I formed the strongest swordsman group

Edo, Senjiya——

"..."

Kiryu, who was sitting behind the counter, looked at a letter in his hand seriously.

This letter is written in elegant fonts, with the signature "Lin" at the end.

"Oh... this is really..."

After reading the last word of the letter, Kiryu, who always looked quite calm, raised his eyebrows rarely, showing an intriguing look of surprise.

suddenly--

Puff tom, puff tom...

There was a sound like something heavy falling to the ground from the second floor.

Attracted by the strange noise, Kiryu put away the letter in his hand and looked up at the ceiling above his head.

"What voice...? What is the young master doing..."

After saying this in a low voice, Kiryu got up and turned into the back porch of Senjiya, climbed up the stairs, and came to the second floor.

Kinoshita Mai's boudoir was not closed.

So when Kiryu walked to Kinoshita Mai's boudoir with the wide open door, he had a panoramic view of the scene inside the room.

In the past, the room, which was always spotless and everything was arranged in an orderly manner, now became a mess.

Clothes, toys, strange items that can't be named... Large and small things are placed everywhere.

On the tatami mats, which are filled with all kinds of messy things, there are not even a few places left for landing.

In this "garbage dump"-like space, Kiryu found his young master—Kinoshita Mai, who was wearing her beloved red dress as usual, was kneeling with her two little feet folded under her buttocks. There is only a palm-sized Western glass mirror in front of it.

I saw that her whole body was tense, while staring intently at the mirror in front of her, while carefully moving the short makeup brush held by her right finger, the bright "red" stained on the tip of the brush was carefully brushed. applied to his lips.

I was so concentrated that I almost forgot to breathe, and I almost forgot to blink my eyes.

Next to Kinoshita Mai's lap was a can of lip gloss that was only the size of an adult's thumb and the lid had been opened.

The so-called "lip fat" can be understood as lipstick in the Edo period.

The lip gloss that Mai Kinoshita is applying to her lips is the most popular and popular style among young girls: "Sasairo Red".

Kiryu took a closer look and found that besides the jar of lip gloss, there were various types of cosmetics such as light powder and eye color on Kinoshita Mai's lap.

Kiryu recognizes these cosmetics—it was a gift from Mai Kinoshita's grandmother on the eve of leaving Osaka for Edo to practice in the Senjiya he opened.

Since it was a farewell gift for my granddaughter, it was impossible for me to be stingy and use cheap goods to make up for it.

Take that jar of lip gloss as an example—this is a priceless treasure commissioned by Kinoshita Mai's grandmother to help make it.

According to Tongsheng's estimate, if this jar of lip gloss, which is not as big as his thumb, is sold in the market, it can sell for 10 taels of gold at least.

10 taels of gold...a price so high that anyone who knows the lip gloss market can't help but gasp.

You know, even the expensive lip gloss used by Yoshihara's oiran only fluctuates around 1 tael.

Although Kinoshita Mai is so dedicated to putting on her makeup, her earnestness is in stark contrast to the result of her makeup...

Her pen-holding hand was trembling as if she was shivering.

Lips are "potted" like mud after a rain.

Either the color is applied too heavily; then the color is applied too lightly; or the lip gloss is accidentally applied to places other than the lips...

The sky-high price of lip gloss, which is more than ten times more expensive than the special cosmetics of Yoshiwara oirans, is now being used as cheap paint by a "job agency agent"... Such a spectacle, if people show it Go, I don't know how many people's jaws will be shocked.

Kinoshita Mai's level of make-up is so appalling...it's only natural.

Because she doesn't like makeup, she is in a state of bare makeup on weekdays.

Without relevant experience, it is impossible to draw such a beautiful makeup.

The messy room, the lip balm gifted by his grandma, which he had never had a chance to use before, to apply makeup on himself... After integrating the information he saw, Kiryu finally understood what happened It's over.

"……Little Lord."

"Um?"

It wasn't until Kiryu spoke at this time that Kinoshita Mai realized that Kiryu was standing outside her boudoir.

Subconsciously, she quickly turned her face away... her face turned around, but the hand holding the makeup brush remained where it was.

The face is moving, but the pen is not moving... So - starting from the corner of the mouth, the makeup pen draws a straight red line on Kinoshita Mai's delicate right cheek.

The face, which was already ridiculous due to poor makeup skills, became even more ridiculous.

Kinoshita Mai accidentally made a big embarrassment, and her face instantly became the same color as the "Sasairo Red" that was being applied on her lips and face.

"Tong, Mr. Tongsheng, why are you here?"

Kinoshita Mai hurriedly grabbed a few pieces of huai paper lying on her lap, wiped her right cheek and lips clean, and tried her best to talk to Kiryu in a steady tone, trying to cover up her embarrassment.

"I heard strange noises from upstairs, so I came over to check."

Kiryu walked quickly to Kinoshita Mai's side with light movements as if crossing the river by stepping on a rocky reef protruding from the river, and then sat down with his knees bent.

"Young master, in order to go out with Mr. Ju with your best face tonight, you really worked hard enough."

After saying this, Kiryu let out a mocking laugh.

Tonight, Qingdeng and Kinoshita Wu will go to the Fireworks Contest to watch the fireworks - as long as this information is combined and analyzed, it is not difficult to guess why Kinoshita Wu's boudoir suddenly became a mess, and how she herself suddenly became a mess. Put on makeup.

Kiryu speculates—Kinoshita Mai intends to meet Qingdeng with the best and most beautiful face she can achieve tonight.

With such an idea in mind, she decided to dress herself up well.

But because I don't wear much makeup on weekdays, I don't know where to put the cosmetics that grandma gave me before, so I rummaged around and messed up the room.

After that, there is no need to repeat it.

After rummaging through the room like a thief, I finally found the cosmetics that my grandma gave me, and then tried on the makeup in front of the mirror. Before I finished painting my lips, Kiryu came.

Although the above are Kiryu's personal guesses, he believes that the facts should not be much different from his speculations.

Facts proved——Kiryu's guess was right.

As soon as Kiryu's teasing laughter came out, Kinoshita Mai's pretty face immediately became extremely red, the red glow spread to her ears, and it seemed that wisps of "steam" floated from her forehead and cheeks.

Her expression silently told Kiryu: His guess was all right.

Kiryu, who found Mai Kinoshita's reaction quite amusing, grinned a little more:

"Young master, you really like Mr. Ju."

"I……"

Hearing Kiryu's emotion, Kinoshita Mai immediately raised her head as if scalded by hot water.

However, as soon as she yelled "I", Kiryu had already predicted what she wanted to say in advance, and interrupted her with a loud voice.

"Young master, there is no need to defend yourself."

"Look at my age."

Kiryu raised his finger and pointed at his wrinkled old face and silver hair.

"I have traveled more bridges than you have traveled."

"Can't I understand or understand the behavior and thoughts of you young children?"

"It's not something to be ashamed to have a crush on someone."

"Young master, you don't need to hide your feelings for Mr. Ju... At least you don't need to hide it in front of me."

Kinoshita Mai seemed to be touched by Kiryu's words, and looked dazed.

After a while, she silently tightened her shoulders, buried her still flushed face down, and her eyes were blurred.

Kinoshita Mai is not a fool with insufficient IQ.

In fact, she had already vaguely felt that Kiryu must have known her feelings for Qingdeng.

However, even though she knew this in her heart, after hearing Kiryu say "You really like Tachibana-kun", she still felt ashamed uncontrollably.

With a dumbfounded smile, Kiryu looked at Maiou Kinoshita who was shrinking her whole body like an ostrich, and looked sideways at the pile of bottles and jars next to Mai Kinoshita's lap.

"...Young Master, let me help you with your makeup."

"Eh?"

Kinoshita Mai raised her face in surprise.

"Mr. Kiryu, do you know how to put on makeup?"

"I used to learn how to draw women's makeup in Kyoto."

If Qingdeng was present at the moment, he might have sighed in amazement, "Boss Kiryu, how can you even know how to put makeup on girls?"

Unlike Qingdeng who hasn't been with Kiryu long enough, Mai Kinoshita has long been accustomed to this situation.

She pursed her lips thoughtfully, with a look of hesitation on her face.

After a while, she took a deep breath and nodded vigorously with a hopeful expression.

"Then, I will trouble you, Kiryu-san!"

"Okay. Young master, please close your eyes first."

"Do you want to close your eyes?"

"Only when I close my eyes can I apply makeup conveniently."

"All right……"

Kinoshita Mai nodded slightly, then closed her eyes according to Kiryu's order.

The moment her vision was covered by a black curtain due to closing her eyes, she felt a itchy sensation from her lips—it was Kiryu who picked up the makeup pencil and applied lip gloss to her.

In a room like a "junkyard", from this moment on, only the "rustling" sound of makeup pen brushing Kinoshita Mai's red lips and pretty face repeatedly sounded.

Looking forward to what kind of makeup Kiryu would draw on her, the corners of Mai Kinoshita's mouth slowly drew a longing and nervous arc.

During this cramped wait, the silence of the room was suddenly broken.

"...It feels very delicate."

Because Kinoshita Mai was closing her eyes, she couldn't see: there was a lonely and bitter smile that flashed in Kiryu's eyes.

"That little girl, who was not as tall as my waist, has turned into a big girl who can talk about marriage in a blink of an eye."

"Hahaha, it's been a long time since I've experienced the feeling of being so white."

"Ah, speaking of this..."

Kiryu seemed to be recalling something, and his voice paused.

"My lord, I have some good news to tell you."

"Just now came the letter from my lord... a letter from your grandma."

"The letter said: She plans to come to Edo to see you during the Spring Festival next year."

As soon as Kiryu finished speaking, Mai Kinoshita suddenly opened her eyes.

"Mr. Kiryu, is this true? Grandma is coming to see me?"

Dazzling excitement burst out from Kinoshita Mai's beautiful eyes.

"Well, it's true. I'll show you the letter later. Ah, don't open your eyes. If you open your eyes, it's easy to mess up your makeup."

"Ah, no, sorry..."

Kinoshita Mai hastily closed her eyes again.

"Young master, this is a good opportunity."

"Huh? What a good opportunity?"

Kiryu smiled meaningfully.

"A chance for Mr. Ju to meet your grandma."

"?!"

Kinoshita Mai almost subconsciously opened her eyes again. Fortunately, she reacted quickly enough, the moment her eyelids lifted a little, she quickly pushed them back.

At this time, Kiryu went on to say:

"Young master, I don't need to go into details, but you should be clear: If you want to develop that kind of relationship with Mr. Ju, you must first obtain the master's permission."

"..."

"My lord will never allow my precious granddaughter to be with a wretch she despises."

"..."

"So if you don't want your relationship with Mr. Ju to stay at the level of 'friend', then it is very necessary for Mr. Ju to meet the lord, and let the lord see this man named 'Ju Qing' with her own eyes. Deng's young samurai, is he qualified to be her grandson-in-law?"

"..."

Kinoshita Mai has been silent since just now.

Although there is still the makeup on his face that looks forward to seeing him later, and the excited smile from the bottom of his heart when he learned that grandma is coming to see her, Kiryu can clearly feel that Mai Kinoshita's mood has changed now. A little depressed.

Kiryu stopped speaking just in time.

After a while of silence, he smiled lightly and said in a relaxed tone:

"Young master, you don't have to feel heavy."

"Could it be that you don't have confidence in the man you admire?"

"My lord likes the kind of young man who is talented but not arrogant...and Mr. Ju happens to be a talent with this kind of character."

"Based on what I know about the lord, she only hates three types of people."

"A person with a bad mind."

"People who are greedy for all ways."

"And the kind of lecherous and playful people who want to marry many, many wives."

"So, relax."

"Although I dare not pat my chest to assure you that the lord will definitely favor Ju Jun, I dare say that the lord will never dislike Ju Jun too much."

Hearing what Kiryu said, the faint "black mist" lingering between Kinoshita Mai's eyebrows dissipated quite a bit.

But suddenly, Kinoshita Mai's facial features froze.

The Tao... The word Kiryu just mentioned brought back a memory in Mai Kinoshita's mind.

Extremely "fresh" memories - the scene of the intimate interaction between Qingdeng and the chief executive at the celebration banquet 3 days ago flashed quickly in Kinoshita Mai's mind.

"...Speaking of, talking about the Tao..." Kinoshita Mai hesitated, "Mr. Kiryu, when I was walking on the street a while ago, I saw two samurai with a figure as strong as a bear, and they were strutting around the city .”

"Often things." Kiryu responded casually.

"Speaking of it, it's really amazing. Some men have faces that are very popular with girls, but they are unexpectedly greedy people."

"I've heard that some people from the Dao are particularly bad-tempered. They obviously have no interest in women, but in order to pass on the family smoothly, they deliberately coax a woman who doesn't know that he is a member of the Dao to marry him."

When Kinoshita Wu said this, she paused for a moment, and then pretended to be casual and asked softly to the elder who "has traveled more bridges than she has traveled":

"I don't know if there is any method that can effectively identify which people are people of the Tao."

"A way...that's still there."

Hearing that Kiryu took over the conversation, Mai Kinoshita's hands, which were naturally placed on her legs, clenched tightly with joy.

Kiryu, who didn't notice this small gesture of Kinoshita Mai, said casually and slowly in the tone of chatting with Kinoshita Mai:

"To put it bluntly, the biggest difference between Taoists and ordinary people is that they are only interested in people of the same sex."

"Except for the very few exceptions where both men and women are acceptable, all Taoists would not want to have intercourse with the opposite sex."

"A person who wants to have sex with the opposite sex is not a member of the public."

"This, this way..."

Kinoshita Mai pursed her lips hard, and then softly repeated the words Kiryu just said at a volume that only she could hear clearly.

"Those who want to have sex with the opposite sex are not among the people..."

Fortunately, Kinoshita Mai is closing her eyes now.

Otherwise, Kiryu would be able to see deep in Kinoshita Mai's pupils, a thoughtful look that seems to be there but not there.

At this time, Mai Kinoshita suddenly felt that the itchy feeling that had been sticking to her facial skin after Kiryu helped her make up disappeared.

"Okay, young master, I've done your makeup, open your eyes and have a look."

As soon as Kiryu's words fell, Mai Kinoshita immediately opened her eyes and turned her head to look at the Western-style mirror beside her.

The moment his line of sight touched the mirror, Kinoshita Mai's pair of beautiful eyes burst out with surprise and unbelievable brilliance

...

...

That night--

Edo, near Ryogoku Bridge——

"Cold water~! Cold water~! Cold and sweet cold water~!"

"Grilled eel! Fresh grilled eel! Come and smell it! What a delicious eel!"

"As long as you throw your sandbag into something, that thing is yours!"

"Ouch~ Grandpa, your arms are so strong!"

...

Before reaching the boundary where the Ryogoku Bridge could be seen, the dense flow of people and noisy voices surrounded Qingdeng with an overwhelming sense of presence.

Qingdeng had expected in advance that as the most popular public event in Edo throughout the year, the fireworks display would surely attract as many tourists as the sands of the Ganges River.

However... Although he had made thorough psychological preparations, Qingdeng couldn't help being startled after he came to the bridge of the two countries and saw the real flow of people at the conference.

Even the bridge between the two countries has been seen, and there are only so many people... It is hard for Qingdeng to imagine how terrible the flow of people will be after entering the core area of ​​the conference.

Tonight, the heavens are beautiful.

Right now, just as the moon is just rising. The white jade-like Xiaohui hangs high above the dark blue night.

The bright moonlight shining obliquely casts the shadow of a row of houses on the left on the spacious rammed earth road trampled into a solid road by thousands of pedestrians' feet, and on the heads and shoulders of tourists.

The storefronts of a row of shops on the right, and Qingdeng, who is walking on the right side of the street, are bathed in bright colors.

While carefully avoiding the crowd, Qingdeng pushed forward inch by inch, took out a delicate western pocket watch from his pocket, and pushed the dial away with a "click" to check the current time.

This western watch was a good watch that Qingdeng had bought for him some time ago with the help of Sheng Rintaro.

Since having this pocket watch, Qingdeng's life has become much more convenient, and he no longer has to rely on the weather to guess what time it is.

——19:15...

After confirming the time, Qingdeng closed the pocket watch and stuffed it back into his pocket.

In order not to be late, Qingdeng went out early tonight.

There are still a full 15 minutes before the meeting time agreed with Kinoshita Mai...the time is quite sufficient, even if it is climbing, it is enough time to climb to the meeting place.

With a relaxed mood, Qingdeng walked forward at a leisurely pace.

After a while, he arrived at the meeting place agreed with Kinoshita Mai - under a rather conspicuous cherry tree whose branches were dry because it was not yet in bloom.

Qingdeng's gaze swept along the tree trunk, but he didn't find any familiar figure.

Thinking that Kinoshita Mai hadn't come yet, he stood silently under the tree, folded his arms around his chest, and quietly waited for the beautiful woman to arrive.

"Hey... look at that man."

"What happened to that man?"

"That man is the 'King Nio'...!"

"Is he 'King Ni' Ju Qingdeng?"

"Well, there's no way I'm going to admit it."

"The body is much thinner than I imagined... I thought that a samurai who can bear the name of 'King Ni' must be tall and thick."

"Why didn't he shave the moon? His current haircut is so ugly and lifeless."

...

While waiting for Kinoshita Mai to arrive, Qingdeng could hear such small discussions around him from time to time.

These people think that their voices are very low, but they don't know that Qingdeng, who has a "wind sensor", listens to all of their conversations without omission.

Qingdeng has long been used to this kind of situation of being recognized by people on the street and becoming the talk of passers-by.

Just don't bother him—this is Qing Deng's only request to passers-by who recognize him outdoors.

Although many people around have spotted Qingdeng now, none of them came forward to talk to Qingdeng, they all just stood aside and looked at Qingdeng from afar, commenting on Qingdeng and gossiping about Qingdeng in small voices.

That's all.

Qingdeng thinks that this is good.

As long as you don't bother him or disturb him, you can talk about anything and everything.

However, at this moment...

"Huh? Isn't this Mr. Orange?"

Suddenly, a young male voice with a touch of surprise came from behind Qingdeng.

Hearing this male voice, Qingdeng's expression changed slightly.

"..." Qing Deng sullenly turned around slowly without saying a word.

Behind him, three young warriors strode towards him in a "pin" formation.

The person in charge had a hideous scar on his face that completely destroyed the original beauty of his face.

The two young warriors walking on the left and right sides of the scarred face had nothing worth mentioning in terms of facial features and appearance. This kind of person... But their footsteps, swinging arms, and eyes caught Qing Deng's attention.

His footsteps are solid and powerful, his arms are swinging vigorously, and his eyes are sharp... One look can tell that he is a person who is diligent in martial arts.

It was summer, and everyone was dressed in cool clothes...Scarface and the others were no exception.

They were all wearing thin bathrobes, and they even pulled up the hem of the bathrobes and tucked them into their belts to keep their bodies cooler.

The way Scarface and the others dress like this directly exposes all the ferocious tattoos on their necks, arms, chest, and calves.

After seeing the tattoos on Scarface and the others, the passers-by quickly avoided the side of the street with a sudden change of expression.

Wherever Scarface and the others went, the people there all retreated like waves.

In the dense flow of people, a vacuum area with Scarface as the center appeared magically.

Then, this "vacuum zone" moved in front of Qingdeng.

"Mr. Orange! Good evening!"

With a gentle smile on his scar face, he greeted Qingdeng warmly.

"Long time no see! How are you doing recently?"

This scarred face... is Qingdeng's acquaintance.

This person is Yakuza from the "Qingshui Clan" who was in charge of collecting the debt owed by Qingdeng's family!

Qingdeng had never known this person's name in the past.

It wasn't until a while ago that Qingdeng unintentionally learned that the surname of this scarred face was Sasaki.

"...Why are you here?"

Qingdeng didn't go to greet Scarface... that is, Sasaki's greeting.

While asking Sasaki indifferently in a tone without sadness or joy, Qing Deng secretly said in his heart:

——Why did these guys show up again...

In the past few months, people from the "Qingshui Clan" are like psoriasis that cannot be shaken off, showing up in front of Qingdeng from time to time.

Since the "Qingshui Clan" suddenly canceled their Tachibana's debts, the "Qingshui Clan" will often send people to contact Qingdeng and make friends with Qingdeng.

For example, two months ago, when Qingdeng was hospitalized in the Renyitang to recuperate his injured body after the decisive battle with the Koyi Group, the "Qingshui Clan" sent someone to visit him.

Faced with the overtures of the "Qingshui clan", Qingdeng has always adopted a perfunctory and ignorant attitude.

He didn't want to have anything to do with the "Qingshui Clan"!

Anyone with a discerning eye can see that the reason why the "Shimizu Clan" suddenly became so enthusiastic about Qingdeng is probably to develop a good relationship with Qingdeng, who is now a rising star in the Edo political circle.

Qingdeng, who is not blind, knows what the "Qingshui Clan" wants to do...but he just doesn't want to accept their love.

Affected by the education he received since he was a child and the occupational inertia of his previous life, Qingdeng has always had a dislike for these evil forces.

What's more, in terms of bad style, lawless behavior, and brutal behavior, Yakuza groups like the "Qingshui Clan" are much more terrifying than those modern extreme forces!

*****

*****

Qingdeng's fireworks display is bound to be impossible to pass in a smooth manner.

A new month has arrived! Ask everyone for a guaranteed monthly pass! From today onwards, the author will double the number of words! If you have a monthly pass, please be sure to vote for this book!

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PS: Ever since the Yakuza forces headed by the "Shimizu Clan" appeared on the scene, I always saw comments like this:

[Qingdeng is an official post, facing these Yakuza, isn't it a dimensionality reduction blow? Directly accuse the other party of any crime, and then wipe them all out, which can not only uphold justice, but also confuse yourself with credit. 】

How should I put it... When I first saw such a comment, I was dumbfounded because of my astonishment.

Because this kind of comment is so stupid, I don't know how to reply...

I think: People who can make such comments should be little dolls who have not experienced much in the world.

If you can still say such "innocent" remarks as an adult, then to be honest, I am quite worried about your future...