My Gang of Swordsmen

Chapter 471: Chapter 166: Mr. Tachibana! Let’s Try Western Women Together! [7100]_4

This farewell, who knows when Chiba Eijiro will return to Edo next.

As he watched Chiba Eijiro’s departing figure, Aoto felt an inexplicable surge of emotion.

One of the greatest gains from competing with Chiba Eijiro on Dragon Boat Festival was that it instantly broadened Aoto’s horizons.

Chiba Eijiro’s strength showed Aoto what a true master of swordsmanship is and how much he still lacks at present.

I wonder to what level my skills will have improved by the time Chiba Eijiro returns to Edo next... Thinking of this, Aoto couldn’t help but reveal a carefree smile filled with mixed emotions.

Apart from seeing Chiba Eijiro off, nothing significant occurred during this period.

Time flows quietly...

In the blink of an eye, mid-May arrived.

...

...

Man’en 1 (1860), May 15 —

Edo, Foreigner Residence Area —

"So this is the barbarians’ temple... it’s my first time seeing one." Nagakura looked up at the church in front and marveled.

"It’s quite beautifully built." Harada, standing shoulder to shoulder with Nagakura, also examined the church, "Why isn’t there any incense fragrance inside? Don’t the barbarians burn incense when they worship their gods?"

"Whoa." Fujimura, standing slightly behind Harada to the side, let out a strange noise at this moment.

"Fujimura, what’s wrong?" Harada cast a questioning glance toward Fujimura.

"No, nothing." Fujimura patted his chest, looking as if he had just had a fright, "I was just scared a little... just now a barbarian woman brushed past me, and I realized not only was her hair yellow, but even her body hair was yellow..."

"Seriously?" Nagakura looked shocked, "Even the barbarians’ body hair is as colorful as their hair?"

Nagakura, Harada, and Fujimura gathered, passionately accepting the cultural shock. At this moment, Aoto led Saito over to them.

"Alright, stop chatting." Aoto said with slight annoyance, "Let’s hurry up, we need to move on."

Right now, Aoto and his group of friends were in Edo’s Foreigner Rental Area, also known as the Foreigner Residence Area.

In Japan, people commonly refer to a concession as a "residence area."

Almost all foreigners in Edo lived in this not too expansive residence area.

With the efforts of these foreign residents in Japan, this residence area had been successfully built into a district with distinct Western styles.

Looking around, there were European style pointed-roof houses everywhere, alongside numerous Western-style street lamps, and in the center of the residence area stood a splendid Catholic church over ten meters high.

Coming from other districts of Edo into this residence area... it gives a feeling of traveling through time.

Since it is an area where foreigners congregate, it’s naturally full of various foreigners.

Foreigners who are rare to see in other parts of Edo are commonly seen on the streets of this residence area.

Occasionally you can see a gentleman in formal attire hurriedly passing by.

Occasionally you can see an elegant lady in a beautiful puffy dress, holding a tiny umbrella that seems utterly useless except for showing off, leisurely strolling.

According to Aoto’s observations, the foreigners living here are quite a mixed group.

Walking on the street, Aoto heard several languages including English, French, and German.

There were many foreigners on the streets, along with quite a few Japanese.

Many Japanese were also bustling within the residence area, mostly serving as translators, attendants, or guards hired by these foreigners, or Japanese merchants doing business with them.

Why were Aoto and his friends here at this moment?

The reason was not complex.

After Aoto and Mukiwa collaborated to take down that group of smugglers and reported the stockpiling of large amounts of kerosene in Edo to the Magistrate’s Office, the Magistrate’s Office and the Arson and Theft Magistrate had been scrutinizing the transaction of kerosene, encouraging citizens to report suspected sites of stockpiled questionable materials.

Just this morning, the North Guard Station received a report: Someone saw suspicious individuals frequenting a small house in the Foreigner Residence Area.

Generally, officials like the Magistrate’s Office Officials have to go through a lengthy process to conduct official duties in the residence area.

But special cases require special handling.

A long time ago, the Shogunate had negotiated with the managers of the residence area — to combat the worsening anti-foreigner sentiment and quickly bring radical extremists to justice, the conditions for the officials of the Magistrate’s Office to enter and exit the residence area were significantly relaxed.

Since a report was made by a citizen... it naturally couldn’t be ignored.

Thus, North Station Chief Magistrate Ao assigned Aoto, who had no urgent tasks at hand, to go to the residence area to inspect the reported suspicious location.

Hence, we have the scene now where Aoto urged Nagakura and others, who were still overwhelmed by the cultural shock, to stop chatting and to catch up.

"Mr. Tachibana." Harada, carrying his long spear wrapped in a sheath, quickened his pace slightly and walked alongside Aoto, "Are we at our destination yet?"

Aoto looked up at the street scene around him and then took out a street map handed to him by Hosoi: "Not yet, we have to walk a bit further."

The reported house was located at the northeast corner of the residence area; they had to turn a few more street corners to reach their destination.

"Hah..." Harada yawned widely at this point, "This residence area is quite a bit larger than I imagined..."

Nagakura, Harada, Fujimura, and Saito were all visiting the residence area for the first time.

In fact, this was Aoto’s second visit here — the first time was when he first fought alongside Mukiwa to deal with the thugs who tested swords on people, using this exotic district to shake off the suddenly appearing official pursuers.

Aoto and his group formed a long procession as they slowly advanced toward their destination.

At this moment, another graceful lady with a parasol, utterly useless except for showing off, passed by Aoto and his group.

This lady was quite stunning in appearance and figure.

Except for Saito, who never showed interest in matters between men and women, everyone including Aoto couldn’t resist glancing at this lady.

Harada’s actions were the most exaggerated, even after the lady had walked away, he craned his neck to keep looking.

Once the lady’s figure vanished from their field of vision, Harada suddenly let out an odd "hehehe" laugh.

He turned his head, lowered his voice, and whispered to Aoto:

"Mr. Tachibana, after we’ve wrapped up the main business, let’s find out if there are any barbarian courtesans here."

"The barbarian women’s build looks quite sturdy, they seem great, let’s try them out."

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