I Formed the Strongest Swordsman Group

Chapter 73: On the Eve of the Storm, War Is About to Break Out! (2)

"Miss Angoulême?" Aoto turned toward the owner of this youthful female voice and halted the sword he'd been swinging.

Because the accumulated snow on the ground was quite thick, Elodie held up the hem of her long dress with both hands to avoid dirtying it, hopping and skipping toward Aoto.

Her golden hair, braided into three strands that fell from her right shoulder to her chest, bounced along with Elodie's skipping motions.

Since leaving Fujisawa-shuku yesterday, Elodie had stopped wearing that blue and white kimono, switching instead to a white full-length dress.

Aoto had no expertise in fashion and couldn't identify the formal name of this Western-style dress, but the long gown was quite beautiful and complemented Elodie's blonde hair and blue eyes perfectly.

Her maid, LeRoy, had also abandoned her pale yellow kimono, changing into a dark yellow maid's uniform with hands clasped before her as she followed closely behind Elodie.

Seeing Elodie approach, Aoto sheathed his gleaming sword while smiling at her:

"Good evening, Miss Angoulême."

"Good evening, Mr. Tachibana!" Elodie blinked her sapphire-like eyes, greeting Aoto with a beaming smile.

If Aoto had to describe this twelve-year-old girl in one phrase... she was somewhat of a "tomboy."Put more plainly, Elodie's personality was a bit too lively.

Elodie's character was almost completely opposite to Kinoshita Mai's.

Kinoshita Mai was shy around strangers, becoming so flustered she couldn't form clear, complete sentences when meeting unfamiliar people.

Elodie was the exact opposite.

Her personality was extremely cheerful, completely unafraid of strangers. Despite being both a wealthy family's daughter and a French citizen with considerable privileges in this country, she carried no airs whatsoever.

It was hard to imagine how Kinoshita Mai and Elodie—two people with completely opposite personalities—had become close friends...

Even though she'd only just met Aoto, Elodie interacted with him without any hesitation or formality, as if they'd known each other for years.

Since Aoto joined their "convoy" yesterday, Elodie had enthusiastically greeted him every time she saw him.

At first, Aoto wondered if her enthusiasm stemmed from his rescue of her.

But after two days of careful observation, Aoto realized Elodie's bright, familiar personality wasn't directed solely at him—she treated everyone this way.

Whether facing Kiryu, the shop owner, or the guards led by Komuro, Elodie was equally natural and gracious without any condescending or dismissive attitudes.

Thus, Komuro and the others quite liked this cheerful young girl.

This was probably what they meant by different lands breed different people.

In this still-feudal Edo Period that oppressed women in many ways and encouraged them to be quiet and obedient to men, a woman like Elodie was truly as rare as phoenix feathers.

Aoto rather appreciated Elodie's "tomboy" personality.

After all, he wasn't very skilled at interacting with the opposite sex.

Compared to women whose expressions and moods were hard to decipher, straightforward girls like Elodie with their "tomboy" personalities made Aoto feel more comfortable.

Beyond her straightforward nature, Aoto also noticed this girl seemed quite carefree.

Despite having just experienced the terrifying incident of "being attacked by rōnin" at Fujisawa-shuku the day before yesterday, since yesterday she'd been laughing and playing happily as if nothing had happened...

By the way—Anthony seemed to dote on his granddaughter quite excessively.

Although she'd sneaked out of the inn at Fujisawa-shuku and nearly caused major trouble, Anthony apparently hadn't given Elodie any substantive punishment.

No physical discipline, no confinement.

These past two days, whenever the convoy stopped to rest, Elodie could freely run and play happily within thirty meters of the convoy.

As for whether Anthony gave Elodie verbal criticism, Aoto didn't know.

But Aoto guessed—even if he did scold her verbally, the reprimand couldn't have been too severe.

After all, if the words had been particularly harsh, reducing Elodie to tears, she likely wouldn't have been so joyful and lively these past two days.

After enthusiastically greeting Aoto, Elodie glanced toward his right leg.

"Mr. Tachibana, is it really okay for you to practice swordplay while your leg injury hasn't fully healed?" Elodie asked with concern.

"It's fine." Aoto lifted his right leg slightly. "My right leg only suffered some superficial wounds."

"As long as I don't exercise too vigorously and avoid reopening the wound."

The medicine Kiryu applied to his wound was truly effective.

Although putting weight on his right foot still caused some pain from stretching the muscles around the wound, the discomfort had diminished significantly compared to the day before yesterday and yesterday.

"Hmm? That reminds me... Miss Angoulême, why don't I see Miss Kinoshita?" Aoto raised his head, looking around while unable to resist asking Elodie this question.

After casually dismissing the topic of his leg injury, Aoto realized—he couldn't see Kinoshita Mai anywhere in his field of vision.

This surprised him...

Because these past two days, the two young girls Kinoshita Mai and Elodie had been like "conjoined twins," inseparable... Wherever Kinoshita Mai was, Elodie was sure to be there, and wherever you could see Elodie, you'd definitely find Kinoshita Mai...

Not seeing Kinoshita Mai beside Elodie now made Aoto unable to resist asking about her whereabouts...

"Miss Mai? Miss Mai is currently at the other end of the camp looking for a suitable place to build a snowman!" Elodie said excitedly.

"...Snowman?" Aoto tilted his head.

"Today's snow is perfect for building snowmen!" Elodie bent down, grabbed a handful of snow, then threw it forcefully above her head, creating a "celestial maiden scattering flowers" effect. "It's wet and sticky—perfect for snowmen!"

"Miss Mai and I made a promise to have a snowman-building competition tonight!"

"We're currently searching separately for suitable snowman-building locations."

"Miss Mai is looking at the other end of the camp, while I'm searching in this direction!"

After saying this, Elodie added:

"Tonight, I'm going to build a giant grandfather!"

Elodie spread her arms wide and swung them forcefully, tracing a huge circle in front of her—she was probably trying to mimic Anthony's large belly.

Her sapphire eyes sparkled with beautiful light.

This was the kind of radiance only children with still-pure hearts could possess.

Seeing this glow in Elodie's eyes, Aoto unconsciously revealed a faint smile.

"Miss Angoulême, if you're looking for a suitable snowman-building spot..." Aoto raised his head to look around. "There doesn't seem to be any suitable places around here. The snow is either too sparse or too dirty... Hmm?"

Aoto's gaze, which had been scanning the surroundings, suddenly froze.

Staring intently... toward the east side of the camp.

"Hmm? Mr. Tachibana, what's wrong?" Elodie followed Aoto's line of sight, looking toward the eastern part of the camp along with him.

"...It's nothing." Aoto's eyelids lowered slightly, his eyes narrowing. "I just thought... I saw figures moving in the eastern part of the camp..."

"Figures?" Elodie blinked in surprise, then stood on her tiptoes, straining to look toward the camp's eastern side before blinking several times in confusion. "...I don't see anything."

Suddenly, Aoto felt a chill on the back of his neck.

Reaching up to touch the spot—his fingertips contacted a small patch of melted snowwater.

"It's snowing...?" Aoto raised his head to look at the sky.

Flurries of fine snow drifted and danced down from thick clouds.

Dotting the dark black clouds.

The willow-catkin-like swirling snowflakes brought waves of coolness.

...

At this very moment—

North side of the camp—

Whoosh...!

A cold wind suddenly gusted.

Sweeping up snowflakes falling from the clouds.

Sweeping up... the hem of Suehiro's haori.

Standing straight on a high slope, Suehiro gazed with an extremely serious expression toward... the distant camp of Aoto and the others, illuminated by scattered torches as bright as daylight...

His right hand firmly planted his beloved spear, Wind Cutter, into the ground.

His left hand held a matchlock rifle with its fuse already lit...

The cold wind... blew with increasingly fierce intensity, howling...

******

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