Mai Kujo smiled as she left.
She was not aware of Kazuki's identity and had no idea whether he was good or bad. She did not even know that his full name was Kazuki even though she knew that his family name was Kimura.
But then these were not important for a person who had a short lifespan like her. Kimura only needed to give her time to achieve the title of Saint Suzume, which was enough for her.
For now, Mai Kujo was quite satisfied with the current outcome.
She would not ask him for any way to extend her life, because as an average person, she knew that if such a thing existed, it would be extremely precious.
Mai Kujo was not wrong, the drug to extend mortality was already rare in the age of recuperation of reiki, not to mention in this era where reiki was thin. Even if it were obtained, Kazuki would also treasure it and hide it for himself instead of letting others use it.
He would not even have the thought of sharing it.
Kazuki observed the silhouette of Mai Kujo disappearing into the crowd through the cafe window. After a while, he withdrew his gaze. Mai Kujo's death was only a matter of time, how long it would be until that day, Kazuki did not know, but it won't be for long.
As long as no variables appeared, that Tsukumogami would be his.
Although there was no good news for the entire day, Kazuki was quite satisfied. After all, his objective for today was to meet Aoki Hidehiro and understand Akichi High School's situation, meeting Mai Kujo was pure luck.
After Mai Kujo left, Kazuki had no reason to continue to stay at the cafe. He rushed to the nearest tram station to reach home quickly after paying for his order.
After dinner, he rubbed his belly. His days of starvation was going to end with the arrival of the four rich Furuhashi ladies.
After all, according to his initial calculation regarding monthly food expenses, for him to have a fully satisfactory meal, he would need to spend 15,000 yen per month, which was around one million Huaxia yen.
This was a considerable expense, which was also the reason why Kazuki valued his job as a private tutor.
After dinner, Kazuki continued to draw talismans. As talismans were consumables, it meant that the more, the better. His enchanted talismans would help him when he is faced with trouble.
However, there is a plan that needs to be hastened up.
Turning his attention toward the Sun and Moon Sword, he believed he should find a kendo dojo4 to practice his swordsman craft.
He did not have this thought back then, apart from his financial strains, for he believed that he did not need to practice his moves. There was no point in learning 'The Art of Kendo' as he thought that reiki could be recuperated, so wouldn't it mean that he was forsaking the basics and rushing to the end?
However, he had already activated the Sword Spirit and stepped into the Tsumei Kenshin realm, so the kendo moves became imminent to him.
The Tsumei Kenshin realm was a threshold that many swordsmen in the past life could not enter. They would only be called Sword Fairy if they ever managed to come.
If not, they could only call themselves Swordsmen.
The total number of Sword Fairies who managed to enter this realm in the past did not reach 20 people. Moreover, their ages all ranged from middle-aged and up, the young swordsmen never had a chance to enter this realm.
Of course, this was also related to the recent recuperation of reiki. A lot of people were still at the exploration stage, plus people in the modern age tend to be impatient, so the thought of calming down to meditate to increase one's level could not be achieved in a short period.
However, Kazuki had his sword beside him at all times in the past five years. He meditated for at least two hours every day, tediously using his consciousness to wake up the spirit in his weapon.
Apart from knowing that he succeeded in activating the sword, there was still no reaction from his daily interaction with the sword. He showed his determination through perseverance.
This desire to become a swordsman had always motivated him, even though the recuperation of reiki in this life has yet to happen, he has not given up, however.
When he managed to activate the sword spirit, Kazuki communicated with the sword spirit's mind and succeeded in entering the realm of Tsumei Kenshin.
In contrast, the Kazuki in the modern age had no knowledge of kendo. This was comparable to him finishing university-level mathematics but had no idea about primary, elementary, and high school mathematics.
This was where Kazuki felt inept with.
He couldn't always be holding talismans, because if he did, would that not make him a Taoist priest? As a matter of fact, drawing enchanted talismans could only provide the support he needed. His primary purpose was mastering kendo, of which he was very clear.
Even though he thought of it that way, his hands did not stop. With a boom, one yellow talisman turned into ash with reiki flowing in all directions into the atmosphere.
He had failed.
Kazuki's face was expressionless, whether the talisman succeeded or not, it was all in his expectations. Nonetheless, just as he was drawing a talisman, he suddenly felt the reiki that had just disappeared flowing steadily into the table below.
This abnormal occurrence surprised him. After that, with a shock, a hint of bewilderment appeared in his eyes.
Pulling open the desk's drawer, 'The Art of Kendo' entered his vision, a book of which he felt sorry for as this thread-bound book was a good luck charm of Sai Senshin's boss, Fumihiro Senshin in the past life. Fumihiro Senshin was crowned as the First Sword Master of Japan as a result of 'The Art of Kendo.'
However, in this life, due to the incompletion of the recuperation of reiki, 'The Art of Kendo' did not bear any spiritual being, so this thread-bound book was just an ordinary book.
Although Kazuki thought of selling the book, he could not bring himself to do it, because, in his heart, he was hoping that the reiki could be recuperated. In addition to that, his job as a private tutor to the Furuhashi sisters had helped solve his meal expenses, so he did not further entertain the idea of selling 'The Art of Kendo.'
But what is going on now?
He could feel the reiki from the failed talisman being absorbed by 'The Art of Kendo.' This abnormal occurrence surprised him.
As he was thinking, Kazuki could feel the reiki thinning in the surroundings. He noticed that a massive part of the reiki was absorbed by the Sun and Moon Sword, but a tiny part had entered 'The Art of Kendo.' The reiki did not disperse into the air but was absorbed.
Trying to contain his excitement, Kazuki picked up the book, and slowly yet steadily, directed the reiki in his body toward 'The Art of Kendo.' In the next moment, he could obviously feel that the reiki from his body was absorbed quickly by the book.
Taking in a deep breath, he did not let go. Instead, he used all the reiki in the sea of reiki and infused it into 'The Art of Kendo.' After absorbing all of the reiki, there was still no reaction from 'The Art of Kendo,' but there was a flash of excitement in Kazuki's eyes.
He had already confirmed that the spiritual body in 'The Art of Kendo' could be activated, and reiki was the key to its activation.
As for why it was so, he already has some vague assumptions.