I assembled the strongest swordsman group.

Okita Hikaru's tone was flat, and his indifferent attitude carried a strong chill.

"Still, do you want Sanako?"

Chiba Jutaro's left hand rested on the sword at his waist.

A sudden choice that could lead to death!

To the average person, this might seem like a difficult choice with no clear direction.

But for Qing Deng... it's no problem at all!

Is this what you call a multiple-choice question?

There's absolutely no need to choose!

"all I want!"

Without hesitation, he uttered a resounding and righteous cry:

"I want to marry Sanako, Mai, and Souji! I want to bring them happiness with my own hands—even if you cut me into a thousand pieces, I will never back down!"

He had barely finished speaking when he suddenly felt a sharp pain in his left cheek.

How many times do you have to say such incredibly embarrassing things?

Sanako, her face flushed pink, seemed to be suppressing her shyness as she glared at Aoto while reaching out to pull at Aoto's left cheek.

Her behavior is so cute... but it also hurts so much.

Before Qingdeng could even cry out in pain, he immediately felt a similar pain in his right cheek:

"Hey... Tachibana-kun... why do you always put my name after Chiba Sanako's when you pronounce our names? Does it mean that in your subconscious, I'm not as important as Chiba Sanako?"

Kinoshita Mai reverts to her darkened state, where her eyes are devoid of light and color.

With the two women pulling him from the left and right, Qingdeng's face was stretched to 1.5 times its normal size.

"Aaaaah! Stop, stop! My face is going to be ripped off!"

Whether intentionally or unintentionally, both women used considerable force.

They didn't pinch Qingdeng's face with their fingers, but rather used the very tips of their fingernails to tightly grip Qingdeng's skin... In this way, Qingdeng not only suffered the pain of being "pulled" but also endured the agony of "sharp weapons" piercing his flesh.

"Are they trying to kill me?" The moment this thought crossed Qing Deng's mind, he scanned the two women's expressions in horror.

He vaguely sensed a hint of resentment in their eyes...

"Tsk...! You bastard...!"

The cold light in Okita Hikaru's eyes was almost solidifying into ice shards.

"Hmph... Even if you're torn to pieces, you still won't back down... You really dare to say that... I guess I'll have to call Brother Rong and the others over..."

Chiba Jutaro's right arm was slightly bent, and his right hand, which was sometimes clenched and sometimes loosened, seemed to be about to reach to his left waist at any moment to draw his sword.

Amidst the chaos, a soothing yet composed female voice rang out:

"Um...may I give my opinion?"

As the soft voice faded, the room fell silent.

Immediately afterwards, everyone, including Qing Deng, focused their attention on the speaker—Souji.

"I'm one of the people who got proposed to, so I should have a chance to speak, right?"

Before anyone could respond, the commander straightened up and coughed a few times.

Her behavior doesn't come across as pretentious or affected; instead, it makes people find it amusing and adorable.

“I’m not a very eloquent person, so I’ll get straight to the point without beating around the bush.”

"Indeed, the practice of 'marrying three wives' is not only against etiquette and law, but also goes against good folk customs."

"However--"

The commander suddenly changed the subject.

As if deliberately trying to whet everyone's appetite, she didn't rush to speak, but after a long pause, she slowly continued:

"Isn't Tachibana-kun someone who is very good at breaking conventions and has created many miracles so far?"

Upon hearing this, Sanako, Kinoshita Mai, Chiba Jutaro... even Aoto himself was stunned.

"To be honest, I can't calmly say, 'I don't mind if Tachibana marries another woman after marrying me.'"

"After all, I am a normal person, I also have selfish desires, and I also feel wronged and jealous."

"But... my feelings for Tachibana-kun will never change."

At that moment, Qing Deng felt a cool, comfortable touch on his right hand—Souji reached out his soft hand and placed it in his large palm.

The warmth of the commander spread into his palms, along his arms, and into Qing Deng's heart.

"No matter what, I want to marry Tachibana-kun and stay together for life."

At this point, Souji raised his eyes, looked at Kiryu and Chiba Jutaro, and adopted a serious tone.

"So please don't hit him or kill him."

"If Tachibana-kun were gone... to be honest, I wouldn't know what to do."

"Give Tachibana-kun a chance."

"Even if we can't accept him right now, let's give him a chance to grow and impress us."

"Given time, he might actually have the strength to marry three or even more wives without anyone daring to interfere, and the women's parents would have little to no objection."

As she spoke, Souji put on a calm yet slightly shy smile.

"Actually, I'm kind of looking forward to it too."

"I look forward to Tachibana-kun creating another miracle—a miracle in which I, Okita Tsukasa, am involved."

"Sanako, Ms. Kinoshita, what do you think?"

The two women, who were suddenly called out, were first stunned, and then turned around to look around as if they couldn't calm down.

"I...I...I...I..."

Kinoshita Mai hesitated for a long time before finally managing to utter a single sentence with any concrete meaning.

Seeing this, the commander smiled slightly:

"Ms. Kinoshita, do you dislike Tachibana-kun?"

Before the commander could finish speaking, Kinoshita Mai immediately interrupted:

"Of course I don't hate it!"

"Since you don't dislike it, my question shouldn't be difficult to answer, right?"

"Well……!"

Kinoshita Mai blushed and lowered her head, her eyes fixed on the tatami in front of her knees, repeatedly playing with her fingers clasped together in front of her chest.

"I...don't want to be separated from Qingdeng either..."

Satisfied, Souji shifted his gaze from Kinoshita Mai to Sanako.

"Sanako, what about you? Do you like Tachibana-kun? Do you want to break up with Tachibana-kun?"

"..."

Sanako did not respond, but slowly closed her eyes and turned her head away—even though it was not yet the season for cherry blossoms to bloom, a bunch of “cherry blossoms” were already blooming beautifully and brilliantly in Qing Deng’s ward.

Sanako's face is so pink, so beautiful, so pink that it makes all the cherry blossoms in the world pale in comparison.

Her actions and expression were tantamount to a slight nod, an answer to the commander's question.

Seeing that Sanako had also been dragged onto the pirate ship by her, Souji immediately looked at the parents with a smile.

"We, the ones being proposed to, have reached an agreement—now it's your turn. Sisters, what do you think?"

Okita Hikaru pursed his lips tightly.

Chiba Jutaro touched his forehead with his hand.

The Kiryu boss had a complicated expression.

After a while, the girl who was obsessed with her younger sister was the first to raise the "white flag".

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

Hikaru Okita let out a heavy sigh.

With Hikaru Okita taking the lead, the will of the remaining two parents inevitably wavered.

"..."

Chiba Jutaro flung away his right hand, which was about to press against the hilt of his sword.

Although he didn't say a word, the murderous aura around him had already dissipated.

Kiryu looked exhausted. He gave a wry smile and murmured in a voice only he could hear:

"Oh dear...! You've really caused me a lot of trouble...! How am I going to explain this to my lord...!"

In just over ten minutes, Qingdeng experienced the highs and lows of life.

The so-called "from hell to heaven" is nothing more than this.

Although his parents still haven't accepted him and still scoff at his ideal of "building a big family," at least for now, he's out of immediate danger.

Aoto scanned his gaze, his eyes sweeping over the faces of Souji, Kinoshita Mai, and Sanako one by one.

Gradually, his cheeks unconsciously relaxed, and the corners of his mouth relaxed as well.

And so, he happily enjoyed this reassuring time.

Suddenly, he felt a flash of inspiration—he opened his arms wide like a bird.

Amidst the gasps of surprise, he pulled all three girls in front of him into his arms.

The skin can feel it, and the nose can smell the fragrance of three orchids and chrysanthemums.

The days to come have given us more to look forward to and a new goal to strive for.

Even if it's just for the three girls in his arms, he must fight hard, live hard, fight against the unknown retaliation that the Party might launch at any time, and fight against... the fierce battle to come!