It was another morning, and the classroom was in the middle of a break. Ririko sat in the window seat at the back.
Tokugawa Ririko stretched out both hands and sprawled across the desk, lazily basking in the sun.
What was the meaning of wielding her sword?
Ririko wondered.
Could it be that the tens of millions of swords I had swung day and night were all so Uesugi Tetsu, more than a decade later, could utterly humiliate me with his talent?
Beside Ririko, her two best friends were crunching shrimp chips and whispering to each other.
The gloomy girl opened her mouth in shock. "She's so listless. Could yesterday's rumor actually be true?"
The cheerful girl pretended to cover her face and sob. "At least let Little Tokugawa fall in love ten years after I'm dead!"
"The rumor is true. The romance isn't."
Their whispered conversation fell on Ririko's ears like a deafening roar. She heard every word perfectly.
Shizuma Manatsu—the cheerful girl—covered her mouth and exclaimed, "The intel wasn't fake after all!"
She threw an arm around Ririko and waggled her eyebrows. "Is the other person called Uesugi Tetsu? I heard he's a gloomy shut-in otaku, just like Runa! Little Tokugawa, how did you meet him? How did you two get together?"
"If you want to insult me, just say it directly! There's no need to use someone else as an example!"
Kitano Runa, wearing black-rimmed glasses, clenched her fists against her chest and put on an angry expression. "What did we otaku ever do to you?"
Ririko pushed her best friend's face away, snatched the shrimp chips, and dumped the whole bag into her mouth, crunching away.
"My shrimp chips!" Shizuma Manatsu cried out, but the moment she saw the empty bag, her attitude changed completely. "Eat them! You can eat all of them! Consider it romance funding!"
Ririko's cheeks bulged slightly as she chewed. "First, Uesugi-kun isn't weak or skinny. Second, I'm not interested in romance."
Shizuma Manatsu stared at her for a moment before grinning. "Since you're not interested, could you give me his LINE? Coincidentally, I've been into the gloomy gothic type lately."
Kitano Runa, who had remained silent until then, pinched her nose and waved her hand. "Tone it down. That's seriously disgusting."
Ririko shook her head. "No. He doesn't have time for that. He still has to practice swordsmanship with me."
"Oho, still trying to hide it." Shizuma Manatsu gave her an ambiguous smile. "Practice swordsmanship? From where to where?"
Seeing Ririko sitting there silently, the two exchanged a glance and spoke together:
"Girl, you're in love!"
"I'm not."
"You're totally in love!"
Ririko suddenly slapped the desk and stood up, loudly arguing, "I'm not!"
Only after saying that did Ririko realize that everyone in the class was staring at her.
She was always seen by outsiders as a "cold goddess of few words," so this volume was unprecedented for her.
"See? You're getting defensive."
Shizuma Manatsu pointed at her. "The usual you would be too lazy to argue about a topic like this."
Ririko realized that she really did have a point.
She scratched her head, sat down, and asked her friends in confusion, "Does wanting to trample Uesugi-kun under my feet and humiliate him count as romance?"
The two best friends exchanged stunned looks. After communicating with their eyes for a while, Kitano Runa finally said seriously:
"Of course it does!"
Having immersed herself in the otaku world for years, she took out her phone and opened a precious collection hidden beneath layer after layer of folders.
Very soon, the gates to a new world opened before Ririko.
"W-What is this?!"
Ririko's face instantly flushed. She hurriedly glanced around, and only relaxed after confirming that none of their classmates were watching them.
She took the phone and flipped through the black-and-white manga.
Before she knew it, Ririko had been deeply drawn into the thrilling story, exquisite artwork, and passionate fight scenes.
She hadn't wanted to keep reading, but her thirst for knowledge drove her fingers to swipe instinctively.
One volume after another, one chapter after another.
Only when the screen displayed "There are no more pages" did Ririko raise her head and see her two best friends beside the desk, struggling not to laugh.
Ririko spoke with sudden realization. "I understand now."
So-called romance is the desire to control another person's emotions.
It's wanting to watch someone who used to be stronger than you obey your every word, to make a genius whose talent far surpasses yours bow down and submit.
This is romance!
At the age of eighteen, after practicing swordsmanship for more than fifteen years, Ririko understood everything.
Her look of total enlightenment left her two best friends bewildered as they both let out an "Ah."
No, girl. You read a porn comic and managed to comprehend the truths of life?
Now, the fact that half an hour of Uesugi Tetsu's sword practice was equivalent to a month of hers had completely transformed into a wonderful thing.
The stronger and more talented he is, the more meaningful it will be to trample him beneath my feet.
As for mediocre passersby who became smug after showing a little talent yet were unwilling to devote themselves to anything, she could barely be bothered to give them a second glance.
Then yesterday, instead of falling into despair at the thought of "a mayfly gazing upon the blue sky," she should have applauded and marveled at Uesugi Tetsu's formidable talent!
At that thought, Ririko remembered a popular phrase she had once heard. "Is this change in thinking what they call having a 'Love Brain'?"
The internet said that girls with Love Brains were all abnormal and should go to the hospital for proper treatment.
But now that she thought about it, that might not necessarily be true.
Thus, the girl's sword heart, which had nearly shattered yesterday, fused back together and became more crystalline and transparent than ever before.
At that moment, Tokugawa Ririko easily crossed the "unity of man and sword" that had held her back for more than a decade, reaching a swordsmanship realm rarely seen in the modern age—one that, in ancient times, only great swordmasters had been able to touch:
Clear Sword Heart.
Kitano Runa looked at Ririko, whose entire body seemed to be faintly glowing, and stammered, "H-Have you become a Buddha?"
Shizuma Manatsu, however, paid no attention to the natural phenomenon caused by the sunlight. "So, do you like Uesugi-kun?"
"I like him. Of course I like him."
Ririko smiled sweetly.
This afternoon, she would skip class and go practice with Uesugi-kun.
She gazed at the brilliant, blazing sun outside the window, her eyes filled with anticipation.
Uesugi-kun, hurry up and get stronger.
However, the two of them ran into each other in the cafeteria before afternoon even arrived.
"Ririko?"
Uesugi Tetsu stopped after getting an extra-large serving of beef rice and looked at the two people beside the expressionless Ririko. "Who are these two?"
"Uesugi-kun! You're Uesugi-kun, right?" Shizuma Manatsu, who had also gotten an extra-large lunch, blinked at him with great familiarity. "I'm Shizuma Manatsu, Little Tokugawa's best friend. Nice to meet you!"
Uesugi Tetsu nearly blurted out, Ririko has friends?
He coughed and said, "Why don't we find somewhere to sit first?"
Ririko nodded silently, as aloof as could be.
Uesugi Tetsu had no idea what was wrong with her. Whenever there were more people around, she seemed to turn into this.
Could she have triggered a passive skill?
He couldn't figure it out.
Still, Ririko didn't look like she had something weighing on her mind anymore. That was good.
The four of them sat down. The two best friends naturally played matchmakers, deliberately seating Uesugi Tetsu and Ririko opposite each other.
Neither of them was bashful. They set down their trays and immediately began devouring their food.
The sight left Shizuma Manatsu and Kitano Runa sitting beside them somewhat dumbfounded.
Why did these two look like a couple meeting up, yet neither of them said a word while eating?
W-Was this right?
Actually, it was perfectly normal.
Uesugi Tetsu felt that when it was time to eat, one should simply eat properly.
Ririko, meanwhile, only used food to restore her sanity when she was in a bad mood. Under normal circumstances, eating was merely a way for her to replenish her energy.
But her two best friends didn't know that. They thought the two of them were giving each other the silent treatment.
With no other choice, Shizuma Manatsu had to take the initiative and search for a topic that everyone might be interested in, livening up the atmosphere.
She smiled and said casually, "Supernatural Incidents seem to be really popular around here lately. I think they've even trended on Twitter several times."
Kitano Runa did her best to play the mood-maker. "Amazing, amazing. Really?"
"Of course!"
Shizuma Manatsu opened her photo album and waved her phone. "Look, this is a selfie I took over the past couple of days. Isn't that shadow flashing past behind me creepy?"
She planted her hands on her hips and gave a mischievous grin.
"I searched for it in the discussions, and it seems to be called White Brahma. I heard it's a terrifying evil spirit."
Clack!
Clack.
Shizuma Manatsu noticed that Uesugi Tetsu and Ririko had put down their chopsticks at the same time and were looking at her in unison.
She raised both hands and stammered:
"W-What's wrong?"
Before you continue