"What kind of fight do you want?"
The two stood facing each other in the middle of the spacious courtyard. Shinsuke Zenin asked her.
"Just make me feel pressured."
Meimei tied her hair up tightly and loosened her wrists and body.
"Pressure? That's easy."
Shinsuke Zenin smiled. He was best at putting pressure on people.
"Phew... Here I come!"
Meimei stepped forward, closing in on him at speed. She clenched one fist and swung a fierce punch diagonally toward Shinsuke Zenin's chin.
Shinsuke Zenin leaned back slightly. Her fist skimmed past his face, carrying a sharp gust of wind.
The power behind that punch was impressive, but it was a little slow.
Her attack missed. Just as Meimei was about to pull back and launch another attack, a large hand was already pressed against her ribs.
"Thump!"
A tremendous force crashed into her. It felt as if she'd been hit by a speeding dump truck, and she went flying backward.
She did a backflip to absorb some of the force, then staggered back several steps before regaining her balance.
The pain in her ribs made it clear that her opponent really was good at putting on the pressure.
"Looks like I still have plenty of room to improve."
Meimei pushed off with both legs and became a blur as she charged in again, trading blows with Shinsuke Zenin.
With Shinsuke Zenin holding back, Meimei gradually caught up to his rhythm and began correcting some of the flaws in her technique.
Their fight kicked up terrifying gusts of wind, forcing Maki and Mai to watch from behind a big tree.
Maki's bright eyes sparkled as she watched, completely captivated by their fight.
"So this is what a battle between the strong looks like? Is this really how powerful Master is?"
Maki, who still had no clear measure of strength, was stunned by their hand-to-hand fight.
Now she was certain that even without a Cursed Technique or Cursed Energy, she could still become incredibly strong.
As strong as Master.
Her resolve only grew firmer.
"Big Brother and Big Sister are both so amazing. I can't even see them clearly!"
Mai stared at the two figures darting across the battlefield, feeling a little dizzy.
"Big Sister, who do you think is stronger, our cousin or that Big Sister?"
"Of course Master. Why even ask?"
"Mm... I think so too. Big Brother is the strongest."
After an hour of fighting, Meimei was drenched in sweat and breathing slightly hard. She was getting tired.
Shinsuke Zenin, however, still looked just as he had at the start. He hadn't even broken a sweat.
There was nothing he could do about it. His body was like a perpetual-motion machine. He recovered faster than he could tire out from a fight like this.
It had been long enough. Shinsuke Zenin caught the fist Meimei sent his way and called a halt to the fight.
"That's enough, isn't it? You're nearly out of stamina."
Without using Cursed Energy at all, a Jujutsu Sorcerer's stamina ran out pretty quickly.
"Phew..."
Meimei pulled back her fist and drew on the Cursed Energy within her to restore her stamina. She smiled. "I really do still have room to improve. Thanks for this."
She felt she'd gained a lot from the fight. If she went home and thought carefully about the details, she'd get even stronger. And the stronger she became, the more money she could make. Just thinking about it made her happy.
"I'm off. I won't forget you when I find a good way to make money."
Meimei waved as she walked out of the courtyard.
Since Shinsuke seemed short on money, next time she had a chance to make a big profit, she'd let him make a little money too. It could be a way of thanking him for today.
"Oh? Sounds good."
Shinsuke saw her to the gate. He'd wanted to ask her to stay for dinner, but given her personality, she'd probably refuse.
He opened the courtyard gate, and someone suddenly jumped out from the side.
"Ta-da!"
"Surprised? Didn't see that coming!"
Yuki Tsukumo leaped out with a grin, still wearing her helmet.
As soon as she'd returned to the country, she'd hurried over, planning to surprise Shinsuke. She hadn't expected him to open the door just as she arrived. It had to be fate.
But when Yuki Tsukumo saw Meimei standing beside Shinsuke Zenin, drenched in sweat, her smile abruptly froze.
She instantly turned into a chibi version of herself, tears welling in her eyes as she pouted miserably. "Why? I was here first!"
She'd only been gone for a little while, and he'd already found someone new.
It broke her heart. If only she'd skipped the testing last time and gone straight for the hard sell!
At her words, Shinsuke Zenin and Meimei both froze and looked at each other.
"You're Special Grade Sorcerer Yuki Tsukumo, right? You've got it wrong. I was just sparring with him."
Meimei smiled as she explained.
He was certainly handsome, and his body was impressively sturdy, but he wasn't her type. Or rather, she'd never given that sort of thing any thought. She planned to spend her whole life with money—and, of course, her younger brother.
"Oh, really?"
Yuki Tsukumo wiped her big, adorable eyes and looked at Shinsuke Zenin, waiting to hear him say it himself.
"That's right. So why didn't you tell me you were coming? What if I hadn't been home? You'd have made the trip for nothing."
Shinsuke Zenin glanced at her and said sourly.
She was a Special Grade Sorcerer, but she never acted the part. She was like a little kid.
"Hehe, I was trying to surprise you!"
Yuki Tsukumo took off her helmet and tossed her hair. Her sadness vanished in an instant.
"Then I'll be going. I won't interrupt your reunion."
Meimei smiled as she gave them both a knowing look, then left with a confident stride.
She hadn't expected to stumble upon such juicy gossip. Special Grade Sorcerer Yuki Tsukumo was involved with a Cursed Energy-less member of the Zenin Family.
That news was probably worth quite a bit, wasn't it?
After Meimei left, Yuki Tsukumo immediately acted as if she were at home, not bothering to be polite to Shinsuke Zenin at all.
"Go make dinner. I haven't eaten yet. Oh, and I'll be staying here for the next few days."
"You didn't run out of money for food, did you?"
"Hehe." Yuki Tsukumo stuck out her tongue.
Clearly, that was exactly what had happened.
"Ah, one big sister just left, and another one showed up!"
Mai watched the blonde beauty walking in and shouted.
"And there are two kids? What are these two little ones to you?"
Yuki Tsukumo stroked her chin and looked at the twins.
"I'm Mai Zenin, and this is my older sister, Maki Zenin. We're both Big Brother's younger sisters."
Mai introduced herself without hesitation.
"Oh? You're from the Zenin Family?"
Yuki Tsukumo looked at the sisters thoughtfully. "The Zenin Family, huh? Looks like you've really moved on. Or is there something special about these two?"
Yuki Tsukumo used her Cursed Energy to sense the sisters, then froze. "No wonder."
"Are you eating or not?"
Shinsuke Zenin rolled his eyes at her.
"Of course I'm eating!"
"Then go wash the vegetables."
"Got it!"
Mai watched Yuki Tsukumo walk away, then looked at Shinsuke Zenin. Her little face grew serious. "I think that big sister likes Big Brother."
"Big Sister, do you think Big Brother's about to get a girlfriend?"
"Hmph! I don't know."
Maki turned away, unwilling to answer. She didn't look very happy.
If Master got a girlfriend, would he have less time to guide her training?
Women really would only slow down her path to becoming stronger.
Before you continue