Ch.105Rise Up, Gambling God (2)

At 8 AM, after breakfast, we headed straight to the dojo.

Gonzaemon himself offered to drive us there. It would be much more comfortable than taking a bus or public transportation.

“Ta-da!!”

Umi, Eri, and Taiga all wanted to come along, so they were busy getting ready on their own. After dressing up nicely, they stood before me.

Umi wore a classic summer dress. The skirt was short, showing off her healthy, toned legs as a bonus. The top was also moderately low-cut, revealing her ample cleavage.

Eri wore denim hot pants with a crop top, a sporty and vibrant outfit.

Taiga wore jeans that perfectly outlined her lower body paired with a t-shirt.

Honestly, they were all dressed casually, but their beauty was such a cheat code that they looked good in anything.

“Seriously… are you going for a TV shoot?!! Why are you all dressed so prettily!!”

I exclaimed while hugging all my girlfriends at once.

“Hehehe. Shota!! Such an overreaction…”

Umi said that while pressing her body against mine.

“Hehehe. I’m glad you’re happy.”

Eri said.

“I’m just dressed normally, you idiot.”

Taiga said with a smirk.

“Well… they’re Umi’s parents. We should make a good impression.”

At that moment, Eri made a comment.

“Oh… because they’re your friend’s parents?”

I naturally thought that way.

“No… Umi and I are now part of the same harem and are like sisters. They’re my parents too.”

Eri said.

“What…”

Umi muttered at those words.

“Sisters is a bit…”

Taiga also made a strangely uncomfortable expression.

“I’ve changed my mind.”

Eri looked straight at Umi and Taiga as she spoke.

“I want us all to live happily and lovey-dovey like this.”

Eri looked directly at me.

Eri’s words were enough to change the paradigm of our relationship. She was openly declaring a harem where they would share me.

I’m fine with it, but… I thought as I looked at Eri. She exchanged glances with me and secretly put her finger to her lips.

She wanted me to keep my opinion to myself for now. Fair enough—if I chimed in, the conversation would get complicated. I just kept my mouth shut.

“I don’t like it!! I’m going to compete fair and square and have Shota all to myself!!”

Umi shouted loudly.

“That’s right!! Don’t talk like a coward, let’s fight!!”

Taiga also spoke aggressively.

“Hmm… is that so? But I’m happy the way things are now.”

Eri said with a slightly tearful expression. However, it wasn’t genuine tears. This girl… she was faking her expression. Even this mischievous side of Eri was cute.

“I-I’m happy too, but… anyway, no!!”

Umi cut her off firmly.

“Exactly!!”

Taiga nodded with tremendous intensity.

Sensing that continuing this conversation would lead to a lengthy discussion, I wrapped things up.

“Hey, guys. Shall we go now?”

I said. Only then did my girlfriends stop their debate and follow me.

———

We headed straight to the dojo. Gonzaemon was already waiting with the car.

“…There are a lot of you.”

Gonzaemon looked at my girlfriends with an expression of disbelief.

“Ahahahaha…”

I could only respond with an awkward laugh. Well… things just happened to turn out this way.

“…They’re all quite high-caliber. Of course, Umi is the prettiest… but it’s not overwhelming. This is going to be tough.”

Asuna-san was seriously measuring Umi’s combat power.

“You’re Shota’s master, right? I’ve heard so much about you from Shota. He’s always talking about what an amazing teacher you are!”

Eri spoke to Gonzaemon with friendly charm.

As expected of a gyaru… her social skills were top-notch.

“Uwahahahaha!! Shota! Have you been saying such embarrassing things about me?”

Gonzaemon immediately fell for her flattery. This guy… he’s so weak to compliments.

Eri winked at me. She really was like a cunning strategist.

“Eri! Don’t say things like that!”

I pretended to blush and be embarrassed.

“Uwahahahaha. Say those exact words to me directly!! Hmm?”

With that, Gonzaemon immediately dropped his guard toward Eri.

“Hello!! I’m Natsukawa Taiga!!”

Taiga bowed 90 degrees at the waist to Gonzaemon and Asuna-san. Well… even in delinquent society, hierarchy is quite strict.

“My, how polite.”

Asuna-san smiled. However, her eyes weren’t smiling. Well, she’s her daughter’s rival in love. She wouldn’t look at her favorably.

“Uwahahahaha! I like your straightforwardness.”

However, Gonzaemon just gave a hearty laugh. This man was honestly quite simple-minded. His head contained nothing but swordsmanship and love for his family. He really was a good person.

“Well then, get in. It’ll be a bit cramped, but bear with it.”

Gonzaemon immediately started the car. It was just an ordinary mid-size car. We had to squeeze together in the back seat. But that was actually nice. It meant legitimate skinship was totally possible.

“By the way… what about the other participants?”

I asked about the four others participating in the Toshin Cup with me. Weren’t they coming with us?

“They’re meeting us there.”

Gonzaemon said.

“Isn’t that a bit harsh?”

I asked.

“It’s normal in the kendo world. The gap between a top disciple and regular disciples is different.”

Gonzaemon stated firmly.

“The stronger ones receive better treatment. It’s a samurai tradition dating back to the Warring States period. Shota, you should get used to it.”

Gonzaemon said.

“………”

It seemed a bit cold, but if that’s how it was…

“It’s also a master’s duty to establish hierarchy among disciples. Otherwise… conflicts arise.”

At that moment, Gonzaemon spoke with a slightly bitter expression.

“………”

In the game, Gonzaemon was Umi’s master and skill shuttle, so I didn’t know his backstory. Did he have some kind of history? I wondered.

“Honey, let’s go.”

At that moment, Asuna took Gonzaemon’s hand.

“Ah, right.”

Snapping out of his thoughts, Gonzaemon immediately started the car.

Vroooom-!

And so the car departed.

———-

The back seat was absolute chaos.

Eri was squeezed in on my left side, and Taiga was squeezed in on my right. Umi was sitting on my lap, clinging tightly to me. She had the VIP seat.

And… we decided to treat Umi as today’s main character. After all, this Toshin Cup was all about Umi. If I lose shamefully, Umi would be married off elsewhere.

My other girlfriends seemed to understand the gravity of the situation, as they all allowed Umi to take the special seat. They might be jealous, but they were surprisingly understanding. I really was lucky with women.

I slipped my hand under Umi’s dress and caressed her intimate area.

“Shota, do you enjoy touching my body that much?”

Umi chuckled and pushed her chest forward. I buried my face in her bosom.

“Yes. I want to touch you forever.”

I said.

“Really… Shota, you’re such a pervert.”

Umi chuckled.

———–

The car headed straight into downtown Tokyo.

“Traffic’s bad.”

Gonzaemon clicked his tongue.

“I almost want to cut through these cars with my sword to clear a path.”

Gonzaemon muttered something ominous. When you say it, it doesn’t sound like a joke, so please refrain. Seriously.

Well, we were getting delayed. The weekend traffic was particularly heavy.

My three girlfriends were all asleep. Sitting in a car for a long time can be quite tiring. For the sake of their condition, I decided to let them sleep.

———-

Finally, the car arrived at our destination.

‘Toshin Cup’

There was a huge stadium with these fighting-spirit-filled characters written on it.

“No way… the Toshin Cup is being held here?”

I was surprised by the unexpected scale.

In the game, the Toshin Cup exists, but it’s just described in text, visual novel style.

‘Toshin Cup stadium… there are quite a lot of people.’

That’s about all the description there is. Really. They just reused the gym interior CG.

“The Saito family has consumed all the political and economic power. Owning a stadium like this is nothing to them. This is all Saito family property.”

Gonzaemon said.

What kind of family are they exactly? I couldn’t help but wonder.

Outside, there was a large parking lot. Gonzaemon parked the car and had us get out.

“Excuse me… what brings you here?”

A manager approached our group. It seemed this was a private parking lot where outside vehicles weren’t allowed.

“Ah… aren’t you Master Kiryu…”

The manager immediately bowed upon seeing Gonzaemon.

“Ah. It’s been a while.”

Gonzaemon gave a slight nod and continued walking. Gonzaemon’s very presence served as a free pass. Our master was quite famous indeed.

“Master, you’re so cool!!!”

I immediately went into fanboy mode for Gonzaemon.

“Ufufu. My husband has caused quite a commotion against the Saito family in the past.”

Asuna-san said with a smile.

“Honey!! Don’t tell them!!”

Gonzaemon shouted, his face turning red.

“…I’ll tell you later?”

Asuna-san winked at me. I was honestly curious.

At the entrance to the stadium, there were familiar faces. The fellow dojo members who would be competing in the tournament with me.

“Ah!! Shota!! You’re here!!!”

“Check out this atmosphere… it’s really intense!!”

They all came up to me and gave me warm hugs.

They didn’t seem to mind the difference in treatment between the top disciple and regular disciples.

I always felt this… everyone at our dojo was incredibly nice. There wasn’t a single third-rate villain type among them.

“Hmph… I guess these are bonds forged through Kiryu Dojo’s game of tag.”

We were comrades who had fled together from the “it” person.

Anyway, we completed the registration process in high spirits and went inside.

Honestly, it wasn’t the best place for a date or outing, so I felt sorry for my girlfriends.

But there was no need for that.

“Wow!! Look at that giant shinai! Do they use that as a weapon?”

Taiga looked around curiously. This girl… she secretly likes weapons.

“Shota, your collar is twisted.”

Eri smiled and diligently took care of me.

“…Hmmm.”

Umi just clung to me like a koala, wrapped in happiness.

Well, they were all enjoying themselves in their own way. That eased my guilt a little.

And so, we received our waiting tickets and entered the stadium.