The corners of her gentle lips once again curved into a smile so captivating it could make roses wilt. Youli then turned, lightly tapping the podium, and a message instantly materialized on the multimedia blackboard.
[Having skipped two grades and taken a year off to study music in the capital, this enigmatic middle schooler possesses a gentle smile.]
[Unbeatable in both academics and athletics! In literature, they are invincibly at the bottom of the class, while in martial arts, at such a young age, they have already achieved the ‘unbeatable’ legendary Fourth-Dan Black Belt—a rank Youli herself has never even seen, supposedly held only by martial arts instructors!]
A chorus of boos erupted from below the stage. The audience seemed utterly stunned by this revelation.
[An enigmatic new classmate who captures everyone’s attention, no matter the field~]
[…A determined individual who, claiming to follow in someone’s footsteps, resolutely abandoned their class of one year to join our Class 2-B!]
I rolled my eyes. ‘Following in someone’s footsteps,’ I thought, ‘could he be any more chuunibyou?’
‘Why did that sound so vaguely familiar?’ I wondered. ‘How strange…’
Truthfully, Class Monitor Youli’s knack for setting the mood was truly masterful.
Not only did she ease the burden on the new student to integrate, but she also sparked the entire class’s interest in the newcomer.
Now this was the mark of a truly capable Class Monitor!
Whether the atmosphere had been successfully cultivated was immediately evident from the students’ discussions below the stage.
“…Oh, that sounds impressive, doesn’t it?”
“But I couldn’t care less about literature or sports…”
“…A new student? Boy or girl? I really hope it’s a beautiful girl…”
“…Tch, our class is practically overflowing with girls already! I, for one, hope it’s a handsome guy…”
“…No! You’re all wrong. The newcomer will definitely be a plain face whose sole purpose in life is to highlight this young master’s magnificent handsomeness!”
“…Ew…”
In any case, regardless of the topic, the discussions had certainly piqued everyone’s interest, hadn’t they?
I, however, completely disregarded all the finer details.
For me, the only captivating sight was Youli’s elegant and poised figure at the podium.
The rest? The new student?
‘…What did any of that have to do with this Lord?’
After nearly another minute of building anticipation, Youli finally pulled open the door.
“Everyone, let’s welcome our new classmate~”
I pursed my lips, utterly uninterested.
Suddenly, an intense feeling of gloom surged within me. I was overcome by a powerful sense of foreboding.
“Hello, everyone.”
Though pleasant, the voice wasn’t particularly distinct from any other. Yet, it was a voice I could respond to even in my sleep, a voice that seemed to whisper in my mind even as I thought, and now it pierced my eardrums like a sonic boom.
…Gah!
‘How could it be! Me! How did that guy, Ye Sakaki, show up?! I clearly got rid of him!?!’
CRASH!
“How could it be!!”
I shot to my feet, slamming my hand on the desk! With an incredulous stare, I pointed a single finger at ‘my self-proclaimed brother, Ye Sakaki.’
The colossal noise instantly shifted everyone’s attention to me, including ‘my self-proclaimed brother, Ye Sakaki.’
Stepping over the platform in front of the podium, Ye Sakaki offered a gentle smile toward the corner of the classroom.
“Ahaha? My apologies, I was just startled by an ‘arthropod’ that rudely approached my ‘foot.'”
I offered an innocent smile to the rest of the class, then instantly shrank back into my seat.
‘Is it really okay to compare myself to an arthropod?!’
Thoughts churned in my mind.
‘Only a week had passed since I finally got rid of him. Was I truly destined to endure that intense sense of incongruity and jealousy again, that feeling of ‘two selves’ existing side-by-side?!!’
‘And how was I to know my own self would be so persistently tenacious?! I was, after all, the kind of person who usually abandoned things before they could even properly begin, wasn’t I?!’
….
Before me, ‘my other self’ gracefully ascended the podium.
His hands gently rested on the podium’s LCD touchscreen.
The male school uniform, which looked particularly awkward on me, fit the boy before me perfectly, his well-proportioned, tall physique making it impossible for others to guess he was only thirteen.
Of course, this ‘tall’ was merely tall for a middle schooler…
……
In my previous life, I had also harbored expectations for how tall I would grow. However, by the first half of my first year of high school, my already slight height advantage had completely vanished.
Logically, one would be around twelve years old upon entering their second year of middle school. However, due to our birthdays being earlier in the year, my brother and I were almost seven by the time elementary school started.
Additionally, in our third year of elementary school, our parents pressured us into visiting our grandmother in the capital to study music.
Therefore, to be precise, my brother and I were actually almost fourteen years old, not significantly different from our classmates.
Yet, I was simply one of those individuals who, no matter how much they grew, always appeared petite. I was still far too ‘sweet’ to be considered mature!
Even with our similar ages, my brother and I far surpassed our peers in certain aspects.
For instance, I possessed a professional piano certificate, an accomplishment even many adults found difficult to achieve.
The only distinction was that I had attained Professional Level 2, while Ye Sakaki had only reached Amateur Level 10.
Unlike amateur piano grading, mastering professional piano could guarantee one’s livelihood for life. What’s more, both of us were also studying ‘Certain Kendo’…
Of course, this ‘Certain Kendo’ seemed to have no connection whatsoever to ability users or the underworld. Any random ability user could probably defeat an Eighth or Ninth-Dan master, couldn’t they?
…
In my previous life, I had desperately resisted and thus avoided that utterly infamous martial arts hall. But in this life, my parents’ unusually strict stance meant I couldn’t escape this peculiar dojo.
As the name suggested, it was ‘Certain Kendo.’
It was a kendo style utterly devoid of unique characteristics, absorbing the strengths of various schools while discarding their weaknesses, yet it was far from outstanding.
Even more bizarrely, ‘Certain Kendo’ was a truly internationally recognized organization. Despite only two ‘Certain Kendo practitioners’ ever participating in international competitions, it still maintained a considerable international reputation.
I naturally refused to learn kendo. However, Mother simply stated, “You can’t refuse, Little Qi, because the insurance money covers the cost of cultivating two special skills for children.”
“And your adorable Mother here has ‘very carefully’ selected the two most ‘expensive’ special skills from the list provided by the insurance company….”
‘It was clearly because you went bankrupt and developed an abnormal miserly obsession with money that you chose that utterly meaningless ‘Certain Kendo,’ wasn’t it?!!!’
Furthermore… ‘Certain Kendo’ had a very peculiar grading system.
Other kendo styles typically ranged from First to Ninth Dan. Even with sufficient ability, one needed ample experience and impeccable conduct to achieve the corresponding rank. For example, an Eighth Dan in traditional kendo required one to be over 58 years old, have practiced kendo for over 38 years, and possess a certain level of prestige.
However, ‘Certain Kendo’ had no restrictions whatsoever regarding ‘age’ or ‘conduct’…
Aside from the rule, ‘ranks above instructor level must only be held by those over sixteen years old’—a regulation so lenient it bordered on pathological—there were no other requirements.
In other words… if you could defeat a master of a certain rank, then you were that master!
‘Completely disregarding martial ethics, such a kendo style would undoubtedly be considered a wicked path in ancient times, wouldn’t it?!’
What was even more preposterous…
‘Certain Kendo’ was not kendo in the true sense of the word.
Instead, it was ‘a martial art employing kendo techniques’! What’s more, its ranks were categorized by belt colors!
This meant that in international competitions, ‘Certain Kendo’ was a martial art that could ‘officially spar’ with swords against other recognized martial arts like ‘Karate,’ ‘Judo,’ and ‘Taekwondo’!
…Could you imagine a martial arts master, engaged in a battle of ‘flesh and blood,’ suddenly seeing their opponent pull a two-meter-long, gleaming silver sword from behind their back and declare:
“Are you ready? Let us have a fair and honorable sparring match of martial arts!!”
..
Thus, within the industry, ‘Certain Kendo’ was perhaps the most infamous martial arts training ground…
…The only advantages of ‘Certain Kendo’ were…
Excellent environment.
Good air quality, no sweaty odor.
Ten locations worldwide, no need to worry about fakes.
High-end carpets on the floor, so you won’t get hurt even if you fall.
Spring-like all year round; even in cold winters, you’ll feel the warmth of home.
Twenty-four-hour cold drink service, and a twelve-hour outdoor swimming pool.
Customizable class times; you can choose your own time slots, and during other hours, you can enjoy pleasant internet surfing in ‘Certain Kendo’ dojo’s ‘internet cafe.’
…However.
‘What kind of incentive were such luxurious conditions for learning martial arts?! They’d only make students as lazy as pigs!! What in hell did these excellent conditions have to do with learning your kendo?! It was clearly just to attract idle noble young masters who thought kendo was ‘cool’ and wanted to dabble for fun?!!!’
There was one more advantage.
You could get a certificate quickly!
When I underwent my ‘Black Belt’ assessment, the muscular ‘brothers’ merely endured two light wooden sword strikes from me. Completely ignoring the dark lines blooming on my small face, they exclaimed, “Oh my, Little Qi is amazing! My insides are practically crushed by Little Qi’s blade (with a drawn-out tone)~!” It was through such ‘cruel trials’ that I obtained my so-called Black Belt rank.
….
In short, perhaps Ye Sakaki’s physique, though relatively agile and completely lacking in bulging muscles, was thanks to this ‘Certain Kendo’?
If You Notice any translation issues or inconsistency in names, genders, or POV etc? Let us know here in the comments or on our Discord server, and we’ll fix it in current and future chapters. Thanks for helping us to improve! 🙂