I assembled the strongest swordsman group.

"Hijikata," Nagakura asked first, voicing the question that had been lingering in everyone's minds, "Why did you suddenly change to... such a proper hairstyle?"

“A-Sui…” Kondo, standing next to Inoue, sighed deeply. “Are you… planning to seduce women again?”

"That's right!"

Hijikata snapped his fingers forcefully at Kondo and grinned wickedly.

"It's been quite a while since I've attended such a popular celebration."

"The annual fireworks display must attract a lot of pretty girls."

"Wouldn't it be a waste not to take advantage of this festive occasion to meet a few more girls?"

"Haha, I'm really looking forward to tonight!"

After saying that, Hijikata put his hands on his hips and laughed loudly.

Everyone knows how much of a womanizer Hijikata is.

So after hearing Hijikata's explanation, Souji and the others all showed expressions of "Ah, I see..." and "Hijikata, as expected of you."

Only one person's expression at this moment was quite different from the others.

That's Qingdeng.

Suddenly, Qing Deng opened his eyes wide and stared intently at the ground in front of him.

Inspiration is a very strange thing...

They always appear suddenly at strange times.

Hijikata's frivolous remarks just now gave Aoto a sudden inspiration.

This spark of inspiration quickly transformed, eventually settling into a...bold idea!

"……Everyone."

Qingdeng's sudden outburst drew everyone's attention.

"I... have something I'd like to discuss with you."

……

……

Edo, residence, Angoulême's house, third floor, Elodie's room—

The door was tightly closed.

The south-facing windows were wide open.

With all the lights in the room turned off, only the moonlight streaming in from the window brought a slight brightness to the room.

A pure, silvery glow composed of light particles floated quietly in the air above the room, flowing as far as Elodie's bedside, dividing the room into two neat halves with a striking contrast of light and shadow, with Elodie's bed as the dividing line.

The moonlight cast shadows over the spacious bedroom, as if shrouded in a thick fog.

A heavy night wind, thick with the humid heat, hung outside the window.

The sound of the wind emphasized the tranquility of the room, while also highlighting the loneliness of the only "light" in the room... the moonlight that silently fought against the darkness.

Just then, a night breeze swept through the window, whispering softly, and carried a touch of coolness directly into Elodie's bed and into her blankets.

Wearing a pristine white nightgown, Elodie lay on her back in bed, her sapphire-blue eyes gazing at the ceiling, which was tinged gray by the night and moonlight.

In order to ensure that Elodie grows up healthy, Anthony has very strict requirements on Elodie's sleep time.

According to Anthony's rules, Elodie had to go to bed at 8 p.m.

Of course—Elodie often secretly stays up late to read or do something else.

However, tonight she clearly didn't have the energy to sneak out of bed.

—If I could go to the fireworks display… I'd definitely be having a blast right now…

—Ah, no, no… I had already decided not to think about such sad things anymore…

The dim night, the spacious room where you are all alone... such an environment can easily amplify negative emotions in a person's heart.

Elodie is in that situation right now.

I had already made up my mind not to dwell on the regret of not being able to attend this year's fireworks display...

She clearly understood her grandfather's good intentions and knew that he really wanted to take her out to play...

But Elodie just felt so wronged...

Although she can be willful at times, Elodie considers herself to have always been a well-behaved and obedient child.

Let alone heinous crimes, Elodie has never done anything so despicable as petty theft.

As the saying goes, "Good people are rewarded and bad people are punished"... As a result, I, who have never done anything bad, have encountered all sorts of unfortunate things one after another.

Let's not even talk about the distant past... right now, even my little wish to "go to the fireworks festival" can't be fulfilled.

The deeper Elodie thought about it, the more distressed she felt... and a thin layer of moisture rose in her eyes once again.

To calm herself down, Elodie raised her hand to wipe away the mist from her eyes and took several deep breaths.

Okay... stop thinking about it...

Go to sleep...

Elodie muttered to herself repeatedly in a somber tone, as if trying to hypnotize herself.

—There's nothing to be sad about... It's not like I'll never be able to attend the fireworks festival again...

—Let's wait until next year...

—By next year… I'm sure my little wish will come true…

Under his continuous "hypnosis," Elodie's eyelids slowly drooped.

Although her sapphire-blue eyes still shone with sadness and resentment... as Elodie closed her eyes, that light gradually faded into the darkness of the night...

At that very moment—

Knock knock knock...

Suddenly, a knocking sound came from the window frame.

"what?"

Elodie opened her eyes again after she had just closed them.

Knock knock knock...!

The sound of knocking on the window frame came again... and this time it was louder and clearer.

—What's that sound...?

With questions swirling in her mind, Elodie threw off the thin blanket, got out of bed, slipped on her slippers, and cautiously made her way towards the moonlight.

Upon reaching the window, which had both its curtains drawn back and its opening wide, Elodie looked down toward the direction from which the sound was coming.

The sight before her caused Elodie's pupils to shrink in shock, and she involuntarily let out a gasp in her native language:

"Master?" (in French)

Below Elodie's room window was a wide street... If a passerby were on that street and looking up, they would see a startling sight—

A young samurai, like a spider, clung to the exterior wall of the third floor of the house, his hands gripping the window frame, his entire body hanging below the window.

"Good evening, Elodie." Qingdeng looked up and smiled at Elodie. "Great...you're still awake."

Elodie, her face filled with intense confusion, stared blankly at Qingdeng, who was greeting her.

My mind was instantly filled with a multitude of questions.

"Master, what are you doing? Do you know how high this place is? If you fall, you'll be seriously injured even if you don't die."

As Elodie spoke anxiously, she turned her head to look around.

After confirming that there were no pedestrians on the street outside the window, and that neither Anthony nor Leroy downstairs had noticed their movements, Elodie hurriedly reached out her hand to Qingdeng.

"Come on, Master, come up here quickly, come into my room."

"Then I'll have to trouble you..."

With a swift movement, Qing Deng flipped over the window and entered Elodie's boudoir.

"master."

Elodie looked completely bewildered as she circled around Qingdeng.

"You...you came to see me? Why are you here at this time? Did you climb up the wall of the house? Are you hurt?"

Elodie bombarded Qingdeng with a barrage of questions.

Qingdeng did not rush to answer each of Elodie's questions.

He rubbed his arms, which were sore from climbing all the way up to Elodie's room, and then gave Elodie a friendly smile.

"Elodie, let's go to the fireworks festival."

*******

*******

The recent heatwave in Guangzhou, coupled with those darn mosquitoes, has kept me from getting a proper rest (crying face).

So don't blame the author for the short length, it's all the weather and mosquitoes' fault... If it weren't for them, the author would definitely be able to write a longer piece (Leopard weathered by time.jpg).

Chapter 242 Zuo Wu Si Ti, Four Women Gather! (Part 2) [7200]

"……what?"

Elodie blinked, her mouth slightly open.

"Did I hear that right? What did I hear...?" Elodie looked at him with that expression.

Seeing Elodie's surprised expression, Qingdeng calmly repeated what he had just said in a tone tinged with obvious amusement:

"Elodie, let's go to the fireworks festival."

Finally, Qingdeng paused for a moment, then added: