My Gang of Swordsmen

Chapter 316 - 129: Cat Monk... So Soft! Cat Monk’s True Identity Revealed!

"Ha..."

Mukiwa raised her hand to her chest, exhaled a long sigh, composed herself, and then displayed a look of resolute determination. Her bare, fair feet padded against red-strapped wooden clogs as she boldly stepped out from behind the wall where she had been hiding and walked towards Aoto.

"Hmm? Mr. Tachibana, Mr. Saito? What a coincidence to run into you guys here, are you headed home now?"

"Miss Kinoshita?" Seeing Mukiwa walking briskly toward them, Aoto raised an eyebrow and then smiled, "What a coincidence, indeed. I didn’t expect to bump into you here."

"Yes, we’re just about to head home. Are you here to buy dinner for tonight?"

Aoto glanced at the basket full of fresh vegetables that Mukiwa was carrying.

"Yes." Mukiwa lifted the basket in front of her face, "I wanted to have grilled greens tonight, so I specifically went to buy some fresh greens!"

Aoto, who was heading back to Shiwei Hall, and Mukiwa, who was going back to the Thousand Affairs House, happened to have a part of the journey in the same direction.

So—after exchanging a few brief pleasantries with Aoto, Mukiwa, whose cheeks were faintly flushed with a mix of nervousness and other emotions, suggested to Aoto in a slightly stammering, nonchalant demeanor, "How about we go back together?"

Aoto, seeing this as nothing more than a casual invitation between friends, readily agreed without giving it much thought.

The man and woman walked side by side, chatting and engaging in light conversation along the way.

"Mr. Tachibana, I heard you’re preparing to participate in the swordsmanship competition hosted by the Marquis of Aizu in three days, is that true?" Mukiwa suddenly asked Aoto.

"Hmm? Yes." Aoto nodded, then joked in a half-serious tone, "Ha, there’s still three days until the competition, but I’m already starting to feel a bit nervous."

"Haha," Mukiwa chuckled a few times before following up, "Have you taken any special training in swordsmanship for this upcoming competition?"

"Not really. Mr. Kondo and the others have been instructing me more strictly recently, but it can’t be considered special training. I’m still practicing steadily and methodically, as I always have."

Upon hearing Aoto’s response, Mukiwa’s eyes twinkled with thought.

"So... does that mean you’re still getting up to practice swordsmanship at 2 a.m. every day like before?" Mukiwa tilted her head and blinked at Aoto.

Aoto had previously mentioned to Mukiwa that he only sleeps for two hours a night and gets up at 2 a.m. to exercise.

"Yes." Aoto answered promptly without hesitation.

"Doesn’t that completely exhaust you?" Mukiwa asked further, "Aren’t you very busy now, catching the ’Anti-foreigner Faction’ bandits who are so rampant? Is such little sleep really enough?"

"Don’t worry about it." Aoto laughed and lightly tapped his forehead, "I’m the kind of person who can recover energy with just a little sleep; it’s completely sufficient, no need to be concerned."

"I see..." Mukiwa murmured softly and then smiled sweetly, "As long as the sleep is sufficient!"

"In that case, I’m relieved too!"

...

...

The encounter with Mukiwa on the way home was just a small episode in Aoto’s day.

After chatting with Mukiwa and walking part of the way together, he waved goodbye to her.

When he returned to Shiwei Hall, everything was as usual—after dinner, he started working out.

Once his muscles were sore, he comfortably soaked in a hot bath at Qianxun House to soothe his muscles.

When the clock struck 10 p.m., he climbed into bed, and under the influence of the "Sleep God" talent, he promptly woke up at 2 a.m., swiftly changed out of his nightwear, and grabbed his sword to get ready for sword practice at the dojo.

Mr. Saito and Kyūbē, who lived with Aoto in the dining room, had already gotten used to Aoto’s routine of waking up at 2 a.m.

When Aoto first moved into Shiwei Hall, Saito would follow Aoto to the dojo under the pretense of staying on alert for any emergencies, then sleep at the edge of the dojo to protect him.

Aoto felt this was unnecessary for Saito’s daily rest and insisted that Saito should not trouble himself. There was no need to accompany him during his "morning exercise"; Saito should rest well in the dining room.

Because of Aoto’s insistence and his duty to follow his employer’s orders, Saito could only comply, and thus he no longer followed Aoto to the dojo for morning exercises.

Changing his clothes, Aoto, with his "Cat’s Eye" ability to see in the dark, quickly headed down to the quiet dojo on the first floor.

Aoto did not immediately pick up the bamboo sword.

Emphasizing warm-ups before exercising had always been one of Aoto’s steadfast habits.

He stood in one corner of the dojo, placed his recently repaired Ghost-Slaying sword and wakizashi at his feet, lowered his center of gravity, and diligently stretched his leg muscles for a warm-up.

The night was deep and silent all around, and as Aoto engaged in these monotonous and tedious warm-up activities, his thoughts began to wander: