"Mmm~!"
Although it wasn't actual combat, being able to use her techniques without restraint allowed Saeko Busujima, after training, to become completely emotionally charged.
The desire for slaughter in her blood showed subtle signs of emerging.
So, beneath her knee-length skirt, in addition to the fine sweat that had just gathered from exercise, there was also a natural moistness.
Provoked by Akira,
Saeko Busujima's blood instantly boiled.
Her pale hands wrapped around his neck.
That taut, three-way intersection—leaving only a finger's width of space—
had already welcomed a new day's rush hour as she actively rose on her tiptoes.
"Saeko, you truly understand."
Since receiving the system, apart from Yumi Souo, Saeko Busujima was the person he had trained the most.
And with her Yamato Nadeshiko-like disposition, she was not only loyal but also completely considerate of Akira's thoughts.
Her level of tacit agreement with Akira was considered the highest among the currently captured characters.
"Hoo~!"
Hot breath exhaled from her mouth.
Saeko Busujima was already in a state of readiness.
"Akira, I really missed you yesterday without training."
"Mm-hmm. There was nothing we could do yesterday."
"Not only was Alisa there, but there were also crows watching."
"Speaking of which, I have to mention Marin-chan."
Kitagawa Marin, whose face was flushed beside him, was a little confused. Her hands, which didn't know where to go, instantly became still.
Saeko Busujima glanced at Akira and knelt down.
Swoosh!
Kitagawa Marin was stunned, but she still forced herself to divert her attention and respond to Akira's words.
"Me? What does it have to do with me?"
"After you got home yesterday, you changed, didn't you?"
"Yes."
"You didn't close the curtains properly and were discovered by a Sorcerer who could share the crows' vision."
"Ah? I was discovered!?"
Kitagawa Marin's heart skipped a beat, feeling a sense of impending doom.
However, Akira just smiled. "Don't worry. That Sorcerer is a Big Sister, and she has already contacted me."
"And we've reached a deal, so your matter won't cause any problems."
The stone in Kitagawa Marin's heart fell, but a sense of guilt welled up again. "Akira, I'm sorry. It's all my fault. Please punish me severely!"
Swoosh~!
Saeko Busujima wiped the remaining liquid from the corner of her mouth and stood up.
She didn't care what the two of them were talking about. She only knew that everything was ready now.
"You wait a moment. I'll deal with you after I'm done training Saeko."
"Mmm!"
Saeko Busujima closed her eyes blissfully.
She really got along well with Akira.
No matter how many times,
he could always reach her heart in an instant.
That kind of compatibility—
like a nut and bolt matching—others simply couldn't understand.
Fine sweat evaporated in the air, taking away heat,
making people feel cool.
But for the high temperature between the two, it had no effect at all.
"Mmm~!"
"I love it!"
"You like it? This is just the beginning."
As a Trainer, Akira naturally knew how to train each character properly and improve them comprehensively.
With the assistance of Hand of Greed and Teaching According to Aptitude,
the progress bar for the training limit rapidly increased.
Saeko Busujima's panel data was fluctuating.
At a crucial moment, Akira even noticed that her Swordsmanship rank was switching back and forth between Great Accomplishment and Proficient, in a stacked state.
Unfortunately, the training limit was already maxed out, and this threshold was not crossed.
"Akira, I can already feel it."
"I can feel it."
Saeko Busujima felt the loosening of her realm, and she was very excited.
However, considering that she was in a semi-collapsed state at this time,
Akira didn't say much and directly told her to rest in her capture ball first.
Akira had tried his best—he was just one step short. But in the next training session, Saeko Busujima's Swordsmanship would most likely break through to Great Accomplishment.
[Character: Saeko Busujima]
[Potential: S]
[Loyalty: 100]
[Strength: 13.7]
[Agility: 13.8]
[Stamina: 13.8]
[Skill: Proficient Swordsmanship 99%]
[Evolution Progress: 80%]
[Status: Excited]
Whoosh!
He didn't even notice that Saeko Busujima's evolution progress had also reached its critical point.
It seemed that by the end of the next training session, she would undergo a transformation.
And he himself would also experience a significant improvement.
Putting away the platinum capture ball, Akira's gaze turned to Kitagawa Marin beside him.
A head of soft golden long hair flowed down.
Like water, it followed her proud curves, converging between the almost seamless mountains.
Her sailor uniform was half-off, and black lace invaded his vision.
The naturally revealed offensive power was so high that even Akira didn't hesitate at all.
His fingers slid down her golden hair.
"Mm-hmm~!"
Kitagawa Marin's already rosy cheeks appeared even more flushed.
There are advantages to being big.
There are wonders to being small.
And everyone's physique is different—even with the same curve,
the feeling is completely different.
"Akira."
The epitome of high attack and low defense was Kitagawa.
Although her attack was so high that even Akira marveled at it,
her defense was like paper—she could easily be taken down.
Glass cannon?
Although this term was a bit inappropriate,
in terms of the state described by the words, it really matched Kitagawa Marin.
There was no need for preparation before training at all.
Akira directly entered the training process.
"Mmm!"
Since it was only the third training session,
Kitagawa Marin's brows were still slightly furrowed,
showing her inexperience as a novice.
However, Akira was already an experienced Trainer, and his rich experience allowed him to complete the physical connection instantly.
Since it was a glass cannon, prone to damage,
it needed even more careful maintenance.
Puff!
Hiss!
This is bad.
This is really bad.
Oh no!
Kitagawa Marin's brows furrowed, and she roared in her heart.
But in reality, her voice was like a kitten's.
"Mmm~!"
Her legs gave out, and she couldn't support herself any longer.
Fortunately, Akira was prepared and gave Kitagawa Marin two points of support.
"Just a little more, and today's training limit will be reached."
"Marin-chan! Just hold on a little longer."
"No way!"
Without the little devil costume, Kitagawa Marin couldn't hold on for even a moment.
"Mmm!"
This is bad.
Bad!
[Character: Kitagawa Marin]
[Potential: A]
[Loyalty: 90]
[Strength: 4.0]
[Agility: 4.0]
[Endurance: 4.0]
[Skills: Elementary Makeup Art 15%, Role Playing 5%]
[Evolution Charge: 36%]
[Status: Fatigued]
Not bad—all attributes increased by 2 points.
After putting Kitagawa Marin back into the capture ball, Akira released Saeko Busujima.
Her condition had already recovered.
After all her attributes increased by 4 points, she immediately took her wooden sword and went to the side to practice swings, adapting to her newly increased strength.
All martial arts in the world, nothing is unbreakable—only speed is unbreakable.
These sound impressive, but they are all relative.
As long as Saeko Busujima continued to grow like this, inherent concepts could all be cast aside.
Her panel data of 13 made her swings leave afterimages, and the wooden sword in her hand produced a violent roar as it cut through the air.
"Saeko, wouldn't you be bullying people if you participated in the National High School Kendo Tournament?"
Akira sat nearby, eating his bento, and joked.
However, thinking about it—isn't training so hard precisely to win that award?
Even if it's bullying children—a dimensionality reduction strike—
she should still win it.
"Akira, this time I want to participate in the Martial Arts Tournament. The one jointly organized by the martial arts halls and dojos."
"Oh? That's not bad. Fighting against different strong opponents will be beneficial for your growth."
Akira focused on growth and didn't care about any awards.
This made Saeko Busujima admire Akira even more.
With the title of Sword Saint as a monument, Akira naturally wouldn't care about the empty fame of the Martial Arts Tournament.
However, the Martial Arts Tournament was her father's wish, and Saeko Busujima had to fulfill it.
Otherwise, she would also like to be like Akira—free as a cloud and wild crane, free and easy.
But Akira actually hadn't thought that much.
Saeko Busujima's growth was Akira's own growth—and it was a full five times.
Of course, he had to encourage her to go out and see the world more.
When they were almost finished eating,
Kitagawa Marin's condition had also completely recovered.
As soon as she came out of the ball, she couldn't wait to see her strength increase.
But she started late and had no combat experience.
Akira always rubbed her on the ground.
"Hmph. When will I be able to swing a sword as coolly as Saeko?"
Kitagawa Marin had been tormented many times and looked dejected.
And Akira, hearing this, almost burst out laughing.
"Don't you have the Role Playing ability? Later, I'll make you a few combat Role Playing outfits, and wouldn't that problem be solved?"
"Oh, right!"
Kitagawa Marin's eyes instantly lit up. "As expected, Akira is smarter."
Saeko Busujima put away her wooden sword and leaned over from the side. "I hope there are more combat roles. When Akira isn't available, Marin can practice with me."
"Huh? Me fighting Saeko?"
Kitagawa Marin was dumbfounded. She had just witnessed Saeko Busujima's terror with her own eyes. Asking her to be a sparring partner was simply inhumane torture. "No, no, no—I can't win!"
"Marin-chan, aren't there any high-combat-power characters among the ones you like?"
Kitagawa Marin cutely stuck out her tongue. "Most of the ones I like are little devil types."
"After all, I'm a gamer who's very big on character design."
The more accurately Role Playing was performed, the closer the strength was to the original character.
Compared to characters she didn't like, a character she liked would naturally be a better fit.
Akira rubbed his chin at her words. "Maybe I can tinker with some things. But before that, let's make you two more normal outfits."
"You're not allowed to wear the little devil costume when I'm not at your house."
"Understood, Akira!"
Kitagawa Marin was overjoyed to hear that Akira was going to make her two character outfits.
However, finding normal character outfits seemed a bit difficult for Kitagawa Marin.
She had to go back and play the games she had collected before.
Time was almost up.
The three of them casually went downstairs and returned to the classroom.
"Alisa-san, Alisa-san!"
Even with extraordinary power, Kitagawa Marin's original intention remained unchanged. She still wanted to pull Akira and Alisa into Role Playing together.
However, the path of starting with Akira and indirectly involving Alisa seemed to be no longer viable.
So Kitagawa Marin decided to directly attack Alisa herself.
But as soon as she returned at noon, Kitagawa Marin found Alisa sitting dejectedly in her seat, as if she had suffered a huge blow.
"Akira, what happened to Alisa-san?"
"How should I know?"
"Alisa?"
"Alisa?"
Although Akira could see Alisa's state, he couldn't know the details that caused this dejected state.
He called her name twice and gently shook Alisa's shoulder.
Alisa's watery blue eyes immediately regained their sparkle, and then she turned her head in surprise.
"Akira, you're back!"
"Are you tired? No, Akira, quickly sit down and rest!"
Akira pulled a chair and sat down. "Alisa, what's wrong with you?"
Alisa looked at the two beside her. "Do you really want to talk about it? Saeko and Marin probably don't know about your manuscript."
"They don't know. But it's fine—they're all on our side."
"It's just that, Akira, your manuscript is so good. I've decided to become your fan starting today and directly chase your updates."
"Oh, oh! That's easy to say."
"But for the previous ones, I'm not going to continue writing them."
"Ah?"
Upon hearing this, Alisa felt like her world was collapsing. "Wh-why aren't you writing anymore?"
"You're almost at the 60th floor of the strategy!"
"As for the details, I can't tell you yet. But you'll know very soon."
Ring, ring, ring.
The class bell rang on time.
This interaction between the capricious author and the eager reader ended abruptly with the collapse of Alisa's inner world.
After bowing and sitting down, Akira took out a brand new notebook.
He planned to write character settings that Kitagawa Marin would like.
Normal attire, not a low-power system, beautiful characters, and a unique personality.
Akira thought for a moment and wrote a few large characters in the new notebook: Miss Kobayashi's Dragon Maid.
Because Kasumigaoka Utaha had already read Akira's manuscript, learned and drawn some inspiration from it, and made great progress in her writing,
Akira's writing had also improved significantly at this time.
As soon as he put pen to paper, his ideas flowed like a spring, and he spoke with wit and eloquence.
While Akira was scribbling away, his pen flying across the notebook, Alisa beside him was on pins and needles.
A brand new story!
I'm so excited. I wonder if I'll be the first reader of this novel.
I will be.
Definitely.
Alisa was full of confidence.
As a result, after one class, this brand new notebook ended up in Kitagawa Marin's hands.
"Marin, you read it first."
Akira's words left Alisa with her hand raised, eyes wide, frozen in place like an ice sculpture.
No!
The first reader wasn't her after all.
She wasn't the first reader!
"Eh? This is so interesting. Even though it's just daily life, it's so fun to read!"
Kitagawa Marin murmured as she read.
Compared to the other novel, she preferred this one.
But it was strange—she clearly hadn't been interested in this kind of thing before, but when she saw this one, she was unconsciously drawn to keep reading.
"Wuhu, there are even illustrations—Tohru!?"
"Stop! Don't spoil it."
Alisa listened to Kitagawa Marin's murmuring, feeling incredibly tormented, but her anticipation was at its peak.
"Eh, Alisa, do you want to read it together?"
Alisa was a bit hesitant, but still moved her chair to sit next to Kitagawa Marin.
Before long, the two were engrossed in the gentle and healing plot.
Ring, ring, ring.
The class bell rang again.
But this time, after sitting down, everyone in the class ignored the existence of one person.
Akira's seat was empty.
Kasumigaoka Utaha looked at the blackboard, her mind filled with the sentences Akira had written.
Even now, she had not yet recovered from the shock of her first encounter.
At this moment, a figure flashed across her peripheral vision, catching her attention.
Akira?
Am I seeing things?
How did he just walk in so boldly?
And the other students and the teacher in the class didn't react?
"Utaha-chan, say you have a stomachache and need to go to the restroom."
Akira's voice appeared at her ear.
At the same time, Kasumigaoka Utaha's exclusive controller's muscle memory was awakened…