I assembled the strongest swordsman group.

To ensure that all 40 competitors have enough space to perform to their full potential, the competition venue was specially designed to be quite large—about half the size of a football field.

At the western end of the competition venue is the "rest area for Xuanwu Hall contestants," which will also serve as the "main camp" for the Xuanwu Hall contestants once the competition begins.

Since the western end is the "main camp" of the Xuanwu Hall, the eastern end of the venue is naturally the "rest area for the contestants of the Shiwei Hall" and their "main camp" after the start of the competition.

Friends and family members of the two fencing clubs sat in the "spectator seats" at the north and south ends of the venue to watch the competition.

To make them easier to distinguish and to give the "Red and White Battle" a more "battlefield" feel, each of the two "main camps" raised a flag high, with the family crests of the Chiba and Kondo families printed on them respectively.

The "commander's flags" facing each other from east to west fluttered in the wind... truly giving the impression of a large army confronting each other.

Because Kiryu and Kinoshita Mai arrived too early, Aoto and the others had not yet arrived.

Considering that some disciples lived in remote areas, Zhou Zhu did not follow the usual practice of "gathering together before setting off together" to save trouble. Instead, he adopted the method of "each person sets off individually, and those who arrive first can warm up first, as long as they are not late."

With core disciples like Aoto, Kondo, and Souji yet to arrive, the main force of Shieikan currently consists of fewer than 10 people.

These early arrivals of the Shieikan disciples worked together to raise their Shieikan's "commander's flag" and began their warm-up exercises ahead of time.

At that moment, Kinoshita Mai suddenly noticed with keen insight: these people... were all staring blankly at the opposite side.

To be more precise... it's about gazing at the faces inside the Genbu Hall's main camp.

Fear was evident in his eyes and on his cheeks.

Seeing this, Kinoshita Mai couldn't help but ask Kiryu beside her in a puzzled tone:

"Mr. Kiryu, why do everyone at the Shieikan look like that? Are the contestants at the Genbukan all that strong?"

"Hmm... how should I put it..." Kiryu gave a strange smile, "... Tachibana and the others had a very tough time in today's match."

Kinoshita Mai opened her eyes wide in surprise.

"Even with Qing Deng there, it will be a tough fight? Are the contestants from Xuanwu Hall really that strong?"

Kinoshita Mai knew little about the swordsmanship world of Edo. She only knew that Genbukan, one of the "Three Great Swordsmanship Halls of Edo," was very strong, but she didn't know exactly how strong.

"The others are alright, it's mainly that man who's difficult to deal with..."

Kiryu raised an eyebrow, his eyes, hidden behind his glasses, casting a meaningful glance at the tall young man standing in the center of the Genbu Hall's main formation, who was holding two bamboo swords, one long and one short, in his hands.

Splash splash splash splash...

Suddenly, a series of hurried footsteps came from the southeast of the stadium.

Kinoshita Mai looked in the direction of the sound, then let out a soft gasp: "Ah...it's Chiba Kenkan..."

From the direction of the footsteps, a large group from the Kochiba Kendo Academy, led by Chiba Sadakichi, marched toward the arena.

Among this group were many familiar faces to Aoto: Sanako, Chiba Jutaro, Yamanami Keisuke...

Whether it's with Shieikan, Genbukan, or the Chiba Sword Hall, they all share a deep and complex bond.

Therefore, anyone could be absent from the "spectator stands" for today's match, except for the people from the Chiba Kendo Hall.

Moreover, Chiba Sadakichi is also the referee for this competition.

With the highly skilled and respected Chiba Sadakichi, known as a "living legend," serving as the referee, no one would feel dissatisfied.

Upon discovering the arrival of the Chiba Sword Hall members, Kinoshita Mai immediately resembled a kitten encountering a vicious dog, lowering her head and shrinking back, her shoulders and neck clenched tightly.

His gaze, lowered as he looked down, settled on the ground in front of his knees...

But after a moment, as if unwilling to simply "hide" herself away, she stubbornly and cautiously raised her gaze slowly, looking at Sanako, who was walking beside Chiba Sadakichi and standing at the front of the group...

—Chiba Sanako…she’s so beautiful…I can’t compare to her at all…

Kinoshita Mai's gaze was uncontrollably fixed on Sanako's pretty face... a complex emotion that was difficult to describe in words appeared in her eyes...

At that moment, Sanako keenly sensed that a very "heavy" gaze was fixed on her.

A look of bewilderment crossed her face. She raised her elegant swan neck and looked around. In the blink of an eye, she spotted Kinoshita Mai.

The two women's gazes collided and lingered in mid-air...

The moment their eyes met, Kinoshita Mai instinctively tried to look away.

But suddenly, as if she had thought of something, she forcefully suppressed her fear, took a deep breath with a "ha," tensed all her muscles, widened her eyes, and stared at Sanako without backing down an inch.

—Who is this child...?

Sanako frowned, a shadow of doubt creeping over her. After her consciousness circulated through the "Sea of ​​Memories," she finally remembered who this cute girl who looked so familiar was.

—This child…is the girl in red who helped Tachibana-kun fight the Extermination Group…

Scenes of her first encounter with Kinoshita Mai in the settlement engulfed by fire flashed rapidly before Yosanako's eyes.

—Upon closer inspection…this child is indeed very cute.

Sanako blinked a few times, left this bland assessment in her mind, and slowly withdrew her gaze, voluntarily withdrawing from eye contact with Kinoshita Mai.

Seeing that Sanako was the first to look away, a pure joy welled up on Kinoshita Mai's cute face.

—I won! Yay! (≥▽≤)/

Even though there was no "staring contest" between her and Sanako, and Sanako's avoidance of eye contact didn't mean anything, Kinoshita Mai inexplicably felt very happy, as if she had won a great victory.

……

……

Test Guard Hall, second floor, in front of the commander's room—

"Miss Okita, haven't you changed your clothes yet?"

Standing in front of the commander's room, Qing Deng shouted loudly into the room.

"Hurry up! The coaches are already urging us! If we dawdle too long, we might miss the competition!"

"Here it comes!"

Thump, thump, thump... The sound of tatami mats being stomped on came from behind the door.

A moment later, with a "whoosh" as the sliding door was pushed open, a slender ponytail swayed with its owner's movements and appeared before Qing Deng's eyes.

A slender high ponytail that reached her shoulders, a purple ribbon to tie her hair, a white kimono, light purple hakama, and that bright, sunny smile... an outfit that was all too familiar, a smile that was all too familiar.

"I'm all changed! Let's go!"

As Souji spoke, she walked past Aoto with a cute, penguin-like swaying gait, causing her ponytail to swing back and forth, heading straight for the entrance to the first floor of the Asoshiekan building.

It's 9:10 now... If I leave now, I can arrive at the stadium on time without being late and with enough time to warm up.

“...Ms. Okita.”

Aoto can now switch between the two titles, "Okita-kun" and "Okita-san," with great ease.

In public, she calls Souji "Okita-kun," but in private when no one else is around, she calls him "Okita-san."

"Hmm? What's wrong?" Souji turned her head and gave Qing Deng, who had suddenly called her, a hearty look that seemed to say, "Just say what you have to say."

"You seem to be in a good mood these past few days."

As Qing Deng watched Souji's bouncy, energetic steps, he continued speaking.

"Has something good happened to you recently?"

Recently, for some reason, Souji suddenly changed her previous listless and dejected appearance, where she would bump into walls while walking. Every day, her face is filled with a warm and bright smile, and she walks with a bouncy gait, radiating an aura that makes it clear to anyone that she is in a good mood.

Perhaps influenced by this good mood, Souji has been in excellent condition lately.

They practiced swordsmanship every day with seriousness and dedication, as if they had inexhaustible energy. They could practice swordsmanship all day long in the dojo without feeling tired.

His condition was so good that even Zhou Zhu, who was always strict in his swordsmanship training, was speechless.

Qing Deng turned his head and thought carefully—it seemed that it was from 5 days ago... the night that he discovered Souji's true gender, that Souji's mood inexplicably became incredibly good.

The only explanation Qing Deng could think of for this was that Souji had encountered some great good thing recently.

"Roar~~"

Souji let out a strange laugh at Aoto's sudden question to her.

Immediately afterwards, she responded with a relaxed and self-satisfied attitude, in a tone tinged with a hint of teasing:

"I did have some good news recently... but I won't tell you what it is~~"

After saying that, she closed one eye with a mischievous expression, raised her right index finger to her rosy lips, and her eyes sparkled with a childlike cunning.

Seeing the mischievous look on Souji's face, which was filled with amusement, Qing Deng couldn't help but smile bitterly.

"Miss Okita, you're really good at teasing people... Could it be that your sister has finally agreed to let you continue exploring kendo?"

The first half of the sentence is a helpless sigh, while the second half is a tentative, formulaic statement.

The only thing that could make Souji so happy every day these days... was that Aoto could only think of was that the conflict between her and her sister had finally been resolved.

However, no sooner had he finished speaking than the commander gave him a dismissive look:

"No way. I know my sister's personality best. She's not that easy to change her mind."

At this point, the commander paused for a moment as if recalling something, then continued:

"Speaking of which... Tachibana-kun, have you noticed that my sister has been acting strangely lately?"

"Hmm? Something's off. How so?"

"Well... she's been coming to the dojo to watch me practice swordsmanship a lot lately, and she'll suddenly come over every now and then to ask me if I'm having a hard time practicing, or if I'm drinking water and resting properly..."

"Isn't this great?" Qing Deng smiled.

"It's fine... but her unusual behavior makes me feel very strange... because my sister has always disliked watching me practice swordsmanship because she opposes my continued practice."

As he spoke, the commander rubbed his arms alternately as if he felt cold.

"To be honest—my sister's sudden change of behavior is making me a little uneasy... Could she be up to something strange?"

"Hmm...who knows?" Qing Deng smiled and shrugged gently.

The talent of a "deceitful master" quietly takes effect at this moment.

Souji probably never imagined that Aoto, who was walking beside her at this moment, was the only person in the entire Shieikan who knew why Okita Hikaru had suddenly become so abnormal.

—It seems… Madam Hikaru really took my advice to heart and is now devoting more attention to “watching” Ms. Okita…

Thinking of this, a faint smile unconsciously appeared on Qingdeng's face.

Amidst laughter and conversation, Aoto and Souji finally arrived at the entrance to the first floor of the Shieikan.