I formed the strongest swordsman group

Elodie put on a new dress.

She changed into a slim-fitting gown with a skirt that reached to her tender white heels, and it looked significantly more comfortable than the tutu skirt she had just worn when she and Anthony went out for a walk.

Qingdeng has not yet seen a pair of small and cute white velvet slippers on a palm-sized slender foot. This is the first time Qingdeng has seen this kind of European women's slippers from the 19th century. The heel is even designed with a high heel. When you step on the ground, it will make a fairly crisp "clack clack" sound.

"Miss Angoulême, hello." Qing Deng briefly said hello to Elodie, then turned his head and looked around, "Miss Angoulême, what are you doing here in the dining room? Angoulême Where are Monsieur and Miss Leroy?"

"I'm reading." Elodie smiled. "The restaurant has the best light, so during the day, I like to stay in the restaurant and read."

"Grandpa is dealing with some work in his bedroom."

"Miss Leroy is cleaning the kitchen."

Qingdeng looked at the long table where Alodi was sitting just now, and there was indeed a book that was being spread out on the table.

Relying on his good eyesight, Qingdeng saw that the pages of this book were printed in densely packed, tadpole-like French that Qingdeng could not understand at all.

"Mr. Orange, did you come out to rest?" Ai Luodi flashed her big eyes at Qing Deng a few times.

"Well, that's it." Qing Deng smiled slightly, "My friends and I are a little thirsty, so we wanted to ask if there is any water."

"Ah, Mr. Orange, you came at the right time." The smile on Elodie's face became wider, "Just now, Grandpa has already asked Miss Leroy to let her prepare our house. Black tea and snacks are here to entertain you."

"I'll ask Miss Leroy if the tea is ready."

After finishing speaking, Elodie walked quickly to the long table, picked up a silver rattle, and shook it lightly.

jingle bell~~

Qingdeng couldn't help but feel the crisp and crisp sound of bells shaking in the ears, spreading in all directions.

As soon as the bell rang, a series of unhurried footsteps came straight towards Qingdeng and Elodie. Leroy wiped his wet hands with the apron tied in front of his body. Quickly walked to the front of Ai Luodi.

Élodie babbled a lot of French to Leroy.

Then Leroy also responded to Elodie in French.

Qingdeng is completely ignorant of French, and the only French vocabulary he knows is "Bonjour" (hello).

So from Qin Deng's current perspective, seeing Elodie and Leroy talking French to each other is no different from seeing two scientists discussing quantum mechanics there-although they know in their hearts that they are talking about human beings. language, but it still feels like they are talking about magic spells.

After Leroy's words fell, Elodie nodded lightly, and said something to Leroy, and then saw Leroy returning along the same way he came, and disappeared before Qindeng's eyes.

"Miss Leroy said that the black tea will be ready soon." Elodie switched back to Japanese, "I have asked her to deliver the black tea and snacks to you as soon as she prepares the black tea."

Qingdeng bowed slightly, and said "thank you so much" to Elodie.

At this time, out of the corner of Qingdeng's eyes, he caught a glimpse of a beautifully wrapped gift box on a small round table not far from him.

Whether it is the style of the box or the way of packaging, this gift box is completely Japanese style.

In this kind of European-style mansion, there is such a Japanese-style gift box... It's like wearing a French court dress and wearing a sword around the waist, which is extremely abrupt and inconsistent.

Qingdeng couldn't help but feel somewhat curious about this gift box, and asked Elodie:

"Miss Angoulême, what is this gift box?"

Alodie turned her head to look at the gift box on the table: "Oh, this is a gift from Grandpa, who is going to give Mr. Bright five days later at Mr. Bright's ball."

"Mr. Brett?" Qing Deng repeated this name that was quite unfamiliar to him in a low voice.

Seeing Qingdeng's puzzled expression, Elodie smiled slightly, and then began to give Qingdeng an overview of who this "Mr. Bright" is.

Bright, whose full name is John Bright, is an Englishman, one of the first batch of foreign businessmen to land in Japan after Japan opened its doors.

Because he is an old senior in the business world, and he is kind and kind, and likes to support juniors. Many people have received his help, so his popularity is very good. In this Edo settlement, he is very loved and respected.

Five days later, it was Bright's 60th birthday.

In order to properly celebrate his 60th birthday, Brett decided to hold a grand dance party at his home on his birthday in 5 days, and most of the people in the Edo settlement received the banquet invitation from Brett.

Anthony and Bright have a little friendship, so it was only natural that he was invited.

"Mr. Bright likes Japanese sake very much, and he can drink a lot." Alodi said slowly, "I heard that Mr. Bright drinks seven or eight bottles of sake every day. .To meet his drinking needs, he buys a large amount of sake every month from a wine merchant named Sohachiro Natsume.”

"So grandpa decided what he liked, and ordered a bottle of very expensive sake from Kyoto...that is, this gift box."

"Grandpa is going to present this bottle of precious sake as a birthday gift to Mr. Bright at the banquet in five days' time."

Qingdeng nodded lightly: "I see..."

Qingdeng didn't know this Brett at all, and he didn't care about this person, so as soon as the name "Brett" appeared in Qingdeng's mind, it immediately drifted away like a cloud.

However, when hearing Alodie mention the title "grandfather"...Qingdeng couldn't help recalling the scene of the dispute between Alodie and her grandfather Anthony just witnessed in the study.

After hesitating for a moment, Qingdeng said softly to Elodie:

"Miss Angoulême, although it may be presumptuous for an outsider like me to say this...but you and your grandfather should get along well and don't quarrel."

Elodie looked at Qingdeng blankly, then smiled wryly full of apology.

"Mr. Orange, please allow me to apologize again for showing you a rather indecent scene in the study just now."

She stretched out her hands, gently lifted the robe on her body, and bowed slightly to Qing Deng.

"Pretty sorry."

"My grandfather and I have reconciled."

Speaking of which, Elodie's apologetic wry smile turned into a smile reminiscent of the warm spring sun.

"This is probably the daily life of my grandpa and I."

"My grandpa and I often quarreled over trivial matters, and then quickly made up."

"When I first left the study, my grandfather and I had reconciled."

"I'm very sorry for making you worry."

Qingdeng let out a long breath and smiled with relief: "It's okay, as long as you reconcile with your grandfather."

"Speaking of which, Miss Angoulême, you are really amazing."

Qingdeng cast admiring glances at Elodie.

"The words you just said in the study are still in my ears."

"That's really good, I agree with your point of view."

Every word, every sentence that Alodi just said in the study to refute Anthony... made Qingdeng quite resonate.

Qingdeng has always insisted that one of the biggest absurdities in this world is that people are too harsh on good people and then too tolerant of bad people.

Just like what Elodie said just now—people like to use extremely strict standards to demand those good people, and as long as there is anything that doesn't suit their wishes in good people, they will be criticized. But he is always very tolerant towards those wicked people. As long as those wicked people do a little good deed, they don't seem to be so bad.

Therefore, after hearing Ai Luodi actually uttered such penetrating and thought-provoking ideas that appealed to him, Qingdeng was pleasantly surprised, but also had a bit of admiration for Ai Luodi.

Ai Luodi is only 12 years old this year.

In modern times, Elodie is only a sixth grader in elementary school.

At the age of a sixth-grade elementary school student, being able to speak so sharply... has to be admirable.

Qingdeng's sudden compliment made Ai Luodi smile shyly: "Those are just my humble opinion, let Mr. Orange laugh at you."

"Hearing Grandpa comment on Mao Xiaoseng and Hu Xiaoseng like this, I couldn't bear it for a while, so I couldn't help but express all these thoughts in my daily life."

"Now that I think about it carefully, I really shouldn't..."

"How can you argue with your own family in front of the guests?"

"It's so disrespectful and disrespectful."

After finishing speaking, Elodie folded her two delicate hands in front of the navel, and lowered her little head with shame and embarrassment.

Looking at the ashamed Elodie, Qingdeng couldn't help but click his tongue inwardly: Is this really a girl who is only 12 years old this year...?

Elodie's current mood is slightly depressed due to self-blame... After Qingdeng thought for a while, he decided to change to a new topic.

A topic that should cheer Elodie up.

"Miss Angoulême, you really like the cat monk and the fox monk very much, and you even bought the paintings of these two."

As soon as the words were spoken, the corners of Qingdeng's mouth twitched in an imperceptible arc.

Elodie, who is Kinoshita Mai's best friend, actually adores the cat monk and the fox monk... Qingdeng still has a sense of unrealistic absurdity until now.

At present, there are so many people in Edo who reverence the cat monk and the fox monk, and Elodie happens to be one of them.

Should I say it was too coincidental... or should I say it was too fateful...

Qingdeng took the initiative to switch to this topic in order to cheer up Alodie.

The effect was very obvious—Elodie, who was depressed just now, immediately became energized.

"Well! I really, really respect the cat monk and the fox monk!" Elodie raised her head, her eyes flickered, and her white and tender cheeks began to glow rosy.

As early as in the study just now, before Elodie had a dispute with Anthony, Qingdeng noticed that Elodie seemed to have the characteristic of "when she gets excited, her face turns red".

Just like now—after mentioning the person she loves and admires, Elodie, who was emotionally excited, her fair and tender face turned white and red at a speed visible to the naked eye.

"When I first learned about Mao Xiaoseng and Hu Xiaoseng's deeds, I respected them very much!"

"I asked Miss Leroy to help me find all the paintings related to cat monk and fox monk that I could find on the market."

"I want to put all these paintings I have collected in a place where I can often see them, so I argued with my grandfather for a long time before finally convincing him to let me hang these paintings in the few places I often stay at home. place."

Qingdeng raised his eyebrows: "Do you have other paintings?"

Ai Luodi nodded vigorously: "I have a total of 4 paintings by Mao Xiaoseng and them."

"Two pairs are hung in my bedroom, one pair is hung in the study, and one pair is hung here in the dining room."

After all, Alodi stretched out her hand and pointed to her front left.

Qingdeng looked in the direction that Alodi pointed. On the wall on the southwest side of the restaurant, there was indeed a ukiyo-e. Because the place where it was hung was too remote, Qingdeng had not found this painting before.

Qingdeng walked quickly to the side of this ukiyo-e in three steps at a time, carefully admiring the content drawn in the painting, and then his expression became strange again.

The composition of this painting is quite simple - two men in black wearing black fox masks and black face scarves are standing side by side on the roof of a row of densely packed houses, behind them is the dark night and The full moon hanging high in the night sky.

Elodie meandered to Qingdeng's side.

"Mr. Orange, let me tell you a little secret." Elodie lowered her voice and whispered to Qingdeng in a mysterious tone, "I have a very strange fate with the cat monk and the fox monk."

"Huh?" Qing Deng raised his eyebrows, "How do you say that?"

"I have seen Mao Xiaoseng and Hu Xiaoseng with my own eyes." Elodie, with a hint of pride and excitement on her brows, straightened her flat chest, "Just last month, that is, Hu Xiaoseng appeared in the public for the first time. That night, I saw Mao Xiaoseng and Hu Xiaoseng running across the roof of the house opposite my house."

Elodie described in great detail the cause, process and result of her first encounter with the cat monk and the fox monk.

After quietly listening to Elodie's narration, Qingdeng couldn't help but burst out laughing, not knowing what expression to show for a while.

On the night when he first appeared in the public eye as the "Fox Monk"... that is, the night when he agreed to go with Kinoshita Mai to deal with the group of people who wantonly tried their knives with filth, he and Kinoshita Mai fought for To get rid of the sudden appearance of the bureaucrats, it is indeed possible to enter the Edo settlement where the houses are generally grand and convenient for them to escape; at the same time, Mai Kinoshita is very familiar with the terrain here.

Qingdeng never expected... When he and Kinoshita Wu were running away from the government's pursuers in this settlement, it happened that Elodie, who suddenly woke up from sleep, saw them fleeing in a hurry.

"How? Is there a predestined relationship between me and Mao Xiaoseng and Fox monk?" Alodi said in a triumphant tone, "I woke up suddenly at that time, and then I happened to see them running across from our house. The old fox monk and cat monk."

"As long as I wake up earlier or later, or go to the window earlier or later, I will not have the opportunity to see them."

Qingdeng nodded lightly: "Well...it is indeed very predestined..."

After finishing speaking, Qingdeng silently added a sentence in his heart:

——Miss Angoulême, you are indeed very close to the cat monk and the fox monk... The former is your best friend, and the latter is standing by your side now.

After proudly talking about her "indissoluble bond" with Little Monk Fox and Little Monk Mao, Elodie seemed to suddenly remember something, and the smile on her face paused.

Immediately afterwards, she was seen to glance at Qing Deng hesitantly.

"Mr. Orange, can I... ask you a few questions?"

"Huh?" Qing Deng gestured to Elodie with his eyes: You can ask.

Ai Luodi took a deep breath: "I have always heard that Mao Xiaoseng is a very beautiful girl, and Hu Xiaoseng is a handsome boy... Is this true?"

"If it's suspected of leaking and it's inconvenient to tell outsiders more, then just pretend I didn't ask."

Although she tried her best to suppress it, there was still a bit of excitement and expectation in Ai Luodi's tone.

Especially when it came to the sentence "Little Monk Hu is a very handsome young man", Elodie's tone showed a very obvious look of expectation.

Qingdeng is the "Three Returns" concentric who is in charge of security in Edo. Elodie is probably eager to get some information about her idol from Qingdeng, who is an insider, that she didn't know before. That's why he asked Qingdeng that.

A very beautiful girl and a very handsome boy... The corners of Qingdeng's mouth twitched again in a subtle way.

It is not difficult to guess that these rumors should be made up by some people in order to satisfy their own imagination.

"Mao Xiaoseng and Hu Xiaoseng are yellow-faced grandma and bald middle-aged man" or "Mao Xiaoseng and Fox monk are beautiful girls and beautiful boys" - which of the two is more popular and which is more in line with the heroic fantasy of ordinary people in the market, it is obvious .

But I have to say that this rumor was actually wrong and right.

Mao Xiaoseng is indeed a beautiful girl, and she has a top-notch face and figure.

Hu Xiaoseng is indeed a beautiful boy... Although it seems a bit narcissistic to say so, Qingdeng really feels that his face can barely bear the adjective "handsome".

It is naturally impossible for Qingdeng to tell Elodie the truth, so he can only give a very official answer:

"Miss Angoulême, about the cat monk and the fox monk, we in Edo don't know much more than the common people in the market."

"Until now, we haven't fully determined the gender of Mao Xiaoseng and Hu Xiaoseng."

"So what you just said about beautiful girls and young boys... are mostly just nonsense spread by good people."

"This, that's it..." Elodie pursed her lips in frustration.

Just at this time--

Boom, boom, boom, boom, boom...

There was a very sudden and rhythmic knock on the door at the entrance.

Qingdeng and Elodie raised their eyes together, looking in the direction of the entrance.

"Huh? Why would someone knock on the door at this time... (French)" Elodie subconsciously talked to herself in her mother tongue, and walked back to the long table in the restaurant, picking up the silver rattle , shook heavily a few times.

Leroy appeared in front of Qing Deng and Ai Luodi again.

Elodie said something to Leroy in French.

Leroy nodded, and then walked quickly but without losing courtesy, walked through the corridor on the left side of the restaurant, and went straight to the entrance of the house.

Immediately afterwards, the sound of the door opening, the sound of footsteps, the sound of talking... These sounds came to Qingdeng's ears incessantly.

After a while, Qingdeng heard a "click"—it was the sound of closing the door.

Leroy returned to Qingdeng and the others, holding a rather exquisite wooden box.

As soon as she came back, she began to exchange "curses" with Elodie.

Qing Deng couldn't understand what they were saying at all, so he could only observe their expressions. He noticed that after seeing the wooden box in Leroy's hand, Elodie burst into a smile.

Alodie pointed to the long table in the restaurant next to her, and then saw Leroy put the wooden box in her hand on the long table, and then walked away—she should be going back to work on her work up.

As soon as Leroy left, Elodie immediately jumped towards the wooden box with a look of eagerness.

"Miss Angoulême." Qing Deng, who followed Elodie to the side of the wooden box, asked in confusion, "What is this?"

Ai Luodi did not immediately answer Qingdeng's question.

Instead, he showed a sly smile at Qing Deng, and then slowly opened the wooden box with a "click".

Inside the wooden box, there is a very finely crafted wooden Western rapier.

Qingdeng's pupils shrank slightly: "The stabbing sword...?"

"This is my favorite sword." A childlike smile appeared in Elodie's eyes, "I accidentally broke the tip of the sword while practicing the sword a while ago, and my grandfather entrusted one of his skilled carpenters Living friends help me repair the sword."

"It's finally repaired and sent back."

Practicing the sword...Qingdeng keenly grasped the word from Elodie's words, which made him careless: "Miss Angoulême, do you know how to stab swords?"

"Well, I have practiced sword stabbing since I was a child."

Elodie raised her hand, stroking the rapier in the box with gentle movements, and there was a color of nostalgia and reminiscence between her brows.

"I have liked Robin Hood since I was a child... Ah, Mr. Orange, you probably don't know who Robin Hood is."

"Robin Hood is quite well-known in European countries as a chivalrous thief who likes to steal from the rich and give to the poor."

"I like this legendary rogue very much."

"Mr. Orange, don't laugh when I tell you."

Elodie smiled embarrassingly, her whole face turned red, she retracted her right hand to her chest, and raised her index finger in circles to fiddle with the three-strand braid hanging on her chest.

"I have always dreamed of becoming a grand thief like Robin Hood who is capable of writing and martial arts, and is willing to help the weak."

"So when I was old enough to learn how to stab swords, I pestered my...family and asked them to help me find a swordsmanship teacher."

"Even now that I have moved to Japan with my grandfather, I have never slackened my practice of fencing."

"In the beginning, I wanted to learn archery in addition to sword stabbing, because Robin Hood is a magic arrow that can 'hit another arrow that hits the bull's-eye and split the arrow in two' hand."

"But because my family is very opposed to my learning of archery. He thinks that archery is useless in this era except for hunting for fun, and learning sword stabbing can be used for self-defense anyway, so I can only retreat. The next best thing is to concentrate on learning sword stabbing."

After saying that, Elodie stretched out her hand and picked up the rapier in the box.

Elodie's favorite sword is made entirely of wood, so it is very light, even a little girl like her whose body has not yet grown up can easily lift and swing it.

"The man who repaired the sword for me is really amazing." Elodie looked carefully at the rapier in her hand, and then stabbed the air in front of her a few times, "It's as good as new."

At this moment, Alodie didn't notice——Qingdeng beside her was showing an expression of uncontrollable laughter.

Do you dream of becoming a grand thief...Qingdeng finally understands why Kinoshita Mai and Ai Luodi can become very good friends.

Although the two of them have very different external personalities, one is introverted and shy, the other is lively and cheerful, but their inner thoughts are quite close.

Qingdeng took a few glances at Elodie's movement of swinging the sword, and suddenly raised her eyebrows in surprise: "Miss Angoulême, your movements are quite powerful."

Qingdeng's words were not flattering Elodie.

The movements of Ai Luodi's sword swings are indeed quite powerful, and the sword path is very stable. For a little girl who is only 12 years old this year, this is already considered a particularly sharp skill.

Hearing Qingdeng's praise... Elodie didn't show any joy.

Instead, he looked dispirited.

"Mr. Orange, you're absurd."

"I'm still very far off."

"Whether it's skill or heart... I'm far behind."

Speaking of this, Elodie seemed to recall some bad memories, she stared straight at the rapier in her hand, her face darkened.

"If you don't have the guts to dare to confront others...then it's useless to hone your skills well."

"I don't have the guts right now."

Elodie looked up at Qingdeng, with a self-deprecating dry smile on her face.

"Although I kept saying 'dream to be a grand thief like Robin Hood', I didn't even have the courage to be an ordinary person..."

"I'm too timid."

"Don't say that I saw someone coming towards me with a bright weapon... Just hearing someone yell at me, I often shrink into a ball with fright, and I dare not even move..."

After all, Elodie pursed her lips as if she wanted to relieve her distress, and waved the rapier in her hand casually, disturbing the surrounding air as if to drive away the flies around her.

Suddenly, without any warning—Elodie's body froze suddenly, and then her eyes lit up.

"That's right, why did I forget..." After murmuring at a volume that she couldn't hear clearly, Elodie excitedly turned her gaze back to Qing Deng.

"Mr. Orange, can you practice swordsmanship with me for a while now?"

"Huh?" Qing Deng was startled, and then he questioned Elodie with his eyes: Miss Angoulême, why did you ask me to practice swordsmanship with you so suddenly?

Elodie, who understood the meaning of Qingdeng's eyes, the corners of her mouth curved slightly.

"There's no particular reason."

"It's just... a whim."

"Mr. Orange, if you don't want to, then forget it..."

Qingdeng frowned slightly, and pondered.

He subconsciously wanted to reject Elodie who suddenly made such an inexplicable request.

After all, he still has the task of "monitoring the dessert house", but he doesn't have much time to play here with Alodi.

However... after seeing Elodie's expression now, the words of rejection that had already rushed to Qingdeng's mouth could not be uttered.

Although she tried her best to squeeze out a "I don't care" smile, Alodi still looked at Qingdeng with a hint of hope and anticipation in her eyes.

Mr. Orange, please practice swordsmanship with me for a while—Elodie almost wrote this line directly on her face.

*****

*****

Today is the last day of this month, if you still have a monthly pass, be sure to vote for this book! (Leopard Head Crying.jpg)

Ask for a monthly pass! Ask for a recommendation ticket!

Some of the content in this book that you think I am counting on the water, actually has a lot of important foreshadowing. For example, I would like to ask you a question now: Does anyone of you remember Natsume Sohachiro who appeared in a certain chapter in the previous article and this chapter? This guy must have been ignored.

I suggest that you read this chapter carefully and carefully. Those who are interested can find a notebook and write down some strange words and actions of Alodi in this chapter, or simply add a bookmark to this chapter. In the future, when I have nothing to do, I will come back and read this chapter more, it will be useful.