As the "Naginata Technique Master" of the Little Chiba Sword Hall, Sanako is probably the person in the whole sword hall who has the most contact with Natsume Yue and other female disciples who are practicing Naginata Jutsu at the Little Chiba Sword Hall.
For Sanako, the 14-year-old girl who is currently closely attached to her is the most special one among the many female disciples of the Little Chiba Sword Hall. She is special in two main ways - her special personality and
My family background is special.
Natsume Yue is a girl with an extremely cheerful personality.
Having known this child for so long, Sanazi has never seen this child show a depressed or unhappy expression. He is cheerful and smiling every day, as if he does not know what sorrow is.
Although Sanako likes to be quiet, she doesn't hate this extremely cheerful and noisy personality, so the relationship between Sanako and Natsume Yue is not bad.
However, some of the child's behaviors often made Sanako, his master and friend, feel quite helpless.
The one thing this child often talks about is "I like Miss Sanako so much!", and he often rushes over to hug Sanako without any explanation.
For example, at this moment, she is still holding Sanako tightly.
And judging from her expression and movements... there is no need to expect her to let Sanako go in a short period of time.
Sanako felt that the "like" Natsume Yue said was just friendship.
The "like" in her mouth...to use a more accurate word to describe it, is the admiration for Sanako's beauty and strength, not really any special affection for Sanako.
Therefore, Sanako allowed this girl who admired her to frequently be intimate with her.
The reason why Natsume Yue is said to have a special personality and family background is not to say that there is any particularly powerful family behind Natsume Yue.
Among all the disciples of Xiao Qianba Sword Hall, there are many who have family backgrounds far more prominent than Natsume Yue.
The special thing about Natsume Yue's family background is that she is the daughter of a businessman.
Natsume Tsuki's father is Natsume Sōhachiro, a large wine merchant who has developed rapidly in Edo in recent years.
Taking advantage of the general trend of the times and skyrocketing upward - this sentence is a perfect way to describe the history of Natsume Sohachiro's fortune.
When Japan's national gates were opened under the threat of the powerful ships and cannons of the foreign powers, and countless foreign merchants set foot on the country's land; when other merchants did not dare to interact with these blond and blue-eyed foreigners because they were wary or despised Westerners, Natsume
Chongpachi boldly stepped forward to do business with these foreigners.
Natsume Sohachiro was lucky. He found several Western businessmen who were very interested in Japanese sake, and successfully made several trading partners with strong financial resources and stable relationships.
By exchanging information with these Western businessmen who were interested in Japanese sake, Natsume Sōhachiro, who was originally just a small businessman, rapidly expanded his financial resources. In just a few years, the Natsume family has developed into one of the most famous liquor merchants in Edo.
one.
Generally speaking, there are very few businessmen who would let their children learn martial arts... because businessmen generally feel that it is more cost-effective to let their children learn how to do abacus than to learn some crappy martial arts.
Although in the Edo period, there were four hierarchical statuses of "scholars, farmers, industry and merchants", with samurai having the highest social status and merchants having the lowest, this so-called hierarchical system has long existed in name only.
As early as one or two hundred years ago, a large number of businessmen relied on various flaws such as institutional flaws to amass wealth at an alarming rate. Many giant businessmen with exaggerated financial resources sprung up like mushrooms after a rain.
Osaka is known as the "Commercial Capital" because it is located at the junction of East Japan and West Japan and has extremely superior business conditions. It has gathered a large number of wealthy businessmen who would make even the Edo shogunate tremble if they coughed a few times.
The power of merchants expanded rapidly, while the power of samurai continued to shrink.
A large number of middle- and lower-level samurai were so poor that they had to live a miserable life without a wife or enough food to eat.
Not to mention samurai, a large number of vassal states, including some lords, were so poor that they had to borrow money from merchants to survive.
For example, the military strength of the Edo shogunate was frightened. The Satsuma clan, which had the second-highest general rank in the country, once owed merchants in their domain more than five million taels of gold in debt.
The annual interest to be repaid is two hundred and fifty thousand taels.
The most common recipients of daimyo's loans were the extremely wealthy businessmen in Osaka.
If the giant businessmen in Osaka stopped lending money to the daimyo one day, then many feudal states would collapse overnight due to the break in the capital chain.
This is why there is a popular saying among the people: "When a businessman in Osaka is angry, all the princes in the world will be shocked."
The ebb and flow of merchant power and samurai power caused more and more merchants to despise samurai.
Therefore, compared to warriors using bows, guns and swords, businessmen are more willing to let their children pick up the businessmen's abacus and learn how to do business.
Currently, in the Chiba Sword Hall, which has the highest number of apprentices in Edo, there is only one female disciple whose family background is a merchant... and that person is Natsume Yue.
"Ayue." Sanako lowered her chin without a trace of fat and looked at Natsume Yue, who was a head shorter than her, "Why are you here?"
"Hehe, I sneaked out of the house to eat delicious food. Where are you, Miss Sanako? Why are you here?"
"I just finished teaching the little princess Date of Uwajima Domain and I am preparing to go home."
Sanako once mentioned her side job of "teaching little Princess Date" to the female disciples in the school.
Natsume Yue's eyes suddenly lit up at this moment.
"Miss Sanako, since we are so lucky to meet here today, why not come with me to eat something delicious?"
"Delicious?" Sanako blinked a few times and cast a doubtful look at Natsume Yue.
"I know there is a tea house that makes delicious wagashi! I am a regular customer of that shop, and I am planning to go to that tea house to eat their wagashi!"
Natsume, whose tone became more and more excited the more she spoke, tightened her grip on Sanako, and Sanako's balls were squashed again, and she once again felt out of breath.
"Miss Sanako, are you free now? Come with me to eat wagashi from that tea house! I can guarantee that the taste of wagashi from that tea house will never disappoint you!"
Japanese confectionery…
Facing Natsume Yue's sudden invitation, Sanako's beautiful eyes showed a little hesitation.
The first emotion that emerged from Sanako's heart... was resistance.
After giving little Princess Date lessons for a long time, she just wanted to go back to the Chiba Sword Hall and have a good rest. She was really not in the mood to eat wagashi...
Natsume Yue keenly sensed what Sanako was thinking from her expression.
So, Natsume Yue hurriedly shook Sanako with neither light nor hard force, and said urgently in a pleading tone:
"Miss Sanako, that tea house is not far from here, just come with me!"
Natsume Yue's face was filled with the expectation of "wanting to eat, drink and have fun with Miss Sanako, whom she respects and admires most".
The hesitation on Sanako's face became a little more intense as Natsume Yue stared at her with such longing gaze.
She pursed her red lips slightly and thought for a moment——
"……All right."
In the end, Sanako, who could not resist Natsume Yue's longing gaze, seemed to give in and gave a helpless smile to the girl in front of her.
"Then let me go and try to see how delicious the wagashi from this tea house that you praised so highly is."
"If the taste doesn't satisfy me, then next time you come to the sword gym to learn, I will double the amount of training for you."
The moment Sanako spoke in a half-joking tone, Natsume Yue's pretty face was filled with an ecstatic smile that squeezed both eyes into slits.
"Then I have to ask the owner of the tea house to serve all his masterpieces~~!"
Natsume Yue finally let go of the delicate body in her arms that made countless men in Edo think about it day and night, and then she and Sanako put their shoulders to each other, and took Sanako to the cause and fruit house.
It was so delicious that she became a regular customer of this tea house unconditionally.
"Miss Sanako, I recently found a great Wufu shop! The Wufu sold in that store are all very beautiful..."
As the cheerful girl walked, she chatted and shared her recent experiences with the person she admired next to her.
Sanako listened carefully and echoed from time to time.
At this time, there was a sudden noise from the front that made Natsume Yue couldn't help but close her mouth.
"What's going on?" Natsume Yue stretched her neck and looked forward, "Why are you so noisy? What happened?"
The sudden noise coming from the front also attracted Sanako's attention.
After only about three breaths of time, the two women's confusion about "what happened" was solved.
In front of them, they saw a group of people that it was difficult not to notice, heading towards them.
This group of people seemed to be a government escort team.
The hands of the three men, who were disgraced and embarrassed, were tied tightly with hemp ropes. To prevent them from escaping, the bodies of the three men were also connected together by another hemp rope.
Two young warriors walked at the front and back of the three people, escorting the three people one after another.
The warrior walking behind was tall and muscular, with some blood spattered on his chest and other places.
As for the samurai walking in front...
"Wow!" Natsume Yue's face turned pale, "Why is there so much blood..."
The samurai walking behind only had blood splattered on his chest and other places.
On the other hand, the samurai who hit the front... his clothes looked like he had just been soaked in a pool of blood!
The chest, waist, lower body hakama... In short, the clothes on this man's body were dyed in a very strange color by the splash of blood. There were very few places that were not stained by the blood. It was far away.
You can smell the smell of blood wafting from this person's body.
The noises Sanako and the others just heard came from this young warrior covered in blood.
After seeing the blood-covered appearance of the warrior, the surrounding passers-by were so frightened that they couldn't help but scream, and hurriedly parted to both sides of the street to make way for a spacious street.
After seeing this young warrior in blood-clothed clothes, Sanako was immediately startled.
Different from the passers-by around me.
The reason why Sanako reacted was not because this person's current appearance was too shocking.
"Tachibana...kun...?"
Sanako blinked lightly a few times and cast a surprised look at the "bloody samurai".
"Hmm? Miss Sanako?"
…
…
Suddenly, a familiar female voice called his name... Qingto subconsciously raised his eyes and saw Sanako standing side by side with Natsume Yue.
Finding Sanako in the crowd... there is no simpler task than this.
No matter where the beautiful and fragrant Sanako goes, she is out of tune with the surrounding scenery and people, just like a rose placed in a pile of foxtail grass.
Probably only the stunning scenery such as flower fields, aurora, and starry sky can match Sanako's stunning beauty.
On the way to escorting the "middle-aged man with a beard" and others to the residence, preparing to join Saito and the others, they unexpectedly ran into Sanako... Such a chance encounter made Qingto couldn't help but show a surprised expression.
After greeting Nagakura behind him, "I'm going to have a few words with an acquaintance," Aoto took a few steps and came to Sanako and Natsume Yue.
"Miss Sanako, I'm sorry." Qingden did not greet Sanako immediately, but first apologized to Sanako with a wry smile, "I let you see such an indecent scene of mine."
After speaking, Qingden subconsciously lowered his eyebrows and glanced at his bloody clothes.
Not a drop of blood on Qingdeng's clothes belonged to him, it was all the blood of the enemies he had just killed.
When leaving the alley, he couldn't find any clothes to change and found only enough water to wash his hands and face. So Qingdeng could only use the water to roughly wash his face with the water.
Wash your hands, and then just continue to wear this bloody suit.
The first thing Qingto said after seeing her was a polite apology... Sanako, who was not expecting Qingto's move, was stunned and whispered "It's okay".
"Ji Jun, did you... just fight to the death with some thief?"
Sanako handed it to Qingden with a somewhat concerned look.
"Well... that's right." Qingdeng smiled slightly, and then briefly and comprehensively summarized what he had just experienced in a calm tone.
Qingdeng's tone was as indifferent as if he was talking about some boring trivial matter that was not worth paying much attention to...it was clear that the content of his words was so shocking.
Although Aoshino briefly described the process of single-handedly challenging 18 samurai in a narrow alley, and only lightly mentioned the result that he "finally won", Sanako still keenly captured this story that made it difficult for her to ignore.
Information.
After Qingteng finished speaking all he could say, Sanako looked at Qingteng blankly, with a look of astonishment on her delicate and pretty face that could not be concealed.
"Tachibana-kun...did you defeat so many people by yourself?"
Sanako, who is also a martial arts practitioner, knows very well what it means to single-handedly defeat nearly twenty samurai in a deadly fight with a real sword.
"Defeating a group of enemies alone" and "defeating a group of enemies together with your companions" are completely different things.
Having reliable comrades around you can give people a certain sense of peace of mind.
If there is no support around and you have to fight against a strong enemy alone... the intense psychological pressure alone is enough to crush many people.
Defeating 18 samurai alone without any companions... This shock to Sanako was no less than the first time she heard about Aoto's famous battle: "Snowy Night Battle".
"I'm lucky, those people are not very strong."
Qingden smiled and casually mentioned the question Sanako had just raised.
"Miss Sanako, are you...going out to play with your friends?" This time it was Qingto who asked the question.
Qingto looked at Natsume Yue, who was standing next to Sanako, shoulder to shoulder with Sanako.
"Well... I guess." Sanako managed to calm down the shock in her heart, stood half a step aside, and helped Qingto introduce Natsume Yue, "Tachibana-kun, this is the disciple of our Little Chiba Sword Hall: Natsume Yue.
.”
As soon as Sanako finished speaking, Natsume Yue hurriedly arranged her clothes and hair.
"First time, first time we meet!" Natsume Yue, who had a look of fear on her brows, folded her hands in front of her body and bowed to Qingden respectfully, "I'll take a closer look at 'Little Eyes Moon'!"
There was strong nervousness in Natsume Yue's voice... She was so nervous that when introducing herself, she not only stammered but also ate a screw.
Qingden noticed the panic and pale look on Natsume Yue's face... He knew that this child who looked less than 15 years old should be frightened by the bloody clothes on his body.
Qingden smiled apologetically at Natsume Yue, then leaned forward and returned the gift to the child:
"I'm Tachibana Aoden. I'm sorry, I scared you with my appearance."
After politely introducing himself to Natsume Yue, Aomori turned his attention back to Sanako.
"Miss Sanako, I still have a lot of things to deal with right now, so I'm going to leave now. Let's meet again next time we have a chance."
There were also a series of things waiting in line for Aoto to deal with, such as "meeting Saito and others", Aoto did not have any extra time to spend chatting with Sanako on the street.
After saying goodbye to Sanako and Natsume Yue, Qingto separated from the two girls without any hesitation and without even looking back.
The two girls stood there with a tacit understanding, watching silently as Zuiwei and Nagakura escorted the "middle-aged man with a beard" to Qingdeng at the residence.
It wasn't until Qingto's figure completely disappeared at the far corner of the street that Natsume Yue finally let out a deep breath as if she dared to breathe.
"How intense the beating must be to make your body splash with so much blood... It's so scary..."
After saying that, Natsume Yue tightened her neck with a shrinking expression.
"It turns out he is that Tachibana Aoden..."
Natsume Yue had certainly heard of Aoto, who had recently become more and more famous in Edo, but had never had the chance to meet Aoto.
"Both his appearance and personality are much softer than I expected... I thought that the 'three times' official who could achieve so many great achievements must be a man with a face as fierce as a wild boar."
Natsume Yue raised her head to look at Sanako, casting a questioning look at Sanako.
"Miss Sanako, are you familiar with Tachibana Aoden?"
"It's not particularly familiar, but it's not unfamiliar either." Sanako replied without thinking.
In the midst of this question and answer, the two women set off again.
"As expected of a swordsman who can perform many great feats, fighting nearly 20 samurai single-handedly... I don't even dare to think about such a thing." Natsume Yue tightened her neck again.
Just when she was about to say something else, she suddenly noticed that Sanako beside her was pressing her red lips together, her eyebrows lowered... looking uneasy.
"Miss Sanako, what's wrong?" Natsume Yue looked at her with concern, "Why do you look so worried?"
Sanako, who came back to her senses because of Natsume Yue's question, looked at Natsume Yue with a slightly dazed look, then took a deep breath, and gradually returned her expression to her usual one, as if she was not.
The cold and aloof appearance of a fairy who eats the fireworks of the world.
"I'm fine. It's just..."
Sanako's voice suddenly stopped at this point.
She was carefully considering her next words.
After a while, she picked up the conversation and continued:
"It's just...a little emotional."
"Sentimental?" Natsume Yue quickly asked.
Sanako turned his head and looked in the direction Qingden had just left, his eyes meaningful.
"Every time I see Mr. Tachibana...he brings me new surprises."
"Every time I see Mr. Tachibana... I feel like he has become a lot stronger than the last time I saw him."
At this time, Sanako suddenly recalled the "Handbook for Preparing Brother-in-law" with Aintō's name written on it from his brother Jutaro by chance a while ago...
"...Although I don't really want to admit it," Sanako's tone was faint, her soft voice seemed to come from a distant place, "But Tachibana-kun is indeed a rare hero."
"I'm a little envious of the Imperial Examination Hall for being able to recruit such talented people who can find a place for themselves in the dojo."
After hearing about his new feat from Qingto's mouth, he shared his emotions with the girl next to him who was both his disciple and his friend... Immediately afterwards, Sanako discovered that this friend was now exposing his face.
With a very strange expression.
I saw Natsume Yue at this time, with an intriguing expression on her face and a malicious smile as if she was planning something.
Before Sanako could ask Natsume Yue why her expression was so weird, she heard Natsume Yue say to her with a smile:
"Miss Sanako, it's so rare!"
Sanako was stunned: "What's so rare?"
"This is the first time I heard Miss Sanako praise a man so much!"
"Miss Sanako, you usually have very high standards for yourself and others."
"Some of the heroes in our Little Chiba Sword Hall who are often called 'geniuses' by others have never received your praise."
"It's the first time I've ever seen a man praise so highly like just now!"
Sanako seemed to be frightened by Natsume Yue's words just now... her eyes were blank.
Then, she frowned slightly and said calmly with no sadness or joy:
"Ayue, you are mistaken. I was not praising Mr. Ju."
"I'm just envious of the Imperial Examination Hall for having such a powerful disciple."
"If our Little Chiba Sword Hall gets an outstanding talent like Tachibana-kun, then the overall strength of our Sword Hall may be expected to surpass the "Three Major Sword Halls"."
After that, Sanako took the initiative to change the topic, intentionally leading the topic elsewhere, and intentionally not talking about the young man anymore...
…
…
After rushing all the way, the two girls finally arrived at the tea house.
This tea house, which Natsume Yue praised highly, gave Sanako the first impression of being remote and dilapidated.
This store is located in an inconspicuous neighborhood, with a rather dilapidated facade. To put it nicely, it has a "rich sense of history."
“Although this shop looks shabby and remote, the wagashi made in this shop are really delicious!”
Natsume Yue guessed what Sanako was thinking from the change in Sanako's expression. After she said to Sanako in a firm tone, "This store really won't let you down."
He excitedly led Sanako to lift the door curtain and enter the store.
There are no customers in the store now... there are only four samurai sitting around a table in the corner, quietly sipping tea.
"Boss! I'm here again!" Natsume Yue stretched out her arms and energetically greeted a middle-aged man with more than half of his hair who was working at the counter.
"Oh, it's Miss Natsume." The boss smiled slightly, "Good afternoon, Miss Natsume."
"Good afternoon, boss! I brought a friend here today!"
…
After Natsume and the boss exchanged pleasantries, they picked a table to sit at and the snacks they each wanted to eat... After completing the above-mentioned things, the two women sat face to face at the selected table while drinking the food that the boss had just sent.
Warm tea and wait quietly for the wagashi to be served.
"Miss Sanako, do you know? Something seems to have happened at Tianzhang Academy..."
Natsume Yue seems to have endless topics to talk about, ranging from family and country affairs to strange news in the market. She constantly finds all kinds of new topics to chat with Sanako.
Thanks to her talkativeness, the time spent waiting for the wagashi to be prepared and served was not boring.
While Sanako answered the conversation, he kept sipping the tea in the cup that tasted pretty good.
Unknowingly, she had drank the teacup in her hand.
She raised her head and looked in the direction of the kitchen, ready to ask the boss to refill her cup of tea.
But at this moment, something happened.
Sanako suddenly felt her vision distorted and her body shaking.
When she realized it was a strong dizziness, she fell into an unconscious state where she couldn't even speak.
"Miss Sanako...um...!"
Natsume Yue, who was across the table, noticed something strange about Sanako and made a nervous sound.
To Sanako, her voice seemed to come from afar.
As soon as Natsume Yue had time to shout out "Miss Sanako," she raised her hands to cover her head with a look of pain on her face, and let out a horrified cry.
No matter how stupid you are, you should realize what happened when you see this situation.
Sanako wanted to stand up and shout, but she could no longer control any muscle in her body.
The vision in front of me began to be occupied by darkness.
For a moment, Sanako saw something.
It turned out to be an irregular pattern on the tabletop.
No, we can't faint... As soon as Sanako thought this, her consciousness was completely interrupted.
She collapsed on the dining table in a face-down position.
At almost the same moment, Natsume Yue, who lost consciousness, also fell towards the dining table...
…
…
After the two women both fainted,
The only guests in this tea house besides Sanako and the others - the four samurai who had just been sitting around the dining table in the corner stood up expressionlessly, and then walked quickly to the two women who had passed out.
"Why are there two girls...which one is Natsume Yue?"
"The one who looks younger is Natsume Yue."
"Then who is this woman sitting opposite Natsume Yue... Hiss! Look carefully, this woman is so beautiful!"
"Hey, didn't I say that Natsume Yue usually only comes to this tea house to have snacks alone? What should I do now? What should I do with this beautiful woman who is with Natsume Yue?"
"Why don't we kidnap her too? It would be a pity not to kidnap such a beautiful woman for fun... I think this woman is even prettier than Yoshiwara's oiran!"
"I agree! Hey, take a closer look. Not only does this woman have a pretty face, but she also has a good figure. The bear is so big. Look, her bear can actually fill the kendo uniform so full! Tsk, tsk, tsk!"
"Hey, wait a minute! This woman seems to be the 'Ghost Town of Chiba'!"
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Please give me monthly votes! Please vote for recommendations! (Leopard Head Crying.jpg)
The author did not find out the name of the little Princess Date whose tutor was Miss Sanako. She only knows that she is the little princess of the Uwajima Domain, so this book can only use "Princess Date" as her title.
(Leopard death.jpg)
If any book friends can find out the name of this "Little Princess Ida", please be sure to tell the author! (Salute with clasped hands.jpg)
