I assembled the strongest swordsman group

In my country, these two Vajra statues are figuratively known as the "Hum and Ha Generals".

In Japan, these two Vajra statues are known as "Nioh".

Therefore, you can understand "Nioh" as a Vajra standing tall, glaring angrily at the mortal world.

Chapter 69 Little Rich Girl - Kinoshita Mai

Fujisawa-juku, a certain inn, in a certain room—

"Alright." Kiryu tied the burlap bandage around Aoto's leg wound into a neat knot and smiled. "The wound isn't deep. After applying my special medicine and resting for about ten days, it will be fully recovered."

Qing Deng stood up from the tatami mat, tiptoed, and stomped around a few times.

When my injured right leg touches the ground, I still feel some pain, but after applying Kiryu's special medicine—a brown ointment—I feel much more comfortable than before the treatment.

"Mr. Kiryu, you also know medicine?"

"Hmm." Kiryu smiled and adjusted the glasses on his nose. "I used to study some medicine in Kyoto."

"You know so many things... You can repair Wu clothing, you can read lips, you can do calligraphy, and now you can even do medicine..."

"Learning all sorts of new and interesting things is my hobby," Kiryu said with a modest smile. "How about it? Don't you think the burlap is tied too tightly?"

"No, no, it's just right."

At this moment, there are four people in this not-too-big-too-small double room—Aoto, Saito, Kiryu, the owner of Senjiya, and Kinoshita Mai.

Saito knelt beside Aoto, his sword always hanging at his right waist, never taken off.

While Kiryu was treating Aoto's leg injury, Kinoshita Mai sat behind Kiryu the whole time, helping him out.

After tiptoeing a few times to make sure the injury wasn't serious, Qingdeng sat back down cross-legged on the ground.

After Qingdeng sat back down on the ground, a faint voice of thanks drifted into his ears.

"Tachibana-kun... thank you so much for today..."

The one who uttered those words of thanks was none other than Kinoshita Mai.

Perhaps because of the presence of Saito, a complete stranger, Kinoshita Mai, who was already afraid of strangers, was extremely nervous and reserved.

Two small hands clasped together rested on her thighs, her chin rested against her collarbone, and her shoulders were tucked in.

Kinoshita Mai, who was already quite petite, now appears even smaller.

"Ah... no need for thanks, I didn't do anything particularly remarkable." Qingdeng raised his hand and scratched the skin on the back of his neck. "Instead of thanking me... let's talk."

"Ms. Kinoshita, I have so many questions I want to ask you..."

“I remember you told me before that you were coming to Fujisawa-suke to pick up a friend of yours.”

"The friend you mentioned...could it be that blonde girl?"

Upon hearing Aoto's question, Kinoshita Mai, who was already quite reserved, became even more flustered.

The hands resting on her legs tightened and loosened repeatedly.

He opened and closed his mouth, stammering for a long time, but couldn't get a coherent answer.

Seeing that Kinoshita Mai was too shy to say a complete sentence, Kiryu, who was sitting in front of her, turned his head and gave Kinoshita Mai a helpless smile: "...Let me say it instead."

"Mr. Orange, the girl you rescued this afternoon is named Elodie de Angoulême, and she is from France."

"As you just asked, this Elodie is a friend of the young master who came all the way to Fujisawa to greet him as a sign of a warm welcome."

"As for the woman dressed in pale yellow Wu clothing, she is a maid named Marie Leroy who is in charge of taking care of Elodie's daily life and meals."

...Elodie de Angoulême?

Upon hearing the name, Qingdeng immediately felt: This name... why does it sound so familiar...?

Qingdeng, whose name sounded strangely familiar, pursed his lips and pondered deeply.

He quickly remembered—wasn't this the French girl that Inogani had told him about before, the one who was said to be very beautiful...?

Compared to the timid and hesitant Kinoshita Mai, Kiryu's behavior was much more natural and poised.

He spoke slowly and deliberately:

Where should I begin...?

……

Kiryu's explanation was very well-organized.

With just a few words, he dispelled most of the fog that had been trapping Qing Deng's mind.

Five years ago, a French businessman named Antoine traveled across the ocean to Japan to conduct international business.

This Anthony was Elodie's grandfather.

He brought Elodie with him to settle down and do business in this distant Asian country.

Anthony's main business is reselling Japanese specialties back to Europe and America.

Previously, the grandfather and grandson had been living in Osaka.

However, the Kinki region, centered around Kyoto and Osaka, has been the area where the "Expel the Barbarians Movement" has been most intense in recent years, and the trend is intensifying.

For reasons of personal safety and business considerations, Anthony decided to move his family to Edo, which was obviously much safer than the Kinai region.

For some reason, Anthony was unwilling to travel to Edo by boat, but insisted on traveling by carriage overland.

So Matsudaira Munehide, the Osaka Castle Director who had a very good relationship with Anthony, waved his hand and appointed his trusted subordinate, Komuro Chuichiro, as the leader, sending a total of 36 skilled private soldiers to serve as Anthony's bodyguards and escort Anthony and Elodie throughout their relocation journey.

Kinoshita Mai, who was very close to Elodie, learned that Elodie and her family were coming to Edo. In order to show her welcome, she prepared well in advance to go "ten miles out of the city" to Fujisawa-juku to greet her dear friend.

Because he was worried about letting Kinoshita Mai leave Edo alone, Kiryu had no choice but to come with her to Fujisawa-shuku.

Kiryu and Kinoshita Mai arrived at Fujisawa-juku the day before yesterday.

The day after they arrived in Fujisawa-juku, which was yesterday, they successfully reunited with Anthony, Elodie, and their group.

Anthony and his group originally intended to rest for two days at the large post station of Fujisawa before continuing their journey.

But who would have thought—an unexpected accident would happen today.

Elodie and her maid, Leroy, a young woman, suddenly disappeared from the inn this afternoon!

The reason for their "disappearance" has now been found out—it turns out that Kinoshita Mai and Leroy worked together to sneak out of the hotel with Elodie...

Elodie, who had long heard of the famous Eshima Shrine, had long yearned to visit the renowned Eshima Shrine of Fujisawa-juku.

She had begged her grandfather to take her to the "Eshima Shrine," even if it was just for a short while.

But Anthony was determined—he would not allow himself to leave the hotel so casually while the so-called "patriots who expel foreigners" were still rampant!

Since she couldn't persuade Anthony, Elodie's little scheme began to take hold.

If I can't leave the hotel openly... then I'll just sneak away!

So, determined to go to Eshima Shrine, she teamed up with her best friend Kinoshita Mai to make a bold and detailed plan to sneak away from the hotel.

Leroy could not leave the inn without trying to persuade her inseparable maid:

So Elodie begged Leroy to make an exception just this once and let her go to the shrine, just for a short while.

Unable to resist Elodie's persistent pleas, Leroy finally softened and gave in to her wishes...

This is the beginning of today's series of unexpected events...

After listening quietly to Kiryu's explanation, Aoto couldn't help but cast a surprised glance at Kinoshita Mai beside him.

—Ms. Kinoshita…are very good friends with that Elodie…?

In this era, European and American businessmen who could travel across the ocean to do international business in Japan were generally not small-time merchants with little influence.

A young man working at an employment agency and the granddaughter of a wealthy businessman engaged in international business are very good friends... Given the difference in their social status, it seems unlikely that they could be friends.

Kiryu seemed to see through Aoto's thoughts at that moment.

He smiled slightly:

"Well... Mr. Tachibana, you must be wondering how the young master became friends with Elodie."

The reason is not complicated.

"Before I opened my 'Thousand Things Shop' in Edo because of my personal interest, I worked at a small silk merchant called 'Rinya' in Osaka."

"The owner of 'Rinya'... who is also my lord, is the young master's godmother."

"Five years ago, after Anthony traveled across the ocean to Osaka to do business, he had very close business dealings with Rinya."

"That's how the young master met Anthony's granddaughter, Elodie, and they became friends."

Having said that, Kiryu cast a gentle glance at Kinoshita Mai, who was sitting behind him.

Looking back now... time really flies.

"In order to nurture the young master, the lord asked me to take him in as a assistant at the Senjiya a year ago, so that he could start training and learning from the very bottom."

"In the blink of an eye, the young master has already served under me for a full year..."

“So that’s how it is…” Qing Deng looked at Kiryu, then at Kinoshita Mai, “No wonder you always called Kinoshita-san ‘Young Master’.”

—So, Ms. Kinoshita was originally the daughter of a wealthy merchant family...?

—Sent to work at the grassroots level under the pretext of "getting trained"... Haha... That's so similar to me...

Qing Deng couldn't help but glance at Kinoshita Mai a few more times.

Kinoshita Mai's family background and experiences made Aoto feel a sense of familiarity.

In his previous life, Qing Deng was also the son of a merchant.

His father ran a department store of moderate size, and the family was relatively well-off.

When Qingdeng was still in middle school, during long holidays such as winter and summer vacations, his father would often use the excuse of "getting trained" to send Qingdeng to the lowest level of their family's shopping mall, where Qingdeng would do all kinds of ordinary rough and heavy work with their employees.

At first, Qingdeng didn't understand his father's behavior.

He aspired to be a policeman since he was very young and never thought about inheriting a shopping mall. Why is he frequently "demoted" to the lowest level of the mall to do ordinary manual labor that seems to have no technical content?

It wasn't until he grew up that Qingdeng understood his father's intentions—there wasn't anything profound about it, he just wanted a free laborer who didn't need to be paid.

What? You want a salary?! You have no share in the family business?! Helping with housework and managing the family business is what you should be doing! — My father's earnest teachings still ring in my ears.

Kiryu's explanation cleared up most of Aoto's doubts.

This also answered a question that had puzzled me before: "Why does Kiryu always refer to Kinoshita Mai as 'Young Master'?"

As Aoto silently processed and sorted through everything he had just heard from Kiryu—

"Excuse me, is it convenient for someone to come in?" A voice with a very strange accent suddenly came from outside the door.

Qingdeng glanced at the door with a questioning look: "Ah...please come in."

After obtaining permission from Qingdeng to enter, the door made of wood and paper was slowly pulled open...

KFC?!

Qingdeng stared in shock at the plump, white old man who appeared before him as the door opened...

*******

*******

Thank you to our new leader, [I love Jia, I'm actually 12]!

This book already has three Alliance Leaders, congratulations!

The author is now going to start making up for the "extra chapters for the Alliance Leader" that he owes, little by little.

Pay it back today.

The remaining two alliance leaders, [L5? ?] and [I love Jia, I'm actually 12], will be added later!

Chapter 70 Encounter with Colonel Sanders

The person who opened the door was a plump, fair-skinned elderly white man.

For a fleeting moment, when his gaze fell upon the old man, Qingdeng hallucinated that he was the KFC Colonel...

The old man in front of me is not so much like Colonel Sanders, but exactly the same.