I assembled the strongest swordsman group.

Page 836

To cover up his embarrassment, Tenshōin brought the teacup on his lap to his lips, took a small sip of tea as if to be serious, then cleared his throat with a "cough cough" and straightened his back.

"Alright, let's get back to the main topic!"

"Sheng Qing, now that Miss Chiba and Mr. Okita have reunited with you, how do you plan to deal with this?"

"...Now that things have come to this, I have no choice but to confess to Ms. Sanako and Mr. Okita."

Qing Deng gave a bitter smile.

"I am prepared to tell them everything I can."

When talking about "everything I can say," Qing Deng emphasized his words.

Tensho-in nodded slightly.

"Well... that's the only way."

"I have already arranged a meeting place with them."

Qing Deng continued.

"I'll go see them when I have some free time later."

Upon hearing this, Tianzhangyuan immediately said:

"In that case... there's no time to lose, you should set off to see them right now."

"Anyway, you've already reported everything you were supposed to report to me."

"Besides...you haven't seen them for so long, you must have a lot to say to them, right?"

Qingdeng gave a bitter smile.

"...That's true."

Tensho-in waved his hand.

"Alright, Tachibana-kun, you can step back now and have a good time with Ms. Chiba and the others. I will notify you as soon as there are any new missions or any new important information related to the cursed drug."

"Yes, then I'll take my leave now."

Qingdeng bowed to Tenshōin, then grabbed the Echizen-no-kami Kanetsugu from beside him and strode out of the room.

Tianzhangyuan remained seated, watching Qingdeng depart.

Once Qingdeng's figure had completely disappeared outside the room and the sound of his footsteps had faded into the distance, she let out a long sigh and unconsciously bent her back.

"Really... how could I say such a stupid thing..."

Tenshōin was still annoyed by his careless remark.

"Who exactly is the 'most beautiful woman of Edo'...? What does it matter? What's the point of arguing about it?"

After saying that, Tenshō-in seemed to recall something and fell silent for a moment.

Then, she murmured in a dreamlike tone:

"However... to be honest... in terms of beauty and temperament, I am indeed no less than Chiba Sanako..."

Before he finished speaking, Tianzhangyuan reached into his robes and pulled out a palm-sized hand mirror from deep within his garment.

This hand mirror is a glass mirror imported from the West, and its clarity far surpasses that of traditional bronze mirrors.

Tenshōin looked at his own exquisite features carefully in the mirror in his hand.

Then she raised her hand and touched her delicate skin, which was still fair and tender due to proper care, as if water could be splashed out with a gentle pinch.

Feeling the silky smooth touch from her fingertips, Tenshōin smiled with satisfaction and chuckled softly.

"Hmph~~ Although she's getting on in years, she still retains her charm..."

……

Edo, Okemachi, 2-chome, Echizenya—

Merchants in the Edo period often used the place name of their hometown as the name of their shop.

For example, merchants from Omi often named their shops "Omi-ya"; merchants from Yamato often named their shops "Yamato-ya", and so on.

Due to its terrain, local customs, and other factors, Echizen is home to many merchants.

Merchants from Echizen have traveled all over Japan.

Therefore, whether in eastern or western Japan, shops bearing the name "Echizenya" are so numerous as to be almost ubiquitous.

In metropolises like Edo, Kyoto, and Osaka, one often witnesses a peculiar sight: almost every town has one or even several Echizenya establishments, all sharing the same name but operating completely different businesses—some run bathhouses, some private money lenders, some teahouses, some izakayas, some inns, some selling general merchandise, some selling fruits and vegetables…

The meeting place that Aoto agreed to meet with Sanako and Souji was Echizen-ya in Okemachi 2-chome, which was an inn.

The Chiba Kenkan (Kyoto Kenkan) is located in Okemachi.

Qingdeng would visit the Chiba Sword Hall every few days.

Therefore, Oke-cho is much like Aoto's happy hometown.

Aoto was intimately familiar with every blade of grass and every tree in Okemachi.

This is why Aoto chose Okemachi as the meeting place—when discussing important matters with others, it is more reassuring to choose a place one is familiar with.

At this moment, Sanako and Souji stood side by side by the door of Echizen-ya.

Surprise, astonishment, greed, lust... a variety of gazes fell upon the two of them.

One is a handsome young man who, on the surface, is enough to turn even the most stoic man gay.

As for the other one, she was an unparalleled beauty with breathtaking looks.

Such an existence, such a combination, how could it not attract attention?

Almost every passerby who walked past Echizenya's shop, regardless of age or gender, would at least glance at Sanako and Souji.

Neither Sanako nor Souji were surprised by the stares from passersby.

"Awoo, awoo, awoo..."

Souji stuffed one candy after another into his mouth.

Perhaps because she was in a good mood after finally reuniting with Aoto, Souji's mouth hadn't stopped moving since earlier—she had been eating konpeito (Japanese candy).

"Miss Sanako, would you like some?"

Souji handed the bag of konpeito to Sanako.

"Thank you, but I won't need it."

Sanako shook her head and politely declined, as she had always been reluctant to eat very sweet foods like konpeito.

Seeing that Sanako refused, Souji didn't insist. She silently withdrew her hand and continued to stuff handfuls of candy into her mouth.

While Souji was busy eating candy, Sanako secretly glanced at the "handsome boy" beside her.

When her gaze shifted to the chief's beautiful face, a complex and meaningful light unconsciously flickered in her eyes.

Just now… Sanako witnessed everything that happened on the shrine steps—

Souji collapsed onto Aoto and wrapped his arms tightly around Aoto's waist, while Aoto gently hugged Souji's back in return.

If it were Aoto and Kinoshita Mai who did such things, then Sanako could be understood.

After all, it was already a consensus between Sanako and Kinoshita Mai that Aoto was two-timing.

However, the ones putting on this intimate interaction are Aoto and Souji... two grown men... that's a bit too much...

Sanako was not unfamiliar with physical contact between men.

Her brother, Chiba Jutaro, often had his arm around his friends.

However, when Chiba Jutaro engages in physical contact with his friends, Sanako can clearly sense the pure friendship and brotherhood between them.

In contrast, Aoto and Souji...

To categorize their embrace as "brotherly love" feels a bit forced...

—Could it be that…

Although she didn't want to look at it directly, a terrible thought still uncontrollably surfaced in Sanako's mind.

—Following Kinoshita Mai, even Okita-kun…

Thinking of this, Sanako's facial expression suddenly became strange.

During the Edo period, the culture of various schools of thought was very popular.

—Okita-kun was a handsome young man, and he and Tachibana-kun happened to live under the same roof, inseparable. Under such circumstances, it was not entirely impossible for them to develop feelings for each other.

With this thought in mind, Sanako tilted her gaze again, casting a complicated look at Souji...

At that moment, Souji noticed Sanako's gaze.

"Miss Sanako, what's wrong? Why are you staring at me? Is there something on my face?"

"Don't flatter yourself, I wasn't looking at you."

Sanako responded with a cold tone without hesitation.

In an instant... the commander was stunned...

"Miss Sanako, why are you yelling at me...? What did I do wrong?"

The commander asked weakly, looking aggrieved.

********

The bloodshed you wanted is here! (Laughing leopard.jpg)

Happy Children's Day to all my book lovers!

I wanted to write at least 6000 words today, and I've been writing since this morning, but I still failed. Ugh! (crying leopard head.jpg)