I assembled the strongest swordsman group.

This uncle is quite trendy; as the owner of a wagashi (Japanese sweets) shop, he carries a fountain pen, which is still quite rare in Japan today.

“Mr. Ju, the more I chat with you, the more I realize that we really get along well.”

Goro Komaki unscrewed his pen, opened the booklet, and began scribbling something on a random page.

"This is the address of the wagashi (Japanese sweets) shop that my wife and I opened in Kyoto."

Gu Mu put down his pen, tore off the page he had just written on with a "ripping" sound, and handed it to Qing Deng.

"Mr. Tachibana, if you ever have the chance to visit Kyoto in the future, you can always come to find me at the address on this paper. I will always welcome you."

I live in Edo, while the Komaki couple live in Kyoto, the two cities are almost halfway across Japan... After Kondo Isami and Matsui Tsune's wedding ends today, I don't know when I will see the couple again.

Perhaps after today, I won't have the chance to see this couple again... Qing Deng thought to himself.

However, despite thinking this, Aoto still politely accepted the note from Komaki Goro with both hands and accepted it carefully...

……

The lively wedding banquet lasted until 4 p.m.

As the sun began to set, guests started leaving one after another, having enjoyed themselves to the fullest.

Kinoshita Mai, Sanako, and the others were among the last to leave... They only got up to say goodbye when the sky was already showing a dusky glow.

Kiryu: "Shusuke, thank you so much for your hospitality today."

"Hehehe".

Shusuke touched his smooth chin. His eyes, which were usually so narrow that the pupils were barely visible, narrowed even more as he smiled.

"Don't say that! We are the ones who should be saying 'thank you.' Thank you all for coming to my son's wedding today!"

Kondo and Matsui, the newlyweds, along with Aoto, Inoue, Hijikata, Abi, and a group of others, stood in a row behind Shusuke, bidding farewell to Kiryu, Ogata and his wife, and Kinoshita Mai at the entrance of the banquet hall.

Standing to the side and behind Kiryu, Kinoshita Mai crossed her arms in front of her, her head slightly lowered, her eyes fixed on her small, unsocked toes.

Every now and then, she would look up and secretly cast a reluctant glance at Qingdeng.

At this moment, she especially hoped that Kiryu, Ogata, and the others could chat with Shusuke a little longer... But things didn't go as planned. Just as she had this thought, she saw Kiryu bow slightly to Shusuke:

"Well then—we'll take our leave now."

After saying that, Kiryu, who was "leading the charge," strode quickly out of the banquet hall without any hesitation or wavering.

Ogata and his wife, Omachi, followed closely behind.

Just a few days ago, she was devastated to learn that she wasn't the only girl who accompanied Qing Deng to see the fireworks. Yet, a few days later, she managed to "forgive" Qing Deng and reconcile with him after some self-consolation. This shows what kind of place Qing Deng holds in Kinoshita Mai's heart.

I feel reluctant to part ways with Qingdeng now.

But it's no use feeling reluctant to part with it.

Kinoshita Mai took a deep breath, suppressing her inner turmoil. She bowed slightly to Shusuke and the others, then followed closely behind Kiryu and Ogata with her head down.

"..." As Shusuke bid farewell to Kiryu and the others, Aoto, who was hiding among the group behind Shusuke, remained silent.

Seeing that Kiryu and his group were about to leave, Qing Deng quietly took half a step to the left and stood on the side of the passageway that Kiryu and the others were using.

With a smile, Aoto bid farewell to Kiryu and Ogata as they passed by him.

Just as Kinoshita Mai, walking at the very back, was about to brush past him—

"what?"

Kinoshita Mai suddenly let out a low scream.

"A-Wu, what's wrong?" A-Machi, who was walking in front of her, turned around and asked.

"N-nothing," Kinoshita Mai said evasively. "I just... I accidentally stepped on a stone and got a little startled."

Atachi gave Kinoshita Mai a few strange looks.

However, she didn't dwell too much on Kinoshita Mai's earlier scream.

After confirming that there seemed to be nothing wrong with Kinoshita Mai, she turned her gaze back to what was in front of her.

Kinoshita Mai, who had successfully fooled Atachi and breathed a sigh of relief, lowered her eyes carefully to look at her right hand, which was hanging naturally at her side.

At this moment, there was a thin piece of paper in her right hand.

Kinoshita Mai lightly scratched the piece of paper with her fingertip to confirm its existence, then clenched it tightly in her palm.

It was as if she was afraid the piece of paper would disappear from her hands.

……

……

The next day—

November 2, 1860 (the first year of the Kan'en era)

Edo, Koishikawa Kohinata Yanagi Town, Test Guard Hall——

Even though a night had passed, the festive atmosphere still lingered in the air of the Shie-e-kan.

There was a light rain last night and this morning.

The tangled dark clouds finally began to dissipate around noon.

The once gray and dark sky has been restored to the light of summer.

In the gaps where the dark clouds dispersed, a vast expanse of azure blue, like the sea, was revealed once more.

Because of the recent rain, the air was filled with a refreshing coolness that put people in a good mood.

Cotton-like white clouds, replacing the dark clouds, softened the bright sunshine after the rain. Under the sunlight, the pure white clouds, seemingly gilded with gold, piled up in layers on the horizon, creating a magnificent sight.

Every now and then, a gentle breeze would blow.

A gentle breeze swept by, stirring every fallen leaf in the courtyard of the Imperial Examination Hall, and also ruffling the hair and hem of Qing Deng's clothes on the veranda.

In traditional Japanese houses, there is usually a corridor under the eaves. This corridor, which is adjacent to the yard outside the house and is neither indoors nor outdoors, is called "enro".

Qing Deng was dressed very formally at this moment.

Dark blue shirt, black hakama, black socks, and neatly styled hair... she looked like she was about to go out and attend some important date.

And indeed, that was the case—in a little while, Qingdeng was about to attend an important appointment that might change his future life.

Another gentle breeze blew by, ruffling Qingdeng's hair that naturally fell across his forehead.

Qingdeng gazed up at the azure sky above him with a blank expression, a thoughtful look on his face.

—Isn't it about time...?

Qingdeng reached into his pocket, intending to pull out the pocket watch he had carried with him ever since he bought it, to check the current time.

In the end, they found nothing.

"Ok?"

Qing Deng searched the inside of his belt and clothes thoroughly, but found nothing.

Qingdeng, who was shocked to discover that his pocket watch, which he always carried with him, was nowhere to be found, hurriedly went up to the second floor and returned to the "diners' room" where he was staying.

At this moment, the only people in the "diners' room" were Saito, who was sitting cross-legged in the corner with his knife in his arms, lost in thought, and Harada, who was lying on the tatami by the window, singing an unknown tune while closing his eyes to rest.

"Saito, Harada..."

Qingdeng asked them if they had seen his pocket watch, and received the same answer from both of them:

“No,” Harada said.

“…” Saito shook his head quietly.

If he spends time looking for the pocket watch now, he might be late later... After weighing the pros and cons, Qingdeng finally decided to put the insignificant pocket watch aside for now and hurry up to keep his appointment.

After making final adjustments to his attire, Qingdeng strode out of the Examination Hall.

……

Just as Qing Deng left—

"Awoo awoo~~"

Holding a bag of konpeito in one hand and stuffing handfuls of candy into his mouth with the other, Souji slipped on a pair of small, purple-buttoned flat wooden clogs at the entrance of the sword-making hall.

Having almost finished her konpeito yet again, she decided to go to a confectionery shop to buy some more.

"Ah, Okita-kun!"

"Hmm? Harada-kun, what's wrong?"

Souji, who had already put on her wooden clogs and placed her hand on the doorknob of the front door, turned to look at Harada, who was striding towards her.

"Souji, have you seen Mr. Tachibana?"

"Tachibana-kun?" Souji shook his head. "No, I didn't see him."

"I see... Has Mr. Tachibana already left?"

Harada looked down at the pocket watch in his hand with a regretful expression.

"I was even thinking of giving him a pocket watch..."

"A pocket watch?" Souji turned to look and realized that the pocket watch in Harada's hand was the same one that Aoto always carried with him when he went out.

"Mr. Orange just went to the dining room to look for his pocket watch."

Harada explained.

"He seemed to be in a hurry to leave, so he gave up after searching for only a short while."

"Then just now, I suddenly had a flash of inspiration and remembered that I seemed to have seen Mr. Tachibana's pocket watch in the lobby on the first floor this morning. I ran over to take a look—hey, I actually found it."

After saying that, Harada raised Aoto's pocket watch.

"Unfortunately, we were a step too late. Mr. Tachibana had already left... We can only wait for him to come back."

"So that's how it is..."

The commander nodded slightly, then blinked her beautiful eyes thoughtfully.

A moment later, she reached out her hand to Harada.

"Then give me Tachibana-kun's pocket watch. I'm going out now anyway. Since Tachibana-kun just left not long ago, I'll go after him now, maybe I can catch up."