

The relocation of the shogunate's central government, the strengthening of Hatazu's national power, the new round of large-scale conscription by the Shinsengumi... all these annoying and tedious matters disappeared from his mind.

Qingdeng hadn't experienced this feeling of "empty mind" and not thinking about anything for a long time.

It's no exaggeration to say that he felt like an ice cream cone, gradually melting into the pool.

Because the hot spring is open-air, you can see a wide-open sky as soon as you look up.

The weather is great tonight, with not a cloud in the sky.

The moon had not yet risen, hence the stars shone brightly.

Qingdeng leaned against the pool wall behind him, looked up at the sky, and saw a dazzling array of stars filling his eyes.

The occasional night breeze brought a refreshing coolness, taking away the heat.

The feeling of coolness above the neck and warmth below the neck creates a unique and pleasurable sensation.

Soaking in a hot spring while gazing at the starry sky... truly the ultimate pleasure in the world.

—If Sanako and the others were here too.

Qingdeng wanted to share his joy and emotion with his most important wife and children—including Tenshōin, of course.

Whether Tenshōin liked taking baths or not, Seidō could not know.

Anyway, Sanako, Mai, and Souji all love taking baths, and they often bathe together.

That's why the bathhouse at Qingdeng's house gets dirty very easily.

Each time they bathed together, the pool water would become murky and filled with strange liquid.

Qingdeng had never hated the lack of hot springs in his territory as much as he did at this moment.

Qinjin Prefecture has everything: fertile fields, canal transport, and beautiful scenery, but it lacks hot springs.

Although with his power, Aoto could easily order people to transport hot spring water from afar to Otsu bucket by bucket, just like the "Okyu-yu" of the Edo Shogunate, Aoto would never do such a wasteful and laborious thing.

As far as Qingdeng knew, this "Imperial Water Bath" was a disguised form of forced labor, and many commoners were harmed by it.

To expend countless manpower and resources just to soak in hot springs... Qingdeng would never do something so ridiculous.

—Let's take a family trip when the world is at peace in the future.

Looking at the hot spring water around him, Qingdeng made a decision in his heart.

Besides Ou, Hakone, which is close to Otsu, is also a hot spring resort.

At that time, he can take his wife and children to Hakone and fully enjoy the pleasure of "soaking in hot springs".

Thinking of this, Qingdeng couldn't help but smile.

He was lost in a beautiful fantasy... Suddenly, Saito, who was not far away, said to him:

“Mr. Tachibana, there has been no word from the head of the department for a long time.”

Upon hearing this, Qing Deng immediately turned and shouted towards the west end of the pond:

"Elodie! Are you there?"

No sooner had the words left her lips than Elodie's voice came from afar:

"I'm very good!"

Hearing Elodie's energetic voice, Qingdeng looked away with relief.

When a person is in a high-temperature environment, the peripheral capillaries will dilate, and a large amount of blood will enter the body's venous system, resulting in a decrease in effective circulating blood volume, which in turn can cause dizziness.

Since it's a group of rough, tough men, there's nothing to worry about regarding the "men's bath."

Even if someone gets carried away, it will be discovered quickly.

The "women's bath" is different; only Elodie bathes there.

If she accidentally gets dizzy from soaking in the water, no one will notice in time.

Therefore, just to be on the safe side, Qingdeng would shout "Elodie! Are you there?" every now and then to make sure she was still awake.

……

……

Nagakura Shinpachi: "Did you know? It's said that eating more seaweed helps hair grow."

Kondo Isami: "I think I've heard of it."

Serizawa Kamo: "It's true. Do you know the concept of 'like cures like'? Eating a head can nourish the head, eating bones can nourish the bones, and kelp looks like hair, so eating more kelp does help with hair growth."

Nagakura Shinpachi: "Oh, I see... Then I'll have to eat a lot more seaweed..."

Inoue Genzaburo: "What's wrong? Shinpachi, do you have any hair problems?"

Nagakura Shinpachi: "For some reason, I've been losing a lot of hair lately... It's really strange. I'm not a strategist who uses his brain a lot, and I haven't had any worries lately, so why am I losing so much hair..."

This kind of boring conversation continued endlessly.

If you just soak in a hot spring and do nothing else, that would be too boring.

To pass the time, Qingdeng and the others chatted idly, but the conversation was rather mundane.

Because it was a long-awaited moment of leisure, everyone consciously avoided serious topics and only chatted about everyday matters.

Suddenly, Harada Sanosuke, who had been silent since earlier, spoke up:

"I'm hungry... let's get some midnight snacks!"

His seemingly random remark immediately drew the attention of Qing Deng and the others.

Nagakura Shinpachi was the first to ask:

"Late-night snack? Do you have anything to eat here?"

Harada Sanosuke chuckled:

"Actually, I bought sea otter meat at the market in Wakamatsu-cho today! I've never eaten sea otter meat before, let's try it together!"

*******

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It's almost the end of the month again! Readers with monthly tickets, please be sure to vote for this book! (Crying leopard head.jpg) Requesting monthly tickets! Requesting recommendation tickets! (Leopard head crying.jpg)

P.S.: I wanted the vice-captains to come and soak in the hot springs too, but that would make it too crowded. So, I had to make do with them.

Chapter 1021 Qingdeng and Elodie's "Sincere Encounter" [4500]

"Sea otter meat?"

Kondo raised an eyebrow and awkwardly repeated the unfamiliar term.

Aoto, Saito Hajime, and the others also cast puzzled glances at Harada Sanosuke.

Only Nagakura Shinpachi showed a different expression—he blinked, a hint of surprise flashing in his eyes, and asked:

"Zanosuke, do you have sea otter meat?"

Harada Sanosuke chuckled and turned to fetch a bundle from the pond.

On the way to the hot spring, Harada Sanosuke carried this bundle the whole time. When others asked him what it was, he hesitated to say and pretended to be mysterious.

Then, Sanosuke Harada unwrapped the wrapping—his movements were exaggerated, much like a magician performing a magic trick—revealing the object inside: an animal carcass.

The body has been prepared to be cooked at any time.

The fur was stripped off, the internal organs were removed, revealing dark red muscles and a dissected, empty abdomen.

Because it was so disfigured, it was completely unrecognizable and at first glance looked like the corpse of a wild cat.

Kondo Isami looked him up and down several times, then asked:

"This is sea otter meat?"

Inoue Genzaburo then continued:

"Speaking of which, what exactly is a sea otter?"

He had barely finished speaking when he received an immediate response from Nagakura Shinpachi:

"Sea otters are aquatic creatures, about the size of a cat, furry and cute in appearance. They have a huge appetite; it is said that they can eat up to half their body weight in a day."

After saying that, he turned his gaze and carefully examined the sea otter meat in Harada Sanosuke's hand.

"Hey, it really is sea otter meat."

Isamu Kondo asked:

"Shinpachi, do you know about sea otters?"

Nagakura Shinpachi smiled:

"Sea otters are one of the specialties of Oshu. I'm from the Matsumae Domain, so of course I know about sea otters."

Upon hearing that it was a specialty of Ou, Kondo Isami and the others all perked up.

Harada Sanosuke chuckled softly a few times.

"So it really is a specialty of Oyu. It seems that old man wasn't lying to me."

"I was strolling around the market in Wakamatsu Town today when an old man selling fish stopped me and tried to sell me sea otter meat."

"He spoke in the Aizu dialect and spoke very fast, so I didn't understand much. I only made it clear that he was emphasizing that the meat was a specialty of Ou."

"Since it's meat that only Ouyu produces, I can't just ignore it."

"And the meat looked quite plump, so I couldn't resist buying it."

Having said that, he raised the sea otter meat high in his hand, his tone becoming excited:

"This is a rare opportunity, let's enjoy it together!"