I assembled the strongest swordsman group.

I want to go see it!

“When I was still living in Osaka and had not yet moved to Edo, I was already looking forward to the ‘Ryogoku Kaikawa Fireworks Festival,’ which is the origin of fireworks festivals!”

The Ryogoku Kaikawa Fireworks Festival in Edo was the earliest fireworks festival, and once it was held, it spread the custom of "setting off fireworks" and "holding fireworks festivals" throughout the country.

Even today, fireworks festivals are held in major cities such as Kyoto and Osaka during the summer.

"I want to go to Ryogokubashi with Grandpa and Miss Leroy to watch this year's Edo fireworks festival!"

“Hmm…that might be a bit difficult.” As soon as Elodie finished speaking, Qing Deng smiled wryly, “Although the wave of ‘radical expulsion of foreigners’ in Edo is no longer as crazy as before, the streets of Edo are still not safe enough to allow Westerners to walk around freely.”

Ever since Aoto killed Kamino, breaking the pillar of the Extermination Group, the Extermination Group, without Kamino's leadership, has been in complete decline.

Originally, the overall quality of the Extermination Group was not very high; most of its members were a bunch of rough, uncultured, and low- to middle-ranking samurai.

Without Kamino's iron-fisted rule and strong leadership, the remnants of the Toigumi, now a disorganized mess, were left only to be slaughtered and wiped out.

Under the vigorous suppression of the magistrate and the bandit gang, the remnants of the Exile Group were either killed, captured, or fled.

At the end of last month, the government officially posted a notice: the Extermination Group has become history! The Extermination Group has been completely wiped out! From now on, there will be no more Extermination Groups in Edo!

The destruction of the Exile Group was a significant blow to the remaining individuals and organizations in Edo who adhered to the principle of "radical expulsion of foreigners."

Judging solely from its apparent organizational size and level of activity, the Exile Group was undoubtedly the "largest and strongest" among all the radical anti-foreign organizations in Edo.

The fact that such a powerful anti-foreign group was wiped out... inevitably caused the remaining radical anti-foreign faction organizations in Edo to feel a sense of shared sorrow and unease.

Therefore, with the destruction of the anti-foreign group, the anti-foreign movement that had been escalating in Edo due to the assassination of Ii Naosuke was finally effectively suppressed.

Edo finally regained some of its former tranquility.

“Elodie, if you want to see fireworks, you don’t have to go all the way to the Two Kingdoms Bridge.”

Qingdeng looked up and glanced at the windows around him.

"The settlement isn't too far from the Ryogoku Bridge... so Elodie, you can see some beautiful fireworks even from home."

After becoming Elodie's apprentice, at Elodie's request, Qingden changed his way of addressing the child from "Miss Angoulême" to calling her by her first name.

"But watching fireworks at home isn't fun!" Elodie pouted and stomped her foot. "What's the point of such a grand event if you don't experience the excitement firsthand?"

That's true...

Qingdeng thought to himself as he nodded slightly.

Watching fireworks from home... definitely lacks the atmosphere.

"I'll have a good talk with Grandpa later..."

Elodie's pouting lips then fell flat.

Deep within those jewel-like, sky-blue eyes, a faint, almost imperceptible look of melancholy emerges.

"No matter what... I just want to see the fireworks display..."

After saying that, Elodie took a deep breath.

After slowly exhaling the air she had inhaled, Elodie's expression returned to normal.

"Master, I'm sorry, it seems we've talked too much about things unrelated to practice."

After Asahi gave her an apologetic smile, Elodie smiled and steadied the bamboo sword in front of her again.

"Master, let's continue today's practice!"

……

……

Apart from a minor incident where Elodie stubbornly insisted on going to see this year's fireworks festival, today's instruction of Elodie went relatively smoothly.

Qingdeng finished his instruction of Elodie for the day and left the residence at four o'clock in the afternoon.

The setting sun cast its rays on the road and on Qingdeng's shoulders. Qingdeng walked silently forward, sometimes disappearing into the shadows of houses along the road, and sometimes walking into the sunlight.

The summer sun was truly scorching, casting shadows of everything as dark as ink. The surrounding scenery was enveloped in lush greenery, the distant Kanda River reflected a golden glow, and thick, white clouds, typical of summer, drifted across the sky.

Qingdeng raised his head and used his right hand to shield his eyes from the sun, squinting at the sky above him, a helpless, bitter smile appearing on his face.

—It's so hot...

Even though we shouldn't have greenhouse effects or heat island effects in this era, the weather this year is still unusually hot.

Qingdeng deeply misses the convenient products of human civilization such as electric fans, air conditioners, and refrigerators.

Why not buy a cup of herbal tea... Just as Qingdeng was considering whether to stop by a teahouse on the way to buy a cup of herbal tea to cool off in the summer heat—

"Huh... was this place like this before?"

"Hey, A-Guang, are you sure this is the way to go?"

Qingdeng heard a man and a woman talking behind him.

"Hmm... We've only been away from Edo for a year, how come the street scenes have changed so much..."

"Ah Guang, if we keep walking like this, we feel like we're going to get lost. Why don't we go ask someone for directions?"

"Hmm... alright then. Ah, that samurai gentleman up ahead!"

Qingdeng heard light footsteps approaching him rapidly from behind.

Note that the phrase "samurai grandpa" was probably being used to address Aoto as he turned around.

"Sir, may I ask you for directions?"

The speaker was a woman wearing a low-brimmed straw hat for sun protection, a green yukata, and a pair of green-buttoned flat wooden clogs on her beautiful bare feet.

The woman's face was mostly obscured by the low-brimmed straw hat on her head, so Qing Deng could not see what she looked like.

Judging from her voice, the woman must be very young.

Qingdeng didn't have anything urgent to do right now, so he was happy to help with something as simple as giving directions.

"Hmm." Qingdeng nodded. "Where do you want to go?"

"Thank you very much." The woman clasped her hands in front of her and bowed slightly to Qing Deng. Then, she raised her straw hat slightly and looked Qing Deng in the eye very politely as she spoke, "I would like to ask: how should I... um? Samurai sir? Samurai sir?"

The woman called out "Grandpa Samurai" several times in a puzzled and anxious tone, but still failed to rouse Qing Deng from his state of "extreme shock".

After the woman lifted her straw hat and their eyes met, Qing Deng looked as if he had seen something unbelievable. His eyes widened as if they wanted to tear the corners of his eyes apart, and his expression changed drastically.

Shock, confusion, bewilderment... these emotions were beautifully mixed together on Qingdeng's face.

Beneath the straw hat was a rather pretty face.

The woman was a stunning beauty who was at most in her early twenties.

Logically speaking, Qingdeng wouldn't have shown any particularly outrageous expression upon seeing such a beautiful woman.

Qingdeng was surrounded by a group of beauties.

After befriending three girls—Elodie, Kinoshita Mai, and Sanako—who all possess stunning beauty, Aoto now has a very high threshold for the "beauty" attribute.

The reason Qing Deng reacted and made this expression at this moment was simply because the woman's appearance was... too "unbelievable".

Long, slender eyelashes, large, bright eyes, delicate nose and mouth, and rosy, small lips—each feature is impeccable on its own, and together they create a perfect whole.

The woman's extremely beautiful face... was almost identical to a face that Qing Deng was very familiar with.

"Okita-kun...?"

Qing Deng couldn't help but whisper the name of the handsome young man who looked almost exactly like the woman.

"Ok?"

Upon hearing Qing Deng's murmur, the woman's eyebrows shot up and her brows furrowed slightly. She took several steps back while scrutinizing Qing Deng with a wary gaze.

"...Your Excellency, do you...recognize me?"

"Ah Guang!"

At this moment, a young man with ordinary features and build came running towards Qingdeng and the woman, huffing and puffing.

"Ah Guang, what's wrong?"

The young man looked at the woman with a bewildered expression, then at Qingdeng.

“Ah Guang…” Qing Deng gently savored the way the young man addressed the woman.

A face almost identical to Okita's...

Ah Guang...

In that instant, Qingdeng suddenly remembered something.

"Ah, could it be..." Qing Deng exclaimed softly, a look of sudden realization on his face. "You are Okita-kun's older sister, Okita Hikaru?"

Both the woman and the young man looked shocked.

"Are you... a friend of Souji?" the woman... or rather, Okita Mitsuo asked.

……

……

Edo, Koishikawa, Kohinata-Yanagi-cho, Shieikan, Main Hall—

"Nice to meet you."

Okita Hikaru bent down, supporting herself on the tatami with three fingers, and continued speaking while politely bowing to Aoto and his group sitting opposite her.

"I am the eldest sister of the Souji, Okita Hikaru."

"This is my husband, Rintaro Okita."

"Y-you, good afternoon... Ah, no, that's not right! Nice to meet you!" The young man sitting shoulder to shoulder with Okita Hikari, who was Okita Hikari's husband, Okita Rintaro, hurriedly imitated Okita Hikari's movements and bowed to Aoto and the others.

Compared to Hikaru Okita's poised and generous demeanor, his son Rintaro Okita was noticeably more reserved.

After entering the Shieikan, Rintaro Okita appeared quite nervous and uneasy.

"My master, Souji, has always been well taken care of by you."

After bowing and introducing himself, Hikaru Okita slowly straightened up and gave the crowd in front of him a very polite smile.

Harada, who usually behaves without any sense of propriety and seems to have no idea what "etiquette" is, leaned his head forward and stared intently at Okita Hikaru's face without blinking.

"Sister Okita, you and Okita really look alike! You look like twins!"