Deceiving the Main Family's Young Miss

"Morning, Kiyomi-sama!"

After seeing Hyuga Kiyomi emerge from the residence of the Main Family's Fourth Elder, Hyuga Mirai stepped forward and greeted her.

Branch Family members of the same generation had to address Main Family members as "-sama." As for Branch Family elders addressing Main Family juniors, they could call them Young Master or Young Miss. Strictly speaking, Hyuga Mirai's way of addressing Hyuga Kiyomi at the Ninja Academy had been improper.

Before becoming Hyuga Kiyomi's Guard, Hyuga Sosuke had already taught Hyuga Mirai quite a few of the clan's rules and etiquette. There could not be the slightest breach in these matters.

"You're here. Cough... Have you been waiting long?"

Hyuga Kiyomi pursed her lips slightly, trying hard to put on the expressionless face of an adult as she spoke to Hyuga Mirai.

"Not at all. I only got here a moment ago." Hyuga Mirai shook his head, then followed behind Hyuga Kiyomi.

"Then let's go to school."

The two of them then headed toward the Ninja Academy. The Main Family had more than one Guard, but it was difficult to select Guards of the same age. Hyuga Sosuke was probably choosing several others, most likely Branch Family members older than Hyuga Kiyomi.

My training time has suddenly been cut down quite a bit. I'll also have to specifically set aside time to put on a performance for the Main Family's young masters and young misses.

As he followed behind Hyuga Kiyomi, Hyuga Mirai continued thinking. Since serving as a Main Family Guard was a task he could not refuse, he needed to carefully adjust his personal training plan.

As for concealing things from the other members of the Hyūga Clan, Hyuga Mirai had to be exceptionally cautious.

Hyuga Sosuke's previous questioning might have meant that he had become somewhat suspicious, but Hyuga Mirai had been prepared and managed to fool him.

He would have to be more careful with his private training from now on. Hyuga Kiyomi, being his age, was easy enough to fool, but when training with the clan, he would need to stay completely alert around the Main Family Elders.

Regarding physical training, after the past few months, he had gradually adapted to high-intensity conditioning. If he wanted to improve further, one option was to increase the time he spent training his body. However, with his time already tight due to serving as a Main Family Guard, Hyuga Mirai could not possibly squeeze out more time for physical exercise.

The other option was to wear weights and increase the intensity of his physical training.

After thinking it over for a while, Hyuga Mirai decided to have several weighted items custom-made that evening.

He was only five or six years old, so the weights did not need to be too heavy. If they were made into wristband and leg-wrap shapes, around five jin on each hand would be enough. He could also hide them beneath wrist guards and the like.

But that would cost another sum of money, which made Hyuga Mirai's heart ache.

Hyuga Mirai's body could recover its energy by consuming large amounts of food, but meat was expensive, while rice and flour restored energy more slowly than meat. Calculated this way, it was another considerable necessary expense for Hyuga Mirai.

Even with the extra Five Thousand Ryo per month for serving as a Main Family Guard, which sounded like a lot, it would only cover half a month's worth of Hyuga Mirai's late-night Char Siu Ramen.

While Hyuga Mirai's thoughts wandered who knew where, Hyuga Kiyomi suddenly stopped in front of him. Fortunately, Hyuga Mirai always kept part of his attention on his surroundings, or he would have crashed right into her.

After stopping, Hyuga Kiyomi turned around, her pure white pupils staring directly at him.

"What is it, Kiyomi-sama?"

Hyuga Mirai put on a confused expression as he asked, while secretly recalling whether he had offended this little girl just now.

"Footsteps."

"What?" Hyuga Mirai did not understand, so he asked again.

"Why don't you make any sound when you walk?"

This time, Hyuga Kiyomi made herself very clear. She had been curious since earlier: Hyuga Mirai made no sound at all as he walked behind her. If she had not seen his reflection in a mirror at an intersection, she would have thought her Guard had gotten lost.

So that's what this is about. Hyuga Mirai breathed a sigh of relief inwardly, then explained to Hyuga Kiyomi, "Kiyomi-sama, I learned it from a textbook at school. I subconsciously practice it whenever I walk."

"A textbook?" A trace of confusion flashed across Hyuga Kiyomi's little face. Did textbooks teach that? How had she not known?

"Yes, a textbook issued by the school." Hyuga Mirai nodded. "Section Three of Ninja Field Precautions: If a Ninja wishes to suppress the sounds of walking, they can lift their feet lightly and set them down slowly. After touching the ground, do not shift the shoes. Covering the soles with Chakra can effectively reduce the sounds one makes."

That knowledge point did exist, but Ninja Academy students could not possibly accomplish it. Hyuga Mirai had only managed it through deliberate daily practice, continuously integrating the technique into his instincts through everyday actions.

"So there really is knowledge like that. It seems I should pay more attention to the theoretical courses taught at the Ninja Academy." Since Hyuga Mirai had even cited the book title and section number, Hyuga Kiyomi believed there was no way he was lying to her and that he had genuinely learned it from a textbook.

"If it is Kiyomi-sama, you will definitely learn it faster than I did."

Hyuga Mirai did not hold back his praise for the little girl, only hoping she would not speak badly of him before the Main Family members in the future.

His praise was quite effective. Hyuga Kiyomi's lips wanted to curl upward when she heard it, but the etiquette drilled into her over the years prevented her from smiling freely in public. She pressed her lips together, forcing the smile back down.

"Let's go. We cannot be late for school."

After saying that, Hyuga Kiyomi turned and headed toward the Ninja Academy. Hyuga Mirai said nothing more and continued following behind her. After entering the school gates, the two separated and went to their respective classes.

After arriving in the classroom, Hyuga Mirai devoted himself to studying. Having lost a stretch of time for private training for no reason, he had to make up for that lost time at school.

Within a year, he would master all the theoretical knowledge the Ninja Academy was preparing to teach, then begin studying medical knowledge.

Thanks to an adult's comprehension ability and Hyuga Mirai's greatly improved memory, which was nearly photographic, learning four or five years' worth of theoretical knowledge within a year was not difficult for him.

Quite a few people in Class B had wanted to come over and greet Hyuga Mirai, but when they saw him enter the classroom and immediately start diligently flipping through books to study, they felt too embarrassed to disturb him. They could only quietly discuss their admiration. He came from a great clan yet worked so hard, and his strength was among the best in Class B. He had already earned the respect of many classmates.

Apart from a few people who refused to accept Hyuga Mirai, he was now almost receiving the same treatment as Kakashi in Class A.

After Ishii Ichiro pushed open the classroom door, he first saw Hyuga Mirai studying and praised him approvingly in his heart. Only then did he clap the teacher's desk and say,

"Class begins!"