Kazuya, following the principle of avoiding impropriety, tried to avert his gaze, "I have something to discuss with your father." After a brief pause, he added apologetically, "Sorry about earlier for hitting you several times. Are you okay?"
Haruna was quite resilient and didn't take it seriously at all. Patting her chest, she teased with a cheerful laugh, "Look at my healthy and robust physique. I'm fine!" But after the laughter, she frowned in distress, "But can you stop fighting with my sister? You're my friend, and she's my sister. I don't know who to help when you two fight."
Kazuya was surprised. Are we already friends? At most, we're acquaintances, right?
After a moment of bewilderment, he helplessly said, "I don't want to argue with her either. It's just that your sister is a bit..."
Haruna silently nodded and patted him on the shoulder , "Although I don't know why you fought, I can guess it's because of me. You two argued over me joining the club. My sister is unreasonable, forcing me to do some boring things, and you wanted to help me. In the end, you fought. Well, I've taken note of this. Next time you want to fight someone except my sister, remember to call me. I'll insert knife on both side of your rib cage."
After saying this, she patted Kazuya's shoulder twice more, sighed, shook her head, and went upstairs to take a bath with a worried and loyal expression.
Why do you feel so good about yourself? It's not like I fought for you!
Kazuya watched her leave speechlessly, rubbing his shoulders desperately. Half of the body was paralyzed after being slapped by this monster. He also thought about whether to give her an idiom dictionary as a gift before leaving. Listening to her talk made my head hurt.
And what is inserting knife on both side of your rib cage? Do you mean puting your ass on the line? Don't interpret it as inserting a knife into your "friend", that would be really tragic.
He felt hard to realize what she meant and then walked to the door of Naotaka's study. He knocked on the door politely, and heard Naotaka's gentle voice from inside, "Come in, Matsuoka."
Kazuya was slightly surprised. Pushing the door open, he saw Naotaka reclining on a tatami mat, drinking sake. In front of him was a plate of boiled soybeans in saltwater, which seemed to be a simple dish for drinking.
"Is there a customer?" Naotaka struggled a bit to get up.
Kazuya shook his head, "No, it seems to be raining outside. There probably won't be any customers tonight."
Upon hearing this, Naotaka changed his posture, indicating the other side of the table. He smiled and said, "Then you must be looking for me. Please sit, Matsuoka."
"Thank you!" Kazuya sat down across the table, and Naotaka picked up the sake bottle to pour him a drink. "Have a drink. This is lychee wine, quite rare nowadays. Well, it might not exactly be considered alcohol in the legal sense. Treat it as a beverage. It will save me from moving these old arms and legs to make tea for you."
Since he was about to leave, Kazuya didn't decline any further. Gently holding the black flat wine cup, he watched the pale green liquid slowly fill it, "Then I'll have a drink. Thank you, Mr. Sakura."
"I should be the one thanking you. You've been patient, not arguing too much with my daughter."
Kazuya felt a bit embarrassed. Even though Haruka made the first move, he didn't hold back and directly beat her like a circus clown. He replied, "It's nothing. I just hope she can make a good decision for Haruna."
Naotaka nodded approvingly, "She's a stubborn child, but she has her reasons. It's rare for her to have a friend like you who doesn't mind her eccentricities."
Kazuya didn't talk more about this and changed the topic, "By the way, Mr. Sakura, how did you know it was me just now?"
Mr. Sakura looked up at him, illuminated by the light, his waxy yellow face still appearing quite unhealthy, but his eyes flashed with a fine glint of a sword. Kazuya could only hear him softly say, "Because I am also a swordsman, Matsuoka."
"Swordsman?" Kazuya straightened his posture a bit, recalling the words of Haruna's mother: "First-rate drunkard, second-rate swordsman, third-rate doctor, fourth-rate chef, and fifth-rate husband."
However, after carefully sensing for a moment, he didn't detect any fierce aura from Naotaka. It was entirely different from the temperament of the wandering swordsman in the Meditation Battle. Could it be that he wasn't just strong but had reached a state of returning to simplicity?
Seeing him lost in thought but not answering, Naotaka chuckled, "Still don't understand?"
"Please tell me."
Naotaka pointed to his head, "Swordsmen need to use their brains, Matsuoka! There are only a few people in this store, and third daughter bear grudges against me so she wouldn't come to me. Others didn't know what knocking the door is. So, besides you, who do you think is left to knock on my door?"
Kazuya felt a surge of stuffiness in his chest. He had thought this middle-aged man was powerful, with some kind of aura or secret technique, like being able to sense things within ten meters or hear falling leaves. However, it turned out he just had a bunch of troublesome daughters, none of whom had manners.
He turned to pity Naotaka, who must be troubled by this group of daughters. It really wasn't easy.
"Joking, Matsuoka. Come on, have a drink!" Seeing his expression, Naotaka laughed, raised his cup, and gestured for them to drink together. Kazuya picked up the wine cup and found that the wine was very murky, with many greenish particles floating, giving the entire cup a lustrous color. Naotaka had already finished a cup, closing his eyes and savoring the aftertaste.
Taking a small sip, Kazuya tasted a sour and astringent flavor, but then his tongue started to feel sweetness. The taste lingered for a long time.
He only took a small sip, mostly out of courtesy. He was strict with himself and wouldn't be interested in smoking or drinking. On the other hand, Naotaka enjoyed it. "Can you handle it? I can only serve you this. My big daughter only allows me to drink this..."
Kazuya put down the wine cup, "It has a unique flavor, not bad." He looked at Naotaka with a more sympathetic expression. Your tyrant daughter even controls you?
"Please enjoy it" Naotaka seemed to have a keen interest in chatting. He poured some more wine for Kazuya, "By the way, Matsuoka, have you practiced swordsmanship too?"
"I practiced for a while."
"In which dojo? Haruna said that your swordsmanship style is quite diverse. Have you practiced in many dojos?"
"No, I've self-taught."
"Self-taught?" Naotaka looked serious, and his posture became more upright. He asked in a low voice, "Which books did you learn?"
Kazuya casually listed some book names, like "The Book of Five Rings", which were mostly modern printed works. While they weren't very common, they weren't secrets either. There was no need to conceal anything.
Naotaka nodded slowly as he listened. After a long contemplation, he asked slowly, "Are these the only ones?"
"Yes, Mr. Sakura."
Naotaka seemed to be in a state of confusion. After a while, he muttered to himself, "Can't I even be a good teacher?"
Naotaka snapped out of his thoughts, poured himself another cup, and smiled bitterly, "Matsuoka is really talented, admirable...,"
He paused, gazing carefully at Kazuya, "You defeated my big daughter, which is not surprising. Although she is strong-willed, she lacks talent. At least in the path of swordsmanship, she can't achieve any commendable accomplishments no matter how hard she works. But I never thought you could surpass my second daughter. I always believed she was the most perfect result of my life, but..."
He became somewhat lost in thought again, shook his head slowly, and Kazuya instinctively replied modestly, "Actually, Haruna's strength far surpasses mine. She just happened to be at a disadvantage. If we were to compete again, I might not be her match. You are exaggerating."
Naotaka continued to shake his head gently. "No, Matsuoka, I've asked about your match with my second daughter in detail. Although she described it in a confused way, I could tell you have real strength. The reason I said this... Do you know how long my second daughter has been practicing swordsmanship?"
"I'm not sure,"
"Eleven years and two months! I've been carefully teaching her for eleven years and two months since I discovered her talent. But you defeated her just by self-studying with a few books. Did you start laerning from your youth? Has it been more than three years?"
Kazuya hesitated for a moment and gently shook his head. He hadn't practiced for more than a month until now. Although he had endured some hardships and practiced earnestly, it was mostly due to some external assistance.
However, this involved his biggest secret for survival, and he couldn't tell the truth to an outsider.