Chapter Nineteen: Ririko: I Am Love-Struck

It was another morning, and the classroom during the break was bathed in sun. Ririko Tokugawa leaned over her desk, stretching out her arms, lazily basking in the warmth.

What is the point of swinging my sword? Ririko wondered.

Could it be that the millions of strikes I’ve delivered, day and night, were only meant to allow Uesugi Toru to humiliate me with his talent a dozen years later?

Beside her, two of her close friends were loudly crunching on shrimp chips, whispering to each other.

The "introverted" girl gaped in shock: "She’s so listless. Could yesterday’s rumors actually be true?"

The "extroverted" girl pretended to cover her face as if about to cry: "If little Tokugawa is going to fall in love, can it at least wait until ten years after I’m dead?"

"The rumor is true, but the romance is a lie."

Though the two friends whispered, to Ririko, it sounded like they were shouting; she heard every word clearly.

Natsu Shijima, the extroverted girl, covered her mouth in surprise: "The intel wasn't fake after all!"

She grabbed Ririko in a hug, winking and nudging her: "Is the guy’s name Uesugi Toru? I heard he’s a scrawny, gloomy, otaku shut-in! How did you meet him, little Tokugawa? How did you start dating?"

Luna Kitano, who wore black-rimmed glasses, clenched her fists against her chest, feigning anger: "What’s wrong with us being otaku!"

Ririko pushed her friend’s face away, snatched the bag of shrimp chips, and poured the contents into her mouth, chewing crunchily.

"My shrimp chips!" Shijima exclaimed, but upon seeing the empty bag, her attitude shifted immediately: "Eat! Eat them all! Consider it military funding for your love life!"

With her cheeks slightly puffed, Ririko chewed and replied: "First, Uesugi-kun is not scrawny; second, I have no interest in romance."

Shijima stared at her for a moment, then laughed: "If you're not interested, can you pass his LINE to me? It just so happens that the gloomy, gothic style is exactly my type."

Kitano, who had been silent, pinched her nose and waved a hand: "Save it, that’s so embarrassing."

Ririko shook her head: "No. He doesn’t have the time; he has to practice swordplay with me."

"Ooh, still trying to cover it up," Shijima teased with a suggestive smile. "Practicing swordplay? From where to where?"

Seeing Ririko sitting there in stony silence, the two exchanged a look and spoke in unison:

"—Girl, you are in love!"

"I am not."

"You are absolutely in love!"

Ririko slammed her hand on the desk and stood up, shouting back: "I am not!"

Only after saying it did she notice that everyone in the class was staring at her. Because she had always been seen as a "cold, taciturn goddess," this volume was unprecedented.

"See? You're flustered," Shijima said, pointing at her. "Normally, you wouldn't even bother to refute a topic like this."

Ririko realized she was right.

She scratched her head, sat back down, and asked her friends with genuine confusion: "Does wanting to step on Uesugi-kun and humiliate him under my foot count as being in love?"

The two friends stared at each other in astonishment. After a brief silent exchange, Kitano answered earnestly:

"Of course it does!"

A long-time deep-diver in the otaku subculture, she took out her phone and opened a precious, well-hidden folder.

Soon, the doors to a new world opened for Ririko.

"W-what is this?!"

Ririko’s face flushed red instantly. She glanced around, and only after confirming no one was paying attention did she breathe a sigh of relief.

She took the phone and began flipping through the black-and-white manga.

Before she knew it, Ririko was deeply engrossed by the ups and downs of the story, the exquisite artwork, and the passionate fight scenes. She didn't want to keep reading, but her curiosity compelled her fingers to swipe instinctively.

One volume after another, one chapter after another.

Only when the screen displayed "No more pages" did Ririko look up to see her two friends stifling their laughter.

Ririko spoke with a sudden realization: "I understand now."

—So-called love is the desire to dominate another person's emotions.

—It is wanting to see someone who was once stronger than you follow your every command, making a genius with talent far beyond your own bow and submit.

This is love!

At only eighteen years old, and with over fifteen years of sword training, Ririko understood everything.

Her enlightened expression left her two friends bewildered.

—Wait, girl, you can derive life lessons from reading smut?

Now, the fact that Uesugi Toru could achieve in half an hour what took her a month to master had turned into a wonderful thing.

—The stronger and more talented he is, the more meaningful it is to step him underfoot.

As for those pathetic, mediocre passersby who were smug about their meager talent and unwilling to give their all, she couldn't even be bothered to glance at them twice.

She shouldn't have felt that despair yesterday, like "a mayfly looking up at the vast blue sky." Instead, she should have been applauding Uesugi Toru's immense talent!

Thinking of this, Ririko recalled a popular term she had heard: "Is this shift in perspective what they call 'love-brain'?"

They say on the internet that girls with "love-brain" aren't normal and should see a doctor.

It seems that isn't necessarily true.

With that, the young girl's "sword heart," which had nearly shattered the day before, fused back together, becoming clearer and more transparent than ever before.

In this moment, Ririko Tokugawa easily transcended the "unity of person and sword" that had trapped her for over a decade, arriving at a realm of swordsmanship rarely reached today and only touched by the great masters of the past—

The Clear Heart of the Sword.

Kitano looked at Ririko, who seemed to be faintly glowing, and stuttered: "D-did you achieve enlightenment?"

Shijima ignored the natural phenomenon of the sunlight: "So, do you like Uesugi-kun?"

"Like him? Of course I do."

Ririko smiled.

This afternoon, I’ll drag Uesugi-kun away from class to train.

She looked toward the brilliant, intense sun outside the window, her eyes filled with anticipation.

—Uesugi-kun, you must hurry and grow stronger.

...

However, they didn't have to wait until the afternoon to meet; they ran into each other in the cafeteria.

"Ririko?"

Uesugi Toru, who had ordered an extra-large beef bowl, stopped and looked at the two people beside the expressionless Ririko: "And these two are..."

"Uesugi-kun! You are Uesugi-kun, right?" Shijima, who had also ordered an extra-large lunch, winked at him with practiced familiarity. "I’m Natsu Shijima, a good friend of little Tokugawa. Nice to meet you!"

Ririko has friends?

Uesugi Toru, nearly blurting this out, coughed and said: "Why don't we find a place to sit first?"

Ririko nodded silently, acting completely cold and detached.

Uesugi didn't know what was wrong with her; whenever there were people around, she seemed to turn into this.

Did she trigger some kind of passive skill?

He couldn't figure it out.

Still, Ririko didn't look like she was burdened by anything anymore, which was good.

The four sat down, and the two best friends naturally provided an assist, specifically placing Uesugi and Ririko across from each other.

Neither stood on ceremony; they put their trays down and began to eat ravenously.

Shijima and Kitano watched this scene, feeling a bit foolish.

How could a young couple meet and not say a single word while eating?

Is this... is this right?

Actually, it was perfectly fine.

Uesugi felt that when one eats, one should focus on eating.

As for Ririko, she only used food to restore her sanity when she was in a bad mood; under normal circumstances, eating was just a way to replenish energy.

But the two friends didn't know that and assumed they were in a cold war.

Helpless, Shijima took the initiative to find a topic that everyone might be interested in to liven up the atmosphere.

She smiled and said casually: "Lately, the paranormal events around here seem to be really popular. They've even trended on Twitter a few times, you know."

Kitano did her best to play along: "Wow, really? That's amazing!"

"Of course!"

Shijima opened her photo album and waved her phone: "Look, these are my selfies from the last two days. Isn't the shadow flashing in the background creepy?"

She put her hands on her hips and gave a mischievous grin:

"—I specifically searched the topic; it seems to be called the White Hannya. I heard it’s a terrifying evil spirit."

*Clatter!*

*Clatter.*

Shijima noticed Uesugi and Ririko put down their chopsticks at the same time and turned to look at her.

She raised her hands and stuttered:

"W-what's wrong?"