Boss Kiryu had a serious face.

He usually shows a smile to others, but rarely shows such an expression.

His impression is like a deep and broad lake - calm but yet oppressive.

Looking at Boss Kiryu who was gradually approaching, Mai Kinoshita took two steps back.

"Young Master, stop messing around and come back with me quickly."

Facing this order from Boss Kiryu, Kinoshita Mai swallowed hard, mustered up her courage, and stepped firmly on her feet:

"Mr. Kiryu! Don't waste your efforts! I have made up my mind! Even if grandma comes in person, she can't persuade me!"

As she spoke, she spread her arms and assumed a majestic-looking posture while showing a calm expression.

"Go back with me."

"yes."

The girl who was fearless in the face of danger a second ago silently lowered her arms, lowered her head and shoulders, and moved behind the old man, dragging her delicate body with a depressed expression.

Seeing that his young master finally gave in, Boss Kiryu nodded, and then returned to his usual smiling look.

"Mr. Ju, I'm sorry for making you laugh. Young Master, let's go."

Having said that, Boss Kiryu turned around and left without any hesitation.

Without saying a word, Kinoshita Mai followed closely behind Boss Kiryu step by step, like a chicken that follows wherever the old hen goes.

Qingden blinked and stared blankly at the empty front.

From Kinoshita Mai's sudden appearance to her being taken away by Kiryu's boss who also suddenly appeared... the whole process took less than 2 minutes.

The unexpected and rapid changes in the situation made Qingdeng's brain unable to keep up...

…

…

It's night——

"Moo moo~~"

A man and an ox were galloping on the street leading to Qianshiwu.

The "old and young duo" acted out a clueless show today, which made Qing Deng even more confused.

Based on the known information and combined with the analysis of the scenes he actually saw, the situation that Qingteng deduced is roughly as follows:

Kinoshita Mai was so eager to become a member of the Zhenfu Army that she even secretly sneaked into the Zhenfu Army's recruitment venue without telling Boss Kiryu, but she was discovered and captured in time by Boss Kiryu.

Boss Kiryu is opposed to Kinoshita Mai joining the army - this is quite understandable.

This octogenarian old man has always regarded Kinoshita Mai as his own.

He didn't want to see his cherished junior in danger, it was just a normal thing.

Moreover, it was not up to him to decide whether Kinoshita Mai could join the army.

The only person who can make a decision on this matter is of course Kinoshita Mai's grandmother - Kinoshita Rin.

For a long time, Aoden had heard various stories about Kinoshita Rin from the mouth of Kiryu's boss, Mai Kinoshita, countless times.

She is a self-made business genius, she is an unyielding fighter who is proud of herself and despises her... In short, she is a strange woman who can conquer the sea and conquer the sky.

Every Spring Festival, Kinoshita Rin would say that she would come to Edo to visit Kinoshita Mai, but she always stopped due to busy schedules.

This also made Qingdeng never have the chance to meet her.

Even though she releases dancing pigeons every year, she is still full of human touch.

As compensation, she would send new clothes to Mai Kinoshita.

She knew her granddaughter's preferences very well, and all the new clothes she sent were red, without exception.

It’s funny to say that Aoden has known Mai Kinoshita for nearly 3 years.

In the past three years, he had never seen this girl wearing any clothes other than red clothes and the cat monk's night clothes.

Until today, he saw Kinoshita Mai wearing a kendo uniform for the first time, but even the hakama of this kendo uniform was bright red.

I don’t know where she got the red hakama.

The hakama of kendo uniforms in this era generally only had two colors: blue and black.

For Qingteng, the question that bothers him the most right now is why Kinoshita Mai wants to join the Suppressing Army.

First of all, the option of "wanting to be with Qingdeng" is the first to be eliminated.

It is true that Kinoshita Mai is very innocent... In modern terms, she is a girl with a little love brain.

But Qingdeng is very clear about who she is - she is definitely not the kind of girl who changes her life without authorization for superficial reasons such as "wanting to fall in love" or "not wanting to leave her lover".

To say that she wanted to pursue martial arts like Sanako... is definitely wrong.

She does not have a strong passion for martial arts.

It doesn't seem right to say that she wants to achieve success like Isamu Kondo and others...

She has never shown any desire for money or power.

No matter what, if you want to know the answer to this question, you can only ask the person involved.

As a result, as soon as today's recruitment ceremony ended, Qingden immediately climbed on Carrot's back and rushed to Qianshiwu without stopping.

The street scenes on both sides quickly reversed backwards.

Soon, the "employment agency" that Qingdeng had visited thousands of times gradually came into view.

Light shines through the windows of the Thousand Houses.

Qingden jumped off the cow's back and tied the radish beside the shop door of Qianshiwu.

Before he entered the house, he heard a loud quarrel coming from inside:

"Mr. Kiryu! Please let me go!"

"...Young Master, you are really making it difficult for me to do this."

"I can protect myself!"

"Young Master, no matter what you say, I have only one answer - no."

"Ahhh! I hate you! Where did the considerate Mr. Kiryu of the past go?"

"Just think that the considerate Mr. Kiryu is dead."

Upon hearing this, Qingdeng immediately quickened his pace, ignored the "temporarily closed" sign hanging on the door, and hurriedly opened the door of the shop.

"Meow meow meow~~"

The big orange cat Duoduo was sitting on the porch and said "meow, meow, meow" to Qingden.

It must have smelled Qingdeng's scent, so it squatted here in advance to welcome Qingdeng.

"Meow meow."

Qingdeng tentatively said "meow" twice, and while responding to Duoduo's greetings, he raised his eyes and scanned the store.

Behind the counter, I saw an "old and young duo" sitting opposite each other.

Kinoshita Mai no longer wore the red hakama kendo uniform, but changed into the bright red women's kimono that Ayoto was most familiar with. She clenched her fists and raised them to her chest, looking excited.

Boss Kiryu folded his arms and lowered the corners of his mouth with a helpless expression.

Qingdeng's sudden appearance interrupted the quarrel between the two.

"Hmm? Qingden?"

"Jijun, I knew you would come."

"Don't quarrel."

Qingden smiled bitterly and untied Vairocana and Dingguishen from his waist, held them with his right hand, and naturally sat next to Kinoshita Mai.

"I heard you two arguing from a long distance away."

Kinoshita Wu flattened her red lips.

"We didn't quarrel! I was just arguing!"

Boss Kiryu let out a long sigh.

Qingdeng, who was afraid that the two of them would quarrel again, quickly said:

"A Wu, don't get excited."

As he spoke, he stretched out his hand, like comforting a frightened cat, and patted Kinoshita Mai's back.

At the same time, he couldn't help but cast a surprised look at him.

Even though Kinoshita Mai had close contact with other girls in Aoto...especially when she had close contact with Sanako, she would often show a terrifying appearance of "eyes infected by darkness" and "murmuring scary words",

But most of the time, she is a sweet girl who speaks softly and has a gentle and kind personality.
To be continued...