My Gang of Swordsmen

Chapter 69: Chapter 51: Quick! Let Me Tie You Up! (Part 2)

After hearing the term ”bodyguard” from Arima’s mouth, Aoto instinctively shifted his gaze, carefully scrutinizing Saito.

This was a very young youth, probably around 16 or 17 years old.

He was quite tall, taller than Aoto, who was 1.75 meters, by a bit, standing about 1.8 meters.

His skin was very fair, his features were distinct, and his hair hadn’t been shaved into the terribly awful Tsukushi haircut, but was kept in a Topknot Hairstyle like Aoto’s, making his overall appearance somewhat handsome.

He was dressed entirely in black. On top, he wore a dark blue kimono, with black hakama and cloth socks, and the red scarf wrapped around his neck was the only bright spot on him.

Since entering the hall, Aoto noticed that Saito consistently kept a stern face, appearing unsmiling and serious.

After Aoto entered the hall, Saito merely glanced at Aoto, then quickly lowered his head and gaze, burying the lower half of his face in his scarf, with his eyes focused on his nose and his nose on nothing else.

When introducing himself, he merely lifted his head, stated briefly in a cold tone, ”No External Stream, Saito Ichiro,” and then went silent, lowering his head once more, burying the lower half of his face back into his scarf...

Hmm... Seems to be a cold and aloof youth who isn’t fond of talking—Aoto silently evaluated Saito in his mind.

”Lord Arima.” After thoroughly examining Saito, Aoto redirected his gaze to Arima, ”What’s the matter with this bodyguard?”

Known for not indulging in unnecessary words, Arima started to explain to Aoto with concise language after being asked by Aoto.

Briefly mentioning that it was to protect Aoto from the harm of the ”Radical Anti-foreigner Faction,” having decided to invest with Inagawa, Ushiyama, and others to hire a bodyguard for Aoto, Arima began introducing Saito.

”Saito and I... are old acquaintances.”

”He’s two years younger than you, born in Tenpo 15 (1844), and this year, he is exactly 16 years old.”

”Of all the bodyguards I could find, Saito is the most dependable and trustworthy one.”

”Though young, he possesses extraordinary strength. He is a rare left-handed swordsman, a recipient of the Master of All Techniques in the No External Stream.”

Master of All Techniques...?

Aoto cast an astonished glance at Saito, who was still eyes on his nose, nose on nothing else.

In the Edo Era, there wasn’t a specific model when assessing the level of each disciple, and various schools used different methods and grade titles.

But regardless of the school, the highest level rating of skill was the same—”Master of All Techniques .”

Only by thoroughly mastering all the techniques of that school and obtaining the teacher’s recognition could one be awarded the ”Master of All Techniques” rating.

Obtaining ”Master of All Techniques” meant that the person had fully graduated, deemed a swordsman capable of standing on their own.

As for the No External Stream... this school was reputed to be among the most prominent of the swordsmanship world.

It was famous for its high practical combatability.

Without any superfluous tricks, it aimed to cut down the enemy at the fastest speed—that was the No External Stream.

This youth, who’s two years younger than me and as quiet as a clam, is actually a Master of All Techniques in No External Stream... This came as a small surprise to Aoto.

”Aside from his formidable strength, Saito’s character is highly reliable as well.”

At this moment, a faint smile appeared at the corners of Arima’s mouth.

”As long as he is hired, there’s no need to worry about him betraying you or taking the money and doing nothing until the end of his commission. You can safely entrust your back to him.”

”...” Aoto lifted his gaze to look at Saito, then at Arima.

”Lord Arima, could I ask you to step outside with me for a moment?”

”Hmm?” Arima nodded.

After Aoto and Arima exited the hall, reaching a place where Saito couldn’t possibly hear, Aoto quickly asked Arima:

”Lord Arima, why did you hire a bodyguard for me without giving me a heads-up?”

”Because I believed that if I informed you in advance that Inagawa, Ushiyama, and I planned to hire a bodyguard for you together, you might keep declining and wouldn’t agree willingly,” Arima replied casually.

Ah, but that wouldn’t be the case... I would courteously decline a bit, then agree readily, Aoto thought to himself.

Being targeted by a group of unreasonable ”terrorists,” Aoto would be more than happy to have one more reliable and cost-free bodyguard for close protection.

Aoto has always maintained that the so-called ”interpersonal relationship” is a relationship of constantly owing and repaying favors to each other.

Therefore, Aoto never shies away from seeking help from others, accepting goodwill and favors openly and honestly.

Such a character and approach are key reasons why the pre-travel Aoto thrived both inside and outside of campus.

Wherever his grades weren’t ideal or when he encountered some trouble, he would not hesitate to seek advice from others and ask for their help with openness.

After receiving help, he silently remembered the favor in his heart, waiting for an opportunity to repay it later.

”Mr. Tachibana, there’s no need to feel embarrassed or uneasy.” Unaware that Aoto wasn’t the same person as before, Arima spoke earnestly, ”Although we might have mentioned it many times before, I’ll still say it once more.”

”We are your seniors, and it’s only natural for us to help a junior like yourself.”

”Anyway, the cost of hiring Saito isn’t that expensive.”

”Feel at ease and accept the bodyguard we found for you.”

”Not that expensive?” Aoto raised his hand and scratched the hair at his temples, ”Lord Arima, may I tentatively ask how much the hiring fee for this Saito Ichiro is?”

”3 monme of gold per month,” Arima didn’t hold back, directly telling the price of Saito to Aoto.

”Lord Arima, you consider a monthly fee of 3 monme of gold ’not expensive’?”

”I just said, Saito is hired jointly by Inagawa, Ushiyama, and me, dividing the cost, each of us only needs to pay 1 monme of gold per month, which is more than affordable for us.”

After discussing the topic of ”money,” as if remembering something, Arima paused.

”Ah, right, almost forgot. Here, Mr. Tachibana, this is for you.”

Arima took out a small cloth bundle from his pocket and handed it to Aoto.

Aoto, with a puzzled expression, extended his hands to accept it.

Crack...

The small cloth bundle fell into Aoto’s hands, emitting a faint metallic clinking sound.

”Hmm...?” Aoto’s eyebrows twitched with force as he quickly untied the bundle.

The bundle contained nothing else.

Only a large handful of money.

Gold, silver, and copper coins were mixed together, making Aoto’s head spin and mind sway with dizziness.

”Lord Arima, what is this?”

”Here, there are a total of 23 taels of gold, 58 monme of silver, and 4 kan and 412 copper coins,” Arima said. ”Saito is responsible for your personal protection, so until the contract ends, he will eat, live, and travel with you.”

”Saito’s salary does not cover the daily expenses he incurs while protecting you.”

”In other words, besides paying him a monthly salary of 3 taels of gold, you also need to cover his room and board.”

”It wouldn’t make sense to find you a bodyguard but not prepare the money needed to maintain such a bodyguard.”

”This sum of money was gathered by me, Inagawa, and Ushiyama together for you to ’maintain’ Saito.”

”Rest assured and accept it.”

”With this amount of money, it should be enough to ’maintain’ Saito for a while.”

As soon as Arima finished speaking, Aoto’s expression slightly changed.

He lowered his gaze, looking back at the large handful of money in his hands.

—Money to ’maintain’ Saito... Ha, what a lame excuse...

Aoto smiled wryly in his heart.

Arima said this money was for him to ’maintain’ Saito—Aoto would have to have his head squeezed to believe such words!

Such a large sum of money, not to mention one adult male, but even if used sparingly, it could support two adult males comfortably for half a year.

Arima and the other two, being elder figures closely connected to Aoto, naturally couldn’t be unaware of the current financial state of the Tachibana Family burdened with a huge gambling debt.

Why Arima, Inagawa, and Ushiyama would gather such a large sum of money for him at this time... the reason is not hard to guess.

Aoto did not expose Arima’s flimsy excuse.

After staring at the bag of money in his hands for a good while, Aoto gripped it tightly—

”...Lord Arima. Thank you.”

Aoto raised his gaze, eyes filled with gratitude, towards Arima.

”I will accept this bag of money and Saito Ichiro!”

Seeing Aoto gladly accept the kindness of these elders, a faint, comforting smile appeared at the corners of Arima’s mouth.

...

...

As it was almost dinner time, Aoto wanted to keep Arima at their home for a meal, but Arima mentioned that he had some official duties to rush back home and handle, so he politely declined Aoto’s dinner invitation.

Seeing Arima prepare to leave, Saito, who had been staying in the hall room, also came to the door with Aoto to see Arima off.

”Saito. I’m entrusting Mr. Tachibana to you.”

Saito, who rarely spoke, did not verbally respond to Arima’s remark.

He merely nodded lightly.

Swish...

Aoto watched Arima open the door and, seeing Arima’s figure disappear from his line of sight, turned his head to look at Saito, who stood by him and would be living together with him and Kyūbē starting today.

Looking at this new family member, who would eat and live with him starting today, Aoto scratched the back of his head, cleared his throat, turned his body, and earnestly addressed Saito:

”About me and my name, you should have heard from Lord Arima, right?”

”Although you must already know who I am, I will formally introduce myself anyway.”

”My name is Tachibana Aoto. From today onwards, I will be counting on you for your guidance.”

With that, Aoto slightly bowed in greeting to Saito.

”...Please take care of me.” Saito turned his body toward Aoto, his eyes half-closed, and returned the bow.

After formally introducing himself to his aloof bodyguard, Aoto straightened up, looking towards the kitchen from which a faint fragrance of food was beginning to waft out.

”There’s still some time before dinner is ready...”

”Saito, while waiting for dinner to be ready, could you accompany me to do something?”

”...Please, go ahead.”

”I recently learned a new Rope Capture Skill technique.” Aoto walked slowly towards a storage cabinet in the hall room and took out a hemp rope, ”I’ve been having trouble finding a suitable practice partner recently; could you be my sparring partner?”

With that, Aoto tightened his grip on the hemp rope in his hands, producing a crisp ”snap” sound.

*******

*******

New book launching!

Seeking monthly votes! Seeking recommendation votes! Seeking collections!