After breaking up, my ex asked me to win her back

Kagura Hikaru's current Sword Dao level was lv4, which roughly equated to the seventh dan. In the professional Kenshi realm outside, this level was already considered top tier.

It was easy to imagine what kind of slaughter he would perform among high school students.

Perhaps because of this, the process appeared too steady and simple, nothing as spectacular as Ayakoji Chiyoko's matches; aside from the Kyoto Competitors he directly faced, basically no one could see Kagura Hikaru's true skill level.

When he took off his faceguard and returned to his team, the teammates took his effortless victory over the strong player from Kyoto as expected.

They were all well aware that Kagura Hikaru's abilities were absolutely extraordinary, and they felt it was a disgrace to him to even participate in such a competition.

Teacher Yamazaki had even privately suggested that he consider a professional career, but Kagura Hikaru had refused.

His Sword Dao skills came from his mind-reading ability, and he was not truly passionate about the sport itself.

Returning to his team, Kagura Hikaru sat down in his original spot.n/ô/vel/b//jn dot c//om

"Mr. Kagura is really strong, effortlessly defeating players from powerful Kyoto schools like that. There seems to be no suspense in this year's National Championship."

Hosaka Yui looked at him admiringly and patted the protector around his waist. "I'll entrust my dreams to you, you must win!"

However, Kagura Hikaru glanced at her, "Dreams should be pursued on your own, a dream achieved by someone else is ultimately someone else's and has nothing to do with you."

The club manager was stunned for a few seconds, "...Mr. Kagura, you can be very hurtful sometimes....."

"I'm just speaking the truth."

Hosaka Yui looked conflicted and shook her head, "Mr. Kagura, my dream is to compete in the National Championship. And I'm already a second-year student, soon to be a third-year, with only one year left. How can I possibly achieve it?"

"So, are you going to give up?" Kagura Hikaru asked in response.

"Hmm....."

Hosaka Yui pondered for a while then suddenly clapped her hands, "How about this, Mr. Kagura, let's make a promise."

She smiled mischievously, "If you win at this National Championship, I will continue practicing Sword Dao. If you don't, then I'll give it up."

"Isn't that condition a bit too lenient?"

"Eh~ Mr. Kagura, you're so confident. You already think you've won, huh? I was just being polite when I said there was no suspense at the National Championship."

"I understand," Kagura Hikaru nodded, "Then it's a deal."

"Yes, it's a deal!"

As she said this, Hosaka Yui's smile took on a strange tinge, but Kagura Hikaru didn't see it, having already turned his head back to watch the matches.

The first day of the National High School Sword Dao Championship continued until nearly noon before finally finishing, eliminating half of the competitors in the hall.

Stepping out of the venue filled with a solemn atmosphere and into the sunlight, Kagura Hikaru and the others felt a warmth in their hearts.

In the first round of the eliminations, all five competitors from the Tokyo District had remarkably not lost a single match, including Kagura Hikaru, who had faced off against the formidable Keihanshin-Kobe teams and caused them a severe defeat, allowing all members to advance smoothly.

With such good news, their spirits were naturally uplifted.

Especially right after exiting the venue, Kagura Hikaru and others were immediately surrounded by several TV and magazine reporters vying for interviews, while the neighbouring Kyoto team was ignored as they passed by, only able to stare resentfully at the scene, which was the most satisfying part.

The Gorilla Vice President and Miyamoto Shi sneered at the Kyoto team with a sense of petty triumph until they could no longer see them, then looked at Ayakoji Chiyoko and Kagura Hikaru who were being interviewed live on television.

Reporter: "Player Kagura, Player Ayakoji, congratulations on advancing to the second round of the National Championship, it was an incredible match!"

Ayakoji Chiyoko: "Thank you."

Kagura Hikaru: "..."

Reporter: "May I ask how you both feel at this moment?"

Kagura Hikaru: "I will keep pushing hard."

Ayakoji Chiyoko: "Hmm."

Reporter: "Ah.....Okay. I would also like to ask, what is the relationship like between the two of you outside of the competitions?"

Kagura Hikaru: "Neither good nor bad."

Ayakoji Chiyoko: "..."

Reporter: "Okay, thank you both~"

After dealing with the reporters who had swooped in, Kagura Hikaru and the others finally got to ride back to the hotel to rest.

Teacher Yamazaki drove a rented Toyota minivan, weaving through the streets of Capital City with a car full of students.

Winter was about to end, the weather was gradually warming up, and flowers and trees started to revive successively, a hint of spring could be smelled through the glass.

When they had just left the meeting venue, everyone hadn't felt tired, but the moment they sat on the leather seats in the car, sleepiness struck instantly, and they began yawning one after another, as if there was some kind of hypnotic gas in the car.

Upon reaching the hotel, everyone, struggling to keep their energy up, finished their lunch and immediately went back to their rooms to fall asleep.

Only Kagura Hikaru and Ayakoji Chiyoko remained awake, sitting silently in the tea room, drinking tea and looking at each other without a word.

"I have something to ask you," Kagura Hikaru suddenly said.

Ayakoji Chiyoko leisurely took a sip of water, "What is it?"

"Why did you make such arrangements behind my back?"

He was referring to how Ayakoji Chiyoko had deceived him into participating in the competition by pretending to be the club manager.

"You surely weren't just trying to play a prank on me."

"I did deceive you, but not for such a trivial reason."

Ayakoji Chiyoko calmly fiddled with the teacup in her hand, "If I had asked you normally, whether you wanted to compete or not, you most likely would have refused, so I decided to act first and report later."

"How would you know without asking?" Kagura Hikaru expressed his incomprehension.

"Kagura Hikaru, don't you realize, how much you avoid interacting with others?" Ayakoji Chiyoko glanced at him, "Among the people who came to Capital City with us, have you initiated more than ten sentences of conversation with them outside of official business?"

"It's not really like that..."

"You know what you are like; don't make me, an outsider, remind you."

"...You might be mistaken."

"Oh?"

Kagura Hikaru shook his head, "If it were someone else, I definitely wouldn't have agreed, but the current me is seeking an opportunity to reconcile with you, so if you had asked, I would have come no matter what."

"..."

The air grew silent for a few minutes.

It seemed to freeze, thick and icy cold.

After a long time, just when Kagura Hikaru thought she wouldn't talk to him anymore, Ayakoji Chiyoko spoke.

"Kagura Hikaru, another reason I forced you into the national competition was to directly settle our scores," she said.

"Your Sword Dao is not sharp, but very steady, and I am exactly the opposite, sharp yet immature, we may be natural rivals."

"...If that's what you wish."

Kagura Hikaru knew that the conflict they were discussing wasn't actually about Sword Dao; they didn't really care about that at all.

The real issue between them was Kagura Hikaru's inconsistency in his persona and his deliberately concealed dark history.

Ayakoji Chiyoko was a person who lacked a sense of security, he had noticed this the first time they met.

She was exceedingly cautious around everyone, like someone carrying a treasure through a slum, always on guard against being secretly harmed.

It was unclear where she had learned such a suspicious, hyper-sensitive nature akin to that of a monarch.

The thing such a person could least tolerate was deception and concealment by those around her, and Kagura Hikaru had stepped right into this minefield.

In the end, the so-called showdown was really just her looking for a chance to vent her frustration.

Kagura Hikaru thought to himself.

"I won't hold back," Kagura Hikaru said.

Ayakoji Chiyoko smiled, the first since she arrived in Capital City, though it disappeared quickly, "That's exactly what I want."

Thus, within one day, Kagura Hikaru had made commitments with two different girls.

If one ignored the details, it would really give the impression that he was very popular.

But later events proved that both persons with whom he had made commitments today had their own cunning plans and ulterior motives.

At this moment, Kagura Hikaru remained oblivious to this.