Chapter 159: Chapter 91: Nagakura Shinpachi [8,400 Words] _2

——Boss Kiryu? Miss Kinoshita?

Aoto blinked twice, then suddenly remembered:

——Oh right... Mr. Kondo and his group are acquainted with Boss Kiryu and their group, and it seems like they have quite a close relationship...

Aoto almost forgot: Shiwei Hall and Boss Kiryu have a very deep friendship.

Originally, it was with Boss Kiryu’s "signature" that Kondo was able to allow him to take a "back door" despite Zhouzhu not being at the Sword Dojo, and generally not accepting new disciples, allowing Aoto to successfully become an apprentice at Shiwei Hall.

"Are we going to invite Boss Kiryu and his group to watch our match? I think it would just be a wasted trip," Chokata said puzzled, "Boss Kiryu has always liked peace and dislikes crowds, he will probably politely refuse our invitation."

"I know." Kondo nodded, "But even though we know he most likely won’t come, it’s courteous to at least ask."

"Boss Kiryu is an old friend of Shiwei Hall, and a benefactor who helped us establish our dojo; we cannot be too dismissive or rude to him. We must fulfill the expected courtesies."

"Alright then..." Since Kondo said so, Chokata didn’t say more; he nodded, "I will head out to Thousand Affairs House later, since I’m quite free today anyway."

"When are you not free?" Kondo shrugged, teasing.

"You’re noisy."

"...Mr. Chokata, can I go to Thousand Affairs House with you later?" At this moment, Aoto, who had been silent, suddenly chimed in.

"Hmm?" Chokata looked at Aoto, who was wiping his face with a handkerchief, "Mr. Tachibana, you want to go with me to find Boss Kiryu?"

"Yes. Since returning to Edo at the end of last month, I haven’t seen Boss Kiryu and Miss Kinoshita." Aoto put the handkerchief back into his pocket, "They’ve helped me a lot, the injuries I suffered during the ’Snowy Night Chaos’ were all treated by Boss Kiryu."

"I don’t know how they’re doing now, after such a long time without seeing them, it’s about time for a visit."

"Mr. Chokata, may I accompany you?"

"Of course, you can." Chokata said with a smile without hesitation, "I’m happy to have company after all."

...

...

After finishing washing up, Aoto and Chokata began preparing to go out.

With their hair combed, clothes put on, and their dual swords strapped, after about half an hour of preparation, Aoto and Chokata left Shiwei Hall side by side—of course, accompanying them was also Saito.

Saito was up early too, and when Aoto and the others had just finished washing, Saito also got up.

Upon learning Aoto was going out, he didn’t say a word—quickly prepared himself and waited for Aoto at the entrance with his sword.

As Aoto’s bodyguard, Saito always follows Aoto whenever he goes out, just like a "shadow" behind him.

It’s worth mentioning that Saito’s silent, speechless nature is indeed quite fitting for a bodyguard.

Because Saito rarely talks, his presence is exceptionally subtle.

His presence is so faint that Aoto often nearly forgets he has a bodyguard following him.

Side by side, Aoto, Chokata, and Saito walking behind them—formed a "pin" shape as they hurried towards Thousand Affairs House.

At present, it was around 7 a.m.

After a night of calm, Edo: Japan’s largest city, was slowly regaining its vigorous energy.

The warm winter sun shone down obliquely from the deep blue eastern sky, casting the shadows of a row of shops next to Aoto along the dirt road beneath their feet, onto the heads and shoulders of Aoto, Chokata, and the other pedestrians on the street.

Today, Chokata seemed to be in a good mood, walking with a skip, and seeing such a lively Chokata, Aoto also couldn’t help but walk with a spring in his step.

"Mr. Chokata."

Chokata: "Hmm?"

To while away the boring travel time, Aoto initiated a chat with Chokata.

After only a few moments of thought, Aoto came up with a good topic—they were going to Thousand Affairs House to find Boss Kiryu, so it was fitting to make him the topic.

"How did Shiwei Hall become acquainted with Boss Kiryu?"

Previously, Aoto only heard snippets from Kondo about the relationship between Shiwei Hall and Boss Kiryu—when Shiwei Hall was established, Boss Kiryu provided some help to the Kondo family.

Beyond that, Aoto knew little about other stories between Shiwei Hall and Boss Kiryu.

"Ah, Boss Kiryu..." Chokata stretched his hand to the back of his head, pulling his ponytail to the front, playing with the delicate ends of the ponytail, "I don’t really know... When I first joined Shiwei Hall, Boss Kiryu already had a deep friendship with us."

"I see... Since Boss Kiryu and Shiwei Hall have such a deep friendship, Mr. Chokata, you must be quite familiar with Boss Kiryu and Miss Kinoshita at the Thousand Affairs House, right?" Aoto casually asked Chokata.

Chokata nodded: "Yes, Boss Kiryu would occasionally visit Shiwei Hall, so I, Kondo and the others are quite familiar with Boss Kiryu."

"But as for Kinoshita Mai, who works under Boss Kiryu, I’m not very familiar with her."

"She seldom comes with Boss Kiryu to visit Shiwei Hall, so I haven’t seen her much, I only know of her existence, but I’m not familiar with her."