My Gang of Swordsmen

Chapter 599: Chapter 190: Aoto Flirts with Sazanoko Until She Blushes

”I’m actually quite prone to blushing.”

Before Sazanoko’s voice had even stopped, she continued to explain, as if trying to cover up her earlier embarrassment.

”Whenever my emotions get even slightly stirred, my face turns red.”

”You must find it amusing, Mr. Tachibana.”

Aoto remained skeptical of Sazanoko’s possibly feigned explanation, and after her words faded, he chuckled lightly.

Then, almost unconsciously, he casually responded:

”Prone to blushing... that’s quite nice.”

Sazanoko blinked her big eyes a few times, using her gaze to seek an explanation from Aoto: ”That’s quite nice?”

”Miss Sazanoko, you’re very beautiful when you blush. If I were lucky enough to often see you blush, it would be the greatest blessing in the world.”

Aoto’s words were entirely free of any evil intent or desire to flatter Sazanoko.

He simply and sincerely expressed his innermost thoughts.

Feeling the sincerity in Aoto’s eyes and words, Sazanoko showed an expression of surprise.

But soon, she snapped back to reality.

She stifled her panic, and with a somewhat clumsy motion, shifted her gaze away from Aoto, joining him in looking at the scenery outside the window, leaving only her profile to Aoto.

”Thank you...”

With keen observation, Aoto’s peripheral vision captured the fact that the redness on Sazanoko’s face, which had just begun to dissipate, seemed to brighten again.

Sazanoko’s reaction puzzled Aoto.

—I only spoke from my heart and casually praised her...

He merely expressed his true feelings by complimenting her—telling her ”You’re beautiful when you blush,” and Sazanoko’s cheeks flushed crimson once more...

Sazanoko’s delicate and pretty face blushed twice due to the new nickname ”Black Bull Princess” and his offhand praise, causing Aoto to ponder internally:

—Perhaps, beneath her graceful and mature exterior, Miss Sazanoko is surprisingly thin-skinned and shy.

Thinking this, Aoto’s lips unconsciously curved into a slight smile.

”In any case, don’t mention ’Black Bull Princess’ in my presence again. I don’t like that nickname.”

After a brief emotional and physical adjustment, Sazanoko regained the high-cold and elegant demeanor of the ”prestigious Miss” and ”Iceberg Beauty.”

”If you mention that annoying nickname in front of me again, I’ll be angry.”

”Very seriously, very seriously angry.”

Sazanoko, with a serious expression, spoke in a tone that carried the firmness of ”I won’t tolerate your refusal.”

”Hmm.”

The reason Aoto mentioned ”Black Bull Princess” earlier was merely to jokingly tease Sazanoko, and he nodded without hesitation.

”I will. I can relate to the feeling of having a nickname I don’t like given by others...”

Black Bull Princess... This nickname was a recent addition following titles such as ”Chiba’s Ghost Komachi,” ”Genius Female Swordsman,” and ”Edo’s First Beauty,” adding a humorous flavor.

Where did the nickname ”Black Bull Princess” come from?

You have to go back to half a month ago, the night Aoto rushed to the settlement to engage in a decisive battle with the Anti-foreigner Group.

When Aoto, alone, surged forward to engage in a life-or-death duel with over sixty samurai from the Anti-foreigner Group, Sazanoko was eager to help Aoto.

However, a leg injury rendered Sazanoko powerless and unable to lend assistance.

Yet, the moral education ingrained since childhood and her proud self-esteem as a Daughter of the Samurai Family made Sazanoko unwilling to simply stand foolishly in place without doing anything.

Wanting to do something, eager to do whatever she could to the best of her ability—driven by this feeling, Sazanoko ultimately found something she could do even with an injured leg.

That was riding Raab to help the civilians in the settlement evacuate from the fire.

The sudden fires set up by the madmen from the Anti-foreigner Group resulted in many individuals in the settlement being injured and impeded as a result of the sudden flame waves and the destruction caused by the fire.

Raab was quite docile and intelligent, allowing even an injured Sazanoko to ride Raab unimpeded, and when Raab was to carry others, Raab never protested.

And Raab, being very solid and strong, could still gallop swiftly with three to four adults... No, it was more like gallop ”hoof” quickly.

Finding something she could do, Sazanoko, without hesitation, rode Raab throughout the settlement to assist the civilians needing aid.

Thus—in the blazing settlement, a bizarre scene unfolded: A peerlessly beautiful woman of national grace, possessing breathtaking beauty, astride a large black bull that liked to moo when charging, running around the settlement’s streets...

Sazanoko’s actions yielded remarkable results.

That night, she successfully assisted eighteen civilians in the settlement to evacuate to safety, including seven Westerners.

Sazanoko’s heroic act of rescuing people on horseback was not only visually striking but also truly moving and admirable.

In the half-month following the decisive battle with the Anti-foreigner Group, the tale of ”Sazanoko riding a bull to rescue” rapidly spread throughout Edo City, growing ever wider.

Ultimately, it’s unclear who first proposed it, but in any case, the nickname ”Black Bull Princess” suddenly emerged and spread far and wide.

According to Aoto, the name ”Black Bull Princess” seems to have spread quite widely now...

It’s clear that Sazanoko does not like this new nickname at all.