I Just Have a Stomachache!

[Ding—]

[Mission: Help and protect Rope. Completed.]

[Those who dwell in darkness are not incapable of yearning for the light. You turned that longing into reality; your temptation and guidance were worthy of a master. You have more than earned this reward...]

Hoshino did not look too closely. She had wanted to complete the mission, so she had helped Rope. Receiving a reward was only natural. Though the mission prompt was so crude it looked like something made by an intern, the simplest principles would not change. She deserved that reward.

Hoshino obtained the blade.

She gently reached out and pushed Rope away from the battlefield that had never belonged to her, then turned to face Ch'en, who stood ready to strike.

"Anger is a dangerous emotion. You may keep nurturing your anger until the moment you draw your sword, but once the blade leaves its sheath, there should be nothing but calm in your heart. Be calm when you parry, calm when you cut someone down. Even if your enemy's limbs are severed before your eyes and blood splashes everywhere, you must remain calm."

"Is that perhaps a little too profound for you?"

"Do you understand?"

Hoshino had patiently guided her, only to suddenly shake her head and add that final remark.

It was as though she had called Ch'en terribly stupid.

Ch'en was beyond furious.

She suddenly noticed that the shrine maiden above her was looking at a worthy opponent—but it did not seem to be directed at her. Rather, it was aimed at the Chi Xiao in her hand. At the same time, the sword in Ch'en's grip began to hum, filling her with a fierce, exhilarating sensation.

Though Ch'en was clearly its master, she had suddenly become a spectator!

She gripped the sword and swung it in broad, sweeping arcs. Heat waves filled the air, yet it was as though Ch'en were merely controlled by the blade, turned into Chi Xiao's puppet and forced to run forward against her will.

Pale gray killing intent spread through the air, scorching it. Every slash carved a dark crimson mark into the air.

At that very moment, a cherry-blossom-colored blade sprang forth. The shrine maiden lightly swung her sword, and its gleam traced a perfect arc through the air. It was a crystalline pink radiance. Unlike the weight of Chi Xiao, Sakura Fubuki lived up to its name, like cherry blossoms blown from their branches, carrying an airy, ethereal beauty.

"Chi Xiao: Shadowless!"

"Cherry blossoms, scatter."

Seventeen crimson blade marks hung in the air as the two figures vanished amid their high-speed movements. The steps cracked, and the stone slabs were violently blown apart.

In an instant, they swung their forearms with all their strength, drawing their blades as quickly as possible. Crisp sounds of metal striking metal rang out in the air. It sounded as though they had collided only once, but there had in fact been seventeen exchanges. After the seventeenth, Hoshino sheathed her sword and silently looked at Ch'en.

"I can control it perfectly. Can you?"

It had been a bloodless contest. Though they had stopped at the right moment, it was already enough to reveal the gap between them. Once Ch'en fully drew Chi Xiao, she had to use nearly all her strength with every strike.

She had unleashed 1000% of her power.

After throwing those dozen or so slashes, Ch'en's muscles trembled, her breathing was utterly ragged, and beads of sweat rolled down her forehead.

By comparison, Hoshino was far more relaxed. She effortlessly parried every attack coming from below, her breathing steady. She could even casually pull back whenever she wished, like a teacher fighting a student—explaining everything while making absolutely no sense.

"Mm—"

Ch'en suddenly crouched down, clutching her lower abdomen with both hands.

Hoshino was somewhat stunned. She had just sheathed her sword and had been preparing to strike a more impressive pose, but her opponent refused to follow the script and simply crouched down.

Had she suffered internal injuries? Or had Chi Xiao's killing intent backfired on her?

Unfortunately, neither was the reason.

Hoshiguma awkwardly walked up the steps, gently helped Ch'en up, and explained in a low voice, "She did strenuous exercise right after breakfast. Now she has a stomachache."

"Wow."

Hoshino involuntarily began to applaud.

She bent down and gently stroked Chi Xiao's blade. Without the hand that held it, even the fiercest killing intent was like water without a source, unable to stir up much trouble. Hoshino even felt as though she were petting a cat, one that lazily swayed its body as it enjoyed the touch of someone who knew its worth.

Ch'en had never received such treatment.

Hoshino gently sheathed Chi Xiao and handed it to Hoshiguma. Ch'en clutched her stomach and lowered her head as though she wanted to say something, so Hoshiguma quickly leaned in to listen.

"Mm, mm, mm..."

Hoshiguma raised her head and repeated, "Old Ch'en says, don't think you've won just because of this."

"Pfft—"

That was textbook loser talk.

The problem was that Ch'en did not even refute it. She simply let Hoshiguma haul her onto the motorcycle, while Hoshiguma calculated that two people plus two weapons seemed a little overloaded. Once she had delivered Ch'en, she would need to put some more air in the tires.

"Rope, come report to the Lungmen Guard Department this afternoon!"

She turned and shouted. Rope nodded unconsciously as she watched the other woman speed off in a cloud of dust.

This afternoon?

She raised her head to look at the sun overhead. After all this delay, it was already ten in the morning. She would probably have to hurriedly eat lunch before heading to the Lungmen Guard Department to collect her uniform.

Though it felt a little fast, she was still quite happy.

Hoshino was happy for Rope as well, but when she looked at the shattered steps, she could not bring herself to smile. Her heart bled.

Perhaps she could turn this into a tourist attraction and label it "The Site of Constable Ch'en's Defeat." It might even draw some visitors. She had already beaten her, and Hoshino had put in a great deal of effort. Charging a little interest would not be going too far.

"If you want to go, then go."

With a sweep of her wide sleeve, she returned to the top of Tenshukaku and quietly entered seclusion to meditate.

It was all just a cover.

Whenever Yae Sakura was "cultivating wholeheartedly" inside Tenshukaku, Kallen would appear and wander through the streets and alleys of Lungmen.

She might even pay a visit to the Lungmen Guard Department.

Yae Sakura had angered Ch'en and even made her stomach hurt, but what did that have to do with Kallen? With a different identity, all her guilt was wiped clean, and even her back straightened a little as she walked.

"Ow—"

Ch'en lay flat on her back on the sofa in an utterly humiliating pose, holding a hot water bottle against herself. She looked exactly like a middle-aged or elderly person trying to maintain their health.

Doing strenuous exercise right after eating did indeed make it easy to get a stomachache, but there was a clear crack across Ch'en's hand. It slowly extended from the web between her thumb and forefinger in a horrifying radial pattern, exposing the bright-red muscle tissue beneath.

That wound had not been there from the beginning.

It was a natural backlash from the killing intent entering her body. A simple stomachache would never make Ch'en's unyielding body bend, but Chi Xiao could. The wounds it caused burned and stung, as if it had cut open a gash before pouring salt and sulfur into it.

Naturally, her colleagues could not see her in this state.

After returning to her newly renovated office, she shut the door. Yet the door might as well have not existed, because someone directly pushed it open.

[Kallen] walked in.

That was the advantage of having multiple identities. Ch'en had only met the current Hoshino once, so there was naturally no question of liking or disliking her. She could act as she pleased without worrying at all about her initial favorability.

"As expected, you're seriously injured... Sakura did not think things through. I apologize to you on her behalf."

Hoshino said it without changing expression.