I assembled the strongest swordsman group.

"No," Sanako replied without hesitation. "I was just thinking about something, so engrossed that I didn't hear you clearly."

Falling asleep in the bath—that's so stupid, Sanako would never admit to doing something so foolish.

"Thinking about something? What could be making you so focused?"

Not wanting to discuss this topic further with Chiba Jutaro, Sanako made up a few things to brush it off.

Lingering outside the bathroom while your sister is taking a bath is hardly a pleasant thing to do.

Relieved that Sanako was alright, Chiba Jutaro told her a few words, "Don't wash for too long," before turning and striding away.

Sanako listened carefully to the sound of Chiba Jutaro's footsteps as he left.

When Chiba Jutaro's footsteps and breath had completely disappeared from the bathroom, Sanako took a deep breath, then bent over, submerging most of her delicate body underwater, leaving only her upper body exposed above her lips.

"How shameless...!"

Sanako muttered through gritted teeth.

"How could I... have such a shameless dream...!"

Every detail of the dream she had just had remained vividly in Sanako's mind.

She married Aoto along with Kinoshita Mai...

She is pregnant...

Qingdeng attempted to have sexual relations with her during the day, and instead of offering effective resistance, she feigned reluctance and welcomed him...

Every single element in this dream made Sanako so ashamed and indignant that she wanted to bang her head on the ground.

Although in this strange dream, Kinoshita Mai was as obedient to her as a well-trained pet, giving Sanako a strange sense of relief, this relief could not dilute the intense shame.

She couldn't remain completely unmoved by what Qing Deng had said on the riverbank that afternoon—Zanako belatedly realized this at this moment.

"He actually announced to both of us in front of me and Ms. Kinoshita that he wanted to marry both of us at the same time... Should I say he was decisive and responsible... or should I say he was too straightforward..."

Rulan's breath gently stirred the water's surface, creating ripples.

"Fine... Anyway, no matter what, I'm..."

Sanako's murmuring abruptly stopped at that moment.

Even though she hadn't consciously tried to recall it, the part of the dream that made Sanako feel most ashamed—the scenes of Aoto holding her tightly and taking off her clothes—flashed through Sanako's mind one by one.

In an instant, Sanako's face turned so red that it was clearly visible even through the thick layers of steam.

"N-nothing...! Chiba Sanako, what are you thinking about...!"

Sanako closed her eyes tightly and shook her head vigorously, as if she wanted to shake all the distracting thoughts out of her head.

"Chiba Sanako...didn't you already make up your mind to 'remain unmarried for life and devote yourself to the study of swordsmanship'...?"

After saying that, Sanako shrank her head and with a "plop," hid her entire body in the deepest part of the bathtub.

The bathroom returned to silence.

Only strings of cute bubbles were released to the surface of the water.

Beneath the water's surface, a faint rosy glow could be faintly seen.

……

……

Edo, Koishikawa, Kohinata-Yanagi-cho, Shieikan, Dojo—

"Tachibana-kun, it's so late, aren't you going to rest?"

Inoue Genzaburo's voice came from behind.

"Uh... I've recently figured out a new technique, so I want to practice it more at the dojo."

Qingdeng turned around and smiled at Inoue, who was standing at the entrance of the dojo.

"I see... Then you should pay more attention to your time. Diligence is a good thing, but you should also pay attention to the balance between work and rest."

"Okay, I understand.

After watching Inoue leave, Aoto turned his gaze back to what was in front of him, refocusing his mind and attention.

"Alright... let's continue..."

Qingdeng closed his eyes and held the bamboo sword in a mid-stance.

Relying on his extraordinary memory granted by his talent of "photographic memory," in just a moment, Qing Dengna's vision, which was completely black due to his closed eyes, was sketched out in a blurry outline of a world.

Immediately afterwards, the outline became clear and splashed with color—a deserted, dusty path, and a man in black holding a wooden sword high above his head, "appeared" in front of Qingdeng.

In the blink of an eye, the man in black, the moment he "appeared," swung down the wooden knife in his hand without saying a word.

"All things under heaven" once again fiercely attacked Qingdeng!

Although memories cannot compare to reality, they still left a deep impression on Qingdeng.

Just hours earlier, after the man in black had brutally beaten Qingdeng and left, Qingdeng lay on the muddy ground for more than ten minutes before he finally recovered.

After finally regaining the strength to get up and move around, Qing Deng immediately followed the direction the man in black had left in, trying to find him.

Qing Deng's tracking efforts were undeniably diligent, but the result was still disappointing—he gained nothing.

After searching in vain, he had no choice but to return to the Shie-e-kan (a training hall for the imperial physicians). Qing-deng then rushed into the training hall.

Since returning to Shieikan, Seito has practically lived at the dojo.

He tirelessly recalled the black-clad man's sword strike.

On one hand, he wanted to figure out the ins and outs of this move. Attacking with the power of all things in the universe... Both its power and visual impact left Qing Deng dumbfounded and filled with curiosity—how exactly did this mysterious old man do it?

On the other hand... it was because the eerie familiarity that this move brought to Qing Deng kept lingering in his mind.

So familiar...so familiar...

But Qing Deng could never figure out why he felt familiar with it.

It's like trying to grasp the moon's reflection in water—the "moon" is right in front of you, but no matter how hard you try, you can't hold it in your hand...

"Sure enough...it feels so familiar..."

Qingdeng slowly opened his eyes, put down the bamboo sword, and raised his hand to irritably ruffle his hair.

"Where does this sense of familiarity come from...?"

……

……

After Kondo Isami and Matsui Tsune's wedding, Aoto finally had a long-awaited period of free time without any important events to attend to.

During this period, Aoto lived a very regular life—running around five places in a row: the Shieikan, the Senjiya, the Kochiba Kenkan, the Ikokujinjukuri, and the Tsukimiya Shrine.

He studied swordsmanship at the Shieikan (Test Guard Hall).

He learned sword-drawing techniques at the Senjiya.

Visiting Radish at the Chiba Kenkan.

To serve as a teacher in a foreign country.

He studied Cloud Flow Ninjutsu at the Moon Palace Shrine.

Every day is both busy and fulfilling.

With the demise of the Extermination Group, Qing Deng fell into confusion, unsure of what to do next, and lost his direction—but now, that worry has completely disappeared.

After expressing his somewhat arrogant determination to Kinoshita Mai and Sanako, Aoto now has a remarkably clear future goal and plan: to gain the acceptance and approval of the two girls' parents and to allow him to marry them!

Fighting for women... Although such a reason may seem a bit improper at first glance, Qing Deng's mind is made up.

Moreover, in terms of difficulty, Qingdeng's ambition is not much easier than ideals such as "opening his own temple" or "becoming a high-ranking official and making a lot of money".

Qing Deng has never met Kinoshita Mai's relatives, so he has no idea what kind of personalities or values ​​her family members have.

Therefore, let's set aside Kinoshita Mai for now and talk about Sanako's side first—Sanako is the apple of the eye of the Chiba family, the number one family in the martial arts world.

To marry a woman of this caliber, and to do so while simultaneously marrying another woman... one can only imagine the immense difficulty involved.

On the day Aoto confessed his feelings, Sanako made it clear to him that Chiba Sadakichi and Chiba Jutaro would never allow her future husband to be a man with many wives and concubines.

Although fulfilling the ambition of changing the two girls' surnames to "Tachibana Mai" and "Tachibana Sanako" would inevitably require navigating a difficult and thorny path, Aoto was full of fighting spirit.

Since he had already made up his mind to marry two women, he could only muster his strength and persevere!

Incidentally, after expressing his "grand ambitions" to the two women, Qing Deng, no longer hiding his feelings, completely let loose—he became more proactive and engaged in contact and communication with the two women than ever before.

Therefore, Radish has been having a great time lately – Aoto has been visiting the Chiba Kendo Hall much more frequently.

Radish, having shaken off its previous melancholy, became even more affectionate, and its "moo moo moo" sounds became much clearer.

The two women, however, displayed two completely different changes when facing Qingdeng.

When Kinoshita Mai was with Aoto, she became more shy and blushed more easily—perhaps because Aoto had made it clear that he liked her too.

As for Sanako, she treated Aoto as a friend as always—although she would subconsciously avoid eye contact with him when they made eye contact.

In short, the relationship between the two women and Qingdeng was destined to become complicated and inextricable after that afternoon on that riverbank.

Besides "marrying two women," Qing Deng actually has another "small goal" for the future.

After witnessing the unparalleled slash of the man in black, Qing Deng's worldview... to put it bluntly, was completely refreshed.

The sword in his hand merges with the heavens and earth... Is this still human?

Qing Deng has been trying to understand how the man in black managed to do that sword strike, and where that inexplicable sense of familiarity with the strike came from, but he still hasn't gotten anywhere.

However, it planted a seed in Qingdeng's heart.

So... there are such powerful martial artists in this world...

Thinking of this, Qing Deng, who has always loved martial arts, felt a surge of longing and a strange power.

Under the influence of this wondrous power, Qingdeng has been practicing his swordsmanship even more diligently lately.

Whether I can reach the level of the Man in Black in the future is something only God knows.

But having another goal to look up to is never a bad thing.

……