Gion

Gion tilted her head and said,

"I have my own reasons for looking for Gigue. Since he isn't here, I'll be leaving first."

With that, Gion brushed past Ginny and started to leave without looking back.

Ginny frowned slightly and flashed in front of Gion, saying,

"Brother Gigue and I have known each other since we were little. If you have something to tell him, you can tell me first, and I'll let him know when he gets back."

Gion was startled by the speed Ginny had displayed. Then, hearing about Ginny's relationship with Gigue, she stopped in her tracks and asked with interest,

"Oh? So you two are childhood sweethearts. No wonder you looked so nervous, little sister. Are you Gigue's girlfriend?"

"W-What are you talking about?! My relationship with Brother Gigue isn't what you think..."

Ginny stood there with her face flushed red, constantly tugging at the hem of her clothes. Jessica, who had followed over, helplessly slapped her forehead when she saw Ginny's reaction. She was beyond saving.

Gion smiled faintly and poked Ginny in the chest with a finger. Feeling the springy softness beneath it, she teased,

"Then I was wrong. You're just secretly in love with him right now, aren't you?"

At those words, Ginny instantly became like a little pink cat with its fur standing on end, shouting furiously,

"You're the one secretly in love! Brother Gigue definitely, definitely..."

"Definitely what?"

Ginny stammered for ages without managing to finish. She shook her head hard and said indignantly,

"That's none of your business! Just tell me why you're looking for Brother Gigue!"

Gion shrugged, her left hand lightly rubbing the hilt of the sword at her waist as she said,

"Of course, I came to see for myself the strength of the student known as the strongest of this class. Sister Tsuru has been full of praise for him."

Hearing that Gion had come to challenge him, Kashou stepped forward again before Ginny could speak and said,

"Then why not exchange a few moves with me first, Miss Gion? I take it you use a sword too?"

Momonga and the others curled their lips, thinking that Kashou was clearly taking advantage of Gigue and the others being absent to show off in front of a beauty.

Come to think of it, Kashou really was a closet flirt. He usually looked like a cheerful, honest man, but whenever he saw a beautiful woman, he got more excited than anyone else.

In the manga, he even had the glorious achievement of being turned entirely to stone by the Empress. Compared to Momonga, who had also faced the Empress before, it was honestly rather embarrassing.

Gion gave Kashou a brief appraisal, nodded lightly, and said,

"All right. It would be a little improper to challenge the strongest right away."

As she spoke, she slowly drew the sword at her waist and gave Kashou a swordsman's salute, her expression incomparably serious.

Kashou hurriedly returned the salute and drew his own katana. Then Momonga suddenly spoke from the side,

"Miss Gion, if I'm not mistaken, the sword in your hand should be the Famous Sword Kompira, right?"

As a pure swordsman, Momonga was deeply familiar with most of the existing Famous Swords. He remembered their appearances perfectly and often looked through illustrated collections of Famous Swords late at night... before falling asleep!

Gion regarded him a little more highly because of that and said softly,

"That's right. Sister Tsuru gave me this Kompira as a birthday gift. I like it very much."

"Sister Tsuru... I've been wanting to ask since earlier. Does the Sister Tsuru you mentioned refer to Vice Admiral Tsuru?"

"Yes."

"Gasp..."

After receiving Gion's confirmation, everyone drew a sharp breath. Vice Admiral Tsuru's prestige at Headquarters was at its peak. She stood in the same tier as Admiral Sengoku and the others.

For students like Momonga and the rest, such a background truly made her Marine royalty.

Jessica leaned close to Ginny's ear and whispered,

"She's actually Vice Admiral Tsuru's sister. It'll be a little troublesome for Gigue to get tangled up with someone like her!"

Ginny had remained exceptionally calm from beginning to end. She merely nodded and gave an "Oh," completely unconcerned about Gion's supposed background.

In her eyes, so what if Gion had a powerful background? Could it possibly be greater than Brother Gigue's?

Kashou wiped away the cold sweat that had appeared on his forehead, unable to stop himself from regretting his decision.

She was Vice Admiral Tsuru's sister! If he hit too hard and injured her later... although Vice Admiral Tsuru probably would not hold something like that against him, there was no telling whether someone might seek revenge on her behalf!

Gion seemed to have anticipated what everyone was thinking and said with a light laugh,

"Don't worry. This is a normal spar, and it won't involve any messy complications. Besides..."

A sharp glint of cold light flashed across Kompira's blade. Gion's entire aura changed, shedding every trace of feminine frailty as her voice turned icy.

"I don't think I'm weaker than men!"

Gion vanished from where she stood. The next second, she appeared behind Kashou, thrusting Kompira toward his lower back.

Driven by a man's instinct, Kashou erupted with astonishing reaction speed. He spun around abruptly and raised his sword to block Gion's attack.

The vibration traveling through his sword completely cleared Kashou's mind of all distracting thoughts. He roared, forcing Gion back with brute strength, while the long blade in his hand began to vibrate at an incredible frequency.

The moment Gion landed, she saw raging flames rise from Kashou's blade. Narrowing her eyes, she said quietly,

"Flames formed through high-speed friction with the air? What a peculiar technique."

Kashou gripped his sword hilt with both hands, leaped into the air, and slashed viciously down at Gion below.

Faced with that powerful blow, Gion did not choose to meet it head-on. Instead, she easily dodged with her nimble footwork and used the opportunity to widen the distance between herself and Kashou.

Just as Kashou prepared to raise his sword and pursue, Gion suddenly sheathed Kompira. Her body tilted slightly as she assumed an iaido stance.

Compared to Kashou's broad, sweeping movements, Gion seemed almost motionless. As the distance between her and Kashou steadily closed, she finally moved.

Kompira was drawn from its sheath once more, tracing a beautiful arc through the air. A pink sword aura bloomed from the blade and struck Kashou's katana with perfect accuracy.

After completing that motion, Gion spun her sword in a flourish and turned toward Momonga and the others watching nearby, as if she had already declared her victory.

Kashou was still gritting his teeth as he resisted the sword aura Gion had unleashed. Yet he could not hold on for more than a few seconds before he and his sword were sent flying, finally crashing to the ground in a miserable heap.

Momonga stared gravely at Gion as she approached, muttering,

"She actually unleashed sword aura! Is this what one should expect from Vice Admiral Tsuru's sister...?"

Facing everyone's astonished gazes, Gion placed one hand on her hip. A radiant smile appeared on her face once again as she announced,

"If this is the level of the Marine Academy, then perhaps I don't need to wait for Gigue to return after all."