Kaguya Shinomiya bowed to her grandfather with utmost seriousness.
"Thank you, Grandfather!"
Koken's face was filled with smiles. Nothing made him happier than seeing his granddaughter grow.
He nodded and said:
"Mm, go on. This will be a good start. Also, if you have time, visit my place more often. You might run into that kid, Kazami Yusei. You can train together then."
"Yes!" A flame of determination flickered in Kaguya's eyes.
Seeing his granddaughter so full of fighting spirit, Koken smiled with relief. However, as if remembering something, he added,
"Kaguya, training is important, but you must also remember to rest. Balancing work and rest will allow your swordsmanship to progress faster. I quite agree with what that boy said about that, though of course, he relaxes too much."
"Balancing work and rest?"
Kaguya fell into thought. She hadn't considered it before, but now, she realized she had been constantly pushing herself, hardly ever taking time to relax or have fun.
'Could this be the reason my progress has been slow, even falling behind Okita Soji's?' Kaguya suddenly thought.
After bidding farewell to her grandfather, Kaguya walked while pondering whether her slowed progress in swordsmanship was related to her excessive effort.
She was so lost in thought that she only snapped back to reality when her friend and maid, Hayasaka, called out to her.
"Ojou-sama?"
Hearing the call, Kaguya finally reacted.
"Ah, what is it?"
Seeing Kaguya regain her focus, Hayasaka breathed a sigh of relief and showed her the information she had gathered online about a game.
"Ojou-sama, a new game called Sword Art Online is about to be released. It's a sword and adventure themed game. Would you like to try it?"
Kaguya stared blankly at the game information on the screen for a moment before speaking.
"Why are you suddenly showing me this?"
Hayasaka was momentarily taken aback, then quickly bowed her head, "I noticed you seemed down recently, Ojou-sama, so I wanted to find you an interesting game. If you're not interested, then-"
"No, please buy me a set of the game equipment."
Kaguya looked at the game description, 'A game about swords? Perfect. This way, I could relax while still practicing my swordsmanship.'
…
At the Okita Family's dojo, Okita Soji, dressed in a red cherry blossom kimono, sat on the veranda, silently gazing at the pond in the garden for a long time.
Her beautiful face lacked its usual smile, now only showing distraction and contemplation.
Her maidservant, standing nearby, looked anxious, "Ojou-sama, you're not usually like this. Please smile."
"You've seemed very unlike yourself ever since you returned..."
Soji looked at her maidservant, a faint smile appearing on her elegant, peerlessly beautiful face.
"I'm fine. I'm just... thinking about some things. Please leave me alone for a while."
Though the young maid was worried about Soji, she could not disobey her order and had to leave.
A distant look returned to Soji's stunning features.
Was she brooding over today's defeat? No, she wasn't afraid of losing. Compared to the young lady from the Shinomiya Family, she didn't care too much about winning or losing, though winning was naturally best.
What shocked her most today was that she had been defeated even after entering that state.
She hadn't told her grandfather the specific details of what happened, only that she had been knocked out by her opponent.
But in reality, within her dream-like consciousness, she had seen them: those enormous eyeballs hanging in the sky, each bearing three black tomoes.
And in that moment, she had also discovered the true nature of the boy she was fighting.
Beneath those seemingly ordinary eyes hid a terrifying power. A single glance from them had subdued her.
"Perhaps... he is my scabbard..."
On the empty veranda, only the girl's soft murmur and the clear sounds of flowing water and the bamboo shishi-odoshi striking stone remained.
At the café in Shinjuku, by the time Utaha and Sonoko finished discussing work matters, it was already past 9 p.m..
The streets were ablaze with neon lights, bustling with traffic. This was when Shinjuku truly came alive.
Just as Yusei, Utaha, and Shiraho were saying goodbye to Sonoko at the café entrance, a black sedan suddenly pulled up in front of them.