After Aoto opened the shop door, the elderly man inside the shop and the thick-lipped old lady immediately turned their heads to look at Aoto.
"Oh my, it seems a customer has arrived. Well then, Mr. Kiryu Kazuma, I won't continue to bother you, I'll take my leave now."
"Mrs. Izumi, take care." The glasses-wearing elderly man bowed elegantly to the old lady with a smile, "If your clothes break again next time, feel free to come see me anytime."
"Ah—! Mr. Kiryu Kazuma, if my husband had half of your talent and gentleness, it would be wonderful." The thick-lipped old lady rested her hand on her cheek like a lovestruck girl, twisted her body a few times, then quickly walked towards the shop exit with a large cloth bag containing a woman's kimono.
As she left the shop, the old lady did not forget to frequently turn her head back, casting lovestruck glances at the glasses-wearing elderly man, who continuously smiled as he watched her leave.
Only after the old lady completely disappeared from the glasses-wearing man's view did he turn his attention to Aoto.
"May I ask, who is this?"
"Is your shop currently open for business? I have inquiries to make." Aoto said.
"Of course, we are open." The glasses-wearing elderly man nodded, "Please have a seat."
Kneeling behind the counter, he gestured towards the front of the counter with a "please" motion.
"Allow me to introduce myself. My surname is Kiryu, first name Kazuma, and I am the owner of this Thousand Affairs House. May I ask what you would like to inquire about?"
As this self-proclaimed "Kiryu Kazuma" was making his introduction, Aoto had already quickly walked to the counter and seated himself in front of it.
Once closer to the elderly man, Aoto instinctively examined the man's face.
He seemed quite old, at least 80 or 90 years old, but his eyes were still bright and spirited. He appeared to be in quite good health, implying that his body was likely very robust.
Though his face was etched with the marks of time, it remained faintly evident that this elderly man must have been quite handsome in his youth.
Japan had been open to the world for 7 years now, interacting with various foreign countries for quite some time. Someone like Kiryu, who wore glasses, was no longer considered a "rare species" in Japan.
Having introduced himself, the elderly man prompted Aoto to introduce himself out of politeness.
"My surname is Tachibana, first name Aoto."
After briefly introducing himself, Aoto got straight to the point:
"I heard your shop can help introduce sword dojos, is that true?"
Kiryu smiled and nodded, "Yes. It's one of the main services of our shop, are you looking to inquire about sword dojos?"
"Yes!" Aoto nodded vigorously.
"Then may I ask what kind of sword dojo you are looking for?"
"I want to go to a sword dojo that meets these three criteria."
Aoto raised three fingers.
"One: within the budget I can afford."
"Two: teaches practical swordsmanship, not merely for show."
"Three: preferably with plenty of apprentices inside, the more the better."
"As long as it meets these three criteria, any kind of sword dojo will do."
Having spoken, Aoto took out his money pouch from his coat, which contained the remaining wealth of the Tachibana family.
After taking out the pouch, Aoto placed it on the counter and opened it, allowing Kiryu to clearly see the amount stored inside.
Kiryu lowered his head to glance at the money inside the pouch, then casually asked Aoto:
"Sir, to help find the most suitable sword dojo for you, please allow me to ask a question."
"I can understand the first two criteria you mentioned, but the third one I don't quite understand."
"Why do you need to find a sword dojo with a large number of people?"
"I love sparring with others, so I want to go to a dojo with a lot of people to have enough sparring." Aoto casually fabricated an excuse.
"Oh, I see." Kiryu lightly nodded.
"Please wait a moment."
As Kiryu spoke, he pulled out a large notebook from underneath the counter, then spread it on the counter.
"What's this?" Aoto asked in confusion.
"This is the most valuable item in my employment agency." Kiryu smiled, "It contains detailed information on all sword dojos in Edo. The information ranges from tuition fees to the number of apprentices, and much more."
"Oh! Then it is indeed very valuable."
"I invested quite a bit of effort in creating this notebook." Kiryu, displaying a hint of nostalgia, began flipping through the "Collection of Edo Sword Dojos" after his brief reflection.
"Swordsmanship taught here is very practical... and there are plenty of sparring partners... This dojo is very suitable for you."
As Kiryu finished speaking, his fingers stopped flipping through the notebook.
"Natural Reasoning Heart Stream's Shiwei Hall."
"Natural Reasoning Heart Stream?" Aoto raised an eyebrow.
He skillfully searched through the memory of the "Original Tachibana Aoto" in his mind.
The result was: In the memory of the "Original Tachibana Aoto," there were no recollections related to the Natural Reasoning Heart Stream.
Kiryu seemed to see through Aoto's thoughts and smiled slightly at him.
"This is a relatively niche martial arts school. So you might not have heard of its name."
"But I can assure you—it is no less practical than the prestigious Beichen One-Sword Style or the Shindo Mononoke Stream."
Kiryu opened his mouth, just about to say something more when—
"Mr. Kiryu, I'm so hungry. Is there any breakfast?"
A crisp, bell-like young female voice suddenly came from inside the store.
Aoto instinctively looked in the direction of the voice—a petite figure slowly emerged from behind a corner deep within the store.
It was an extremely cute-looking girl holding a small tabby cat in her arms.
She seemed to be about 15 or 16 years old.
The cat she was holding appeared to be a tabby cat not even a year old.
The girl's height, from Aoto's perspective, was on the shorter side, probably just over 1.5 meters.
Her features were delicate, especially her eyes, which were bright and expressive, with an air of scholarly grace between her brows.
Judging by her appearance, she seemed to have just woken up.
Her long black hair was casually draped down her back, her clothing was a bit disheveled, and she was barefoot with cute, fair little feet.
Even though she appeared to be only about 15 or 16 years old, she was surprisingly well-developed—the thick winter clothing she wore still clearly showed the fabric across her chest being stretched taut.
The girl, having come from the corner of the store, froze as if hit by a petrification magic upon seeing Aoto.
After locking eyes with Aoto for an instant, she swiftly retreated back behind the corner she had just emerged from, with a speed akin to instant teleportation, holding the cat in her arms.
"Sorry." Kiryu gave Aoto an apologetic smile, "She's a bit shy, please forgive her."
Just as Kiryu finished speaking, Aoto noticed the girl reappear from behind the corridor corner—only revealing half of her face. The rest of her body remained hidden behind the corridor corner.
The half of her face that was visible was flushed with a mix of embarrassment and shyness.
Girl: "@#￥%&*#..."
Aoto saw the girl's lips moving.
He vaguely sensed that she seemed to be speaking to him, but Aoto couldn't understand her at all.
Listening to her voice, which sounded like the humming of a mosquito, Aoto felt it sounded less like Japanese and more like chanting a spell.
As Aoto politely kept his gaze on the girl speaking to him, Kiryu also watched her.
After the girl finally finished her 'spell,' Kiryu turned his head to Aoto with a smile and said:
"She said 'Welcome to Thousand Affairs House, she is the shop's shodai: Mukiwa.'
[Note: Shodai is a term used in the Edo Era to refer to shop assistants.]
After translating what the girl had just said to Aoto, Kiryu turned his attention back to the girl.
Girl: "￥%&@#*#..."
Kiryu: "She said: 'This is her good friend: Dodo.'
As soon as Kiryu finished speaking, the girl raised the tabby cat she had been holding in her arms, lifting it outside the corridor corner with both hands.
Meow~~
The tabby cat, lifted outside the corridor, gave a timely meow towards Aoto.
After the cat greeted Aoto, the girl brought it back behind the corner.
—Why introduce a cat...?
While Aoto internally mocked the girl's peculiar gesture, her 'spell' continued unabated.
Girl: "#￥&@#￥%*#&@#￥%*#&@..."
Kiryu: "She said: 'I was so impolite just now, not knowing a guest had arrived, you saw me looking very unsightly, I'm extremely sorry.'"
Girl: "&@#￥%*#..."
Kiryu: "She said: 'Please wait a moment, I'll make you some tea.'
"...How do you communicate, anyway?" Aoto was exasperated.
"I once studied lip reading in the Omi Region." Kiryu smiled at Aoto, then turned and called out to the girl, "Young Master, I haven't cooked breakfast yet. Please be patient; once I've taken care of this guest, I'll cook. Today's breakfast is your favorite boiled eggs."
Aoto saw the half of the girl's face visible outside the corridor light up with joy after Kiryu's words, before retreating behind the corridor, no longer to be seen.
"Young Master?" Aoto repeated, puzzled by Kiryu's term of address for the adorable girl.
"That girl, while she's working for me as a shop shodai, is also the foster granddaughter of the person I serve." Kiryu explained to Aoto unhurriedly, "So, we have an employer-employee relationship, as well as a master-servant relationship."
*******
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A pair of glasses named Kiryu Kazuma opened a shop called Thousand Affairs House in Edo, living together with a girl—the number of elements is overflowing.
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