I assembled the strongest swordsman group.

With a smile playing on his lips, Qing Deng cast a teasing glance at Kinoshita Mai, and continued in a joking tone:

"Could that Kinoshita Genichi be your ancestor?"

"How is that possible!"

No sooner had Qing Deng finished speaking than Kinoshita Mai said irritably:

"Qingdeng, do you know how many people in this country have the surname 'Kinoshita'?"

“‘Kinoshita’ is not some unique surname that only one family possesses.”

There are countless people with the surname "Kinoshita" throughout the country. It's impossible that everyone of them is a descendant of Kinoshita Genichi, right?

Qingdeng laughed and repeatedly said that he was just joking.

As Kinoshita Mai just mentioned, "Kinoshita" is a very common and widespread surname.

Qing Deng only made this harmless little joke with Kinoshita Mai to lighten the mood.

Sato Hikogoro suddenly stood up and began to recount anecdotes about the Tennen Rishin-ryu school and Ogata Hayase—everyone took it as a trivial little episode.

Before long, everyone went about their business.

Those who weren't full continued eating.

Those who wish to offer a toast to Kondo and Matsui Tsune can continue to offer toasts.

Those who want to sing and dance freely can continue to sing and dance.

Those who want to "fight" should continue to "fight"...

Kinoshita Mai once again subtly raised her gaze with a sense of urgency, as if facing a formidable enemy.

However, she was multitasking at the moment.

Not only did he keep his eyes on Sanako, but he also occasionally glanced at... Souji, who was fast asleep.

Sanako once again keenly noticed Kinoshita Mai's gaze... and then once again adopted a "cold" and "ignoring" attitude.

Although Kinoshita Mai's actions were very subtle... at this moment, Aoto finally realized that she was making these little moves.

In fact, even before Sanako had spoken to Kinoshita Mai in a completely emotionless tone, saying, "It seems you're not very good at drinking, Miss Kinoshita. You're already drunk without even a hint of alcohol on you," Aoto had already sensed the subtle tension between the two women…

Why Sanako was going against Kinoshita Mai—Aoto wasn't sure if it had anything to do with him, after all, he wasn't sure if Sanako saw him as a "very good friend"... or something else entirely.

But Kinoshita Mai is different.

Even a third party like Kiryu could see what kind of feelings Kinoshita Mai had for Aoto... let alone Aoto, who was a perfectly intelligent and emotionally intelligent person involved?

Although it was just Qing Deng's speculation... he felt it was pretty close to the truth—the reason why Kinoshita Mai was staring at Sanako with such tense and wary eyes at this moment was because of him, because of the fireworks display a few days ago...

Qingdeng lowered his head and looked at the bowl and chopsticks in his hands.

In that instant, Qingdeng felt the sounds around him receding—he was focused on thinking. The intense concentration made Qingdeng feel as if the small space around him, with a radius of one step, had been cut off from the world.

Don't hesitate any longer...!

After pondering this in his heart, Qingdeng took a deep breath:

"My hands are dirty with sauce, I'm going to wash them."

After saying this, without waiting for Sanako and Kinoshita Mai to respond, Qing Deng hurriedly put down his chopsticks and bowl, stood up with a "whoosh," and strode out of the banquet hall.

Qingdeng didn't head towards the toilet or the well in the yard—he went straight to the stairs leading to the second floor without stopping.

Upon reaching the second floor, Aoto skillfully turned into the room he shared with Saito, Nagakura, and others: the Diner's Room.

Qingdeng rummaged through the locker where his clothes and daily necessities were kept and found a writing brush, ink, paper and inkstone.

After laying out the paper, grinding the ink, and calming his mind—having completed this series of preparations, Qingdeng solemnly picked up his brush and began writing something on the paper…

……

……

Test Guard Hall, somewhere—

Kiryu rested his hands on the window frame in front of him, gazing at the distant scenery through the open window.

At that moment, a deep, magnetic middle-aged male voice called out from behind Kiryu:

"Mamiya-kun. I'm sorry to have kept you waiting."

"You've finally arrived..."

Kiryu let out a sigh of relief, then turned around—the Komaki couple were striding toward him side by side.

"I thought you two hadn't figured out my code."

"Suddenly saying he needed to relieve himself, and as he got up to leave, he quietly reached out and touched my and Atachi's shoulders—I'm not so old that I can't even understand this kind of code." Komaki Goro smiled.

Kiryu laughed along:

"Old Shepherd..."

“Mamiya-kun, there’s no one else here,” Komaki Goro interrupted Kiryu. “There’s no need to pretend anymore.”

"Ha...you're right."

Kiryu adjusted his glasses on the bridge of his nose.

"Well... although I already said 'long time no see' to you once, I used your pseudonym... so I'll say it again anyway."

Kiryu cleared his throat.

Then, a nostalgic smile appeared on his face.

"It's been a long time... Ogata-kun."

"Hmm." Komaki Goro... or rather Ogata, reached out and patted Kiryu's shoulder familiarly. "Mamiya-kun, how have you been?"

"It's been almost three... or four years since we last saw each other, hasn't it?"

“Really? I don’t quite remember.” Ogata shrugged. “Ever since I turned seventy, I’ve become less and less sensitive to time.”

"Haha, that's a common ailment among the elderly. To me, the day you and Lord Genichi fought at Mount Tenno is still like yesterday..."

"Same to me. The scenes of me and Uchizosuke traveling around are still vivid in my mind... and in the blink of an eye, the future fourth head of Tennen Rishin-ryu has already gotten married."

Ogata slowly walked to Kiryu's side, and Omachi followed closely behind.

The three of them stood side by side in front of the large window, facing the blue sky outside.

"I won't bother with any unnecessary opening remarks or small talk."

Kiryu said.

“I know you two have a lot of questions for me, which is why I used a code to arrange a private meeting with you.”

"Now, if you have any questions, please feel free to ask me."

As soon as Kiryu finished speaking, Atachi impatiently uttered a tense voice:

"Mahiya-kun, what exactly is the relationship between that 'Niou' and Ama? Are they... are they in that kind of relationship?"

Kiryu, as if he had anticipated that Ogata and Omachi would ask this question first, calmly and indifferently replied:

"You two actually know about 'Niou'... That's a little surprising. Has Tachibana-kun's name already spread to the Kinki region?"

Ogata said helplessly:

"A-Machi and I are just living in seclusion in Kyoto, not in the deep mountains."

"Opening a wagashi (Japanese sweets) shop in Kyoto—do you think this kind of lifestyle might become isolated?"

"Although it has not spread widely yet, the name 'Niou' has indeed spread in a small area around Gyeonggi Province."

"Now that you know who Tachibana-kun is, I'm happy to make things easier for you. There's no need for me to go on and on to introduce him."

Kiryu took a deep breath.

"Because this happened recently, I haven't had time to tell many people, including the two of you, that I have taken Tachibana-kun as my apprentice."

"Ju-kun is now both my last disciple and the object of the young master's affections."

The moment Kiryu finished speaking, the expression on the face of the beautiful married woman was one of intense shock.

Ogata's reaction was relatively calm—but a hint of surprise still involuntarily flickered across his face:

"Mamiya-kun, you... have taken on a disciple?"

As a long-time friend of Kiryu, Ogata knows how much time and effort Kiryu has spent searching for someone to inherit his mantle... but to no avail.

Kiryu smiled and nodded, then recounted to Ogata and Atachi, bit by bit, in great detail, the past between him, Kinoshita Mai, and Aoto.

Kiryu has excellent speaking skills.

How did he and Kinoshita Mai meet Seito...?

How did he come to value Qingdeng and take him on as his last disciple...?

How did he discover that Aoto and Kinoshita Mai had feelings for each other...?

In a short while, Kiryu recounted the entire story to Ogata and Omachi in detail.

After hearing this, Atachi revealed a complex and meaningful expression:

"Ama and that kid have feelings for each other... Mamiya-kun, you... you're not mistaken, are you?"

Atachi's way of addressing Aoto changed from "Niou" to "that kid" without him even realizing it.

"From what I've observed, the young master is indeed very fond of Tachibana-kun. And Tachibana-kun's feelings for the young master are clearly extraordinary."

Kiryu said calmly.

"The two of them went to a fireworks festival together a while ago."

“In the past, the young master had never been interested in makeup or dressing up.”

“But recently, she has started to actively learn how to do makeup and pay attention to beautiful clothes—Aching, you are also a woman, and I believe you understand what this means even better than I do.”

Atachi: "..."

Atachi fell silent, her red lips pressed tightly together, her hands clenched tightly on the window frame in front of her.

Her expression changed drastically... It was impossible to know what she was thinking or pondering.

Compared to Atachi, who focused on the relationship between Aoto and Kinoshita Mai, Ogata's focus was completely different—