This uncle is quite fashionable. As a wagashi shop owner, he actually carries a pen with him, which is still quite rare in Japan today.

"Mr. Tachibana. The more I chat with you, the more I realize that we really hit it off."

Goro Komaki unscrewed the pen, opened the booklet, and wrote something on any page of the book.

"This is the address of the wagashi shop that my wife and I opened in Kyoto."

Gu Mu put down his pen, tore off the page he had just written on, and handed it to Qingdeng.

"Mr. Tachibana, if you have a chance to visit Kyoto in the future, you can come to me at any time by following the address on the paper. I always welcome you."

I live in Edo, and Komaki and his wife live in Kyoto. The two cities are separated by almost half of Japan... After today's wedding between Kondo Isamu and Matsui Tsune, I don't know how long it will be before I meet the couple again.

Maybe after today, there will be no chance to meet this couple again... Qingdeng thought to himself.

However, even though he thought so in his heart, Qingdeng still politely accepted the note from Goro Komaki with both hands and accepted it happily...

…

The lively wedding banquet lasted until 4 p.m.

After the sun began to set in the west, guests began to return home one after another.

Kinoshita Mai, Sanako, and the others were almost the last ones to leave... Only when a dim glow appeared in the sky did they stand up to say goodbye.

Kiryu: "Shusuke. Thank you so much for your hospitality today."

"Hoo ho ho."

Zhou Assistant touched his smooth chin. His pair of slender eyes, which were normally so narrow that the pupils could not be seen, narrowed slightly because of his smile.

"Don't say that! We are the ones who should say 'thank you'. Thank you for coming to Quanzi's wedding today!"

The newlyweds Kondo and Matsui Tsune, as well as Aoto, Inoue, Hijikata, Abi and others stood in a row behind Shusuke and bid farewell to Kiryu, Ogata and Mai Kinoshita at the door of the banquet hall.

Kinoshita Mai, who was standing behind Kiryu, folded her hands in front of her, lowered her head slightly, and stared at her petite toes without socks.

From time to time, she raised her head and secretly cast a reluctant gaze on Qingdeng.

At this moment, she especially hoped that Kiryu, Ogata and the others could chat with Shusuke for a while... But things went counterproductive. As soon as she had this thought, she saw Kiryu bowing slightly to Shusuke:

"Then - let's take our leave now."

After saying that, Kiryu, who was "playing the vanguard", quickly walked out of the banquet hall without any hesitation or hesitation.

Ogata and the Atachi couple followed closely.

Mingming was greatly shocked a few days ago when he learned that he was not the only girl who accompanied Qingdeng to watch the fireworks. However, a few days later, he "forgave" Qingdeng through some "self-relief" and settled down with Qingdeng.

Noboru's past feud has been settled... It's obvious what kind of status Qingnobo currently holds in Kinoshita Mai's heart.

Now that I have to say goodbye to Qingdeng, I still feel reluctant to leave him

But it’s useless to feel reluctant.

Kinoshita took a deep breath, suppressed all the thoughts in her heart, bowed to Shusuke and the others, bowed lightly, lowered her head and followed in the footsteps of Kiryu and Ogata.

"..." When Zhousuke said goodbye to Kiryu and others, Qingto, who was hidden among the group of people behind Zhousuke, remained silent.

Now, seeing that Kiryu and his party were about to leave, Qingto quietly moved half a step to the left and stood at the edge of the aisle where Kiryu and others were passing.

Aomori smiled and said goodbye to Kiryu and Ogata, who passed by him one by one.

Just when Mai Kinoshita, who was walking at the very back, was about to pass him by—

"Huh?"

Kinoshita Mai suddenly let out a low scream.

"A Wu, what's wrong?" A Ding, who was walking in front of her, turned around and asked.

"No, it's okay." Kinoshita Mai excused herself, "It's just... I just accidentally stepped on a stone, so I was frightened."

Atachi glanced at Kinoshita Mai strangely.

However, she didn't pay too much attention to Kinoshita Mai's exclamation just now.

After confirming that there seemed to be nothing strange about Kinoshita Mai, she turned her gaze back to the front of her.

After successfully fooling Omachi, Kinoshita Mai let out a sigh of relief. She carefully lowered her eyes and looked at her right hand that was hanging naturally by her side.

At this time, there was a thin piece of paper in her right hand.

Kinoshita Mai lightly scratched the piece of paper with her fingertips, and after confirming its existence, she held it tightly in her palm.

It was as if she was afraid that the piece of paper would disappear in her hands.

…

…

The next day——

The first year of Kuanyan (1860), September 2——

Edo, Koishikawa Kohinata Yanagi Town, Imperial Guard Hall——

Even though the night has passed, the festive atmosphere still permeates the air of the trial hall.

There were moderate showers last night and this morning.

It wasn't until noon that the tangled dark clouds finally slowly dispersed.

The once gray and dark sky once again glowed with the brightness of summer.

In the gap where the dark clouds dispersed, a clear blue like the sea was revealed again.

It had just rained, and there was a pleasant refreshing coolness in the air.

The cotton-like white clouds that replaced the dark clouds covered the bright sunshine even softer after the rain. Under the sunlight, white clouds that seemed to be coated with a layer of gold circles piled up in the sky, layer upon layer, so spectacular.

.

From time to time, there is a breeze.

The breeze blew by, blowing every fallen leaf in the courtyard of the imperial examination hall, and also ruffled Qingdeng's hair and the hem of his clothes on the verandah.

In a traditional Japanese house, there is usually a corridor under the eaves. This courtyard immediately outside the house, which is neither indoor nor outdoor, is called the "edge corridor".

Qingdeng was dressed very seriously at this time.

Wearing dark blue clothes, black hakama, black socks, and neatly styled hair... she looked like she was about to go out for an important date.

In fact, this is indeed the case - after a while, Qingdeng will rush to an important date that may change his future life.

Another gust of breeze blew by, ruffling Qingdeng's hair that naturally fell in front of his forehead.

Qingdeng could be seen looking up at the blue sky above his head expressionlessly, with a thoughtful look between his brows.

——It’s almost time...

Qingdeng stretched out his hand to reach into his pocket, trying to take out the pocket watch he had carried with him ever since he bought it, to determine the current time.

As a result, I got nothing.

"Um?"

Qingdeng touched his belt and the inside of his clothes all over, but found nothing.

Qingdeng was shocked to realize that the pocket watch he had always kept with him was missing. He hurriedly climbed to the second floor and returned to the "diners' room" where he lived.

At this time, the only people staying in the "diners' room" were Saito, who was sitting in a daze in the corner with his hands on his knees, and Saito, who was lying on his side on the tatami by the window, singing "Yiyi oh oh" without knowing it.

In the famous ditty, Harada closed his eyes and meditated.

"Saito, Harada..."

Qingdeng asked them if they had seen his pocket watch, and received the same answer from both of them:

"No," Harada said.

"..." Saito shook his head quietly.

If you spend time looking for the pocket watch now, you may be late later... After weighing the pros and cons, Qingdeng finally decided to put away the insignificant pocket watch first and seize the time to attend the appointment.

After finishing the final arrangement of his clothes, Qingdeng strode out of the trial hall.

…

Just when Qingdeng’s front foot left—

"Ahhhhhh~~"

Holding a bag of Jinpei candy in one hand and stuffing handfuls of sugar granules into his mouth with the other, Souji tightened a pair of small flat-bottomed wooden clogs with purple buttons at the entrance of the sword hall.

She had almost finished the Jinping Candy and was about to go to the snack shop to do some shopping.

"Ah, Okita-kun!"

"Huh? Harada-kun, what's wrong?"

Souji, who had put on her clogs and had already pressed her hand on the doorknob of the entrance door, turned to look at Harada, who was striding towards her.

"Soji, have you seen Mr. Tachibana?"
To be continued...