I assembled the strongest swordsman group.

The Edo Shogunate, which was known for its meticulous use of official seals (even polishing them smooth before giving them to subordinates), surprisingly promoted him, a mere retainer who hadn't accomplished any earth-shattering feats... It's just so strange!

There must be a demon in the abnormal situation.

So Qing Deng couldn't help but ask Arima across from him:

"...Lord Arima, my promotion has been a bit too fast, hasn't it? Do you know anything secret about it?"

Arima gave a few helpless, bitter laughs.

"I was also shocked for a long time when I learned from Lord Usui today what honors you had received."

"It's quite a coincidence that I also asked Lord Usui directly at the time if he knew why your promotion speed was so exaggerated."

"But unfortunately, even Lord Usui doesn't know much about the inside story."

"However, I suspect... this might be the work of the Great Tree Master."

"The Big Tree?" Qing Deng raised an eyebrow.

“‘The Great Tree Lord requests that you ascend the city on August 28th.’”

Arima repeated what he had just said.

The term "ascending the castle" is a general term for entering Edo Castle, where the shogun resided.

Because of his low social status, Qingdeng had never entered Edo Castle, which was of a similar status to the Forbidden City in Tang Dynasty China.

"Personally, I think this is a very positive sign."

"This means that the Great Tree King is very likely interested in you, who have performed extraordinary feats, and wants to see you in person."

“If Lord Taiki really recruited you to Edo Castle for this reason, then it makes sense why you were promoted so abruptly.”

"Because they were highly favored by their superiors, they rose rapidly through the ranks... Right now, there is a ready-made precedent within the shogunate."

"Who?" Qing Deng asked instinctively.

Arima smiled calmly:

"The Lord Katsu, whom you saved before, was just a low-ranking hatamoto, but now he's almost a new warship magistrate."

Warship Magistrate: A new official position established by the Edo Shogunate after it was forced to open the country to foreign powers. Responsible for purchasing and building warships and training naval technology, its main duty was to strengthen the navy.

The "Katsu-sama" mentioned by Arima is none other than Katsura Rintaro, the "head of the Banshu Bureau and artillery professor of the Military Academy," whom Aoto had rescued a few months earlier during the "Battle of the Banshu Bureau."

Katsura Rintaro, who came from a lower-ranking hatamoto background, rose to prominence and soared to great heights because he was highly regarded by former senior councilor Abe Masahiro.

Tokugawa Iemochi, who succeeded to the position of Shogun two years ago, also greatly admired Katsu Rintaro and had been cultivating him diligently.

In terms of the speed of promotion, Qing Deng was nothing compared to Sheng Lin Taro.

We have received definite news that Katsura Rintaro is about to be promoted to the new Warship Commissioner, and will be in full charge of the construction of the Shogunate Navy.

Aoto, who had been very kind to Katsurin Taro and the Banshu Diao Office, had been in contact with Katsurin Taro for the past few months. Aoto had even visited the Banshu Diao Office a few times during his spare time.

Although Katsura Rintaro is a genius with an extremely impressive talent and resume, he is quite approachable and a gentle, humorous older man. Aoto gets along quite well with him and has a good relationship with him.

Thinking about this, Qingdeng suddenly realized: without realizing it, his network of connections seemed to have become quite formidable...

Even the future naval commissioner became his friend. He also had close ties with the scholars in the Foreign Affairs Bureau who were well-versed in Western learning.

"all in all--"

Arima continued, picking up where he left off:

"We can't figure out the specific reason even if we think about it carefully."

Let nature take its course.

"Remember to take your clothes out to air them in the sun these next few days, and wash them promptly if they get dirty."

"We must not be disrespectful to the Emperor when we ascend the city walls on the 28th."

At this point, Arima seemed to remember something, paused, and then smiled.

"If you're lucky... you might even get to see Prince Tenshōin on the 28th."

Princess Tenshōin... a woman known to everyone in Edo, the dream lover of countless Edo men.

As is widely known, Tenshōin, the godmother of the current Shogun Tokugawa Iemochi, was a staunch supporter of Tokugawa Iemochi, and the mother and son often appeared together in public.

When I go to see Tokugawa Iemochi on the 28th... I might actually get to meet the famous Tenshōin.

"Lord Arima," Seito asked curiously, "Have you ever met His Highness Tenshōin?"

Arima's position was just enough to get him into the castle. On the 1st, 15th, and 25th of each month, as well as on holidays, Arima had to dress in formal attire and enter Edo Castle with the other officials to greet the Shogun and celebrate the holidays with him.

“No.” Arima shook his head. “Lord Tenshōin rarely attends public events. Moreover, when I go up the castle, I can only sit at the very back, in a seat so far away that I can’t even see the face of the old tree. I have never had the chance to see Lord Tenshōin’s beautiful face.”

"Lord Arima, judging from your tone... do you really want to meet His Highness Tenshōin?" Seito asked in a half-joking tone.

"I'm just curious about what Prince Tenshōin looks like," Arima said casually. "I've heard that Prince Tenshōin has a beauty that could rival even the most beautiful women in Edo. It's said that the only one in all of Edo who can rival Prince Tenshōin in beauty is Chiba Sanako of the Chiba Sword Hall."

—How could she possibly rival Ms. Sanako in beauty?

Upon hearing this, Qing Deng, who had previously been indifferent to Tenshōin, couldn't help but become somewhat curious about this widow who was said to still be a virgin.

Arima, noticing the change in Aoto's expression, chuckled softly a few times.

"What? Tachibana-kun, have you, like those guys who are always trying to soothe the lonely hearts of young widows, developed a strong interest in and strange ideas about Prince Tenshōin?"

"No, not at all," Qing Deng said irritably. "I just suddenly became curious about what Prince Tenshōin looks like."

Qingdeng paused for a moment, then continued in a teasing tone:

"I'm not as bored as those people, constantly thinking about things that are impossible."

"I, who have just been promoted to a Hatamoto samurai, am able to alleviate the loneliness of the noble Prince Tenshōin—is such a thing even possible?"

……

……

After the match against Xuanwu Hall, "calm" once again dominated Qingdeng's life.

If we're talking about whether anything noteworthy happened these past few days... then it should be that after a brief but intense discussion, Aoto's schedule for August 25th was completely packed—on the 25th, Aoto was going to watch fireworks at a fireworks festival with Souji, Kondo, Hijikata, Inoue, Saito, Nagakura, Harada, and Todo.

After Souji and Nagakura sobered up and learned about Harada's plan to "go watch fireworks together," the playful Souji immediately shouted, "I want to go! I want to go!" Nagakura, while not particularly enthusiastic about such activities, didn't dislike them either, saying, "If everyone is going, then I'll join in the fun too."

While everyone was discussing the event, Todo Heisuke happened to come over for a visit, so Aoto and the others took the opportunity to invite Todo, who currently had a good relationship with Shieikan.

Todo is also the kind of person who loves being in a lively atmosphere.

He nodded in agreement almost without thinking when faced with Qing Deng and the others' invitation.

Originally, Shusuke and his wife, Okita and his wife, as well as Aoto's old servant Kyubei were all invited, but they all politely declined.

Shusuke and his wife, along with Kyubei, said they were too old to handle such a boisterous celebration.

Okita Hikaru, on the other hand, has a personality that is completely opposite to Souji's.

Souji loves excitement; bustling places and lively events are her favorites.

But Okita Hikaru preferred quiet; the more noisy and bustling a place was, the more she wanted to stay away from it. Secluded ancient temples, deep and winding paths... these were the places that Okita Hikaru favored.

In short—on the 25th, this group of young people living in Shieikan, along with Hijikata and Toudou, were going to go to the fireworks festival to have a good time.

After finalizing the itinerary details with Souji and the others, Aoto belatedly realized that he seemed rather busy with this year's fireworks festival, which officially began on August 23rd...

On the 23rd, I'll go on a date with Kinoshita Mai; on the 24th, I'll be doing a swordplay demonstration with Sanako and Chiba Jutaro on the street near the event venue; on the 25th, I'll be watching the fireworks one more time with Souji and the others...

This fireworks display will only last for three days. During those three days, Qingdeng will be engaging in different activities with different people each day…

Despite being very busy, Qing Deng doesn't dislike this feeling.

time flies.

Before we knew it, August 23rd had arrived...

……

……

On the morning of August 23, 1860 (the first year of the Wanyan era) —

Edo, residence, Angoulême family—

"Master! Master! Listen to me!"

Today is the day Qingdenglai teaches Elodie swordsmanship at the settlement.

They entered the Angoulême house with practiced ease, greeted Elodie and the maid Leroy, and then Elodie suddenly shouted excitedly to Chingden.

"I have some good news to tell you!"

Seeing Elodie so happy she looked like she was about to jump for joy, Qingdeng asked curiously:

"Good news? What good news?"

"Grandpa agreed to take me to the fireworks display!"

"Oh?"

Qingdeng raised an eyebrow in surprise—a genuine, heartfelt astonishment.

Anthony actually agreed to take Elodie to see the fireworks... This was truly beyond Qing Deng's expectations.

Qing Deng thought that Anthony would refuse Elodie's request on the grounds that "going to such a busy place is too dangerous, what if we run into 'radical anti-foreigners'?"

"Are you going to see the fireworks with your grandfather?" Qingdeng asked.

Elodie shook her head: "No. Miss Leroy and the bodyguards my grandfather hired will be coming with us."

"You hired bodyguards?"

"Yes! Grandpa said he would only dare to take me out to see fireworks if we brought bodyguards and covered our faces with headscarves and masks!"

Qingdeng nodded. With bodyguards hired and faces concealed to be distinctly different from those of the Japanese... if that's the case, the probability of encountering danger at the fireworks display can indeed be greatly reduced.

In any case, it's a good thing that Anthony is willing to take Elodie out for a trip.

A 12-year-old girl staying at home all day and not going out can affect her mental development.

"Elodie, this is wonderful." Qing Deng breathed a sigh of relief and smiled. "My wish to participate in the fireworks festival is finally going to come true."

"Yes!" Elodie nodded vigorously with a beaming smile.

"Which day are you planning to watch the fireworks?"