My Gang of Swordsmen

Chapter 439: Chapter 158: Visit of the Strongest in Edo, Chiba Eijiro

It was the sakura that Mukiwa had just picked up while following Aoto away from the riverside to chase the mysterious figure, carried by the night wind before her eyes.

"What is this?"

Mukiwa’s lips, hidden under her veil, curved into a slight smile: "Mr. Tachibana, there were actually two reasons why I suddenly took you to see the sakura by the riverside."

"The first reason was that I had mentioned wanting to try watching the night sakura with you."

"And the second reason... is that I wanted to make a protective talisman for you."

Having said that, Mukiwa closed her eyes, holding the delicate sakura with both hands. Her lips moved as she whispered something to the sakura in her palm, in a voice as faint as a mosquito’s hum.

Her demeanor was as solemn as a devout follower praying to a divine being.

Aoto had many questions he wanted to ask Mukiwa, but seeing her in her pious state, he swallowed the questions that had come to his lips to avoid disturbing her.

——What is she doing?

Aoto asked himself while focusing his mind, striving to hear what Mukiwa was chanting with his enhanced hearing from earlier that night. He barely discerned her chanting——it was a blessing filled with many ancient Japanese words, with a Shinto style.

Aoto wasn’t knowledgeable about Shintoism, so he didn’t quite understand the meaning of the blessing Mukiwa was chanting.

Therefore, Aoto could only wait patiently for Mukiwa to finish her blessing to the sakura in her palm.

Finally——after a while, Mukiwa stopped her chanting and slowly opened her eyes.

"Mr. Tachibana, please accept this." Mukiwa stretched out her hands to present the sakura in her palm to Aoto.

To show respect, Aoto took the sakura Mukiwa handed to him with both hands. "Miss Kinoshita, what is this?"

Mukiwa smiled gently:

"Your ’Three Times’ is going through troubled times lately, isn’t it?"

"The ’Radical Anti-foreigner Faction’ is still causing disturbances."

"The infamous Anti-foreigner Group remains at large."

"So, when we passed by the riverside where sakura trees are planted, I thought of making a protective talisman that can bless you with safety."

Mukiwa paused for a moment, then spoke with a proud tone.

"I know a rather magical spell."

"As long as you chant this spell to a sakura, it can imbue the sakura with divine power, turning it into a protective talisman that brings good luck to its holder."

"It’s really effective! I’ve tried it myself, and carrying a sakura that has been imbued with my spell truly enhances one’s fortune!"

Aoto raised an eyebrow, lowering his gaze to the sakura in his hand, and smiled: "So, Miss Kinoshita, the lengthy Shinto-like blessing you just chanted to this sakura is the spell you mentioned that imbues sakura with divine power?"

"Yes!" Mukiwa nodded her small head emphatically.

——A spell that imbues sakura with divine power...

Even though he had experienced an incredibly unscientific event like time travel, Aoto remained a staunch atheist.

Imbuing sakura with divine power, bringing good luck... Aoto wasn’t particularly moved by these notions Mukiwa spoke of.

Nonetheless, it was a gesture of goodwill from her.

Therefore, Aoto solemnly pressed the sakura to his chest with both hands and earnestly said to Mukiwa:

"Thank you, I will keep this protective talisman with me always."

Being thanked by Aoto... Mukiwa’s expression beneath her veil became slightly awkward as she placed her clasped hands before her, her left foot tucked behind her right, the top of her left foot pressed against her right heel, stammering:

"No, no need to thank me... it was just a little effort on my part..."

Seeing Mukiwa appearing a bit flustered, Aoto’s cheeks involuntarily softened into a gentle smile.

In his chest, the tingling sensation that had finally subsided for the most part, surged once more.

...

...

At this moment——

In Edo, on a deserted alley——

"Hah... hah... hah... hah..."

The mysterious figure who had troubled both Aoto and Mukiwa was now gasping for air, leaning against a wooden wall beside him, his shoulders and chest heaving dramatically.

"Hah... I’m really... getting old..."

The mysterious figure chuckled wryly, raising a hand to wipe the sweat from his face.

"Struggling for breath after just a little exertion..."

After catching his breath for quite a while, the mysterious figure gradually adjusted his breathing.

After catching his breath, the mysterious figure slowly stood up straight, raised his head, and gazed to the east—the direction of the skirmish he just had with Aoto and Mukiwa.

"How did Mr. Tachibana’s perception suddenly become so keen...?"

"He never noticed me before."

"It seems I need to be more cautious in the future..."

"Aside from his perception getting sharper... he’s become much stronger too."

"Heh heh heh, it’s unexpected... I can’t even fathom what heights this young man might eventually reach, or what achievements he might attain..."

After laughing at himself a few times, the mysterious figure suddenly noticed his Western-style cloak was covered in dust—likely from his earlier escape from Aoto and Mukiwa’s pursuit.

To make it easier to clean off the dust, the mysterious figure yanked off his cloak.

The cloak fell... revealing the mysterious figure’s face and build at last.