Chapter 77: Long Live the Harem!
"P-please, have some tea."
In the Ryōzanpaku main hall, Miu politely served tea to Keni. Keni sat properly in seiza and bowed her head slightly.
"Thank you."
She took a careful sip, then her eyes widened in delight.
"This is delicious! I never imagined you'd be so good at everything, Fuurinji-san—studies, sports, and even tea ceremony-level brewing!"
"You're too kind, Keni-chan. And since we're friends now… could you just call me Miu?"
"Really? Is that okay?"
"Of course! If I keep calling you by your first name while you stick to my family name, it'll feel so awkward, right?"
"In that case… Miu-san."
"Keni-chan."
The two exchanged warm smiles, and the invisible wall between them finally cracked a little. Miu tilted her head curiously.
"By the way, how did you know my home address?"
"I saw it when I was helping the teacher carry materials. It was written on the form. I'm not super familiar with this area, though. Oh—and I came to return this to you."
Keni quickly rummaged in her bag and pulled out Miu's student ID card. Miu had dropped it earlier in her rush. She accepted it with genuine gratitude.
"Thank you so much!"
"No problem at all. Miu-san… is your house a dojo?"
"Yep. This is Ryōzanpaku dojo."
Keni wasn't part of the martial arts world, so the name didn't ring any bells. She simply looked around with genuine wonder.
"This old building has so much history and atmosphere."
"Ahaha… sorry our place is so run-down."
"No, no! I didn't mean it like that. The older a building is, the more valuable it gets, right? Like Kinkaku-ji or Daitoku-ji."
"Sigh… those centuries-old places get government funding for maintenance. Our dojo's over a hundred years old too, but we have to handle everything ourselves."
Miu's voice carried clear envy. If only someone would offer to restore this historic place… Keni let out an awkward "Ahh…" unsure how to continue.
Wait—oh no! I almost forgot the important part!
"Miu-san! Kouichi's injuries are really bad! Shouldn't we call an ambulance and get him to a hospital? How can you just let that philosophical guy treat him so casually?!"
Keni abruptly shifted from seiza to kneeling upright, hands planted on the low table in urgency. Miu blinked.
"Philosophical guy…? Oh, you mean Akisame-sensei. If it's him, there's no problem. He has a proper medical license. Wait—hold on. I only hung Kouichi up for half an hour. How could he be seriously injured? His body can take days of that without issue."
"Hung… up?"
Keni shrank back, staring at Miu in horror. Is she actually that brutal?! Miu suddenly realized how her words sounded to a normal person and cleared her throat awkwardly.
"Uh—that's just training! Kouichi is an apprentice here. To become a great martial artist, he volunteers for all kinds of rigorous drills. It's not punishment or anything."
The last two words came out very softly, tinged with guilt. Keni's expression shifted to understanding.
"So he's one of those legendary martial artists… No wonder he was so amazing yesterday. It felt like a dream."
"Yesterday? You met Kouichi yesterday?"
"Yeah. Last night he accidentally bumped into me and knocked me over."
Crack!
The teacup in Miu's hand shattered into pieces. Frost seemed to cover her face.
"That hopeless lewd star finally couldn't hold back and laid hands on a girl?!"
Overwhelmed by Miu's terrifying aura and sheer power, Keni whimpered,
"U-um… Miu-san…"
"What is it, Keni-chan?"
Miu forced a smile—but it only made Keni scramble backward in terror before dropping into a deep bow.
"I'm sorry! I'm so sorry!"
"Keni-chan, you're the victim here. You don't need to apologize. I'll make sure he answers for this."
"N-no! You've got it all wrong! It's not like that!"
After Keni hurriedly explained the full story, the icy killing intent around Miu vanished. She returned to her usual gentle smile.
"Ohhh… I see. Yeah, that makes sense. Kouichi may be a huge pervert, but he'd never use force to hurt someone. I've always believed in him."
(If Takumi were here he'd definitely scream: Hey! You believed that way too fast! You were literally about to murder me just now!!)
"Miu-san, how long has Kouichi been training here?"
"Hmm… about a month? He already had a third-degree black belt foundation, so now he's probably a bit stronger than your average ninth dan."
"Stronger than a ninth dan… in just one month?! Miu-san, if it's okay… I'd like to learn too."
"You want to train in martial arts, little lady?"
A short man suddenly appeared right beside her. Keni jumped in fright. Miu quickly explained,
"This is one of the six masters here—Ma Kensei-sensei. Definitely not anyone's husband… and definitely not a good person."
"Waaah, Miu-chan! How can you say that? You're breaking my heart!"
Miu ignored him completely. Then a huge dark shadow loomed in.
"New disciple?! This time Apachai's definitely taking one! I've finally mastered controlling my strength—I won't kill anyone anymore!"
"K-kill…?"
Keni's face went snow-white as she backed away. Suddenly another figure dropped from above, expression blank.
"Female… disciple. I… will teach."
"Eek…!"
Keni's limbs turned to jelly. She scrambled over to hide behind Miu. Kensei spoke up calmly.
"Martial arts doesn't discriminate by gender. Back in my Phoenix Alliance days I had plenty of female students. Shigure, you may be a master, but you're still too young for this."
Clang!
A sword flashed out like lightning tearing space. It danced in furious strokes, surrounding Kensei in a storm of slashes. He blurred into countless afterimages—none of the deadly cuts landed. Instead the low table was diced into countless tiny pieces. Then the giant black man roared happily,
"Apachai wants to teach too! I'm joining!"
He leaped into the fray like an excited uncle. Fists flew like meteors, legs struck like thunder. Three masters turned the living room into a battlefield. Miu hurriedly dragged the terrified Keni out.
"It's over… the repair bill is going to bankrupt us. And it's all because of you, Keni-chan."
"Huh? Me?!"
"Yep. So to take responsibility, you have to join the dojo. As a friend's special rate—just ten thousand yen for a month of training."
"Waaah… can I take it back?"
Keni looked up with teary puppy eyes. Miu gave her a pitying smile.
"Too late."
Keni nearly burst into tears. This is walking straight into the tiger's den… it has to be!
After seeing Keni off, Miu called Hayato to separate the three rampaging masters. Hayato decided Shigure would take her as a disciple, and the chaos finally settled. Later, after Miu finished making dinner, she noticed Takumi was missing. Strange. She headed to his room—door wide open, but no one inside.
Just as she turned to leave, her eyes caught the handwritten calligraphy couplet hanging above his bed:
A hundred flowers bloom, spring fills the garden;
One person alone admires, endless joy.
Miu's heart secretly warmed.
"I didn't know he could write such nice kanji calligraphy… and he even likes admiring flowers. Maybe I've been too prejudiced against him."
Her gaze drifted upward to the horizontal inscription.
"Long Live the Harem!"
Her face instantly froze into an arctic mask.
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