Chapter 29: A Girl's Request
"Ren… please guide me too!"
"…What?"
Ren stared at the blue-haired girl standing before him, her expression utterly sincere—almost pleading. He blinked in surprise.
"Just like you guided Mai," Miwa said earnestly. "Guide me strictly—don't hold back! I can handle it!"
She stood ramrod straight, determination written all over her face.
Ren promptly sprayed a mouthful of water.
Setting his cup down, he couldn't help letting his eyes drift—just for a second—over Miwa's delicate figure beneath her dark-blue uniform jacket.
Guide you the same way I 'strictly guided' Mai? Are you sure you could handle that? he thought wryly.
But that was just an uncharitable joke. He quickly buried it.
"…What exactly is this about?"
"I heard everything from Mai," Miwa said seriously. "And I saw it myself."
"After she was hospitalized, you couldn't bear to see her overexert herself, so you decided to help improve her technique's efficiency."
"And in just a few days, you found a way to increase her Construction Technique's efficiency by ten thousand times—ten thousand! You boosted her strength to an entirely new level!"
Her tone grew increasingly dramatic as she spoke, her lake-blue eyes shining with naked admiration.
Just yesterday on the training grounds, she had seen Mai pull out an M60 machine gun—without a single belt of ammunition attached—and unleash a rattling storm of fire. Six hundred rounds in a minute. The barrel smoked. The practice dummies were shredded into confetti.
And afterward, Mai had proudly declared that all of it was Ren's doing.
Ren coughed lightly and rubbed the bridge of his nose.
"It was just a coincidence," he said modestly. "A coincidence."
Mai's Binding Vow had succeeded because her innate technique possessed a near "creator-level" property—the ability to produce matter that truly existed. Only by staking something of that magnitude could she exchange it for such overwhelming gains.
Not just anyone could casually exploit a Binding Vow for results that dramatic.
"Really?" Miwa clearly had no intention of giving up.
"I heard you worried about Mai for days. Researched for days."
"So… how about researching me too?"
"Please! If you can make me stronger as well, I'll do anything!" she declared in a tone so resolute it sounded like she was marching to her execution.
…This conversation was getting strange. Research me?
Ren studied her properly. The determination in her eyes was real. So was the resolve.
He had seen that same resolve before—when she had stubbornly tried to learn the Flame Technique from him.
Unfortunately… that had produced exactly zero results.
But as the thought crossed his mind, inspiration suddenly struck.
"There is one method that might help improve your strength," he said seriously.
"Only might."
"And even if it works, the boost won't be anywhere near as outrageous as Mai's."
"That's fine!" Miwa's blue eyes lit up instantly. "As long as there's hope. As long as I can get stronger."
"Let's begin, Ren! I'm fully prepared!" She snapped her legs together and raised one hand sharply, like she was pledging allegiance.
…There was really no need to look like you were signing a military oath.
Clearly, Mai's explosive growth had shaken her badly—perhaps a little too badly.
"It's actually simple," Ren said, pulling his thoughts back on track. "I've been thinking about this for a while."
"Oh?" Miwa blinked. "For a while? Since before Mai?"
He found the question odd but nodded anyway.
Warmth bloomed in Miwa's chest.
So he hadn't forgotten about her. He had even considered her situation before Mai's. For some reason, that thought made her heart feel sweet and light. She couldn't help grinning foolishly.
Watching her suddenly beam like that, Ren felt increasingly confused—but pressed on regardless.
"Miwa, maybe we should stop trying to learn the Flame Technique."
"…Huh?"
"I've thought it over. It's not compatible with you."
"Maybe you should choose a technique that aligns better with your own strengths."
"You're a practitioner of the New Shadow Style, right? You specialize in swordsmanship."
"In that case… how about learning 'Slash' from me?"
As he spoke, he raised his hand and flicked it lightly.
Shhk—
An invisible blade sliced through the air, severing a tree branch outside the classroom window.
Miwa's eyes widened. Her lips formed a small "O."
"An invisible slash…?"
"Yes. From my estimation, your probability of mastering this is exponentially higher than mastering the Flame Technique."
(Because your probability of mastering the Flame Technique is basically zero.)
That part, he wisely kept to himself.
"I'll learn that!" Miwa burst out. "That's the one! Ren, I want to learn that!"
The phrase exponentially higher probability alone was enough to move her.
More importantly… this was exactly the kind of technique she had always dreamed of.
She had seen the sword-turned-curse "Kawasume" summoned many times—because Ren had repeatedly asked Momo to bring it out so he could study its technique.
That white-robed figure, blade flashing, unleashing invisible slashes with effortless precision—
It was so cool.
It might sound strange—a sorcerer aspiring to resemble a curse.
But that image? That was the version of herself Miwa had always imagined.
Could she really do it? Could she truly wield that unseen, intangible edge that tore through everything?
Just thinking about it made her pulse race.
"Let's start right now, Ren!"
"Alright."
He cleared his throat and began organizing his thoughts.
But just as he was about to begin, hurried footsteps echoed from outside the classroom—followed by noisy commotion.
"Todo, slow down!" came a youthful voice. It was Momo.
Then—
"Ren! Who's Ren?! Where is he?!"
A booming roar like a tiger's bellow shook the hallway.