Then—Aoto heard the earlier conversation... Mukiwa spoke too quietly, which made the samurai very anxious. He couldn’t help but urge Mukiwa to speak more clearly, but after being urged, Mukiwa became even more nervous and flustered, making it even harder to speak clearly... A perfect "vicious cycle" was born.

The samurai heard the conversation between Aoto and Mukiwa.

Upon learning that Boss Kiryu was not currently in the store, he showed a surprised expression, "Hmm? Is Boss Kiryu not here?"

"Yes..." Thanks to Aoto, a familiar face being present, Mukiwa was not as nervous and, speaking in a voice that wasn’t very loud but clear enough for the samurai to hear, said, "Mr. Kiryu... the owner of this store is temporarily out on business. So if you want to consult about work, you can wait here for a while, Mr. Kiryu should be back soon."

"Tsk..." The samurai clicked his tongue, "What bad luck, the owner is unexpectedly not at home now... Young lady, you should be the shodai of this store, right? Can’t you take on the task of ’work consultation’?"

Mukiwa laughed awkwardly, "I still can’t introduce work to people based on their requests like Mr. Kiryu can..."

"I see... Well, alright then." The samurai let out a sigh, "Since the owner is temporarily not at home, I’ll wait here. Young lady, can I sit on the floor here?"

...

...

The speed at which Mukiwa brewed tea was unexpectedly fast.

She had just entered the inner room of the Thousand Affairs House, and soon after, she returned to the front hall with a tray holding four cups of hot tea, and served a cup of hot tea to Aoto, Chokata, Saito, and the samurai who were waiting in the front hall for Boss Kiryu’s return.

Aoto was the last to receive a cup of tea.

"Thank you." Aoto took the last cup of tea from the tray Mukiwa handed over. Because the tea was still a bit hot, Aoto could only place this cup of hot tea beside his knee.

Aoto and the others had specially come to invite Boss Kiryu to watch the match. Since Boss Kiryu happened to be not at the Thousand Affairs House at that moment, Aoto and the others could only sit with the samurai in a corner of the front hall, waiting for Boss Kiryu to return.

The young samurai sat in the northeast corner of the front hall, while Aoto and the others stayed in the southwest corner.

The samurai seemed uninterested in making contact with Aoto and the others, sitting quietly by himself with his sword on his shoulder, sipping the hot tea Mukiwa had just served while daydreaming.

Similarly, Aoto and the others had no intention of starting a conversation with this stranger, maintaining a strange sense of "mutual non-interference" with the samurai.

After successfully completing the "tea-serving" task, Mukiwa knelt down beside Aoto, holding the tray on her legs.

"Mr. Tachibana, why did you come to our store with Mr. Chokata and Mr. Saito? Is there something happening?"

Mukiwa’s puzzled gaze wandered over the faces of Aoto, Chokata, and the others.

Perhaps because she is already quite familiar with Aoto, Mukiwa’s voice was noticeably louder when speaking to him, and she could even make eye contact with him normally.

"Ah, we are here on behalf of Shiwei Hall to tell you about something." Aoto said with a smile.

Since they had plenty of time, Aoto took the opportunity to inform Mukiwa about Shiwei Hall’s plan to hold a competition with the Little Chiba Sword Dojo on the day of the "Plum Blossom Festival" and invite them to watch.

"’Red and White Battle’..." Mukiwa’s beautiful eyes widened even more, with excitement and anticipation gleaming in them, "Well, if I have the time and opportunity that day, I will definitely go to watch."

Seeing the expression on Mukiwa’s face, Aoto asked with a smile, "Miss Kinoshita, are you very interested in the ’Red and White Battle’?"

"Mmm... rather than being interested in the ’Red and White Battle’... I’m quite keen on these competitions related to martial arts."

Aoto raised an eyebrow, "Oh? So Miss Kinoshita, you really like martial arts,"

Mukiwa shook her head, "Hmm... how should I put it..."

She showed an embarrassed, shy smile.

"What I’m about to say may sound strange... It’s not that I like watching martial arts; I enjoy watching the gallant demeanor of men in battle."

—The gallant demeanor of men in battle?

Aoto, who didn’t quite understand Mukiwa’s preference, couldn’t help but chuckle.

Suddenly, Chokata, who was at the side, suddenly chimed in:

"Oh, oh, do you like watching the gallant demeanor of men in battle... Haha, I think I understand your preference."

Chokata put down the teacup he had been sipping from and laughed.

"Men standing up for reasons they cannot concede, standing with their swords held, as imposing as Niō upon the earth... that’s indeed very cool."

Mukiwa cast a surprised glance at Chokata. Then, with an expression of excitement as if she had found a kindred spirit, she nodded vigorously, "Yes! That’s about the feeling."

...

After finishing the conversation about "the gallant demeanor of men in battle," in which he had no way to participate, Aoto talked further with Mukiwa to pass the time while waiting for Mr. Kiryu to return.

He also casually inquired about the status of Anthony and Elodie, the grandfather and granddaughter.

According to Mukiwa: Anthony and Elodie have now settled into the foreign leasehold in Edo smoothly, and after a long period of rest, their spirits have significantly recovered.