I Formed the Strongest Swordsman Group

Chapter 51: Quick! Let Me Tie You Up! (2)

After hearing the word "bodyguard" from Arima's mouth, Aoto immediately and instinctively shifted his gaze to carefully examine Saitō.

This was a very young boy, probably only around 16 or 17 years old.

He was quite tall, standing even taller than Aoto who was 1.75 meters, approximately 1.8 meters.

His skin was pale, with well-defined facial features. Instead of having his hair shaved into that hideous-looking chonmage style, he wore his hair in a full topknot like Aoto, making his overall appearance somewhat handsome.

He was dressed entirely in black. The upper body wore a dark blue kimono, while the lower body had black hakama pants and tabi socks. The red scarf wrapped around his neck was the only bright color on his person.

Since entering the main room, Aoto had noticed that Saitō always maintained a stern expression, appearing serious and unsmiling.

After Aoto entered the room, Saitō only glanced at him briefly before quickly lowering his head and gaze, burying the lower part of his face in his scarf, appearing completely focused and inward.

When introducing himself, he merely raised his head and said coldly, "Mugai-ryu, Saitō Hajime," before closing his mouth, saying nothing more, and lowering his head again to bury the lower half of his face back into his scarf...

Hmm... seems like a quiet, aloof young man—Aoto silently formed this assessment of Saitō in his mind.

"Arima-sama," Aoto said after carefully examining Saitō, turning his gaze back to Arima. "What's this about a bodyguard?"Arima, who never liked to waste words, began explaining concisely to Aoto since he had asked.

After briefly covering how he decided to pool funds with Butagaya and Ushiyama to hire a bodyguard for Aoto to protect him from the "radical Expel the Barbarians faction," Arima began introducing Saitō.

"Saitō and I... are old acquaintances."

"He's two years younger than you, born in Tenpō 15 (1844), exactly 16 years old this year."

"Among all the bodyguards I could find, Saitō is the most reliable and trustworthy one."

"Though young, his skills are exceptionally strong. He's a rare left-handed swordsman and a recipient of Mugai-ryu's menkyo kaiden."

Menkyo kaiden...?

Aoto cast a surprised look at Saitō, who was still completely focused and inward.

During the Edo Period, there was no specific pattern for evaluating disciples' levels; each school used different methods and ranking titles.

But regardless of the school, the highest-level skill rating was the same—all were "menkyo kaiden."

Only by completely mastering all techniques of the school and receiving the master's approval could one obtain the "menkyo kaiden" rating.

Achieving "menkyo kaiden" meant this person had fully graduated as a disciple and could be considered a swordsman capable of standing on their own.

As for Mugai-ryu... this school could be considered one of the most famous in the swordsmanship world.

Renowned for its extremely high practicality.

No flashy, showy techniques, pursuing the fastest way to cut down enemies—this was Mugai-ryu.

That this quiet boy two years younger than him was actually a recipient of Mugai-ryu's menkyo kaiden... this genuinely surprised Aoto somewhat.

"And besides his strong skills, Saitō's character is also quite reliable."

A slight smile appeared at the corner of Arima's mouth.

"Once you hire him, until the employment period ends, you don't need to worry about him betraying you or taking money without working. You can confidently entrust your back to him."

"......" Aoto raised his gaze to look at Saitō, then at Arima.

"Arima-sama, could you please accompany me outside for a moment?"

"Hmm?" Arima nodded.

After Aoto and Arima left the main room one after another, reaching a place where Saitō definitely couldn't hear them, Aoto immediately asked Arima quickly:

"Arima-sama, how come you didn't even give me a heads-up before finding me a bodyguard?"

"Because I thought: if I told you in advance that Butagaya, Ushiyama, and I planned to pool funds to hire a bodyguard for you, you might repeatedly decline and not readily agree," Arima said calmly.

Ah, actually not... I would politely decline out of courtesy, then readily agree. Aoto thought to himself.

While being targeted by unreasonable "terrorists" threatening his life, having another reliable bodyguard—one he didn't even have to pay for himself—to protect him closely was something Aoto would naturally welcome.

Aoto always believed that so-called "interpersonal relationships" were about "constantly owing and repaying favors between each other."

Therefore, Aoto never avoided seeking help from others and could very openly accept others' kindness and favors.

This personality and approach were among the important reasons why Aoto, before his transmigration, had sailed smoothly through both school and life outside campus.

Whenever his grades weren't ideal in some area or he encountered troubles somewhere, he could humbly seek advice from others and openly ask for their help.

After receiving help from others, he would silently remember this favor, waiting for an opportunity to repay it later.

"Tachibana-kun, no need to feel embarrassed or awkward," said Arima, who didn't know Aoto was no longer his former self, speaking earnestly. "Although Butagaya, the others, and I seem to have said similar things many times already, let me say it once more."

"We are your elders, and helping juniors like you is only natural."

"Anyway, the price for hiring Saitō isn't very expensive."

"Feel at ease accepting this bodyguard we found for you."

"Not very expensive?" Aoto raised his hand to scratch the hair at his temple. "Arima-sama, if I may ask, what is Saitō Hajime's hiring fee?"

"Three ryō of gold per month," Arima didn't hide it, directly telling Aoto Saitō's price.

"Arima-sama, you call three ryō of gold per month 'not expensive'?"

"As I just said, Saitō is hired by me, Butagaya, and Ushiyama pooling funds together for you. Split between us, each only needs to pay one ryō of gold per month. This price is more than affordable for us."

When the topic turned to "money," Arima paused as if remembering something.

"Ah, right, almost forgot. Here, Tachibana-kun, this is for you."

Arima took out a small cloth pouch from his breast pocket and handed it to Aoto.

Aoto reached out with both hands, looking puzzled.

Crackle...

The small cloth pouch landed on Aoto's palms, making faint metallic clinking sounds.

"Hmm...?" Aoto's eyebrows twitched vigorously as he hurriedly opened this pouch.

The pouch contained nothing else.

Only a large handful of money.

Gold, silver, and copper coins mixed together, making Aoto's eyes spin just looking at them.

"Arima-sama, what is this?"

"There's a total of 23 ryō of gold, 58 monme of silver, 4 kan and 412 copper coins here," Arima said. "Saitō is responsible for your close protection, so until the employment period ends, he will eat, live, and travel with you."

"Saitō's commission doesn't include the daily expenses incurred while protecting you."

"That is to say, besides paying his monthly three ryō gold commission, you also need to cover his food, drink, lodging, and transportation."

"Hiring a bodyguard for you but not preparing the money to 'maintain' such a bodyguard would be quite unreasonable."

"This money was pooled together by me, Butagaya, and Ushiyama for you to 'maintain' Saitō."

"Feel at ease accepting it."

"With this amount of money, it should be enough to 'maintain' Saitō for a while."

As soon as Arima finished speaking, he noticed Aoto's expression change slightly.

Aoto lowered his gaze, looking back at the large handful of money in his hands.

—Money to 'maintain' Saitō, huh... Ha, what a lame excuse...

Aoto laughed helplessly in his heart.

Arima said this money was for him to 'maintain' Saitō—Aoto would have to have his head squeezed to believe such words!

This large amount of money could easily support not just one adult male but two adult males for half a year if used frugally.

As elders closely connected to Aoto, Arima and the other two naturally couldn't be unaware of the Tachibana family's current financial situation while burdened with massive gambling debts.

Why Arima, Butagaya, and Ushiyama were pooling such a large sum of money for him at this time... the reason wasn't hard to guess.

Aoto didn't point out Arima's lame excuse.

After staring intently at the bag of money in his hands for a while, Aoto gripped it tightly—

"...Arima-sama. Thank you."

Aoto raised his gaze full of gratitude toward Arima.

"This bag of money, and that Saitō Hajime... I'll accept them!"

Seeing Aoto readily accept their elders' kindness, a faint, relieved smile appeared at the corner of Arima's mouth.

......

......

Since it was almost dinner time, Aoto wanted to invite Arima to eat at their home, but Arima said he had some official business to attend to and needed to hurry home, thus politely declining Aoto's dinner invitation.

Seeing Arima preparing to leave, Saitō, who had been waiting in the main room, now came to the doorway to see Arima off together with Aoto.

"Saitō. I leave Tachibana-kun in your care."

The serious Saitō didn't verbally respond to Arima's words.

He only nodded slightly.

Swish...

Aoto watched as Arima slid open the door, seeing Arima's figure disappear from his view. Then he turned his head to look at Saitō standing beside him, shoulder to shoulder.

Looking at this new family member who from today would eat, live, and stay with him and Kyūbei, Aoto scratched the hair at the back of his head, cleared his throat, turned to face Saitō, and said seriously:

"You've probably heard about me and my name from Arima-sama, right?"

"Although you definitely already know who I am, I'll still make a formal introduction."

"My name is Tachibana Aoto. From today onward, I'll be in your care."

After speaking, Aoto bowed slightly to Saitō.

"...Please take care of me," Saitō turned to face Aoto, half-closing his eyes as he returned Aoto's bow.

After formally introducing himself to his aloof bodyguard, Aoto straightened up and looked toward the kitchen from which faint food aromas were now drifting.

"There's still some time before dinner is ready..."

"Saitō, while waiting for dinner to be prepared, could you accompany me to do something?"

"...Please speak."

"I've been practicing a new rope capture technique recently," Aoto walked slowly toward a storage cabinet in the main room, pulling out a hemp rope from inside. "I've been worrying about not finding a suitable practice partner lately. Could you be my training partner?"

After speaking, Aoto used both hands to tightly pull the hemp rope in his hands, making a crisp "snap" sound.

*******

*******

New book setting sail!

Please vote for monthly tickets! Please vote for recommendations! Please add to collections!