Ch.5What’s wrong with you, really?

“W-wait!! We still have time left!! Can’t we talk more?”

Umi suddenly blocked my way.

She was standing firmly at the entrance of the dojo, making it awkward to pass by. Excellent defensive pressure, a perfect zone press.

I understood how Taewoong felt when facing Myunghyun. This was impenetrable.

“Talk…?”

I couldn’t find a way to refuse.

“…….”

I immediately looked over at Gonzaemon, who was maintaining his sword in the distance, silently pleading for help.

Gonzaemon’s eyes met mine.

He glanced back and forth between Umi and me.

*Grin*

Then, Gonzaemon smiled and pretended not to notice, continuing to work on his sword.

Wait… this old man seems to be misunderstanding something!

“Your name is Shota, right? I’ll call you Shota.”

Umi was desperately trying to keep the conversation going.

Calling me by my first name already… is this how gyarus maintain distance?

“Yeah. Feel free to call me that, Miss Kiryu.”

That’s what I said.

“You can just call me Umi too.”

Umi said with a smile.

“I don’t really like the surname Kiryu…”

Umi said with a complicated expression.

Well, it was an excessively masculine surname. It reminded me of that legendary yakuza from fiction. Being a girl, she must be conscious of it.

“Got it. Umi.”

I finally replied.

But even as I answered, my brain was working at full capacity.

But… why is she talking to me? Was there some kind of affection event? There wasn’t anything like that. I’d just been swinging a sword every day. There was no angle for Kiryu Umi to talk to me. No reason for us to become close…

‘Did Gonzaemon ask her to?’

That couldn’t be it either. Umi was a daughter in her rebellious phase, not the type to obediently follow her father’s orders.

‘I’m seriously scared… what’s going on? Really!’

The scariest thing for someone who’s possessed a character is when other characters don’t move according to the original story. This could cause a butterfly effect that throws off the game’s storyline.

“What’s wrong? Why such a serious face?”

Umi asked.

“Ah. I’m just nervous because I’ve never talked with a girl before. Plus, an incredibly beautiful girl is talking to me? That’s too high difficulty.”

That’s what I said.

“You don’t seem nervous… calmly complimenting a girl as beautiful right to her face.”

Umi looked at me with sharp eyes. Unnecessarily perceptive.

Well… I wasn’t nervous. My actual self was a web novel writer in his mid-20s, worn down by work. It would be strange to get nervous around a high schooler.

“No, I am nervous. You’re not trying to recruit me into a religion or… some suspicious part-time job, are you?”

I asked.

“Pfft!!!!”

Umi burst into laughter. It seemed to explode out of nowhere.

“Religious recruitment… hehehehehe.”

Umi shook with laughter for a while before finally composing herself.

“I just wanted to get to know you better.”

Umi said.

“Right. That’s what all cult recruiters say.”

I replied.

“Cult… hahahahaha! S-stop making me laugh!!”

Umi kept bursting into laughter. She seems to laugh easily too. She laughs at this level of humor? Or… did I hit her funny bone? Anyway.

“Shota. You’re funny. Have you thought about joining any clubs at school?”

After that, Umi skillfully continued with small talk. Even in this obviously awkward conversation, she naturally steered it toward everyday topics, showing impressive communication skills.

I just went along with the flow of conversation.

Before I knew it, the afternoon session was starting.

“Well, I should probably…”

I tried to make my escape again. It was 1 PM, the start of the afternoon session at the dojo.

“Ah. Right. It was fun.”

Umi said, appearing to head back to her room.

*Stops abruptly*

However, Umi stopped. She seemed to be expecting something.

What am I supposed to do? I really don’t know.

“Goodbye. Let’s chat again when we get the chance.”

I said, waving my hand.

Then I headed straight for the dojo.

“…Oh. Okay.”

Umi wore an expression of dissatisfaction. Truly… the psychology of teenage girls was difficult.

———

At that moment, from Umi’s perspective.

Shortly after, Umi went straight up to her room. Her expression showed slight annoyance. Was it wounded pride? Her face was strangely flushed, and the redness wouldn’t disappear despite her efforts to control her expression.

‘H-he didn’t ask for my number?’

Umi was shocked by this. It was such a blow to her pride that she almost teared up.

‘I gave you so many openings!! Showing I was interested in you!! But… you don’t ask for my number?’

Any normal guy would have seized the opportunity to get her number or try to make plans.

But Shota wasn’t like that.

‘B-but… the atmosphere was so friendly.’

She’d heard he was a former hikikomori, but Shota was surprisingly good at conversation. He was different from guys who only wanted to talk about themselves. He properly listened to what Umi said and gave appropriate reactions to keep the conversation flowing.

‘S-somehow… he seemed mature.’

Umi felt an adult charm from Shota. He was much calmer than the guys around her.

‘But… my heart didn’t race!!’

Shota was somehow… like an SNS chatbot. It felt like he was just responding politely without emotion.

‘H-he wasn’t excited to talk to ME?!’

Umi’s pride was severely wounded by this. The reason was simple. Umi had felt a slight flutter from Shota’s unexpected demeanor. She felt like she’d lost somehow.

‘Am I… not attractive?’

Umi even had such thoughts.

But Umi rejected that idea. She was confident in her absolute charm. That was the source of her self-awareness.

‘I’ve decided.’

Umi felt her motivation burning.

‘You ignored me? I’ll definitely… make you fall head over heels for me.’

Otherwise, her damaged pride wouldn’t recover.

Just as Umi was making this resolution.

“Ah… Umi. I didn’t know you disliked the surname Kiryu. Can I call you Umi too?”

One of the dojo students approached Umi in a friendly manner. He was the same age as Umi and seemed oddly eager to talk to her.

“No. Just call me Kiryu.”

Umi cut him off.

“But you said you dislike your surname…”

“Were you eavesdropping? Worst.”

Umi said before returning to her room.

“……..”

The student could only look dejected.

———-

The initiation ceremony began immediately.

The rules were simple. Starting with the lowest-ranked student, each person would have a one-minute free sparring session with me, one after another.

In military terms, it was like “everyone below me, gather up”… Shit. Bad memories.

Anyway, I faced my first opponent.

“Shota!! Besides the initiation, I have a grudge against you!!”

One of the students shouted loudly.

“A grudge?”

Why so scary all of a sudden.

“How dare you… call our idol Miss Kiryu by her first name!!! Unforgivable!!!”

At those words, the aura of the other students changed. They looked ready to cut someone down.

“What’s the difference between using her surname or first name?!”

I shouted. Why do Japanese people separate those concepts?

“No excuses!!! Come at me!!”

The student wearing kendo armor charged at me. His name was… right, Tanaka. That surname that Forbes would rank as appearing in every Japanese creative work.

“Hahaha! Everyone’s so enthusiastic, that’s great!!”

Gonzaemon laughed cheerfully like a spectator watching from across the river. This old man has it easy.

Can’t be helped. I had to fight.

*Whoosh!!!*

As a clean head strike came flying, I immediately tilted my head to avoid it.

Right after, I delivered a clean, short head strike.

*Thwack!!*

The attack landed perfectly.

“………..?!”

For a moment, everyone froze. They never expected a beginner who just put on armor to execute such a clean dodge and counterattack.

Well… I had trained hard in kendo in my original world in preparation for this possession. I had improved my skills enough to place in corporate and adult competitions.

“Hmmmm……”

Gonzaemon’s eyes sparkled through his mask. He was looking at me with immense interest.

———

Anyway, the initiation ceremony continued.

I could easily handle the beginners.

But the intermediate and advanced practitioners were merciless. Having to face opponents consecutively drained my stamina, and the dojo’s senior members were definitely stronger than me.

Especially Gonzaemon.

“Haha!! That movement was good!! But weak!!!”

*Thwack!!!*

“Dodging?! Weak!! Feeble!!! Think about attacking quickly before that!! That’s a swordsman’s spirit!!”

*Thwack! Thwack!!*

“Yes!! Remember that feeling!!”

*Thwack!*

He was beating me with obvious enjoyment. This old man… talking non-stop while hitting me. Don’t you bite your tongue?

*Thwack!!*

As the final head strike came flying, I collapsed to the ground.

It was a complete defeat. Well… honestly, I had hoped to stand out here. A satisfying moment of triumph… as a web novel writer, it’s a development I couldn’t resist.

But no chance. I was just an extra after all. No plot armor or special abilities.

Still, I showed a pretty impressive performance, so I could say I did well.

After the initiation ceremony, I immediately took off my armor. Perhaps because I had exercised so much while wearing it, my whole body was drenched in sweat.

“Phew…..”

Taking off the armor made me feel alive again. The whole world looked beautiful. If I could have a beer after this… Ah, I’m a minor now.

“Well done!! Everyone, applaud Shota for fighting hard!!”

At Gonzaemon’s words, everyone applauded.

And so, I became an official member of the kendo dojo.

Even after the initiation ceremony, there was no time to rest. I decided to continue training until evening.

During a short break after swinging the sword for a while:

“Hey… you look thirsty. Want to drink this?”

Umi brought over a sports drink.

“………”

What’s with her, seriously? She’s starting to scare me. Really.