"Mr. Tachibana, I didn’t expect you to be that kind of person with such honest eyes."

Aoto was taken aback: "Honest eyes? What do you mean?"

"Earlier, when we were getting ready to enter the hall and meet Mr. Shigetarou and the others, I kept an eye on your gaze." Chokata’s face was getting increasingly mischievous with a smile, "I guessed that when you saw Miss Sazanoko, both your eyes would be glued to her."

"And as it turns out—indeed, it was so."

Upon hearing Chokata’s teasing, Aoto’s cheeks couldn’t help but blush with a hint of embarrassment.

The topic suddenly shifted from the heavy "Dojo Discrimination" to "Beautiful Girls" ... the leap in the conversation was so vast that Aoto couldn’t react in time.

Aoto coughed softly a few times, trying hard to suppress the awkwardness on his face.

"Um... Mr. Chokata, I need to clarify, I’m not some pervert who can’t move when seeing a beautiful woman, it was just a natural reaction..."

"Mr. Tachibana, no need to explain, I get it, I get it." Before Aoto could provide any explanation, Chokata had already crossed his arms and nodded vigorously, "Everyone has a heart that loves beauty."

"When faced with handsome men and beautiful women, who wouldn’t take a few extra glances."

"When I first encountered Miss Sazanoko, my reaction was quite similar to yours, Mr. Tachibana—completely stunned. It was the first time I saw a woman so flawless in both looks and family background."

"Sigh, I wonder which lucky guy will finally get to hold such a beauty in his arms."

"Hmm?" A hint of surprise flashed across Aoto’s eyes, "Miss Sazanoko isn’t married or engaged yet?"

Chokata nodded: "Yes, no man has been fortunate enough to change Miss Sazanoko’s last name yet."

"I thought Miss Sazanoko seemed quite old." Aoto said, "She must be around 20 years old, right?"

"Hmm... if I remember correctly..." Chokata pursed his lips, recalling, "Miss Sazanoko was born in Tenpo 9 (1838), six years older than I am."

"I’m 16 this year, so Miss Sazanoko’s age is... is..."

Chokata fumbled with his fingers before him, mumbling.

After a moment, Chokata slapped his hands on his thighs and confidently reported an accurate number to Aoto:

"28 years old!"

"...You’re 16 this year, and Miss Sazanoko is 6 years older than you, so she should be 22 this year."

Silence...

The hall suddenly became exceptionally quiet.

The previously confident Chokata stood frozen like he had been hit by "Petrification Magic".

Aoto had no intention of making the atmosphere awkward... but Chokata’s previous math was so terribly wrong that he couldn’t resist correcting it immediately.

After a while, Chokata finally shook off the "Petrification Magic".

He immediately placed his hands before his eyes again, fiddling with his fingers.

Only after a few minutes did he gradually put his hands down and slowly withdrew his confident smile.

Head lowered.

Shoulders hunched.

Cheeks flushed with embarrassment.

"I’m sorry... I made a mistake..."

"It’s okay, it’s okay." Aoto hurriedly comforted, "Even though you didn’t get it right, the number you came up with is quite close to the correct answer."

Knowing Chokata’s level of arithmetic, Aoto cleared his throat to rescue the now blushing Chokata, then took the initiative to speak to break the silence and awkwardness:

"Miss Sazanoko is already 22 years old this year, yet she hasn’t married or gotten engaged, which is really strange... Logically speaking, with Miss Sazanoko’s qualities, she shouldn’t lack admirers and suitors, right?"

A 22-year-old single woman... in this era, such a woman would be considered a "super leftover" who would make many families looking for a daughter-in-law frown upon seeing her.

Due to shorter average lifespans, in Ancient Japan, women generally married at an earlier age.

Marrying at 14 or 15 and having several children before turning 20—in this era, this was just a commonplace occurrence.

years old... at that age and still single, even in the 21st century, parents would likely urge them to find a partner.

"Yes, a woman like Miss Sazanoko, with such looks and a prominent family, wouldn’t lack suitors."

After Aoto brought up a new topic, Chokata eagerly chimed in, and the previously lingering awkward atmosphere dissipated for the most part.

"If you lined up the men who want to marry Sazanoko, they could stretch from Edo to Yokohama."

"I also don’t know why Miss Sazanoko hasn’t married or gotten engaged yet."

"Maybe it’s because she hasn’t found someone she fancies."

"For a woman like Miss Sazanoko, her standards for men must be very high. Ordinary men probably wouldn’t catch her interest." 𝒻𝘳ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝒷𝘯ℴ𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝑐ℴ𝑚

"Tsk tsk." Chokata clicked his tongue a few times, "To win the favor of a beauty at Miss Sazanoko’s level... probably only one in a million dragon among men can receive this honor..."

...

...

Edo, Oke-machi, Little Chiba Sword Dojo—

Thud, thud, thud, thud, thud...

Chiba Shigetarou sprinted down a corridor inside the dojo.

The Shigetarou family’s home, like the Kondo family, was integrated with the dojo.