Ch.55What is that? I don’t know, it’s scary.

After being one-sidedly infatuated with by Taiga, I was finally freed when the sun began to set.

“Ah… that was really good.”

Taiga’s face was practically glowing.

“Yeah. I’m glad you enjoyed it…”

I responded halfheartedly.

“There’s something special about doing it in an unfamiliar place.”

Taiga said while snuggling against my body.

“But… I still think doing it at home is the best.”

Soon after, Taiga continued with a blush.

“It… feels like we’re newlyweds.”

Something felt off. My intuition was right.

“Let’s have an extended session when we get home?”

Taiga clearly had no intention of letting me go.

“…Sure.”

I answered with my eyes tightly shut.

Well… this is my karma. I should take responsibility for it.

Afterward, even after we got home, I was thoroughly devoured.

———-

Meanwhile, at the Kiryu family dojo.

“Master Kiryu Gonzaemon. It’s been a while.”

Saito Kana spoke formally to Gonzaemon.

“Ah… Kana, is it? You’ve grown a lot.”

Gonzaemon said while sipping green tea.

“A man of your caliber running a small dojo in this rural area. Would you consider becoming an instructor at our Saito family dojo?”

Saito Kana asked.

“I’m sorry, but… this is my hometown and my wife’s hometown too. I’ve decided to lay my bones here.”

Gonzaemon replied.

“Ufufu. To think that the wandering Kiryu would become so domestic after marriage. My grandfather is constantly surprised.”

Kana said with a laugh.

“Hmph. You’ll understand when you find someone you love.”

Gonzaemon said with a frown. He was grimacing because the green tea was too bitter. Gonzaemon had always disliked bitter tastes.

Swiftly!

Gonzaemon quickly pulled out a sugar cube from his kendo uniform sleeve. It was something he always hid from Asuna.

Just as he was about to put the sugar cube in his tea, someone rapidly approached from behind. It was Asuna. Her footwork was so fast that even Kana noticed too late.

Thud!

Asuna grabbed Gonzaemon’s hand.

“Darling… your blood sugar was high in your recent health check, wasn’t it?”

Asuna said with a sweet smile while tightening her grip.

Crunch!

Due to Asuna’s strength, Gonzaemon immediately lost the strength in his hand.

“Ah…”

Gonzaemon made a troubled expression and immediately surrendered the sugar cube.

“Really… I keep the sugar in places you can’t reach, but you always find it.”

Asuna sighed as she spoke.

Asuna confiscated the sugar cube and went back upstairs.

“You’re really under her thumb.”

Kana chuckled.

“Yes. Both mentally and physically.”

Gonzaemon said with a shrug.

“Someone you love…”

Kana murmured in a somewhat wistful tone.

“Aren’t you 17 now? Don’t you have someone you like or are dating?”

Gonzaemon continued.

“There are many people who like me.”

Kana said nonchalantly. It might have sounded like self-praise, but coming from someone as exceptional as Kana, it didn’t sound like boasting at all.

“None of them catch my eye…”

“Hmph. I figured you’d have high standards. Anyway.”

Gonzaemon’s eyes suddenly sharpened.

“You didn’t come here just for small talk. What brings you here?”

Gonzaemon hated beating around the bush.

“You’ve taken on a new disciple recently, right? I saw him on the street.”

Kana said.

“Ah, Shota? I never mentioned him to you. Did you investigate beforehand?”

Gonzaemon’s eyes widened.

“All I found out from my investigation was the name Arigiri Shota. But… I knew at first glance.”

Kana’s eyes gleamed.

“He casually broke a wooden sword with another wooden sword. Not by force, but by reading the wood’s breath and cutting it. He definitely has the fundamentals of ‘Issem’ down.”

Kana looked directly at Gonzaemon.

Issem. It was Gonzaemon’s technique, the one that had won him a match against Saito Tetsu, known as the Fighting God. During a match, Gonzaemon had shattered Saito Tetsu’s bamboo sword, an episode still talked about in kendo circles.

Kana had clearly seen it when she was young. Gonzaemon had cleanly cut through a thick steel plate with his sword. It was a clean strike made possible by reading the breath of the steel.

“Teaching Issem to a disciple? You must really care for him to reveal such secrets to an outsider.”

Kana said with a chuckle.

However, Kana’s assumption was off the mark.

“I-Issem?!”

Gonzaemon was taken aback.

“What… I don’t know. That’s scary…”

Gonzaemon seemed genuinely surprised.

“…Huh?”

Kana was confused by the unexpected reaction.

Soon after, Kana heard an unbelievable story.

Shota had only been formally learning kendo for just a month, and Gonzaemon had not yet taught him Issem.

“That’s… a lie, right?”

Kana asked, swallowing hard.

“Why would I lie about something like that?”

Gonzaemon said.

“Then… he figured out Issem on his own?”

Kana could only come to that conclusion.

“Honestly… his talent is overwhelming. I’ve never seen someone learn this quickly. To think he could recreate the basics of Issem…”

Gonzaemon felt conflicted.

A rapid growth rate wasn’t always a blessing. It meant that if someone went astray, they could go very far in the wrong direction. Even in Gonzaemon’s time, there were such individuals. Those with talent who went down the wrong path were numerous.

Gonzaemon’s shoulders felt heavy. As a master, he needed to guide Shota properly.

‘Well… fortunately, he’s a good kid with a sound mind.’

Gonzaemon found comfort in that thought.

“You’re going to send him to the Fighting God Cup, right?”

Kana interrupted Gonzaemon’s thoughts.

“Yes, of course. I plan to let him gain experience there.”

Gonzaemon nodded.

“I’m looking forward to it. He’s not strong yet, but it seems like it would be fun to fight him.”

Kana said, brushing her aqua-colored hair.

“Then I’ll see you then. That’s all I came for. Oh, and.”

Kana looked at Gonzaemon.

“Grandfather said he wants to play Go with you sometime. You should visit.”

Kana relayed the message from her grandfather, the Fighting God.

“Tell Tetsu I don’t fight with weaklings.”

Gonzaemon said with a smirk.

And so, Shota had caught the interest of an unexpected person.

———

Anyway, back to Shota’s perspective.

That night, I received a text from Sasitsu.

‘Let’s hunt monsters again today. Come if you’re free.’

Well, even during Golden Week, I couldn’t stop improving my specs.

“What do you want to do? Should we all go?”

I asked Umi and Taiga.

I had convinced Eri that we were doing club activities.

But… all party members except Sasitsu live in my house. This is practically our club headquarters, isn’t it? I was thinking of inviting Sasitsu to our house for the next meeting.

“Oh, shall we go? We can’t hunt monsters starting tomorrow since we’ll be traveling.”

Umi said while eating ice cream. She was wearing just a T-shirt and panties… her outfit was too casual. Not that I mind the eye candy.

“Fighting after a while doesn’t sound bad.”

Taiga said with a combative smile. She’s quite the battle maniac, this one.

“Then let’s go.”

And just like that, the members were decided.

It was a 4-person party gathering after a long time. Avengers assemble!!

———

The meeting place was, of course, the central park.

Sasitsu was standing there.

He was looking at his phone with a serious expression.

“What’s up? Texting your girlfriend?”

I asked Sasitsu.

“Ah… I submitted photos of the stamp sheet I got from the amusement park.”

Sasitsu said.

“Hmm… hope it goes well.”

I responded casually.

The first prize was the famous console game system, the Muntendo Switch. The second prize was a structure card pack from a famous card game. The third prize was an action figure from a famous special effects show.

There was absolutely no consistency. It felt like they just threw in everything that kids might like.

And the rest… were just participation prizes.

They gave out frog-shaped mascot dolls from the amusement park. They looked completely useless.

“Well… I’m not particularly interested, but.”

Sasitsu then started acting deliberately cool.

“Ah… I see.”

Well, I hope it goes well for him. But it’s better not to expect too much. These kinds of gacha… the more sincere you are, the more you get hurt.

“Ha! It’s been a while since the four of us gathered. I was just starting to lose my edge. Let’s quickly hunt something.”

Taiga said with a smile.

“Ah… I’ll show you my ‘strength’.”

I was now a level 9 powerhouse. The quality of my strength was different from before.

“Puhuhuh. It’s funny hearing the weakest one say that. Uhuhuh!”

Umi burst into laughter.

“Shut up, click-healer.”

I immediately blocked Umi’s mockery.

“Click-healer?!”

Umi exclaimed.

“Why not? You are a click-healer. You just scratch your belly and go ‘Oh, I’m half HP. Heal.’ That’s how you hunt. And you suck up all the experience points.”

I retorted.

If this were an MMORPG, her button combo would be limited to 11231111. She wouldn’t even need to use the 4 key. I’m just jealous!!!

“Hey!! Healing is hard too, you know?”

Umi shouted.

“Umi… you’re whining again. From now on, your nickname is Whiny Umi.”

I immediately renamed Umi.

“Take back that nickname right now!!”

Umi and I started bickering.

“Alright, I’ll take it back, Whiny.”

“You didn’t take it back!!!”

“Whining again, I see. Whiny Whiny.”

“Stop it!!”

“Okay, Whiny Whiny Whiny.”

“Enough!! Let’s stop the chitchat and start hunting.”

Sasitsu broke up our quarrel and drew his sword.

“Mm.”

If it’s the leader’s order, I have to follow. I immediately summoned a sword in my left hand and Pinocchio in my right. Though it was a psycho-robot, it essentially served as my shield.

‘This time… I should try to recreate that experience from before.’

My goal was to somehow recreate and internalize that chilling feeling I had when cutting the wooden sword.

And so, our party prepared to work together as a foursome after a long time.