"...Huh?"
Elodie blinked and opened her mouth slightly.
Did I hear it wrong? What did I hear... Elodie looked like this.
To Elodie who was so surprised to show such an expression, Qingden repeated what he just said with a calm attitude and a clear smile in his voice:
"Elodie, let's go to the fireworks display."
At the end, Qingdeng paused and then added:
"Now, since Mr. Angoulême and Mademoiselle Leroy think you are asleep, I will secretly take you to the fireworks display. When you have had a good time, I will secretly take you back."
"Take me to the fireworks display...?" Elodie murmured blankly, "How do you take me there?"
As soon as the words came out of her mouth, Elodie realized that she had asked a stupid question.
At this moment, Qingdeng sneaked into her boudoir by climbing through the window... Isn't it obvious how he was going to take her out of here?
Sure enough, Qingden smiled and answered exactly as Elodie expected:
"Of course I climbed through the window behind my back."
Qingdeng turned around and glanced at the window that was dyed silvery white by the moonlight.
"Fortunately, the windows in your room are big enough and the building is not particularly high."
"Master, wait, wait a minute!"
Because the mood swings were too intense, Elodie subconsciously raised her voice... Elodie, who later realized that her voice seemed a bit too loud, covered her mouth tightly and turned her head to look.
The door behind you.
After confirming that the corridor outside the room was quiet and that she had not disturbed Anthony and Leroy downstairs, Elodie let out a sigh of relief and then raised her gaze with panicked eyes again to look at Qingden.
.
"Master, you...are what you just said true? Can you really...can you secretly take me to the fireworks display?"
Elodie's tone was cautious...
She wanted to touch something, but was afraid of accidentally breaking it, so she used gentle movements as if she didn't even dare to scratch the dust off - Elodie's expression and way of speaking at this time were similar to this feeling.
"Do you think I'm the kind of person who is so boring that I would go to all the trouble to sneak into your room at night just to amuse you?"
Qingdeng made a small joke and then changed to a serious tone.
"Elody, did I tell you? I'm going to the fireworks display tonight too... with my friends."
"I've thought about it seriously - I'm going to the fireworks display tonight anyway, so I might as well take you with me."
"My friends and I have agreed that they don't mind having a cute little companion tonight."
"Well..." A shrinking look slowly appeared on Elodie's face, "In other words - are you going to play with the master and your friends... Master, my hair... shouldn't be...
Will it offend some of your friends?"
After saying that, Elodie raised her hand and smoothed her long, light blond hair with some curls at the ends.
The hair color is very different from that of East Asians... This is synonymous with "foreigners".
Qingdeng said quickly:
"Those friends of mine...although some of them look vicious, none of them are bad people with bad personalities."
"There is no idiot like that who hates foreigners without thinking."
"So Elodie, you don't have to be afraid of contact with them."
"If you really can't get along with my friends...then you can always follow me and Okita-kun."
"Do you remember Okita-san? Okita-kun is here tonight."
"Okita-kun?" Elodie's eyes lit up slightly.
Two months ago, when Qingteng was hospitalized in Renyitang to recuperate, Elodie, who came to visit Qingteng, met several times with the director who often came to the ward to take care of Qingteng.
Both of them are very cheerful and fun-loving girls, so they have quite a lot of topics in common.
Every time the two girls meet, they talk happily.
Elodie and Souji chatted very well, and Souji also liked this blond lolita who had a similar temperament to her.
After learning that the director-general with whom she was close would also be accompanying her tonight, Elodie's face immediately became more energetic.
But... in the next moment, this vitality turned into a strange look.
Under this strange look, Elodie's whole face became a little strange. She turned around and looked at the door behind her again.
When Qingdeng saw this, he thought to himself:
——As expected, she would still worry about being discovered by Mr. Angoulême and Mademoiselle Leroy and sneaking out...
Elodie's depressed expression lingered in his mind, and he wanted to do something for his only disciple... It was only for this simple reason that Qingden suddenly planned to "sneak Elodie out"
With his bold plan, he rushed to the residence and sneaked into Elodie's room without any trouble.
Judging from the overall content, Qingdeng's plan is actually quite comprehensive.
First of all - Qingden knew that Anthony and Leroy, the master and servant, did not have the habit of "checking the bed" in the middle of the night to see if Elodie had slept.
This is also natural.
Which normal family would frequently go to their children's and young master's rooms to check on each other's sleeping conditions?
In other words - if Elodie is secretly taken away from home, they may not have to worry about their bold move being discovered by Anthony and Leroy until dawn.
Secondly - after taking Elodie to the fireworks display, Elodie's safety issues...
Just kidding! Who will be with Elodie at that time?
Aoto, Souji, Kondo, Hijikata, Inoue, Saito, Nagakura, Harada, Todo...
The all-star lineup of the Trial Guard Hall is here.
With this combination alone, let alone three or two unorganized and undisciplined anti-barbarian warriors, even if an anti-barbarian group suddenly appeared in its heyday, Qingdeng would have the confidence to take on the opponent.
However, no matter how perfect the plan is, it still needs the consent of the parties involved.
The way Elodie looked back at the door at this moment made Qingden subconsciously think that this child must be feeling an instinctive resistance to disobeying Anthony's order.
After all, Anthony is her grandfather who she depends on for life.
How good the relationship between the grandfather and grandson was, Qingden saw it for all to see during the days when he became Elodie's swordsmanship teacher.
After all, Elodie is still just a child who is not familiar with the world. It is normal for her to feel anxious and uneasy about her behavior of deceiving Anthony.
Qingdeng, who was thinking this way, was about to say something——
"...Eh, hey hey hey hey..."
A chuckle filled with excitement reached Qingdeng's ears.
"Sneaking out in the middle of the night...it seems very interesting...!"
Elodie turned around sharply.
The sapphire-like pupils were shooting out with azure light full of excitement.
The corners of his mouth turned up in a cute arc. Even though he tried hard to suppress his lips, laughter still overflowed.
There is no sign of any anxiety or uneasy conscience at all...
Elodie's appearance was completely different from what he had just expected, and Qingden couldn't help but be stunned.
"Master, if we set off to the fireworks display venue now, how long will it take for us to come back?"
"Well……"
Qingden recovered from his daze due to Elodie's questioning. He took out his pocket watch with a slightly mechanical and stiff movement and looked at the time.
"If you leave after watching the fireworks...then you can come back in 2 hours at most."
"2 hours...okay...!"
Elodie pecked the little head hard, then raised a smile full of expectation - the eyes that she and Qingden looked into were shining with extremely strong emotions.
This "emotion" is called "eagerness to try."
"Master, let's go quickly. If we get to the conference site early, we can play more things...!"
"Play and see everything you want to play and see as soon as possible, and go back early to prevent Grandpa and Miss Leroy from finding out that I have sneaked out of the house."
"Ah, wait a minute, I have to change clothes."
"You can't go out wearing an exotic nightgown..."
As Elodie said this to herself, she kicked off the slippers on her feet and ran to the closet opposite the foot of the bed. She opened the door with a click, revealing a lot of things inside.
The inner cabinet walls had to be completely covered with all kinds of clothing.
"..." Qingden stared blankly at Elodie who was rummaging around in the closet with great interest... After a moment, he burst into laughter.
——Yes...how could I forget...!
Aoto suddenly recalled: how he met Elodie - when he was visiting Eshima Shrine, he accidentally ran into her sneaking out of the hotel with the help of Mai Kinoshita and Leroy...
This naughty child has a criminal record! How could he feel so guilty about "hiding out to play without Anthony"?
I seem to have misjudged this child's nature...
She is indeed a good child who is so sensible that people think she is a bit precocious... but she occasionally shows her bold, naughty and adventurous side.
——As expected of a fan of "The Rogue" Robin Hood...
Just when Qingdeng was sighing in his heart with a helpless tone——
"Ah, I found it."
Qingden looked up - Elodie took out from the closet a bright yellow yukata embroidered with very cute patterns, a headscarf, a white cat mask with only one pair of eyes exposed, and a pair of small yellow buttons.
Clogs.
"This suit was specially prepared for tonight... It's so good that I don't need to hide it until next year."
After saying this happily, Elodie put up the baffle placed next to the wardrobe to prevent outsiders from peeking into her changing clothes.
"Master." Elodie retracted most of her body behind the baffle, only exposing her small head facing Qingden, "Don't peek."
"I won't peek."
Qingden said this angrily, turning around with his back to Elodie.
Elodie chuckled, then put her head back, and her body was completely hidden behind the thick baffle.
After the rustling sound of changing clothes subsided——
"Master, do you think it looks good?"
Qingdeng turned around - a dazzling youthful aura rushed towards him in an instant.
After changing into the bright yellow yukata, Elodie put her golden hair on top of her head, covered it tightly with a scarf, and put on a mask to cover her face.
In order to allow Qingden to see her new look more carefully, Elodie slightly spread her smooth little feet that were wearing yellow clogs, and raised her hands to the left and right to the height of her shoulders.
"Well, it looks good."
"The response is so mediocre...!" Elodie lowered her arms in displeasure and pursed her lips.
"...Haha." Looking at Elodie's appearance at this time, Qingden couldn't help but smile.
came back……
The enthusiastic, cheerful, and somewhat quirky lively disciple that Qingdeng was familiar with is back.
At this moment, Qingdeng felt that his heart was filled with a strong sense of joy and peace of mind.
There is a feeling that most of the weights tied to the body have been lost immediately.
Qingden took a deep breath, calmed down his mood, then turned his back and knelt on one knee.
"bring it on."
Qingden stretched out his fingers to gesture to his back and said with a smile.
"Let's watch the fireworks."
"Um!"
Elodie smiled sarcastically, then quickly ran to Qingdeng's back in three steps at a time.
He jumped lightly and lay down tightly on Qingden's broad back like a koala.
"Hurry up."
After confirming that Elodie was sitting firmly... ah, no, after holding him firmly, Qingden kicked off his back foot violently - running, leaping, and flying out of the window!
The night scene retreated rapidly.
The wet night wind blew their clothes flying.
Elodie tightened her headscarf and stretched her neck upwards, looking over Qingden's shoulders and looking straight at the skyline in front of her.
The moonlight illuminated Elodie's face, which was slightly red due to her excitement.
…
…
Edo, Okemachi, Little Chiba Sword Hall, second floor, Sanako's boudoir——
Pashu... Pashu... Pashu... Pashu...
Sanazi was sitting on his knees beside the bed in an extremely upright posture, flipping through the great masterpiece "Compendium of Materia Medica" written by Li Shizhen in his hand under the candlelight and moonlight.
His long, green-white fingers gently turned the pages of the book.
The sound of "Pa Tao, Pa Tao" turning over books and the sound of candles burning became the only sounds in this neat and new room.
Reading is Sanako's biggest hobby after martial arts. She often relies on reading to pass her leisure time.
Among all books, medical books were Sanako's favorite.
Sanako, who has extremely high cultural literacy and profound knowledge in medical skills, can read even the "originally imported Chinese books" that are not in white.
The so-called "white text" is Chinese without sentence pronunciation and kana phonetic notation.
At this moment, Sanako was reading intently.
Suddenly, a set of conversations floated out of the window, causing Sanako's consciousness to escape from the world of books uncontrollably.
"Wow, Shu, your new yukata looks great."
"Thank you~~ I saved up for three months to buy this yukata."
…
Sanako slowly put down the "Compendium of Materia Medica" in his hand and raised his eyes expressionlessly to look out the window.
The hosts of this conversation were two young women walking side by side, walking quickly through the street below the window.
Sanako watched the two girls getting further and further away, their figures getting smaller and smaller...
Yukata...this word is like a fishing line.
A fishing line dropped into the sea of memory.
Suddenly, there was a feeling of something being entangled at the end of the thread... something had taken the bait.
It's a conversation.
…
(Miss Sanako, this yukata suits you so well. It’s no wonder that I’m so looking forward to your appearance in the yukata. It’s really beautiful!)
…
"..." Sanako raised her right hand as if she was distressed and annoyed, and gently rubbed the high root of her nose.
The blue yukata that Aomori praised so much last night was returned to the store when he was about to go home after watching the fireworks.
Sanako didn't like to wear informal clothes like yukata, and even when Aintome praised the dress as it matched her, she never thought about buying it.
but why……
Why……
It's completely impossible to say why - in fact, as early as last night when she got home, there was already an emotion that repeatedly disturbed Sanako's heart.
Sanako has been consciously ignoring this emotion, treating it as if it were nothing.
If faced directly and admitted to the existence of this guy... it would make Sanako, who has a strong self-esteem, feel very ashamed...
Because this emotion is called "regret"...
After hearing the conversation between the two girls just now, the guy got up again and tried to stand in front of Sanako.
Sanako subconsciously repeated his old trick, trying to ignore this feeling of regret and focus on the medical skills in his hands again.
However... this guy has grown invisibly and grown into a "behemoth" that cannot be denied.
His expression gradually took on the state of trance... His gaze moved around restlessly. Although he looked like he was reading seriously, he actually didn't read a single word into his mind.
The sound of turning pages stopped.
The sound of rising candlelight dominated the room.
After an unknown amount of time passed like this, Sanako lowered his head and glanced at the fine clothes on his body.
What happened next really happened in an unexpected moment.
Snapped!
A tense atmosphere suddenly arose in the room.
The person who created this atmosphere was naturally Sanako.
Sanako suddenly closed the "Compendium of Materia Medica" in his hand, making a loud "snap" sound.
After placing the closed book back on the desk beside her, Sanako stood up slowly, pressing the hem of her kimono with an expression as if she had made up her mind...
…
"Lulu~Lulu~Lulu~Lulu~"
Chiba Jutaro hummed an extremely unpleasant tune and walked swaggering down the corridor leading to his bedroom.
Suddenly, a bright breath came from the front.
"Hmm? Sanako?"
Chiba Jutaro looked at Sanako who was walking towards him in surprise.
"Why are you dressed like you're going out? Where are you going?"
"Well. I'm going out... to buy something."
After hurriedly giving a brief explanation, Sanako passed by Chiba Jutaro without any pause and walked away...
…
…
Edo, Ryogoku Bridge——
"Wow! It's so lively!"
Elodie, whose eyes were shining with little stars, scanned the prosperous scene in front of her like Grandma Liu entering the Grand View Garden.
The fireworks display on the last day was still very lively... no, it was more lively than the previous two days!
At least from Qingdeng's perspective, the density of tourists was much denser than yesterday and the day before.
"Elodie, hold on to my clothes and follow closely. Be careful not to be squeezed away by the crowd."
Qingden shook his left sleeve towards Elodie beside him.
Elodie, who understood deeply, stretched out the thumb and index finger of her right hand and pinched Qingdeng's left sleeve tightly, hiding most of her delicate body in Qingdeng's shadow.
Qingdeng is like an icebreaker - he is the vanguard in the waves formed by countless people, cutting the waves for Elodie.
"Oh - hello! Mr. Tachibana! This way, this way!"
It's Harada's voice.
I followed the sound and saw that everyone was gathered at the agreed meeting place. Souji, Harada, Kondo and other bold-minded people were waving their hands vigorously to Ayoto and Elodie.
"Sorry, everyone, I kept you waiting for so long." Qingden quickened his pace slightly and led Elodie to join the guys smoothly.
"Hahaha, I didn't wait long!" Harada put his hands on his hips and laughed a few times, then squinted his eyes and looked at Elodie, "Mr. Tachibana, is this your little apprentice?"
"This is our first meeting." Elodie let go of Qingdeng's sleeves, folded her hands in front of her thighs, and politely bowed to Kondo and others without being humble or overbearing, "I am Mr. Tachibana's apprentice: Ai
Lottie de Angoulême. Please give me your advice."
Faced with so many unfamiliar adults, some of whom looked quite oppressive, not only did she not have any stage fright, she could also proactively say hello and introduce herself politely... Elodie's kind of character is truly rare.
.
Qingdeng couldn't help but feel a little proud at this moment.
Although Elodie's politeness has nothing to do with him, it is entirely due to the good education she received since childhood and her pure temperament, but Qingto still couldn't help but cast a triumphant look at Kondo and others.
Do you see it? This is the message conveyed in the eyes of my apprentice, Qing Deng.
"Hello, little girl." Kondo smiled and bent down, returning a salute to Elodie, "We have met several times at Renyitang. Although you may already know who I am, I still do
Let me introduce myself formally. I am Isamu Kondo, the teacher of the Imperial Examination Hall."
"I am the disciple of the Imperial Guard Hall, Hijikata Toshizo."
"Saito Ichi."
"I am Sanosuke Harada!"
…
Everyone reported their names to Elodie one by one.
The last person to speak was the director-general.
"Hello, Elodie~" The director waved his hand to Elodie with a smile, "Long time no see~"
"Ah, Mr. Okita!" Elodie happily jumped up to the director with whom she got along very well. "Mr. Okita, it's been a long time since I last saw you! How are you doing recently?"
"I've been living the same life lately," said the chief with a smile, "eating, sleeping, practicing swordplay, and the cycle starts over and over again."
The first official meeting between Elodie, Kondo and others... both the process and the result can be called a complete success.
As the saying goes, don't hit the smiling person - not to mention that the smiling person is still a young girl at the age of innocence.
Elodie's elegant and knowledgeable demeanor gave Kondo and his team a very good initial impression of this blond lolita.
The atmosphere was very harmonious, which made Qingdeng very pleased.
"Okay! Okay!"
At this time, Harada, as the organizer of tonight's outing, clapped his hands vigorously several times.
"Now that everyone is here, let's go quickly! While there is still quite a while before the fireworks show starts, hurry up and see if there is anything delicious or fun nearby!"
Harada's proposal was unanimously approved by everyone.
…
…
At this moment——
Edo, Ryogoku Bridge, somewhere——
"Miss Kinoshita, please leave slowly."
"Well! Goodbye Mr. Jinchi!"
Kinoshita Mai bowed nearly 90 degrees to Jinshichi in front of her. Then, under Jinshichi's watch, she hugged the rat removal tools that she successfully got back and set off on her way home.
Although I have tried my best to go to places with few people, at this time, such places, so-called "places with few people", simply do not exist.
"Tonight's fireworks display is still very lively..."
Kinoshita Mai glanced at the dense crowd around her and was secretly speechless.
The noisy crowd in front of her made Kinoshita Mai couldn't help but recall the beautiful scenes when she and Aoto visited this place the night before.
A cheerful giggle appeared on Kinoshita's cheeks little by little as the memories gradually unfolded.
——When there is another lively event like this, let’s go play with Qingdeng!
Kinoshita Mai was happily thinking this to herself as she strode across the street corner in front of her.
Then... the moment she turned into the street on the left, the silly smile on her face froze instantly.
"Qing...Deng...?"
Kinoshita Mai stared dumbfoundedly ahead, at a certain flow of people in the distance... Mixed in this flow of people was a tall figure that she was very familiar with.
It was Qingdeng whom she had just been thinking about.
With her good eyesight, Kinoshita Mai clearly saw that Qingnobo was walking side by side with someone.
And that person...is Souji Okita.
Due to the angle of view, Kinoshita Mai only saw Souji walking beside Aoto, but not Elodie who was also walking beside Aoto...
…
…
at the same time--
Edo, Ryogoku Bridge, somewhere——
“Thank you for your patronage! Welcome to visit us next time!”
With the store owner personally seeing her off, Sanako strode out of the Wufu store he had visited last night.
Until he reached the place where the shop and the shop owner were far behind him, Sanako slowly slowed down until he stopped.
"What on earth am I doing..."
Sanako looked down at the things in his arms and sighed heavily.
In Sanako's arms, he saw a blue yukata wrapped in fine colored paper...
At this moment, Sanako's mood was extremely complicated.
On the one hand, she felt very lucky that no one had bought the bathrobe.
On the other hand, she felt so ashamed - why should I be in such a hurry to buy this dress? I don't like wearing yukata!
"Forget it..." Sanako sighed again, "I bought everything... just treat it as a decoration and hang it in the closet..."
Although he said so... Sanako's hands unconsciously hugged the new clothes tightly.
At this moment when Sanako was about to leave for home——
"Huh?"
The corner of her eye suddenly captured a light and shadow that was completely impossible for her to ignore...
Sanako quickly turned his head to face him.
Immediately afterwards, a look of astonishment appeared on her eyes and cheeks.
She saw Qingdeng...
To be more precise - I saw him walking side by side with a little girl wearing a bright yellow yukata, who was probably not even taller than my waist. From the back, she looked like she was only 11 or 2 years old, talking and laughing.
Qingdeng.
Due to the angle of view, Sanako only saw Elodie walking beside Aoto, but not Souji who was also walking beside Aoto...
*******
*******
In this book, the four girls are in the same frame for the first time~Congratulations~~
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This chapter has been completed!