"Mr. Hijikata...!"
The girl in the kendo uniform, who a mont ago exuded an aura of "won not conceding to n," instantly transford into a young girl the mont Hijikata pinned the peach blossom behind her ear.
With a shy face, she beca the third girl tonight to throw herself into Hijikata’s arms.
And Hijikata warmly embraced her—just as he had done with the previous two girls.
By the window, Aoto was now dumbfounded...
"...How many partners does Mr. Hijikata actually have?" he couldn’t help but ask Chokata beside him.
Chokata remained silent for a mont, then answered:
"...I don’t know. I’m also not sure how many girls Mr. Hijikata has ambiguous relations with."
"From ti to ti, there’s a new girl I’ve never seen before—like the girl in the kendo uniform now hugging Mr. Hijikata, she’s soone I’ve t for the first ti."
"Doesn’t he worry that one day these girls will discover what he’s been doing?"
The one asking this question wasn’t Aoto.
It was Saito.
Usually expressionless, Saito now rare showed a look of astonishnt and took the initiative to ask the question.
"Indeed." Chokata answered, "Such an incident happened before."
"Two girls who both had a special relationship with Mr. Hijikata arrived at his house simultaneously one morning."
"Didn’t Mr. Hijikata get sliced to pieces on the spot?" Aoto blinked hard at Hijikata, intact outside the window, surprise spread all over his face.
"The two girls had a big fight with Mr. Hijikata on the spot, reportedly crying and yelling: ’Do you want this woman or ?’."
"Things seed completely out of control."
"But then Mr. Hijikata sohow reconciled with these two girls."
"Not only did he reconcile, but he also restored their ambiguous relationships."
"Those two girls were the ones just called Ajing and Axiang by Mr. Hijikata."
Aoto: "..."
Usually quite talkative, Aoto now did not know what to say at this mont...
Whether in his past or present life, this was the first ti Aoto had seen such a "Sea King" who could string along with nurous boats without letting any of them sink.
Could it be real? Soone capable of maintaining amorous relationships with multiple girls without being butchered by them?
In a way, this is a kind of talent.
And it’s the kind of talent that ordinary people can’t learn—even Aoto figured he couldn’t learn such talent.
Aoto couldn’t imagine himself as a "Sea King" who wouldn’t be sliced to pieces by the girls, like Hijikata.
At this mont, Hijikata finally released the girl in the kendo uniform from his embrace.
After bidding farewell to the girl in the kendo uniform, Hijikata didn’t prepare to return indoors imdiately this ti as he had before.
Instead, he lingered at the entrance for a while.
After waiting for a mont and confirming no more visitors would co, he folded his hands into his sleeves and returned indoors.
Upon returning indoors, he saw Aoto, Chokata, and Saito still lying beside the window.
"Mr. Hijikata..." Chokata said helplessly, "Where did you pick up that girl in the kendo uniform just now?"
"She has an air of the Samurai family. Would she not be...?" Chokata hesitated, "The daughter of so Samurai?"
"Picking up... sounds terrible. It’s mutual affection." Hijikata shrugged, "That girl’s na is Aya."
"She indeed is a Samurai’s daughter, the second daughter of a Hatamoto in Hakodate-cho."
"Hatamoto?!" Chokata’s eyes widened, "Mr. Hijikata, you picked up the second daughter of a Hatamoto?"
Aoto and Saito, their eyes couldn’t help but widen too at the mont.
Samurai directly under a vassal state daimyo are called "vassals."
While the Samurai directly under the Shogunate, naly the Shogun’s direct ministers, are divided into two levels: Hatamoto and Imperial Family.
The difference between these two ranks lies in whether one holds the "Imperial Eye."
The rank of a Hatamoto Samurai is above an Imperial Family Samurai, possessing the "Imperial Eye," aning they are qualified to directly et the Shogunate.
Imperial Family Samurai, on the other hand, cannot directly et the Shogunate.
The Dōshin serving in the Edo Magistrate’s Office are mostly subordinate Imperial Family mbers, while the Yoriki are generally Hatamoto.
Aoto himself was a subordinate Imperial Family mber, while Arima was Hatamoto.
Typically, Samurai and civilians do not intermarry.
No Samurai family would typically lower their family rank to let their children marry civilians.
Nor would any civilian dare to beco in-laws with Samurai, even if it ant a chance for their family to prosper grandly.
Surprisingly, Hijikata, a man of peasant origin, has picked up the daughter of a Samurai... and a Hatamoto daughter at that...
Even the Hatamoto with the thinnest salary, so poor they couldn’t afford a al, are still Imperial Family, possessing the "Imperial Eye," a rank unattainable by civilians.
Aoto did not know if he should deem Hijikata brave or reckless...
"Mr. Hijikata, what are you doing?" After a good while, Chokata finally gathered himself, "Have you forgotten the ti you nearly got yourself killed by picking up the daughter of an Owari domain vassal and a sister of an Imperial Family?"
So it’s not even his first ti picking up a Samurai girl?!
From astonishnt upon astonishnt, Aoto now felt slightly numbed...
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