I assembled the strongest swordsman group.

"We already said! We didn't do that kind of thing!"

……

……

The chaotic noise lasted for quite a while before it finally began to subside.

"So you just went for a foot bath..."

Kinoshita Mai, now back to normal, looked relieved.

Chiba Jutaro crossed his arms and looked deeply regretful.

"So... you and Sanako are still virgins?"

"Brother! Don't bring up 'virginity' in front of outsiders!"

Qing Deng adopted a serious tone and said righteously:

“I absolutely did not do that kind of thing with Ms. Sanako.”

He played a word game.

He wasn't lying; he and Sanako were indeed innocent.

However, as for that girl...

At the same time, as if feeling guilty, Souji looked away and reached behind his back again to cover his buttocks...

Aoto let out a long sigh. It seemed he had misunderstood. When he was soaking his feet in the hot spring at Kikyō Mountain, Sanako's words and actions had led him to mistakenly believe that she had already seen through Souji's true form.

It doesn't matter anyway, since I'll have to explain to everyone anyway. One more or one less of Zuo Nazi won't make a difference.

"Listen to me, everyone! I am not a follower of any of these doctrines! Nor do I favor any of them!"

At this point, Qing Deng paused, turned his head, and looked at the Souji beside him—the Souji nodded.

Seeing this, Okita Hikaru quickly spoke up:

"Hey, you guys... are you really going to tell me?"

"Sister, it's okay."

The commander smiled slightly.

"I knew all along that Tachibana-kun wanted to marry all three of us."

She seemed to have intended to say "ideal," but just before she could finish speaking, for some reason, she suddenly changed it to "wild aspirations."

"So a long time ago, I discussed it with Tachibana-kun—to let Ms. Sanako, Ms. Kinoshita, and their relatives know the truth first, and we'll talk about the others later."

The chief paused for a moment, then added:

"I believe Miss Sanako and the others will be willing to keep this a secret for me."

"..."

Hikaru Okita remained silent, which was tantamount to a slight nod.

Seeing that Okita Hikaru had no objections, Aoto didn't delay any longer and took a deep breath:

"Souji is not a man, she is a real woman!"

After Qingdeng finished speaking, the ward was once again enveloped in silence.

However, this tranquility came suddenly and went quickly.

Chiba Jutaro: "...Huh?"

Apart from Aoto and Okita Hikaru, everyone in the room focused their attention on Souji.

Under the watchful eyes of everyone, the commander nodded slightly.

"For some complicated reasons, I have been disguised as a man all this time. Okita Souji is just my alias. My real name is Okita Tsukasa. I'm sorry for keeping this a secret from everyone for so long."

The "tranquility" indoors turned into "restlessness".

Chiba Jutaro blinked, his face filled with astonishment.

"Souji, are you really not joking?"

"I'm not joking, I really am a woman."

Sanako murmured:

"No wonder you look so beautiful... so you're a woman too..."

Kiryu said softly, as if deep in thought:

"No wonder I've never seen you get too close to any woman."

After a moment of stunned silence, Kinoshita Mai stared straight at Souji's bear.

"Okita-kun, since you are a woman, why does this part of you look so... so much like a man's?"

"Because I wrap this area tightly with a very thick cloth every day."

"I see... Well, um! Okita-kun, I have a favor to ask!"

"Hmm? Please go ahead."

“Okita-kun, um…uh…uh…”

Kinoshita Mai lowered her head, her face flushed and sweating, her gaze wandering.

"I...I...I can...ah, no,"

As she spoke, she timidly turned her gaze back to the bear in front of Souji.

"...Huh?"

The commander blinked, looking completely bewildered.

Before she could ask "why," Kinoshita Mai hurriedly explained:

“I’ve always thought of you as a man, and suddenly you’re telling me that ‘you’re actually a woman’… To be honest, I feel like I’m in a dream… So I want to confirm it!”

Finally, she added:

"I know my request is impolite, so if you're unwilling, then forget it, I won't force you!"

"Well……"

The commander awkwardly looked away, appearing embarrassed.

"……I see."

After a while, she nodded slightly.

"If it's just a touch... then that's fine."

After saying that, she opened her arms.

"Well... I'm sorry for being rude."

Kinoshita Mai sat upright respectfully, extended her right index finger, and carefully poked it.

"Waaaaah~~~!"

Souji suddenly let out a strange cry, as if she had been shocked by an electric current, and her delicate body trembled slightly.

"Oh! I'm so sorry! Did I hurt you?"

"No...no...you didn't hurt me..."

Souji bit her lower lip lightly, her expression strange, her pretty face as red as if it had been roasted by fire.

"But...you touched on something weird..."

"Well……!"

This time, Kinoshita Mai blushed.

"I'm sorry... I didn't mean to...!"

"fine……"

Kinoshita Mai frantically changed the positions of her hands and feet.

"Wow...it really is...such a thick layer of cloth. Even though it's wrapped in such a thick layer of cloth, it still feels amazing to the touch..."

"Ugh...! Touching is fine, but don't make such embarrassing comments..."

"Oh! I'm sorry!"

At this moment, Mr. Kiryu interjected:

"Okita-kun... ah, no, Okita-san, why do you hide your gender? Is there some reason that requires you to dress as a man?"

"Because I want to practice swordsmanship more conveniently. If I don't hide my true gender, I'll definitely attract a lot of strange looks, right?"

Upon hearing this, Sanako immediately nodded vigorously, deeply understanding the sentiment.

During the Edo period, the only martial arts that women from samurai families were allowed to learn were naginata and archery.

If one practices any martial art other than these two, one will be considered an outcast.

Sanako was able to practice swordsmanship at the Kochiba Sword Hall with peace of mind because she was the daughter of Chiba Sadakichi.

Even so, she often received some discordant glances and heard some rather harsh sounds.

Just as everyone was deeply shocked by Souji's true gender, Qing Deng suddenly cleared his throat forcefully and coughed loudly, drawing everyone's attention.

"In short, that's the truth—Souji is a girl, and all the women I want to marry are girls. My ideal is to build such a lively and healthy family..."

"Healthy my ass!"

Chiba Jutaro bristled, looking just like a cat whose tail had been stepped on.

"Tachibana-kun, how can you say something like that with such confidence... Regardless of whether Souji is male or female, the fact that you want to marry multiple women will not change, right?"

"That's right, that's exactly it."

Qingdeng nodded without hesitation.

"Sigh... what a mess this is..."

Chiba Jutaro extended his right thumb and pressed it firmly against his brow.