manga artist Kirito

"I see... Then hurry back, it's not good to keep your family waiting."

"Okay." Kirito casually picked up his neatly packed backpack and pinched Asuna's cheek. "See you the day after tomorrow!"

With a gentle smile, Asuna spoke like a wife seeing her husband off to work, "Okay, see you the day after tomorrow."

"……goodbye."

"Goodbye."

This is what I said to Mashiro.

……

Sitting on the train home, Kirito rested his chin on his hand, listlessly watching the scenery rushing past the window.

Generally speaking, those who have never returned home often have a strange feeling when they are on their way back. But for Kirito, he really doesn't dare to look forward to it. He has neglected his kendo for too long, and his physical fitness is not as good as before. Especially after high school started, he spent his days as a couch potato playing games. If it weren't for Asuna's strong dissatisfaction, he might have become even more of a couch potato.

...Wouldn't the fellow disciples in the dojo be excited to see me, the one who used to teach them (physics) whenever I had time, come back?

Yes, during junior high, I was mostly out of their sight, and anyone who tried to come looking for me was inevitably driven away by Ye Zi... But this time, because I moved out, Ye Zi is also dissatisfied with me, and I'm afraid I'm going to suffer!

Sigh, hopefully these guys will respect the ethics of the duel... But it seems like what I taught them before was that only the winner has the right to speak, no matter what method they use?

Hey, the more I think about it, the more dangerous it seems!

Calm down! Count the prime numbers and calm down!

Kirito glanced around. Alright, the Time Chicken doesn't exist. Looks like I'll have to rely on myself... Tsk! No worries, I'm the Black Swordsman! The legendary Beat-Slayer!

Despite his calm demeanor, Kirito was actually quite flustered when he heard the arrival announcement. His expression became even more varied—"Hehehe, I'm a cultured man. How can I resort to fists and kicks with brutes so easily? Yes, remember, I earn my living with my hands, not for fighting."

Kirito, with a faint smile, put on his glasses and slowly stepped out of the open car door. He had just received a message from Yoko saying she was waiting for him outside. Where was she...?

It was Friday, and many students who studied away from home would be heading home at this time, so the station was quite crowded. Kirito's gaze swept back and forth through the crowd, but he didn't see Yoko...

"Isn't this the most conspicuous spot?" Kirito raised an eyebrow, then took out his phone from his pocket and opened his contact list. "I guess I'll just have to call."

But before Tong could even dial the number, she spotted a girl who looked like Ye Zi…

Hmm... I'm feeling a little conflicted.

Seeing the girl standing in the distance with a somewhat unpleasant expression, Kirito silently walked over with his phone in hand.

Well, I've said it many times, I'm not a traditional sister-complex person, but I do care a lot about my sister's feelings!

"So, who are you?" Standing next to Suguha, Kirito looked at the boy in front of him and asked truthfully.

Yes, Kirito's tone was unfriendly.

"Huh?" The boy stared in astonishment at Kirito's sudden appearance, seemingly surprised, and then punched Kirito in the face.

"Wow, you actually dared to come back openly!!"

Okay, we can confirm it's not one of those melodramatic scenes! Plus, this person's practiced way of speaking makes it almost certain he's one of the fellow disciples in the dojo, although I still can't remember his name.

Well, there are a fair number of people in the dojo, but it would be too difficult to remember everyone's names.

Sigh, I'm a cultured person, I can't use the hands I use to paint to hit people.

Kirito, pulling a clearly surprised Suguha along, silently took a step back, moving out of their attack range. But their opponent wouldn't give up and continued the pursuit...

As the saying goes, "One should strike while the iron is hot, but the momentum will wane after a second attempt, and exhaust it completely after a third..." Although it's a bit crude, it's enough to describe this junior brother in front of him. Yes, Kirito felt that the other party's stamina was probably not up to par, so he might as well wait for him for a few more minutes...

"I'm usually a very easygoing person. Unless it's an extremely special situation, as a cultured person, I won't use my fists." Kirito retreated and pondered. It seemed that all the skills he had learned were just for show. His weak punches were not even a tenth as good as Shizuka-sensei's.

"Brother, hit him!" Suddenly, Suguha, who had been being pulled back by Kirito, shouted.

"Well, I really don't like to fight..." Kirito pulled Suguha down to squat, then kicked his junior brother in the shin, successfully showing him what it meant to fall flat on his face.

"—Let me reiterate, I don't like to use force!"

"It's his feet that are moving, I know that!" Suguha squinted her eyes, grinned, and hugged Kirito's shoulder. "Brother, let's go home and ignore this guy!"

"No, senior..."

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107

[NO.105 Wow, that's terrifying (Bonus Chapter)]

Kirito is on his way... on his way home.

Three men walking together, one of them is bound to fall flat on his face! — Kirito thinks this saying makes a lot of sense, although he doesn't know who said it.

"So, you're a junior who recently joined the dojo?" Kirito said, glancing at the limping boy beside him, while Suguha held his arm.

Hmm, the leaves seem to be still developing... That's amazing!

Akane Kousaka and Shizuka-sensei are probably only this good so far.

“Yes, Yoshitaka-kun only came to the dojo to study a week after my brother moved out.” Suguha seemed to be in a good mood, her eyes curving into crescent shapes as she answered with a grin.

"The youngest junior... no wonder you're all show and no substance when you fight. Your forehand is weak, your backhand is powerless, your footwork is unsteady, you don't even have a decent move. You definitely haven't been studying very hard." Kirito put on a senior's face and spoke in a very serious tone, "Someone like you who only goes through the motions will only make things worse and will be of no use at all. And to casually attack a senior without any pre-battle etiquette is really unacceptable... Sigh, the dojo is declining!"

“Senior, while etiquette is important in duels, I’ve heard from the teaching assistant that it’s necessary to be courteous to everyone, but if your opponent is you, then all you need to do is win!” said Maggiron.

The boy's face was ashen as he gritted his teeth and said, "Furthermore, senior, you once told all the senior brothers and teaching assistants—a duel is written by the victor; we don't need to care about the means, we only need to consider how to win!"

"Huh?" Kirito looked at him in surprise, then whispered in Suguha's ear, "Hey, Suguha, did I really say something so villainous before?"

"Yes! Leaf has clearly written down every word her brother said!" Leaf glanced at Maggiron. This guy is a bit of a nuisance, and he talks too much.

"Since I've already said it, I'm naturally very pleased that you've remembered it." Kirito smiled calmly. "But junior, you still need to work harder! By the way, tell me who your teaching assistant is. It's really... they didn't teach you properly."

The implication is—Hey, you're really weak!

"The teaching assistant is Mikasa!" Maggiron exclaimed loudly, a look of great pride on his face.

Kirito almost stumbled and fell over here. Wow, does Sanji have someone as weak as you? I could laugh about this for a year!

"And Assistant Mikasa once said—Kirito, you can't say he's cowardly, but he's actually quite weak. Just confront him when you meet him—that's why I attacked him as soon as we met, and the result was..." His expression turned a bit miserable. Although Kirito's kick wasn't very powerful, his calf is very vulnerable. You can tell how painful it was just by looking at how Maggiron is walking now.

"Wow, this Mikasa Ackerman..." Kirito was a little annoyed, but to be honest, this junior compared himself to the warrior race Mikasa Ackerman, wasn't he just too simple-minded?

"You'd be incredibly foolish to believe her!"

"you……"

"Shut up!"

"Oh."

"Hey, Leaf, are all the people at the dojo here?" Kirito asked again in a low voice.

“Not everyone is here. For example, Junior Sister Ilya went to visit the Hokushin Dojo, which won the national youth runner-up title, with Uncle Hai. Senior Brother Kenshin was promoted to assistant instructor and left with his apprentices two hours ago. He probably won’t be back for another two days. Junior Brother Li, the transfer student who joined the dojo last year, said he’s going to visit the Eifu Dojo. And Senior Sister Mikasa… apparently she’s going to the Niten Ichiryu Dojo to try and get back Miyamoto Musashi’s sword.” Suguha pursed her lips. “Everyone will be back in quite some time, so you can rest assured, brother.”

"Good boy!" Kirito reached out and patted Suguha's head, a slight smile playing on his lips. Since the better fighters are all gone, what do I have to be afraid of? They're just juniors, so what if I give them a sword?

"...It seems I've come back at just the right time!"

"Yes, if everyone's schedule was recently finalized, I would have thought that my brother had investigated it well in advance and that's why he chose to come back at this time."

"No, I just felt I should come back, so I came back!"

"Tch, coward!"

Coward? You don't know anything! I'm just following my heart, doing what my heart desires.

"Well, since you've only come back once in a while..." Kirito turned his head to look at Maggiron, who had suddenly interrupted, and patted him on the shoulder, "You can practice with me for the next couple of days!"

Alas! Is it just that talking too much leads to a quick death?

"Um, is it okay..."

"Of course! Talk less and watch where you're going!"

"Thank you for your guidance, senior." Maggiron was in a bind. Damn it, if Assistant Mikasa hadn't left, would you still dare to say those things just now?

"Tsk, what a coward!" Kirito scoffed. Having never experienced the trauma of dual-wielding, this junior clearly doesn't know what fear is!

Are Dad and Mom home?

"Yes, Mom prepared a very big dinner knowing that my brother would be coming home today!"

"expect……"

……

The station was less than fifteen minutes away from the dojo, and since he was already very familiar with it, he took a shortcut and returned to the dojo in less than fifteen minutes. But now it was almost 6:30, and the red glow of the sunset shone on the huge dojo. Hearing the shouts coming from inside, Kirito's eyes revealed a smile.

This feeling... is so reassuring!

I can even vividly recall the scene of me standing in front of the door as a child, scolding those guys who are now even stronger than me... and the scene of me getting beaten up later.

Tsk, they haven't even been out for long, and these sentimental remarks are a bit much.

"Let's go."

"Giron-kun, go to the lounge and get some medicated wine to rub on it." Suguha tossed a sentence to Magiron next to her, then followed Kirito into the dojo. "Mom must have prepared dinner and is waiting for you, brother."

"So, it's really unnecessary for me to go or not, right?" Maggilon pulled up his trouser leg to look at his bruised and purple calves, and pretended to laugh happily. "That damn assistant instructor Li actually called back to lie to me and asked me to go... to verify whether my skills have improved. He's obviously just asking me to deliver it!"

Wow, that's really dark... They usually look expressionless, but their hearts are incredibly black!

Inside the dojo, in the vast space, dozens of boys and girls dressed in uniform were sweating profusely, but upon seeing Kirito enter, they all stopped what they were doing and looked at him in unison.

The atmosphere suddenly became somewhat tense...

"Long time no see, newbies!"

P.S.: Keep it up! We're only 20 votes away from taking the top spot on the new book chart! There will be another update tonight to blow up the mage's chrysanthemum!

108

[NO.106 This is an action scene (bonus chapter)]

Humans are strange creatures, and sometimes even the person thinking about them has difficulty understanding their own thought processes. For example, you know you will definitely pass the exam, but you still can't help but feel nervous—it's not so easy to adjust your mindset.

The boys and girls, who seemed both familiar and somewhat unfamiliar, turned their gazes toward him. Many of them showed surprise, or even indignation. Seeing this, Kirito couldn't help but grin. Although there were quite a few freshmen among them, these guys were really easy to understand!

Can't wait any longer?

Well, since Black, Kenshin, and Mikasa aren't here, let me, as your senior, give you some pointers... Yes, there's no point in arguing!

"Long time no see, newbies!"

"Wow, this person..."

"You piece of shit! You bastard!"

"They actually dared to walk in through the main gate?"

"Damn it, wasn't it you who put a sack over my head and beat me up last time?"

"Damn it, did you hammer nails into the hilt of my bamboo sword?"

"My training clothes are ripped at the crotch because of you!"

"Black Sword, come and fight me now, or you won't be sleeping tonight!"

"I'll call Assistant Professor Mikasa right now..."

No, I didn't, I'm not!

Kirito, who had launched his taunt, expected the group to swarm him, but to his complete surprise, they simply surrounded him and began to berate him... Something's not right. What happened to the rule of "when in doubt, strike first"? Has he changed his ways?

And also, that person who called Lilili went too far! What's the difference between that and calling your parents when you can't win a fight?

Wait, that's not right, the generational order is a bit messed up.

"Bullshit!" Kirito glared at his fellow disciples. "Do you think I, Kirito, would do something so pointless? I'm a scholar, I follow the path of culture. We may have a good relationship, but I'll sue you for defamation if you spread rumors!"

Honestly, did I really ever use such underhanded tactics?

Judging from their expressions, it seems like I did the right thing, but I have absolutely no memory of it...

"Ah, I remember you used to say that when dealing with scholars, you have to strike first..."

"Shut up! Senior brother clearly said this—if the opponent is a scholar, then slap them in the face first! As for striking first, that applies to any opponent!"

"I..." Kirito opened his mouth. I might be a fake Kirito. Maybe the world line changed when I got on the train, otherwise things would never have turned out this way!

"In short, Black Sword, let's fight! I'll definitely win this time!" Gilgamesh, a white-haired boy carrying six, seven, or eight wooden swords on his back, shouted at Kirito, who was in a state of existential doubt, with full fighting spirit.

"I think I'd better forget it. My parents are waiting for me to eat!" Kirito glanced at the silent Suguha beside him, his expression slightly helpless. But speaking of which, what is this Black Sword? When did I get this strange name... Uh, is it because I'm used to using underhanded tactics?