Crack!
Sayaka blocked another of Kirihara's strikes.
But after this brief exchange, an unexpected realization blossomed in Sayaka's mind—
He's weak.
Kirihara, her current opponent, was weak!
Compared to that Yotsuba-kouhai who had challenged her before, Kirihara fell far short.
Therefore.
I can win!
"Ha—!"
With Sayaka's sudden burst of fighting spirit, their wooden swords crossed again in furious combat.
Even Erika in the stands widened her eyes slightly, inhaling sharply.
"Incredible... She's completely different from the Mibu Sayaka I saw years ago! To improve this much in just two years..."
Erika began muttering to herself again.
But this time, beyond mere surprise, a palpable fighting spirit radiated from her.
She felt a twinge of regret.
Why hadn't she followed Mahiro down earlier? Then she'd have an excuse to challenge this kendo prodigy herself!
Meanwhile, the match reached its conclusion.
"Ugh!"
Kirihara staggered back several steps from the pain.
His sword had merely grazed Sayaka's left forearm.
While Sayaka's wooden blade had struck true—landing squarely on his right shoulder.
"If these were real swords, that would be a fatal wound. Your blade only brushed my sleeve—at most it would scratch the surface."
"Admit defeat gracefully."
Sayaka declared her victory with heroic dignity.
A group wearing different uniforms from the kendo club—members of the swordsmanship club—had moved to the front of the crowd.
Their faces showed the bitter expression of people forced to swallow a distasteful truth.
Their club's Kirihara had lost to the traditional kendo club—did this mean First Course students were inferior to Second Course?
Sayaka's final words twisted Kirihara's expression further.
Logically, as a swordsman, he recognized the truth in her words.
But his heart refused to accept it!
"Ha... hahahahaha!"
Kirihara suddenly burst into mad laughter, radiating an aura of frenzy.
Sensing imminent danger, Sayaka's internal alarms blared as she reset her stance, sword point aimed unwaveringly at Kirihara, her sharp gaze locked onto him.
"You speak of real swords? But my body remains uncut!"
"Mibu, you want a real fight?"
"In that case... I'll grant your wish and use a real blade against you!"
Kirihara suddenly released his right hand and placed it on the CAD hidden beneath his left sleeve.
With an intense surge of psion light, a screeching noise like glass being scraped suddenly rang out, causing the surrounding spectators to cover their ears.
Sayaka, being the closest, suffered the strongest auditory interference!
Seizing this opportunity, Kirihara closed the distance in a single stride, then raised his wooden sword with his left hand and swung it downward in a slash.
During the motion, a layer of yellowish-brown psion light could be seen swirling around the wooden sword.
That was a vibration-system magic—High-Frequency Blade!
Too late to dodge!
Sayaka could only twist her body as much as possible, forcing herself to retreat.
But as the wooden sword drew nearer, it clearly wasn't enough!
At this critical moment, a figure suddenly intervened between the two combatants.
Recognizing the familiar silhouette, Sayaka's eyes widened slightly.
"Yo-Yotsuba-kun?!"
"Nani?!"
Kirihara was also startled by the sudden appearance, but the blade in his hand didn't stop, continuing its downward arc.
Swish!
Mahiro pushed Sayaka aside with a backhand motion.
Then, with a sidestep, the wooden sword emitting a high-frequency screech narrowly missed him, grazing past his hair.
Before Kirihara could react, Mahiro grabbed his own wooden sword and struck hard at the other's wrist.
Crack!
The psion-wrapped wooden sword was sent flying high into the air.
Immediately after, Mahiro followed up with a powerful kick to the chest.
Kirihara was sent flying into the crowd, but fortunately, members of the kendo club behind him caught him in time.
"Hey, Kirihara-senpai, can't you take a loss?"
Mahiro rested the wooden sword on his shoulder and spoke calmly to the defeated Kirihara Takeaki. "As a man, losing is just losing—it's no big deal."
"You can always train harder."
"But look at you—making excuses after losing, using High-Frequency Blade against Mibu-senpai who was only wielding a wooden sword, and even resorting to a sneak attack. Aren't you ashamed?"
"I'm embarrassed for you."
Mahiro's words made Kirihara Takeaki's face alternate between green, white, and red.
More colorful than a traffic light.
But he couldn't refute it.
Because this underclassman was right—he had indeed lost his cool and couldn't accept defeat.
However, Mahiro had no interest in engaging further. After all, dealing with CAD misuse was the disciplinary committee's job, not his.
His gaze swept through the crowd and landed on Shiba Tatsuya, prompting him to call out:
"Hey, Tatsuya-kun, perfect timing. Come help clean up this mess."
Emerging from the crowd, Tatsuya stepped forward.
He didn't understand what Mahiro meant by "clean up," but he walked straight toward Kirihara Takeaki regardless.
"Kirihara-senpai, due to your improper use of magic, you'll need to come with me now."
After informing Kirihara, Tatsuya contacted the disciplinary committee again.
"—This is the second small gymnasium. One student apprehended. The student is injured—for caution, please bring a stretcher."
As he spoke, Tatsuya occasionally glanced at Mahiro.
Originally, he had intended to intervene, but Mahiro had been even faster!
And that sword strike.
Though no magic had been used, the impact on Kirihara's wrist had already fractured it.
Whether it was skill, strength, or speed, he was in no way inferior to Mibu-senpai.
'Copy Eyes again...'
"Hey! What kind of joke is this, kid? You're just a substitute weed!"
"That's right! Why was only Kirihara arrested? Mibu from the kendo club is equally guilty! Both sides in a fight should be held responsible!"
"As I've already explained, the arrest was for illegal use of magic."
Facing the angry shouts from the swordsmanship club members, Tatsuya maintained a polite and calm tone in his response.
Yet ultimately, an all-out brawl was unavoidable.
This was only natural—First Course students looked down on Second Course students, so how could they possibly accept being judged for rule violations by them?
However, Mahiro didn't join the fight. Instead, he turned to offer comfort:
"Mibu-senpai, are you alright?"
"I'm fine... Yotsuba-kun, thank you for saving me."
Sayaka replied somewhat awkwardly, but when she looked up at the chaotic brawl unfolding, she couldn't help but worry: "Yotsuba-kun, shouldn't we go help?"
"No need."
Mahiro shook his head. "Those losers are no match for Tatsuya."
And indeed, the entire swordsmanship club was completely overpowered by Tatsuya in physical combat. Even when they tried using magic, it was crushed before they could employ it.
"Hey, Yotsuba-kun, that hero-saves-the-beauty act was quite the show."
At some point, Erika with her fiery red short hair had come down from the second floor and now stood before him. She patted his shoulder as if offering comfort and encouragement.
But Mahiro teased in return:
"What's the matter, Erika-san? Feeling jealous?"
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