Time always passes so quickly. After Rin officially moved to Camelot Apartments, a month flew by in the blink of an eye.
During this month, Rin realized two important things about Naoki.
The first—he was so strong he didn't even seem human!
*BAM!*
In the Martial Arts classroom on the ground floor of the Clock Tower, with a single punch, a smiling Naoki sent a burly-looking student crashing into the wall, then turned to the other students lined up nearby: "Alright, next one up—Tohsaka, don't you dare run."
"C-Can… can you go a bit easier on me?"
In the past, Rin had been quite confident in her martial arts skills. After all, she had trained in Bajiquan since childhood under her father's old friend, Kirei. For regular martial arts classes, she could pass with flying colors if she put in a little effort.
But Naoki was different. If Rin wasn't serious, she'd end up like that guy slammed into the wall—embedded in it!
And even if she was completely serious—
*SWISH!*
Rin only felt her vision blur. One second, Naoki was about five meters away; the next, he was right in front of her, throwing a punch straight at her stomach! The force of the blow sent her crashing through the wall!
*BANG!*
A keen observer might notice the wall trembling slightly—keep in mind, this classroom was specially built. Ever since Lord El-Melloi began advocating the importance of martial arts ten years ago, the Clock Tower's martial arts classes had gained prominence. The classroom itself had been renovated once or twice, so its sturdiness was unquestionable.
Yet, in Naoki's hands, this incredibly solid classroom often shook. Floors and walls riddled with holes were a common sight. If there weren't at least a dozen holes in the classroom, that would be the abnormality.
Crawling out of the wall, Rin clutched her stomach and barely stood up when Naoki appeared in front of her again.
"Don't stop, Tohsaka. Your father asked me to train you well."
(That doesn't mean you have to beat me until I can't move every martial arts class!)
Over the past month, every time Naoki's martial arts class rolled around, Rin could never walk home. She was always carried back. The man in front of her had no pity for women—his punches were brutally hard. Honestly, Rin felt like she'd end up in the hospital sooner or later.
But despite the beatings, Rin had to admit Naoki's lessons were effective—at least in terms of reducing the impact of blows and minimizing pain when hit. The students' dodging skills and endurance had improved significantly under Naoki's training.
At first, Rin would collapse after a single punch. Now, she could withstand two or three, and if she was lucky, even dodge one or two.
"Come on, try to take one more punch."
"Ugh—"
*BAM!*
Seeing the steel-like fist flying straight at her head, Rin abandoned all sense of decorum. Without thinking, she leapt to the side and sprinted toward the farthest corner from Naoki without looking back.
But before she could take more than a few steps, a hard kick landed on her back—
"Uwaa!"
With a cry of pain, Rin flew forward, slamming into the ground and only stopping after crashing into a nearby pillar.
The other students watching from a distance all gasped, their faces paling slightly. Though they'd all been slammed into walls by Naoki multiple times, seeing a scene like this still made their hands and feet tremble.
Except for one person—
"Amazing! No wonder they call him the Tiger of the Clock Tower! His movements are clean, precise, and full of power! Perfect!"
From the crowd, a golden drill-shaped hairstyle suddenly popped up, brimming with excitement and even clapping.
Luviagelita Edelfelt, Naoki's acquaintance from a parallel world, but here she was a student in the Department of Mineralogy and a regular in his martial arts classes. By count, she was the one Naoki beat up the most, aside from Rin.
Glancing at her, Naoki smiled and waved: "Alright then, your turn next, Luvia?"
"Hmm, with pleasure, Teacher Natsukawa. But don't think I'll go down in two punches like that female gorilla over there."
"Hah?! Who're you calling a gorilla, you blonde drill-head?! Wasn't it you who went down in two punches last time?" Hearing Luvia's blatant taunt, Rin, who had never gotten along with her, immediately jumped up.
"I can't deny that, but after that crushing defeat, I'm a different person now. This time, I'll show Teacher the true power of the Edelfelt family heir—"
*BAM!*
Before Luvia could finish her sentence, Naoki's sudden punch sent her flying.
Shaking his hand, Naoki said resignedly, "No pointless chatter in my class. Talking during a fight distracts you and creates openings. I've told you two this dozens of times, haven't I? Luvia, Tohsaka."
"Yes…"
"It seems so…"
"Good that you understand—By the way, Tohsaka, you seem to have plenty of energy left, jumping up and arguing with Luvia like that."
"T-This… I mean… I…"
Rin was filled with regret—deep regret. Why had she let Luvia's provocation get to her? If she'd just stayed down, she could've gotten away with it.
*SLAP!*
A hand landed on Rin's shoulder, and Naoki gave her a thumbs-up: "If you've still got that much spirit, how about another round? I'll go a bit harder this time."
"Yeah."
◆━⊰✧⊱━◆
An hour later, as the bell signaling the end of class rang, Naoki dusted off his hands, looking at the students sprawled on the ground, groaning in pain: "Pathetic. Not one of you can take four of my punches… But this is already much better than when you couldn't even handle one."
"Don't be too hard on the new generation, Darling."
As Naoki's voice faded, a woman's voice came from outside the classroom. Then, the students lying on the ground saw a pink-haired figure enter.
Lord of the Department of Botany—May Riddell Acherolette—stepped into the sweaty, groan-filled classroom and skillfully hugged Naoki: "Good job working hard, Darling."
"Your turn today, Riddell. Done with work at the Department of Botany?"
"Just routine matters. It's fine if they're delayed. Instead of wasting energy on boring stuff, I'd rather spend more time with you—our alone time has to be fought for."
As the two flirted as if no one else was around, the students lying on the ground tactfully averted their gazes. And this was the second thing Rin realized over the past month—
Naoki was a true playboy, maintaining relationships with multiple women at once!