I assembled the strongest swordsman group.

"Yes."

"Including the sisters Sae and Yae?"

"I just made it very clear, didn't I? These two sisters are outstanding female ninjas that I have put a lot of effort into training."

"A female ninja...a child that young is a female ninja?"

"Giggle giggle giggle~"

Tenshōin covered his mouth and laughed.

"Ju-kun, you seem to have misunderstood. Those two sisters are just shorter and have more delicate features, so they look younger than they are. In fact, they are the same age as you, exactly 18 years old this year."

"18?!"

Qingdeng's mouth opened wide enough to fit an egg in an instant.

He simply couldn't connect these two sisters, who would blend seamlessly into the elementary school student population without seeming out of place, with the number "18"...

Qingdeng shut his mouth, his neck stiffening again.

In this way, it all makes sense why Tenshōin appeared here as a "high-ranking shrine maiden" and "shrine maiden", and why the old man named Tenkura Owl had such superb skills.

After being bombarded with a massive amount of information, Qing Deng gradually recovered and glanced at Tianzhang Academy a few times.

"...Lord Tenshōin, you have left Edo Castle without permission...Is this alright?"

The primary job and daily task of the O-oku (Great Inner Palace) is to manage the Ooku (Great Inner Palace) for the Shogun, which is the Shogun's harem.

However, Tenshōin's actions in recent years have long exceeded the bounds of what the Ōmikami (Great Imperial Palace) should have done.

Tokugawa Iemochi, who had no roots or support in Edo, often sought advice from the clever and resourceful Tenshōin.

Tenshōin also granted Tokugawa Iemochi's every request.

This became the most frequent target of the "Hitotsubashi faction's" attacks on Tenshōin—managing the inner palace was His Highness's duty. Yet His Highness disregarded his own responsibilities, meddled in the administration of the shogunate, and presumptuously discussed national affairs. Does His Highness intend to emulate Empress Lü of Han or Empress Wu Zetian of Tang?

Influenced by Chinese culture, ancient Japanese intellectuals particularly loved to draw upon Chinese allusions and stories.

For example, 23 years ago, when Ōshio Heihachirō launched the uprising, he clearly stated in his manifesto the slogan: "Our purpose is clear to the sun, moon and stars; it is only to emulate the sincerity of Tang, Wu, Emperor Gaozu of Han and Emperor Taizu of Ming in punishing the guilty and relieving the people."

Since the assassination of Ii Naosuke, the Hitotsubashi faction, now free from strongman control, is gaining power.

The Hitotsubashi faction, which viewed Tokugawa Iemochi as a thorn in their side and sought to remove him from the position of shogun, numbered countless.

They either stubbornly disregarded the young Tokugawa Iemochi, believing that in this critical moment of survival, only the older and renowned Hitotsubashi Yoshinobu could lead the country out of its predicament.

Or perhaps they simply want to replace the general with someone more obedient and capable of securing more political benefits for them.

These people are now keeping their eyes wide open, waiting for Tianzhangyuan to make a mistake.

If given the opportunity, they would attack Tenshōin like wolves smelling fresh blood, weakening the power of the "Nanki faction" and Tokugawa Iemochi, who was forcibly placed in power by the "Nanki faction."

Tenshōin's unauthorized departure from Edo Castle to lead Tokugawa Iemochi's secretly newly established hidden force at this shrine on the outskirts of Edo... If the Hitotsubashi faction finds out about this, it will be no small matter...

Not only will Tenshōin suffer, but Tokugawa Iemochi will also be implicated.

Although Qing Deng's question was somewhat vague, the meaning was accurately conveyed to Tian Zhang Yuan.

"Giggle giggle~~"

Tenshōin, with a carefree expression, laughed a few times.

Thank you for your concern.

"Don't worry about me."

"Since I have taken on the heavy responsibility of establishing and operating the new Oniwaban, I must have made thorough preparations."

What preparations were made? Tenshōin didn't continue.

Qingdeng wisely refrained from pressing the matter further.

It was only then that Qingdeng realized that his throat was extremely parched from not drinking water for a long time.

He picked up the perfectly warm cup of black tea from his lap and took a sip.

The aroma was strong... but Qing Deng couldn't taste it at all—his entire focus was on a serious problem that was making his brows furrow uncontrollably.

Qingdeng placed the teacup, which hadn't been diluted much, back in its original position, and then quietly voiced the question that had been making him frown:

"...Lord Tenshōin. Since this shrine is the headquarters of the new Oniwaban...what is the purpose of my visit to the headquarters of the new Oniwaban?"

Tianzhangyuan smiled without saying a word.

He silently pulled over an exquisite wooden box and, with utmost respect, took out a neatly folded document from it with both hands.

Tenshōin opened the document and, with an extremely solemn expression and tone, read its contents aloud.

This document is written in complex and difficult-to-understand Old Japanese, which can make one dizzy... but fortunately, the content of the document is not long.

A moment later, Tianzhangyuan put down the document he had finished reading.

As Tenshōin finished speaking, the well-decorated guest room was suddenly dragged into a dark, deep sea, enveloped in a heavy silence.

Silence descended between Qingdeng and Tianzhangyuan. The chirping of cicadas and the sound of sweeping, which came from afar, sounded strangely distant.

After a while, Qingdeng seemed to come to his senses, and he slowly expressed his astonishment and disbelief in his voice:

"You're transferring me...to the new Imperial Household?"

Tianzhangyuan folded up the official documents in his hand and smiled:

"Congratulations, Tachibana-kun. From today onwards, you are part of my new Oniwaban."

The long speech that the Emperor Tianzhang just read aloud from that official document... most of it consisted of meaningless prefaces, official jargon, and clichés.

Throughout the entire piece, only a handful of sentences contain any real substance.

If we compress these few sentences that contain any content... we can directly compress them into a simple, plain sentence: From this day forward, Aoto is a new member of the new Oniwaban!

Qing Deng subconsciously doubted whether he had misheard... but he was also very sure that his hearing was excellent. As the "Sensor of the Wind," Qing Deng could hear not only the Tianzhang Academy in front of him, but also the birdsong and cicada chirping dozens of meters away.

The Imperial Academy placed the document, still smelling of ink, back into the wooden box.

Smiling and silent, they quietly awaited Qingdeng's response.

"Your Highness Tenshōin, so... does this mean that in the future I will serve as the captain of the Fire Thieves Third Division and the leader of the First-Hand Archers Seventh Division, while also serving as a member of the new Imperial Guard?" Aoto asked.

"Yes." Tianzhangyuan nodded.

Qingdeng lowered his head in silence and scratched his hair.

This gesture of bowing his head made it impossible for Tenshōin to see Qingdeng's current expression.

Tokugawa Iemochi, Tenshōin, the brand-new secret service, the fire-fighting thieves... these words danced and swirled in Qing Deng's mind, finally merging into his thoughts.

--I see……

Qingdeng suddenly murmured this to himself.

—Oh, I see…

The "fog" that had been trapping my mind slowly dissipated.

The various thoughts and conjectures in my mind were originally as chaotic as a ball of yarn that a cat had played with... Now, all the lines of this ball of yarn have been clarified and arranged one by one.

Why would someone with no prior experience in "carrying out covert missions" be suddenly transferred to the new Oniwabanshu...?

Why would they use such a sneaky method as "secretly summoning me to the new Oniwaban headquarters" to announce that "the General has decided to transfer me to the new Oniwaban"?

And... why was I promoted so quickly to the high positions of squad leader of the Fire Thief Division and leader of the First-Strike Archer Group...?

It dawned on me.

All these questions were easily answered.

"...Your Highness, may I ask a question?"

"Excuse me."

"When I first heard that I was to be transferred to the seventh squad, which was to be the Fire Thief Reorganization and to take charge of the third squad and the first-strike archer squad, I was very puzzled."

"Although I have indeed made great contributions, my achievements do not seem to be so outstanding that they have allowed me to be promoted so many ranks."

"The reason why I have been able to rise so quickly... must be because the General and His Highness have been so kind to each other, right?"

Qing Deng, who calmly met Tenshōin's gaze, used a question format but spoke with the tone of an affirmative statement.

"..."

Tenshōin, who did not respond immediately, looked at Aoto meaningfully.

The smile on his face and the look in his eyes changed slightly. The emotion in that smile and look was hard to fathom, but one thing was certain: it didn't carry any negative feelings.

"Because I didn't think it was anything particularly remarkable, I wasn't planning to tell you."

"But since you've found out, there's nothing we can do about it."

You're right.

"The other day, when we were discussing what kind of reward to give you for successfully inflicting heavy damage on the anti-foreign group, protecting the Westerners in countless settlements, and making another great contribution, many people suggested that it would be enough to promote you to a certain squad of fire-fighting thieves."

"After a series of arduous negotiations with the General, we finally managed to secure you the positions of squad leader and archer group leader."

When he said the last sentence, Tenshōin smiled brightly and used a playful, half-joking tone.

—Just as I thought…

Qingdeng half-closed his eyes and let out a long breath.

—This is… a disguised way of taking me in as a servant…

The culture of juvenile deities: a distinctive cultural feature of ancient Japan.

The origin of the koshige (yokoshige) dates back to the Muromachi Shogunate period (1336-1573). The Muromachi Shogun established an official department called "koshige-shu" (koshige-shu), which selected a group of strong and healthy young men to serve as his personal bodyguards. This is the origin of the koshige culture.

In the late Muromachi period, local powerful clans rose to prominence, ushering in the Sengoku period in Japan. The entire Sengoku period was characterized by intrigue, treachery, and the subservience of superiors.

It was commonplace for subordinates to rebel and kill their lord.

In order to avoid being beheaded by their subordinates and to build a group of reliable and loyal followers, lords adopted the method of "accepting servants" to win over their subordinates.

For example: A is the lord, B is the subordinate, and C is the subordinate's second son.

Suppose A takes B's second son C as a junior (generally, each family's heir is the eldest son, so it's unusual to take the eldest son as a junior), it means that lord A is sending a signal to the outside world: I value B highly. In this way, he can win over B's people.

If C stays by Lord A's side for a long time and becomes a messenger between A and B, then there will be another channel for cultivating the relationship between ruler and subject or eliminating the estrangement between them.