"Mr. Kiryu, can you put on makeup?"

"I once learned how to do women's makeup in Kyoto."

If Aoden were here at this moment, he might have sighed in astonishment, "Boss Kiryu, how come you don't even know how to put makeup on a girl?"

Unlike Aoto who hasn't been with Kiryu long enough, Kinoshita Mai looks like she has become accustomed to this situation.

She pursed her lips thoughtfully, a look of hesitation appearing on her face.

After a while, she took a deep breath and nodded vigorously with a hopeful expression.

"Then, I'd like to trouble you, Mr. Kiryu!"

"Okay. Young Master, please close your eyes first."

"Would you like to close your eyes?"

"Only when I close my eyes can I put on makeup easily."

"All right……"

Kinoshita Mai nodded slightly, and then closed her eyes in accordance with Kiryu's order.

The moment her vision was covered by a black screen due to closing her eyes, she felt an itching sensation on her lips - this was Kiryu picking up the makeup pen and applying lipstick to her.

In the "garbage dump"-like room, from this moment on, there was only the sound of a makeup pen brushing against Mai Kinoshita's red lips and pretty face.

In anticipation of what kind of makeup Kiryu would give her, the corners of Mai Kinoshita's mouth slowly curved into a longing and nervous arc.

During this tense waiting, the silence of the room was suddenly broken.

"...I feel like I'm in a very subtle mood."

Because Kinoshita Mai had her eyes closed, she couldn't see it: a lonely, bitter smile flashed across Kiryu's eyes.

"That little girl, who was no taller than my waist, has turned into a big girl who can talk about marriage in the blink of an eye."

"Hahaha, I haven't experienced the feeling of whiteness so strongly in a long time."

"Ah, speaking of this..."

Kiryu paused as he seemed to recall something.

"Young Master, I have some good news to tell you."

"Just now came my lord...a letter from your grandma."

"The letter said: She plans to come to Edo to see you during the Spring Festival next year."

As soon as Kiryu finished speaking, Kinoshita Mai opened her eyes suddenly.

"Mr. Kiryu, is this true? Grandma is coming to see me?"

A dazzling light of excitement burst out from Kinoshita Mai's beautiful eyes.

"Well, it's true. I'll show you the letter later. Ah, don't open your eyes. If you open your eyes, it will easily smear the makeup."

"Ah, no, I'm sorry..."

Kinoshita Mai hurriedly closed her eyes again.

"Young Master, this is a good opportunity."

"Huh? What's a good opportunity?"

Kiryu smiled meaningfully.

"An opportunity for Mr. Tachibana and your grandma to meet."

"?!"

Kinoshita Mai almost opened her eyes subconsciously again. Fortunately, she reacted quickly enough. She just raised her eyelids a little and then quickly pressed them back down.

At this time, Kiryu continued:

"Young Master, I don't need to elaborate. You should also know that if you want to develop that kind of relationship with Lord Ju, you must first obtain the Lord's permission."

"..."

"My lord will never allow her precious granddaughter to be with a loser who she despises."

"..."

"So if you don't want your relationship with Jun Tachibana to remain at the level of 'friends', then it is necessary for Jun Tachibana and the lord to meet each other, so that the lord can see with her own eyes this man named 'Ju Qing'

Is the young samurai Den' qualified to be her grandson-in-law?"

"..."

Kinoshita Mai has been silent since just now.

Although there was still a look of makeup on her face that looked forward to her meeting, and a smile that made her feel excited because she knew her grandma was coming to see her, Kiryu could clearly feel that Kinoshita Mai's mood had changed.

Somewhat down.

Kiryu stopped talking just in time.

After a moment of silence, he smiled lightly and said in a relaxed tone:

"Young Master, there is no need for you to feel heavy."

"Is it possible that you don't have confidence in the man you admire?"

"My lord likes the kind of young people who are talented but not arrogant...and Tachibana-kun happens to be a talented person with this kind of personality."

"Based on what I know about my master, she only hates three kinds of people."

"A person with a bad mind."

"Those who covet the ways."

"And the kind of lustful, philandering man who only wants to marry many wives."

"So, relax."

"Although I don't dare to pat my chest and assure you that the lord will definitely favor Jun Tachibana, but I dare to say that the lord will never hate Jun Tachibana too much."

Hearing Kiryu say this, the faint "black mist" lingering in Kinoshita's eyebrows immediately dissipated a lot.

But suddenly, Kinoshita Wu's features froze.

"Public path"... The word Kiryu mentioned just now brought back a memory in Kinoshita Mai's mind.

An extremely "fresh" memory - the scene of the intimate interaction between Aonto and Souji at the celebration banquet three days ago, flashed through Kinoshita Mai's mind.

"...Speaking of the ways..." Mai Kinoshita hesitated, "Mr. Kiryu, when I was walking on the street a while ago, I saw two warriors who were as strong as bears, making love to each other while swaggering across the street.

.”

"It's a common thing." Kiryu responded casually.

"Speaking of it, it's really amazing. Some men have faces that are very popular with girls, but they are unexpectedly greedy."

"I heard that some Taoists have particularly bad temperaments. They clearly have no interest in women at all, but in order to successfully carry on the family line, they deliberately coax women who don't know that they are from the Tao to marry them."

When Kinoshita Mai said this, she paused for a moment, then pretended to be casual and asked softly to the elder in front of her who had "crossed more bridges than she had walked":

"I don't know if there is any way to effectively identify people who are members of the Taoist community."

"There are ways...there are still ways."

Hearing Kiryu take over the conversation, Kinoshita Mai's hands that were placed on her legs immediately clenched with excitement.

Kiryu, who didn't notice Kinoshita Mai's little move, said slowly and casually in the tone of chatting with Kinoshita Mai:

"To put it bluntly, the biggest difference between Taoists and ordinary people is that they are only interested in people of the same sex."

"Except for a few exceptions where both men and women can do it, Taoists will not want to have sex with the opposite sex."

"Anyone who wants to have sex with someone of the opposite sex is not a member of the public."

"This, this is it..."

Kinoshita Mai pursed her lips hard, and then softly repeated the words Kiryu just said at a volume that only she could hear clearly.

"Anyone who wants to have sex with someone of the opposite sex is not a member of the community..."

Fortunately, Kinoshita Mai has her eyes closed now.

Otherwise, Kiryu would be able to see a hint of thoughtfulness emerging from the depths of Kinoshita Mai's pupils.

At this time, Kinoshita Mai suddenly felt that the itchy feeling that had been close to her facial skin after Kiryu helped her put on makeup disappeared.

"Okay, young master, I've put on your makeup. Open your eyes and take a look."

As soon as Kiryu finished speaking, Kinoshita Mai immediately opened her eyes, turned her head and looked at the Western glass mirror beside her.

The moment her eyes touched the mirror, Kinoshita Mai's beautiful eyes suddenly burst into surprise and disbelief.

…

…

That night--

Edo, near Ryogoku Bridge——
To be continued...