~ Every 100 Power Stones = Bonus Chapter! Your votes keep this climbing. Thanks!
After handing Ophis off to Renare, Tenra made his way to the kendo club's dojo.
He hadn't exactly been the most reliable president lately—too many things on his plate, too many absences. The guilt gnawed at him, just a little.
But the moment Tenra stepped inside—
"Die, you heartless president!"
Kiryuu Aika's voice rang out, sharp and full of drama. She lunged at Tenra, brandishing a demonic sword.
Tenra sidestepped with a sigh. "Kiryuu, what the hell are you doing?"
"Hmph! Like you don't know! Don't play innocent, President. You know exactly what you did."
She turned on the crowd. "Girls, together! Let's cut down this two-timing president!"
A roar of agreement erupted behind her—nearly a hundred kendo club girls, swords in hand, all glaring at Tenra. They'd clearly been lying in wait.
Murayama and Katase led the charge. Both had mastered ki, sending razor-sharp sword waves slicing through the air. Tenra slipped out of the way, but the dojo's wooden doors exploded behind him, shattered by the force.
The rest of the girls swarmed in, blades flashing, surrounding Tenra like they actually meant to take him out.
Tenra's mouth twitched. Sure, he'd been a bit neglectful, but wasn't this a little much?
Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!
Tenra conjured a Holy Demonic Sword, parrying a flurry of attacks before vaulting out of the encirclement.
"Looks like you all got bold while I was gone. Come on, show me what you've learned."
He crooked a finger, grinning wickedly.
"Don't be scared! He's only one guy. Take him down!" Kiryuu hollered—safely from the back, of course.
The girls took her words to heart, charging Tenra in a wild, chaotic melee. The dojo became a storm of steel and shrieks.
Kiryuu watched her clubmates rush in, lips curled in a villainous smile. Let those idiots distract the president—she'd sneak around for a surprise attack. And if things went south, she'd be the first to bolt.
She congratulated herself on her genius, slinking through the chaos toward Tenra's blind spot…
Half an hour later—
"Ow, my back…"
"Club President… you're too strong…"
"My hakama's torn…"
The girls had gotten good—especially Murayama and Katase, who could hold their own anywhere. But compared to Tenra, they were still leagues behind. He cut through them like a gust through cherry blossoms, leaving a field of groaning, sprawled-out club members.
Tenra pressed his sword tip to Kiryuu's pale neck, smirking. "Had enough with the sneak attacks?"
Kiryuu, ever shameless, dropped her sword with a clang and latched onto Tenra, rubbing her head against his chest like a needy cat.
"President, I admit defeat! Forgive this pitiful, insignificant me!"
The other girls, still sprawled on the floor, erupted in outrage.
"Kiryuu, you shameless thing! How dare you cling to President!"
"So sneaky! Kiryuu, you're too sly!"
"Let go of President right now!"
Kiryuu shot them a look of pure disdain. If you want a piece of the president, come and get it. If they knew how close she really was to him, they'd probably faint.
"Enough, behave," Tenra said, peeling her off. "Now, who started this little rebellion? Who convinced everyone to attack me? Planning a coup, are we?"
He gave Kiryuu a few firm pats, glaring.
Kiryuu wasted no time pointing fingers. "It was Murayama and Katase! They rallied everyone, said we had to teach President a lesson since he keeps ditching us!"
Murayama and Katase, still dazed, snapped to attention—both fuming.
"Kiryuu! You're the one who organized this! Don't you dare blame us!"
"Kiryuu, I challenge you to a duel!"
Kiryuu dove behind Tenra, piling on. "See, President? Look how angry they get when you expose their true colors. Just admit it, girls—President's a big softie, he'll forgive you!"
She kept slinging mud, driving Murayama and Katase to the brink. The air around them grew icy.
Honestly, someone should just chop down this shameless woman…
Tenra snorted. "Yeah, right. This was all your idea, and now you're trying to pin it on them?"
Kiryuu switched gears instantly, flashing an ingratiating smile. "Haha… President, you're too sharp. I just wanted to surprise you!"
Some surprise. Tenra rolled his eyes. Kiryuu was hopeless—always stirring up trouble, but he couldn't stay mad at her.
He turned to Murayama and Katase, who were still simmering.
"Take it easy, you two."
Murayama and Katase snapped back to reality, cheeks burning. How could they lose their cool in front of the president? They needed to be proper, ladylike!
"Alright, everyone clean up. Let's move inside."
The grounds were a wreck—hardly the place for a serious talk. After tidying up, the girls filed into the dojo, kneeling in neat rows.
Tenra surveyed his club, satisfaction flickering in his eyes.
"I know I've been absent a lot lately. There's been a ton going on, and I haven't looked after the kendo club like I should. That's on me. I apologize."
A voice piped up, cutting through the silence. "Not good enough! If apologies worked, why would we need police?"
"Hehehe…"
Laughter rippled through the club.
Tenra's face darkened. Who dared to mouth off at him like that?
He scanned the room. He knew every member's voice—but this one was off.
His eyes landed on Kiryuu, who was pinching her throat to disguise her tone. When Tenra looked her way, she dropped her hand and feigned innocence.
"…"
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
BOOK COMPLETED ON PATREON!
This story has reached its conclusion on my Patreon!
Full story available now
Exclusive bonus content & early access to new books
Join my Patreon community today!
p a t r e o n .com/GoldenLong
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━