Standing in the center of the dojo in the lower stance, holding a bamboo sword in his hand, he closed his eyes and practiced the "lower sword stance" that he was not yet very proficient in. Qingto, who was training his muscle memory, suddenly felt a wave of warmth coming from his back.
meaning.
He opened his eyes and looked back - it turned out that the morning sun had penetrated through the windows of the dojo and hit Qingden's back.
The weather is particularly nice today.
Looking out through the open window, the birds have begun to chirp and fly up and down. The sky outside has turned into a beautiful blue color, and the sun peeks out from the eastern horizon.
The bright red morning glow suddenly bloomed, forming a beautiful picture with the blue sky.
"It's dawn..."
Qingdeng is now completely accustomed to this routine of getting up at 2 or 3 in the morning and doing morning exercises until dawn.
Let’s finish today’s morning exercise. After thinking this in his mind, Qingdeng put the bamboo sword in his hand back into the sword bucket not far away, and then prepared to go to the yard to wipe off the sweat on his body and wash up.
one time.
There is a deep well dug directly into the underground water in the courtyard of the imperial examination hall. Kondo and others rely on this well for daily water use.
The habit of brushing teeth has been widely popularized in Japan during the Edo period. People in this era used poplar branches and tooth powder to brush their teeth.
The so-called poplar branch can be understood as the toothbrush of this era, which is made of willow branches. When one end of the willow branch is torn open, the torn fibers in the willow branch are like the tiny saw teeth on a wooden comb, which is very convenient for cleaning teeth.
As for tooth powder, it can be understood as the toothpaste of this era. The preparation method is to mix mint, salt and other substances into fine sand. The cleaning effect and fresh breath effect are quite good.
Qingdeng fetched a bucket of water from the well for washing his face and brushing his teeth. He stood by the well, washing himself and admiring the beautiful scenery of the rising sun.
Suddenly, there was the sound of stumbling footsteps behind Qingdeng, as if he was drunk.
Behind Qingto, Okita, who has not yet recovered from the state of "waking up," has his eyes narrowed to just a slit, his head and shoulders slumped, his hair messy from sleep hanging casually behind him, and his hands
Li grabbed his water cup and willow branch, walked toward the well with a stumbling step and a crooked route.
"Tangerine-kun... Good morning... (Good morning)"
"Okita-kun, good morning...Hey! Look at the road!"
Bang.
Okita, who was still confused and couldn't even walk well, hit a tree in the yard, making a sound like a watermelon being slapped.
Okita's forehead turned red instantly.
However, such a strong impact... did not wake Okita up.
He raised his hand, touched the area where he had just hit, yawned loudly, and then continued walking towards the well as if nothing was wrong.
After fetching a new bucket of water from the well, Okita stood next to Qingteng and brushed his teeth with Qingteng.
Among Kondo's family, the earliest people to wake up are Kondo and Okita, who get up at dawn.
Next is Abi, she won't wake up until about 7 o'clock in the morning.
Zhou Zhu is the one who gets up the latest. According to Qingdeng's observation, if there is nothing important to do, Zhou Zhu will sleep until 10 o'clock in the morning most of the time, and then leisurely crawl out of bed.
"Hey...is your head okay?" Looking at Okita's still red forehead, he couldn't help but ask.
"Ah? No Temple (it's okay)..." Okita, who was half asleep and half awake, responded inarticulately, "I am a very handsome old man... (I am very hard-headed)"
After that, as if to prove that his head was really hard, Okita continued to hold the poplar branch with his right hand to brush his teeth, and raised his left hand to knock on his forehead, making a "knock, knock, knock" sound.
"Well... you're fine."
"Tachibana-kun, Chief Secretary, good morning."
"Oh, Kondo-kun, good morning."
"Hello on my claws...(good morning)"
Kondo, who still had some tiredness from just waking up on his face, walked across the yard, fetched a new bucket of water from the well, and joined Ayoto and Okita's "washing army".
"Kondo-kun, how are you? Did you and the master have a successful tutoring session last night?" Qingto asked casually.
"How should I put it..." Kondo smiled helplessly, "It's not going well. Mother is still stubborn."
"Hmm... Auntie is opposed to us having a competition with Little Chiba Kenkan at the Plum Blossom Festival, so let her object." Okita, who had finished brushing his teeth, was now squatting next to a bucket to wash his face.
Perhaps because of the excitement of the cold water, Okita has become much more awake now, and his speech is no longer slurred.
"Anyway, we won't refuse to compete with the Little Chiba Sword Hall just because of her objections."
"That being said..." Kondo smiled bitterly, "But after all, she is my mother and our master's wife. We must give her the respect she deserves."
Kondo brushes his teeth very quickly.
In just a moment, he took out his poplar branch from his mouth and began to rinse his mouth and face.
After casually slapping a few handfuls of water on his face, Kondo raised his head and looked at Okita beside him:
"Director-General, are you free this morning? I have an errand for you."
"Hmm? Running errands?" Okita put down the handkerchief he was wiping his face with.
"You will go to Chishiya later to find Boss Kiryu and Miss Kinoshita." Kondo smiled and said, "Invite Boss Kiryu and Miss Kinoshita to come to Yushima Tenmangu Shrine to watch our game on the day of the Plum Blossom Festival."
——Boss Kiryu? Miss Kinoshita?
Qingdeng blinked twice and suddenly remembered:
——Yes... Kondo-kun and the others know Boss Kiryu and the others, and their relationship seems to be very close...
Qingdou almost forgot: there is a deep friendship between the trial guard hall and Kiryu boss.
In the beginning, he relied on Boss Kiryu's "signature" to successfully let Kondo give him a "back door" when Shusuke was not in the sword hall and should not accept new apprentices, allowing Aomori to successfully become a master and try out the sword hall.
.
"Do you want to invite Boss Kiryu and the others to watch our game? I think it will only be a waste of time." Okita said doubtfully, "Boss Kiryu always likes to be quiet and doesn't like to join in the fun. I'm afraid he will politely refuse us.
An invitation.”
"I know." Kondo nodded, "But even if you know that he probably won't come, you still have to ask him politely."
"Boss Kiryu is an old acquaintance of our Trial Guard Hall, and he is also the benefactor of our Trial Guard Hall's successful establishment. Don't be too dismissive or rude to him. All the due etiquette must be fulfilled."
"Okay then..." Now that Kondo has said that, Okita said nothing more. He nodded, "Then I will leave for Chishiya later. I happen to be very free today."
"What day are you not free from?" Kondo shrugged and teased.
"That's a long way to go."
"...Okita-kun, can I go to Chishiya with you later?" At this time, Qingto, who had been silent just now, suddenly interrupted.
"Hmm?" Okita looked at Aoto who was taking out a handkerchief to wipe his face, "Tachibana-kun, do you want to go with me to find Boss Kiryu?"
"Well. Since I returned to Edo at the end of last month and said goodbye to them, I haven't seen Boss Kiryu and Miss Kinoshita again." Aoto put the handkerchief that wiped his cheeks back into his arms, "Have they helped me?
Master, the injuries I sustained in that 'snowy night battle' were all cured by Boss Kiryu with the help of me."
"I don't know how they are doing now. I haven't seen them for such a long time, so it's time to pay them a visit after a long absence."
"Okita-kun, can you let me go with you?"
"Of course." Okita smiled without thinking, "I really want to have someone to keep me company."
…
…
After washing up, Qingto and Okita made preparations to go out together.
After combing their hair, putting on clothes, and hanging their swords, after about half an hour of preparation, Aoto and Okita left the trial defense hall side by side - of course, Saito was also leaving the trial defense hall with them.
Saito also got up very early. He got up just after Aonto and the others had finished washing.
After learning that Qingdeng was going out, he quickly completed preparations for the trip without saying a word, holding his knife and standing at the entrance waiting for Qingdeng.
As Aoto's bodyguard, Saito will always be like Aoto's "spirit behind" and follow Aoto whenever he goes out.
I have to say - Saito's taciturn and reticent personality is really suitable for being a bodyguard.
Because Saito speaks very little, his presence is extremely thin.
Because his sense of presence was too thin, there were many times when Qing Deng almost forgot that there was a bodyguard following him.
Ayoto and Okita walking side by side, and Saito walking behind them - the three people walked out of a "pin" shape and walked quickly towards Chishiya.
The time now is probably around 7 o'clock in the morning.
After a night of silence, Edo: the largest city in Japan, is now slowly recovering its due vitality.
The warm winter sun slanted down from the clear blue eastern sky, casting the shadows of the row of shops next to Qingdeng on the dirt road at their feet, casting shadows on Qingdeng, Okutian, and this street.
On the heads and shoulders of other pedestrians.
Okita seemed to be in a good mood today. He was bouncing as he walked. Looking at Okita who was so lively, Aoden's steps couldn't help but become brisk as well.
"Okita-kun."
Okita: "Huh?"
In order to pass the boring time on the road, Qingto took the initiative to chat with Okita.
After only thinking for a few breaths, Qingto came up with a good topic - they were going to Chishiya to see Boss Kiryu, so they could use Boss Kiryu as a topic.
"How did you get to know Boss Kiryu from the Imperial Examination Hall?"
Previously, Aoto had only heard a few words about the relationship between the Shoeikan and Kiryu's boss from Kondo's mouth - Boss Kiryu had given the Kondo family a little help when the Shoeikan was being built.
Apart from this, Aomori didn't know what other stories there were between the Tribune Hall and Boss Kiryu.
"Ah, Boss Kiryu..." Okita stretched his hand behind his head, lifted the ponytail on the back of his head in front of his body, and played with the slender ends of the ponytail with his fingers, "I don't know much about it either... I just started my internship.
When we were in the Weiguan, Boss Kiryu already had a very deep friendship with us."
"Is that so... Since Boss Kiryu has a deep friendship with the Trial Guard Hall, Okita-kun, you should be very familiar with Boss Kiryu and Miss Kinoshita of Senshiya, right?" Aonto casually asked Okita.
Okita nodded: "Well, Boss Kiryu comes to our training hall from time to time, so Kondo-san and I are quite familiar with Boss Kiryu."
"But I'm not very familiar with Mai Kinoshita, who works under Boss Kiryu."
"She rarely comes to the trial gym with Boss Kiryu, so I haven't seen her very often. I only know that such a person exists, and I'm not familiar with her."
…
Qingdeng and the others were not slow in their footsteps.
As they chatted and hurried on, they soon saw the signboard with the three Chinese characters for "Qianshiwu" written on it.
Just when Qingdeng and his party were about to open the store door and enter the store——
"Hey, hey, hey, little girl, are you okay? Why are you so nervous? I didn't do anything, I just said a few words to you! Can you speak normally now?"
Behind the store door, a very loud voice came from the store.
"Uh...well...well...that...this..."
As the loud voice fell, Qingden heard a shrinking female voice that was very familiar to him.
"Huh? What did you say? I can't hear your voice! Little girl, how are you going to do business with people like this? Can't you speak louder?"
"Uh-huh...yes, I'm sorry..."
"You are not the owner of this store, right? I heard from my friend that the owner of this store is an old man named 'Kizuma Kiryu'. Where is your store owner? Or are there other store employees?"
Listening to this conversation coming from the store, Qingteng couldn't help but raise his eyebrows, then he quickened his pace a little, rushed to the front of the store, and opened Qian Shiwu's store door.
The layout inside the Thousand Things House is no different from what Qingden saw when he visited the house last time.
The only difference is that the person sitting behind the counter has changed.
The person sitting behind the counter at this time is not Boss Kiryu, but Mai Kinoshita.
Kinoshita Mai is still dressed in a bright red kimono and a Shimada bun.
She put her little feet in white stockings under her buttocks and put her hands on her legs. She was sitting neatly behind the counter, her shoulders were tense, and her hands on her legs were also pressing hard.
Hold on.
His face was full of nervousness, and his cheeks turned red from anxiety and embarrassment.
In front of her... to be precise, in front of the counter, stood a samurai holding a katana on his shoulder.
I saw that this samurai's clothes were sloppy, and his exposed skin was covered in dirt because he hadn't taken a shower for an unknown amount of time. He was carrying a large brown package on his back, and he looked like a rogue.
He is very tall and quite strong. In terms of tallness and strength, this samurai can rival Kondo.
The hair on Tsukiyo's head was messy and tied casually into a crooked bun.
Because the samurai was facing away from the shop door, Qingto couldn't see the warrior's appearance. He could only deduce from the voice he just heard: the samurai should be very young.
After Qingto opened the door of the store, Kinoshita Mai quickly raised her eyes like a conditioned reflex.
When she saw a familiar person like Qingnobu entering the store, Kinoshita Mai was startled for a moment, then as if she had grasped a life-saving straw, a look of joy appeared on her face, "Ah, I'm saved."
When Kinoshita Mai raised her gaze to look at the opened shop door, the samurai also tilted his head at almost the same time, and Qingto finally saw the samurai's face——
Just as Qingto had guessed, he was indeed a very young samurai.
According to visual inspection, this warrior is about 20 years old. He has two thick sword eyebrows and a slightly square face that exudes a righteous aura.
His cheeks were dirty, but his dirty cheeks reflected the brightness of his eyes.
"Huh? Are you also here to inquire about work?" The samurai asked Qingto and others in a loud voice, "If you are also here to inquire about work, then you have to queue up! I am also here to inquire about work!"
Qingdeng shook his head: "No, we are not here to ask about work. We are friends of the owner and clerk of this shop."
After that, Aoto led Okita and Saito and ran to the counter in three steps and two steps at a time.
"Miss Kinoshita, why are you the only one here? Where is Boss Kiryu?"
Kinoshita Mai's cheeks were flushing so much that she could barely write "I'm so nervous" in big letters on her face.
In order to relieve Kinoshita Mai's current nervousness as much as possible, Qingden squatted down so that his eyes were level with Kinoshita Mai's, who was kneeling behind the counter.
For "social phobia patients" like Kinoshita Mai, the happiest moment is when they are dealing with strangers and suddenly see someone familiar appearing next to them - this is why Kinoshita Mai
You will look happy after seeing Qingdeng appear just now.
Kinoshita Mai's originally extremely nervous mood was relieved a lot when she saw Qingden's sudden appearance.
"Well..." Kinoshita Mai gently pecked her head, "Mr. Kiryu went to the market to buy lunch and dinner for today, and he won't be back for a while..."
——Boss Kiryu is not in the store...
After having this secret thought in his mind, Qingden raised his head, looked at the samurai, and then looked at Kinoshita Mai beside him.
Although he did not ask Kinoshita Mai what happened, based on the conversation he just heard between Kinoshita Mai and the samurai, and combined with the information that "Boss Kiryu" was not at home, Aoto has roughly guessed what happened.
What happened--
Since Boss Kiryu was out of town temporarily, Mai Kinoshita stayed alone in Chishiya to look after the store.
As a result, what a coincidence - when Mai Kinoshita was looking after the store alone, this samurai suddenly came to consult about the job.
What kind of personality is Kinoshita Mai...?
She was very afraid of strangers and easily shy. Facing this warrior, she was unable to speak a clear and complete sentence.
Ever since - Qingto heard the conversation just now... Mai Kinoshita spoke too quietly, which made the samurai very anxious. He couldn't help but urge Mai Kinoshita to speak more clearly, but after being urged by the samurai,
, Kinoshita Mai became even more nervous and panicked, and could not speak clearly... A perfect "vicious circle" was born.
The samurai heard the conversation between Aoto and Mai Kinoshita.
After learning that Boss Kiryu was not in the store now, he looked surprised: "Huh? Is Boss Kiryu not here?"
"Well..." Thanks to the presence of an acquaintance like Aoto, Kinoshita Mai, who was not so nervous, said in a volume that was not very loud, but still enough for the samurai to hear clearly, "Mr. Kiryu... this
The owner of the store is temporarily out of town due to something else. So if you want to inquire about work, you can wait here for a while. Mr. Kiryu should be back soon."
"Tsk..." The samurai smacked his lips, "What a bad luck. The shop owner is not at home right now... Little girl, you should be the boss of this shop, right? You can't handle the job consultation.
's mission?"
Kinoshita Mai smiled awkwardly: "I haven't been able to introduce people to work according to the requests of visitors like Mr. Kiryu..."
"That's it... okay then." The samurai breathed a sigh of relief, "Since the shop owner is not at home for the time being, I'll just wait here. Little girl, can I sit on the floor here?"
…
…
Kinoshita Wu made tea at an unexpectedly fast speed.
She had just entered the back room of Chishiya. After a while, she was seen returning to the front hall of Chishiya carrying a tea tray with 4 cups of hot tea, and was left in the front hall waiting for Boss Kiryu.
The returning Aoto, Okita, Saito, and Samurai each offered a cup of hot tea.
Qingden was the last one to get the tea.
"Thank you." Qingteng took the last cup of tea from the tea tray handed to him by Kinoshita Mai. Since the tea was still a little hot, Qingtou could only put the cup of hot tea to his knees first.
Aoto and the others made a special trip to issue an "invitation to watch the game" to Boss Kiryu. Since Boss Kiryu happened to be away from Chishiya right now, Aoto and the others could only sit in the corner of the front hall with the samurai and wait for Kiryu.
The boss returns.
The young samurai sat in the northeast corner of the front hall, while Qingto and others stayed in the southwest corner of the front hall.
The samurai seemed to have no intention of having any more contact with Aoto and the others. He silently carried the sword on his shoulder alone, sipping the hot tea that Mai Kinoshita had just given him, and dazed there.
Qingteng and the others also had no intention of communicating with this stranger, so Qingteng and the others maintained a strange tacit understanding of "not disturbing each other" with the samurai.
After successfully completing the task of "delivering tea", Kinoshita Mai knelt down beside Qingto and held the tea tray on her legs.
"Tachibana-kun, why did you come to our store with Okita-kun and Saito-kun? Is there something wrong?"
Kinoshita Mai's doubtful eyes swept back and forth on the faces of Qingto, Okita and others.
Perhaps because she already has a lot of friendship with Aoto, Kinoshita Mai's voice when talking to Aoto is obviously much louder, and she can look at Aoto normally.
"Ah, on behalf of the Trial Guard Hall, we are here to tell you something." Qingdeng said with a smile.
Anyway, there was plenty of time, so Qingnobo took advantage of the situation and informed Kinoshita Mai that their trial defense hall would hold a competition with the small Chiba sword hall on the day of the "Plum Blossom Festival" and invited them to watch the game.
"'Red and White Battle'..." Mai Kinoshita's beautiful eyes opened wider, with excitement and anticipation shining in her eyes, "Well, if I have time and opportunity that day, I will definitely go and watch it.
watch."
Seeing the look on Mai Kinoshita's face, Aoto asked with a smile: "Miss Kinoshita, are you interested in the 'Red and White War'?"
"Hmm... It's not so much that I'm interested in the 'Red and White Battle'... I'd rather say that I'm very interested in these competitions related to martial arts."
Qingto raised his eyebrows: "Oh? It turns out that Ms. Kinoshita, you like martial arts very much,"
Kinoshita Mai shook her head: "Well...how should I put it..."
She gave an embarrassed and shy smile.
"It may be strange for me to say this...I don't like to watch martial arts, I like to watch the heroic appearance of men fighting."
——The heroism of men fighting?
Qingto, who didn't quite understand Kinoshita Mai's preferences, couldn't help but laugh.
Suddenly, Okita on the side suddenly interrupted:
"Oh, do you like to see men fighting bravely... Haha, I seem to understand your preference."
Okita put down the tea cup that he had been holding in his hand and sipped it, and said with a smile.
"For some reasons that cannot be compromised, men stand with swords in hand, standing on the earth like benevolent kings... That is indeed very handsome."
Kinoshita Mai cast a surprised look at Okita. Then, she showed an expression of excitement as if she had found a friend, and nodded vigorously: "Yeah! Yes! That's almost the feeling."
…
After finishing the topic of "the heroism of a man fighting" that he had nothing to say, in order to pass the time waiting for Mr. Kiryu's return, Aoto chatted a lot with Mai Kinoshita.
He asked Techi and Mai Kinoshita about the current situation of Anthony and Elodie.
According to Kinoshita Mai: Anthony and Elodie have now successfully moved into the foreign rental area in Edo, and their minds have recovered significantly after such a long period of rest.
After finishing another topic with Mai Kinoshita and Aoto starting to think about the next new topic, the voice that Aoto and the others had been waiting for for a long time finally came from the direction of the store door——
"Young Master, I'm back."
I saw Kiryu holding a bamboo basket with many fruits and vegetables in his left hand, and raised his right hand to open the store door.
After opening the store door and seeing the extremely busy front hall, Kiryu's brows immediately raised slightly in surprise.
"Ah, Mr. Kiryu, you are finally back." Kinoshita Mai quickly stood up, walked quickly to Kiryu, and then quickly informed Kiryu about what happened.
"...Well, I understand." After listening to what was going on, Kiryu nodded to Kinoshita Mai, then turned to look at the young samurai, "I'm very sorry."
With graceful movements, Kiryu bowed to the young samurai with an apologetic expression.
"I was out on business, so I kept you waiting for a long time."
"It's okay!" The young samurai jumped up from the ground and waved his hand boldly, "I didn't wait too long. You should be the owner of this store, right? I'm here to consult!"
"Yes." Kiryu nodded, "Sir, please wait a moment."
Kiryu turned his attention to Aomori and others.
"Tachibana-kun, I have heard about the matter from the young master." Kiryu said with a helpless smile to Qingden, "You have something to tell me, right? If you are not in a hurry to tell me something,
If so, can you please let me finish entertaining this guest first?"
"Yeah." Qingdeng responded without hesitation, "You should go about your business first. I'm not in a hurry."
His "invitation to watch the game" is not something he is urgent about. It doesn't hurt to let Kiryu handle his business first.
"Grateful."
After Kiryu handed over today's lunch and dinner for him and Kinoshita Mai that he had just bought from the market to his young master, he sat behind the counter, and then waved to the samurai, motioning for him to sit over.
"Please allow me to introduce myself first. My surname is Kiryu and my given name is Yizhen. I am the owner of this Thousand Houses. What is my name and the job I am looking for?"
"My name is Nagakura Shinpachi!"
The warrior grinned, raised his right thumb, and gestured to himself.
"I want to find a job related to swordsmanship!"
"Swordsmanship?" Kiryu narrowed his eyes slightly, "Is Ashoka good at swordsmanship?"
"Very good at it!" The young samurai who called himself "Nagakura Shinpachi" looked confident, "Although I dare not claim to be an unrivaled swordsman, I don't think I am a weakling either!"
After that, Nagakura untied the package on his back, dug through the package and found a scroll, then pulled the scroll open and handed it to Kiryu.
Kiryu took the scroll handed over by Nagakura, glanced at it, and let out a low voice of praise: "Oh? You are actually the holder of the Shinto Musen-ryu Bunyoden..."
Shinto Muken-ryu may not be passed down to everyone—hearing this word, Aoto, Okita, and Saito subconsciously raised their sights and looked at Nagakura.
Because of the angle of view, Qingdeng could just see what was written on the scroll—it was indeed a certificate that was not allowed to be passed on.
This person is actually the holder of the Immortality... Qingdeng, who was thinking this secretly in his heart, couldn't help but look at Nagakura a few more times.
"How about it? I'm not bluffing, am I?" Nagakura smiled "hehe" and said, "Okay, please introduce some good jobs to me! I have a Shinto Muken-ryu master, so I should be able to get some great jobs.
Not a bad job, right?"
Hearing Nagakura's words, Kiryu smiled slightly.
"Nagakura-kun, being able to obtain the Shinto Muken-ryu's Shinto Mukden-ryu - this is indeed a very remarkable achievement."
"But just a certificate that is universally accepted is not enough for me to help you find a high-quality job."
After saying that, Kiryu handed Nagakura's certificate of exemption and exemption back to him.
"Ah?" Nagakura opened his mouth in an "O" shape.
"Having a free pass only means that you have completely mastered the skills of that school." Kiryu wrote lightly, "It does not prove that you are an excellent swordsman."
"It is said that everyone has a license, but in actual combat with others, due to a bad mentality or other reasons, the actual combat ability is very low... There are countless such people."
"So just a certificate that can be passed on without permission cannot prove that you are a swordsman with outstanding swordsmanship."
Nagakura, who looked confused, blinked: "Can't my free speech help me find a job? So, what's the deal?"
Kiryu smiled at Nagakura again.
"If there is any method that can best prove a person's actual swordsmanship level, it is undoubtedly to fight with others."
"Nagakura-kun, I wonder if you can compete with others now and let me see what your true swordsmanship level is?"
"Do you want to compete with others?" Nagakura was stunned, "Well...I don't mind showing off my skills on the spot...but boss Kiryu, do you know how to swordsmanship? Can you tell the strength of a person's swordsmanship?"
"You don't need to worry about this." Kiryu said calmly, "I have learned some swordsmanship in Edo before and have a certain foundation of swordsmanship. I can still tell whether a person's swordsmanship is strong or weak.
.”
"That's it... Since you said so, Boss Kiryu - come on!" Nagakura smiled freely, "Anyway, I have a lot of time. If you want me to compete with others, I will accompany you at any time!"
"But who do I want to compete with? Boss Kiryu, you shouldn't want me to compete with you, right?"
Kiryu smiled and was about to say something.
But at this moment, he paused as if he thought of something.
"...Tachibana-kun."
After Kiryu paused for a moment, he smiled and turned to look at Qingden, who had been sitting aside and watching.
"I wonder if I could ask you to do me a favor and compete with this Nagakura-kun?"
*******
*******
I wish all the college entrance examination students immediate success! In order to bless the college entrance examination students, I have written a little more today, and it is another chapter that is full of words and information.
Please give me monthly votes! Please vote for recommendations! (Leopard Head Crying.jpg)
