I really don't want to have a girlfriend.

However, thanks to Yuuki Tenkuji, this part was skipped... Although if it were really done that way, Yukino Yukinoshita would never have come along, even if it was a 'club activity'.

"Okay, you went to the Kyoto University Museum yesterday, right? I'll show you the way then, but remember to keep track of your return time."

After casually saying that, Tenkuji Yuzai seemed to finally notice the chestnut-haired girl standing next to the group, who appeared somewhat distant. He tilted his head slightly and asked with a puzzled look:

"And this is...?"

Her long, smooth, lustrous chestnut hair still cascaded down her back, her demeanor dignified and elegant like that of a lady from a noble family, yet her back and eyes exuded the dashing confidence of a swordsman, along with that familiar, direct gaze.

Asuna Yuuki smiled slightly at him, her tone gentle and polite.

"Nice to meet you. I am Yuuki Asuna, a second-year student at Kuroyuri Girls' Academy."

"...Nice to meet you."

After a pause, Tenkuji Yuu returned the smile: "I'm Tenkuji Yuu from Soubu High School. You're Hiro-san's sister, right? I've heard a lot about you from him."

"Huh? You know my brother?" Asuna Yuuki blinked in surprise, then tensed up. "I don't know him... He didn't say anything strange, did he?"

“You’ll have to ask him yourself.” Tenkuji Yu gave an innocent smile. “I suggest you beat him up first before asking him. You won’t wrong an innocent person anyway.”

"Haha..." Asuna Yuuki couldn't help but chuckle twice.

Is this really his brother's friend, or an enemy?

Soon, through chatting and extracting information, Tenkuji Yuu also learned about what he cared about.

First, Asuna Yuuki initially learned from the photos secretly taken by her juniors that he might be one of the students participating in the competition. However, she didn't remember seeing him on the list of fencers. She came to the morning's kendo competition to try her luck and apologize to them.

Then, she was lucky enough to find him on the field and planned to apologize to him after the match. However, she overheard Natsukawa Masuzu and her group talking about the match and couldn't help but comment on it. That's how she got to know them.

Finally, with the help of Yukinoshita Haruno, whom she had only met once and who could be considered a acquaintance, Yuuki Asuna would go with the group before the afternoon's match, just to make friends.

Tenkuji Yu finally understood.

In other words, if Yukinoshita Haruno hadn't intervened, she would have left directly after apologizing and wouldn't have had much interaction with him.

...It must be a coincidence, right? It was just a sudden whim of Ms. Yang's, wasn't it?

Is it some kind of inexplicable law of attraction between like?

Yuu Tenkuji sighed inwardly, trying not to let himself think too much about it.

"Fortunately, the system said that Asuna rejected the physical wedding ring, so there's no need to worry about 'seeing the object and being reminded of her'."

Therefore, Asuna Yuuki is much less dangerous than Haruno Yukinoshita.

Even if the two reconnect, there's probably nothing to worry about.

……yes.

Even though she once said, "Even if I forget you, no matter how many times, I will remember you."

In the end, all he heard was that same sentence—

"Nice to meet you."

For Yuu Tenkuji, there could be nothing more fortunate than this.

……

There are many attractions to visit near Kyoto University.

Outside the school are the Kyoto Imperial Palace and Heian Shrine.

On campus are the Kyoto University Centennial Clock Museum and the Kyoto University Museum.

The group of six—five women and one man—walked through the vast campus, chatting and enjoying the rarely seen scenery of Kyoto University.

Throughout the entire process, Tenkuji Yu held Natsukawa Masuzu's hand, maintaining a distant relationship with Yukinoshita and Yuuki Asuna. This made his jealous girlfriend very well-behaved, only showing him the match video and talking about how cool he was when he swung that sword, trying to see his embarrassed and shy appearance.

Unfortunately, given Tenkuji Yu's thick skin, he readily accepted these compliments, prompting Yukino Yukinoshita to sneer countless times, to the point that he was worried she might get sinusitis.

An hour passed quickly. After circling around Kyoto University, everyone returned to the gymnasium. Some prepared for the game, while others went to the second-floor stands.

Just after parting ways with them, before Yuu Tenkuji had even reached the Soubu High School's players' lounge, he heard someone calling his name from behind.

"Tenkuji-kun, please wait a moment!"

Tenkuji Yuu turned around and looked in surprise at the chestnut-haired girl who was running towards him.

"Yuki-kun? The rest of them..."

"Everyone has already gone to the audience seats. I suddenly remembered that I still had something I wanted to ask you, so I made up an excuse to come down..."

Wearing a player badge around her neck, Asuna Yuuki tidied her slightly disheveled hair. A healthy blush graced her fair and delicate face, and her clear, bright brown eyes gazed at him with a hint of hesitation.

"Tenkuji-kun, um... I hope you don't misunderstand, I know you have a girlfriend, and I didn't mean to hit on you."

"Huh? Then?"

This opening statement, this setup, made Tenkuji Yuu become somewhat wary.

With her fingers lightly clenched into a fist at her sides, Asuna Yuuki took a slow breath, staring intently at him, and asked seriously:

"Have we met elsewhere?"

"And... have you ever played a virtual stealth game called 'Sword World'?"

"..."

Tenkuji Yu blinked and asked curiously, "No, didn't we already say it was our first meeting? As for that virtual game, Hao-ge did give me a helmet, but I let my sister play it, and now it's just gathering dust at home."

"...I see."

She sighed inexplicably, bowed her head, and said, "I'm sorry for asking such a question all of a sudden."

"Don't worry about it. Maybe we've bumped into each other at the supermarket, but we just didn't pay any attention to each other."

With a casual wave, Yuu Tenkuji smiled at her and said, "Go watch the match. Ryou is a bit awkward and hasn't made many friends. I hope you can get along well with her. Yuuki-kun."

"Of course! Natsukawa is a very interesting person, and I hope to get along well with her."

Asuna Yuuki returned the smile and waved her little fist: "Good luck in the match!"

"Lend your auspicious words."

The friendly and pleasant atmosphere ended as the words fell.

The two turned in different directions, and in the shadows where they couldn't see each other, the smiles on their faces gradually disappeared, replaced by thoughtful and confused expressions. They both had their lips tightly pressed together, looking as if they couldn't let go of what was going on.

After a while.

The door to the lounge was closed, and I stepped onto the stairs leading to the second floor.

The last kendo match this morning is about to begin.

Chapter 137 When did you get the illusion that I'm a giant cat lover?

After the morning's matches concluded, Zongwu High School, as expected, once again earned the right to compete.

The score was quite dangerous, and it eventually went to an overtime match where Tenkuji Yu won by taking two consecutive points.

"I didn't expect Kyushu's kendo club to be so strong; we almost lost..."

Having narrowly missed the championship, the players who lost or even drew all looked shaken. Back in the locker room, they were dejected and reflected on their performance, expressing even greater gratitude to their star player, Yuu Tenkuji, saying it was all thanks to him who turned the tide.

Unfortunately, Yuu Tenkuji not only didn't buy into the flattery, but even with the coach's tacit approval, he made a bold pledge—

If the head of the "Fighting Power Detector" unit judges that two of the top four have a chance of losing, then in order to win, he will directly apply for a one-against-five format, so as not to give them a chance to appear and embarrass themselves.

As mentioned earlier, the winner-takes-all format is also known as the "Jade Dragon Flag format".

The rules are very simple: anyone can go first, as long as they are strong enough, they can fight from start to finish until the opponent has no one left to take their turn.

Tenkuji Yu had already boasted that he would help them win the national championship; when it really came down to it, he definitely wouldn't be able to care about their feelings, he would just do whatever it took to win the game, otherwise it would be too embarrassing to be eliminated before even playing in the later matches.

Therefore, after the lounge announced the end of the day and the start of free time in the afternoon, everyone in the Kendo Club walked out with serious expressions. Their desire to have fun was completely extinguished, and they all shouted that they would train until they fell asleep when they got back. What was Kyoto compared to improving their skills?

Sensing the shift from a dejected atmosphere to a burning fighting spirit, Tenkuji Yu didn't say anything, but he was quite satisfied inside... He just hoped that this provocation would have some effect and prevent the national tournament from becoming his personal showcase.

However, after hearing him talk about these things, Natsukawa Masuzu, Yuigahama Yui, and Yukinoshita Haruno all expressed their excitement and wanted to see him go on the field and cleanly and efficiently defeat the five opponents, ending the match in the fastest possible time.

It would be best to do that in the first game tomorrow.

Only someone as overly serious as Yukino Yukinoshita would care about the dignity of the kendo club members... or rather, those who enjoy watching the drama never mind making things worse.

The competition came to an end, and we had a fairly delicious lunch at the Kyoto University Central Cafeteria. After returning to the gymnasium to watch Asuna Yuuki quickly win the fencing competition, the group of six regrouped and headed towards Heian Shrine, ready to enjoy the beautiful scenery of Kyoto's famous ancient temple.

time flies.

The afternoon sun shines through the red maple forest of Kyoto Imperial Palace, casting its rays on the bright red bricks and tiles of the shrine.

The leisurely and quiet sky seemed to have paused time, with only crows cawing hoarsely on the telephone poles, oblivious to the occasion.

Around 5 p.m., the maple forest seemed to be set ablaze by the sunset, with a burst of firelight on the horizon.

Exhausted from walking all afternoon, the group returned to the inn to rest, but soon they were going to the restaurant for a meal. Miss Yuki-onna, who was running out of energy, sighed inwardly, and was then teased by the perceptive Miss Haruno.

Natsukawa Masuzu seemed to want to join in and tease her a bit, but before she could finish speaking, she was quickly repelled by the fiercely protective Haruno, and forced to hide behind Tenkuji Yu, seeking his protection and comfort.

Overall, even with such an unusual combination, the atmosphere was still harmonious and reassuring, even giving the feeling of experiencing a school trip in advance.

As for Asuna Yuuki, since her resting place was very close to their guesthouse, she had become somewhat familiar with them and accepted Haruno Yukinoshita's invitation. After dinner, she would go to their room to play games. She had already bought playing cards, sujiroku, and other games in advance on the way back.

Around 7:30 p.m., before Asuna Yuuki arrived, Yuu Tenkuji stuffed Masuzu Natsukawa, along with her luggage, back into their group room.

The girl naturally protested vehemently along the way, but he silenced her with a single sentence:

"The walls here aren't very thick. If you accidentally do something, the neighbors might overhear you."

After he finished speaking, an awkward cough came from next door from the corner of the bedroom, which showed that the soundproofing here was really not very good.

"Okay, there's plenty of time to go back anyway..."

Natsukawa Masaki sighed regretfully. She wanted to give a smooth answer, but when she thought of the time they spent together last night, a blush rose on her fair face.

—I don't think I shouted too loudly yesterday, did I?

I remember it was just soft humming or panting; that shouldn't have been loud enough for the neighbors to hear...

"Tsk, I'll go tell the guesthouse about the poor soundproofing."

Blushing and clicking her tongue, Natsukawa Masuzu tossed her long hair and stood up. She didn't insist on sharing a bed with him anymore, but said somewhat helplessly, "We'll probably go to the hot spring later, and then go back to the room to play games... Yuu, do you want to come with us?"

“Great! I was just thinking of trying out the public bath here.” With a kind and gentle smile, Tenkuji Yu added, “Of course, the men’s bath.”