I assembled the strongest swordsman group.

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.

The neatly trimmed short beard on his chin and lips.

His short hair, combed diagonally backward, was snow-white, just like his beard, without a single blemish.

So big that the clothes were directly covering her protruding belly.

He wore a pair of large glasses perched on his nose.

And then there's the smiling face he's currently displaying towards Qingdeng...

Qing Deng felt that if he were born in the 21st century, he might be able to win a lawsuit against KFC for infringing on his portrait rights.

After the "KFC Colonel" with his big belly opened the door, two beautiful figures followed him into the room.

Qing Deng was quite familiar with one of the two beautiful figures—it was the Western girl he had saved that day, Elodie.

Elodie was still dressed in the same sky-blue kimono and white socks, but her hair was different from this afternoon.

This afternoon, when Qing Deng accidentally knocked off Elodie's headscarf and mask, her hair was loose, probably to make it easier to tuck it into the headscarf.

Now, Elodie's beautiful, waist-length blonde hair is neatly braided into a three-strand braid, hanging down from her right shoulder, with her neatly combed bangs gently draped over her forehead.

With hands folded in front of him, he took small steps, following closely behind the "KFC Colonel".

Watching Elodie walking behind "Colonel Sanders," Qingdeng couldn't help but sigh inwardly: Fate is truly a strange thing.

He had only heard of Elodie's great name from Pig Valley a few days ago, and he never expected to meet her in person just a few days later...

This afternoon, there wasn't time to take a closer look at Elodie's face, but now that he's calmed down and looked at her carefully, Qing Deng realizes that the rumors about Elodie that Inugani had told him before were not unfounded.

This Elodie is indeed very cute.

Round and bright eyes, pupils as clear and bright as exquisite gemstones, a high and straight nose, and delicate, beautiful lips...

To look like this at 12 years old... the future looks promising.

Despite being a European from France, Elodie's features were not particularly striking or deep-set.

To put it simply... Elodie's appearance is somewhat of a "fusion of East and West".