Chiyoko bolted upright the moment the doorbell rang, still bleary-eyed as she stumbled to answer it.
By now, it seemed answering the doorbell had become muscle memory for her—even with her brain half-asleep, her body moved on its own.
The class rep glanced at Chiyoko, then stood up and casually took a seat beside Kazuma.
Kazuma immediately tensed, but shifting away would have been too obvious. Instead, he stood and stretched, acting nonchalant. "Man, memorizing stuff all night really stiffened my shoulders..."
He strolled over to where the bamboo swords were kept. "Time for some swings to loosen up!"
The class rep made no further move, simply began tidying the mess of books on the table.
Kazuma: *Wait, that works?!*
Just then, Chiyoko returned, leading Nanjo in.
"Morning..." Nanjo stopped mid-greeting, surprised to see the class rep tidying the desk.
"Ah, good morning, Nanjo-san," the class rep said, pushing up her glasses. "What brings you here so early?"
Nanjo smiled. "I wanted to walk to school with Master. But Jinguuji-san, what brings *you* here so early?"
"I'm here to make sure Kazuma-kun studies."
Kazuma silently walked out to the courtyard with a bamboo sword in hand and began swinging beneath the old cherry tree, looking every bit the devoted disciple of martial arts.
Chiyoko followed with her own bamboo sword, mimicking his practice.
But she whispered, "Do something! That escalated *fast*."
"What am I supposed to do?"
"Pick one already!"
"You think it'll end if I pick one? Unless I ruthlessly shut the other out for good, this situation's not going anywhere."
Chiyoko thought for a moment, then clicked her tongue. "Tch. Such a pain. I'm out."
"Let's just focus on sword swings!"
But before he could even finish the sentence, Kazuma spotted Butler Suzuki entering the dojo with a box in his hands.
Nanjo immediately stood and called out to him, "Master! My grandfather asked me to deliver a few thank-you gifts!"
Kazuma, who had just escaped the dojo, looked absolutely resigned.
Chiyoko shuffled aside, giving him room to return.
With no way out, Kazuma headed back into the dojo, facing the sharp gazes of the class rep and Nanjo.
"Uh, there's really no need for gifts or anything. I didn't even do much yesterday..."
Butler Suzuki spoke solemnly, "On the contrary, your contribution was invaluable. Please accept this."
Nanjo opened the box and began taking out the contents one by one.
"This is a *katana bag* my grandfather selected from his collection," she said, unveiling a long silk roll. Once unwrapped, it revealed a narrow fabric sheath for a blade.
Kazuma glanced at the sword rack in front of the Matsushita Seiko poster in the corner.
The Bizen Osafune Ichimonji Masamune rested quietly on the rack, covered in a plain canvas bag.
In Japan, if a sword isn't displayed in a protective case, it's kept in a sheath bag called a *katana bukuro*.
Movies often show swords displayed bare on racks because the characters wield them frequently—they're not collector's items.
But for treasured blades, a katana bag is a must.
The more prestigious the sword, the more exquisite the bag.
The one Nanjo presented was especially refined. Kazuma, sharp-eyed as ever, spotted the artisan's signature and a tiny family crest stitched near the opening.
That's Japan for you—a simple signature could skyrocket an item's value.
Kazuma didn't know the craftsman's name, but clearly it was someone famous; otherwise the Nanjō family wouldn't have kept it in their collection.
He glanced at his sword again, still in its coarse canvas bag, and figured accepting the gift wouldn't be a bad idea.
"Well, in that case... I'll graciously accept it." He reached out and took the bag from Nanjo.
The fabric's texture reminded him of Nanjo's lap from last night.
Honestly, having a cute girl clean your ears was pretty great.
As Kazuma reminisced, Nanjo pulled out another item from the box—a hanging scroll.
"Grandfather heard you had a Matsushita Seiko poster behind your sword rack, so he picked out a proper painting to replace it..."
She rose to her feet and carefully unrolled the scroll.
Though tall herself, she still had to raise her hands above her shoulders to fully display the scroll.
It depicted clouds and a crane, accompanied by the poem: "A lone crane soars through clear skies, lifting one's thoughts to the heavens." One of Liu Yuxi's autumn verses.
Kazuma never considered himself an art connoisseur, but he thought the painting was beautiful, and that poem happened to be one of his favorites.
He was just about to accept the scroll when a strange feeling stopped him. He glanced toward the sword rack.
He couldn't quite explain it. Maybe just a gut feeling. Or maybe... nothing at all.
Still, Kazuma didn't want to accept too many gifts from the Nanjo family. If things didn't work out romantically, he'd feel too indebted.
So he said, "You don't have to. I think my sword really likes Matsushita Seiko."
Nanjo blinked. "Huh? Uh... I see..."
She probably didn't expect that kind of excuse.
The class rep suddenly chimed in, "Yeah, I get the same feeling. It *does* seem to like her."
Both Kazuma and Nanjo turned to look at her.
She explained calmly, "Just a vibe. I'm pretty sensitive to spiritual stuff."
Nanjo opened her mouth but chose not to argue. She put away the scroll. "Alright, I'll let Grandfather know. In that case, we should get going to school."
Chiyoko had just snuck back inside. Hearing that, she blurted out, "That big box—is that all?!"
Kazuma: "Chiyoko!"
Chiyoko clamped her hands over her mouth, sealing it shut.
The class rep said, "Nanjo-san has a car. You can go on ahead."
"I'll walk today," Nanjo replied cheerfully.
That's when Chiyoko remembered something and asked, "Wait, Nanjo-senpai, didn't you... transfer out?"
"Yup," Nanjo nodded, then casually dropped a bomb, "Since my school file's already been processed, I went ahead and enrolled at Kitakatsushi High."
The Kiryu siblings shouted in unison, "WHAT?!"
"My new uniform isn't ready yet, so I'm still wearing the Etsukawa Girls' one today. Oh no, what if the girls in class give me the cold shoulder over it? Master, you'll stand up for me, right?"
Kazuma: "Ah... yeah, sure."
Class rep: "Don't worry. I've got your back."
Kazuma thought: *No, you're the biggest problem here!*
Then he noticed Chiyoko trying to hold in a gleeful laugh.
*—If you don't stop grinning, I swear I'll flick your forehead into next week!*
(End of Chapter)