I assembled the strongest swordsman group.

However... this raises a new and serious problem: Qing Deng's forces are insufficient.

Including Aoto himself... Aoto, Saito, Nagakura, Harada, and Todo—Aoto's small team consists of only 5 people in total.

To avoid unexpected situations such as "being mentally exhausted" or "wanting to go to the toilet," at least two people are needed to stake out a certain place.

Natsume Takahachiro frequently appears in at least three locations. This means that the "Aoto Squad," with a total strength of only five people, is one person short if they want to stake out these three locations…

Fortunately, Qingdeng quickly found someone willing to help.

And this person also happens to be extremely skilled at reconnaissance and concealing their presence...

……

……

"Is that the Natsume family's residence...?" Kinoshita Mai murmured, gazing at the luxurious mansion not far ahead.

"Hmm." Qing Deng nodded slightly to Kinoshita Mai, who was standing beside him. "I'm sorry, Ms. Kinoshita, for having to trouble you to assist me in the investigation."

Aoto and Kinoshita Mai are currently lurking in a dark alleyway from which they can observe the entire Natsume family's gate.

"Tachibana-kun, you don't need to be so polite with me." Kinoshita Mai smiled shyly. "You're making me feel a little embarrassed."

The helper that Aoto found who was willing to lend a hand was none other than Kinoshita Mai.

Who could be more suited to the task of "surveillance" than the renowned Cat Monk, who is extremely skilled in stealth, concealment, and reconnaissance?

Kinoshita Mai is indeed a girl full of justice who has been active under the hidden identity of "Phantom Thief Nekozono" with the goal of "helping the weak to the best of her ability".

When Qing Deng approached her and asked for her help in finding the missing Sanako, she responded loudly without hesitation: "Please let me help!"

When agreeing to Aoto's request, Kinoshita Mai showed an indignant expression... Aoto later asked why she had such an expression, and Kinoshita Mai replied:

"What I hate most are human traffickers who kidnap people! Many happy families have been torn apart because of these scumbags!"

Kinoshita Mai's disgust for human traffickers... Aoto understands it very well—he himself also hates those human traffickers who cause countless families to break down.

Kinoshita Mai's quick agreement to his request was actually within Aoto's expectations.

He guessed that Kinoshita Mai, who was extremely righteous, would never turn a blind eye to the fact that "someone has been kidnapped".

With lives at stake, Kinoshita Mai couldn't care less about her work at the Thousand Tasks Shop. In her eyes, finding the kidnapped missing persons was far more important than the work at the Thousand Tasks Shop.

Therefore, after accepting Aoto's request, she directly asked Kiryu for a long leave of indefinite duration.

Kinoshita Mai was initially worried that Kiryu-sensei wouldn't approve her leave... but to her surprise, Kiryu-sensei approved the leave exceptionally readily this time, without even asking why Kinoshita Mai suddenly wanted a long leave, and simply nodded in approval.

With the help of Kinoshita Mai, Aoto, whose manpower had become more abundant, immediately made the following adjustments:

He and Kinoshita Mai staked out Natsume's house.

Saito, Nagakura, and the other three were paired up to stake out two other locations where Natsume Sohachiro frequently appeared.

Kinoshita Mai and Saito weren't very familiar with each other. If Kinoshita Mai were to team up with Saito and the others... this girl, who only becomes outgoing and bold when she wears a mask and is usually very shy, would probably not even be able to have a normal conversation with Saito and the others.

Therefore, the only person who can partner with Kinoshita Mai is Aoto.

Qing Deng and his group kept a close watch on Natsume Sohachiro around the clock.

The early summer sun rises in the east and sets in the west.

Silently looking down at Qing Deng and the others who were busy monitoring.

Silently looking down at the people bustling about in the town.

Silently looking down... at Edo, where undercurrents were surging, a situation that no one, including Aoto, had yet to realize.

……

……

The first year of Wanyan (1860), December 20th——

Edo, a settlement for foreigners —

“Miss Leroy, the hem of this dress seems a little too long.”

"Hmm...it does seem a bit like that, let's change to another one."

After saying that, Leroy turned around and went back to the wardrobe, where he took out a brand-new, exquisitely designed white tutu.

With Leroy's help, Elodie changed into her new tutu and skipped excitedly to a large full-length mirror. She blinked, looked at her beautifully dressed reflection, smiled happily, and then twirled around a few times, admiring the skirt that fluttered gently as she spun.

Boom, boom, boom, boom...

Just then, there was a knock on the door.

"Elodie, have you changed your clothes?"

"Yes! I just changed, Grandpa, please come in!"

Having received permission from Elodie to enter, Anthony turned the doorknob and pushed the door open.

"Oh my! Elodie, this dress suits you perfectly!"

Upon hearing Anthony's praise, Elodie happily spun around a few more times.

Seeing Elodie's jubilant expression, Anthony couldn't help but relax his cheeks and the corners of his mouth.

Today is the 60th birthday of Mr. Bright, a senior figure in the Edo settlement.

To celebrate this rare and joyous occasion, Mr. Bright, who loves to dance, will be hosting a grand ball at his mansion tonight.

He was very popular and invited most of the residents of the reserve to a banquet, and most of them accepted the invitation—the Angoulême family was among them.

At that moment, Elodie was trying on the gown she would wear to the ball that night.

It was rare to have such a lively large-scale outdoor event to participate in... This made Elodie, who had been stuck at home for long periods of time because there were no peers to play with in her settlement, very happy.

Although she can't dance, and a child her age certainly wouldn't have anyone to dance with at tonight's ball... but what does it matter?

For a child who is bored and stuck at home every day, just being able to experience the lively atmosphere of these activities is enough to make her overjoyed.

Elodie had been looking forward to tonight's ball for days.

Although there are still several hours before the ball begins, judging from Elodie's expression... the child's mind is no longer here; she has already flown to the ball at Bright's mansion.

Seeing Elodie's happy smile, Anthony's relaxed lips finally softened into a gentle smile.

—It's rare to have such an entertainment activity to participate in... I must accompany Elodie tonight for a good and enjoyable time.

This old man, who was willing to dedicate everything to his beloved granddaughter who had suffered so much since childhood, thought to himself with such conviction.

……

……

At the same time—

Edo, a crossroads where the settlement meets the outside world—

A middle-aged man pointed to a donkey cart parked not far behind him and spoke loudly in broken English to two settlement guards, both blond and blue-eyed and carrying flintlock rifles:

"These are the drinks Mr. Bright purchased from Mr. Natsume Sohachiro. These are all Mr. Bright's favorite sake, and they are all intended to be drunk at tonight's ball!"

The donkey cart the middle-aged man was pointing to was pulling a small carriage.

The carriage was filled with a large number of wooden crates, and inside the crates were expensive sake.

Bright, who loves Japanese sake, drinks seven or eight bottles of sake a day before he's done.

Tonight, a ball will be held to celebrate his 60th birthday... How could such a grand event be complete without his favorite sake?

So, two months earlier, Bright had ordered a batch of high-end sake from his old business partner in the liquor business, Natsume Sohachiro.

At this moment, the two guards who were busy with their routine negotiations with the middle-aged man regarding the "cargo release" did not notice that the driver of the coachman, who was responsible for driving the vehicle loaded with the high-end sake that Bright had ordered from Natsume Sohachiro, was now wearing a strange and intriguing smile.

……

……

In a dark alley outside the Natsume family's house in Edo—

“呜哈……”

Aoto heard Kinoshita Mai next to him give a cute yawn.

"Ms. Kinoshita, would you like to take a rest?"

After glancing at Kinoshita Mai, who was now wiping away tears from the corners of her eyes with her fingers, Aoto looked up at the sky above.

More than half an hour ago, a thick black curtain had been cast over the sky.

The current time is approximately 8 PM.

In the modern 21st century, this would be a time before nightlife has even begun.

But in this day and age, this is a time when basically only stray dogs roam the streets.

The weather was quite nice during the day today. The sky was azure and cloudless.

But after nightfall, for some reason, the weather suddenly turned bad.

The night was dark and gloomy, with only glimmers of light filtering through gaps in the clouds.

The thick, dark clouds that gathered between heaven and earth made the light exceptionally dim tonight, with very poor visibility.

Take, for example, the dark alley where Aoto and Kinoshita Mai are currently hiding. The alley is shrouded in twilight, completely dark. In the dense darkness, it feels as if a monster might pounce out at any moment.

"I'm not very tired yet, so I don't need to rest."

Kinoshita Mai quickly wiped away the tears that had welled up in her eyes from yawning, tilted her head back, and gave Aoto a smile that said, "I'm fine, don't worry."

“…You should take a break for now.” Qing Deng was silent for a moment, then smiled helplessly at Kinoshita Mai. “The secret to ‘surveillance’ is knowing how to take turns resting.”

"While I'm still in pretty good shape, you should take a rest."

"So that we don't both get tired later."

Anyone who has experienced it knows that "surveillance" is a very tiring job.

Staring at a person or place for a long time... while it may not take much to break a person's physical strength, it can put a great burden on their mind.

Hearing Qing Deng say this, Kinoshita Mai paused, blinked hard a few times with a hesitant look on her face, and then nodded slightly:

“You’re right… I’ll take a short rest now. Tachibana-kun, I’ll leave the surveillance of the Natsume family to you for now.”

After saying that, Kinoshita Mai leaned back against the alley wall behind her and closed her eyes to rest.