I assembled the strongest swordsman group.

"But... the others at the Chiba Sword Hall are not like that."

"Some people at the Chiba Sword Academy have always looked down on us, believing that our Shieikan is a poor, lowly dojo that isn't even worthy of being a foil to their Chiba Sword Academy..."

"By the way—it's the same with Xuanwu Hall. Some people in Xuanwu Hall look down on us, so I also dislike some of the apprentices in Xuanwu Hall."

"I don't know exactly why my aunt has a prejudice against the Chiba Sword Academy, but I guess... she might be like me: she hates those apprentices at the Chiba Sword Academy who look down on our Shieikan."

"Because we hate those guys, we don't want to have a 'Red and White Battle' with Chiba Kenkan in public. If we lose to Chiba Kenkan in front of everyone, it will only make those stinky guys who already look down on us even more smug."

"So that's how it is..." Qing Deng, who had been listening quietly, let out a long sigh.

—Are some people from the Genbu Hall and the Chiba Sword Hall looking down on our Shiei Hall...? Well, that's not surprising...

—It would be abnormal if no one in these two sword-fighting halls viewed our Shiei-kan (Sword-Fighting Hall) with prejudice…

Whether in terms of reputation or the quality of students... Shiwei Hall and Xuanwu Hall, Xiaoqianye Sword Hall are not in the same league. They were originally unlikely to have any interaction, but they came together entirely because of "ancestral friendship".

Such a disparity in strength and status naturally makes it very easy for some people from the Genbu Hall and the Chiba Sword Hall to develop a strong sense of superiority over the Shiei Hall.

"Ah, I seem to have said too many heavy things." Okita laughed a few times at this point.

A cheerful smile returned to his face.

"Let's not talk about these heavy things anymore, let's talk about something more interesting!"

As soon as Okita finished speaking, he gave Aoto a meaningful sly smile, then stretched out his right elbow and poked Aoto's side.

"Tachibana-kun, I didn't expect you to be the kind of person with such honest eyes."

Qingdeng paused, then asked, "Your eyes look so honest? What do you mean?"

“Just now, when we were getting ready to go into the hall to meet Mr. Jutaro and the others, I kept an eye on your eyes.” Okita’s sly smile grew wider and wider. “I guessed that when you saw Ms. Sanako, your eyes would be glued to her.”

"As it turns out—it was indeed the case."

Hearing Okita's teasing remark, Aoto couldn't help but feel a little embarrassed.

The topic suddenly shifted from the heavy issue of "sword club discrimination" to "beautiful girls"... The leap in the topic was so great that Qing Deng couldn't react for a moment.

Qingdeng coughed softly a few times, trying to suppress the embarrassment on his face.

"Um... Okita-kun, I need to clarify something. I'm not some lecherous guy who can't resist beautiful women. It's just a natural reaction..."

"Tachibana-kun, no need to explain further, I understand, I understand." Before Aoto could offer any explanation, Okita crossed his arms and nodded vigorously a few times. "Everyone has a love for beauty."

"When faced with those handsome men and beautiful women, no one can help but take a few more glances."

"When I first met Ms. Sanako, my reaction was similar to yours, Tachibana-kun—I was completely stunned. It was the first time I had ever seen a woman who was so perfect in both appearance and family background."

"Sigh, I wonder which lucky guy will be able to hold such a beauty in his arms in the end."

"Hmm?" A hint of surprise flashed in Qing Deng's eyes. "Isn't Miss Sanako married or engaged yet?"

Okita nodded: "Yes, no man has yet had the honor of changing Sanako's surname."

“Miss Sanako seems quite old to me,” Qing Deng said. “She must be around 20 years old, right?”

“Hmm… if I remember correctly…” Okita pursed his lips, pretending to recall, “Miss Sanako was born in the ninth year of Tenpo (1838), six years older than me.”

"I'm 16 years old this year, so Ms. Sanako's age is... her age is..."

Okita stammered as he stretched out his hands in front of him, fiddling with his fingers.

A moment later, Okita slapped his hands on his lap and confidently reported a precise number to Aoto:

"28 years old!"

"...You are 16 years old this year, and if Miss Sanako is 6 years older than you, then Miss Sanako should be 22 years old this year."

quiet……

The room suddenly became unusually quiet.

Okita, who was full of confidence, froze on the spot as if he had been petrified.

Qing Deng didn't mean to make the atmosphere so awkward... but Okita's calculation was so wrong that he couldn't help but speak up and correct it.

After a long while, Okita finally broke free of the "petrification spell".

He immediately placed his palms in front of his eyes again and began fiddling with his fingers.

It wasn't until a few minutes later that he gradually lowered his hands and slowly withdrew his confident smile.

Head bowed.

Shoulders hunched.

Her cheeks were flushed with embarrassment.

"I'm sorry... I miscalculated..."

"It's alright, it's alright," Qingdeng quickly reassured him. "Although you didn't get it right, the number you calculated was very close to the correct answer."

Knowing Okita's arithmetic skills, Aoto cleared his throat and spoke up to break the awkward silence, trying to help the now embarrassed Okita out of the predicament.

"Miss Sanako is already 22 years old this year, but she is not married or engaged yet, which is really strange... Logically speaking, with Miss Sanako's qualities, there should be no shortage of admirers and suitors, right?"

A 22-year-old single woman... In this era, such a woman is considered a "super leftover woman" who would make many families looking for a daughter-in-law frown.

Due to factors such as short life expectancy, women in ancient Japan generally married at a relatively young age.

In this era, it is extremely common for people to get married at the age of 14 or 5 and become mothers of several children before the age of 20.

At 22 years old... still single at that age, let alone in the Edo period, even in the 21st century, one would probably be pressured by their parents to find a partner.

"Yes, a woman like Miss Sanako, who is both beautiful and from a prominent family, would certainly not lack suitors."

After Aoto brought up a new topic, Okita eagerly joined in, and the awkward atmosphere that had been hanging in the air for so long immediately dissipated.

“If you put a line of men who want to marry Sanako in there, it would probably stretch from Edo all the way to Yokohama.”

"I'm not quite sure why Miss Sanako hasn't gotten married or engaged yet."

"Perhaps it's because I haven't been able to find my ideal partner."

"A woman like Ms. Sanako must have very high standards when it comes to men. Men with very average qualities probably wouldn't even catch her eye."

"Tsk tsk." Okita clicked his tongue a few times. "'To be favored by a beauty of Sanako's caliber... only the most exceptional person in a million could receive such an honor..."

……

……

Edo, Okemachi, Kochiba Sword Hall —

Thump, thump, thump, thump, thump...

Chiba Jutaro sped along a corridor inside the sword-making hall.

Like Kondo's family, Jutaro's family and his family's family were both structured in a way that integrated their home and dojo.

After turning a corner and going up to the second floor, he walked straight along the corridor directly opposite the stairwell, and finally—Chiba Jutaro stopped in front of a simple paper sliding door.

This is his bedroom.

After opening the door and entering his bedroom, Chiba Jutaro rushed to a storage cabinet in the corner of the room. He opened the bottom cabinet and skillfully moved the items inside. At the very bottom, he found a small booklet whose pages were already somewhat torn from frequent reading.

Chiba Jutaro flipped the booklet over with a slightly rough and dangerous motion, the rapidly turning pages making a rustling sound.

On the turning pages of the book, one name after another is written.

Kawai Shirohei, Arai Kotaro, Tanaka Torazou, Yamawaki Shutaro...

Of these names, only a very small fraction are "safe and sound".

The vast majority of names had a huge cross drawn on them.

At the bottom of each of these names marked with an X, there is a brief "comment".

These "comments" are all sorts of strange and unusual:

Too fond of drinking, too flamboyant, has no talent other than his family background, doesn't like Sanako at all, and just wants to curry favor with the Chiba family...

Chiba Jutaro flipped to a blank page at the back of the booklet in one breath, then picked up a calligraphy brush and an inkstone full of ink from the desk next to him. After filling the brush with ink, he solemnly wrote a name in the booklet:

Oranges are green.

Chiba Jutaro casually set the brush aside, then moved the booklet further away, examining it carefully as if he were admiring a work of art, looking at the new name he had just written in the booklet.

A moment later, a smile brimming with anticipation appeared on Chiba Jutaro's cheeks.

"I'm going to be busy again... I hope this Tachibana Aoto isn't one of those guys who makes a good first impression but turns out to be a jerk after getting to know him better..."

After muttering to himself, Chiba Jutaro prepared to put the booklet away and hide it in his locker.

However, at that moment—a night breeze blew into Chiba Jutaro's bedroom through the open window.

Splash splash splash splash...

Chiba Jutaro flipped through the booklet in his hands quickly in the night breeze, turning to the first page in one go, before the sudden gust of wind that had blown into the room gradually subsided.

The first page of the booklet... only had one person's name written on it.

Ryoma Sakamoto.

This person's name, like most of the names in this booklet, has a huge "X" marked on it.

But this name is a little unique compared to the others that have been crossed out: there is no comment written below it.

Looking at the name that the night wind had revealed... the smile that had been on Chiba Jutaro's cheeks quickly vanished.

The smile faded, turning into annoyance, and his thick eyebrows furrowed.

"Oh shit……"

Chiba Jutaro cursed in a low voice.

"To this day, my precious little sister still has a crush on you... Ryoma, in the whole world, probably only you could do something like this..."

"I hope you're the first... and the last person to make Sanako suffer in unrequited love..."

"Well... it's probably unlikely that a man like that will ever appear again..."

Chiba Jutaro sighed heavily, then closed the booklet in his hand and put it back into the deepest part of the storage cabinet...

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