Ch.324October’s End, and Breaking the Seal (4)

“Thank you, young man.”

The old man smiled gently as he pulled Fiora away.

In front of our house, an intimidating limousine was already parked. Are they trying to scare high school students?… I thought that, but honestly, I wasn’t very impressed.

‘Huh… I’ve actually ridden in limousines quite a lot, haven’t I?’

I rode in one during the Kana incident, and again during the Madoka situation.

Clunk-!

The old man respectfully pushed Fiora into the limousine.

“Ohoho. Well then, I’ll be off. If you’re truly determined to stop our granddaughter’s marriage… fight like a true swordsman with your blade. Come prepared for a dojo challenge.”

The old man was about to hop onto the car.

But then, he paused.

What’s this old geezer doing now?

Tododo-!

The old man stood right in front of me.

“I almost forgot this.”

He handed me what looked like an invitation.

Ah… it’s like a duel challenge.

“The time and place are written here. Now, truly, bye-bye! Hohoho.”

After that, the old man got into the car like a gust of wind.

“Shouldn’t he have given that to you at the beginning?”

Kana said, looking dumbfounded.

“At that age, people get forgetful… I’ve… already lost.”

I slumped down where I stood.

“We definitely… couldn’t do anything. He was incredibly strong…”

Kana said.

“No… I lost in terms of the old man concept.”

I wiped away tears.

“That’s what you’re upset about?!”

Kana immediately objected.

“Just laughing ‘hohoho’ wasn’t enough…”

I wiped my tears.

“I should have acted senile too.”

I had an epiphany. This was a defeat in the details.

“No!! Drop the concept already! What nonsense are you spouting?!”

Kana got angry right away.

No, the concept is important. In battle, establishing psychological dominance has a huge effect. There’s a reason ancient generals wore intimidating armor. Once you lose the concept battle, anything else you do is just chaff.

“Anyway, let’s open it. It’s quite an elegant duel invitation. Did they prepare this in advance?”

Eri said at that moment.

“If they prepared it in advance… does that mean they knew everything we would do?”

Madoka made an intelligent observation.

“Probably. In other words, they read all our thoughts.”

I sighed as I picked up the letter. We’d already been outmaneuvered. It was proof that our opponent was more formidable than expected.

“Oh, they put perfume on the letter?”

There was a citrus scent wafting from it.

“Sniff, sniff. Wow… this smells really good?”

The scent itself wasn’t overwhelming, so it didn’t feel cloying.

“Is it that good? Let me smell it too.”

“Me too!”

My girlfriends, curious about this, immediately tried to smell the letter.

“Wait!! Don’t push!!”

“Hey! Hey! The paper’s tearing…!”

The girlfriends began to clamor over the single sheet of paper.

“Is it really that good?”

Sayaka, also curious, tried to discreetly smell the letter.

“Stooooooop!!!!”

At that moment, Kana planted her sword in the ground and shouted.

“What are you all doing! Seriously!!! Get a grip!!! Just read the letter!! Why is everyone acting so ridiculous?!”

Kana immediately restored order.

I waved the letter near Kana’s nose.

“Oh, it does smell nice… No, wait!! Let’s check the contents already!!”

Kana resolutely unfolded the letter.

Riiip-!

But she put too much force into it, and the letter tore slightly.

“Cyber psycho…..”

Is her implant malfunctioning again?

“Th-the paper was just fragile to begin with!!”

Kana tried to defend herself.

Despite various mishaps, we finally checked the contents of the letter.

‘Shirahoshi Hotel, today at 7:30 PM.’

It was just a simple line of text. The same time as the engagement ceremony.

“I thought it would be full of flowery language and eloquent phrases… but it’s so dry.”

I said.

“Oppa, truly wealthy families don’t do that. Actually, being concise is more sophisticated.”

Madoka immediately provided an explanation about high society.

“Oh… really?”

I see.

There was nothing else in the letter. It seemed like we were free to bring as many people as we wanted and use whatever weapons we chose. It was literally like a dojo challenge. A strong declaration that we could come anytime—a show of confidence.

But… I couldn’t bring all our party members.

‘Honestly… those guys are dangerous.’

I wasn’t sure if that old man was exceptionally strong, but there was something unsettling about their swordsmanship. Their sword techniques reeked of bloodshed.

Moreover, everyone was caught off guard. Even though I responded relatively quickly, my reaction was still slow, and I almost got slashed. Even Tina, who has top-tier physical specs, couldn’t react to the old man’s swordsmanship.

Since this was a modern-day dojo challenge, no one would die, but it was still dangerous.

“I’m going, for starters.”

At that moment, Senior Sayaka stood up.

“Senior… honestly, it’s too much for your skill level.”

I said.

Sayaka was definitely strong among high schoolers. However… the problem was that this was an otaku world setting. It was filled with inhuman, demonic enemies. This wasn’t something a mere human like Sayaka could handle.

“I know. But this is about a friend. If I don’t help, who will?”

But Sayaka’s resolve seemed firm.

“Okay. I understand.”

A warrior has their own sense of responsibility, and I had no right to object. I finally accepted Sayaka’s participation.

“Taiga, you stay behind.”

For similar reasons, I stopped Taiga.

“What! Are you saying I won’t be helpful?! Huh?”

Taiga immediately got angry.

Honestly… Taiga was strong among ordinary people. But he was in the same league as Sayaka. He would get hurt if he came. But if I said that directly, Taiga would get upset.

“We have other enemies too. This is our base. What if someone comes when the base is empty? You’re the one I’m counting on then, Taiga.”

I patted Taiga’s shoulder to boost his self-esteem.

“Hehehe… Well, if that’s the case. I guess I have no choice.”

Taiga immediately grinned. Geez… such an easy guy.

“I’m definitely going.”

At that moment, Tina stood up. Ah, she’s recovered from fainting.

“My pride is too wounded if I just stay put.”

Tina’s competitive spirit seemed to have ignited. Yes, I was planning to bring Tina anyway. She’s among the strongest here in terms of physical ability. She’s the one who can smash monsters’ heads without her psycho-robot.

“Okay. Kana, please come too. I’m asking you.”

I held Kana’s hand firmly.

“Y-yes… of course.”

Kana tried to look triumphant while her face slightly reddened.

“And… Kirtan. Please. Show us the power of a space pirate.”

Kirtan was quite strong too. He basically had the specs of an alien that transcended humans.

“Oh! Whether it’s a dojo challenge or whatever, it’s about causing trouble. And causing trouble is a pirate’s specialty!”

Kirtan laughed loudly.

I tentatively formed a team with myself, Kana, Tina, and Kirtan.

“Hey… wouldn’t it be good to call Thumbs-up Man and Sasix too?”

Eri suggested.

“Ah… definitely.”

That was quite a good idea. Especially Sasix. He was quite helpful when we faced those biker gangs last time. With his protagonist buff, he never loses or dies in minor sub-events. If we just throw Sasix in, the enemies would self-destruct. Should I bring out the disaster again…!

Thumbs-up Man was a no-brainer. After learning swordsmanship from Kana, Thumbs-up Man had powered up significantly. The problem was…

“Thumbs-up Man is in a depressed mood these days…”

His hair had finally grown back with the hair growth tonic, but it all got shaved off during a race. Afterward, he applied the tonic once more, but it didn’t work. According to Hagenstein, the previously inactive hair follicles had been overworked and overloaded.

‘Perhaps… he might live as a bald man for the rest of his life.’

Hagenstein’s bitter voice echoed in my mind. Thumbs-up Man…

“Let’s call Sasix, but leave Thumbs-up Man alone. Men need their alone time.”

I said.

I immediately contacted Sasix.

“…Fine. Looks like you’ve gotten yourself into something again, Shota.”

Sasix surprisingly agreed to come without much resistance.

“Sasix…!!”

“If I don’t come, you’ll just keep bothering me. That’s all.”

Sasix deliberately spoke curtly and hung up.

“Hehehe. What a tsundere.”

I said as I ended the call.

“These days… I’m starting to think Sasix is just being gaslit by Shota.”

Eri suddenly made a sensible observation.

“What are you talking about?!”

I immediately got angry.

“Yeah… he’s been dragged around by Shota so much that he’s just hypnotized himself into thinking it’s normal.”

Kana added an explanation.

“Hey!!! Don’t belittle male friendship!!”

I said firmly. There’s a special bond that only Sasix and I share!!

———

Anyway, given the designated time, we didn’t have much leeway. We had to leave immediately.

Kendo practitioners’ trait: Having lots of spare bamboo swords and wooden swords.

Thanks to that, I quickly assembled spare bamboo swords with divine speed and gave one to each person. It didn’t seem right to fight with real swords.

“Let’s go!!”

I said to everyone. I felt a bit sorry for involving my girlfriends, but… I needed epic weapons that much. With the trust we’ve built so far, everyone followed me without much complaint.

And the moment we reached the entrance, someone greeted me.

“Did you deliberately not call me? That hurts.”

A bald man was standing there proudly.

It was Thumbs-up Man.

“Let’s go, Shota.”

Thumbs-up Man nodded lightly. He didn’t say much. However… his passion was clearly conveyed through that gesture.

“Thumbs-up Man!!!!”

Thumbs-up Man and I approached each other and immediately high-fived. This is… male friendship!!