The Shieikan that Kiryu had just recommended stirred a strong interest in Aoto.

But the last sentence from Kiryu, “I have quite a close relationship with Shieikan,” still caused Aoto to feel a bit uneasy.

He worried that Kiryu might be exaggerating the merits of Shieikan to favor a sword school he was familiar with, hoping to lure him into joining.

Such backing of a friend’s business was not uncommon.

Therefore—just to be safe—he decided to first verify whether Shieikan was truly as good as Kiryu had described.

How to verify the truth of Kiryu’s introduction about Shieikan?

Aoto happened to have a perfect way to check.

He just so happened to have a close friend from his past life, the original Tachibana Aoto, who was studying at Kobushis Chiba.

…

…

Aoto sprinted through the streets, and many commoners hurriedly stepped aside to clear a path.

In Edo period Japan, it was very common for commoners to make way for samurai.

In the Edo period, aside from the special class of nobles and courtiers, society was generally divided into two groups—the ruling class samurai and the ruled commoners.

As the ruling class with social status far above the commoners, samurai enjoyed many brazen privileges.

One major brazen privilege samurai had was called “mu-rei-tataki,” or “no-penalty killing.”

This meant that when a samurai with the right to bear swords felt insulted by a commoner, he could draw his sword and kill that commoner without bearing any criminal responsibility.

Because of this, many commoners lived in fear of samurai and would automatically give way on the street to avoid trouble.

In the eyes of many commoners, a samurai running down the street was like a ticking bomb.

If one accidentally bumped into a samurai, bent or dirtied his sword, the samurai would roar, “You insolent person! You have defiled my soul!” then draw his sword and kill the commoner who bumped into him. After killing, the samurai faced no consequences and might even be praised, “Good show, that’s the spirit of a samurai! A samurai should be that dashing!”—such incidents were frequent in Edo.

The ruling class in the feudal era could act so unreasonably.

…

…

Aoto ran straight into a samurai residential district, then deftly turned onto a small path and finally stopped in front of a modest-looking small house.

“Sannan! Sannan! Sannan Keisuke! Are you there?”

“I’m coming, I’m coming.”

Right after Aoto’s call, a calm male voice responded from behind the door.

After a moment, the slightly worn door slowly opened.

The one opening it was a young samurai.

He had fairly fair skin, slightly narrow eyes, and two distinctive beauty marks at the corner of his right eye. These two marks stood out especially against his fair complexion.

He was a bit shorter than Aoto, about 165 cm tall, with a slender build. If one had to choose a single word to describe this young samurai, “refined” would be the most fitting.

Not overly handsome, but definitely a face that many girls would like.

Besides his decent looks, the young samurai had one particularly outstanding feature—his temperament was especially good, with a calm and scholarly aura.

A faint smile always lingered on his face, and his brows and eyes carried a scholarly air. Every gesture and movement exuded a gentle and elegant charm.

This person must be a highly learned scholar—many would think so upon first meeting this young samurai.

“Aoto, what’s up? Why are you looking for me so early in the morning?” The young samurai stepped aside at the door, making way. “Anyway, come in quickly first.”

“Sannan, I came to ask you something, then I’ll leave soon. I won’t stay long.”

This young samurai, whom Aoto called “Sannan,” was named Sannan Keisuke. He was a friend that the original Tachibana Aoto had met about a year ago through various coincidences.

Although they had known each other for only a short time, the two got along extraordinarily well. Within just one year, they had become extremely close friends.

“You have something to ask me?” Sannan’s face showed a hint of puzzlement. “Go ahead.”

“Sannan, you’re currently studying at Kobushis Chiba, right?”

“Yes.”

“Then I want to ask: Kobushis Chiba and Genbukan often hold sword exchanges with a Shieikan that teaches Tennen Rishin-ryu, right?”

Aoto’s friend, who was learning Hokushin Itto-ryu at Kobushis Chiba, was this very Sannan Keisuke.

“Shieikan?” Sannan’s slender eyebrows lifted slightly. “Why do you ask about this?”

Explaining it one by one would take too long, so Aoto vaguely replied half-truths and half-lies once again:

“Times are getting more chaotic lately. As an officer responsible for catching thieves, my work has become increasingly tough. So I’m planning to seriously study swordsmanship, just in case I get cut down by some villain one day.”

“I recently heard that Shieikan is a pretty good choice. Not only do they teach practical swordsmanship, but the school has good relations with Genbukan, which teaches Hokushin Itto-ryu, and with Kobushis Chiba. The three schools often gather to exchange swordsmanship.”

“So I thought I’d come to you to confirm whether these things are true.”

“Oh, I see.” Sannan nodded with grace, then a gentle smile appeared on his lips. “All of that is true.”

“Genbukan and Kobushis Chiba, where I’m currently studying, do often hold sword exchanges with Shieikan.”

“About six days ago, some people from Shieikan just came to Kobushis Chiba. We had an exhilarating sword sparring session with Shieikan apprentices.”

“Thanks to that, I was lucky enough to witness the impressive skills of several Shieikan disciples.”

“The person who introduced you to Shieikan was not lying.”

“From what I’ve seen, Tennen Rishin-ryu is indeed a style with real skill, not just flashy moves. Its sword style is fierce and bloodthirsty.”

“In terms of practicality, I personally think Tennen Rishin-ryu is no worse than Hokushin Itto-ryu.”

“Also, Shieikan’s teaching level is quite good. Many apprentices there have impressive strength.”

“Especially a boy named Okita Souji, who is young but has power and talent that even his master praises highly.”

“Aoto, if your goal is to learn swordsmanship to better subdue petty thieves, then Shieikan is indeed a good place to go.”

Aoto knew Sannan’s personality well.

He was honest and upright, so he would never lie to Aoto, nor would he have any reason to do so.

Sannan’s status as a swordsmanship expert made his praise of Tennen Rishin-ryu especially credible.

As far as Aoto knew—Sannan was quite skilled in swordsmanship.

Exactly how strong he was, Aoto could not say, since he was not good at swordsmanship himself, but he knew Sannan had a certain reputation due to his strength in Kobushis Chiba, a school full of experts.

Even a skilled swordsman and trustworthy person like Sannan praised the practicality of Tennen Rishin-ryu, which erased the last doubts Aoto had about Tennen Rishin-ryu and Shieikan.

“Aoto, I never thought that someone like you, who had no interest in swordsmanship, would one day want to learn it at a sword school.” Sannan said this with a joking tone, then became serious, “Choosing a sword school is not something to take lightly.”

“I also know some other schools with quite good levels.”

“If you’re interested, I can introduce all these sword schools to you.”

“You know quite a few good sword schools? Among those you know, is there any school where apprentices have the chance to spar and compete with many others? Like Shieikan, which can compete with apprentices from Genbukan and Kobushis Chiba?” Aoto asked.

“Hm? Seems like… no. Among the good schools I know, the largest has only about a hundred apprentices. Unless the schools have very good relationships, they rarely have frequent exchanges.”

“Then forget it.” Aoto raised his eyebrows and smiled at Sannan. “I’ve made up my mind—I’m going to Shieikan.”

“You’ve decided?” Sannan exclaimed lowly. “Are you sure? Isn’t this too hasty? Don’t you want to choose more carefully?”

“No need. In all of Edo, there’s probably no school more suitable for me than Shieikan. I’m going to join as an apprentice now.”

After saying this, Aoto raised both hands and firmly patted Sannan’s shoulders:

“Sannan, thank you! You’ve been a big help. I’ll treat you to a drink when I have time!”

Aoto bid farewell to Sannan, then hurriedly left from the front of his door.

Watching Aoto appear unexpectedly and then leave in such a rush, Sannan smiled helplessly, “He actually said he’ll treat me to a drink—rare indeed…”

…

…

While dashing through the street, Aoto took out the paper Kiryu had given him earlier with Shieikan’s address, following the directions written on it as he hurried along.

Since his doubts about Tennen Rishin-ryu and Shieikan were gone, there was no need to hesitate any longer about which school to choose.

A school that could spar with three other schools—as Aoto had just told Sannan—there was probably no school in all of Edo more suitable for him, who had the “Talent Replication System” inside his body.

—He hoped that after joining Shieikan, he could quickly replicate some powerful talents…

After silently praying this in his heart, Aoto quietly sped up his pace.

*******

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Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep