I assembled the strongest swordsman group.

Upon arriving at the spacious corridor that Qingdeng and Elodie had used as their classroom, Elodie temporarily placed her bamboo sword on the floor and prepared to warm up.

But before that, Qingdeng called out to her.

"Elodie".

"Ok?"

Qingdeng crouched down again and squatted in front of Elodie.

“Elodie, it’s just the two of us here now. We can speak freely without any reservations. So… stop making up those lame excuses and tell me in detail what happened. Has something happened that made you feel wronged?”

After speaking, Qingdeng looked up to observe Elodie's expression—the girl still had that forced smile on her face... However, perhaps touched by Qingdeng's words, the forced smile on her face had faded considerably, and the light in her eyes had gradually dimmed.

Seeing this, Qingdeng spoke again:

"...No matter what, I am still your master."

"Although I am just a sword master who only teaches you swordsmanship, I may not be able to provide you with much help in many things... but I still want to do my best to help my disciple in trouble."

“My disciple has encountered trouble. As his master, it would be inexcusable for me to sit idly by and do nothing.”

"Elodie, don't make me a wicked master."

After speaking, Qingdeng gave Elodie a faint but friendly smile.

"master……"

That forced, ugly smile finally crumbled.

With her lips tightly pressed together, the corners of her mouth drooping, and her expression somewhat gloomy, Elodie buried her head low, looking anxiously at her hands clasped in front of her.

Staring intently at a certain point...

Qingdeng adopted an attitude of being attentive and ready to listen attentively to whatever she said, quietly awaiting Elodie's reply.

"Actually... Grandpa isn't taking me to tonight's fireworks display..."

"Huh?" Qing Deng's expression was instantly dominated by shock. His body acted before his brain could process it. Without thinking, he quickly asked, "Didn't Mr. Angoulême promise to take you out to play? Why are you going back on your word now?"

"Grandpa...he heard about the grandeur of this year's fireworks display from his friend yesterday."

"The number of tourists visiting the fireworks display... far exceeded Grandpa's expectations..."

"At first, Grandpa thought... that after so many changes in recent years, fewer people in Edo would have the mood or the energy to participate in such entertainment festivals... but he never expected that this year's fireworks display would be as crowded as ever..."

"Grandpa was worried that accidents might happen in such crowded places..."

"So they decided not to take me..."

Elodie's statement was delivered in a remarkably calm tone throughout... but beneath that calm tone lay a palpable sadness...

"..." Qing Deng was speechless, feeling as if his body was tied to a large rock and he was falling straight to the ground.

Aoto knew better than anyone how much the girl in front of him was looking forward to this year's fireworks festival and how much she wanted to have a blast at this most lively festival in Edo.

Qingdeng still vividly remembers the excited expression on Elodie's face when she learned that Anthony was willing to take her to this year's fireworks display...

These days, Elodie often takes breaks from sword practice to discuss the fireworks festival with Qingdeng with great interest.

The event she had been looking forward to was about to begin, but she was suddenly told that she couldn't participate... Qing Deng couldn't imagine what Elodie's reaction must have been when she first heard about it.

Her swollen eyes silently told Qing Deng how much pain and torment Elodie felt after learning of this terrible news.

"Haha... It's alright...! Master, you don't need to look like that. If you can't go, you can't go...!"

Elodie took a deep breath, then looked up and stared straight at Qingdeng, the gloom on her face gradually dissipating at a visible speed, like morning mist meeting the sun.

“I can understand my grandfather’s good intentions.”

"Grandpa really wants to take me out to play."

"But this country is still very turbulent... There are still many people who harbor strong hostility towards us foreigners."

"Grandpa's concerns are valid. For safety's sake, it's best to avoid crowded places as much as possible right now."

"Anyway, there's a fireworks display every year. If you can't go this year, you can wait until next year."

"By this time next year, foreigners like me might be able to walk the streets of this country without any worries!"

After saying that, Elodie showed a relaxed and bright sunny smile.

If it weren't for those swollen, red eyes, and the sadness and frustration flickering deep within them, it would have been a perfect smile...

Elodie's smiling face made Qingdeng feel even more heavy-hearted.

This little girl, who is only 12 years old this year—an age when she would still be in elementary school in modern times—is so sensible that it breaks your heart…

Despite being devastated, she rationally expressed her understanding of Grandpa's decision and comforted Qingdeng, telling him not to be too sad for her.

"Alright, alright, Master. Let's not talk about this anymore!"

Elodie, her expression back to normal, chuckled and picked up her bamboo sword again.

"Let's start today's lesson quickly!"

……

……

That night--

Edo, the Thousand Things Shop—

"Hmm~ Hmm~"

Kinoshita Mai sat behind the counter, humming an unknown tune as she carefully checked the Senjiya's recent accounts, following Kiryu's instructions.

"Little Lord."

Suddenly, Kiryu's voice rang out from behind Kinoshita Mai.

"Hmm?" Kinoshita Mai stopped what she was doing. "Kiryu-san, what's wrong?"

"Young Master, I'm sorry, could you please run an errand for me right now and go to the Two Kingdoms Bridge?"

*******

*******

Come on! Come on! That kind of plot is finally about to kick in! The real show is about to begin... So asking for some monthly votes isn't too much to ask, right? (Leopard dead.jpg)

Please vote with monthly tickets! Please vote with recommendation tickets! (Leopard crying.jpg)

Regarding Qing Deng's new official position: "Captain of the Third Division of the Fire Thieves and Leader of the Seventh Division of the First-Hand Archer Group"... There's actually a joke behind this. For details, please see the "Author's Note" below.

[Behind-the-Scenes Details of the Novel Revealed]

As for Aoto taking over the long-vacant position of "Captain of the Third Division and Leader of the Seventh Division"... there is actually a reference to the author's tribute to this.

One of the author's favorite game series is the Yakuza series. In Yakuza Ishin, the protagonist, Sakamoto Ryoma, is set in the Bakumatsu period. In order to investigate the truth behind his adoptive father's death, he infiltrates the Shinsengumi under the alias "Saito Hajime" and obtains the long-vacant position of the third division captain thanks to his superior strength.

Although this game is set in the Bakumatsu period, the historical content is basically nonsense. I'm amazed that they can forcibly connect two completely unrelated figures like Sakamoto Ryoma and Saito Hajime.

Therefore, you can simply regard it as an "ancient-style fighting game".

The remake of this game will be released at the end of February next year. Those who are interested can buy it and play it. Even if you have never played this series before, you can play this game without any problems.

As for the seventh group, there's nothing special about it; it's simply because the author likes the number "7".

Chapter 241 Zuo Wu Si Ti, Four Women Gather! (Part 2) [6000]

"Errand delivery? The Two-Nation Bridge?"

"Yes, that's right. Yesterday afternoon I went to help Shen Qi's family get rid of the rats, but I just realized that I seem to have left a few tools at their house. I have some urgent matters to attend to right now and can't get away. So I would like to ask you, young master, to run an errand for me and go to Shen Qi's house to retrieve the tools I forgot."

“Okay,” Kinoshita Mai said without hesitation. “I’ll go right now.”

Kinoshita Mai closed the ledger in her hand, stood up briskly, walked to the entrance hall not far away, and slipped on her pair of red-buttoned wooden clogs.

"Do you know where Shenqi's house is?"

"Yeah. I know!"

"That's good. Go quickly and come back soon."

After saying that, Kiryu turned around and prepared to return to the back room of the Senjiya.

"Ok!"

Wearing wooden clogs, Kinoshita Mai pushed open the door of the Senjiya shop and strode away with light steps.

As Kinoshita Mai's footsteps faded into the distance, Kiryu slowly stopped and turned back to face the shop door.

Looking at the front hall where the red-clad figure had vanished... Kiryu's right corner of his mouth curled up slightly, revealing a faint smile tinged with a hint of relief.

"Young Master seems to be in a really good mood lately..."

Kiryu uttered a soft murmur, his only audience being him.

"He's become much more cheerful."

The current Kinoshita Mai is completely different from before.

Kiryu Haruka recalled that more than half a year ago, Kinoshita Mai was timid and hesitant when making eye contact or speaking to strangers.

Running errands, helping out at the front desk... these jobs that require contact with strangers were the ones Kinoshita Mai feared most in the past.

While Kinoshita Mai is still somewhat afraid of interacting with strangers, her symptoms of social anxiety have undoubtedly improved significantly.

I'm no longer so resistant to tasks like running errands or helping out at the front desk.

As her social anxiety symptoms lessened, Kinoshita Mai became much more cheerful and stopped always looking down and appearing gloomy.

Kiryu was naturally pleased to see these positive changes at Kinoshita Mai.

"Is this the special magic that comes from 'getting together' with a certain man...?"

After these murmurs, the relieved smile on Kiryu's face turned into a bitter smile filled with complex emotions.

Kiryu knew perfectly well what triggered these changes in Kinoshita Mai.

"Looks like... you had a lot of fun with Tachibana-kun the night before last... you probably didn't do anything too extreme, right...?"

The night before, Kiryu kept his promise to Kinoshita Mai and did not secretly follow her or monitor her and Aoto's itinerary.

Therefore, Kiryu had no idea what Aoto and Kinoshita Mai had done the night before.