I Formed the Strongest Swordsman Group-Chapter 20: Every Flower and Entertainment District in Edo Had Their Active Figures!

The next day—
Ansei 7 (1860), January 14th, early morning—
Edo, Hatchobori, Aoto’s residence—
“Kyuubei, I’m heading out.”
“Young master, be careful on the road. Here, your lunchbox.”
Wearing a wine-red haori for warmth and a black scarf, with two swords hung at his left waist, Aoto accepted the lunchbox wrapped in thick cloth from Kyuubei.
In this era of Japan, of course, there were no employee cafeterias, so almost all officials brought their own lunchboxes.
After leaving the house, Aoto took a deep breath of the cold morning air unique to dawn, then did a simple stretch of his limbs before setting off at a perfectly standard jogging pace down the path in front of his house.
Yesterday, after deeply realizing at Shieikan how urgently he needed to improve his physical condition, Aoto spent last night drafting a series of fitness plans for himself.
No matter where he went, he would try to jog as much as possible—that was one of the fitness plans Aoto set for himself last night.
—Wearing swords at the waist sure does get in the way when running...
Aoto looked at the katana and wakizashi hanging from his waist with helpless eyes.
These two swords were fine blades forged by Aoto’s great-grandfather at a cost of 100 ryō, considered treasured heirloom swords of the Tachibana family.
After Aoto’s father passed away, these two swords naturally passed into Aoto’s hands.
And these two swords truly lived up to their price; their toughness and sharpness were first-rate.
With swords at his waist, the longer katana kept hitting his left calf while running, so Aoto simply took off the katana and slung it over his shoulder.
Following his memory, he arrived at the famous bridge in Edo: beside the Gofukubashi Bridge stood the Kita Bansho, and from there, Aoto headed straight for the office of his direct superior, Arima, preparing to in.
Every morning, the first thing after entering the Bansho was to to one’s superior—this was one of the magistrate office’s rules.
Halfway there, Aoto suddenly heard two familiar voices behind him:
“Tachibana-kun! Good morning!”
“Tachibana, good morning.”
Aoto: “Mr. Ushiyama, Mr. Inotani, good morning to you both.”
These two young men walking behind Tachibana, greeting him, quickened their pace to walk alongside him.
Inotani Hanjirou and Ushiyama Masatsugu—those were their names.
They were Aoto’s true colleagues—like Aoto, both were dōshin directly under Arima’s command.
The Teimachi squad, responsible for maintaining public order, had under it two yoriki and six dōshin. Each yoriki was responsible for managing three dōshin.
The three dōshin under Arima’s jurisdiction were Aoto, Ushiyama, and Inotani.
These two had also participated in last night’s raid on the Righteous Crowd—the two who sat on Aoto’s left and right inside the magistrate’s office waiting for the operation to begin were Ushiyama and Inotani.
Although Inotani’s surname had a somewhat playful ring to it, his handsome face did not match the image of a “pig” at all.
Ushiyama’s appearance, on the other hand, fit his name perfectly—he had a face like a cow: honest and simple.
“Tachibana-kun, it’s rare to have an extra day off yesterday. Did you go anywhere?” Inotani brought his handsome face close to Aoto.
“I went to apprentice under a sword master yesterday.” Still a little sleepy from just waking up, Aoto let out a big yawn.
“Apprenticing under a sword master?” Inotani’s eyes widened. “Tachibana-kun, weren’t you always uninterested in swordsmanship? What made you suddenly change? Which sword school did you apprentice at?”
“Shieikan of the Tennen Rishin-ryū style.”
“...Never heard of either the style or the sword school.”
“It’s normal you haven’t heard of it, Mr. Inotani. It’s a rather niche style. As for why I suddenly wanted to learn swordsmanship, I’ll explain it to you when there’s time later. How about you guys? Did you and Mr. Ushiyama spend your day off anywhere interesting yesterday?”
“Heh heh!” Inotani showed a proud expression, giving a thumbs-up to himself as he loudly declared, “The two of us spent the whole day in the pleasure districts yesterday!”
“Ah, I knew it...” Aoto chuckled quietly.
“Can’t help it.” Ushiyama, who had been silent until now, spoke up, “That’s about the only hobby Inotani and I have.”
“If I’m not mistaken—Lord Arima just recently lectured you two to be more restrained...” Aoto showed a helpless expression, “If you get scolded by Lord Arima again, I won’t be speaking up for you anymore.”
Inotani and Ushiyama... From one perspective, these two colleagues of his were something of celebrities—their names known in certain circles of Edo.
Whenever they had free time, the two of them would head to the flower and entertainment districts!
They were both much older than the eighteen-year-old Aoto, almost a whole generation older.
Both just turned thirty-two this year, and yet they had already achieved the feat of “having active presences in every flower district in Edo”!
If it were just about frequenting those places, that wouldn’t make them famous, since Edo had a population of over one million. With such a large population base, there were naturally plenty of people who practically lived in the pleasure districts twenty-four hours a day.
What truly made these two famous was that they both possessed exceptional skills.
And their skills... were truly impressive beyond measure!
Inotani not only had a good-looking face but also long, beautiful fingers.
Despite having ten such lovely, slender fingers, he possessed explosive strength and agility that completely contradicted his delicate appearance.
Just with his hands alone, Inotani made countless women fall hopelessly for him.
If Inotani’s skills could be called “physical-type,” then Ushiyama’s would be “magic-type.”
Though Ushiyama had a cow-like honest face and was usually taciturn, in truth, he was quite eloquent.
He could effortlessly spout all the sweet words women liked to hear. With just a few phrases, he could charm a woman he just met into a state of bliss, making countless women boldly declare: “No charge tonight! Feel free to come, sir!”
Possessing these two major skillsets, the duo were nicknamed in their circle—the “Golden Mouth” and the “Silver Fingers.”
Because they shared the same hobby, the two often went to the flower districts together. During holidays, their figures could always be seen there.
People in that circle of Edo called these two inseparable men the “Gold and Silver Brothers.”
Previously, they even invited the original Tachibana Aoto, turning the “Dazzling Duo” into the “Three Musketeers of the Flower District.”
But since the original Tachibana Aoto was a very honest, sincere person and always politely declined invitations to such places, Inotani and Ushiyama’s invitations were all politely turned down.
The three chatted casually as they made their way to Arima’s office.
After a moment, they stood before the door of their direct superior—the Teimachi squad yoriki, Arima Hidenori’s office.
“Lord Arima!” Inotani called out loudly at the door, “Inotani Hanjirou, Ushiyama Masatsugu, Tachibana Aoto ing!”
“Come in.” Arima’s voice came from behind the door.
“Excuse us!” Inotani opened the door and entered first.
The three entered in single file and lined up before Arima.
Aoto: “Good morning, Lord Arima.”
All three saluted and greeted Arima.
Arima’s office... was so clean and tidy it was hard to believe a human actually worked in the room.
The floor, walls, and ceiling were all spotless.
Books and files were all neatly categorized and arranged.
Arima was currently kneeling behind his desk, correcting files. His back was so straight it formed a perfect 90-degree angle with the tatami beneath him.
After learning what Inotani and Ushiyama usually did on their days off, you might think these two were quite colorful characters.
But in terms of personality, compared to Arima, they were just small players.
Arima was a... to put it nicely, a person with strong character; to put it bluntly, someone with a few screws loose.
Perhaps it was a matter of upbringing—Arima’s worldview was this: Since one is a samurai, they must set a good example for commoners, never act in ways unbefitting a samurai’s image; one must walk upright! Sit properly! Dress and live with perfect cleanliness and order!
So Arima’s back was always perfectly straight, whether sitting or standing, forming a 90-degree angle with the ground.
His office and clothing were always spotless and tidy.
Aoto had never been to Arima’s home but was curious to see what it looked like.
A perfectly straight back, spotless clothes, and a spotless workspace—that was somewhat understandable.
But some of Arima’s other behaviors were truly baffling.
For example: Arima would never turn a corner at any angle other than exactly 90 degrees.
When turning a street corner, he would first walk straight to the exact center of the intersection, then make a perfect 90-degree turn toward his destination before walking straight ahead.
Also: Arima’s eyes never stray.
Whether sitting, standing, or walking, his eyes always looked straight ahead without tilting.
If his gaze did tilt accidentally, he would display an expression of extreme panic, like a monk who had accidentally broken his vows, even breaking out in cold sweat.
If he wanted to look at something to the side, he would turn his neck instead of his eyeballs or gaze.
Do you know owls?
Owls’ eyeballs cannot move.
Arima’s eyes were very large, and he happened to be someone who blinked very infrequently.
So—when Arima stared at you, he would give you the strange feeling of being stared at by an owl!
Also: When eating, Arima would bring food to his mouth at a perfect 90-degree angle.
The specific action: picking up food with chopsticks, raising it straight in front of his face, then bringing it directly to his mouth.
The trajectory of the food from Arima’s face to his mouth formed a perfect right angle.
When drinking water, he did the same—bringing the cup to his lips at a 90-degree angle.
So, among a group of people eating together, Arima was always the most striking one!
If you ate with Arima, you would see a guy eating and drinking soup always doing so with a bizarre angle...
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Today’s update is nearly 8,000 characters... truly diligent.
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