Ch.95Divine Gambler (2)

At 8 AM, Gonzaemon and I hurriedly prepared for training again.

Both Gonzaemon’s and my cheeks and necks were covered with unmistakable kiss marks.

It seemed Gonzaemon had also thoroughly confirmed his love with Asuna.

“Ahem!! Due to personal circumstances, we’ve wasted three hours!! But from now on, it’s real special training!”

Gonzaemon declared firmly.

“Ooh!! Of course!! Master!!”

I immediately nodded and replied.

“First… before the Toshin Cup, I’ll teach you just one technique. Issem.”

Gonzaemon said this while bringing over a massive log.

“Now. You should know the basics of Issem. Feel the breathing of inanimate objects, target their weak points, and cut through them. That’s the foundation. It’s not about breaking with force. Issem is about cleanly cutting by targeting the breath.”

Gonzaemon explained.

“Once you master Issem, you can cut through even steel. Let’s start by cutting this log.”

Gonzaemon said.

“Sure. Whatever.”

I immediately picked up the wooden sword.

Honestly, I’d already gotten a feel for Issem.

I had cut through the armor of that physically immune purple bear during our fierce battle before. Cutting wood was simple.

I’d even broken a wooden sword with paper when sparring with Saito Kana.

In short, I already had the basics down.

“Haaaaaah…!!”

I took a deep breath.

With a brief effect of time slowing down, I could feel the log’s breathing. The log was vibrating subtly. That vibration was creating gaps in the log.

Swoooosh-!!!

I swung my sword without hesitation.

Crack-!! Clang-!!

The moment my wooden sword struck the log, it shattered into pieces.

“I did it!!!”

I immediately struck a victory pose.

Are you watching, Purple Bear? Thanks to you, I’ve become this strong…

“………..”

Gonzaemon just stared at me with wide eyes.

“Um… Master?”

I tilted my head toward Gonzaemon.

“H-how did you do that?”

Confused words spilled from Gonzaemon’s mouth.

Ah… right. I hadn’t properly demonstrated it in front of Gonzaemon before. Due to that information gap, he seemed extremely surprised.

———

Afterward, Gonzaemon brought a bunch of logs, as if testing me.

I wondered where he got so many logs in bulk, but I decided to focus on training for now.

Clang-!! Crack-!! Thwack-!

I used Issem in succession to destroy the logs.

Finally, Gonzaemon reached a conclusion.

“Well… it seems you’ve properly mastered the basics of Issem.”

Gonzaemon cleared his throat and had to acknowledge it.

“Yes!! Master!! I somehow learned it!”

I nodded immediately and replied.

“I expected it would take about three days to learn this basic skill… but this shortens our timeline. I’ll have to rework the training plan.”

Gonzaemon said.

“Put on your kendo armor for now.”

After pondering the schedule for a moment, Gonzaemon had me put on the protective gear.

“Huh? Suddenly?”

I asked Gonzaemon.

“During breaks, we spar. That’s the original schedule. By the way……”

Gonzaemon put on his armor and glared at me with cold eyes.

“First, you’re going to get thoroughly beaten.”

Gonzaemon said just that one sentence.

It seemed he harbored some resentment toward me for expanding my harem on my own. Well, that makes sense. Gonzaemon is a daughter-doting father after all.

If beating me up would make him feel better… I’d spar with him as many times as needed. With that determination, I picked up the bamboo sword.

Whack-!!! Thwack-! Thud-!!!

And then, I got absolutely thrashed.

“You’ve gotten stronger since last time!! You blocked that?!! Then how about this?!!”

Wham-!!

With Gonzaemon’s clean strike to my waist, my body flew across the room.

“Once more!!!!”

Gonzaemon relentlessly charged at me, targeting my waist again.

“I won’t get hit twice!!!”

Having learned my lesson, I immediately tried to back-step away.

However, creating distance had absolutely no effect.

I clearly moved back… but the distance between Gonzaemon and me didn’t increase.

That’s right. As I was widening the distance, Gonzaemon was closing it at the same rate.

“Damn it!!! The Red Queen’s paradox!!!!”

Sensing defeat, I let out a mournful cry.

“Wrist!!!!”

Gonzaemon immediately swung his bamboo sword and struck my wrist.

Although the wrist guard provided some protection, it couldn’t completely absorb the impact. Pain shot through my hand as if it might fly off.

——–

After that, I got beaten up by Gonzaemon for quite a while.

“Phew……”

Perhaps relieved of stress from hitting me, Gonzaemon wore a refreshed expression.

So… is the sparring over now? I looked at Gonzaemon with that hopeful expectation.

However, the next challenger appeared.

“Ufufu. Kendo armor. It’s been a while since I’ve worn this.”

Asuna put on armor and held a bamboo sword.

“A-Asuna?”

I looked at Asuna.

“Shota. You can spar with me too, right?”

Asuna said with a sweet smile.

“Well… hitting my future mother-in-law feels a bit…”

I felt somewhat reluctant about that.

“Shota. Aren’t you underestimating me too much?”

Suddenly, an overwhelming aura emanated from Asuna. It was almost on Gonzaemon’s level.

“I can at least beat someone of Shota’s caliber, you know?”

Asuna said with a smile.

“W-well then… here I come!”

I immediately charged toward Asuna.

“Kyaaaah!!! Here comes your future son-in-law’s attack!!!”

I closed the distance to Asuna and tried to strike her head.

Whoosh-!!

However, my bamboo sword pathetically cut through empty air.

“……?!”

For a moment, I thought Asuna had used some kind of teleportation. Such a foolish thought crossed my mind. Or maybe she turned invisible.

But that wasn’t it. Asuna had simply slipped to my side at a speed my dynamic vision couldn’t follow.

“Waist!!!!”

Asuna immediately delivered a strike to my waist.

Wham-!!!

The waist strike cleanly connected with me.

Though the chest armor of the protective gear is sturdy, an incredible impact transferred to me.

No. It wasn’t just a simple impact.

“This is… shit…!!!”

Cough-!!!

I involuntarily spat out saliva. The shock of the strike passed through the armor and hit my waist directly. It was as if some kind of wave emanated from the strike. That wave penetrated the armor and felt like it was stirring my internal organs.

Damn… what is this, some kind of Six Kings Fist? What technique…!

Thud-!!

Right after that, my consciousness faded to black.

After a while, I regained consciousness.

“Shota. Are you okay?!”

Umi seemed to have personally removed my armor.

“Oh my… I’m sorry, Shota. I got too excited holding a sword after so long…”

Asuna spoke in an apologetic tone.

“Hahahahaha! My wife doesn’t know restraint!”

Gonzaemon laughed heartily.

“Really… stop being so harsh to my husband. Mom, Dad, I hate you both!”

Umi puffed her cheeks and personally wiped my sweat.

“Shota. Here… have some sports drink.”

Umi smiled and poured me a sports drink.

Somehow… Umi looked prettier than ever before. Umi seemed to have similar thoughts, as her eyes were dripping with honey as she looked at me.

After drinking the sports drink, Umi also took a light sip. However, she didn’t swallow it. She kept the drink in her mouth.

I immediately understood what Umi was trying to do. Really… Umi is such a genius.

Umi and I kissed. Umi fed me the sports drink through our lips. This is true nutrient exchange.

Brother Bernard… are you watching? Humans… can become ants.

Chu❤ Chuup❤

Only after kissing for a long time did Umi pull away.

“I want to do more… but I shouldn’t interfere with my husband’s training.”

Umi fidgeted with my fingers as if yearning for more.

“We’ll take our time later. Okay?”

I kissed Umi’s forehead to comfort her.

I might lose Umi someday. That fact was making my love for Umi even more special.

——–

Anyway, break time was over, so I went back into training mode.

“Did you see the technique Asuna just used?”

Gonzaemon asked.

“Ah… you mean moving extremely fast?”

I nodded and replied.

“That’s also an application of Issem.”

Gonzaemon immediately started selling it.

“………?”

That was unexpected. It wasn’t part of the game’s setting. In the game, Issem was just a technique that ignored physical resistance, nothing more, nothing less.

“The foundation of Issem is breathing. Breath contains power. All living beings are based on breath. The strength of one’s breath is the strength of the living being.”

Gonzaemon suddenly started spouting nonsense.

However, since this was fundamentally an otaku story, I could overlook some unscientific talk. It’s fine. I’ve been accustomed to unscientific nonsense since I was young, reading Dragon Ball. As long as ridiculous settings are cool and give you that high, that’s all that matters. That’s how this field works. Nitpicking that would make you an amateur.

“It’s possible to temporarily infuse your body with power through breathing, like doping. You can become temporarily stronger. That’s the technique Asuna used.”

With those words, Gonzaemon took a deep breath.

Whoosh-!!!!

At that moment, something unbelievable happened. Gonzaemon’s muscles suddenly bulged. Steam emanating from his entire body was just a bonus.

Fwoosh-!!!!

In the blink of an eye, Gonzaemon had vanished from my sight. It was almost teleportation-level speed.

“Producing this level of speed temporarily is simple.”

Gonzaemon, now standing behind me, said with a proud expression.

“This is… Kiryu Second!!!!!”

Gonzaemon shouted loudly, his body still emitting steam.

“No… Master. That name is plagiarism.”

I immediately objected. I could tell right away it was influenced by that technique from a famous manga.

“My husband… loves shonen manga. I’ve been telling him to change the name, but he won’t listen.”

Asuna spoke in a troubled tone.

“From now on, I’m going to teach you Kiryu Second.”

Gonzaemon said, stubbornly sticking with the name he had chosen.

Naming aside… it was a useful technique.

“I look forward to your guidance!! Master!!!”

I immediately shouted enthusiastically.

“That’s the spirit!!! That’s the attitude!!”

Gonzaemon nodded with a hearty laugh.