My Gang of Swordsmen

Chapter 615: Chapter 193: Aoto’s New Title: [Niō]! [Volume 1 Finale]_4

”Tachibana Ryuzo’s son is getting more and more capable.”

Rakshasa’s lips slowly curled upward.

Drawing out an arc difficult to decipher.

”I wonder where he’ll be promoted to after such an impressive achievement.”

”If he can be promoted to the Arson and Theft Magistrate... that would be truly wonderful.”

”Haha... hahahaha...”

Rakshasa suppressed his voice, letting out a sinister ”hahahaha” laugh.

The laughter came so abruptly.

So bizarre...

Bang—Rakshasa slammed the window shut in front of him.

The sunlight that leaked into the room through the window was the only light source for the room.

After Rakshasa closed the window, the darkness enveloped him and every corner of the room...

...

...

Edo, somewhere—

Thump!

Upon hearing this sound, Asi knew it must be their family cat, Red Bean Bun, knocking down the Statue of Niō placed at the entrance.

”Hey! Red Bean Bun!”

Asi hurried to the entrance.

Sure enough—Red Bean Bun, their black and white kitten, was sprawled on the fallen Statue of Niō, looking innocently at Asi.

”Shoo! Shoo!”

Asi waved her hand, driving away Red Bean Bun, who was clueless about its mistake, then respectfully lifted the statue placed at the entrance for protection, preparing to return it to its position.

But at that moment—

”Finally finished!”

The exultant shout of her husband Shusairo came from the inner room.

Startled by his shout, Asi abandoned everything else and rushed to the living room, still holding the Statue of Niō.

”Shusairo! What’s going on?”

Upon entering the living room, Asi saw her husband standing excitedly on the writing desk, stretching his arms and laughing skyward.

”I finally finished my new work!”

”Shusairo, you finished your new work?” Asi first gasped in surprise, then joyfully exclaimed, ”Congratulations! Shusairo, what’s the topic of your new work? It’s the first time I’ve seen you write for such a long period. The longest you’ve ever spent on a piece before was just over a month.”

Over two months ago, to help her husband, who was stuck in a creative block, relax, Asi took Shusairo to watch the Swordsmanship Competition hosted by the Marquis of Aizu in Asakusa.

Then, a bizarre moment suddenly happened.

At the end of the first day’s competition, Shusairo slapped his thigh and shouted, ”Asi! I got writing inspiration!”, ”Asi, let’s go home! I’m writing through the night tonight”, and rushed back home, abandoning the competition.

Since then, Shusairo had been engrossed in writing daily.

Curious about what new inspiration Shusairo had, Asi asked her husband more than once, ”What’s the theme of your new work?”

But Shusairo always replied mysteriously with, ”It’s a secret! I’ll tell you when I’m done writing!”

Amid the family’s not-so-great finances and eager anticipation to know what her husband had been writing, Asi finally awaited the day Shusairo completed his new work.

”Asi, it’s all thanks to you that I’m able to write my new work.”

Shusairo hugged Asi tightly, burying his handsome face into Asi’s bosom.

”Thanks to me?” Asi tilted her head in surprise.

”I got my new writing inspiration from watching the Swordsmanship Competition of the Marquis of Aizu!”

Shusairo’s eyebrows danced as he gestured with excitement.

”After seeing Tachibana Aoto defeat powerful enemies continuously with his great skill, it struck me—how can I not turn Tachibana Aoto’s story into a narrative?! That would be too regrettable!”

”Ah?” Asi’s eyes and lips widened.

Narrative—meaning the base text for storytellers.

”Asi, don’t you think the story of Tachibana Aoto is perfect for a narrative?”

”Tachibana Aoto started out as an obscure Dōshin known as ’Blockhead Don’ in the ’Three Times’ position at the North Guard Station.”

”Realizing the heavy responsibilities of being a ’Three Times’ Dōshin, he had an epiphany and resolved not to idle through life.”

”Then he transformed, achieving great feats as if he had become a different person!”

”First bravely battling the Anti-foreigner Group in a snowy night, then rescuing the Foreign Language Research Institute.”

”Each battle was outnumbered but intensely fierce.”

”Through one notable achievement after another, he transformed from ’Blockhead Don’ into a renowned ’Little Tengu of the North Guard Station’!”

”Common folks love stories like this.”

”It has elements of growing from weakness to strength, transforming from a nobody to a major figure, and lots of sword fighting scenes.”

”This kind of engaging, dramatic story, if turned into a narrative, will definitely be a huge hit!”

Asi blinked a few times: ”So for these two months, you’ve been adapting Tachibana Aoto’s story into a narrative?”

”Exactly! I have a hunch—my new work this time will definitely sell big!”

”While creating this new work, I drew upon all my previous experiences and lessons from writing similar-themed works.”

”Stories with many fighting scenes have always been the favorites of common folks.”

”Even if the context seems illogical, as long as the battles are plenty and spectacular, people will cheer.”

”The narrative on Ogata Isseki I wrote last year didn’t receive much response because there were too few fighting scenes.”