I assembled the strongest swordsman group.

To say such things in this setting... Your Highness, are you serious?!

As he gazed into the eyes of the succubus six years his senior, a long-buried memory surfaced in Qing Deng's mind—

Previously, Qing Deng had heard a rumor from someone about Tenshōin:

Tenshōin was a woman of fiery passion. After Tokugawa Iesada's death, she became a widow at a young age, feeling deeply lonely. To alleviate her loneliness, she would often secretly summon handsome and strong young men to Edo Castle…

—Could it be that... this rumor is not entirely unfounded...?

Just as Qingdeng was exclaiming this in his heart...

"Pfft..."

A childlike smile appeared in her eyes, which were deeply hidden by her long, soft, velvety eyelashes.

Tenshōin hurriedly raised her delicate hand and desperately covered her mouth, but her silvery laughter still escaped.

"Cluck, cluck cluck...!"

A beautiful dimple flickered on Tenshōin's cheek.

"Sheng Qing, you've made another interesting expression."

After saying that, she seemed to be unable to hold back any longer. She pressed her hands firmly against her flat stomach and laughed so hard that she bent over backwards, and even the corners of her eyes welled up with tears.

Upon seeing this, Qingdeng was stunned for a moment, and then immediately realized that he had been tricked by this wicked widow again.

"Your Highness..." Qingdeng sighed helplessly, "Could you please stop making jokes like this with me...?"

"Sorry, sorry." Tenshōin gradually stopped laughing. "I find it strange myself. Anyway, I can't help but want to play pranks on you. Why is that? Ah, it's probably because you're always so serious, Seiharu, which makes me especially want to tease you and see you show more interesting expressions besides 'seriousness'."

—Hmm? Am I usually this serious?

Qingdeng rubbed his face.

In Qingdeng's opinion, "serious" should be the exclusive adjective for aloof people like Saito Hajime who can go an entire day without smiling.

As he was deep in thought, Tenshoin suddenly gave him a meaningful look.

"Sheng Qing, it's a little embarrassing to say... but I'm very disappointed with your performance just now."

"Aha?"

Because Qing Deng was concerned about the content of those words, he refocused his gaze on Tian Zhangyuan's delicate face.

Before he could ask anything, he heard Tenshōin continue in a soft, languid tone:

"You, when I asked 'Are you free tonight?' you had some very impolite thoughts about me, didn't I?"

"Don't try to make excuses. I can pretty much guess what you were thinking back then—maybe: 'Oh, could this woman really be like those rumors say, a promiscuous woman who frequently summons young, strong men to her room?'"

"..." Qing Deng was speechless for a moment, and guiltily turned his gaze away to avoid meeting Tian Zhangyuan's eyes.

Although he was reluctant to admit it, Tenshōin was indeed basically right.

What Tenshōin said differed slightly from the actual situation, but was generally correct.

Qingdeng was at a loss for words and could only remain awkwardly silent.

Just as he was contemplating whether to activate his talent, which had just received an upgrade that day: "Trickster +1," to gloss over the topic—

"However... it's not entirely your fault, Sheng Qing."

Tenshōin raised his chin to a barely perceptible angle, gazing at the distant sky.

"My reputation among the people... has never been very good. So it's understandable that you would have such thoughts."

"To be honest, I don't really want to talk about this topic with others, but it wouldn't be good if you continued to have unnecessary misunderstandings. So let me clarify this for you."

Tenshōin adopted a solemn expression and a serious tone.

"The rumors that 'Tenshōin Atsuhime is very lustful,' 'Tenshōin Atsuhime craves a man's embrace,' 'Tenshōin Atsuhime keeps many male lovers,' 'Tenshōin Atsuhime has affairs with many men'... These rumors that are widely circulated in the streets are completely unfounded and utter nonsense..."

Tenshōin seemed to suddenly realize something and then got stuck.

"Ah... no. Saying it's 'complete nonsense' doesn't seem quite right either."

"It should be said that some of these rumors are nonsense, but some are absolutely true."

When Qingdeng was slightly careless, Tenshōin once again surprised everyone with a playful remark.

Then, Tianzhangyuan revealed his "succubus face" again: his red lips curved into a cat's mouth; he squinted at people; and his eyes sparkled with a dazzling, mesmerizing light.

(Some of these rumors are nonsense, but some are absolutely true...)

It was as if a tape recorder had been installed in his ear. Tenshōin's words echoed in Aoto's ears repeatedly before slowly dissipating into the air and into Aoto's mind.

Qingdeng never thought of himself as a lecher.

Although he is currently in love with several girls at the same time, he does not consider himself a lustful person who is greedy for sex.

However... he was currently powerless to control his own destiny.

At this moment, Qingdeng's mind was uncontrollably rippled, and he unconsciously thought to himself:

—Since only part of these rumors is false… then which part is true? Is it true that she secretly keeps many male lovers? Is she really lecherous? Or…

Tenshōin had been closely monitoring Aoto's changing demeanor.

After noticing that Qingdeng's expression had become somewhat unnatural, she seemed to have read Qingdeng's mind and chuckled softly a few times.

Tenshōin tiptoed, leaning his upper body towards... no, to correct her. He pressed himself against Aoto!

Tenshōin's tiptoeing and leaning forward shortened the distance between her and Aoto in an instant.

As the distance between them closed, Qing Deng could almost feel the soft weight and fiery temperature emanating from Tian Zhangyuan's delicate body.

"If you want to know which parts of these rumors are true and which parts are false..."

She gently pressed her red lips against Qingdeng's ear, exhaling a seductive whisper.

"Then train hard in the new Oniwabanshu, carry out your missions well, and... make me happy~"

"When I feel the time is right, or when I'm in a good mood, I'll tell you all my little-known secrets, one by one."

"To show my gratitude for you punching that guy for me earlier, I'll tell you a secret first."

"The rumor that 'Tenshōin Atsuhime longs for a man's embrace' is true."

"By the way: I prefer people younger than me to people older than me. Even if they are 6 or 7 years younger than me, I can accept it."

"Hehe~ This is the first time I've told this secret to an outsider, I'm so shy~~"

After saying that, Tensho-in slightly opened his mouth and gently bit Ao-den's earlobe.

Even though the pain from the bitten ear wasn't intense... Qing Deng still felt as if he'd been scalded by boiling water, quickly leaning back in a direction away from Tianzhang Academy while casting a stunned gaze at the academy.

The widow still sported that succubus-like face with "lips shaped like a cat's mouth and squinting eyes."

She slowly flattened her feet, withdrew her upper body from Qingdeng, and then covered her mouth and laughed.

"Kukuku~~ Sheng Qing, your expression is getting funny again~~ It's just that I bit your ear, why are you looking like you've seen a ghost?"

Looking at Tenshōin, who was laughing so happily, Aoden was dumbfounded and his lips twitched.

In that instant, Qingdeng sincerely realized a "truth":

This woman... she really is a succubus...!

The conversation between Qingdeng and Tenshōin just now was conducted at a volume that only the two of them could hear.

Therefore, Tokugawa Iemochi and the Nie sisters, who were standing nearby, had no idea what the two were talking about.

Meanwhile, because Tenshōin's actions were too subtle, they did not notice that Aoto's ear had been bitten by Tenshōin.

From their perspective, all they saw was Tenshōin saying a lot to Seidō, and Seidō constantly making strange expressions, while Tenshōin kept laughing happily.

"Mother," Tokugawa Iemochi couldn't help but ask, "what did you and Tachibana-kun talk about?"

"Well... I'm not telling you~"

Tenshōin Oki Tokugawa Iemochi winked playfully.

Tokugawa Iemochi gave a helpless, bitter smile. Seeing that Tenshōin was unwilling to say more, he did not ask any further questions.

"Speaking of which..."

Tokugawa Iemochi turned to look at Aoto.

"I never expected that you, Tachibana-kun, have already reached the level where you can unleash 'momentum'?"

What Tokugawa Iemochi was referring to was, of course, the astonishing move by Aoto when he suddenly unleashed his "power" during his battle with Soichiro and the others.

“No…” Qingdeng shook his head without hesitation, “I haven’t truly reached that level yet.”

Tokugawa Iemochi's sudden question gradually calmed Aoto's emotions, which had been agitated by Tenshōin's flirtatious words and actions.

After slightly adjusting his wording, he continued:

"I am still at the stage where I cannot freely control the situation."

As soon as the battle with Zuo Yilang and the others ended, Qing Deng's "momentum" automatically stopped being released.

After that, no matter how Qingdeng tried, he could no longer release the "momentum" at his own will.

This shows that he still hasn't reached the level of Chiba Eijiro, Kondo Shusaku, and Souji, who could "control their power at will."

However, although he has not yet truly reached this level, Qingdeng can clearly feel that he is not far from it!

If I continue to improve myself, or... if I get another chance, I can truly reach this realm that countless martial artists dream of!

Just then, three melodious bell tolls drifted gently into the ears of Qing Deng and the others.

铛~~铛~~铛~~

This is the chime of the clock.

Clock of Time: A tool installed by the shogunate to inform the people of Edo of the current time.

Starting with the installation of a bell tower in Hashimoto-ishi 3-chome, Japan in 1626, bell towers were subsequently installed in more than a dozen places, including Kan'ei-ji Temple, Senso-ji Temple, Ichigaya Hachiman, Akasakata-cho Seiman-ji Temple, Yotsuya Tenryu-ji Temple, and Mejiro Fudo-son Temple.

The Clock Tower was a public facility built with public funds by the shogunate, so it had a standardized way of ringing the bell.

The bell is rung once every hour.

First, the bell is struck three times in advance. The first strike is longer, followed by the second and third strikes in quick succession, to indicate that the time is about to be announced and to alert those around to prepare to hear the bell.

In Chinese Yin-Yang theory, odd numbers are considered Yang numbers, and among odd numbers, the largest, "nine," is the most auspicious.