After glancing at Inagawa a few more times from afar, Aoto turned back and whispered to Mukiwa beside him:

"Let’s go."

Mukiwa nodded obediently: "Mm."

The two figures vanished one after the other into the shadows of the dark alley.

They moved swiftly through the streets, illuminated by the faint moonlight, darting past buildings, and it wasn’t long before they left the outskirts.

Just then, a petal of sakura suddenly drifted past Mukiwa’s eyes.

The sakura petal appeared suddenly and disappeared quickly, but it successfully captured Mukiwa’s gaze and attention.

Mukiwa watched the petal, which swiftly vanished into the nearby darkness, with a slightly dazed look.

Next, a touch of contemplation and hesitation flitted across Mukiwa’s brow.

"Contemplation" and "hesitation" tugged back and forth for quite a while before Mukiwa finally took a deep breath: "...Mr. Tachibana. Before heading back... can you accompany me to a place? I’ll take you to a nice spot."

"Hmm? A nice spot?" Aoto, walking behind Mukiwa, asked in confusion, "What kind of nice spot?"

Mukiwa turned around and, with a slightly bashful tone, said to Aoto: "Um... Just follow me, it won’t take long."

It was just past 4 AM... there was still plenty of time.

Since time wasn’t pressing, seeing Mukiwa’s mysterious demeanor, Aoto couldn’t help but feel a bit curious. After pondering for a moment, he nodded.

Seeing Aoto nod, Mukiwa quickly turned around, leading Aoto straight towards the east.

Mukiwa wasn’t lying to Aoto; the place she wanted Aoto to accompany her to was indeed not far.

In less than three minutes, Mukiwa stopped: "We’re here."

Aoto lifted his gaze and looked around—they were now on the bank of a river.

The river was about 4 meters wide, just an ordinary river commonly seen in Edo City, but its bank was quite unusual, planted with numerous blossoming sakura trees.

Even though it was a dark night, Aoto could still faintly make out how exquisitely and vividly the sakura bloomed on each tree.

From time to time, a breeze would come by, causing the petals to flutter and fall in a beautiful shower.

Looking at these sakura trees along the riverside, a look of surprise appeared on Aoto’s face: "Miss Kinoshita, is this the place you wanted to bring me to?"

Mukiwa nodded vigorously with a radiant smile: "Yes. This is a little-known spot I stumbled upon recently that’s perfect for viewing sakura. It must be your first time here, Mr. Tachibana, right?"

Aoto nodded lightly: "Yes, it’s my first time here."

With that, Aoto abruptly changed the subject:

"Miss Kinoshita, why did you suddenly bring me here?"

"Um..." Standing slightly ahead of Aoto, Mukiwa lowered her head a little, pulling up the mask on her face, "It’s just... I suddenly wanted to see the sakura."

"It’s almost May now, and the sakura season will quickly pass. If I don’t hurry to see them more, there’ll be no chance this year."

"I always watched sakura during the day, and I’ve never experienced viewing them at night."

"Since we don’t need to rush home immediately, I just had a whim to try ’viewing spring sakura at night’ tonight."

Quietly listening to Mukiwa’s explanation, Aoto nodded, thinking to himself, "I see."

Miss Kinoshita really has a sense of romance... Reflecting on this silently, Aoto turned his gaze back to the sakura trees ahead by the riverside.

"...Viewing sakura at night truly has a unique charm," Aoto smiled.

Aoto’s appreciation was neither flattering nor courteous.

Under the night sky, watching the scattering sakura petals indeed had a special charm.

Aoto’s hearing had just been enhanced by the "Wind Sensor."

Sounds that were once indistinct, like the rustling of the wind and the sound of petals dancing, were now crystal clear to Aoto.

Not just the wind and falling petals.

The babble of the stream, the distant chirping of insects... the world revealed itself more vividly to Aoto’s ears.

Even though his hearing had enhanced so much, Aoto didn’t feel overwhelmed by the increase in information—probably another effect of the "Wind Sensor," enhancing his brain’s ability to process ’sound’ information, preventing him from feeling uncomfortable despite hearing far more than the average person.

Since the start of spring this year... More accurately, since his journey began, Aoto hadn’t seen sakura from this era.

Having just undergone a stealth operation and intense battle at the tea house, Aoto was still not entirely relaxed.

Thinking it was a perfect opportunity to relax while enjoying the beautiful scenery, and to properly appreciate a view he hadn’t yet had the chance to, Aoto crossed his arms, placing them on the hilt of the Orange Water Blade at his left waist, and focused on the scattering sakura before him.

Mukiwa snuck a glance at Aoto behind her.

Seeing Aoto seemingly engrossed in viewing the sakura, Mukiwa pressed her lips together and a faint blush crept onto her cheeks, a shy smile gradually appearing beneath her mask.

With her face flushed, she intertwined her fingers behind her back, carefully and slowly moving her feet, aiming to stand half a step closer to Aoto.

But just then—

"...Hmm?"

Aoto’s expression suddenly changed.

With a guilty conscience, Mukiwa trembled, the blush quickly fading from her face, and she hastily pulled back the foot she had just extended, stammering in a fluster: "So-sorry, I—I was just trying to hear what you were saying better, so..."

"Shh..."

Not listening to what Mukiwa was saying, Aoto made a silencing gesture, cutting off her words.

Next, ignoring Mukiwa’s puzzled gaze, he focused all his attention on his ears.

Just a moment ago, while he was viewing the scene, he suddenly heard an unusual sound from behind.

Though faint, with his currently heightened hearing, he distinctly heard—it seemed there were footsteps behind them!

After carefully listening to his surroundings again, Aoto confirmed the same direction and once more heard what sounded very much like footsteps.

Without a moment’s hesitation, Aoto grasped the hilt of his sword at his waist and followed the sound.

Dashing off the riverside and into a small alley beside it, after rounding the corner inside the alley, Aoto spotted—deeper in the alley, ahead of him, a figure clad in a brown robe was fleeing away from him...

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Today’s 7000 words added up to quite a bit, requesting monthly tickets! Requesting recommendation votes! (crying wildly.jpg)

Requesting monthly tickets! Requesting monthly tickets!

Guess who this person in the brown robe could be~~