I assembled the strongest swordsman group.

Because Aoto completely suppressed Inoue.

The two fought fiercely, their bamboo swords clanging loudly, but upon closer inspection, it became clear that Qingdeng maintained firm control over the rhythm and initiative of the battle.

No matter how Inoue attacked, his bamboo sword couldn't even touch Aoto's body.

Since no matter how they tried to strike Qingdeng, they couldn't hit him... so defeat was inevitable.

According to Aoto's own estimation, Inoue's strength is slightly inferior to that of Kanno.

Two months ago, he managed to kill Kamino despite being exhausted and battered.

Two months later, having gained a wealth of combat experience from the decisive battle with the Extermination Group, resulting in a further leap in strength and the acquisition of the new powerful talent "Bear Waist," even though his body has become sluggish due to two months of recuperation, there is still no reason for him to lose to Inoue.

“Yuan.” Zhou Zhu walked slowly towards Inoue. “Your footwork is indeed much more refined than before. Not bad, not bad.”

After offering a few simple compliments to Inoue, Shusuke turned his gaze to Aoto.

"Kid Tachibana, it seems like you've been enjoying a leisurely two-month recuperation period... and your strength has increased instead of decreased?"

The changes in Qing Deng's physical strength could not escape the comments of a seasoned veteran like Zhou Zhu.

Because my waist strength has improved—Qingdeng could never say such a blunt truth.

Qingdeng could only offer Zhouzhu a vague excuse, such as, "Maybe it's because I've been eating well lately and have built up a lot of strength."

Fortunately, Shusuke didn't dwell on this issue with Aoto.

Faced with Qing Deng's evasive answer, Zhou Zhu only said "Oh...I see" and did not delve any further into why Qing Deng's power had suddenly become stronger.

The exchange with Inoue ended quite satisfactorily.

Inoue demonstrated his new footwork to Shusuke and learned about Aoto's strength.

Aoto gained the most, not only learning about Inoue's strength as one of the top combatants of the Test Guard Hall, but also acquiring a new and powerful talent.

Having no reason to stay in the dojo any longer, the group returned to their rooms.

The hall was filled with lively chatter once again.

……

……

The next day—

The first year of Wanyan (1860), December 4th——

"Oh? Uncle Yuan, you're back!"

"Yes, it's been a long time. I went back to my hometown to help an old friend reclaim wasteland. It took me a full eight months, but I'm finally back."

"Uncle Yuan, it's been so long, you seem to have gotten a little darker."

"Hahaha, if you spend a few months clearing barren land like I did, you can get just as dark-skinned as me."

"Uncle Yuan! You're finally back! Without you, the Shiwei Hall feels incomplete."

"Hahaha, then I'll have to travel less far from now on!"

……

Inoue, who is kind and approachable, is extremely popular at Shieikan.

Upon seeing Inoue's return, all the elderly people who recognized Shieikan were overjoyed and surrounded him in circles, chatting enthusiastically with him.

The atmosphere at Shieikan today is exceptionally harmonious thanks to the return of Inoue, the "superstar".

It's a pity that Qingdeng didn't have the chance to experience this harmony.

Today is the day Qingdeng is going to teach Elodie.

Edo, the settlement, Elodie's house—

"Elodie, your center of gravity is off. Lower your left foot a little more."

Qingdeng gave Elodie some harsh and unforgiving instructions.

"it is good!"

Following Qing Deng's instructions, Elodie lowered the height of her bare, white left foot slightly.

At this moment, Elodie was not wearing her usual white dress, but rather a brand-new women's kendo uniform with a white top and blue bottom.

Her beautiful light golden hair was not braided into a three-strand braid and hung down her right shoulder as usual, but was neatly coiled on top of her head.

Her attire, hairstyle, and the bamboo sword she held in her hand and in front of her gave Elodie a more heroic air than before.

With a serious expression, Qing Deng carefully looked Elodie up and down and nodded slightly.

"Okay, let's do the set of movements I just taught you again."

"Yes!"

"...Hmm, not bad. Your movements are much better than before. Have some water and take a rest."

"Ok!"

Elodie put down her bamboo sword, took quick steps to the long table next to her, picked up a cup of water from the table, and gulped it down.

After drinking the water in the glass in one gulp, Elodie picked up a white towel placed next to the glass and gently wiped the sweat from her face.

Watching Elodie wiping her sweat, Qingdeng, standing to the side, thought to himself:

—This child's talent...is really quite remarkable.

Three days after being successfully discharged from Renyitang Hospital, Qingdeng officially began teaching Elodie Natural Rinpoche as a "tutor," keeping the promise he had made to her.

Although before taking Elodie as his apprentice, Qing Deng often helped mentor and guide the younger members of the Shieikan, accumulating a lot of teaching experience.

In his daily life, while watching how Shusuke and Kondo taught others, he also secretly learned a lot of teaching methods and techniques from them.

But whether he could teach Elodie well... Qing Deng still felt a little unsure.

This is the first time Qingdeng has been given the title of "mentor".

This identity filled Qing Deng with both pride and immense pressure.

The thought that he was now someone's mentor, bearing the heavy responsibility of nurturing his disciple into a talent, and bearing the future of his disciple... made Qingdeng feel as if his heart and body were falling straight to the ground.

To alleviate this pressure and to live up to Elodie's trust and expectations, Qingdeng had no choice but to put in all his effort and wholeheartedly nurture Elodie.

For the past two months, Qingdeng has had a lot of free time because he needs to recover from his injury. He has been visiting Elodie's house almost every two days to provide Elodie, who has never been exposed to Japanese swordsmanship before, with instruction from scratch.

Even before taking Elodie as his apprentice... when he was copying the "full breasts" talent from Elodie, Qing Deng had already discovered that Elodie had quite a talent for swordsmanship.

After spending time with and teaching Elodie, Qingdeng discovered that Elodie's swordsmanship talent was much higher than he had originally expected!

No matter how difficult the sword moves were, Qingdeng would only need to explain or demonstrate them once or three times, and Elodie would be able to understand and roughly imitate them.

While Elodie may not be comparable to super geniuses like Okita or Chiba Eijiro in terms of pure talent, she is still considered a minor genius compared to ordinary people.

Although Elodie knew nothing about Japanese swordsmanship, she had studied rapier techniques extensively before, so she had a certain foundation in footwork and stance.

Elodie's exceptional talent, the foundation she built while learning rapier, and her diligent daily practice all contributed to her rapid progress.

In just two months, he has transformed from someone who knew nothing about Japanese swordsmanship into a young swordsman who now wields a bamboo sword with considerable flair.

Elodie's talent and hard work gave Qingdeng a different kind of motivation—he was determined to teach this promising talent well!

—It's almost time...

Qingdeng glanced at the wall clock not far away.

Qingdeng, feeling that he had given Elodie enough rest, cleared his throat lightly.

"Ai..."

"master!"

Qingdeng was about to have Elodie start practicing again, but Elodie spoke up before him, interrupting him.

Although Qing Deng is indeed Elodie's mentor according to their relationship, Qing Deng, who doesn't value titles, has explicitly told Elodie that "there's no need to call him 'mentor' so respectfully; you can just call him 'Mr. Tachibana' as usual."

However, Elodie insisted on treating Qingdeng with the respect due to a teacher, addressing him as "Master".

"What's wrong? Why do you suddenly look so serious? Is there something important you want to tell me?"

Qingdeng looked at Elodie, who was suddenly staring intently at him, as if she wanted to say something important.

"No, it's nothing serious..." Elodie pursed her lips and asked softly in a cautious tone, "I just wanted to ask... has the date for this year's Edo fireworks festival been confirmed?"

“嗯？哦，焰火大会啊。是呀，已经确定下来了。今年的焰火大会就在8月23日至8月25日这3天的夜间举办。”

Fireworks festival – this was one of the most important summer events in Edo, and also the most popular event among men, women, and children of all ages in Edo, without exception.

The official name of the fireworks festival in Edo was "Ryogoku Kaikawa Fireworks Festival".

As the name suggests, the event is held near the Ryogoku Bridge, which spans the Sumida River.

This grand event, which attracted much attention from the citizens of Edo every summer, originated in the early 18th century.

In the early 18th century, Edo was hit by a cholera epidemic, which killed many people. In July 1733, Tokugawa Yoshimune, the 8th shogun of the Edo shogunate, held the "River Offering to Hungry Ghosts" ceremony on the Sumida River, the largest river in the city, to commemorate the victims.

The following July, fireworks were set off for the first time at a water god ceremony held for the purpose of commemorating and warding off evil spirits. This became a regular event and quickly developed into a popular summer activity supported by the common people of Edo.

Unlike the Plum Blossom Festival, which has a clearly defined time and duration, the timing and duration of the Kaesong Fireworks Festival in both countries are uncertain.

The conference is held on auspicious days during the three months from May 28th to the end of August each year.

Sometimes the fireworks are set off for just one night, and sometimes they are set off for several nights in a row.

今年的焰火大会，已经于数日前确定下来了——于8月23日至8月25日举行，统计连放3夜的烟花。

It is said that the reason why this year's fireworks festival lasted for three days was the idea of ​​the Edo Shogunate.

In recent years, Edo has been plagued by a series of bad things, with almost nothing good happening.

In order to dispel bad luck and to alleviate the depressed mood of the people of Edo as much as possible, the Edo Shogunate specially authorized the extension of this year's fireworks festival as much as possible.

"August 23rd to August 25th..." Elodie lowered her head, staring thoughtfully at her toes.

Qingdeng gave Elodie a deep look, who had suddenly asked about the timing of the fireworks festival.

"...Elodie, are you going to watch the fireworks display?"

"Ok!"

Elodie nodded vigorously without hesitation, a bright, innocent smile spreading across her face.