Sworn Brothers

Facing the crowd gathering around her, Sakayanagi Arisu quickly adjusted her mindset, her face once again blooming with that signature, composed smile, as confident as ever.

Listening to the chorus of well-wishes and inquiries from those around her, she merely smiled gently and replied: "Please, everyone, do not accommodate me because of my father. Rather than being the daughter of the chairman, I would much prefer to spend these next few years with all of you as an ordinary student."

Her words were appropriate yet approachable, cleverly avoiding the special treatment that came with her status while subtly closing the distance between herself and the others. The surrounding chatter gradually died down, and many people looked at her with a newfound sense of approval.

"Hey, you there, aren't you afraid of getting on her bad side after offending the chairman's daughter like that?" A crisp female voice suddenly came from the side, interrupting Uesugi Hara's train of thought.

Uesugi Hara looked left and right before pointing at himself, asking uncertainly: "Are you talking to me?"

"Who else would I be talking to?" The girl speaking rolled her eyes, her tone tinged with helplessness.

Uesugi Hara immediately cupped his hands in a salute, striking a pose reminiscent of a martial arts hero: "May I ask for your honorable name?"

"Kamuro Masumi."

"So it is Brother Kamuro, I have long admired your reputation." Uesugi Hara responded with a straight face, then shifted his tone, "I am Uesugi Hara, just call me Uesugi. As for my background... let's leave that unsaid for now."

"Can you talk like a normal person?" Kamuro Masumi frowned, clearly unimpressed by his act.

"Oh, of course, no problem." Uesugi Hara immediately dropped the strange persona and returned to his usual self, "That was just me messing around with Classmate Sakayanagi earlier, how could that count as offending her?"

"It didn't look like messing around to me. Didn't you see the expression she had?" Kamuro Masumi raised an eyebrow, "Come to think of it, do you really not know her, or are you just pretending?"

"Of course I really don't know her!" Uesugi Hara retorted indignantly, "If I actually knew her, would I have bothered using that line to fool her?"

"But the way she acted like she was so familiar with you didn't look like she was pretending either." Kamuro Masumi still found it strange.

Uesugi Hara rubbed his chin, suddenly putting on a mysterious, profound look: "Perhaps there were already rumors about a certain family in the martial arts world, and she came here seeking my reputation?"

Watching him spout nonsense with such a straight face, Kamuro Masumi couldn't help but scoff: "You? Martial arts rumors? I think 'rumors of a fool' would be more accurate."

Seeing Kamuro Masumi's mocking expression, Uesugi Hara's eyes darted around. He suddenly slapped his thigh and resumed his heroic tone: "To meet Brother Kamuro today and feel like old friends at first sight is truly a stroke of luck!"

He leaned in closer and said with a serious expression: "I wish to become sworn siblings with you. From now on, if there is good fortune... naturally, I shall enjoy it first, and if there is trouble... you go first? What does Brother Kamuro think?"

Kamuro Masumi didn't even lift an eyelid, simply squeezing out one word: "Scram."

"You got it!" Uesugi Hara responded crisply and immediately backed away, yet his face remained plastered with a cheeky grin, feeling not the slightest bit embarrassed.

Kamuro Masumi was amused by his shamelessness and shook her head, ignoring him, though she felt that while this guy was unreliable, he wasn't exactly annoying.

Kamuro Masumi lost interest in continuing the conversation, but a girl in the front row seemed attracted by the dialogue and turned around, looking at Uesugi Hara with curious, sparkling eyes.

Uesugi Hara immediately caught the hint and struck his heroic pose again, saying loudly: "May the newcomer leave her name?"

The young girl was stunned for a moment, pondered briefly, and then realized he was imitating the tone from just a moment ago.

"Morishita Ai." She looked at Uesugi Hara's exaggerated performance and didn't find it strange; instead, she nodded seriously, as if responding to some solemn ritual.

Seeing that she had played along, Uesugi Hara became even more interested and bowed: "Greetings, Miss Morishita, I am Uesugi Hara."

Morishita Ai tilted her head and asked in a low voice: "Uesugi Hara, you just said... you wanted to become siblings with Kamuro Masumi? Just like in the dramas from China?"

Her eyes were clear and pure, carrying a bit of curiosity about new things, though her temperament was rather cold.

Uesugi Hara was amused by her serious demeanor and deliberately stiffened his face, emphasizing his tone: "Of course. What, does Miss Morishita want to join us?"

Morishita Ai didn't answer immediately; instead, she blinked and looked at him earnestly: "Then why is Kamuro Masumi a 'brother', while I am a 'miss'?"

Uesugi Hara was taken aback, then looked at Kamuro Masumi beside him, turned to look at Morishita Ai, and sized them both up.

He rubbed his chin, pondered for a moment, and explained: "Well, Kamuro looks more like a boy. Look at her—" He gestured with his chin toward Kamuro Masumi, "She doesn't wear makeup, and her sitting posture isn't like other girls who keep their legs together; instead, she sits with them slightly apart and even shakes her leg. While it's easy on the eyes, it does look a bit... well, unconstrained."

Kamuro Masumi was drinking water and nearly choked when she heard this, glaring fiercely at Uesugi Hara: "You're the one who looks like a boy! Your whole family looks like boys!"

Uesugi Hara smiled and dodged her glare, turning back to Morishita Ai: "See, even her temper is like a boy's."

"I see." Morishita Ai nodded thoughtfully.

Morishita Ai stared at Kamuro Masumi for a few seconds, then turned to Uesugi Hara and said seriously: "But Kamuro Masumi's hair is very long, even longer than mine."

Uesugi Hara choked, following her gaze to Kamuro Masumi—the other girl did indeed have purple hair reaching her hips, just left to hang loosely over her back. Combined with her uniform, it did look less gentle and more sharp.

"You don't understand this, do you?" Uesugi Hara cleared his throat, trying to save face, "True heroes of the martial arts world never care about these external things. What Classmate Kamuro has is... well, an imposing spirit!"

Kamuro Masumi's anger, which had just subsided, flared up again. She grabbed the paper cup on the table and threw it at him: "Imposing spirit my foot! Uesugi Hara, if you keep spouting nonsense, do you believe I'll carve your 'I enjoy the fortune, you take the trouble' onto your face?"

The paper cup brushed past Uesugi Hara's arm and landed on the floor. Uesugi Hara quickly bent down to pick it up, pleading for mercy: "My mistake, my mistake, spare me, Heroine Kamuro! It was my poor judgment; your style is actually heroic and spirited, much better than those coy, delicate misses!"

That sounded a bit more pleasant, and Kamuro Masumi gave a light huff, not acting out further.

Watching the two bicker, Morishita Ai seemed to have discovered something interesting and suddenly asked: "What about me? Am I a delicate miss?"

Uesugi Hara had just handed the retrieved paper cup back to Kamuro Masumi and looked up at her upon hearing this. Under her straight bangs, those blue eyes were particularly striking. The corners of her eyes drooped slightly, which should have been a gentle curve, but instead, they held a sense of cold detachment, like a lake covered in thin ice. Her chest-length blue hair was so straight it didn't have a single crease, highlighting her slender neck. She sat as upright as a pine, and despite her tall stature, she carried an aura of "strangers keep away."

How was this a delicate miss? She was clearly a mature woman with a natural sense of distance.

Uesugi Hara rubbed his nose, swallowed the "of course not" that was on the tip of his tongue, and changed his approach: "You... you're more like one of those senior martial arts experts who hides a secret story."

A hint of confusion flashed in Morishita Ai's blue pupils: "A senior martial arts expert?"

"That's right," Uesugi Hara bluffed with a straight face, "Look, you don't talk much, but there's drama in your eyes; you don't look like a simple character. Maybe one day you'll pull out a sword and say, 'Actually, I am a hidden master'."

Kamuro Masumi listened from the side and couldn't help but scoff: "Why don't you say she's a princess traveling incognito?"

"That wouldn't go that far," Uesugi Hara waved his hand, his tone tinged with teasing, "A princess wouldn't have her aura. Besides, if we're talking about a princess, isn't she right over there?"

As he spoke, he gestured with his chin toward Sakayanagi Arisu.

Over there, Sakayanagi Arisu was surrounded by a few classmates, sitting with an elegant posture and a composed smile; every gesture she made carried an air of nobility, truly resembling a princess raised with the utmost care.

Morishita Ai followed his gaze, then turned back to look at Uesugi Hara. A flicker of understanding crossed her blue eyes, but she didn't respond, merely giving a slight nod.

Just then, the homeroom teacher walked in holding a roll book, the rhythmic sound of leather shoes tapping against the floor causing the previously slightly noisy classroom to fall silent instantly.

The group tacitly ended their conversation, and Uesugi Hara retreated to his seat, leaning his back against the chair as his gaze swept across the classroom.

He couldn't help but ponder to himself—the game had only just begun, and he had already encountered the daughter of the board chairman, the Spiky-Haired Heroine, and the Cool Older Sister; things were going to be interesting from here on out.