"I wonder if you dare to fight me?" Miyajima Kiichiro looked directly at Hayato with hawk-like eyes.
"That's not good..."
Hayato scratched the back of his head and smiled timidly.
"Dad," Miyajima Tsubaki also said.
How old was he, still wanting to compete with young people... It wasn't that she was afraid her father would get hurt, it was just that even though Miyajima Tsubaki was an anomaly in the Miyajima family and unfamiliar with swordsmanship,
She knew her father was a master swordsman.
Inviting a young man to a sword match like this was truly disrespectful to his age.
"Don't listen to him," Miyajima Tsubaki said to Hayato.
"Mm..." Hayato smiled and nodded at Miyajima Tsubaki.
"..." Miyajima Tsubaki then remembered that she was still angry with Hayato, so she turned her head away with a (｀へ´) expression, no longer paying attention to Hayato.
Miyajima Kiichiro, however, was unwilling to let go of this opportunity.
"I saw that you didn't hold back at the bookstore, and you have some real skill. Why are you so timid now? Is there something you're worried about?" he asked.
Disciplining the wild man his granddaughter brought back was certainly one key reason.
Another reason Miyajima Kiichiro insisted on challenging Hayato was that he had previously sparred with Miyajima Kiichiro. Kiichiro knew his ability, and indeed, as Sakura said, he was a rare talent. He now rarely had the opportunity to spar with others, and encountering such a good prospect, his hands were already itching.
"...If I lose, it will be very embarrassing," Hayato said.
"..."
Miyajima Tsubaki looked at Hayato, somewhat at a loss.
Eh, so he was the kind of person who would be afraid of embarrassment?
Based on her experience with this young man, he didn't seem to be the type to care about winning or losing, and besides, her father was an old senior in the world of swordsmanship... She understood, he probably didn't want to lose face in front of the girl he cared about.
Miyajima Tsubaki's gaze shifted to her daughter... Was it Sakura?
But from her previous conversation with Sakura, she knew that in his interactions with Sakura, Sakura seemed to be the more proactive one. That is to say, Sakura cared more about him, and he was afraid of losing face in front of Sakura... It felt a bit far-fetched.
Then what was he afraid of?
...Eh? Eh?
Miyajima Tsubaki's pupils trembled. Could it be that he was afraid of losing face in front of her?
That really wasn't necessary.
There was no possibility between them, and besides, his previous statement of "I don't like you" was said so decisively...
"Mom, are you hot?" Sakura asked.
..."Not really," Tsubaki said.
"Then why are you fanning yourself with your hand...?" Sakura asked, and her face looked very flushed...
"..." Tsubaki said.
She glared at her daughter, unable to answer.
So she resorted to a long-unused method of evasion:
"Don't ask about adult matters, child!"
..."Yes!" Sakura quickly replied respectfully, then fell silent.
However,
Miyajima Tsubaki began to overthink. Hayato... shouldn't be considered an adult, right?
She subconsciously sized up the young man in front of her. Although he was quite tall, he might not have fully matured yet.
"Hahahahahahahahaha!"
Upon hearing this, Miyajima Kiichiro burst into laughter: "Don't worry, losing to me, Miyajima Kiichiro, is not shameful!"
"I don't think that's a good idea..." Hayato seemed to still have some reservations.
Miyajima Kiichiro then said:
"Since that's the case, we'll have our match behind closed doors, so no one else can watch. The outcome of the match will only be known to us."
What he said.
Miyajima Tsubaki sighed. He said "only we will know," but couldn't outsiders still deduce the outcome?
It was truly like taking off one's pants to... Tsubaki, who was always gentle and elegant, couldn't bring herself to say that vulgar word.
"Alright."
But unexpectedly, Hayato agreed immediately.
Miyajima Tsubaki: ?
She really couldn't understand this young man's actions.
The Miyajima family was originally a dojo. Although Miyajima Kiichiro was now old and no longer accepted disciples, the essence of a "dojo" was still preserved.
There was still a kendo practice area in the house.
And it was quite large, about thirty ping (approximately 100 square meters).
There were sliding doors on the left, right, and front.
They could all be opened to allow viewing of the matches inside the venue.
They could also all be closed for "private sparring."
Hayato and Miyajima Kiichiro chose the latter today.
They both stepped onto the tatami mat.
Then Miyajima Kiichiro ordered Sakura to close all the doors, even his daughter and granddaughter needed to avoid it.
Hayato looked around curiously, fresh to the surroundings.
They're truly wealthy and influential. Just this practice area alone is worth five or six times the size of his own home...
"Hmph hmph..." Miyajima Kiichiro exhaled proudly through his nose: "Since you've discovered it, then allow this old man to introduce it."
Hayato: ?
"What you are facing is my family's heirloom sword, 'Quick Blade Ichimonji'!" Miyajima Kiichiro said proudly.
Only then did Hayato realize that, approximately at his crotch level, there was a large sword laid horizontally—it was a truly large sword. If it were his "great sword," it should be vertical...
Including the scabbard, it was about 1.2 meters long, but extremely narrow...
Then Hayato discovered that there wasn't just one sword; there was also a short sword of forty to fifty centimeters laid horizontally beneath the long sword.
Who asked you about this? Hayato thought to himself.
But Miyajima Kiichiro apparently didn't notice his disdainful gaze and continued to introduce it on his own:
"'Quick Blade Ichimonji' is composed of a 'katana' and a 'wakizashi'. It is said to have been made by a famous swordsmith during the Taisho period..."
The old man chattered on as if giving a history lesson.
How should I put it?
Although he spoke very excitedly, his eloquence was truly mediocre. When he spoke to the depths of his emotions, tears were already welling up in his eyes, but Hayato still couldn't empathize. People's joys and sorrows cannot be shared; he only found him noisy.
Moreover, the Taisho period up to now is only a little over a hundred years. For a human life, it is indeed a bit long, but as a family heirloom, it is really not impressive enough.
One can only say, don't be so self-indulgent.
The old man was speaking with great relish, seemingly about to introduce Hayato to his father and mother, and perhaps even tell him how he was born... Hayato quickly interrupted, saying:
"Mr. Kiichiro, I have a word... no, I have a sword, whose origin is also extraordinary. You might be very interested after hearing about it."
"Oh?" Miyajima Kiichiro was indeed a sword lover. Before Hayato could say what kind of sword it was, his old eyes gleamed with intense light: "What sword?"
"It's this one." Hayato took the wooden sword from his back and held it horizontally in front of Miyajima Kiichiro.
Miyajima Kiichiro immediately became interested.
What kind of ancient origin could a wooden sword have?
Hayato smiled mysteriously: "Mr. Kiichiro, you don't know, but this wooden sword indeed has an extraordinary origin."
"Oh?" Miyajima Kiichiro's eyebrow twitched, "How so?"
"Sakura-senpai gave it to me," Hayato said.
"...You brat! I'll kill you!!"
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