novelraw Chapter 19: "I’ll Definitely Make Those Bastards Regret It!"
Chapter 19: "I’ll Definitely Make Those Bastards Regret It!"
After teaching Aoto the basic sword swings and the techniques of drawing and sheathing the sword, Okita did not teach Aoto anything new today.
As for why, Okita had already explained to Aoto—at this foundational stage, learning too much at once would be like pulling up seedlings to help them grow, doing more harm than good. He wanted Aoto to focus today on practicing basic swings and the drawing and sheathing methods.
You can’t become a big shot in one bite—that principle, of course, Aoto understood perfectly. Therefore, he had no complaints about Okita’s arrangement and obediently alternated between practicing basic swings and drawing and sheathing the sword.
He repeated the dull, mechanical practice back and forth, yet Aoto did not feel bored or impatient.
On the contrary—he became more and more engrossed as he practiced.
The reason was that with the “Sword Prodigy” talent activated, the feeling of rapidly improving was utterly addictive.
Why were games in his previous life so addictive? Because the positive feedback in games came so instantly.
Defeat a monster and immediately gain experience points, see the experience bar rise, and after leveling up, use points earned to enhance yourself.
Such quick and direct positive feedback left rote memorization of words and lessons far behind.
If you studied vocabulary seriously but still couldn’t remember it in the end—that kind of terrible feedback could hardly be addictive.The strong positive feedback from “Sword Prodigy” captivated Aoto, and he stayed immersed in the Shieikan dojo, diligently practicing swordsmanship.
Aoto stayed in the Shieikan dojo from morning until dusk.
…
The setting sun, about to sink below the horizon, weakly cast its dull yellow light through the windows into the Shieikan dojo.
After a full day as a coach, Okita glanced at the sunset outside, then clapped his hands firmly:
“All right! Practice for today is over!”
Okita’s shout prompted everyone inside to put down their bamboo swords. It also pulled Aoto’s awareness back to reality—he had been fully focused on practicing drawing and sheathing his sword.
—Huh? Is it that late already?
Aoto looked at the sunset outside with surprise.
He had been so absorbed in sword practice that he hadn’t noticed the time flying by.
Kondō had previously told Aoto that the Shieikan opened at 8 a.m. and closed near 6 p.m.
Aoto observed the sky outside—the sun would completely disappear below the horizon in about half an hour.
“That’s it for today’s practice!” Okita placed his hands on his hips. “Everyone, quickly clean up the dojo together and then head home! Things haven’t been too peaceful lately, so don’t stay out too late.”
With Okita’s words, everyone inside responded with a unified “Yes!” and put down their bamboo swords. They then brought out cloths, buckets, and other cleaning tools to tidy up the dojo.
This was one of the dojo’s rules at the time—unless no apprentices had trained at all during the day, those remaining when the dojo closed were obliged to help clean, mainly wiping the floor.
Besides Aoto, nine apprentices remained inside the Shieikan.
Since Aoto was the new arrival today, all the apprentices in the dojo were his senior brothers.
Aoto followed them, picked up a cloth, and crouched on the floor, wiping the dojo’s floor, which had been “moistened” by the sweat of many throughout the day.
Okita joined in the cleaning as well.
Not only did he participate, but he was the quickest, cleaning about one-fifth of the floor by himself—and he did it extremely thoroughly.
After finishing the cleaning successfully, Okita stood at the dojo entrance like a homeroom teacher seeing off students after school, hands on his hips, watching every disciple leave.
“Goodbye, Okita-kun.”
“Mm, goodbye. Remember to practice your basic swings in private; you still need to strengthen them.”
“Goodbye, Okita-kun. From tomorrow, I’m going back home for a few days, so I won’t be able to come to the dojo for a while.”
“Mm, okay. Your basic swings also need improvement; practice them often.”
…
At this moment, Okita’s face returned to the bright, always-smiling expression, no longer the fierce and stern look he had while teaching swordsmanship earlier.
Aoto was the last person to leave the dojo.
“Goodbye, Tachibana-kun,” Okita smiled and took the initiative to bid farewell. “You must be tired after practicing all day. Remember to rest early when you get home.”
“If conditions allow, try to set aside some time daily to practice basic swings.”
“Basic swings are the foundation of the fundamentals—you must practice more, often, and diligently.”
“Mm.” Aoto nodded firmly. “Goodbye, Okita-kun. You should also get home early and rest.”
“I don’t need to go home,” Okita smiled gently and then pointed his right index finger at the ground beneath his feet. “I live here.”
“Okita-kun, you actually live in the Shieikan?” Aoto was surprised.
“To be precise, I live with Kondō and the others,” Okita explained. “Our Shieikan is a typical structure where the dojo master’s home and the dojo are combined.”
“See that simple house connected to the dojo? That’s where Kondō and his family normally live.”
Okita pointed toward the modest residence behind the dojo.
“Our families, the Okitas and Kondōs, have a very close relationship, almost like one family.”
“To make practicing swordsmanship convenient, I moved here not long after joining Shieikan to live with Kondō and the others.”
“Living directly in the dojo… that really is convenient,” Aoto said sincerely.
Back in middle school in his previous life, Aoto had envied those who lived very close to school the most.
He was the type whose home was a bit far from school.
Every day going to school, he had to pedal his bike hard for half an hour.
Every time he recalled those days when he had to pedal like a cycling athlete, a chill would rise deep inside him…
“I remember Kondō-kun told me his father and mother just happened to be away today,” Aoto switched to a half-joking tone, “and Kondō-kun himself is also temporarily away on business.”
“So today, you’re the only one living in such a big place?”
“Yeah…” Okita smiled helplessly. “Tonight I have to cook and boil water for bathing all by myself…”
“I’m too lazy to cook tonight; I’ll just eat something simple.”
“Ah, speaking of Kondō-kun…” Aoto suddenly paused as if recalling something. “Okita-kun, can I ask you a question about Kondō-kun?”
“Hm? What do you want to ask?”
“I heard from Suzuki-kun today that our master is already 68 years old,” Aoto said slowly. “I’m a bit curious… There seems to be quite a big age gap between master and Kondō-kun. Is Kondō-kun master’s adopted son?”
Today, when listening to Suzuki-kun introduce the “Five Pillars” of Shieikan, Aoto became quite concerned about the age difference between Kondō father and son.
According to Suzuki-kun, their master Kondō Shusuke was already 68 years old.
Meanwhile, Kondō Isami, Kondō Shusuke’s son, looked to be only about 25 years old.
An age gap of over forty years—it just didn’t look like a normal father-son age difference.
“Oh, that…” Okita’s expression grew a bit strange as he raised his hand to play with the slender high ponytail at the back of his head. “You guessed correctly.”
“Kondō-kun is master’s adopted son.”
“Kondō-kun was originally the son of a wealthy farmer family in Tama, named Katsugorō.”
“Master never had his own children. By a very rare chance, he met Kondō-kun.”
“Master really liked Kondō-kun’s personality, and Kondō-kun’s displayed swordsmanship talent also pleased master greatly.”
“So, when Kondō-kun was sixteen, master officially adopted him into the Kondō family.”
Saying this, Okita sighed deeply.
A trace of sadness appeared between his eyebrows.
“Being an ‘ex-farmer’ and an adopted son placed great pressure on Kondō-kun.”
“To not disgrace the name ‘Kondō’ and the ‘Tennen Rishin-ryu’ style, he always worked harder than anyone else.”
“But even though he tried so hard, there were still many annoying people who held onto Kondō-kun’s ‘ex-farmer’ status…”
“Even Kondō-kun’s mother…”
At this point, Okita suddenly stopped talking, closed his mouth tightly, and shook his head hard. The slender ponytail at the back of his head fluttered as well.
“Enough! Let’s not talk about such unlucky things!”
Seeing that Okita didn’t want to discuss the topic further, Aoto wisely kept quiet and did not pursue it.
“All right, let’s stop here. You should hurry home.”
Okita waved at Aoto.
“It’s almost completely dark now. With how things are lately, it’s best not to travel at night.”
“Remember to come practice swordsmanship here often. There are no shortcuts in swordsmanship; there’s only one way—the way of diligent practice.”
“If possible, I wish I could come here every day to practice…” This time Aoto showed a helpless smile. “But my current situation doesn’t allow it. Starting tomorrow, I have to go back to work… ah, I mean, to serve in public office. I can only practice again when I have another day off.”
…
After chatting with Okita for a while longer, Aoto supported the sword at his left waist and briskly set off for home.
Okita stood silently, watching Aoto’s departing figure.
Only after Aoto completely disappeared from sight did Okita turn and head back into the dojo.
He closed the dojo’s doors behind him from the inside and muttered in a slightly proud tone:
“The next time we face those guys from Genbukan and Kobushis Chiba Sword School… we finally have hope to turn the tables on those bastards…!”
…
A soft breeze brushed Aoto’s face as he walked home, and he couldn’t help but smile faintly.
The amount and quality of gains today made it impossible for him to suppress the corner of his mouth curling upward.
The “Sword Prodigy” talent—its strength was like a powerful stabilizer, calming Aoto’s restless heart from the threats posed by the Expel the Barbarians faction and the Yakuza’s financial dangers.
During his sword practice today, Aoto also chatted occasionally with Okita and others.
Through these chats, he gained much more understanding about the sword school he had just joined.
According to Okita, Shieikan currently had a total of 43 apprentices.
The number of apprentices could only be described as bleak.
Judging from the number of apprentices alone, Shieikan was a typical small-to-medium-sized sword school, with far fewer apprentices than big schools like Genbukan, Kobushis Chiba, or Renpeikan.
With so few apprentices, naturally, there weren’t many people training swordsmanship daily.
As of today’s closing time, besides Okita, only 14 apprentices had come to practice swordsmanship at the dojo.
Aoto’s only regret today was that besides Okita, he hadn’t copied any talents from anyone else.
Holding onto the hope of possibly copying some powerful talent, he used various excuses and reasons to invite every senior brother he met today to spar.
There was no doubt that Aoto was today’s center of attention at Shieikan.
Everyone who came to practice knew—they had a newly arrived little junior brother with extremely high talent, highly praised by Kondō himself, and even “Demon Coach” Okita found it difficult to find faults in his swordsmanship training.
Facing this talented new junior brother, some were very enthusiastic, others very indifferent.
Thus, some accepted Aoto’s sparring invitations readily, while others coldly declined.
Of the 14 apprentices who came today, only eight agreed to spar with Aoto.
Though he couldn’t spar with all the senior brothers he met today in one go, Aoto didn’t mind much. His mentality was simply “spar with as many as I can.”
Since his current swordsmanship level was still quite unqualified, his record against those eight senior brothers was not impressive—three wins and five losses.
In those three wins, Aoto mainly relied on footwork and combat techniques accumulated from his previous life.
In all eight bouts, without exception—he failed to copy any talents.
But fortunately—obtaining the “Sword Prodigy” talent today was already a huge surprise.
Compared to this enormous joy, the minor regret was negligible.
Besides “Sword Prodigy,” Aoto actually gained another important insight today: through sword practice, he deeply felt that his current body’s physical fitness desperately needed improvement.
The bamboo sword was so light, yet after just a few swings, his arms began to ache and his breathing became unstable.
Whether endurance or muscle strength in his limbs, from Aoto’s perspective, it could only be described as “tragically poor.”
By ordinary standards, his physical fitness was passable.
But for Aoto, whose personal and financial safety were at risk, such fitness was insufficient to face the threats from the Expel the Barbarians faction and the Yakuza.
Practicing martial arts without physical training leads to nothing in the end—Aoto always regarded this as a profound truth.
No matter how good your techniques are, if you can’t increase your strength or speed, you might not even touch the enemy.
—I’ll have to make time to train my physique from now on…
—I wonder if I’ll get any talent related to physical fitness in the future…
Aoto rubbed the muscles in his right arm and thought this silently.
…
His pace was quick, and before long, Aoto returned to his home in Hatchobori.
“I’m back.”
Just as he stood at the door, he smelled a faint aroma of food.
After calling out “I’m back!” and opening the door, Aoto saw his old servant Kyūbei rushing out of the kitchen, holding a wooden spatula, his footsteps making a clattering sound.
“Young master, you’re back. Why are you so late today? Did you find a suitable sword school at Senjiya?”
“Mm.” Aoto smiled and nodded while removing the samurai sword at his left waist. “I’d say I gained quite a lot today.”
Aoto briefly told Kyūbei about everything that happened today.
After hearing Aoto’s “one-day itinerary report,” Kyūbei first let out a low exclamation of surprise, then spoke with concern:
“Young master, you actually practiced swordsmanship in that Shieikan all day? No wonder you look so tired…”
With that, Kyūbei picked up his spatula and returned to the kitchen.
“Young master, you should rest in the living room first.”
“Dinner will be ready soon.”
“After dinner, rest early.”
“You still have to return to the magistrate’s office tomorrow for official duties.”
“You must rest well and get enough energy.”
“Don’t let today’s fatigue affect your work tomorrow.”
Hearing the word “official duties” from Kyūbei, Aoto’s mouth twitched slightly, then he let out a silent sigh.
—Official duties, huh…
His brief one-day holiday was already over.
Tomorrow, he would return to the North Magistrate’s Office and resume his “corporate drone” status.
In his previous life, he had just graduated from the police academy and hadn’t yet entered the workforce before crossing over to this unfamiliar era.
The official meals he hadn’t had time to eat in his previous life, he was now eating in this life…
From tomorrow on, Aoto would officially start his bureaucratic life in this Edo Period.
He felt a mix of fear and nervousness about it.
But also a slight sense of anticipation.
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