I assembled the strongest swordsman group.

"I feel like you've been pretty uninterested in any game or food tonight... Basically, it's just me and Xiaodi playing; you haven't really joined in."

Upon hearing Souji's words, Elodie paused for a moment, then quickly lowered her head and, like Souji, cast a questioning glance at Qing Deng.

"Uh... this..."

A hint of embarrassment flashed across Qing Deng's eyes.

Why do I seem uninterested in everything tonight?

The reason is quite simple.

Because I had already played and eaten most of the games and foods I wanted to play with Kinoshita Mai and Sanako in the past two days...

Qingdeng briefly considered telling the two women the truth, but he immediately dismissed the idea as soon as it surfaced.

Just kidding...! Qing Deng didn't want anyone to know that he had gone to the fireworks festival with Kinoshita Mai and Sanako the other day.

Although from a legal perspective, Qing Deng's behavior of "spending time with one woman on each of the two days" is beyond reproach.

After all, nothing has happened between him and Kinoshita Mai and Sanako, and they haven't established any formal special relationship. It's perfectly reasonable for him to go out with his friends.

However, from an ethical and moral standpoint... Qing Deng had to admit that he felt a little guilty...

Currently, there is no doubt that both I and Kinoshita Mai have strong feelings for each other.

Aoto still considers Sanako an important friend—but after going through so much with her… especially after witnessing Sanako repeatedly thanking him while trying to hide her embarrassment last night, Aoto has to admit that his feelings for Sanako can no longer be simply described as “friendship.”

Regardless of the two women's feelings for Aoto, let's just talk about Aoto himself: despite having special feelings for both Kinoshita Mai and Sanako, he still treated them "equally" and had such intimate interactions with them... If this were to get out, most people would probably look at Aoto with strange eyes.

Before "reason" could even begin to function, "instinct" was already sending out intense signals—Aoto's "instinct" was frantically telling him... no, warning him: don't let anyone... especially not Kinoshita Mai and Sanako know what he had done the previous two nights, or it would be quite bad.

Qing Deng pondered, trying to figure out how to brush off the commander's question.

Just then...

What happened next was completely unexpected by Qing Deng—

"Ah, Qingdeng, I've finally found you!"

A familiar, pleasant female voice rang out behind Yu Qingdeng.

Qing Deng was taken aback at first.

Then, in the blink of an eye, a look of astonishment filled his entire face.

Slowly turning my neck, which had suddenly become extremely stiff, I looked behind me—a beautiful red figure was struggling to weave through the narrow gaps in the crowd.

The newcomer was none other than Kinoshita Mai, who had been searching for Qing Deng and the others ever since their chance encounter.

The venue for the fireworks display was quite large, and the crowds of tourists packed in like sardines. Finding someone there was not exactly like finding a needle in a haystack, but it was certainly extremely difficult.

But Kinoshita Mai was not discouraged or disheartened. Through her tireless efforts and perseverance, she finally saw the tall figure she had been searching for again.

This time, Kinoshita Mai didn't miss Elodie because of the viewing angle—after all, Elodie was sitting astride Aoto's neck at this moment, and anyone with eyes could see Elodie.

Although Elodie wore a mask and had her hair covered, her slender back, which was all too familiar to Kinoshita Mai, could not be hidden.

Kinoshita Mai thought to herself, "Could it be that..." as she quickened her pace.

Finally—after passing through one wall of people after another, she finally arrived in front of Qingdeng and the others.

"Miss Dance?" Elodie was the first to exclaim in surprise.

"Ah, it really is Ai..."

Kinoshita Mai subconsciously wanted to call out Elodie's full name.

However, she quickly realized that shouting Elodie's real name in such a public place was highly inappropriate, so she immediately stopped and asked in an excited tone:

"What are you doing here with Qingdeng?"

Compared to the smug look on Kinoshita Mai's face... Aoto's expression was particularly "charming".

What's Ah Wu doing here? Was it a chance encounter? What a coincidence...

Despite his shock, Qingdeng remained relatively calm.

It was probably just a chance encounter... Thankfully, Ms. Sanako isn't here right now...

Qingdeng was just thinking this in his mind—

“...Tachibana-kun”.

It was another female voice that was all too familiar...

It came from another direction.

At that moment, Qingdeng felt as if a heavy stone was hanging over his heart, and his body was being pulled downwards by this boulder.

With an incredulous look in his eyes, he saw a certain Yamato Nadeshiko walking leisurely toward him.

What a coincidence!

Sanako, who bumped into Aoto at almost the same time as Kinoshita Mai, and then searched for Aoto everywhere like Kinoshita Mai, eventually found Aoto here almost one after the other.

Sanako's beautiful eyes swept back and forth between Souji and Kinoshita Mai beside Aoto, her alluring gaze flickering slightly.

"Miss Sanako..." Aoto chuckled, "What are you doing here...?"

"I... wanted to buy something here, and then I just ran into you. I wanted to say hello briefly, so I followed you here."

After succinctly explaining why she was suddenly there, Sanako changed the subject with an impassive expression.

"Tachibana-kun, who is the girl on your shoulder?"

"..." Qing Deng glanced at Sanako on his left, then at Kinoshita Mai on his right.

At this moment, Qingdeng felt as if something was bubbling and boiling inside his heart...

As if facing some indescribable and formidable enemy, goosebumps rose one after another from Qingdeng's skin.

If he continued to act strangely, it would arouse suspicion... Qing Deng took a deep breath and, with his strong willpower, barely managed to maintain his composure.

"Uh... it's like this—"

Aoto briefly outlined why he was there with Souji and Elodie, and also explained to Sanako who the girl on his shoulder was.

“I see…” Sanako nodded gently.

Although Qingdeng's disciple, Sanako, knew of her, she had never met her before, so she subconsciously forgot about her existence.

The small patch of "dark cloud" that had gathered between Sanako's eyebrows slowly dissipated.

The gloom on Kinoshita Mai's face also dissipated.

"Oh! So you're all from the Shieikan group, out having fun together tonight!"

Kinoshita Mai showed a relieved expression.

After a brief period of shock and panic, Qingdeng has gradually regained his composure.

—Thank goodness…

Qingdeng thought to himself.

—Although I ran into both Mai and Sanako at the same time… as long as I'm careful, I shouldn't let what I did the previous two nights be exposed…

Just as Qingdeng was comforting himself in this way—

Whoosh—smack!

The first firework of the night has risen.

The beautiful scene of fireworks, like a scroll painting, slowly unfolds under the moonlight.

"Wow!" The long-awaited fireworks display had finally arrived, and Elodie shouted excitedly.

At that moment, attracted by the fireworks, Aoto, Kinoshita Mai, and Sanako forgot everything else and all looked up at the night sky, which was painted with colorful fireworks.

Although he had already watched fireworks for two consecutive nights, the fleeting brilliance of the fireworks bursting open still touched Qingdeng's heart once again.

Everyone silently looked up and watched with faint smiles on their faces.

"Qingdeng! The fireworks tonight seem to be even more spectacular than the ones we watched the other day!"

Then, this tranquility was unexpectedly shattered by Kinoshita Mai's unintentional remark, who was beaming with happiness.

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Thank you so much to reader 【夜灵OwO】 for the generous donation! It's been so long since a new patron has appeared; I'm truly moved to tears and speechless (crying face).

The author's passion for writing has been ignited! From today until the end of this month, the author will be working hard to write!

P.S.: Let's play a game: Please look to the right →→, the author has pasted a screenshot from the manga adaptation of the novel "Burn, Sword!" featuring Hijikata Toshizo as the main character. Let's all guess who these people are!

The author has been diligently working on the plot! Please stop saying the author is padding the story! (Like a leopard crying.jpg)

Leaving aside the development of Aoto's relationships with the heroines, let's just talk about the world-building—in just a few days, several new characters and forces have appeared, including "Aoto Hara" and Takayuki Tachibana's old friends, the growing power of the "Shimizu Clan," the spirits of Osaka, and a genius detective who was originally a thief. The world-building is unfolding at a rapid pace.

The amount of information has been consistently high! The plot is anything but weak (leopard-like image).

Chapter 244 With a few words, the battlefield vanished into thin air [6700]

For an instant.

In an instant, the atmosphere within a three-step radius centered on Qingdeng suddenly became tense, as if a cold autumn wind had swept through.

The cheers of people for "Jade House" and "Key House," the explosions of fireworks... it felt as if all the sounds were gradually fading away from the surroundings.

At this moment, everyone's eyes were focused on Kinoshita Mai.

The chieftain's beautiful eyes widened slightly, revealing a look of surprise.

Sanako's beautiful eyebrows twitched slightly, and her expression became... quite charming.

As for Qing Deng… the lines of his face became exceptionally stiff the moment Kinoshita Mai finished speaking, and his gaze became fixed…

Only the young and naive Elodie blinked her innocent and carefree eyes at Kinoshita Mai.

"Miss Wu, did you come to see the fireworks with your master the day before yesterday?"

"Ok!"

Unaware that the atmosphere around her was becoming strange, Kinoshita Mai smiled sweetly.