I assembled the strongest swordsman group.

This is another very serious issue.

This time, Kinoshita Mai answered without much thought:

"King Tachibana, the reason I suddenly came to find you tonight is that I want to ask for your help!"

"I'd like to ask you to come with me to deal with a group of slayers who have been frequently testing their swords on Eta lately!"

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Here's a discarded design I'd like to share: Kinoshita Mai's phantom thief outfit was originally designed to be sleeveless, with both arms completely exposed, and only black wrist guards on her wrists.

However, considering Kinoshita Mai's personality, she probably wouldn't be able to wear such revealing clothing, so we had to give up on that idea.

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Chapter 132 "Phantom Thief" Tachibana Aoden, come on! 【6400】

Upon hearing the words "Eta" and "testing the sword," Qing Deng's brows furrowed instantly.

This country has a terrible and barbaric practice: testing knives on people.

Some mentally disturbed samurai, in order to test the sharpness of their swords, would often ambush passersby on the streets at night, using them as test subjects for their blades.

This act of testing a knife on people in the street is called "Tsuji-giri".

Tsuji-giri was quite common before the Edo period.

It wasn't until three hundred years ago, after the establishment of the Edo Shogunate, that the Tokugawa family finally passed laws to prohibit such insane and mad behavior, and to severely punish anyone found guilty of it.

The Edo Shogunate's legislation to prohibit this practice had a good effect, and this inhumane practice was greatly curbed. However, the term "Tsuji-giri" was not completely swept into the dustbin of history.

After all, there is never a shortage of mentally unstable people, no matter when or where.

Even now, nearly three hundred years after the Edo Shogunate ruled the country, even in Edo, the capital city, horrifying news still occasionally breaks out about someone being "tested with a knife last night."

And the person most often used as a sacrifice for Tsuji-giri... is Eta.

Eta – simply put, means the lowest of the low.

Japanese society during the Edo period was divided into four classes from top to bottom: samurai, farmers, artisans, and merchants.

Beyond the four classes of "scholars, farmers, artisans, and merchants," there exists an "invisible class" that exists outside of these four classes: the "Eta class."

The fact that this group is named after "filth" is enough to tell you their social standing.

The origins of the Eta group can be traced back a thousand years. Before Japan fully adopted the advanced culture and systems of the Sui and Tang dynasties, there was a class in society that specifically served officials: "slaves".

Most of the Eta people in the Edo period were descendants of these slaves.

Besides the slave class from a thousand years ago, the origins of the Eitas also include—

People who specialize in professions related to blood and filth, such as leatherwork and slaughtering.

People who contracted leprosy and were thrown into the ghetto settlement but did not die.

The Ainu people who became prisoners of war.

Etc., etc……

These people and their descendants together constitute the "Eta" class.

The Eta, who were considered outcasts, suffered greatly from discrimination.

The Edo Shogunate centralized the Eta people in a corner of the city or in some remote rural areas.

All the Eidahs are hereditary. Once you are an Eidah, you will be an Eidah for all eternity, and your descendants will always be Eidahs. You will never be able to change your status or obtain citizenship.

Unable to acquire land or engage in agriculture or commerce, the Eta people could only do jobs that were considered extremely dirty and unclean by people in the Edo period, such as cleaners, morticians, butchers, and leather makers.

When the Etas left their settlements and prepared to go out, they often had to cover their faces because people were afraid that their voices would bring "filth".

In some places, people even require the Edo people to walk backwards when passing through a certain area, because this way they can wipe away their dirty footprints as they walk backwards.

The Eta, whose status was so lowly, naturally had their lives considered worthless in the eyes of the people.

During the Edo period, there was an unwritten rule: seven Eta's lives were worth one commoner's life.

Because Eta's life is so cheap, those mentally unstable madmen often use Eta as a test subject.

By using Eta as a test subject, even if one is caught by chance, one will receive a lighter sentence because the person one killed was Eta.

As Aoto frowned upon hearing the words "Eta" and "testing the sword," Kinoshita Mai continued in a deep voice:

“In the past month, while patrolling various parts of Edo, I have frequently found victims who have been hacked to death in the streets of the Eta neighborhood.”

"According to my current count, the number of victims has reached seven... The actual number should be more than I have counted."

"With so many bodies found on the streets within just one month, it's safe to say that someone was carrying out the Tsuji Slash."

"Because each body had a large number of knife wounds, I suspect that it was not a single person who committed the crime, but an entire group that was insanely using people to test their knives."

“If it’s just one person, it’s fine, but if it’s a large group of sword-wielding samurai… I’m not confident I can subdue them.”

"Therefore, Tachibana-kun, I thought of you."

"I need your help to deal with these madmen who recklessly use innocent people as test subjects."

After hearing Kinoshita Mai's heartfelt plea, Aoto instinctively asked in a quick, urgent voice:

"Now that you've discovered someone is slashing Tsuji, why don't you try to report it to the magistrate's office?"

As soon as he asked the question, Qing Deng's expression froze.

Because he quickly realized—he had just asked a stupid question…

As expected, Kinoshita Mai smiled helplessly.

“Tachibana-kun, you’re the ‘third-in-command’ of the Magistrate’s Office, you should know better than me, right? The Magistrate’s Office doesn’t care about the lives of the Eta…”

Qingdeng pursed his lips and remained silent.

The office has been understaffed for many years.

Even with the help of "townspeople's self-governing organizations" to share the burden of civil cases, and the magistrate's office able to focus on handling criminal cases, the manpower of the magistrate's office was still extremely strained.

Regarding the order of case handling, the law enforcement agency has always adhered to an unwritten rule.

First and foremost, cases involving high-ranking officials and dignitaries are the highest priority.

Then came the cases of the samurai.

Then came the cases of ordinary civilians.

The magistrate's office is already so busy dealing with cases of these "normal people" that they have no energy or time to handle cases of the Edo people.

Normally, they wouldn't care much about the lives or deaths of the Eta, let alone now that the Magistrate's Office is using most of its energy and resources to suppress the "radical anti-foreign faction."

If Kinoshita Mai had managed to report to the magistrate that "a group of madmen were using Eta to test their knives," her report would definitely have been ignored.

At most, the magistrate would only symbolically send a few of his own servants to the scene of the crime to pretend to walk around a few times.

After a moment of silence, Qingdeng's furrowed brows relaxed slightly.

"...I understand the specific reasons."

"But there are still many things I don't understand."

"Ms. Kinoshita, why did you appear in that form at the Shieikan just now?"

Qingdeng sighed deeply, his emotions complex.

"You suddenly jumped down from the ceiling and landed behind me... To be honest, I was quite startled. I thought you were either a thief trying to steal from the Shieikan or a member of the Exile Group looking for revenge."

"Hahaha..." Kinoshita Mai chuckled awkwardly, putting her hands behind her back and tucking her right foot behind her left, saying coyly, "I just wanted to scare you and give you a surprise..."

"I thought you would be so scared that you would fall to the ground and crawl backwards on your hands and feet."

"Who knew you would pounce on me and pin me to the ground..."

After hearing Kinoshita Mai's explanation, Aoto's lips curled into a helpless, bitter smile:

—Ms. Kinoshita also has a very childlike side...

After thinking this to himself, Qing Deng added: However, judging from her age, Ms. Kinoshita is indeed still a child.

If Qing Deng remembers correctly, Kinoshita Mai is only 15 years old this year.

Although from the perspective of this era, a 15-year-old girl is already of marriageable age and can have children.

But in Qing Deng's eyes, Kinoshita Mai, who was not even 16 years old, was a child whose body had not yet fully developed.

"Don't do this kind of thing again."

Qing Deng put his hands on his hips and said in a slightly serious tone.

"Luckily, my knife was at my feet at that time, not on my waist."

"Otherwise, I might not have tackled you to the ground; I might have just pulled out my knife."

After briefly reprimanding Kinoshita Mai, Aoto fell silent, seemingly lost in thought. Only after a few breaths did he speak again, posing a new question to Kinoshita Mai:

"...Ms. Kinoshita, why did you ask me for help?"

“You’ve revealed your true identity to me directly… Aren’t you afraid I’ll arrest you, hand you over to the magistrate’s office, and use you as my credit?”

"Successfully capturing Nekozo, who has been a headache for the Magistrate's Office for so long... This is a tremendous achievement."

No sooner had Qing Deng finished speaking than a joyful smile appeared on Kinoshita Mai's cheeks, which were hidden under her black mask.

"Because I have no one else I can ask for help besides you."

"You are the only person I trust completely, and who is also quite skilled in combat."

"I believe you would never betray me."

"And...and..."