Ririko: I Am a Love Brain

It was morning, during class break, in the classroom, at a window seat in the back row.

Tokugawa Ririko stretched out her hands, resting her face on the desk, lazily basking in the sun.

What's the point of me practicing my sword swings?

Ririko thought.

--Did all the countless swords I swung day and night lead to this moment, only for Uesugi Tetsu to humiliate me with his talent years later?

Beside Ririko, her two best friends were crunching on shrimp crackers, whispering to each other.

The "introvert" girl gasped, "She looks so down. Could yesterday's rumor be true?"

The "extrovert" girl feigned covering her face and about to cry, "For someone like Little Tokugawa to be in love, that should happen at least ten years after I'm dead!"

"The rumor is true, but the love is fake."

The two friends' hushed whispers sounded like shouts to Ririko; she could hear them perfectly clearly.

Shizuma Manatsu, the "extrovert" girl, covered her mouth and exclaimed, "The intel wasn't wrong!"

She threw an arm around Ririko, winking mischievously, "His name is Uesugi Tetsu? I heard he's a shut-in otaku like Runa! Little Tokugawa, how did you meet him? How did you get together?"

"If you want to insult me, just say it! You don't need to use someone else as a proxy!"

Kitano Runa, wearing black-rimmed glasses, clenched her fists to her chest, looking angry. "What did we, the otaku community, ever do to you!"

Ririko pushed her friend's face away, snatched the shrimp cracker bag, and stuffed them all into her mouth, crunching loudly.

"My shrimp crackers!" Shizuma Manatsu cried out, but upon seeing the empty bag, her attitude immediately changed, "Eat! Eat it all! Consider it war funds for your romance!"

Ririko's cheeks bulged as she chewed, "First, Uesugi-kun isn't weak; second, I'm not interested in romance."

Shizuma Manatsu stared at her for a moment, then chuckled, "If you're not interested, can you give me his LINE ID? I've been into the dark gothic style lately."

Kitano Runa, who had been silent, waved her hand while pinching her nose, "Tone it down, Manatsu. That's so cringe."

Ririko shook her head, "I won't. He doesn't have time for that, he still needs to practice sword fighting with me."

"Ooh, still playing coy," Shizuma Manatsu chuckled suggestively, "Practice sword fighting? From where to where?"

Seeing Ririko's silence, the two friends exchanged a look and spoke in unison:

"--Girl, you're in love!"

"I'm not."

"You are!"

Ririko slammed the table and stood up abruptly, retorting loudly, "I'm not!"

After saying that, Ririko realized everyone in the classroom was staring at her.

Because she was usually seen by outsiders as a "cold, aloof goddess who rarely spoke," her current volume was unprecedented.

"See, she's flustered."

Shizuma Manatsu pointed at her, "The usual you wouldn't even bother refuting such a topic."

Ririko suddenly realized that was indeed the case.

She scratched her head, sat down, and asked her friends in confusion, "Does wanting to crush Uesugi-kun under my foot and humiliate him count as love?"

The two friends exchanged a stunned glance. They communicated with their eyes for a while, and finally, Kitano Runa said seriously:

"Of course it does!"

Having been deeply immersed in the world of anime and manga for a long time, she took out her phone and opened a meticulously hidden precious collection folder.

Soon, a new world opened up for Ririko.

"Wh-what is this?!"

Ririko's face instantly flushed. She quickly glanced around, and upon seeing that no classmates were paying attention to them, she breathed a sigh of relief.

Taking the phone, she scrolled through the black and white manga.

Unknowingly, Ririko was completely drawn into the captivating story, the exquisite artwork, and the passionate fight scenes.

She didn't want to continue reading, but her curiosity drove her to instinctively swipe her finger.

One after another, chapter after chapter.

Only when the screen displayed "No More Pages" did Ririko look up and see her two friends stifling laughter by the desk.

Ririko suddenly understood, "I get it now."

--So, love is the desire to dominate another person's emotions.

--To watch a former strong opponent obey your every word, to make a genius far superior to you bow down in submission.

This, is love!

Ririko, who was only eighteen years old and had been practicing sword fighting for over fifteen years, understood everything.

Her look of profound enlightenment made her two friends exclaim in confusion, "Ah?"

--Seriously, you can gain life insights from just reading a manga?

This way, Uesugi Tetsu's half an hour of sword practice now equals her month's worth, turning into a great thing.

-- The stronger and more talented someone is, the more meaningful it is to trample them underfoot.

As for those weaklings who get complacent with a little talent, who are ordinary but unwilling to give their all, she wouldn't even spare a second glance.

Then she shouldn't have felt the despair of "like a mayfly seeing the blue sky" yesterday, but should have applauded and praised Uesugi Tetsu's powerful talent!

Thinking this, Ririko recalled a popular term she had heard: "Is this change in thinking what's called 'Love Brain'?"

The internet said that girls with Love Brain were not very normal and should all go to the hospital for treatment.

Now, it seemed, that wasn't necessarily true.

Thus, the maiden's Clear Sword Heart, which had almost shattered yesterday, re-mended itself, becoming clearer and more transparent than ever before.

At this moment, Tokugawa Ririko easily surpassed the "unity of man and sword" that had trapped her for over a decade, reaching a sword-fighting realm rarely seen in modern times, and only attainable by great swordsmen in ancient times--

Clear Sword Heart.

Kitano Runa, looking at Ririko, who was faintly glowing, stammered, "Achieved... enlightenment?"

Shizuma Manatsu, however, paid no mind to the natural phenomenon of sunlight shining down. "So, do you like Uesugi-kun?"

"I do, of course I do."

Ririko smiled.

Let's skip class this afternoon and go train with Uesugi-kun.

She looked out at the brilliant, passionate sun, her eyes full of anticipation.

-- Uesugi-kun, you must get stronger quickly.

However, they didn't wait until the afternoon; they ran into each other in the cafeteria.

"Ririko?"

Uesugi Tetsu, who had ordered a super-sized beef rice bowl, stopped 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 ordered a super-sized lunch, winked at him familiarly. "I'm Shizuma Manatsu, Tokugawa's good friend. Please take care of me!"

Ririko has friends?

Uesugi Tetsu, who almost blurted out the question, coughed and said, "Why don't we find a place to sit down first?"

Ririko nodded silently, appearing incredibly aloof.

Uesugi Tetsu didn't understand what was wrong with her; whenever there were more people around, she seemed to turn like this.

Could it be a passive skill triggering?

He couldn't figure it out.

However, Ririko didn't seem to have that preoccupied look anymore, which was good.

The four of them sat down, and the two best friends naturally played their supporting roles, deliberately seating Uesugi Tetsu and Ririko opposite each other.

The two didn't stand on ceremony, putting down their trays and digging in.

This scene made Shizuma Manatsu and Kitano Runa next to them look a bit stunned.

Why weren't the couple saying anything while eating?

Was this... was this right?

Actually, it was very right.

Uesugi Tetsu believed that when eating, one should focus on eating.

And Ririko only used food to restore her sanity when she was in a bad mood; under normal circumstances, eating was just a way to replenish energy for her.

But the two best friends didn't know this and thought they were having a cold war.

Helplessly, Shizuma Manatsu took the initiative to find topics that everyone might be interested in to liven up the atmosphere.

She smiled and casually said, "Lately, those supernatural incidents around here seem to be really popular. They've even trended on Twitter a few times."

Kitano Runa tried her best to play the atmosphere maker: "Wow, that's amazing, really?"

"Of course!"

Shizuma Manatsu opened her photo album and shook her phone. "Here, look. These are my selfies from the past couple of days. Doesn't that shadow flashing by in the background look creepy?"

She put her hands on her hips and chuckled.

"-- I specifically searched the topic, and this seems to be called White Brahma. I heard it's a terrifying Evil Ghost."

Clink!

Clink.

Shizuma Manatsu noticed that Uesugi Tetsu and Ririko had both put down their chopsticks and looked at her simultaneously.

She raised her hands and stammered, "W-what's wrong?"