It was after the last class of the day when we had finally come back to school. Murakami went to the basketball club, and I headed to my Dojo.

I was not walking too fast because I knew that nothing fun was waiting for me at my destination.

Because of Shirogane.

Yes, it was his handwriting that I saw on that note. I recognized it because I had seen him write down his name on the club application form not so long ago.

And yes, I might have made a mistake. It might be only a little bit similar, however, considering the character of that guy, I highly doubt that he is incapable of something like that.

So… The question is: what exactly should I do with him now?

While trying to come up with an answer to that question, I entered the Dojo.

There was only Takeshi in the room. He was sitting on the floor, staring at the wooden sword in his hand.

The guy noticed me, smiled, and went to the storeroom to take my sword. I, meanwhile, looked out into the window.

There were bushes growing on the other side... Swaying in the wind.

In the end, even after Takeshi came back and we started with our training, I did not tell him anything about my suspicions.

Not because I wished to protect that bastard Shirogane. Oh, far from it. If I was doing everything in accordance with my own will, I would have already told his name to the police.

However, in my current position, it will be problematic… Shirogane was my rival, after all. I had yet to find anyone else who could fit that role. So if that bastard will go to prison or will get expelled from school, I will have problems. The SpoCon story without a rival will Incomplete.

The magazine will not be lenient with me in that case.

What was annoying me the most and making me frown was that I was the one who got himself into these troubles. I shouldn't have given Lu the promise to find the responsible people, but now that I did it, I had to follow it through…

Honestly, it was pure bad luck.

Who could have thought that an important character from one story will be a minor villain in the other one?..

While I was thinking about all that stuff and swinging my sword, I suddenly noticed that Takeshi's fingers were somewhat swelled and red. Then, feeling suspicious, I looked at his sword and saw several cracks on it.

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Ah.

So that's what's happened yesterday after our separation…

After our meeting with the villains, he went back to the Dojo and started training, and his training was so intense that he almost injured himself.

I swiftly looked at Takeshi's honest face, sighed, and continued beating down the wooden doll in front of me.

I had made some considerations after yesterday's meeting.

Right now, I had the following stats:

[Str: E+

End: E

Int: B+

SP:

Kendo: E]

Meanwhile, the main villain of this Ark had a C-level of sword Mastery.

And he was a prodigy, a genius. Maybe later on, with the progression of the story even more powerful villains will appear, but for now, he was my goal.

I had to reach at least C- level of mastery before the tournament to have a hope of beating that guy.

To do that, I had to utilize ETM. It was very useful, but each activation of this thing cost me a lot of points.

However, apart from that I also had my Great Talent.

With these trump cards, I should be able to do it… I think.

I just had to train hard.

And so I did.

I was slashing at the wooden doll until my hands gave in. Then, I was listening to Takeshi's advices.

Because of my talent, I could get the idea that he was trying to convey by listening to even a very vague description. Moreover, after I comprehended it, my moves were getting faster and stronger right away.

Takeshi was amazed by my progress.

Some time passed by. At last, our training has ended. Shirogane didn't appear today. Takeshi seemed to be very sad because of it. I also was worried. What if the police caught that bastard already? What a troublesome situation.

Seeing my thoughtful expression, Takeshi for some reason tried to comfort me:

"I… I think he's just busy today…"

Seems like he had his own thoughts about my opinion on that guy… Oh well. It doesn't matter.

After that, Takeshi had left. He had some stuff to do at home and was very sorry about that.

I continued with my training.

After half an hour of beating the doll, I suddenly felt fire in my chest. I raised the sword, smashed at the legs, then at the waist of the doll. And right away, I made the final swing right at the head.

The doll almost fell down.

I looked into the Magazine:

[Kendo: E+]

Great.

I did it…

I made a tired sigh and almost fell to the floor.

Barley, I was able to carry myself to the mat lying just below the window. I fell there and lay down for several minutes.

However, after some time I suddenly heard a rustle coming from the window. Is it the spy? I clicked my tongue and carefully crawled toward the door into the hallway.

Then I ran through it and stepped outside. I went around the building and saw the bushed before the window of our Dojo.

"Stay where you are!" I shouted.

"Ah!"

I heard a very melodic scream and saw a head full of black hair appear in the bushed. I went there and raised my sword.

The spy seemed to be afraid. He went silent and froze in the bushes.

"Show yourself," I said in a severe voice.

"Do it. And I won't touch you."

The bushes shivered. Seems like the person inside was considering my proposal. At last, I saw small white hands appear in the greenery. Then, shiny black eyes timidly looked at me.

I was stunned.

A little girl, about 11 years old, crawled out of the bushes. She was dressed in a blue school uniform.

The girl looked at me awkwardly and said:

"I… I'm Yuki… Shirogane Yuki…" she gulped. "I want to see my brother."