Even though Toshisuke believed every word Aoto said earlier, Toshisuke wasn’t a fool. She definitely knew that it was impossible for Aoto to take her out of Qianxun House without having any physical contact with her.
The era Aoto was in was certainly not the open 21st century.
Between men and women, even a simple physical contact was considered extremely ambiguous.
Just as Aoto was at a loss about what to do——
"Mr. Tachibana... I’m sorry..."
Aoto was instantly attracted by the unexpected apology and looked back.
Slowly, Toshisuke raised her little head bit by bit.
Her face still blushed brightly... but her eyes had lost the daze from before.
She raised her gaze, looking seriously into Aoto’s eyes.
"It’s my fault for soaking too long and creating so much trouble for you..."
"To take me out of the bathhouse without touching or seeing my body indecently... you must have endured a lot, right?"
Toshisuke didn’t ask Aoto if what he said was true.
Nor did she get angry about Aoto touching her body.
The first thing she said... was "I’m sorry."
Her simple apology contained a strong trust in Aoto.
Only by completely believing that Aoto did nothing improper to her, she could honestly offer her first sentence as an apology.
Right from just now... no, from the moment this night when he realized Toshisuke’s true gender, Aoto’s mind was overwhelmed by all sorts of "mental impacts."
And among every wave of "mental impacts" tonight, this wave happening "in the present" brought the greatest "impact" to Aoto.
At this moment, Aoto only felt a real, tide-like peculiar sensation spreading throughout his entire body.
"No, it’s okay. The one who should be saying ’sorry’ is me."
Aoto couldn’t really explain why——at this moment, no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t speak smoothly.
"Sorry, logically, it shouldn’t have been a male like me to handle ’bringing you back after you soaked too long in the bath.’"
"It’s okay..." Toshisuke lightly shook her head, "You too had no choice but to do so for my sake..."
Aoto: "..."
Toshisuke: "..."
After Toshisuke’s words fell, both of them descended into silence.
But strangely, even with no one speaking, there was no awkward atmosphere that made either feel out of place between them.
A gentle breeze suddenly swept from the distant sky.
At this moment, carrying Toshisuke, Aoto happened to walk under a Hydrangea tree.
Wind rose, flowers danced.
The two closely entwined figures bathed in the gentle wind shaped by moonlight and petals.
....
Out of nowhere, Aoto suddenly recalled the murmuring Toshisuke uttered unconsciously before she awoke.
"...Miss Chokata, I understand now."
Aoto turned his gaze back to Toshisuke.
In his eyes, there was a faint helplessness.
"Is the major reason your sister stopped you from practicing swordsmanship... because you’re female?"
Toshisuke pulled down her eyebrows and lips in a troubled manner—this action lasted only a moment.
After a moment, she seemed as if she had anticipated Aoto asking, gave a resigned soft smile.
She admitted to everything Aoto said with this shallow smile.
"Hmm... that’s right."
"All the talk of ’few can make a living from swordsmanship,’ ’worrying I’d lose ambition’... those are all secondary reasons."
"The main reason is because I’m a girl. My sister believes women shouldn’t deeply study swordsmanship..."
"..." Aoto fell silent for a moment, then asked the question that’s been lingering in his mind since discovering Toshisuke’s true gender, "Miss Chokata, did you disguise as a boy so you could smoothly learn swordsmanship?"
Toshisuke smiled and lightly nodded.
"Mr. Tachibana, I should have mentioned to you... I was born at the Shirakawa Mansion in Edo and grew up in Edo."
"Since my parents died young, I was basically raised by my two elder sisters."
"My sisters had to work daily to earn money, unable to play with me all the time, so my childhood was mostly spent wandering and playing aimlessly on the streets of Edo."
"Around when I was 9 years old... I accidentally arrived at Little Ishikawa Hoshimura Willow Street and saw Shiwei Hall for the first time."
"Back then, Shiwei Hall was far quieter than it is now, almost having no apprentices."
"It’s funny, my fate with Shiwei Hall began with curiosity about this quiet sword dojo."
"I wondered: Why is it that other sword dojos are bustling, yet this one so quiet?"
"Out of curiosity, I sneakily climbed over the wall and slipped inside."
"Then... I saw the master, who was still quite robust back then, training apprentices inside the dojo."
"That was the first time I saw the Natural Reasoning Heart Stream."
A nostalgic gentle smile slowly appeared on Toshisuke’s face.
"Perhaps this is what they call affinity."
"Upon seeing the Natural Reasoning Heart Stream, I was instantly captivated by this swordsmanship school’s focus on explosiveness and offense."
"In that moment, I resolved—I must learn this swordsmanship, I have to learn this swordsmanship."
"My second sister did not oppose my martial arts practice, only my eldest sister thought women practicing martial arts had no use."
"I remember vividly."
"To persuade my eldest sister to let me learn Natural Reasoning Heart Stream at Shiwei Hall, I pestered her daily."
"Whenever I saw her, I’d immediately rush over, cling to her leg, and beg her ’for mercy.’"
"To convince her, I even resorted to tactics like whining, throwing tantrums, rolling on the floor, and bribing."
"My eldest sister wasn’t as cold-hearted in her youth as she is now, plus I persuaded with reasons like ’training swordsmanship to strengthen the body and mind,’ which she grudgingly accepted. After some hassle, I finally convinced her to allow me to attend Shiwei Hall before learning swordsmanship."
"Finally overcoming my eldest sister’s issues... then immediately faced a new problem."
"Shiwei Hall doesn’t accept female apprentices."
"While the master is fairly easygoing and open-minded in dealing with people, he’s exceptionally old-fashioned in sword dao, holding firmly to the belief ’don’t teach swordsmanship to females.’"
"But this minor problem compares far too easily to ’convincing my elder sister.’"
Toshisuke revealed a joyous smile.
"Since accepting only males, then I’ll dress as a boy."
"I put on boys’ clothing, claimed to be the son of a military family: Chokata Sonjirou, and successfully joined Shiwei Hall."
"Thus, after navigating numerous obstacles, the ’genius handsome boy’ acquainted with you, Mr. Tachibana, was born~~"
Successfully fulfilled yesterday’s promise, and accomplished an impressive update of 10,000!
Miss Chokata soaked so many days, finally came out.
To those who like Miss Chokata, if you don’t cast votes for this book after reading this Chapter, that would be just too unreasonable! Requesting monthly tickets! Requesting recommendation slips! (Leopard Head Crying.jpg)

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