My love index is at its maximum.

"..." Murakami Mizusaka shrank into the blankets, trembling.

Murakami felt both frightened and extremely relieved by Tazaki's shameless behavior.

At 11 p.m., Tsukasa Tazaki finished brushing his teeth for the second time and returned to bed. The signal light on his phone next to his pillow flashed, telling him there was a new message. He opened his phone and found a message from his sweetheart on Line.

[Ninomiya: Where did Kiki go?]

[Tazaki: I cooked a meal for Hoshino-sensei.]

[Ninomiya: Eh, Hoshino-sensei is here too?]

[Tazaki: Yeah, I even went into the stadium to watch the game.]

[Ninomiya: That's great! Has she forgiven you?]

Tazaki: No.

[Ninomiya: Good luck~ Shiori-chan will always be a Kiki supporter!]

[Tazaki: Thank you.]

[Ninomiya: Aren't you upset that Shiori-chan went too far?]

[Tazaki: What do you mean?]

[Ninomiya: Although it was supposed to be a 'Platonic' relationship, Shiori-chan ultimately made you emotionally cheat on her.]

[Tazaki: It's not your fault, it was my own choice.]

[Ninomiya: Really? Don't blame me!]

[Tazaki: Really.]

[Ninomiya: That's great.]

[Ninomiya: Well then, Kiki, please remember to fulfill your duties as a boyfriend!]

[Tazaki:? 】

[Ninomiya: I'm giving you one night to reflect on whether you actually consider Shiori-chan your girlfriend!!!]

[Tazaki:...]

The concubine is unhappy...

I need to think of a way to coax her.

Tsukasa Tazaki put down his phone, closed his eyes, and went to sleep.

The following day, the Jade Dragon Flag Competition continued, but the schedule was not as intensive as the first day. There were only two rounds of elimination matches, one in the morning and one in the afternoon, to determine the final sixteen men's and women's teams.

After the sensation of the first day, the men's table 10 and women's table 8 remained the focus of the entire arena on the second day. Neither of them disappointed the audience, both successfully completing a run of 30 consecutive matches, remaining undefeated since the start of the competition.

On the third day, the round of 16 officially began.

The competition will still consist of one round in the morning and one round in the afternoon to determine the teams that will advance to the final four.

One-on-thirty became one-on-forty.

Tazaki Tsukasa still didn't care about the competition. His greatest pleasure every day was to go to Hoshino Hanami's place and secretly cook for her.

On the fourth day of the competition, the women's group was the first to enter the finals.

The backgrounds of the two genius swordsmen from Kitagawa High School, a private school in Tokyo, were also unearthed by powerful media figures.

In an instant, the following keywords ignited the atmosphere of the entire Jade Dragon Flag Competition, and at the same time, they flooded major online forums in Japan, becoming a national-level gossip hotspot.

Childhood Sweethearts

Abandoned son of a large family

【predecessor】

【Polyamory】

Beautiful girl pursues genius boy

Tsukasa Tazaki sensed that something was wrong.

How could a niche kendo competition generate so much buzz... Could it be that someone paid online trolls to artificially inflate the hype?

Chapter 204 National Competition (5)

August 14th, Saturday, Fukuoka Dome Stadium.

The women's final has entered its final round. Two girls are engaged in a fierce battle of offense and defense on the field. The sound of bamboo swords clashing can be heard continuously, gripping the hearts of everyone present.

The captain from Nagano High School is being forced into a corner of the field by Yui Kikawa. Under the blonde girl's relentless attacks, the opponent can only passively parry and is powerless to retaliate.

At the front of the audience seats, a male and a female host were providing live commentary.

Kuriyama Sakura watched the one-sided battle between the two with indifference. Tazaki Tsukasa yawned beside her, and the little cutie sat on his lap, her eyes occasionally glancing at her father, who was sitting in the audience.

"Kikawa-kun is about to win this game!" Shimamoto Kana looked at the stage with a proud expression.

Tsukasa Tazaki shook his head: "It's not that simple."

"Why?" Shiori Ninomiya looked up at him. "Isn't Kikawa-kun in the lead?"

"What's the point of having the upper hand if you can't score?" Tsukasa Tazaki retorted, then continued, "She's a forward, and the opponent is the captain. If they can't score and it ends in a draw, they'll be eliminated."

"...Kikawa-san can definitely win." Ninomiya Shiori clenched her fist and silently cheered as she looked at the stage.

Murakami Mizuiro showed no sign of tension, his cheeky expression prompting him to search for pretty girls. Once he spotted one, he would immediately turn and call Tazaki Tsukasa to look at her together.

"Tazaki, seven o'clock, black stockings and a short skirt!"

"Brothers!"

Kuriyama Sakura turned her head to stare at Tazaki Tsukasa, yawning elegantly: "Can you two be quiet for a second?"

His tone was neither warm nor cold, but his gaze was as sharp as a razor blade, cutting into the skin with a painful pain.

"...Let's watch the game, let's watch the game." Tsukasa Tazaki shifted his gaze back to the field.

Yui Kichikawa is a very strong opponent, with comparable stamina and a clear strategy. From the start of the match, she focused entirely on defense, without even making any probing attacks.

Everyone knows their purpose: to use the "captain's" position to waste time, and when the score is tied, Yui Kawakawa, as the forward, will inevitably be eliminated.

After observing for a while, Tsukasa Tazaki found that his opponent's countermeasures were very successful.

From the start of the match, she huddled in a corner in a defensive stance. No matter how skilled Kichikawa Yui was, she couldn't jump out of the arena to circle around and attack her back or flanks to break through her defense. The two sides were locked in a stalemate, one attacking and the other defending.

Standing beside him, Kuriyama Sakura suddenly smiled, like a lotus flower with dewdrops quietly blooming.

Do you think she can win?

"How would I know..." Tsukasa Tazaki casually looked away from her face.

What would you do if you were in this situation?

"This is difficult." Tsukasa Tazaki rested his right hand on his left elbow and tapped his cheek lightly with his fingers. "If it were a real sword fight without rules, there would be many ways to defeat the enemy. But under the rules of kendo competition, there are restrictions on the parts of the body to strike, and taking the opponent's bamboo sword is considered a foul. As long as you occupy a suitable corner, this kind of sneaky fighting style is basically unbeatable."

Kuriyama Sakura stared at him with her cool and captivating eyes: "Do you want her to win or lose?"

"Uh... why would I want her to lose when we're from the same school?" Tsukasa Tazaki asked in surprise.

“…Never mind.” Kuriyama Sakura withdrew her gaze, her snow-white and charming profile showing a somewhat indifferent expression.

"Well... personally, I also hope she wins." Tsukasa Tazaki lowered his arms, put his hands in his pockets, and looked at the blonde girl in the arena, his gaze sweeping over the image of her first experience with kendo.

In the dimly lit room flickering with candlelight, the little golden retriever, its arm aching, cried as it repeated the simple, monotonous chopping motion. Its earnest and stubborn demeanor was truly unforgettable, likely to linger for many years to come.

Kuriyama Sakura rested her hand on her cheek and asked casually, "That guy's got you figured out right now, how are you going to deal with him?"

Tsukasa Tazaki slowly shook his head: "No one can take me by the nose."

"Confidence, or arrogance?"

"It's arrogance."

"Where's Hanami-nee?"

Tazaki Tsukasa's momentum faltered, and he muttered, "That was my own choice. How can doing something voluntary be considered being taken advantage of? This is called loving your wife, you know!"

"Silly!" Kuriyama Sakura shrugged and laughed indifferently.

Just then, the situation on the field suddenly changed.

After blocking three heavy blows from Sugawa Yuzuru, the high school girl from Nagano Prefecture began to tremble in her arms, which were gripping the bamboo sword. This was a sign that she was about to run out of strength.

"Oh no..." she thought to herself, her mind racing as she searched for a solution. Just as her body was about to react, she was shocked to find the blonde girl's bamboo sword thrusting towards her throat once again with the ferocity of a tiger.

"sudden!"

A deep roar resounded.

Without a second thought, the Nagano Prefecture girl instinctively raised her bamboo knife to block her throat.

The two bamboo swords collided with a loud thud, the force of the impact causing her to stagger backward, barely managing to stop near the baseline. Before she could even recover, a sharp, tingling sensation shot through her wrists and arms, causing her to instinctively loosen her grip.

"Clang."

The bamboo knife fell to the ground.

The audience was briefly silent before erupting into a wave of applause.

Tsukasa Tazaki: "..."

Isn't this the most brutal way to overcome all skills with sheer force? Golden Retriever, you're really strong!

All three referees raised their flags simultaneously: "Knife dropped, Nagano High School (White Team) commits one foul!"

"Foul! The game has to start again!" The little cutie jumped up and excitedly said to Tsukasa Tazaki, "Two fouls give the opponent a point, so if Kikawa-kun draws another foul in the same way, we can win!"

Tsukasa Tazaki laughed and said, "Kikawa-kun is so smart, he won't give his opponent a second chance."

So-called geniuses are those few who can easily achieve goals that others cannot. And if a genius works hard enough, she will be someone everyone looks up to.

"I'm so envious," Shiori Ninomiya said with a tilted head and a smile.

Just as Tsukasa Tazaki had said, once the match resumed, Yui Kikawa gave her opponent no more chances to remain defensive. The moment the referee's voice rang out, she nimbly charged towards her opponent, her bamboo sword slashing towards his midsection. After his opponent parried with his sword, she countered with a swift thrust.

"noodle!"

A direct hit to the opponent's faceplate, resulting in a decisive victory.