How could it be so easy to stop?

"You flatter me, Inuyama-sama," Toyokawa Kiyotaka said.

"I once had the privilege of being invited to afternoon tea by Principal Angel, during which he offered me some personal guidance on my technique for unleashing the Spirit. My Spells."

With a swift flourish, he made a graceful pattern with his wooden sword, sheathed it, and steadied his stance.

The two men bowed to each other.

Their feet together, hands resting on their swords, waists bent to a precise and respectful angle.

This was the most formal etiquette in kendo. Only after finishing the bow did they look up at each other.

Inuyama贺, dressed in a cyan kimono, looked at Toyokawa Kiyotaka standing before him and smiled.

"I guessed correctly. In that last move of yours, I caught a glimpse of Principal Angel's shadow."

"For Kiyotaka-kun to hone that technique to such an extent, a tremendous amount of bitter training must have gone on behind the scenes."

"Inuyama-sama, your mastery of 'Instant' is far more..."

Before Toyokawa Kiyotaka could finish, Inuyama interrupted him.

"No need for modesty. Your mastery of 'Instant' is already exceptionally high. One can tell it was forged through blood and fire to reach this stage."

"The final moment of sword intent control I displayed was merely accumulated bit by bit through the advantage of living longer."

"Since Kiyotaka-kun is so young, your future attainments in this field will surely far surpass mine."

Inuyama appeared remarkably forthright.

As the head of the Inuyama Family—one of the lesser five families of the Shajigahachi—and a former branch director of the first branch of Kassel College in Japan, his own Spirit was also 'Instant'.

Being a 'student' of Angel, having been lectured by him countless times, he naturally could discern some of the shadow of those techniques within Kiyotaka's movements.

He walked to the corner of the room and laid down his wooden sword used for practice.

"Speaking of which, the reason the Tachang sent you over this time still concerns family matters."

"The Tachang?" Toyokawa Kiyotaka recalled the title. "Is there something the Tachang wants with me?"

"Two things."

Inuyama's expression turned serious. The casual ease from their sparring vanished, and his demeanor reverted to that of a family head.

"The first thing."

He pulled an envelope from the corner, tore it open, revealing a piece of paper covered in writing.

"You can take a look at this."

Toyokawa Kiyotaka stepped forward, received the paper with both hands, and lowered his gaze to read it.

This was an ordinary piece of white paper, apparently intended for official office use.

Written upon it was the summary of the battle report from his very first operation on behalf of the Shajigahachi to seize the 'key'.

Dense blocks of text detailed the gains from this operation, the battle results, some potential subsequent impacts, and predictions for the next strategic steps...

There was a great deal of content, making the font exceptionally small, requiring Toyokawa Kiyotaka to concentrate intensely to avoid losing his place.

"This is..." Toyokawa Kiyotaka was somewhat puzzled. "An operational report for the family?"

"Shouldn't documents like this be processed by Execution Bureau investigators and stored away in secret? Why would the Tachang intentionally hand a copy to me?"

Toyokawa Kiyotaka asked.

"Kiyotaka-kun forgot to look at the back."

Inuyama smiled.

Hearing this, Toyokawa Kiyotaka remembered there was text on the reverse side of the paper.

Previously, he had subconsciously assumed the back would contain similar report-style text, so he hadn't bothered to turn the page.

Now, judging from Inuyama's words, it seemed to contain something of great significance?

Thinking this, he explained:

"There was too much dense writing on the front, which drew all my attention, so I forgot."

Toyokawa Kiyotaka looked at the reverse side.

Unlike the front, the word count on the back was very sparse, consisting of merely three simple lines.

Furthermore, unlike the printed font on the front, these three lines were handwritten, executed with a bold and sweeping stroke, as if written in a single breath:

[Inuyama-sama, in seizing the 'key' from the fierce ghost crowd, Kiyotaka of the Toyokawa family has rendered an immeasurable service.]

[Using money to reward the family's warriors is far too vulgar. Please convey the battle blade from my personal collection to him in my stead.]

[Tachang Mune]

Seeing Toyokawa Kiyotaka staring fixedly at the text, Inuyama smiled and said:

"Since Kiyotaka-kun has performed a meritorious service for the family, the family naturally will not mistreat those who have contributed."

"After every mission concludes, the family provides corresponding rewards. This is the blade the Tachang specifically instructed me to hand over to you. You must accept it."

As if performing magic, he produced a wooden box from where he stood.

"This is... 'Instant'!"

Toyokawa Kiyotaka felt a jolt in his heart. Even as a fellow wielder of the Instant Spirit, he now realized how much Inuyama had held back during their sparring session.

Inuyama opened the wooden box, inside of which lay a sword quietly.

He lifted a pitch-black scabbard with both hands. The scabbard was plain and unadorned, but its hilt was wrapped in a layer of intertwined dark blue and grayish-white silk ribbon. It was clearly an old item, yet maintained in pristine condition.

At the end of the scabbard, a red thread as fine as a hair was tied around it, looking like a deliberately left trace.

He walked over to Toyokawa Kiyotaka and said softly:

"This blade is named—'Broken Moon'."

With that, he slowly drew the blade.

A flash of light crossed the blade, resembling moonlight over a lake suddenly snapped in two.

The entire sword was slender, the blade edge clean and decisive, with a spine featuring a slight curve, unlike traditional combat swords.

Inuyama said:

"This blade was originally called 'Mirror Moon'. But the first wielder accidentally fumbled during an assassination mission, causing an inch of the blade to snap and the mission to fail. In grief and anger, after re-welding the broken blade, he renamed it 'Broken Moon'."

As Inuyama spoke, his gaze darkened slightly.

"Eventually, who knows how much time passed, this 'Broken Moon' fell into the hands of our Shajigahachi."

"The Tachang specifically had this blade reforged so that it could unleash its former might."

He presented the sword to Toyokawa Kiyotaka and slowly said:

"The Tachang asked me to pass along these words: How can a hidden dragon remain long in the shallows, trapped in the mire?"

"Kiyotaka, you have rendered service to the family. This blade suits you perfectly."

Toyokawa Kiyotaka accepted the blade, looking down at the water-like sheen of the edge, feeling an inexplicable calmness settle within his heart.

Initially, he had a subconscious urge to refuse the Shajigahachi's reward.

That previous intervention on behalf of the family to seize the 'key', coupled with his fight against the 'Dragon King' of the fierce ghost crowd, had already deviated too far from his peaceful life trajectory.

However... this blade bore an uncanny resemblance to the one he had snapped after that mission at Kassel College.

So much so that it subconsciously dragged up memories of a past he preferred not to mention, leaving him unable to refuse taking 'Broken Moon' into his hands.

And once taken into his hands, the implication was naturally that he had accepted the family's reward.

"Sigh..."

Toyokawa Kiyotaka sighed.

Originally, he no longer wished to touch upon the conflicts of the half-blood society, preferring to live as a househusband. Yet how could one simply wash their hands of such matters whenever they pleased?

Thus, Toyokawa Kiyotaka had no choice but to bow in gratitude.