I Formed the Strongest Swordsman Group-Chapter 44: Kondo Shusuke and Kondo Fude

Koishikawa Hinode Yanagicho, Shieikan, Dojo—
Today's Shieikan was unusually quiet.
Not a single apprentice had come to practice Tennen Rishin-ryu even at this hour.
Kondo Isami sat alone at the edge of the dojo, cross-legged, using a cloth to wipe and clean the bamboo swords within the school.
After polishing another bamboo sword until it shone like new, he set down the cloth and gripped the sword in both hands, raising it high.
His eyes fixed intently on the blade, his expression thoughtful.
After a long moment, a deep sigh escaped Kondo's lips:
"...Sigh..."
"Hmm? Isami, why are you sighing like that? Heh heh heh, to come home and hear you sighing like this—that's no good. As a true man, you shouldn't be moaning and groaning."
Suddenly, just as Kondo's sigh faded, an elderly voice unexpectedly spoke up from behind him.
Hearing this voice, Kondo's eyes widened slightly in surprise before he quickly turned around and stood up.
"Father! Mother! You've returned?"
Standing at the dojo entrance behind him were an old man and an old woman.
The old man stood at a height quite common for men of this era—no more than 155 centimeters at most.
Already not particularly tall, his slightly hunched posture made him appear even shorter.
His skin bore the marks of time, with wrinkles so thick and dense they looked capable of trapping mosquitoes.
His hair, not shaved in the traditional chonmage style, was frosted white, while his chin was smooth and clean-shaven.
His small, narrow eyes were so tiny it was difficult to see his pupils, making it hard to tell whether his eyes were open or closed.
For Kondo Isami, the young master of Shieikan, to address this old man as "Father," his identity was obvious—he was none other than the third-generation headmaster of Tennen Rishin-ryu and current master of Shieikan: Kondo Shusuke!
As for the old woman standing behind Shusuke, she was naturally Kondo Isami's mother: Kondo Fude.
Fude appeared somewhat younger than Shusuke, around sixty years old.
Her overall appearance... could only be described as "ordinary."
But her height was quite remarkable.
For a woman of this era, she stood at a full 165 centimeters—a full 10 centimeters taller than her husband.
The only notable feature on her face... was probably her phoenix eyes.
The reason her eyes drew attention wasn't because they were particularly beautiful, but because her gaze was extremely sharp.
Her expression showed neither joy nor sorrow, and combined with her tightly pressed lips, she carried an air of natural authority that commanded respect without anger.
Kondo warmly greeted them while quickly approaching his parents.
In response to Kondo's greeting, Shusuke replied with a warm, beaming smile.
But Fude remained silent, only giving Kondo a distant, slight nod.
"Father, Mother, the journey must have been exhausting after all that travel? Here, let me take your luggage."
"Yes, it was indeed quite exhausting." Shusuke smiled wryly and rubbed his lower back. "Being away for so many days... really took its toll on these old bones of mine..."
"...What?" A low female voice that brought to mind ice cubes made Shusuke's body tremble slightly. "Are you saying I've wronged you by making you accompany me back to my family home?"
"No, no!" Shusuke quickly waved his hands at Fude behind him with an appeasing smile. "How could I possibly feel wronged? I was just complaining about these old bones not being what they used to be."
"Hmph." Fude let out a cold snort through her nose.
"Ah... oh, right, where's Soji? Why don't I see Soji?" Shusuke awkwardly changed the subject.
"Soji went to buy ingredients for today's lunch and dinner. He should be back soon."
"While your mother and I were away, nothing happened at Shieikan, right?"
"Nothing at all. The only thing is that Toshi got into a fight in Tama and was injured, so he won't be able to return to Shieikan for a while."
"Hijikata got injured in a fight? It's not serious, is it?"
"Just minor injuries. I went back to Tama to check on him the day before yesterday—the wounds aren't serious. He'll recover completely with some rest."
"If nothing happened, then why were you sighing so worriedly just now? Did something bother you?"
Shusuke chuckled and patted his chest.
"If you've encountered any troubles, you can always talk to your father about them."
"I haven't encountered any troubles." Kondo smiled helplessly.
Kondo raised his gaze and looked around the empty dojo.
"It's almost already choji (10 AM), and still no apprentices have come to practice swordsmanship..."
"As the acting instructor, I'm full of enthusiasm with nowhere to direct it, with nothing to do... so I'm just feeling a bit down, that's all..."
"If the dojo's emptiness is making you feel down, then you should hurry up and find ways to make Shieikan lively again."
At this moment, Kondo's mother slightly raised her head, looking at him through her nostrils as she coldly interrupted him.
"You are the Kondo family heir, the future fourth-generation headmaster of Tennen Rishin-ryu and master of Shieikan, aren't you?"
"Making this sword school prosperous is the responsibility of you, the young master."
"What's the use of sighing here? Instead of wasting time, you should be thinking about how to recruit more apprentices and how to make this dojo thrive."
"We adopted you into our Kondo family, not to have you here sighing."
"Wife, saying it like that is too..." Shusuke reached out toward Fude with a hesitant expression.
"What?" Fude shot Shusuke a fierce glare. "Am I wrong?"
"Never mind..." Shusuke silently withdrew his outstretched hand...
Faced with his mother's scolding, Kondo didn't respond or argue back, only bowing his head with a bitter expression as he quietly accepted Fude's reprimand.
But just then, upon hearing Fude's words about "thinking about how to recruit more apprentices," Kondo seemed to remember something, his eyebrows suddenly jumping:
"Ah, that's right!"
Kondo's tone turned excited.
"Father! The day before yesterday, we recruited an extremely remarkable newcomer!"
"Extremely remarkable?" Shusuke raised his eyebrows. "What? Is he very talented?"
"That person isn't just 'very talented.'" Kondo smiled even more happily. "From what I can tell, his swordsmanship talent should be no less than Soji's!"
Shusuke's narrow eyes opened slightly at this.
Two beams of surprised light emerged from the slits of his opened eyes.
Even Fude, who had been maintaining a sour expression, now had a change in her demeanor.
"...Isami, tell me in detail about this newcomer you mentioned."
...
...
Kita Bansho, Arima's Office—
"Arima-sama. I've already contacted that Saitō Hajime for you. He said he's available tonight."
"Mm, good." Arima nodded to Butagaya. "Please inform him: come to my home tonight, and I'll personally explain the job details to him."
"Yes."
After respectfully acknowledging the order, Butagaya smiled wryly and scratched his head.
"This Saitō Hajime is really the most expensive bodyguard I've ever seen... 3 ryo of gold per month, that's 36 ryo a year... We're really spending a fortune to protect Tachibana-kun..."
"Expensive though he may be," Arima smiled slightly, "Saitō Hajime is indeed worth the price."
"After all, he holds a menkyo kaiden in Mugai-ryu."
"Gaining him is like gaining the strength of ten men."
"I'll have a good talk with him tonight about the specifics of this new job."
"I'll strive to have him move into Tachibana-kun's home by tomorrow night to provide close protection."