Chapter 160: Chapter 91: Nagakura Shinpachi

...

Aoto and the others were not slow in their pace.

Chatting as they hurried along, they soon saw the sign inscribed with the three Chinese characters for "Thousand Affairs House".

Just as Aoto’s group was about to pull open the shop door and enter—

"Hey hey hey, young lady, are you okay? Why are you so nervous? I haven’t done anything, just talked to you a bit! Can you speak normally now?"

A loud voice boomed from behind the shop door, inside the shop.

"Uh... um... um... well... this..."

As the voice faded, Aoto heard a very familiar timid female voice.

"Huh? What did you say? I can’t hear you! Young lady, how are you going to do business like this? Can’t you speak a bit louder?"

"Um... sorry..."

"You can’t be the owner of this shop, right? My friend told me the owner of this shop is an old man named ’Kiryu Kazuma’. Where’s your owner? Or any other staff?"

Listening to this conversation from inside the shop, Aoto couldn’t help but raise an eyebrow, then quickened his pace slightly, darting to the shop door and pulling it open.

The layout inside the Thousand Affairs House was exactly the same as the last time Aoto visited.

The only difference was the person sitting behind the counter had changed.

Sitting behind the counter now wasn’t Boss Kiryu, but Mukiwa.

Mukiwa was still dressed in that bright red kimono with a Shimada bun hairstyle.

Sitting properly with her white-socked feet tucked under her bottom, hands on her lap, she was tense, her hands clutching tightly.

Her face was full of nervousness, her cheeks blushing from anxiety and shyness.

In front of her... or rather, in front of the counter, stood a samurai holding a Tachi on his shoulder.

This samurai appeared disheveled, with skin exposed outside his clothes unwashed for an untold period, covered in grime, carrying a brown package on his back, looking like a ronin.

Tall and robust, this samurai could easily rival Kondo in height and stature.

His unshaven head was messily tied in a crooked bun.

Since the samurai had his back turned to the shop door, Aoto couldn’t see his face and could only judge by the voice that the samurai was likely very young.

When Aoto pulled the shop door open, Mukiwa reflexively raised her gaze.

Seeing it was Aoto, someone she knew well, entering, Mukiwa first looked startled, then her face lit up with relief as if she had found a lifeline.

As Mukiwa raised her gaze toward the opened shop door, the samurai almost simultaneously tilted his head, allowing Aoto to finally see his face—

Just as Aoto had guessed, it was indeed a very young samurai.

As estimated, this samurai seemed around twenty, with thick eyebrows and a slightly square face exuding a vibe of righteousness.

His cheeks were dirty, but that dirtiness only accentuated the brightness of his eyes.

"Hmm? Are you here to inquire about work too?" the samurai asked Aoto and the others loudly. "If you’re also looking for work, you’ll have to queue! I’m here for work too!"

Aoto shook his head: "No, we’re not here to inquire about work; we are friends of the shop owner and staff."

Having said that, Aoto led Chokata and Saito, taking quick strides to the counter.

"Miss Kinoshita, why are you the only one here? Where is Boss Kiryu?"

Mukiwa’s cheeks were burning red to the point that she might as well have had "I’m so nervous" written all over her face. 𝑓𝑟𝑒𝘦𝓌𝑒𝑏𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝘭.𝒸𝘰𝑚

To ease Mukiwa’s nerves as much as possible, Aoto deliberately crouched down so that his line of sight was level with Mukiwa’s, who was kneeling behind the counter.

For someone like Mukiwa, a "social anxiety patient," the most comforting moment is when they’re interacting with strangers and suddenly see someone familiar appear beside them—that’s why Mukiwa looked so relieved when she saw Aoto.

Mukiwa’s extreme nervousness eased considerably upon Aoto’s sudden presence.

"Um..." Mukiwa lightly nodded her head, "Mr. Kiryu went to the market to buy lunch and dinner for today; he will be back a little later..."

—So Boss Kiryu isn’t in the shop...

Pondering this, Aoto raised his head, looking at the samurai and then at Mukiwa beside him.

Though he hadn’t asked Mukiwa what happened, based on the conversation he overheard between her and the samurai and knowing "Boss Kiryu" wasn’t around, Aoto had roughly figured out the situation—

Because Boss Kiryu was temporarily out, Mukiwa was left alone in the Thousand Affairs House to watch over the shop.

Unfortunately—while Mukiwa was minding the shop, this samurai suddenly came inquiring about work.

What kind of person is Mukiwa...?

Very shy and easily embarrassed, she couldn’t utter a clear, complete sentence facing this samurai.