My Gang of Swordsmen

Chapter 626: Chapter 2: Chokata Toshisuke Urged to Marry

”Mr. Chokata, you really do enjoy having the bath all to yourself, don’t you...”

Chokata had an unusual obsession with having a large bath to himself.

To enjoy the immense bath of Qianxun House alone, Chokata always went in the deep of night, just before the place closed and when there were virtually no guests left.

No exception.

Aoto, having stayed at Shiwei Hall for quite some time, had never seen Chokata visit Qianxun House at any other time besides late at night.

”Naturally!”

Chokata inserted his right hand, the one not holding the bath bucket, into his waist, and puffed out his flat chest a bit.

”Mr. Tachibana, don’t you think it’s wonderful to have the whole bath to yourself?”

”To stretch out your limbs whenever you please, to lay any way you like in the bath.”

”You’ll never encounter the awkward situation where you can’t even stretch your legs without accidentally kicking someone nearby.”

”Well...” Aoto blinked, ”That’s true...”

Aoto could indeed understand Chokata’s pursuit of having the bath all to himself.

After all, having a huge bath to yourself, soaking however you like, lying any which way you please, is certainly a delightful experience.

”Mr. Tachibana, are you still practicing your sword this late into the night?”

This time it was Chokata’s turn to question Aoto.

”Hmm. I had nothing else to do, so I figured I might as well practice for a bit.”

”You’re really diligent, Mr. Tachibana... how’s your recovery going so far?”

Chokata and others, living under the same roof as Aoto, were well aware of Aoto’s active efforts in ”physical rehabilitation” recently.

”It’s progressing steadily, I’d say,” Aoto half-joked, ”My muscles and bones are still quite stiff; it’ll probably take some time before I’m back to my pre-injury condition.”

”As long as it’s steadily recovering, that’s good. Am I getting in the way of your practice by being here?”

”Not at all.” Aoto waved his hand, ”In fact... your timing is perfect, Mr. Chokata. I happen to have something I wanted to discuss with you.”

”Something to discuss with me?” Chokata tilted his head in puzzlement.

”I heard from Mr. Hijikata this afternoon.” Aoto smiled, ”Is it true that your eldest sister, Chokata Mitsuo, and your brother-in-law, Chokata Rintaro, are coming to Edo for Mr. Kondo’s wedding?”

Chokata was taken aback.

Then he reached his left hand behind his head, playing with his ponytail.

As Chokata toyed with it, the slender ponytail danced lightly at the back of his head.

”So Mr. Hijikata told you all about it... yes, once my elder sister learned Brother Kondo was getting married, she and my brother-in-law wrote to say they would definitely come to the wedding to congratulate him.”

”Originally, my second sister also mentioned in a letter that she wanted to come, but since she’s currently living too far from Edo, she had to give up the idea.”

Chokata had two elder sisters who were both married.

His eldest sister, Chokata Mitsuo, was married not too far from Edo at Tama County Hino Inn. Her husband, a son-in-law, took the name Chokata Rintaro after marrying her.

His second sister, Chokata Jin, got married and moved to quite a distant place.

”Do you have any idea when your eldest sister plans to arrive in Edo?”

”I don’t know. She didn’t mention the exact time in the letter.”

At this, Chokata gave Aoto a puzzling look.

”Mr. Tachibana, why do you seem to be so interested in my eldest sister?”

”Miss Chokata Mitsuo’s renown has certainly reached my ears by now.” Aoto smiled, ”Both Mr. Kondo and Mr. Hijikata have told me: you and your eldest sister look very much alike, as if carved from the same mold.”

”So I’ve long been curious to see with my own eyes whether your eldest sister truly resembles you so much.”

At that moment, Aoto suddenly noticed: Chokata’s expression... was a bit strange.

His long brows furrowed slightly, his eyelids were lowered, lips slightly pursed, with a faint hint of worry lingering between his brows. The hand reaching behind his head also paused, no longer playing with the ponytail that rested high on his nape.

”Mr. Chokata, why the sudden look of concern? What’s wrong?”

”Hmm? Ah, it’s nothing.”

Chokata’s body trembled a little.

Immediately afterward, Aoto saw the familiar sunny smile characteristic of Chokata.

His slender ponytail bounced lightly at the back of his head once more.

”I’m just worried about how to handle my sister and brother-in-law’s marriage pressure once they arrive.”

”Marriage pressure?” Aoto froze.

In Chokata’s eyes and on his cheeks slowly appeared visible traces of helplessness and bitterness: ”My eldest sister believes that marriage shouldn’t be delayed too long.”

”Last year, as soon as I turned 15, she started writing to urge me to get married and began looking for potential matches for me...”

At this, Chokata let out a heavy sigh.

”I still don’t want to marry and start a family right now...”

”I’ve told my eldest sister multiple times that I currently have no intent to marry, asking her to stop pressuring me and to cease setting up matchmaking for me.”

”But she just won’t listen...”

”Oh...”

Aoto raised his hand to scratch the back of his head, sympathetically smiling:

”Your sister... surely she’s a bit too hasty.”

”Although Mr. Chokata, you’ve indeed reached the age where marriage is an option, it’s far from being an urgent necessity yet.”

”That’s exactly what I told my oldest sister!” Chokata grumbled, baring his teeth, ”But she just refuses to budge!”

”Ah... how annoying...”

After exhaling a deep sigh, Chokata took a deep breath, composing his expression and tone.