The one who slid open the door was a plump, fair-skinned Caucasian grandfather.

When Aoto’s gaze fell upon this grandfather, for a brief moment, he hallucinated seeing the KFC grandfather…

This elderly man before him couldn’t just be said to resemble the KFC grandfather—he was practically identical.

The neatly trimmed short beard on his chin and upper lip.

The short hair combed diagonally backward, pure snow-white without a single strand of discoloration, just like his beard.

The enormous belly that protruded so high it lifted his clothing.

The large glasses perched on his nose bridge.

Plus the beaming, smiling expression he now showed Aoto…

Aoto felt that if this man had been born in the 21st century, he could probably win a lawsuit against KFC for trademark infringement of his likeness.

After the “KFC grandfather” pushed open the door with his large belly leading the way, two graceful figures followed closely behind him into the room.

One of these two figures was quite familiar to Aoto—it was precisely the Western girl he had saved today, Elodie.

Elodie still wore the same sky-blue kimono with white tabi socks, but her hair was different from this afternoon.

This afternoon, when Aoto accidentally knocked off Elodie’s headscarf and mask, her hair had been loosely spread out, probably to make it easier to tuck under the headscarf.

Now, Elodie’s beautiful waist-length golden hair was neatly braided into three strands, falling forward over her right shoulder, with her neatly arranged bangs softly framing her forehead.

Her hands were clasped together in front of her as she took small steps, closely following behind the “KFC grandfather.”

Watching Elodie walking behind the “KFC grandfather,” Aoto couldn’t help but reflect inwardly: Fate truly is a strange thing.

Just a few days ago, he had heard about Elodie from Butagaya, and now he was meeting her in person…

This afternoon, he hadn’t had time to carefully examine Elodie’s features, but now that he calmly observed her, Aoto discovered: The rumors about Elodie that Butagaya had previously described to him weren’t baseless after all.

This Elodie was indeed extremely cute.

Round, bright eyes with pupils as clear and transparent as exquisite gemstones, a tall, elegant nose, and delicate, beautifully shaped lips…

With such features at just 12 years old… her future prospects were promising.

Although she was a European from France, Elodie’s facial features weren’t overly sharp or deeply sculpted.

To put it simply… Elodie’s appearance had a slight “East-meets-West” quality.

While her facial features were clearly Western, their contours carried some of the softness of Eastern features.

This combination of Eastern and Western advantages in her appearance indeed easily appealed to the aesthetic tastes of people in this era.

As for the other graceful figure besides Elodie, Aoto found her both familiar and unfamiliar.

Quite tall stature, slightly dry brown hair, emerald green eyes, and a reasonably attractive face dotted with some freckles.

Aoto didn’t recognize her at first, but when he noticed the pale yellow kimono she wore, he finally remembered—wasn’t this the “Pale Yellow Woman” who had been silently following behind Kinoshita Mai and Elodie this afternoon?

The Pale Yellow Woman maintained some distance, walking behind the “KFC grandfather” and Elodie.

Aoto guessed this Pale Yellow Woman was probably Elodie’s maid: LeRoy.

“You must be Tachibana Aoto.”

After walking up to Aoto with his large belly leading the way, the “KFC grandfather” greeted him with a beaming smile, speaking Japanese with a very peculiar accent.

After briefly conversing with this “KFC grandfather,” Aoto learned—this grandfather was actually Elodie’s grandfather: Anthony de Angoulême.

Anthony had come to visit Aoto for no other reason—specifically to thank him for saving his granddaughter.

While expressing his gratitude to Aoto, Anthony also casually mentioned the interrogation results that Komuro and others had obtained from the “Birthmark Man.”

After successfully capturing the only survivor among today’s afternoon attackers—the “Birthmark Man” with the unsightly birthmark on his face—Komuro and the others subjected him to severe torture without treating him as human.

Through this interrogation by Komuro and his team, they managed to clarify the identities of these attackers.

It turned out these attackers weren’t “radical Expel the Barbarians faction” members targeting Aoto at all.

They were simply a group of impoverished rōnin who had lost their masters to serve and their family stipends.

To avoid drawing attention and trouble, both Elodie and LeRoy had used masks and headscarves to cover their hair and faces when visiting Enoshima Shrine with Kinoshita Mai—but despite this, they accidentally allowed a certain rōnin to notice Elodie’s eye color on their way to the shrine.

Blue eyes… clearly indicating a Westerner.

Upon discovering that this girl wearing a tengu mask was Western, that rōnin developed malicious intentions.

To escape his current destitute, homeless, hand-to-mouth existence, that rōnin decided to gamble: kill Elodie! Then take her head to the “Expel the Barbarians faction headquarters”: Mito Domain, to see if he could secure some official position or find someone to take him in.

Mito Domain—along with Owari Domain and Kishū Domain, collectively known as the “Three Noble Houses,” was one of the Edo Shogunate’s most important related daimyō domains.

During the Edo Period, which still maintained a feudal system similar to ancient China’s Western Zhou Dynasty, these large domains—essentially “states within a state”—possessed considerable political influence and military strength that could even challenge the Edo Shogunate.

Seven years ago, after American Navy Commodore Perry’s fleet forced open Japan’s doors, various domains quickly took sides.

Some domains advocated for peace negotiations.

Some domains remained neutral, expressing no opinions.

Only a group of domains led by Mito Domain pursued extremely hardline foreign policies.

Mito Domain’s position was simple: Expel all barbarians completely! Return Japan to its previous state of isolation!

Over these seven years, Mito Domain had consistently pressured the Edo Shogunate to implement thorough Expel the Barbarians policies.

Mito Domain’s hardline stance against barbarians naturally won deep favor and respect from the “Expel the Barbarians faction.”

Thus, numerous “Expel the Barbarians activists” distantly regarded Mito Domain as their “spiritual leader,” and Mito Domain naturally became the headquarters for “Expel the Barbarians activists,” with more and more gathering there to discuss their “great Expel the Barbarians cause” with like-minded companions.

Because Mito Domain stubbornly clung to its “radical Expel the Barbarians” foreign policy, their relationship with the Edo Shogunate was quite tense—the Edo Shogunate’s current Great Elder, Ii Naosuke, advocated “opening the country,” making him naturally incompatible with Mito Domain’s “Expel the Barbarians” proponents.

In summary, that rōnin’s scheme wasn’t entirely unrealistic—if they could bring a barbarian’s head to Mito Domain, securing an official position might be difficult, but the possibility of gaining favor from some “Expel the Barbarians activist” dedicated to “expelling barbarians” and being taken in was quite substantial.

If they didn’t try something soon, they might remain rōnin forever—rather than continue as pathetic rōnin, they should gamble—holding this determination, this relatively loyal rōnin gathered several friends to “change their lives” using Elodie’s head.

Their plan was well-conceived.

But they hadn’t accounted for a variable like Aoto…

After listening to Anthony’s account, Aoto couldn’t help but twitch the corner of his mouth.

So after all that, today’s attack was just a misunderstanding…?!

“Today, we are truly grateful to both of you.” Anthony bowed again to Aoto and Saitō at a perfect 90-degree angle. “Without your timely intervention, I truly don’t know what would have happened.”

Elodie and LeRoy standing behind Anthony simultaneously bowed to Aoto in thanks.

“Ah… there’s no need for such formal courtesy.” A helpless smile appeared on Aoto’s face. “To be honest—today I didn’t draw my sword specifically to save your daughter.”

If Anthony and Kiryu misunderstood that he had engaged in that bloody battle with those rōnin specifically to save Kinoshita Mai and Elodie, it would feel like taking advantage of them.

Aoto preferred clear, upfront dealings.

Whether he owed favors to others or others owed him, Aoto didn’t want things to be ambiguous.

So patiently, Aoto explained to Anthony and Kiryu why he had fought against those rōnin today.

Kiryu, Kinoshita Mai, and the others hadn’t known that Aoto was being targeted by the “radical Expel the Barbarians faction,” so after hearing Aoto’s explanation, they looked at him with the same surprise as Anthony and Elodie.

After listening to Aoto’s explanation, Anthony paused for a moment before bursting into hearty laughter.

“It doesn’t matter!”

He waved his large hand.

“Regardless of your reasons for saving my granddaughter, the fact remains that you saved her.”

“That doesn’t prevent me from expressing my deepest gratitude for your life-saving grace!”

With these words, Anthony laughed heartily several more times.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep