"When I first learned about the deeds of Cat Little Monk and Fox Little Monk, I respected them very much!"

"I asked Miss Leroy to help me find all the paintings related to Cat Monk and Fox Monk that I could find on the market."

"I wanted to put all the paintings I collected in a place where I can often see them, so I argued with my grandfather for a long time before finally convincing him to let me hang these paintings in a few places at home where I often stay.

place."

Qingden raised his eyebrows: "Do you have other paintings?"

Elodie nodded vigorously: "I have a total of 4 paintings of Cat Monk and the others."

"Two pairs are hanging in my bedroom, one is hanging in the study, and the other is hanging right here in the dining room."

After saying that, Elodie stretched out her hand and pointed to her left front.

Qingteng looked in the direction pointed by Elodie and saw that there was indeed an ukiyo-e hanging on the southwest wall of the restaurant. Because the hanging location was too remote, Qingteng had never discovered this painting before.

Qingnobu walked quickly to the side of the ukiyo-e in three steps and carefully looked at the contents of the painting, and then the expression on his face became strange again.

The composition of this painting is quite simple - two men in black wearing black fox masks and black scarves stand side by side on the roof of a densely packed row of houses. Behind them are the dark night and

The full moon hanging high in the night sky.

Elodie walked to Qingdeng's side unexpectedly.

"Mr. Orange, let me tell you a little secret." Elodie lowered her voice and whispered to Qingden in a mysterious tone, "I have a very strange fate with the cat monk and the fox monk."

"Huh?" Qingdeng raised his eyebrows, "How do you say this?"

"I have seen the Cat Monk and the Fox Monk with my own eyes." Elodie, with a touch of pride and excitement between her brows, straightened out her flat chest, "Just last month, that was the first time the Fox Monk appeared in public.

That night, I saw with my own eyes the Cat Monk and the Fox Monk running across the roof of the house opposite my house."

Elodie described in great detail the origin, process and outcome of her first encounter with the Cat Monk and the Fox Monk.

After listening to Elodie's story quietly, Qingden couldn't help but laugh, and for a moment he didn't know what kind of expression he should show.

On the night when he first appeared in the public eye as the "Fox Monk"... that is, the night when he agreed to go with Mai Kinoshita to deal with the group of people who wanted to use the sword to test the sword, he and Mai Kinoshita fought for

After getting rid of the sudden appearance of the officials from the execution office, they indeed entered the Edo settlement where the houses were generally grand, making it easier for them to escape. At the same time, Kinoshita Mai was very familiar with the terrain here.

Qingden never expected that... when he and Kinoshita Mai were running away from the government's pursuers in this settlement, Elodie, who suddenly woke up from her sleep, would see them escaping in a hurry.

"How about it? Aren't Cat Monk and Fox Monk and I very destined?" Elodie said in a triumphant tone, "I suddenly woke up at that time, and then I happened to see the man running across from our house.

The little fox monk and the little cat monk who passed by.”

"As long as I wake up earlier or later, or go to the window earlier or later, I won't have the chance to see them."

Qingdeng nodded lightly: "Well...it is indeed very destined..."

After finishing speaking, Qing Deng silently added in his heart:

——Miss Angoulême, you are indeed very close to the cat monk and the fox monk...the former is your best friend, and the latter is standing by your side now.

After proudly talking about her "indissoluble bond" with Fox Monk and Cat Monk, Elodie seemed to suddenly remember something, and the smile on her face paused.

Immediately afterwards, she glanced at Qingdeng hesitantly.

"Mr. Tachibana, can I...ask you a few questions?"

"Huh?" Qingden signaled Elodie with his eyes: Just ask.

Elodie took a deep breath: "I have always heard that Cat Monk is a very beautiful girl, and Fox Monk is a very handsome boy... Is this true?"

"If this is suspected of leaking secrets and it's inconvenient to tell outsiders, then just pretend I didn't ask."

Although she tried her best to suppress it, there was still a bit of excitement and expectation in Elodie's tone.

Especially when she said the sentence "Fox Monk is a very handsome young man", Elodie's tone revealed a very obvious look of expectation.

Aoto is the "Sanchai" Tongxin who specializes in public security in Edo. Elodie must be eager to get some information about her idol that she didn't know before from Aoto, who is an insider.

That's why you asked Qingdeng like this.

A very beautiful girl and a very handsome boy... The corners of Qingdeng's mouth twitched again imperceptibly.

It is not difficult to guess that these rumors are probably made up by some people to satisfy their own imagination.

"The cat monk and the fox monk are a yellow-faced grandma and a bald middle-aged man" and "the cat monk and the fox monk are a beautiful girl and a beautiful boy" - it is obvious which of the two is more popular and which one is more in line with the heroic fantasy of the common people.

.

But I have to say that this rumor turned out to be correct by mistake.

Cat Monk is indeed a beautiful girl, and she has a top-notch face and figure.

Fox Monk is indeed a handsome boy... Although it seems a bit narcissistic to say so, Qingdeng does feel that his face can barely bear the adjective "handsome".

It was naturally impossible for Qingden to tell Elodie the truth, so he could only give a very official answer:

"Ms. Angoulême, we in Edo do not know much more about the cat monk and the fox monk than the common people in the city."

"Until now, we have not completely determined the genders of Cat Monk and Fox Monk."

"So what you just said about beautiful girls and handsome boys... is probably just nonsense spread by people who want to do something good."

"This, that's it..." Elodie pursed her lips in frustration.

Just at this time--

Boom, boom, boom, boom, boom...

Very suddenly there was a very rhythmic knocking at the entrance.

Qingden and Elodie both raised their gazes and looked in the direction of the entrance.

"Huh? Why would someone knock on the door at this time... (French)" Elodie subconsciously muttered to herself in her native language, walked back to the long table in the restaurant, and picked up the silver rattle.

, shook it heavily a few times.

Leroy appeared in front of Qingden and Elodie again.

Elodie said something to Leroy in French.

Leroy nodded, then walked quickly but politely through the corridor on the left side of the restaurant and went straight to the entrance of the house.

Immediately afterwards, the sound of the door opening, footsteps, voices... these sounds reached Qingdeng's ears one after another.

After a while, Qingdeng heard a "click" sound - this was the sound of the door closing.

Leroy returned to Qingdeng and the others' sight while carrying a rather exquisite-looking wooden box.

As soon as she came back, she started exchanging "magic curses" with Elodie.

Qingden couldn't understand what they were talking about at all, so he could only observe their expressions. He noticed that Elodie suddenly burst into laughter when she saw the wooden box in Leroy's hand.

Elodie pointed to the long table in the restaurant next to her, and then she saw Leroy put the wooden box in her hand on the long table, and then walked away - she should have gone back to continue her work.

Already.

As soon as Leroy left, Elodie immediately jumped towards the wooden box as if she couldn't wait.

"Miss Angoulême." Qingden, who followed Elodie to the wooden box, asked in confusion, "What is this?"

Elodie did not immediately answer Qingden's question.

Instead, he first showed a sly smile to Qingden, and then slowly opened the wooden box with a "click".

Inside the wooden box, there is a very finely crafted wooden Western rapier.

Qingdeng's pupils shrank slightly: "Stab the sword...?"

"This is my favorite sword." A hint of childlike smile appeared in Elodie's eyes, "I accidentally broke the tip of the sword while practicing the sword a while ago, so my grandpa commissioned one of his skilled carpenters.

Living friends help me repair my sword."

"Finally, the repairs were completed and sent back."

Sword training... Qingden keenly captured this word from Elodie's words that made him even want to ignore it: "Miss Angoulême, can you swordsmanship?"

"Well, I have been practicing swordsmanship since I was a child."

Elodie raised her hand and stroked the stabbing sword in the box with a very gentle movement, a trace of nostalgia and reminiscence hung between her brows.

"I have loved Robin Hood since I was a child...Ah, Mr. Tachibana, you probably don't know who Robin Hood is."

"Robin Hood is a very famous thief in various European countries who likes to rob the rich and give to the poor, and performs chivalrous acts of justice."

"I like this legendary thief very much."

"Mr. Orange, don't laugh when I say it."

Elodie smiled sheepishly, her whole face turned red, she drew her right hand to her chest, raised her index finger and fiddled with the three-strand braid hanging on her chest in circles.

"I have always dreamed of becoming a capable thief like Robin Hood, who is willing to help weak thieves."

"So when I was old enough to learn swordsmanship, I pestered my... family and asked them to help me find a swordsmanship teacher."

"Even now that I have moved to Japan with my grandfather, I have never slacked off in practicing swordsmanship."

"In the beginning, in addition to swordsmanship, I originally wanted to learn archery, because Robin Hood is a magic arrow who can 'shoot another arrow that has hit the bull's-eye and split the arrow in two.'

hand."
To be continued...