My Gang of Swordsmen

Chapter 145 - 87: Edo’s First Beauty at R-rated Levels [9000 Words]_3

Women cannot go to the second-floor lounge; after bathing they must leave the bathhouse. Unlike men, they don’t get to head upstairs, take a breather, and chatter away with friends after a bath.

The majority of townsmen could only come to the bathhouse to wash up, naturally making the bathhouse one of Ancient Japan’s key social venues for the common folk.

Coming to the bathhouse in groups, bathing together while chatting, and then heading to the lounge on the second floor to have tea while continuing their chatter — this was quite a common sight of the time.

The owner of Qianxun House was an old woman around 70 years old.

This old woman was named "Aqian," but those who frequently visited this bathhouse were used to calling her "Granny Tang."

Aoto had been living at Shiwei Hall for some time and had visited Qianxun House many times, becoming quite familiar with Granny Tang, and Granny Tang had also come to recognize this new customer, Aoto.

Sitting behind the counter near the entrance to the men’s bath, when Granny Tang saw Aoto and the others arrive, she immediately greeted them warmly.

After greeting Granny Tang at the counter and paying for the bath (2 Wen Copper Coins each), the three of them entered the changing room one after another.

The first floor of Qianxun House had three parts: the "changing room" for undressing and storing luggage, the "shower room" for washing, and the "bath pool" for soaking.

All bathhouses were like this; you had to clean your body before entering the bath pool.

When soaking in the bath pool, you could only soak and weren’t allowed to swim or bathe in there, otherwise you’d be considered rude, perhaps even thrown out of the bathhouse.

At this time, the bathhouse was at its busiest.

When Aoto, Kondo, and Saito cleaned themselves in the shower room and entered the steamy bath pool, they found that nearly 70% of the spacious bath pool was already occupied.

Bodies of various shapes and ages were moving around in the water... it was quite an eye-opening sight.

The three of them found a corner in the bath pool with fewer people, where they could lean against a wall.

Aoto purposely sank lower so the water could cover his neck.

Feeling the warmth of the water enveloping him, Aoto felt much of the fatigue in his limbs and bones ease away.

Aoto was about to thoroughly enjoy the pleasure of soaking, but a few conversations not far from him forcibly captured his attention—

"Hey, have you heard about the story of Tachibana Aoto?"

"I’ve heard it long ago. I heard about Tachibana Aoto’s story several days ago; you’re only finding out now?"

"Ah, I haven’t been out of the house much these past few days. That Tachibana Aoto is really something, managing to defeat those 200 ’Anti-foreigner Faction’ maniacs with so few people. Who would’ve thought the Magistrate’s Office would have such a capable official?"

"I think maybe this story is made up..."

"Who cares if it’s made up. Even if it is, the story is thrilling enough to hear. I’ve been annoyed at those who go on about ’anti-foreigner’ for a long time."

"Me too. I’m sick of them. They boast about being ’Patriots’ every day, yet in the end, they do nothing substantial."

"Amei’s grocery store was extorted last month by some who claimed to be ’Anti-foreigner Warriors.’ They demanded Amei pay a contribution to support their ’Anti-foreigner Cause,’ saying if she didn’t give them money, she wasn’t supporting their ’Anti-foreigner Cause,’ and was a national traitor."

"And then? Did Amei give them money?"

"Initially, Amei didn’t want to hand over the money, but those scoundrels threatened that if she didn’t pay, they’d continue to harass and punish her, labeling her a national traitor. Amei, scared, had no choice but to swallow her pride and give them the money."

"Damn it, those who call themselves warriors are such beasts."

"I really hope there are more people like Tachibana Aoto, to properly teach those beasts a lesson."

...

Kondo, sitting next to Aoto, also overheard the conversation.

"Hahaha." Kondo chuckled, then lowered his voice and teased Aoto beside him, "Mr. Tachibana, you’ve become quite the celebrity in Edo, haven’t you?"

Upon hearing Kondo’s teasing, Aoto gave a wry smile.

If one were to ask what the most discussed topic in recent Edo was... it would undoubtedly be Aoto’s "Snowy Night Chaos."

Due to unknown parties fervently spreading news of Aoto’s deeds, the topic still enjoys high levels of discussion.

These days, every time Aoto went out, he could hear people talking about him.

Thankfully, this era lacked photos and the internet; hardly anyone in all Edo knew what Aoto looked like. Otherwise, when Aoto went out, he would inevitably be surrounded and watched.

With the surge in ’popularity,’ Aoto even noticed some peculiar changes within Shiwei Hall.

Kondo, Chokata, and the others did not treat Aoto differently just because he suddenly became famous; they continued to treat Aoto warmly as usual.

But some apprentices were not the same.

Upon learning that their young junior brother had become such a renowned figure, they couldn’t help but look at Aoto with strange eyes, subconsciously using respectful language with him...