I assembled the strongest swordsman group.

"Mr. Tachibana, please have a seat."

Okita Hikaru casually found a spot on the veranda, his feet dangling tightly together outside the veranda. He raised his wrist and gestured to his side, indicating that Aoto should come and sit down.

Qing Deng didn't stand on ceremony. After politely saying "Excuse me" he sat down next to Okita Hikaru.

Sitting upright on the veranda, with the courtyard in front and the dojo already asleep behind... a gentle breeze fills the air.

Adding a plate of persimmons and two cups of green tea with stems standing upright would make it even more Japanese-style.

"Um... Ms. Hikari."

Qingdeng cleared his throat.

"Can you explain this to me properly? How come you... suddenly became Okita-kun's matchmaker?"

"I am Xiao Si's elder sister. Is it strange for me to act as a matchmaker for Xiao Si and find her a good family?"

Okita Hikaru smiled, his tone full of teasing.

"Uh...that's not what I meant, I meant..."

Qingdeng paused, racking his brains to think of a more appropriate and efficient way to express his meaning.

Okay, okay, I'll stop teasing you.

Okita Hikaru seemed to have gotten tired of playing, and slightly suppressed the smile on his face.

"Ju-kun, just as I said before—I've figured it out. As long as you can marry Xiaosi, then the big problem that caused the conflict between me and Xiaosi... namely, 'whether or not to allow Xiaosi to continue learning swordsmanship', will be perfectly solved."

"...Miss Hikari, please forgive my intrusion. Is there any necessary connection between 'my marriage to Okita-kun' and 'whether Okita-kun can continue learning swordsmanship'?"

"Of course there is a connection. Not only is there a connection, but it's a very strong one."

Okita Hikaru tilted his head back an inch and gazed at the distant horizon.

"Ju-kun, has Xiaosi ever told you why I was so against her continuing to learn swordsmanship?"

Qingdeng nodded.

"Because you think it's useless for women to practice swordsmanship. Having a sharp swordsmanship skill doesn't guarantee a comfortable life in the future."

"Haha, it seems that Xiao Si really trusts you. He doesn't even keep such a private matter from you."

After letting out a few teasing chuckles, Okita Hikaru switched to a serious tone, enunciating each word clearly.

“That’s right, just as Xiao Si told you. I think that for women, practicing swordsmanship is useless except for improving their health and giving them some self-defense capabilities.”

At this point, Hikaru Okita seemed to recall some painful memories, and his eyes drooped slightly.

“My family was unfortunate. My parents died early. In order to raise my two younger sisters, I had to take on the responsibility of supporting the whole family on my own and run around to provide for my sisters’ daily meals.”

"Therefore, I know better than anyone else in this world how difficult it is for a single woman to survive in this world."

"Those high-paying, good jobs go without saying."

"Even if you want to go to the construction site to carry wood or fill sandbags, it is almost impossible for any foreman to hire a woman who is naturally not physically strong."

"If a woman doesn't want to sell her body, then the only jobs she can do are serving dishes and wiping tables in izakayas, teahouses, and other restaurants and bars."

"The hardships of that time... I still remember them vividly even now."

"Life finally got a little better after I married Rintaro and had a strong man in the house."

Throughout, Hikaru Okita maintained a calm demeanor, his face devoid of any emotion, as if he were discussing something unrelated to himself, yet his words concealed a profound theme.

When his parents passed away, Hikaru Okita was only a teenager.

Imagine this: a girl who is not even twenty years old, raising two younger sisters on her own... This would be difficult even in the information age of the 21st century, let alone in the Edo period, which was still an agricultural civilization.

Although Hikaru Okita recounted this past with a calm demeanor, anyone with a sound mind could imagine that in order to support her sisters, Hikaru Okita must have made unimaginable efforts and endured countless hardships.

“Being obsessed with swordsmanship... such a life is far too insecure.”

Okita Hikaru's words hadn't stopped.

"Tachibana-kun, you are a swordsman, so what I'm about to say might upset you..."

Okita Hikaru looked at Aoto for confirmation. This gesture meant, "May I say something that might upset you?"

Qingdeng nodded without hesitation, replying with his eyes: I don't mind, please go ahead.

With Qing Deng's permission, Okita Hikaru no longer had any reservations. She turned her gaze back to the front and cleared her throat:

"I believe that times have changed. This is no longer an era of swords and spears. The decline of swordsmanship and sword schools is only a matter of time."

"Perhaps in 20 years, or even 10 years, whether in bustling Edo or Osaka, or in obscure and impoverished rural areas, all sword-making schools will close down one after another due to a lack of customers... Even large sword-making schools like Genbu-kan, Renhe-kan, and Kochiba-kan will not be spared."

"I was fortunate enough to witness the power of Western guns and the imposing presence of the Black Ships."

Black ships – the current common name for steam warships.

"The size of the black ships was unimaginable; the power of their cannons was beyond comprehension."

"To be frank, compared to the size and power of the Black Ships, swords are like delicate needles that can be broken with a single snap."

"The shogunate began introducing new Western weapons several years ago and established a navy and a new army modeled after Western systems."

"This shows that even the shogunate acknowledged that swords had become obsolete and outdated."

"I think... in the not-too-distant future, no one will be able to support themselves solely through swordsmanship."

Aoto looked at Okita Hikaru speechlessly.

"To say 'swords are no longer acceptable' right in front of me, a swordsman... Miss Hikari, you have quite the courage."

While saying this jokingly, Qing Deng slowly changed to an extremely serious expression and tone.

“Miss Guang, what you just said... you can only tell me, but please don’t tell anyone else. Not everyone will be like me and won’t get angry because you criticized Chen Jian.”

Japan lacks many things, but it has no shortage of fanatical samurai with extreme ideologies.

Even a mere bump into someone could spark a life-or-death duel.

Anyone who dares to say that swords and blades are outdated... will be killed in the street in a heartbeat.

Therefore, Qing Deng wasn't joking; he was very serious. What Okita Hikaru just said absolutely couldn't be spread around, otherwise he'd definitely attract the attention of some fanatical samurai.

"Yes, don't worry, I know what I'm doing. I know your character well, which is why I feel comfortable speaking these heartfelt words that I've kept hidden in my heart for so long."

Okita Hikaru gave Aoto a playful smile reminiscent of Souji.

"In short—in my eyes, working as a waiter in a teahouse is more promising than practicing swordsmanship."

“I have suffered enough from having no one to rely on, and I have suffered enough from living a life of constant loneliness, so I don’t want my sisters to suffer the same kind of pain.”

"I just want Souji to live a peaceful and carefree life with no worries about food or clothing—that's all."

"So... Tachibana-kun, can you understand my good intentions in trying to persuade Tsukasa to give up kendo?"

Qingdeng nodded silently and said sincerely:

"Hmm...I understand."

Whether he frankly stated how malicious the current world is towards women, or bluntly pointed out that swordsmanship and the like are outdated, every word that Okita Hikaru just said, though explicit and harsh, is without exception an irrefutable truth.

We cannot use 21st-century values ​​to judge mid-19th-century Japan.

The fact that civilization remained in an agricultural society meant that women's living space would be extremely narrow.

As for the statement that "swordsmanship is outdated," it goes without saying—on this point, Aoto and Okita Hikaru share the same view.

Aoto was unsure how the history of the Edo Shogunate would unfold afterward.

But his soul, originating from the 21st century, knew that it was a foregone conclusion that swords would be replaced by guns.

Otherwise, he wouldn't have been so obsessed with owning a gun of his own.

—To be able to see that swords have been eliminated by history is a settled matter... Miss Hikari is very prescient.

It was quite surprising to Aoto that Okita Hikaru, a woman living in the countryside, had such a clear and insightful understanding of the current situation.

As far as Qingdeng knows, not only among the common people, but even in officialdom, there are still many officials who naively believe that Western cannons and warships are not scary at all, and that the so-called "warrior spirit" is enough to defeat foreign barbarians.

The times have changed.

We are now living in an era of the rise of firearms, but also an era of constant warfare.

The Edo Shogunate, pro-Shogunate daimyo led by the Aizu Domain, dissenting daimyo led by the Choshu Domain, loyalists, the Kyoto Imperial Court, overseas powers, and various ambitious figures lurking beneath the surface... all these forces are stirring with anti-Shogunate sentiment.

The pungent smell of gunpowder spread from the northernmost Matsumae Domain all the way to the southernmost Satsuma Domain.

Generals like Qing Deng, who were paid by the government and served in the military, were more acutely aware than anyone else of the impending storm.

Given the current situation and the state of the world, stopping Souji from continuing his swordsmanship training and encouraging him to take on a more stable job is indeed a very rational choice.

Seeing that Aoto nodded in agreement, Okita Hikaru seemed very pleased, and she smiled gently.

"Haha, I'm glad you understand. It wasn't for nothing that I wasted so much breath."

At this moment, Qingdeng suddenly discovered the blind spot.

Okita Hikaru has been emphasizing how tiring it is for a woman to live without any support in the current world.

She even specifically mentioned Rintaro Okita, saying that her life finally became a little better after marrying him.

Based on all the known intelligence and clues... Qing Deng, with a certain conviction, uttered words that were difficult to say.

"...Miss Hikari. You don't mean to ask me to be like Rintaro Okita was to you, to become Okita-kun's pillar of support, do you?"

Okita Hikaru raised his eyebrows in surprise for a moment, then immediately clapped his hands and smiled, as if acknowledging everything Aoto had said.

"Haha, as expected of Tachibana-kun. You understood my unspoken meaning so quickly."

Qingdeng's entire body suddenly froze.

I don't know what to say now.

I don't know what expression to make right now.

Ignoring Aoto, who was frozen in place, Okita Hikaru opened his lips again.

"I pray more sincerely than anyone else in this world that Xiao Si can continue to do what she loves and live a happy and fulfilling life."

"As the eldest sister who watched Xiao Si grow up, how could I not know that Xiao Si loves swordsmanship?"

“I’m not an evil spirit, and I don’t have the bad habit of ‘rejoicing when I see people suffering’.”

"I also suffered a lot as the 'villain' for asking Xiaosi to give up her beloved swordsmanship."