I assembled the strongest swordsman group.

Seeing that Qing Deng was acting on his own initiative, Sanako looked at Qing Deng's receding figure with a hesitant expression, then lowered her head and looked at her small toes.

A little over five seconds later, she took a deep breath and chased after Qingdeng.

As she caught up with Qingdeng, she raised her hands, which were icy cold from the wind, and pressed them against her slightly warm cheeks to cool them down physically.

Qingdeng sensed a bright, shining aura chasing after him from behind.

This presence stood silently to his right, shoulder to shoulder with him.

Qingdeng turned to look at the beautiful woman beside him.

The face of "Edo's most beautiful woman" was within reach, so close that it felt like you could count every single eyelash.

Sanako felt Aoto's gaze, but as if she was deliberately being stubborn, she didn't look at Aoto and stared straight ahead with her beautiful eyes.

Qing Deng found Sanako's behavior strangely cute and couldn't help but chuckle.

The reason he suddenly insisted on taking Sanako home was not for any strange reason; he simply wanted to take advantage of this rare opportunity to be alone with Sanako tonight and spend as much time as possible with her.

Although he often visited the Chiba Sword Hall, he rarely had the chance to spend time alone with Sanako.

Aoto withdrew his gaze from scrutinizing Sanako's pretty face, looked up at the distant horizon, and pondered what topics he could discuss with Sanako now.

But to everyone's surprise, Sanako took the initiative to start the conversation.

"Tachibana-kun, you made me lose face today."

"Ok?"

Qingdeng looked puzzled.

"You made me lose face terribly? What do you mean?"

"If you know archery, you should have said so earlier!"

At this point, Sanako seemed unable to contain her resentment, turned her head, and met Aoto's gaze with a resentful look.

"I actually presumptuously introduced you to bowing techniques... really... really..."

Overwhelmed by shame, Sanako was speechless for a moment, her face turning bright red, and her breathing becoming heavy.

Recalling the scenes of carefully teaching Qing Deng how to use a bow tonight... Sanako wished she could find a crack in the ground to crawl into immediately.

Upon hearing this, Qing Deng gave an awkward, dry laugh.

After a moment, Sanako, having composed herself, asked seriously:

"Tachibana-kun, when did you start learning archery?"

Sanako naturally knew that given Aoto's family background, it was unlikely that he would have been exposed to archery from a young age, hence her question.

She was just as curious as Kitahara Konosuke about why Aoto possessed such superb archery skills.

"Um... well... Ms. Sanako, I'm sorry, it's not convenient for me to talk about this right now. I'll explain it to you in detail when there's a chance later."

The existence of the new Oniwaban must be kept absolutely secret.

Moreover... Qing Deng felt that even if he told the truth, Sanako probably wouldn't believe him.

My archery skills were taught by Princess Tenshōin! That's right, the very same Princess Tenshōin!

Qing Deng felt that after he said those words, Sanako would be slightly taken aback, and then look at him with eyes as if she had seen something ominous.

If the listener were replaced by the more emotionally expressive and sensitive Kinoshita Mai… then she would not only cast a strange look at Aoto like Sanako did, but would also say with a sorrowful expression:

"Tachibana-kun, I'm so sorry. It's all because Ms. Chiba and I refused to marry you at the same time, which made you go crazy for women..."

Born into a prestigious family, the elegant and refined Sanako is a kind and understanding girl.

Seeing that Qingdeng remained silent, she did not press him further.

She gave Qingdeng a deep look and then said:

"...Alright, since it's not convenient for you to reveal the details now, then let's save it for later when there's a chance."

The topic of archery ended there—and soon after, the two began talking about other things.

This time, it was Sanako who started the conversation again.

"Tachibana-kun, Ms. Otsuki's father and your father are good friends, right?"

"Hmm? Yeah, what's wrong?"

"It's nothing... I just suddenly realized that although we've known each other for a long time, I know absolutely nothing about your family situation or your past. So..."

Sanako paused at this point, her upper teeth lightly biting her lower lip.

After a moment of hesitation, she raised her beautiful eyes, looked directly into Qingdeng's eyes, and said, word by word, firmly and clearly:

"I want to hear you tell me about your past."

The events of today made Sanako suddenly realize that she knew so much about Aoto.

I didn't know that Aoto was skilled in archery; I didn't know that Aoto had a childhood sweetheart; I didn't know about the complicated relationship between Aoto and Ootsuki Minoru...

These repeated "I don't know"s transformed into a strange sense of frustration—an inexplicable sense of frustration, like a thorn piercing Sanako's heart.

Is this thorn stuck very deep and painful?

No, not at all.

However, the existence of this thorn is hard to ignore.

It's like a bouquet of flowers blooming in a wide, green field. Even if you try to pretend you don't see it, you can't stop it from entering your sight time and time again.

Sanako couldn't help but wonder: Kinoshita-san... does this red-clad girl who always seemed to dislike me know about Tachibana-kun's past? Am I the only one who knows nothing about Aoto's past?

Sanako was increasingly confused about her feelings for Aoto.

"Tachibana-kun is just a very good friend of mine," Sanako always told herself.

But tonight, at this moment, she felt an extremely strong urge to learn more about this "good friend".

This impulse was like a flood that had burst its banks; once it started, it was unstoppable.

Ultimately, this impulse transformed into an irresistible force, driving her to ask Qingdeng such a direct question.

But as soon as she said it, Sanako regretted it.

Influenced by the Yamato Nadeshiko education she received from a young age, Sanako has always maintained a conservative and cautious attitude towards matters of the heart.

Without even trying to conceal it, without using any euphemisms, they just bluntly uttered words that, in this day and age, are definitely ambiguous.

So, feeling extremely embarrassed, Sanako immediately looked away from Aoto after uttering "I want to know more about you."

Looking at the white snow in front of her feet, she dared not look at Qingdeng again.

Despite the dim surroundings, the shy blush slowly creeping up Sanako's cheeks was still clearly visible.

Qing Deng raised an eyebrow in surprise, his mind reeling.

Doesn't he understand Sanako's character?

Sanako is even more reserved than the introverted Kinoshita Mai.

She, in all her life, dared to ask such a bold question...

That's truly astonishing.

Since Sanako has been so courageous, it would be rather unkind of Qing Deng not to give her a response as soon as possible and help her get out of her awkward emotional situation.

"My past... hahaha, that's not a very interesting topic."

Aoto paused for a moment, digging into "Aoto Haraju's" memories while concentrating on where to begin.

“My mother passed away shortly after I was born, so I don’t have many memories of her.”

"As for my father... his name is Tachibana Takayuki. The 'Takayuki' in 'prosperity', the 'zhi' in 'classical Chinese', and the 'tongxin' in 'the town of Hokuban-sho-choi'."

"Hmm... If you ask me to describe in detail what kind of person my father was, I really don't know how to do it right now."

"Simply put... he is a very ordinary, very average person."

"He was of average appearance, average ability, and average political achievements. He served in the position of the head of the Hokuban-sho-cho for nearly twenty years."

"In these twenty years, he neither made any major mistakes, nor did he make any great contributions."

"Aside from being honest and kind-hearted and having a decent number of friends, my father doesn't seem to have any other commendable qualities."

"Logically speaking, a person like my father, who is law-abiding and follows the rules, should have lived a peaceful but uneventful life."

"As a result... I don't know if he made some bad friends or for some other reason, but he suddenly became addicted to gambling. He went to the casinos under the Shimizu Clan every day and gambled until he was completely out of control."

"Even the luckiest person can't win money forever. Therefore, anyone who becomes addicted to gambling will inevitably end up losing everything."

"My father gambled away all the family's money and was burdened with huge debts in a short period of time."

"Not long after my family became destitute due to my father's gambling addiction, he passed away from an illness."

"There's not much to say about what happened next."

"Although after my father became addicted to gambling, many people who were originally close to him distanced themselves from him."

"But there is still a small group of people who have never abandoned their father from beginning to end."

"For example, my father's old colleagues: Mr. Arima, Mr. Inani, and Mr. Ushiyama."

"Another example is Mr. Miyagawa Shunzo, the father of Minoru Otsuki."

"They not only helped arrange my father's funeral, but also took over my father's job afterward, helping me to successfully inherit my father's official position."

"It can be said that I am able to be where I am today without the strong support of my father's old friends."

"Without the help of these seniors, I might be making a living by doing odd jobs now."

Sanako played the role of "listener" very well.

She listened quietly the whole time without saying a word.

When she heard the part about Takayuki Tachibana's gambling addiction, which burdened his family with huge debts and eventually led to his death from illness, she raised her head and looked up at Aoto.

His face and eyes were filled with astonishment and regret.

"So... have you paid off all the debts your father owed?"

"It's paid off... Ah, no. It shouldn't be called 'paid off,' it should be said that the Yakuza of the Shimizu clan waived it."

"It's been waived?"