Chapter 22: Of Tea, Senpai, and Secret Suffering
From Kaito's Point of View — In which we learn that training your body is fine, but training your heart takes tea, soft lighting, and an extremely questionable mentor.
Look.
I'm not saying I was going to have a mental breakdown.
But if I had to spend one more hour controlling ten Shadow Clones while Daichi yelled about posture, Akira threw wooden swords at me, and Master Jin made me solve formation diagrams while moving, I was going to sit down, scream, and let the forest reclaim me.
Ren's body wasn't tired.
That was the annoying part.
The stupid thing could probably keep going until next Thursday.
I was tired.
My brain felt like somebody had blended it with a cultivation manual.
That's where I was mentally.
Thankfully, my savior arrived in the form of a three-hundred-year-old, black-and-silver-haired, scar-covered master who somehow managed to look dignified even while carrying a bottle of alcohol.
Master Jin watched me accidentally command two Shadow Clones to run directly into each other and sighed.
"Kaito."
I looked up from the ground.
"Yes?"
"You need to relax."
"I am relaxed."
One of my clones walked into a tree.
Jin stared at it.
I stared at it.
"…Mostly."
"Get changed."
"Huh?"
"We're going out."
And that was how, twenty minutes later, I found myself walking beside Master Jin toward a lantern-lit establishment called The Silken Petal.
Now, when Jin said we were "going out," I expected food.
Maybe noodles.
Maybe grilled meat.
Possibly some ancient cultivation equivalent of karaoke.
What I did not expect was a ridiculously elegant teahouse filled with music, laughter, expensive furniture, musicians, performers, and enough beautifully dressed people to make me suddenly aware that I had spent the last several days smelling like forest.
Master Jin walked inside like he owned the place.
Maybe he did.
He was three hundred years old.
At that age, I assumed you accidentally owned buildings just by forgetting you bought them.
The moment we entered, several people recognized him.
"Master Jin!"
"Sazanami!"
"Back again?"
He grinned.
Apparently, this man had a social life.
That offended me personally.
Back on Earth, I was basically invisible to girls unless I did something embarrassing.
Here?
I was Master Jin Sazanami's student.
Which apparently meant something.
People looked at me.
Not that way.
More like:
Oh, that's the kid Jin has been dragging through the forest.
Still.
Attention was attention.
I could work with this.
We took a booth near a small stage.
Jin ordered sake.
I reached for the menu.
He slapped my hand.
"You get tea."
I stared at him.
"You drink."
"I'm three hundred."
"That feels unfair."
"Survive another two hundred eighty-five years and we'll discuss it."
I hated cultivation-world logic.
The tea arrived.
So did grilled skewers, dumplings, vegetables, fish, and enough snacks to temporarily convince me that Master Jin was the greatest teacher alive.
And for the first time in what felt like weeks?
I relaxed.
Actually relaxed.
No Shadow Clones.
No Ki exercises.
No tree trying to become my enemy.
No Daichi screaming.
No Ballom silently judging my existence from somewhere inside Ren's soul.
Just food.
Music.
Warm lights.
People laughing.
Peace.
"So," Jin said, pouring himself another drink. "Still feel like training is eating your soul?"
I looked around.
Then bit into another dumpling.
"…Less than an hour ago."
He smiled.
"Good."
I expected a joke.
Instead, he leaned back.
"Remember that."
I blinked.
"What?"
"This."
He gestured around us.
"The food. People. Conversation. Rest."
His expression became more serious.
"Power is useless if you forget why you wanted it."
I stopped chewing.
That was…
Actually deep.
Annoyingly deep.
I looked down at my tea.
Why did I want power?
Sure.
I wanted to go home.
I wanted to stop being weak.
I wanted to use Ren's body properly instead of treating every technique like a complicated video game control scheme.
But there was more to it now.
I didn't want to spend my entire life watching other people do amazing things.
I didn't want to be the guy who dreamed about becoming somebody while never moving beyond the starting line.
Ren's world had thrown me straight into the deep end.
And somehow…
I wasn't drowning.
Okay.
I was splashing wildly.
Possibly swallowing water.
But I was moving.
That counted.
I took another drink of tea.
A musician started playing something soft nearby.
Jin leaned back and closed his eyes.
And for a few minutes?
Yeah.
Life was pretty good.
Okay.
So I'm not proud to admit that after experiencing interdimensional soul swaps, cultivation, Shadow Arts, ancient Abyss creatures, and the possibility of becoming powerful enough to punch mountains someday…
one of my biggest goals remained unchanged.
I still wanted to become the Harem King.
Everyone needs dreams.
Some people want enlightenment.
Some want immortality.
Some want to become Sages.
Me?
I wanted romance.
Lots of romance.
Preferably enough that future historians would need charts.
And sitting inside The Silken Petal watching Master Jin somehow know half the room made something click inside my head.
This man…
This absolute legend…
had confidence.
People liked him.
He could walk into a room and immediately start conversations like he'd been invited personally by destiny.
Meanwhile, I had once spent twenty minutes trying to think of how to say hello to a girl and ultimately walked into a door.
There was clearly knowledge here.
Knowledge I needed.
I leaned across the table.
"Master Jin."
One eye opened.
"What?"
"I need guidance."
He frowned.
"That tone worries me."
I leaned closer.
"On becoming the Harem King."
Silence.
Jin stared at me.
I waited.
Then he slowly placed his cup down.
"Kaito."
"Yes?"
"No."
My soul cracked.
"MASTER!"
"No."
"But you haven't even heard my reasoning!"
"You used the words 'Harem King.' I have heard enough."
I grabbed his sleeve.
"Please! You know women!"
Several nearby people looked over.
Jin pulled his sleeve free.
"Say that louder and I'll make you run home."
I lowered my voice immediately.
"You're good at talking to people."
"That is different."
"Teach me!"
He sighed.
Then looked at me carefully.
"Fine."
My eyes widened.
"Really?"
"But you're learning how to speak to people like a normal human being. Not whatever nonsense you've imagined."
I sat straighter.
"Yes, Master."
"First lesson."
He pointed at me.
"Stop thinking of women as prizes."
I froze.
That wasn't where I expected this lesson to begin.
Jin continued.
"You keep talking about a harem as if gathering women is some sort of achievement."
"Well…"
"It isn't."
Ouch.
"If you want someone to care about you, then you need to care about them."
He leaned back.
"Different people want different things. Different personalities. Different boundaries. Different dreams. Relationships require time."
I stared.
That was…
unexpectedly reasonable.
"Think of it like a garden," Jin said.
I blinked.
"A garden?"
"Yes. Different plants require different conditions. If you treat everything the same because you only care about what you want, most of them die."
I slowly nodded.
"That's actually really good."
"I'm three hundred years old."
"Right. Forgot."
He tapped the table.
"Second lesson. Figure out who you are."
"I know who I am."
"No, you know what you want."
That one landed harder.
Jin's expression softened slightly.
"You hide behind jokes constantly."
I opened my mouth.
Then closed it.
"You pretend everything is funny because you're afraid people won't like whatever is underneath."
…
Okay.
I came here for dating advice.
Why was I getting attacked emotionally?
Jin picked up his cup.
"If you want people to trust you, eventually you have to let them meet the real Kaito."
I stared at the tea.
"That sucks."
"Most useful lessons do."
I sighed.
"Fine."
Then I brightened.
"So you'll train me?"
Jin looked deeply tired.
"In basic social skills."
"YES!"
"Not harem construction."
"Same thing."
"It absolutely is not."
Apparently, becoming Harem King required something horrifying.
Talking to people normally.
I had expected secret techniques.
Maybe confidence exercises.
Perhaps some mystical charisma formation.
Instead, Jin told me I had the social grace of a startled chicken.
"You have potential," Jin said as we moved toward another part of the teahouse. "But potential means nothing if every conversation immediately becomes about you."
"Fair."
"And stop staring."
"I don't stare."
He looked at me.
"…Okay, sometimes."
"Constantly."
"Harsh."
"Accurate."
We stopped near the counter.
"Observe."
Master Jin straightened his robes.
Across the room stood an elegant woman around his apparent age, speaking with another patron.
Jin approached her.
And he did something revolutionary.
He talked.
That's it.
No dramatic pickup line.
No ridiculous posing.
No pretending to be cooler than he was.
He commented on the musician performing.
She answered.
He listened.
She laughed.
He responded.
Within minutes they were talking like old friends.
I stared.
What kind of forbidden technique was this?
Jin eventually returned.
I leaned toward him.
"Was that an illusion?"
"No."
"Charm Art?"
"No."
"Mind control?"
"Kaito."
"What?"
"It was a conversation."
I was beginning to suspect conversations were significantly more complicated than combat.
Jin sat down.
"Confidence. Timing. Listening."
He counted them off.
"And sincerity."
I scratched my head.
"But isn't being charming about saying cool things?"
"No."
He pointed toward the woman.
"I asked about something she clearly enjoyed. Then I listened to her answer."
My worldview shifted slightly.
"You mean you didn't plan the whole thing?"
"Of course not."
"But what if you say something stupid?"
"Then you recover."
"What if she doesn't like you?"
"Then you leave her alone."
I blinked.
"That simple?"
"That simple."
Jin leaned toward me.
"Flirting isn't combat. You aren't trying to defeat somebody."
That…
was probably useful information for me specifically.
"You're finding out whether both people enjoy the interaction."
I slowly nodded.
"Okay."
"Your turn."
My stomach dropped.
"What?"
He pointed toward a server approaching our table.
She looked about our age, carrying a tray of tea.
"Talk."
"I'm not ready."
"You fight people for fun."
"People punching me is easier!"
"Kaito."
The server arrived.
I swallowed.
Right.
Normal conversation.
Human behavior.
I could do this.
Probably.
"Hi."
She smiled.
"Hello."
Okay.
Good start.
No explosions.
"I just wanted to say… thanks. This place is really nice."
Her smile widened slightly.
"I'm glad you're enjoying it."
"And the tea's good."
"Thank you."
I glanced at Jin.
He made a tiny gesture that clearly meant:
Continue, idiot.
I looked back.
"Do you work here often?"
"Most evenings."
"Oh. I'm Kaito."
"I'm Emi."
"Nice to meet you."
"You too."
She smiled again before moving to the next table.
I sat perfectly still.
Then slowly turned toward Jin.
"I did it."
"You spoke approximately five sentences."
"I DID IT."
Jin sighed.
But he was smiling.
"You didn't combust."
"Correct."
"You didn't say anything inappropriate."
"Also correct."
"And she appeared comfortable speaking with you."
I placed both hands triumphantly on the table.
"Master."
"What?"
"I am unstoppable."
"You're going to become unbearable, aren't you?"
"Probably."
I leaned back, feeling strangely proud.
Baby steps.
That was apparently how you built confidence.
Not by pretending you were some irresistible legendary hero.
Just by learning how to talk.
How to listen.
How to actually care about the person standing in front of you.
Maybe becoming Harem King wasn't just about collecting girlfriends.
Maybe…
it meant becoming the kind of person people actually wanted around.
Understanding them.
Respecting them.
Learning how hearts worked.
Including mine.
I smiled.
Still wanted the title, though.
Harem King Kaito Hoshino had a nice ring to it.
And at this rate?
I was going to earn it the right way.
One painfully normal conversation at a time.