I assembled the strongest swordsman group.

"Grandpa, the money that Cat Monk and his gang stole belonged to evil people!"

Perhaps considering that it would be impolite to speak French in front of Qing Deng and the others, who couldn't understand it, Elodie didn't communicate with her grandfather in French. Instead, she used Japanese, which was flawless in both standard and fluency.

“Does stealing the money of wicked people not count as stealing?” Anthony frowned slightly. “No matter what, stealing is stealing. No matter what the stolen item is or who the victim is, stealing is always stealing.”

Every word Anthony uttered revealed his dislike for Cat Monk.

“That’s different!” Elodie retorted sharply to Anthony. “Cat Monk and Fox Monk dare to take action against those villains whom even the government can’t touch, and dare to make them suffer greatly. That alone is enough for us to respect them!”

"Alright. Let's talk about these things later."

"Colonel Sanders" frowned and glanced at Qingdeng and the others a few times... He was probably worried that it would be very unseemly to make noise and argue in front of Qingdeng and the other guests, so Anthony wanted to end the conversation.

But Elodie persisted, completely ignoring Anthony's earlier suggestion to "talk about it later."

Elodie's two small hands, clasped together and placed in front of her navel, clenched slightly, and the light in her sky-blue eyes, as clear as a summer day, suddenly became much sharper.

"Grandpa, your remarks are really annoying."

"They like to use the standards of perfect people to judge those brave and noble people who are willing to fight against evil."

"They must be upright, lawful, and without any errors in their conduct, lifestyle, and methods."

"If they have even the slightest flaw that displeases you, you will condescendingly dismiss them as nothing special."

"And then they often turn a blind eye to those evil people."

"If Lucullus had done anything even slightly frugal, he wouldn't seem so bad after all."

"If Harpagon in Molière's novel were to loosen his grip on the purse and give away a small amount of money—which is just a drop in the ocean for him—to the poor, you might think that he was actually a somewhat kind-hearted philanthropist."

"As long as these bad people do even the smallest good deed, they will receive your applause and cheers."

"This practice of treating heroes and villains differently is utterly absurd and disgusting."

"It's because there are too many people who think like you, Grandpa, that everyone is increasingly fond of being the bad guy!"

Anthony was speechless, his mouth slightly agape after being refuted by Elodie.

Let alone Anthony.

Aoto and the others... even Saito, who rarely showed any emotional or facial fluctuations, were all dumbfounded and focused their gazes on Elodie, who had just uttered words that didn't seem like something a 12-year-old girl could say.

Although Qingdeng and the others didn't quite understand Western allusions like Aragon from Lucullus and Molière, they could roughly grasp their meaning.

All eyes were fixed on her in astonishment… but Elodie showed no sign of stage fright. She continued to meet Anthony's gaze with unwavering determination.

“…Alright, I admit I went a bit too far just now.” Anthony sighed. “Elodie, let’s discuss the merits and demerits of Cat Monk and Fox Monk later. Let’s leave for now. Staying here will affect Mr. Tachibana’s work.”

Elodie paused for a moment, then seemed to realize that this was not the right time to have a heated argument with Anthony.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Tachibana." Elodie turned around, slightly lifting the hem of her white tutu with both hands, and bowed apologetically to Qing Deng and the others. "You have witnessed a very unseemly scene."

"It's alright, it's alright." Qingdeng quickly waved his hand with a smile. "We don't mind."

“Mr. Ju, we’ll head out now.” Anthony smiled apologetically at Qing Deng again. “If you need anything, such as food or drink, just let us know. We’ll do our best to help.”

After saying everything he needed to say in one breath, Anthony led Elodie and Leroy out of the study, watching Qing Deng and the others, whose astonishment had not yet completely faded.

As soon as Elodie and the others left, Nagakura grinned and muttered to himself:

"What an amazing young girl..."

Nagakura's mutterings expressed the sentiments of everyone present, including Aoto.

……

……

Monitoring the pastry shop through the study window didn't require many people, so Qingdeng set up a "two-shift system".

He and Todo took the first train.

Saito, Nagakura, and Harada are in the second class.

Two shifts took turns monitoring the pastry shop for half an hour each.

Qing Deng and Teng Tang leaned against the wall by the window and calmly passed the first surveillance. Nothing unusual happened at the confectionery shop, and they did not find the furtive bearded man the informant had mentioned.

After switching shifts with Saito and the others, Aoto suddenly felt a little thirsty.

After briefly asking his companions if they wanted some water, Qingdeng left the study alone, intending to ask Anthony and the others for some.

The third floor, where the study was located, was quiet and deserted. Qingdeng had no choice but to explore down the stairs.

After reaching the very bottom floor, Qingdeng finally saw the person.

"Ah, Mr. Tachibana."

In the restaurant, Elodie jumped off her chair and ran towards Qingdeng with a joyful expression.

*******

*******

Thank you to the two patrons from [My Beloved Home, Actually 12] for their generous donations the other day!

The author's backlog of chapters has risen again after a long time, from 12 to 14.

Today's 10,000-word update is to make up for the missed chapters from Silver Alliance member [Handsome is Handsome]. I owe this Silver Alliance member 12 chapters... because he rewarded this book with 2 Alliance Masters and 1 Silver Alliance.

The author still owes 13 chapters of 10,000-word length.

Please vote with monthly tickets! Please vote with recommendation tickets! (Leopard crying.jpg)

Chapter 169 Mr. Tachibana, please fencing with me! [7600]

Elodie changed into a new outfit.

She changed into a fitted robe with a hem that reached her fair heels, which looked significantly more comfortable than the tulle skirt she had worn when she went for a walk with Anthony.

Before Qingdeng could even see her tiny, palm-sized feet encased in a pair of cute white velvet slippers, it was the first time she had ever seen such 19th-century European women's slippers. The heels even had a slight heel design, and when she stepped on the ground, they made a rather crisp "tap-tap-tap" sound.

“Miss Angoulême, hello.” Qingden greeted Elodie briefly, then turned and looked around. “Miss Angoulême, what are you doing in the dining room? Where are Mr. Angoulême and Miss Leroy?”

“I’m reading.” Elodie smiled sweetly. “The lighting is best in the restaurant, so I like to stay here and read during the day.”

"Grandpa is in his bedroom dealing with some work matters."

"Miss Leroy is cleaning the kitchen."

Qingdeng looked at the long table where Elodie had just been sitting, and there was indeed an open book on the table.

Thanks to his good eyesight, Qing Deng saw that the pages of this book were covered with dense, tadpole-like French characters that he couldn't understand at all.

"Mr. Orange, are you out to rest?" Elodie blinked her big eyes at Qingdeng a few times.

"Well, I guess so." Qingdeng smiled slightly. "My companions and I are a bit thirsty, so we thought we'd ask if there's any water."

“Ah, Mr. Orange, you’ve come at just the right time.” Elodie’s smile widened. “Just now, Grandpa had already instructed Miss Leroy to prepare the best tea and snacks we have at home to entertain you all.”

"Let me ask Miss Leroy if the black tea is ready."

Having said that, Elodie strode to the long table, picked up a silver bell, and shook it gently.

Ding-a-ling~~

The extremely clear and crisp sound of the bells, which made Qingdeng feel a tingling sensation in his ears, spread in all directions.

As soon as the bell rang, a series of unhurried footsteps came from Qingdeng and Elodie. Leroy wiped his wet hands with the apron tied in front of him as he walked quickly to Elodie.

Elodie rattled off a long string of French to Leroy.

Then Leroy responded to Elodie in French.

Qing Deng knew absolutely nothing about French; the only French word he knew was "Bonjour" (hello).

So from Qingdeng's current perspective, seeing Elodie and Leroy speaking French to each other is no different from seeing two scientists discussing quantum mechanics—although he knows in his heart that they are speaking human language, he still feels as if they are talking about some kind of magic spell.

After Leroy finished speaking, Elodie nodded slightly, said something to Leroy, and then saw Leroy return along the same route he had come from, disappearing from Qingden's sight.

“Miss Leroy said the tea will be ready soon.” Elodie switched back to Japanese. “I’ve already asked her to send the tea and some snacks to you as soon as it’s ready.”

Qingdeng bowed slightly and said to Elodie, "I am very grateful."

At that moment, Qing Deng caught a glimpse of a beautifully packaged gift box on a small round table not far from him.

This gift box, from its design to its packaging, is entirely in the Japanese style.

In this European-style mansion, there is actually a Japanese-style gift box... It's like wearing a French court dress but having a katana at your waist, extremely abrupt and incongruous.

Feeling a bit curious about the gift box, Qingdeng asked Elodie:

"Miss Ungulaim, what is this gift box?"

Elodie turned to look at the gift box on the table: "Oh, this is a gift that Grandpa is preparing to give to Mr. Bright at Mr. Bright's ball in five days."

“Mr. Bright?” Qing Deng repeated the name, which was quite unfamiliar to him, in a soft voice.

Seeing the puzzled look on Qing Deng's face, Elodie smiled slightly and then began to give Qing Deng an overview of who this "Mr. Bright" was.

John Bright, an Englishman, was among the first foreign merchants to set foot on Japanese soil after Japan opened its doors to the world.

As a senior figure in the business world, and because of his kind and approachable nature and his willingness to mentor younger generations, he had helped many people. As a result, he was very popular and well-liked in the Edo settlement.

Five days later is Bright's 60th birthday.

To properly celebrate his 60th birthday, Bright decided to host a grand ball at his home on his birthday five days later, and most of the people in Edo Prefecture received Bright's invitation to the party.

Anthony and Bright had some connection, so he was naturally among those invited.

“Mr. Bright is very fond of Japanese sake, and he has a very high alcohol tolerance,” Elodie said slowly. “I heard that Mr. Bright drinks seven or eight bottles of sake every day. To satisfy his drinking needs, he buys a large amount of sake every month from a sake merchant named Natsume Takahachiro.”

"So Grandpa, to please her, ordered a very expensive bottle of sake from Kyoto... which is this gift box."

"Grandpa plans to present this bottle of fine sake to Mr. Bright at the banquet five days from now as a birthday gift."

Qingdeng nodded gently: "I see..."

Qing Deng didn't know this Brett at all, nor did he care about him, so the name "Brett" had just appeared in Qing Deng's mind and immediately drifted away like a passing cloud.

However, upon hearing Elodie mention the title "Grandpa," Qing Deng couldn't help but recall the scene he had just witnessed in the study where Elodie and her grandfather Anthony were arguing.

After hesitating for a moment, Qingdeng whispered to Elodie:

“Miss Angoulême, although it may be presumptuous of me, an outsider, to say such things... you and your grandfather should get along well and not quarrel.”