"Toshisuke, what would you like to drink or eat?"
"Just regular green tea... I’m not hungry, so I won’t order food."
"Then I’ll have a cup of green tea too. Excuse us, can we have 2 cups of green tea?"
"Alright~~! Please wait a moment! The tea will be ready soon!"
Miss Shodai’s energetic voice formed a stark contrast with the serene tone of the Chokatas’ unemotional conversation.
Encountering the Chokatas in this tea house was a surprising coincidence. Aoto initially thought of going over to greet them, but both Toshisuke’s current expression and the siblings’ conversation emitted a "better not approach them for now" aura.
Both Toshisuke and Chokata Mitsuo ordered the most ordinary green tea, and in no time, Miss Shodai returned with two cups of tepid tea and placed them at the siblings’ table.
During the waiting time for Miss Shodai to bring the tea, the siblings remained silent, not uttering a word.
Chokata Mitsuo sat with her hands folded on the table, eyes cast downward.
Toshisuke supported his right arm on the table, resting his head in his right hand, while his left hand flicked the ponytail behind his head to the front, playing with the hair ends with his fingers while staring blankly.
"Here are your teas, dear guests~! If you need anything else, just call me!"
Even Miss Shodai’s energetic voice couldn’t dissolve the awkward atmosphere enveloping the two.
"Thank you."
It was apparent that Chokata Mitsuo wasn’t interested in the tea placed before her.
From thanking Miss Shodai out of courtesy to watching her leave, she never glanced at the tea she ordered.
At the moment when Miss Shodai laid down the teas and returned to the kitchen with the tray, the strange silent tension between the siblings was finally broken by Chokata Mitsuo’s words.
Her first sentence almost made Aoto spit out the sweet drink he just sipped.
"Alright, Toshisuke, let’s continue the topic from before. What will make you give up swordsmanship?"
— Give up swordsmanship?
Aoto’s eyes widened, forcing the almost-spilled sweet drink back into his mouth and swallowing it with effort.
— What’s going on?
At this point, Aoto couldn’t care about sweet drinks or dorayaki.
"Gathering Spirit" activated directly! He focused attentively, trying to listen closely to Toshisuke and Chokata Mitsuo’s conversation.
"Sister..."
Aoto heard a heavy sigh from Toshisuke.
"I don’t want to give up the sword..."
"Ah, sweet child, you don’t really plan on using swordsmanship to make a living, do you?"
"... It has nothing to do with using it to make a living in the future. I love swordsmanship, so I don’t want to give it up. It’s as simple as that."
"You... sigh..."
Chokata Mitsuo’s sigh was filled with a feeling of "disappointment at missed potential."
"Toshisuke, how many times must I repeat for you to understand? I have seriously investigated, and even among those who practice swordsmanship well, very few can make a living from it, let alone you are still..."
"Sister!"
Toshisuke abruptly cut off Chokata Mitsuo’s words with an exceptionally high-pitched tone.
The volume and pitch drowned out all conversations in the tea house.
The customers inside all turned their heads towards the sibling pair with confused looks at their dazzling appearances.
Suddenly becoming the center of attention... this left Chokata Mitsuo helpless and flustered.
She looked around awkwardly, then hurriedly spoke to Toshisuke:
"Tosh Toshisuke, what are you doing?"
"Sister, can you not discuss this topic now?"
Toshisuke furrowed his brows, firmly pursing his lips.
"It’s rare to go out and shop together, so let’s not talk about heavy-hearted subjects."
It was then that Aoto noticed: beside Toshisuke’s knee was a square kimono box, engraved with a symbol familiar to most Edo people—it’s the family crest of a known Gofuku merchant.
The contents of this exquisite box seemed to be clothing sold in that famous Edo Gofuku shop.
Chokata Mitsuo seemed to want to say more, but the surrounding stares felt like heavy hammers pressing on her, leaving her unable to utter a coherent sentence.
In resignation, Chokata Mitsuo could only give in and compromise.
"Alright... I understand." She shrank her neck slightly, cautiously observing her surroundings, "Let’s put aside this topic for now. I’ll take time to discuss it with you thoroughly later."
Toshisuke now showed Aoto the first smile since their chance encounter in the tea house.
But that hint of a smile soon disappeared.
"Let’s change the topic, shall we? Let’s have a nice chat about your marriage. Toshisuke, you’re already 16 this year, it’s about time to seriously consider..."
"Ooooh!"
Before Chokata Mitsuo could finish, Toshisuke closed his eyes tightly, covering his ears firmly with both hands and loudly exclaiming "Ooooh!"
"This topic is also very heavy-hearted!"
"No, no, no!"
"I’m not listening, I’m not listening!"
Eyes shut tight, ears covered, Toshisuke roared skyward like a T-rex, shouting "Ooooh!" while vigorously shaking his head, his slender ponytail swirling wildly.

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