I assembled the strongest swordsman group.

Sanako's heroic act of riding an ox to save a person is not only visually striking but also deeply moving and admirable.

In the two weeks following the decisive battle with the anti-foreign group, the story of "Sanako riding an ox to save a person" spread rapidly throughout Edo, becoming more and more widely known.

Finally, no one knows who first suggested it, but the nickname "Black Bull Princess" suddenly appeared and spread like wildfire.

As far as Qingdeng knows, the name "Black Bull Princess" seems to be quite widespread now...

It's obvious that Sanako doesn't like her new title at all.

Having also experienced being given a nickname she disliked, and that terrible nickname spreading quite widely, Aoto couldn't help but feel a bit of sympathy for Sanako.

"Speaking of which..."

The topic of Black Bull Princess reminded Qing Deng of Radish.

How's Radish doing lately?

“It’s doing very well,” Zanako replied. “It’s being taken care of by our servants, eating and sleeping all day long, living a very comfortable life.”

"It shouldn't have caused your family any trouble, right?"

"No. It's very well-behaved. It's really intelligent and spends most of its time quietly sleeping in the corner. It never makes a fuss or makes a sound. My father and brother also like Radish very much."

"Thank you so much for helping to take care of the radishes." Qing Deng gave Sanako a grateful smile.

"You're welcome."

Qingdeng bought the radish purely by chance. When he generously bought the radish from the old farmer, he did not consider what to do with it afterward.

After the decisive battle with the Expeditionary Army ended in a complete victory for Qingdeng, the question of what to do with Luobo, the big black bull, became one of the most important matters facing Qingdeng.

Qingdeng's initial idea was to release the radishes back into the wild or resell them to others.

However, after a brief but intense night of collaboration, Qingdeng had developed feelings for this gentle, intelligent, and rather adorable black bull.

Qingdeng really couldn't bear to release the radishes back into the wild or resell them to others.

After much deliberation, Qingdeng finally decided—he would neither release nor sell the radish! He would keep it as a mount for future transportation and raise it himself!

Making a decision is easy, but putting that decision into practice is not so easy.

After making up his mind not to release or resell the radishes, Qingdeng immediately faced a new and serious problem: where to grow the radishes?

With Qingdeng's current financial resources and income, it is certainly not lacking in funds to nurture radishes.

Qingdeng doesn't lack the money to raise cattle; what he lacks is the land to do so.

Radish isn't some cat or dog, but a rather sturdy black bull!

If it were a small animal like a cat or dog, there would be a way to persuade the "true ruler" of the Shiwei Hall, Abi, to allow Qingdeng to grow radishes in the Shiwei Hall.

But with such a large black bull like Radish, the testing facility simply didn't have enough space to house him...

Just when Aoto was at his wits' end about where to find a place for Radish, Sanako, who had learned that Aoto wanted to raise Radish, offered him timely help.

"Tachibana-kun, give me the radish. I'll keep it at the Chiba Sword Hall. Our yard is quite big; it's more than enough to keep a cow."

Working together with Radish, Sanako developed a revolutionary affection for this big black bull, and she didn't want Radish to be free-range or sold to others.

Actually, if you look closely... the bond between "Black Bull Princess" Sanako and Radish is much deeper than the bond between Aoto and Radish.

As one of the largest sword-making halls in Edo, the Kochiba Sword Hall far surpasses the Shieikan in both the size of its hall and the area of ​​its courtyard.

Sanako's family also had no shortage of servants who could be sent to take care of the radishes.

So, as Sanako said, raising a cow in the Chiba Sword Hall is more than enough for the Chiba family.

Faced with Sanako's offer of help, Aotomoto hesitated a bit, because he felt that it might be too much trouble for Sanako and the others.

But Aoto had no better option than to ask Sanako for help.

Therefore, after weighing the pros and cons, Qing Deng had no choice but to agree to Sanako's suggestion and hand over the radish to her so that she could help grow it at the Chiba Sword Hall.

The wealthy Sanako initially refused to accept the food fee from Radish, saying, "Raising a cow doesn't cost much, so there's no need to pay for its food." However, with Aoto's insistence, it was eventually agreed that Aoto would pay Radish's food and upbringing fee to Chiba Kenkan every month.

—Once I'm discharged from the hospital, I'll go to the Chiba Sword Museum to see Radish.

Qingdeng hadn't seen his pet and mount for half a month and was starting to miss it.

"Oh, right. I almost forgot to mention that."

Suddenly, Sanako seemed to remember something, and her expression paused:

"A-Yue and her family left Edo safely yesterday afternoon."

“When I saw them off yesterday, A-Yue and her father asked me to pass on a message to you: ‘Although I have thanked you sincerely many times, I would like to say it again: Thank you so much, we will never forget your kindness.’”

Qingdeng blinked hard, and a strange expression of not knowing whether to laugh or cry slowly appeared on his face.

"Have Natsume and the others already left Edo...? Natsume Sohachiro is really something, managing to take his whole family away unscathed."

When Aoto first moved into Jin'i-do, Natsume Tsuki and her father, Natsume Sohachiro, visited her.

During their visit to Qingdeng, the father and daughter expressed their sincerest and solemn gratitude to Qingdeng, who had been so kind to them.

Although he was coerced, it is an undeniable fact that Natsume Sohachiro provided indirect assistance to the Extermination Group.

Natsume Sohachiro definitely bears some responsibility for the attack on the residence.

Logically speaking, even if Natsume Sohachiro doesn't receive severe punishment, he will certainly be subject to some form of punishment.

However, whether it was Natsume Sohachiro using some kind of superpower, he didn't receive any punishment! He managed to save the lives and business of his entire family unscathed!

However, both emotionally and logically, Natsume Sohachiro and his family could no longer stay in Edo.

Several days ago, Aoto heard from Sanako that the Natsume family was leaving Edo and moving to Nagasaki.

"I've been receiving a lot of thanks lately."

Qingdeng put his hands on his hips, his tone half-joking, yet tinged with a hint of helplessness.

"Being thanked so much is getting a little tiring... Hmm? Miss Sanako?"

Aoto paused abruptly, then turned to look at Sanako beside him with a questioning gaze.

At this moment, Sanako's expression suddenly became a little... strange.

*******

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This chapter took me 7 or 8 hours to write.

Please be sure to vote for this book with some monthly tickets, considering how adorable Sanako is in this chapter! (Like a leopard crying.jpg)

Please vote with monthly tickets! Please vote with recommendation tickets! (Crying leopard.jpg)

The "Second Annual Character Popularity Poll" saw a dramatic reversal yesterday! Kinoshita Mai's votes surpassed those of Sanako!

The current top three are Kinoshita Mai, Chiba Sanako, and Okita Souji. While Kinoshita Mai is currently leading in votes, the final winner remains to be seen, as the voting continues until October 2nd. There's still plenty of time, and Sanako still has a chance to overtake Kinoshita Mai.

Everyone should participate in this activity! The book's QQ group has nearly 600 members, but currently only about 100 votes have been cast (crying face).

By the way: Qingdeng is really unlucky, his vote count is only one-third of Brave Bull Carrot's... (Leopard dead.jpg)

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Group number: 1162513690. Simply answer one question that anyone who has carefully read this book will know the answer to to join the book club.

The author occasionally appears in the group chat.

Chapter 192 Aoto Makes Kinoshita Blush

Aoto's keen eye caught a fleeting, almost imperceptible, strange look on Sanako's face, which is why he couldn't help but ask this question.

"nothing……"

Sanako half-closed her eyes, her red lips slightly parted, and breathed out a soft, fragrant breath.

"It's just that I feel a little emotional."

"Although half a month has passed... the experiences of that night were so thrilling that I still feel like I'm dreaming."

"If it were just a little bit off, I might not be able to stand next to you and chat with you like this now."

As she said this, Sanako paused, then slowly raised her beautiful face and crystal-clear eyes to look up at Aoto.

"Although I've said similar things too many times these past few days, I still want to sincerely thank you once again."

Sanako turned around and faced Aoto.

"Tachibana-kun, I am extremely grateful to you for saving my life."

Sanako bent down and gave Aoto a perfect bow, revealing her fair neck that looked incredibly smooth to the touch.

“…I’ve been receiving a lot of thanks lately.” Qing Deng reached out and scratched the back of his head, a helpless smile playing on his lips. “Miss Sanako, please straighten up. I’ve received your thanks.”

"I just did what I was supposed to do."

“Tachibana-kun, you are really humble.” Sanako’s gaze followed her slowly straightening back as she looked up at Aoto again, their eyes meeting. “You have made such a great contribution, yet you are not arrogant at all.”

"Being modest... I wouldn't call it that." Qing Deng smiled calmly, putting down the hand that was scratching the back of his head. "I just don't think I've done anything particularly remarkable."

"And I didn't fight so hard that night to gain people's admiration or to get some great reward."

"Then what is it for?" Sanako asked instinctively.

"For no reason at all." Qing Deng withdrew from his eye contact with Sanako and looked at a white cloud that happened to drift across the sky outside the window. "I just simply wanted to do that."

Aoto felt Sanako's questioning gaze... She probably didn't understand what Aoto meant by what he just said.

Qingdeng pondered his words for a moment, then said softly:

"At the time, after I found out from the members of the Extermination Group that I had successfully captured that you and Ms. Natsume were being held in a certain location, and that the settlement was about to be attacked, I didn't really think about anything else."

"To be precise, I didn't think too much about it."

"I just felt that if I ignored it, I would lose something very important."

"When I came to my senses, I was determined to rescue you and Ms. Natsume and do my best to protect the settlement."

"Simply put, I just do what I feel like."