I assembled the strongest swordsman group.

Harada was equally decisive.

Seeing that the chief was going to deliver the watch to Qing Deng, he replied almost without thinking, "Oh! Then I'll leave it to you!"

"Ah, speaking of which—"

After handing Aoto's pocket watch to Souji, Harada chuckled as if he had remembered something amusing.

"Mr. Ju wore a very formal outfit before he left. Was he going to meet some beautiful lady?"

The commander paused for a moment, then smiled helplessly.

"When has Tachibana-kun ever gone out without being dressed impeccably?"

Having said that, fearing that he would not be able to catch up with Qing Deng if he left any later, the souji hurriedly pushed open the door and went out.

The test site is situated on a high slope, so it has a great view.

Standing atop the hill, Souji looked out into the distance and soon spotted a familiar figure—Aoto's height was far above the average for that era, making him stand out like a crane among chickens when he was in a crowd.

"Hey! Tachibana-kun!"

The commander shouted Qing Deng's name as he ran after him.

When they rushed to the spot where Qingdeng had just been found—a street corner on a main street—Qingdeng had already gone somewhere else.

Souji anxiously looked up... Perhaps Souji was lucky, because she spotted that tall figure hurrying off to some unknown place at a street corner in the distance.

He took off again to chase after them.

When they reached the street corner, Qing Deng's figure had once again vanished... but Souji's good luck had not run out.

She also helped to spot Qingdeng, who was about to disappear into the crowd in the distance...

Souji gritted his teeth, tightened his grip on the pocket watch, and took his third step in the chase.

It was as if fate was deliberately playing a trick on Souji.

Each time, Souji manages to spot Aoto at just the right moment, but the path to Aoto is either too complicated by the terrain or too crowded to move an inch. As a result, by the time Souji hastily catches up, Aoto has already gone somewhere else... and so on.

After chasing each other for nearly 20 minutes, from the Shieikan to a town that Souji was unfamiliar with, Souji's good luck seemed to have run out.

"Strange... Where did Tachibana-kun go...?"

No matter how much the Chief stood on tiptoe or craned her neck to look into the distance, Qing Deng's figure never came into her sight again.

"Never mind, let's go back. I'll give the pocket watch to Tachibana-kun after he returns to the Examination Hall..." Just as Souji, who thought he had lost track of Aoto, had this thought—

"Eh?"

Suddenly, a beautiful red figure appeared in the corner of the commander's left eye.

As if struck by lightning, Souji quickly turned his head and stared intently at the direction where the red figure had appeared.

"Ms. Kinoshita?"

At the intersection to the left of Souji, Kinoshita Mai, dressed in her usual bright red dress and with light makeup, hurried along as always.

Kinoshita Mai, busy walking eastward along the street beneath her feet, did not spot Souji.

Whether it was Souji's imagination or not... she felt that there seemed to be a hint of anticipation and joy on Kinoshita Mai's pretty face...

This place is quite far from the Senjiya... What is Ms. Kinoshita doing here?

In that instant, a sentence Harada had just said to her flashed through Souji's mind—

(Mr. Tachibana wore a very formal outfit before leaving. Was he going to meet some beautiful woman?)

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Does any reader have any idea why Kinoshita Mai is here?

Chapter 266 Soaring to the Heavens! [7100]

I lost Qingdeng at this place.

And Kinoshita Mai just happened to appear in this place, which is far away from the Senjiya.

If it's a coincidence... then it's far too coincidental.

Just as Souji was still pondering, Kinoshita Mai, who was walking very fast, was about to disappear from her sight.

The commander looked up and gazed at the beautiful figure that was about to be swallowed up by the crowd in the distance, then looked at the pocket watch in his hand.

Instantly, a deep look of hesitation and uncertainty crept onto Souji's cheeks.

This hesitation came quickly and went quickly.

In just two breaths, Souji gritted his teeth, gripped Aoto's pocket watch tightly, and chased after Kinoshita Mai's retreating figure...

……

……

Edo, a river embankment—

"arrive……"

Kinoshita Mai glanced at the embankment in front of her while looking down at the note in her hand.

"This is it..."

"Mr. Kiryu, I want to go out to buy something"—after using this as an excuse to get permission to go out, Kinoshita Mai finally arrived at her destination after a hurried journey: the embankment of the Kanda River, a major river that runs through Edo.

Because of its remote location, the riverbank is rarely visited. Looking around, you can't see a single pedestrian.

But it is also a river embankment with quite beautiful scenery.

The area is vast and flat, planted with many large trees that Kinoshita Mai doesn't know the names of, which are growing exceptionally well in the current sweltering heat.

To the east of the riverbank, which is also directly in front of Kinoshita Mai, flows the quietly flowing Kanda River.

The rhythmic sound of flowing water can bring a sense of calm to the listener.

Kinoshita Mai stared blankly at the scenic embankment before her... A faint blush crept onto her cheeks.

—Qingdeng invited me here...what does he want from me...?

As Kinoshita Mai thought this to herself, she looked down at the piece of paper in her hand again.

This was the piece of paper that Aoto had secretly slipped into her palm when she left with Kiryu and the others after the wedding yesterday.

On the piece of paper, only a very simple sentence was written in neat handwriting:

(Ms. Kinoshita, if you are free tomorrow, please come to AAAA in XX town at 8:00 AM tomorrow...)

The sudden invitation from Qing Deng left Kinoshita Mai so shocked that she remained in a daze all night.

Why did you suddenly and mysteriously invite her to this place?

Is there something important you need to tell her?

Or is he suggesting that he invite her to go somewhere for fun?

The information revealed on the piece of paper was far too little... These doubts will probably only be answered when we meet Qingdeng at the location written on the paper.

Are you going to keep the appointment?

This is a very easy question for Kinoshita Mai to answer.

To find the answer, and also because of... her feelings for Aoto, Kinoshita Mai's heart had been pounding wildly with nervousness and anticipation since last night.

A young man subtly arranges to meet another young woman by passing her a note... In this day and age, such behavior can easily lead to all sorts of speculation.

—Qingdeng, could it be that he's thinking of…

The pristine white kimono that Kondo Isami and Matsui Tsune witnessed at their wedding, exuding a sense of holiness, took on a detailed, intricate shape in Kinoshita Mai's mind.

Every time she thought of this, a blush would rise on Kinoshita Mai's face.

If Qing Deng really did want to talk to me...

How many children will we have in the future?

The moment they talk about secret rendezvous, they think of that kind of thing, then they think about procreation, and then they think about how many children they want to have in the future—the imagination of a girl with dreams can always leap so far in this regard.

With this in mind, and with this "what if?" mentality, Kinoshita Mai changed into what she thought was her best outfit before leaving the house, and used the makeup techniques that Kiryu had taught her to give herself a fresh and elegant look.

She wanted to look her best for this important moment in her life.

When Kinoshita Mai arrived at the location written on the piece of paper, there were still about 10 minutes left before the agreed time... Because she was early, there was no one around except for the trees.

The moment she stepped onto the embankment, Kinoshita Mai felt her hands and feet begin to become somewhat unresponsive—she didn't know how to move or position her limbs.

Kinoshita Mai let out a "Ha!" and channeled her inner tension and anticipation into her voice. Then, while trying to appear calm and stand upright under the shade of a large tree, she nervously turned her head to look around.

The fingers of the hands clasped together in front of him were restlessly intertwined.

Her small, white feet, bare of socks, fiddled with the red-buttoned flat wooden clogs.

At that moment, Kinoshita Mai noticed a puddle next to her left foot—water left over from the rain last night and this morning.

The water in the puddle was quite clear, and the calm surface clearly reflected Kinoshita Mai's pretty face.

Kinoshita Mai looked to her left and right, hesitated for a moment, then bent down and pressed her face close to the puddle, using the reflection in the water to tidy her hair and check if there was anything strange on her face.

Just then—

Pasao, Pasao...

The light sound of wooden clogs scraping against the ground came from behind.

—Here it comes!

Thinking it was Aoto, Kinoshita Mai trembled slightly and then quickly turned around.

However... just as she turned her gaze to what was behind her, her entire body suddenly seemed to be under a "petrification spell," every muscle in her body instantly becoming as stiff as stone, and even the lines of her face tightened.

A calm, indifferent remark, like a sharp blade, slashed at Kinoshita Mai.

"...Ms. Kinoshita, why are you here?"