I assembled the strongest swordsman group.

Now, her face was turning red rapidly, almost as red as the evening glow, as if it were about to bleed.

Just before she was about to emit a sharp, explosive sound, Qing Deng quickly called out to warn her:

"Elodie, don't shout! If you shout, it will attract other people. Then it will be hard to explain!"

This hot spring pool isn't big enough to silence screams.

It's easy to imagine that if Elodie shouted loudly, it would definitely attract Kondo Isami and the others.

If they see this scene... they'll never be able to clear their name, even if they jumped into Edo Bay!

Upon hearing Qingdeng's reminder, Elodie reacted and reflexively raised her hands to cover her mouth, forcibly silencing her scream.

At the same time, she finally realized belatedly that she was still "carelessly" exposed in front of Qingdeng, so she quickly sank down and "plop" shrank back into the water, only half of her head was exposed, and the part below her nose was hidden below the water surface.

Qing Deng then turned around, his back to Elodie.

After that, another eerie silence descended between the two... a new deathly stillness descended upon them.

The unexpected situation left Qing Deng speechless.

"Huh? What a coincidence?" is too frivolous. "I didn't see anything" sounds like an admission of guilt, while "Elodie, you've grown up" seems too inappropriate.

Just then, he heard a weak voice asking from behind him:

"Master, you...you didn't see anything, did you?"

Before she could finish speaking, Qingdeng quickly said:

"The water was murky and there was a lot of fog, so I couldn't see anything."

At this moment, the talents "Trickster +2" and "Emperor's Art" are activated simultaneously!

[Note: Con artist +2: Can lie without batting an eye, making it difficult for others to detect anything amiss. Imperial skill: Exceptional control over facial muscles.]

As he spoke to "clarify," he couldn't help but think to himself:

—So, people with blond hair have blond hair all over their bodies...

Strange knowledge has increased.

As soon as this thought arose, he hurriedly shook his head, as if trying to clear away this "distraction".

He's a man with the talents "Fiery Eyes +7" and "Eagle Eyes +7".

Not only does it have exceptional eyesight, but its dynamic vision is also outstanding.

With stars in the sky and candles lit all around, everything was brightly lit, so there was no question of "too dark to see clearly".

In fact, it doesn't matter if the environment is dark - because he has the gift of "night vision".

Although the fog was thick, it wasn't so thick that you couldn't see your hand in front of your face.

In this state, everything that enters his field of vision is clearly and distinctly reflected in his eyes...

Although Qingdeng intended to forget the scenes he had just witnessed, with the blessing of his talent "photographic memory," memories, especially such memorable ones, were not something he could simply forget!

In order to leave this embarrassing place as quickly as possible, Qing Deng spoke rapidly, like a machine gun:

"Sorry, I startled you. I'll leave now."

Having said that, he fled back the way he came.

Swimming and such are no longer of interest to me.

He used his hands as oars to push aside the obstructing water, taking two steps at a time.

However, before he could take two steps away—

"...Master, wait a moment."

Elodie's voice drifted over and stopped him.

Because he dared not turn around, Qingdeng could only stand still, his back still to Elodie.

"Master, since you're already here, please... stay with me for a little while..."

……

……

At the same time—

On the other side—

Glug glug glug glug...

The flames burned fiercely.

The iron pot placed over the campfire spewed out boiling bubbles.

Kondo Isami and the others sat quietly around the iron pot, waiting.

The original clear water gradually turned into a dark red broth, emitting a unique aroma that was quite different from that of pork and chicken.

Serizawa Kamo twitched her nose slightly and frowned, saying:

"The smell is so strange, is sea otter meat really edible?"

Nagakura Shinpachi rubbed his eyes and said seriously:

"Don't make me repeat myself so many times. I've already said it, sea otter meat is definitely edible."

"Huh? Shinpachi, what's wrong?"

Kondo Isami cast a concerned look at Nagakura Shinpachi and continued:

Why do you keep rubbing your eyes? Are your eyes uncomfortable?

"I'm fine, I just... my eyes are a little sore, don't worry."

Kondo Isami blinked, puzzled but didn't press the matter—he always felt that Nagakura Shinpachi was acting strangely, as if he was hiding something.

After rubbing his eyes vigorously a few more times, Nagakura Shinpachi kept thinking to himself:

—That's really strange...

He turned his head slightly to secretly peek at Harada Sanosuke beside him.

—No matter how you look at it, Sanosuke is...so handsome.

*******

*******

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

P.S.: In the last chapter, some readers asked: Why not eat seal meat? Now you know why. (Like a leopard.jpg) Sea otter meat has its own unique charm!

Chapter 1022 Elodie Forcibly Pushes Down Qingdeng [4800]

Sea otter meat has a unique characteristic.

That is, the smell produced by cooking sea otter meat can stimulate sexual desire, and if there is only one person, they may even faint from the lust.

The old man who sold sea otter meat to Harada Sanosuke specially reminded him that it was best to eat sea otter meat with his wife—words that Harada Sanosuke couldn't understand at all, but were actually the old man's kind advice.

Completely unaware of this characteristic of sea otter meat, they foolishly sat around the sea otter pot—this is the current situation of Kondo Isami and his companions.

The unique scent lingered...

Gradually, following Nagakura Shinpachi, the others also began to act "strangely".

Inoue Genzaburo raised his gaze and stared intently at Kondo Isami.

"Young master, you seem to be even stronger now."

"Hmm? Is that so?"

As he spoke, Kondo bent his right arm, revealing his biceps, which looked like a hill.

His action instantly attracted everyone's attention, and strange gazes swept over his entire body.

The blatant stares from the crowd did not displease Kondo Isami; instead, they made him grin and show his teeth.

As he continued to flex his muscles, he said to Inoue Genzaburo:

"Uncle Yuan, I think you've gotten even better in physique."

"Oh? Is that so?"

Harada Sanosuke hurriedly said:

"Uncle Yuan, let us see your muscles!"

Seeing that there were people supporting him, Inoue Genzaburo didn't dawdle. He immediately rolled up his sleeves and bent his arms. Although his muscles were not as big as Kondo Isami's, they were just as firm.

After cooking the meat over a fire, everyone put on their bathrobes.

While everyone was still dressed properly, they didn't notice anything unusual.

But after Yong and Yuan both showed off their muscles, the atmosphere on set instantly became strange...

At this moment, Serizawa Kamo touched his neck, his Adam's apple bobbing slightly.

I'm a little thirsty... Do you have any wine?

“There’s a lot of sake in that room, I’ve brought it all.”

As he spoke, Saito Hajime picked up a bamboo basket next to him, which contained more than a dozen bottles of sake.

The "smell" caused everyone to feel thirsty.

To alleviate the burning sensation in their bodies, they each grabbed a bottle of sake and drank it down in large gulps.

Not drinking is fine, but drinking makes things worse.

Under the influence of alcohol, their "heatiness" quickly increased.

"Hmm...strange...am I...drunk...?"

Serizawa Kamo swayed a few times, and looked like it was about to fall to the ground.

Just as he was about to fall, he managed to brace himself with his left hand.

Thus, his body tilted, and the hem of his yukata parted slightly due to gravity, revealing his hard and thick pectoral muscles.