Female Swordsman Training Dojo

“That’s true, but that applies to special shrine maidens who can master magic,” Hirako said with a somewhat somber expression. “For ordinary people like me who have been struggling to learn even the most basic magic, the salary is very low—after all, it’s just the lowest-level shrine in a rural village.”

"Huh?" Harunobu opened the system panel, checked Hirayukiko's [Narukami Body] talent, and felt a little confused: "Wait, which god is it at your hometown shrine? Takemikazuchi or Kitaman Tenjin?"

Both of these deities are famous thunder gods in Japanese mythology, although the latter is more known as the god of learning. As for why I make this guess, it is of course because of Taira no Sachiko's "Narukami Body".

"Hmm? It's Ame-no-Tsurugi no Mikoto... What's wrong?" After answering, Hirayukiko looked at Harunobu with a relieved expression and asked in confusion.

"No, it's alright now." Harunobu was indeed relieved. Many people probably don't know the deity Ame-no-Tsurugi-no-Mikoto, but as long as you say that she is the deity who danced naked and attracted Amaterasu, who was hiding in Ame-no-Iwato, everyone will probably know her.

It seems quite normal that Hirayukiko couldn't learn this kind of divine magic; even Takemikazuchi said it would be no problem.

However, if the reason why Hirako can't learn magic is because the gods are wrong, does that mean she might be able to learn magic related to the Thunder God?

Will Thunder Breathing actually create special effects for her? Even setting aside how cool it is in the original work, just being able to generate electricity would be incredibly powerful.

Harunobu was lost in his imagination about the cool special effects, and when Hirako saw that he was no longer speaking, she also quieted down and once again moved close to Harunobu's shadow, following him step by step.

My vision became somewhat blurry.

She still had some things she didn't say earlier, like about teacher training...

It is very difficult for an ordinary village girl to become a shrine maiden, even one at a rural shrine. It cost her family a lot of money, to the point that even her younger brother couldn't go to school.

In the end, however, she failed to meet her parents' expectations. She could not even be considered a qualified priestess, let alone an excellent one. So, she left her hometown and came to this bustling city to work as a laborer.

That's why she scrimped and saved to support her parents' medical expenses, even though it might be an expense that would drag on for a lifetime... That's why she hesitated to fully accept the teacher's proposal.

She didn't want to be a burden to anyone again... even though she was completely dependent on him now.

So... so, she can't bind Shi Fan any further. He shouldn't be tied down by an old woman from the countryside like her. He should find a more outstanding and worthy woman instead... But, just staying by Qingxin's side shouldn't be a problem, right? She's the top disciple and the acting head of Shi Fan.

Da da.

The wooden clogs alternated, stepping beside the shadows lengthened by the dim light, so close yet never quite stepping inside.

Suddenly, Harunobu spoke up: "Speaking of which, I remember that not all types of Tokoyo disease are incurable, right? Should we bring the two elders to Tokyo?"

"Eh?" Overwhelmed with surprise, Shihan Dai lost her footing and bumped into Shihan, who had turned around. The loose kendo uniform was squeezed and forced to clung tightly to Hira Yukiko's trembling body. The excellent fabric perfectly conveyed the delicate touch, and even... especially the magnificent chest area was perfectly reproduced. The powerful pressure made Harunobu freeze in place.

But he quickly realized what was going on, and nervously but generously put his arm around Hirako's waist: "Well... that's what the shrine maiden Kujo said when I went to Inari Shrine last time."

"Besides, if we can stop updating our content, it doesn't matter if it costs more money than to continue with conservative treatment—we can just give you an advance on several years' worth of salary."

Qingxin rambled on and on about how renting is not as good as buying, but finally ran out of reasons. Moreover, he was starting to feel the increasing number of stares around him.

"Sachiko?"

Hirako took a deep breath: "Then I'll write a letter when I get back, Teacher's College~"

The light, trembling tone at the end of her words made Qingxin's heart flutter as well.

Chapter Thirty-Four: Reverse Blade Sword - True Strike

The next day, the Aozora Pavilion was filled with the usual energetic sounds of morning exercises, but the difference was that the sounds were louder and noisier today.

Because today, in addition to Harunobu and Sachiko, three other beginners also participated. Two of them are current female university students from Japan Women's University, who formed the "No-Brainer and Unhappy" duo, Hanazawa Nana and Saten Yoko. Today is a rest day at the Women's University, so they came over early in the morning.

In Hanazawa Nana's words, "Yoko is really something~ I was eating breakfast, and she just barged in and dragged me away from Father and Mother~"

Then she was punished by Saten Yoko with an iron fist. As for what she said... Harunobu will believe half of it. Normally, a young lady like her shouldn't do something so outrageous.

Harunobu glanced subtly at Saten Yoko, who was maintaining her mid-stance stance with a wooden sword, and then looked at the other young lady beside her: "Ms. Inoue, have you made up your mind? Do you want to come and learn at our dojo?"

Inoue Shibaya is also an active female university student at Japan Women's University, but she is a year older than No-Brain and Unhappy. She was also persuaded to come by Hanazawa Nana. Surprisingly, she is a normal person, whether in terms of personality, common sense or talent.

—It seems that being clueless and unhappy doesn't represent all the students at their school.

“Yes, Director Taira.” Inoue Shibaya maintained a subtle distance from the two students and bowed to Harunobu. “I’d like to give it a try.”

“Then I’ll give you a special discount of five yen—after all, you were introduced by those two people.” Harunobu glanced at Hanazawa Nana, who was secretly looking over. “This is just for this time. Next time, you’ll have to pay the normal price.”

Hanazawa Nana looked utterly defeated, her perfectly executed stance crumbling. Harunobu narrowed his eyes, about to reprimand her, when Hirako, who was practicing her sojourn, walked over and struck Hanazawa Nana in the waist with her wooden sword.

"Stand up straight!"

Hirako used just the right amount of force, enough to make Hanazawa Nana feel pain without hurting her. The latter immediately straightened her back, and her full breasts even jerked violently because she reacted too quickly.

"Ouch~ Sachiko-nee~ It hurts so much~"

Hanazawa Nana let out a soft, tearful sob, but no one present was fooled by her. Saten Yoko and Inoue Shibaya were immune to it after a long time as classmates, and Harunobu, though slightly agitated, quickly regained his composure.

As for Hirako... she's the one being referred to as the "Demon Teacher's Agent"!

When it came to her first real teaching assistant job, Hirako was quite serious and focused. The sharpness of her focused eyes even surpassed that of Harunobu's cheap sword, making Hanazawa Nana hold back her tears again.

"Practice hard! You've paid for this, so I have an obligation to teach you!"

"Hi~"

A disjointed response rang out in the main dojo. Harunoshira leisurely ran to the side, but instead of doing his morning exercise, he opened the system panel.

As Hirako began her actual teaching duties, the task of "teaching" was completed. The 100 points for diligent study were now only a small amount; the main prize was the first time she had earned the qualification to draw prizes from the in-game store.

Without a second thought, Harunobu immediately started drawing.

After a series of strange special effects, the system's mechanical and monotonous voice sounded in his mind: [Drawing complete. Obtained level n item, Reverse Blade - True Strike!]

The system panel automatically redirected to a new page, where a katana that Harunobu recognized lay quietly. As Harunobu's thoughts lingered on it, a pop-up window appeared.

[Reverse Blade Sword - True Fighting]

[One of the swords of Battosai Himura Kenshin, the Manslayer, this is a sacred sword made by the master craftsman Arai Akakura. As its name suggests, its blade is reversed compared to a normal katana, resulting in lower lethality.]

[Special Effect: When using this sword to perform the Flying Sword Style, the effect is increased by 10%]

"Uh..." Harunobu scratched his head, looking at the reverse blade sword "Shin-uchi" on the page, feeling extremely frustrated. He hadn't expected to have such bad luck today. It must be his fault for not burning incense and taking a bath before starting the draw.

Although Harunobu has a lot of sentimental attachment to the reverse-blade sword, Shin-uchi, and the system even added special effects to it, the problem is that Harunobu mainly uses the Thunder Breathing technique now, and the reverse-blade sword itself is not as easy to use as a normal sword, especially when fighting monsters—however, maybe it will be good for challenging other sects later.

The idea of ​​taking down a dojo with a reverse-blade sword sounds pretty cool—but normally, dojo challengers usually use wooden swords, and a reverse-blade sword is metal, after all.

As expected, bad luck struck again.

Qingxin closed the system page. He didn't plan to take out the reverse blade sword now, because although the items drawn by the system would be stored in the system page, they could not be put back in after that.

It's a pity that there's no storage space left, but at least it can be used once. If there's an emergency where he needs a weapon in the future, he can make do with the reverse blade sword. Besides, in terms of quality alone, the reverse blade sword, Shin-Uchi, is definitely better than the one he's using now.

Next, Qingxin checked his Diligence Points. Thanks to the recent deaths of the disciples of Baosheng Dojo—the challenge missions were really good at farming points—he now had 2032 Diligence Points.

So, should we hold a lottery or build the gym first?

After glancing at the N-rank Reverse Blade True Fighter and then at the [Main Quest: The Restoration of the World's Number One Dojo], Harunobu switched to the Dojo Facilities page and selected the Meditation Room and the Main Dojo.

The purpose of the Sutra Repository is to allow Harunobu to put in the sword techniques he knows so that his disciples can learn them independently. However, Harunobu currently only knows the Flying Sword Style and Thunder Breathing, and his disciples are only a handful. He can handle it all at the moment, so there's no need to rush.

In comparison, the meditation room and main practice hall, which can accelerate the disciples' recovery speed and practice efficiency, are much better.

As Qingxin pressed confirm, her study points were instantly cleared to 32, and the system began calling for construction workers. Then, a group of extraordinary figures appeared in front of Qingxin.

It's that group of monsters again.

Moreover, because the main dojo, Harunobu, also chose to renovate the existing buildings, some of those demons were carrying out large-scale construction right in front of him. Amidst their flamboyant movements, some "benefits" that Harunobu absolutely did not want to see were poured into his eyes—well, at least it confirmed that these demons were indeed women.

unbelievable.

"..."

Qingxin seriously considered whether to spend money to avoid disaster, but in the end he sighed and thought, "Forget it, money is hard to earn."

Incidentally, even though these prodigies were carrying out large-scale construction within the main dojo, none of Qingxin's disciples reacted. Moreover, Qingxin discovered an even more outrageous situation: when those prodigies and their building materials came into contact with the bodies of other people in the dojo, they would simply turn into nothingness and disappear, as if they never existed.

Just as Harunobu was curiously observing this absurd situation, a shout, which had recently become a daily routine, came from the main gate.

The walking points for diligent study... no, the disciples of Baosheng Dojo have come knocking again.

Hirako stopped her forceful correction of Hanazawa Nana, picked up the wooden sword and walked out the door. Hanazawa Nana, who had just looked utterly hopeless, almost simultaneously came back to life and excitedly followed after her, dragging Saten Yoko and Inoue Shibaya along with her.

"Let me tell you, Sachiko-nee is super amazing!"

Chapter Thirty-Six: News of the New Monster

"I lost."

The disciple of Baosheng Dojo dropped his wooden sword, looking dejectedly as the sword was taken back from his neck. Beside him, Wuwailiu Okuden, who had just been knocked back by Qingxin, also looked dejected. The setting sun tactfully fell on their faces.

However, compared to their resentment and bitterness after losing before, their attitude is much better now, only a little unwilling and upset... Did Amu Hosho go back and persuade them, or are they really going to be beaten into submission?

In any case, it seems that the Hosho Dojo spawn point is almost exhausted, so it's about time to do the [Side Quest: Counterattack]. It looks like a resounding victory shouldn't be a problem, but I don't know if I can achieve the crushing victory.

As Harunobu pondered this, he looked behind him. The five female disciples were now staring at Hirayuki with sparkling eyes. It wasn't that they thought Hirayuki was stronger than Harunobu, but rather that Hirayuki's fights were much more entertaining than Harunobu's, which was usually defeated in a flash. Naturally, this made her more attractive to these beginners.

Seeing that the Diligence Points had been restored to 800 points thanks to the efforts of Hirako and Saten Yoko over the past few days, along with the tireless dedication of the Hosho Dojo disciples, Harunobu nodded to the neighbors and passersby who had come to watch, and led his disciples back to the dojo.

"Ye Zi, Nana."

As soon as he sat down, Harunobu called out the names of No-Brain and Unhappy, "You two do a set of simple exercises for me to see, the rest of you continue training with Sachiko."

"Yes! Normal!"

Five active female university students began wielding their swords, their movements becoming quite skillful, far exceeding the learning efficiency of normal swordsmen. This was, of course, thanks to the bonus effect of the dojo facilities. As long as a disciple recognized by Harunobu, training in this dojo would receive the facility's bonus, while those listed in the disciple roster would receive the bonus even outside the dojo.

Therefore, among them, Hanazawa Nana and Saten Yoko did the best. The former was even slightly inferior to the latter, after all, she relied entirely on her talent and practiced whenever she could, while the latter was exceptionally hardworking. Harunobu would sometimes even see study points coming in at 11 or 12 at night.

So much so that he had to force Saten Yoko to relax a bit, lest she ruin her body, which would be a loss.

After watching No-Brain and Unhappy's movements for a while, Harunobu nodded: "Alright, you two are progressing very quickly, although it would be even better if someone could work a little harder... Anyway, you two can now start learning some simpler sword techniques—don't even think about the Thunder Sword form, wait until you've mastered that breathing technique."

The female disciples immediately showed expressions of disappointment, but Qingxin ignored them and continued, "Today I will teach you two Dragon Nest Flash and Dragon Tornado Flash, that will be enough for the two of you to learn."

Harunobu had carefully considered teaching the Flying Sword Style. Thunder Breathing is pure suicide swordsmanship for those who haven't mastered breathing techniques. They either can't use it effectively or end up with a lot of injuries. And ordinary people aren't like Hirako, an SR-level genius with a perfect specialty. It's impossible for them to master it instantly... Maybe it will be possible when the facilities are upgraded to a higher level in the future.

The original Natural Harushin-ryu style is too weak, not worth the tuition and easy to ruin its reputation. The only thing left is the Flying Sword Style. Although some of its moves are very unethical, at least it has good combat power and looks cool, and it doesn't have such a high threshold as Thunder Breathing.

Saten Yoko puffed out her chest excitedly, her large, flat chest standing perfectly still in stark contrast to Hanazawa Nana's: "Yes! Teacher!"

"Let's get started... Nana, you should take this seriously, at least make it worth the money you paid."

"Uh... if I don't want to learn, could I..." Hanazawa Nana's eyes had only rolled halfway when she was startled back by Saten Yoko's predatory gaze and obediently and attentively stared at Harunobu's movements.

"Watch closely, the essence of Dragon's Nest Flash is..."

After some time, as the setting sun gradually sank into darkness, the young ladies left the dojo together. Harunobu yawned and put away his wooden sword, feeling utterly exhausted: "I finally understand why everyone likes geniuses... My Sachiko is so much better."

Although he was already well aware of Taira Yukiko's excellence, Harunobu felt the superiority of a genius once again after comparing her to an ordinary disciple.

He spent nearly an hour dissecting, analyzing, and demonstrating the Dragon Nest Flash move in detail, but no one could master it, or even make it resemble the original.

Although he probably couldn't do it even if he had to learn from scratch himself, since he's just an nth-level mortal—it's still so annoying.

Hirako looked at Harunobu, who was slumped on the floor, with amusement, and put the bundle of wooden swords in her hand back on the weapon rack: "After all, they are all young girls. Most of them probably come to learn swordsmanship just for fun."

"The leaves work so hard, and they're doing the same thing, aren't they?" Qingxin said, raising his head slightly as the footsteps approached, and settling the leaf in a softer spot. A faint fragrance wafted into his nostrils, making him feel much happier.

“That child…” Speaking of Saten Yoko, Hirako sighed. To be honest, she probably couldn’t match her dedication to swordsmanship, not to mention that she worked so hard not for swordsmanship, but for the person.

Staring at the face pressed against her knees, Hirako narrowed her eyes slightly: "I hope she won't push herself too hard. Nana has told me several times that she hopes I can help persuade her."

"There's nothing we can do about it..." Qingxin sighed, turned over, and shyly turned her face inward, making the fragrance even stronger.

"Speaking of which, the letter has already been sent, hasn't it?"

"Yes." Hirako's voice trembled slightly, and the warmth of Harunobu's breath seeped into her clothes as he spoke. "But letters from Tokyo to Osaka don't arrive that quickly, especially from the countryside."

“Yeah…Speaking of which, shouldn’t we install a telephone at the dojo?” Harunobu turned back with some annoyance, and Hirako breathed a sigh of relief, but was also a little disappointed.

"Isn't that unnecessary? We don't need to contact anyone in any special way."

“That makes sense…” Qingxin said lazily. Outside, the cold winter wind howled, but the two inside the room chatted leisurely, their topics rambling on and on, sometimes even repeating themselves.

A series of urgent knocks on the door broke the increasingly intense atmosphere that was gradually shifting in a certain direction.

Haruno sat up unhappily: "Who is it?"

"It's me!" Tanaka Yu's voice came from afar, drowning out the wind, "A monster has appeared!"

Chapter Thirty-Seven: Qing~Xin~Brother~

Upon hearing Tanaka Yu's voice, Harunobu immediately became serious, grabbed his sword with great joy, and strode towards the gate, with Hirako following closely behind.

Despite Harunobu's apparent enjoyment over the past few days, spending his time beating up the generous Hosho Dojo disciples who offered their lives and teaching the new disciples, his past financial problems have long been resolved, and his relationship with Hirako has even heated up rapidly. Now, all that's left is to formally acknowledge their relationship. It seems he can happily continue living a carefree, laid-back life.

However, he had been searching for traces of monsters all along. Not only did he harass Tanaka Yu every day at the Aozorakan Road office, but he also asked a cat and even the Kazemonya to help him keep an eye out for monsters. All of this was to deal with the sword of Damocles that was still hanging over his head—the annual monster-slaying quota of Aozorakan.