I assembled the strongest swordsman group.

After relying on brute force and willpower to control himself from recalling that memory and feeling, Qingdeng couldn't help but sigh inwardly:

—How does Ms. Okita manage to hide something so large and impressive all the time...?

If he hadn't seen it with his own eyes and held it in his hands, Qing Deng would have found it difficult to equate the "flat-chested" commander he knew before with the commander he was now supporting, who was like a "mountain range".

Qing Deng had little knowledge in this area and was not quite sure how to describe the size of the Souji in concrete terms.

If Aoto were to describe Souji's size in detail... then Aoto could only use two women he knew who also had remarkable talent in this area, namely Sanako and Kinoshita Mai, to make a vivid comparison with Souji.

Overall, Souji is a bit younger than Sanako and Kinoshita Mai.

If Sanako and Kinoshita Mai are difficult to grasp with one hand, then Souji is just right with one hand.

Apart from "Aoto's palms suddenly being 'gently attacked'", nothing else happened on the way to drag Souji out of the bath.

After arriving at the changing room safely without any major incident, a new problem arose for Qing Deng – how was he supposed to help Souji clean up?

We can't just let Souji go back soaking wet, can we?

In Souji's bathtub, there was a small cloth she kept specifically for drying her body.

But it's obvious that Qing Deng would never use Souji's little cloth to wipe her body. This kind of thing can't even be described as "overly ambiguous contact"; it has gone beyond the category of "impolite" and risen to the realm of "crime."

Left with no other choice, Qing Deng could only wrap Souji's entire body in his spare clothes—a yukata that was quite breathable and absorbent, making Souji look like a silkworm, so that the yukata could absorb as much water as possible from Souji's body.

The difference in body size allowed Aoto's yukata to cover most of Souji's body.

This method obviously couldn't completely wipe away the water droplets and stains on Souji's body, but Aoto couldn't care less! He'd just have to make do!

Once he felt that his yukata had absorbed most of the water droplets from Souji's body, Aoto took Souji's change of clothes: a light purple yukata, and put it on Souji.

After helping Souji get dressed, Aoto put on his own yukata, which was soaked with Souji's bathwater.

The clothes that were clean before are now soaking wet... Qingdeng can only make do with it for now.

After much effort, we finally got ourselves and the commander dressed.

Of course—while using his own yukata to wipe Souji's body and dress him, Aoto kept his eyes raised the entire time, not letting himself see too much of his private parts.

Fortunately, yukatas are easy to put on. You just need to wrap it around a person's body and then tighten the belt. You can even help someone change into a yukata with your eyes closed.

Next... all that's left is to bring Souji back to the Shieikan.

If they were to drag Souji back to the Shieikan in the same way they did before, like dragging a corpse, it would be rather inappropriate.

Firstly, it's inconvenient. The distance from Chihiro-ya to Shieikan is several times longer than the distance from the bathhouse to the changing room. "Dragging the corpse" is only suitable for short distances; it's tiring and inconvenient for long distances.

Secondly, doing so would arouse suspicion among the staff at Chihiro-ya and make them realize that Souji, who was just a boy, has now turned into a girl.

The only option was to carry her back... After much deliberation and weighing the pros and cons of various "transportation methods," Qing Deng realized that carrying Souji on his back was the safest and most convenient option.

Qing Deng squatted down, had Souji lie face down on his back, then had Souji place his hands on his shoulders, and then stretched his arms down to lift Souji's legs from below, raising Souji's legs to waist height.

The petite Souji is very light in weight.

For Aoto, carrying Okita on his back was no different than carrying a cat.

"Mmm...mmm..."

Souji, whose consciousness was completely hazy, probably felt comfortable lying on Aoto's back, so she subconsciously tightened her arms and legs, hugging Aoto tightly.

The plump persimmons were pressed into firm persimmon cakes...

Qingdeng, whose back was being subjected to intense pressure, felt as if two strong electric currents were rushing through his body from his back.

Qingdeng's body visibly stiffened for a moment. But quickly, his body and his expression returned to normal.

For Qingdeng, who had already encountered too many unexpected situations and emergencies tonight, such a trivial matter as "the persimmons turning into dried persimmons" could no longer stir up a large wave in his heart.

After all, he had done things even more extreme than this tonight... and more than once.

Silently focusing his attention on the path beneath his feet, ignoring the constant current flowing from Souji into his body, Aoto calmly carried Souji out of the changing room and strode towards the door and towards Chihiro's house.

Upon arriving at the gate, Granny Yu, sitting behind the counter, immediately noticed Souji, who was being carried on Aoto's back.

"Oh dear, what's wrong with this gentleman?" Granny Tang asked anxiously, her face full of worry. "Has he also become drunk like that customer from before?"

The "guest" that Yubaba mentioned was naturally Inoue, who had just been carried out by Kondo and Chiba Jutaro.

Because the persimmons were pressed tightly into dried persimmons, Yubaba did not notice that the person behind Aoto had "changed" from a boy to a girl.

"It's nothing, it's nothing," Qing Deng smiled. "It's just that it's getting late and she's a little sleepy."

"Oh..." Granny Yu looked relieved. "It's good that you're alright, it's good that you're alright."

After politely saying goodbye to Yubaba, Qing Deng successfully lifted the curtain, passed through the shop door, and came outside the bathhouse.

As soon as you step out of the Chihiro House, the humid and hot air unique to summer nights immediately envelops Aoto from all directions like a tide.

The route from Chihiroya to Shiekan doesn't pass through dense residential areas, and there are no izakayas (Japanese pubs) that stay open until the early hours of the morning. So at this time of day, the streets in this area are practically deserted.

So, barring any unforeseen circumstances, Qing Deng doesn't need to worry about encountering any pedestrians on his way back to Shiekan.

After dressing Souji and leading him out of the bathhouse, Aoto, feeling a sense of relief, let out a long sigh that encapsulated all the fatigue of the night.

At this moment, Qing Deng suddenly noticed that the commander behind him seemed to have been unusually quiet since earlier, so Qing Deng turned his head slightly and looked behind him.

"..." Souji exhaled light, even, and rhythmic breaths.

After leaving the sweltering bath, Souji's complexion improved significantly.

A healthy flush returned to her cheeks and lips.

Looking at Souji, who was sleeping soundly with his left cheek pressed against his right shoulder, Aoto unconsciously smiled faintly.

In order not to disturb the commander's sleep, Qing Deng deliberately slowed down his walking pace a little.

But just as Qingdeng turned his gaze forward—

"Mmm...mmm..."

A soft, murmuring sound, reminiscent of wisps of smoke, suddenly came from her right shoulder.

Thinking it was Souji who had woken up, Aoto quickly turned his head to look behind him again.

Souji didn't open his eyes... seemingly in a half-asleep state, he stretched his head forward forcefully, his beautifully shaped chin hooking onto Aoto's right shoulder.

The commander's actions brought her face extremely close to Qing Deng's... so close that Qing Deng could see the texture of her pretty face and skin, and so close that their breaths almost collided.

Qing Deng paused for a moment, then, with a slow reaction, forcefully tilted his head back to widen the distance between his face and Souji's.

"elder sister……"

Souji, who had only been able to groan weakly until now, suddenly uttered a clear, sigh-like whisper.

"I...don't want to give up swordsmanship..."

The voice was soft... but it contained a clear and firm will.

A strong will to not be dominated by her sister's personal dictatorship.

Aoto's eyes widened slightly in surprise at the immense power hidden in Souji's murmur.

—Even though he's losing consciousness, is he still worried about his sister stopping him from learning swordsmanship...?

It was only then that Qing Deng realized that Souji's love for swords and swordsmanship seemed to be much deeper than he had previously thought.

This belated realization, before it could be properly brewed and savored, was swallowed up by the sudden sound of clothes rubbing against each other, interrupting my thoughts.

"Hmm...uh-huh?"

With the soft rustling of fabric as it gently rubbed against each other, Qing Deng felt the weight on his right shoulder lighten considerably—Souji slowly raised his head and opened his eyes.

"Tachibana...Tachibana-kun...?"

Souji blinked his sleepy eyes listlessly, as if he had just woken up.

She glanced at Qingdeng's face, which was very close to hers, and then looked at the street scenes on both sides and the starry sky and full moon above.

His eyes were unfocused and blank.

Souji's eyes and tongue "woke up," but his consciousness was not yet fully awake.

Only after a short while did the radiance called "divine wisdom" gradually fill Souji's eyes.

Memories from before the loss of consciousness resurfaced like a gushing spring.

In the blink of an eye, the expression of the commander, who had just been looking bewildered, changed drastically.

A look of astonishment crept onto her cheeks.

"Tachibana-kun...where are we...?"

Although he can speak normally now, his voice is still very weak.

"We are on our way back to Shiweiguan."

Qing Deng succinctly explained to Souji everything that had just happened in the bathhouse.

Souji's memories only extend to the sudden arrival of Chiba Jutaro.

She had no idea what happened in the bathhouse after that.

Upon learning that so much had happened during his unconsciousness, the commander's expression underwent a fascinating change.

"I see..."

The commander muttered softly.

"It was Kondo-nii and Gen-san who helped get Jutaro away..."

"Besides Mr. Hijikata, I also need to properly thank Mr. Kondo and Mr. Gen..."

Before he could finish speaking, the commander abruptly stopped.

At that instant, her features seemed to freeze, her expression becoming incredibly stiff.

The reason for this strange occurrence was that Souji suddenly thought of something...

"Tachibana-kun... could it be... that you took me out of the bath by yourself and helped me get dressed...?"

The commander asked this hesitantly, his voice trembling slightly.

Although it uses the question sentence structure, the questioning tone is not very strong.

Because the answer to the question he asked already existed in Souji's mind.

There were no other women around, only Qing Deng carrying her on her back... It was obvious who had led her away from Chihiro's house.