I assembled the strongest swordsman group.

"At this time yesterday, you and I were still very good friends, but today, we've become very good... lovers..."

The moment after uttering the word "lover," Souji seemed to breathe a sigh of relief, letting out a "whoosh" as he channeled his overflowing emotions into his voice.

"Yes, I understand."

Qingdeng smiled and nodded.

"Oh? You can understand that too?"

"Of course. Because I feel almost exactly the same way you do. I also find it incredible that 'good friends turned into lovers overnight.' I'm afraid it will take me quite a while to fully adjust to this feeling."

"Haha, so you, Tachibana-kun, are just like me, finding it hard to adjust to the changes in our relationship."

The chief smiled gently.

At that moment, she extended her left hand toward Qingdeng.

"Tachibana-kun, um... I... I want to hold your hand, Coco, is that okay?"

Souji's voice grew softer and softer, until the last syllable fell, and her voice was so low that it was barely audible.

Even though it was still early, not even noon, Qing Deng could already see the crimson sunset on the Souji's pretty face.

Amused by Souji's shy appearance, Qing Deng chuckled and extended his right hand.

Hehe~~

Looking at Qing Deng's outstretched hand, Souji chuckled a few times, then casually placed his small hand into Qing Deng's calloused palm.

Souji's hands were small and delicate, as if they could be easily broken with a single grip, not at all like the hands of a female swordsman.

Qingdeng used his right hand, the same hand that held the knife, to tightly grasp the soft hand in his palm, his gesture firm yet tender.

Hehe~~

Two more silly laughs followed.

The riverbank where the two were currently located was far from any human habitation, and the direction they were heading was precisely towards the suburbs.

In a short while, they left the hustle and bustle of the world behind, and the surroundings became even quieter.

The grass at my feet swayed and rippled in the wind like waves, making a soft rustling sound.

Suddenly, a small bridge came into view.

"Ah, Tachibana-kun, look! There's a bridge over there!"

The commander pointed to the bridge, then took Qing Deng's hand and excitedly ran towards the ancient bridge, which was now deserted except for fallen leaves and dust.

Thump, thump, thump... The sound of stepping on the bridge is just like drumming.

"Haha, the scenery here is so beautiful!"

Souji, with most of his body hanging over one side of the bridge, watched the river flowing beneath it with a broad smile.

The calm water surface is a clear, pale blue, and the clear blue sky adds countless glimmers of light to the trickling river.

Qing Deng leaned to one side, resting against the chief.

Sunshine, blue sky, river, ancient bridge, and... smiles beaming with joy at the beautiful scenery before them—all these elements combine to create a breathtakingly beautiful and moving picture.

Qing Deng silently took in this beautiful scene, which was like a treasure to him, and put it deep in his heart. Then, with a slight smile, he reached out his other hand, which was not holding Souji's hand, and gently stroked Souji's hair in a soothing rhythm.

"Huh? Why are you suddenly touching my hair? Is there something dirty on my hair?"

Qingdeng shook his head.

"It's nothing. It's just... I couldn't help but want to gently caress my lover."

"Ugh..." Souji turned his head away shyly, "Don't get my hair dirty or messed up..."

To be honest, Aoto has long wanted to touch Souji's light and graceful high ponytail.

Especially when you see it swaying back and forth as Souji bounces around, it's hard to suppress the urge to "touch it and pull it".

"It must feel great to use," Qing Deng firmly believed.

As it turns out, this is indeed the case.

Souji doesn't use hair care products often, but her hair is surprisingly healthy.

Perhaps this is what is meant by "natural beauty".

When Aoto touched Souji's hair, his fingers almost slipped away because the touch was too smooth.

For a moment, he had the illusion that he wasn't touching hair, but rather a piece of the finest silk.

Because Souji's hair felt much more comfortable to the touch than he had imagined, Aoto played with Souji's ponytail with great interest.

Sometimes she gently pulled, sometimes she tugged, sometimes she smoothed, sometimes she wrapped around her fingers... By the time he came to his senses, Souji was pouting like a squirrel with its mouth full of food, with a cute little puff on each of his fair and rosy cheeks.

"Tachibana-kun, are my braids really that fun?"

Yeah, it's fun. But rather than fun, it's more like it's fun to touch—Qing Deng originally wanted to answer like that, but considering that this statement seemed a bit perverted, he changed his answer:

"Sorry, your hair is so beautiful that I didn't realize..."

As Qing Deng spoke, he slowly withdrew his hand from Souji's hair.

The commander pursed his lips thoughtfully.

Then, she pulled up Qingdeng's big hand that had just been put down and placed it on her head again.

"Miss Okita?"

Qing Deng raised an eyebrow in surprise.

"If you like touching my hair... then go ahead, I don't mind."

Before he could finish speaking, the commander, suppressing his panic, added as if to make amends:

"We're a couple now, touching each other's hair is just a normal interaction between lovers!"

The commander's tone sounded as if he was reminding Aoto, but also as if he was reminding himself.

"Besides, we don't even know about that kind of thing... Ah! Let's not talk about it anymore! Let's not discuss this embarrassing topic!"

Souji shook his head like a rattle drum, his ponytail flying high.

Looking at the souji who was still disheveled in the wind, Qing Deng couldn't bear it and let his mouth stretch to the left and right.

He gave the Chief a meaningful look... and then continued to play with the Chief's ponytail without any restraint.

It feels so comfortable and addictive.

Souji vigorously rubbed her face, using a kneading motion like kneading dough to dispel the embarrassment on her face.

After calming down a bit, she turned her gaze back to the babbling water outside the bridge.

"Phew... Okay, enough joking around, let's talk about something... serious."

—Are you here yet?

Qing Deng smiled.

When Souji suddenly asked him to go out, Aoto had already guessed that she probably wanted to talk to him about some important private matters.

Qing Deng adopted a posture of listening attentively, while his hands continued to move, holding Souji's hand with one hand and playing with Souji's ponytail with the other.

"Tachibana-kun, I thought about it for a long time last night."

"I still want to marry you, as I always have to."

Her pretty face, which had just cooled down, turned crimson again.

While suppressing her shyness, she raised her eyes and looked directly into Qingdeng's eyes.

"I love you so much that I'd like to marry you right now."

"But... knowing that there's a very high probability you'll marry another woman in the future, I still feel uneasy about it..."

"Although it's quite common for 'excellent men to have multiple wives and concubines,' I shouldn't be a jealous woman. I've told myself countless times, 'It's no big deal. Even if Tachibana-kun marries Sanako, Kinoshita-san, or some other woman in the future, it won't make me suffer any grievances.' But I still can't become that mature..."

"I want to have Tachibana Aoto all to myself... That's my true feeling right now."

"At the moment, I am unable to be frank with 'Tachibana Aoto's other wives'."

"However... I can't bring myself to say to you, 'I won't allow you to marry another woman'..."

At this moment, a gentle breeze is blowing.

Souji's hair... the ponytail at the back of her head and the cloud-like hair on both sides swayed in the wind. She pressed it down with her slender, pale fingers, her expression so gentle.

"I am the kind of person who would rather suffer myself than see someone I cherish suffer."

“My sister and brother Kondo always criticize my personality, saying things like ‘my personality is a disadvantage’ and so on.”

"Although my sisters used very harsh words, I never thought there was anything wrong with my personality."

"Because I insisted on opposing your marriage to another woman, causing you to be caught in a dilemma and feel sad and upset... I don't want that kind of thing."

"So, Mr. Tachibana, I have a suggestion—let's each take a step back."

"Three years... no, five years will do!"

The commander held out a hand.

"If you can convince Sanako and Ms. Kinoshita to marry you within 5 years, then I am willing to work with them to support you without any regrets."

"On the contrary... please stay with me alone forever."

Qingdeng felt tiny beads of nervous sweat seeping from the soft hands in his palms.

"Although I don't have Ms. Kinoshita's cuteness and gentleness, nor Sanako's outstanding qualities, my feelings for you... my desire to be your support, will never be inferior to theirs!"

"No matter what the future holds, I will make you sincerely exclaim: There is no better wife in this world than me."

"What do you think of this suggestion?"

Qingdeng blinked.

—5 years...?

It is now January 1861... which means that I must marry Sanako and Kinoshita Mai before January 1866...

This timeframe is neither long nor short.

How many five-year periods are there in a person's life?