I assembled the strongest swordsman group.

"Qingdeng, good morning!"

Kinoshita Mai responded to Aoto with great enthusiasm.

"Where's Mr. Kiryu? Isn't he here?"

Qing Deng looked around the shops but didn't see Kiryu anywhere.

“A regular customer of the shop had a house that was in trouble, and Mr. Kiryu went to help him fix it.”

"...Huh? Repairing the house?"

"Yes. Mr. Kiryu used to study carpentry in Yamato. So he often helps his neighbors and regular customers of shops repair houses and furniture."

"How come Mr. Kiryu can do everything... When will he be able to come back?"

"Well... I'm not sure either. Qingdeng, is there something you need from Mr. Kiryu?"

"Yes." Qing Deng nodded vigorously, clenched his right fist, and gently patted his chest. "My body has fully recovered, and I feel it's time for me to learn Kiryu's sword-drawing technique!"

Upon hearing this, Kinoshita Mai quickly scanned her surroundings, circling around Aoto several times to carefully examine every part of Aoto's body.

"Qingdeng, have you really fully recovered?" Kinoshita Mai asked softly, her tone tinged with worry.

"Is your body really healthy enough to start practicing sword-drawing techniques? Please don't push your body too hard—" Kinoshita Mai's expression and tone conveyed this message.

"Don't worry. My body has fully recovered."

To completely dispel Kinoshita Mai's worries, Aoto adopted a half-joking tone and continued.

"I'm not so enthusiastic about Kiryu's secret techniques that I would force myself to learn them as soon as possible even if I haven't fully recovered."

Since Kiryu has gone to help someone repair a house... then Aoto can only wait patiently for Kiryu-sensei to return at the Senjiya.

Since becoming Kiryu's apprentice, Aoto and Senjiya have developed a deep bond.

Nowadays, Senjiya has become one of Aoto's most frequented "bases" after Shieikan.

During the two months he spent recuperating at home, Aoto often visited Senjiya every now and then to pass the time, drinking tea and chatting with the owner, Kiryu, and Kinoshita Mai.

So, Aoto, who was already as familiar with the Senjiya as if it were his own home, easily took off the Tsushima from his waist and sat down on the soft cushion in front of the counter.

Kinoshita Mai, familiar with the place, jogged into the kitchen and brought over the freshly brewed tea and some snacks to accompany it.

By the way—Qingdeng's spirit-stabilizing device was successfully repaired in the middle of last month.

"Ama, has anything interesting happened at the Thousand Things Shop these past few days?"

Qing Deng sipped his tea, and in a relaxed mood, casually asked Kinoshita Mai a question.

"Hmm... things have been quite peaceful lately, nothing noteworthy has happened."

……

Aoto casually chatted with Kinoshita Mai about all sorts of things, passing the time while waiting for Kiryu-sensei to return.

Although they were only talking about trivial topics, neither Aoto nor Kinoshita Mai found it boring. On the contrary, they found themselves getting more and more into the conversation and becoming more and more excited.

"By the way, Omai, you probably don't know yet, but Okita-kun's older sister has come to Edo..."

Just as Qingdeng was about to talk about the various trivial things that had recently happened to him—

Whoosh—! Snap!

Whoosh—! Snap!

……

Suddenly, the sound of fireworks shooting into the sky and exploding came from outside the window.

The sound was very loud... These fireworks that soared into the sky in the direction of the outskirts of Edo attracted the attention of Aoto and Kinoshita Mai.

When Qingdeng turned his head to look out the window beside him, he happened to see colorful and vibrant firelight twinkling in the sky.

These flashes of light were fleeting; in the blink of an eye, they melted into the blue sky and white clouds.

"How beautiful..." Kinoshita Mai murmured, "Is this Keystore testing fireworks?"

"Hmm." Qingdeng nodded slightly. "It should be."

Since fireworks displays became a regular summer event held throughout Japan more than a century ago, the popularity of fireworks has gradually led to its development into an industry.

The profession of pyrotechnician came into being.

Among the many fireworks merchants in Edo, the most famous were "Kakeya" and "Tamaya".

The "Ryogoku Kaikawa Fireworks Festival" in Edo was organized by these two major fireworks companies.

The upstream section of the Ryogoku Bridge was constructed by Tamaya, while the downstream section was constructed by Kagaya.

Every year at the fireworks festival, these two major fireworks companies showcase their skills across the bridge between the two countries.

To cheer on the two competing fireworks companies, spectators would shout "ka-gi-ya!" and "ta-ma-ya!"

Over time, shouting "Kana-ya!" and "Tama-ya!" while watching fireworks has become a common practice.

Unfortunately, this exciting scene of "two major fireworks manufacturers competing against each other" did not last long.

On April 17, 1843, the Tamau House suffered severe damage to nearly 50 households due to a fire.

It happened to be the day before the 12th Shogun, Tokugawa Ieyoshi, was to visit Nikko.

During the Edo period, arson was a serious crime.

On an inappropriate day, he inadvertently did something inappropriate... The unlucky Tamaya was convicted of a serious crime of sabotaging Edo and was exiled, from which point Tamaya never recovered.

Without Tamaya as a competitor, Kagaya became the dominant force, and the annual fireworks festival in Edo became Kagaya's exclusive showcase.

However, even though Tamaya no longer exists, men, women, and children in Edo still habitually shout "Kakeya" and "Tamaya" when watching the inspection fair.

With less than 20 days to go until this year's fireworks festival, at this time of year, Kagaya would test fireworks in the Edo suburbs where there are no houses or people.

Aoto speculated that the sound of fireworks he and Kinoshita Mai had just heard was the sound of the fireworks that Kagaya was testing at this year's conference.

“……还有17天，今年的焰火大会就要开始了呢，从8月23日一直举办到8月25日。真少见呀，竟然连着举行3天。”

"Yes, that's right." Qingdeng took a sip of tea and replied casually.

"...Qingdeng, are you free on the night of August 23rd?"

"Huh? I..."

Qingdeng was about to subconsciously reply with "Hmm? I'm free," but after uttering just a few syllables, he suddenly realized something and stopped abruptly.

The evening of August 23rd... wasn't this the day for the fireworks display?

Aoto, whose expression turned strange, put down his teacup and turned to look at Kinoshita Mai beside him.

Kinoshita Mai's expression remained normal until now.

But when Qing Deng looked over, she noticed his gaze and her body trembled slightly.

Then, she slowly lowered her head, focusing her gaze on her nose and her mind.

Due to the angle, Aoto couldn't see Kinoshita Mai's face, who was currently burying her head low.

However, Aoto could see that Kinoshita Mai's delicate little ears and the skin near her ears were turning into a lovely cherry blossom pink at a speed visible to the naked eye.

"On August 23rd... I can ask Mr. Kiryu for a day off."

"I've been in Edo for so long... and I still haven't seen Edo's famous 'Ryogoku Kaikawa Fireworks Festival'..."

"So...so...Qingdeng, that day, did you...did you..."

At this point, Kinoshita Mai paused.

No... it should be said that he "couldn't continue speaking".

As Kinoshita Mai spoke, her voice grew softer and softer.

Her face grew redder and redder as she spoke.

It was cherry blossom pink just a moment ago, but in the blink of an eye it turned into light red. And in the blink of an eye, the light red turned into bright red.

For the easily embarrassed Kinoshita Mai, what followed was so embarrassing that it exceeded her limit.

He hesitated for a long time, unable to utter the second half of his sentence completely...

Although Kinoshita Mai couldn't finish her sentence, Aoto had already deduced what the shy girl wanted to say based on her expression.

"..." Qing Deng silently looked away, staring at the void in front of him.

To ease his awkward expression, he brought the teacup back to his lips. Although his lips touched the rim of the cup, not a single drop of tea was spilled.

Qingdeng remained silent.

Kinoshita Mai couldn't muster the courage to speak again.

An indescribable atmosphere rose between the two...

Ever since the incident two months ago where "Kinoshita Mai took the initiative to call each other by their names," no matter how much Aoto tries to deceive himself, he can no longer regard Kinoshita Mai as an "ordinary friend"...

Unable to view Kinoshita Mai as just a "regular friend" any longer, their relationship uncontrollably became ambiguous...

In fact, Aoto's interactions with Kinoshita Mai during this period have indeed become much closer than before.

The content of the chat has become no longer limited to ordinary daily trivial matters.

I unconsciously started touching my palms, arms, shoulders, and other parts of my body more often—of course, these physical contacts were mostly unintentional.

Either it was when I was taking tea from Kinoshita Mai's hand that I touched her small hand; or it was when we were chatting side by side and got so engrossed in the conversation that we accidentally bumped into each other's shoulders.

Every time the two made physical contact, Kinoshita Mai's cheeks would turn red rapidly and she would bounce away as if she had been electrocuted.

Regarding the changes in his relationship with Kinoshita Mai... Aoto seriously considered what kind of feelings he now held for Kinoshita Mai.

Qing Deng felt that his feelings for Kinoshita Mai were mostly "friendship".

However, besides "friendship," there seems to be much more... Every time I delve into it, I feel my heart race and my chest warm.

Qingdeng is a normal male with perfectly healthy emotions and desires.

He naturally knew what this feeling was called.

This feeling... is called "liking".

Sometime during the day, this feeling called "liking" suddenly appeared and grew stronger without Qingdeng realizing it. Now, it has grown so strong that Qingdeng can no longer ignore it.

"..." Qing Deng removed the teacup, which hadn't been empty of tea even now, from his lips and turned his gaze back to Kinoshita Mai.