Ryu stared at him for a few seconds, gave a simple nod, turned around, and swiftly vanished down the corridor.
Once his meal had settled, Mizuki pushed the door open, crossed the courtyard, and walked straight toward the front gate.
By chance, Lyra, the small pallum girl on watch tonight, was yawning as she stepped outside for some fresh air.
She spotted him immediately.
It was Mizuki.
Where was he going?
A thought struck Lyra in an instant.
He was running away.
Disappointment showed in her eyes.
As expected, a man of unknown origins could never be trusted.
More importantly, he was fleeing on his own.
Where was the little renard girl named Haruhime?
Did he just abandon her?
Lyra felt a surge of contempt, but then considered that it might be for the best.
Haruhime was sweet and pitiful.
If she stayed behind, Astraea and the rest of the familia would take wonderful care of her.
That was far better than following an irresponsible coward.
Just as Lyra prepared to turn around and share this predictable outcome with the others, she froze.
Mizuki did not walk out the front gate.
He merely paused at the entrance, turned, and began jogging along the perimeter wall of the manor.
“Huh?”
Lyra rubbed her eyes in complete disbelief.
He was not running away?
Then what was he doing?
Lapping the compound?
Curiosity overcame her drowsiness, and she crept into the shadows to watch.
One lap, two laps, three laps.
Mizuki maintained an even pace, his breathing steady, looking as though he could run forever.
Baffled, Lyra hurried back into the manor to inform those who were still awake about the bizarre spectacle.
“What? He is running laps around our headquarters?”
Alise was the first to speak up.
She swung her window open, spotting the figure pacing smoothly beneath the moonlight.
“Hahaha! Is that his secret training regimen? Is he preparing for tomorrow’s duel? But what good does running do?”
Beside the long-haired captain, the dwarf Asta looked utterly bewildered.
“Is there something wrong with his head?”
Maryuu, the healer, rested her chin in her hand with a thoughtful expression.
“No, look at his rhythm. It is perfectly controlled. That is not someone acting on a reckless whim.”
“Maybe it really is a special training method from his homeland?”
The commotion by the window drew Ryu, who had just finished washing up.
She walked over and looked out at the running figure in silence.
She remembered what she had told Mizuki earlier.
“You have no chance of winning.”
She also remembered his response.
“How do you know it is meaningless if I do not try?”
So, this was his attempt?
He was making his stand through this clumsy, absurd method.
The corners of Ryu’s lips curved upward in a faint, imperceptible smile.
“What is all the noise about?”
Kaguya’s irritated voice drifted from down the hall.
Already in a foul mood, Alise’s loud laughter only aggravated her further.
“Kaguya, come see this!”
Alise barged into Kaguya’s room with a mischievous grin, dragging her over to the window.
Kaguya looked where Alise pointed, her brow furrowing the moment she saw Mizuki.
She did not laugh like Alise.
Instead, her face tightened with annoyance.
What was he doing?
Why bother with this?
If he considered the duel a joke, why did he not simply refuse it?
“There is nothing to see. I am going to sleep so I can knock some sense into that idiot tomorrow.”
Kaguya shoved Alise out of the room in annoyance.
Down below, the center of their attention heard nothing but his own breathing and heartbeat.
Mizuki shut out the rest of the world, losing himself entirely in the rhythm of his stride.
Sweat soaked his clothes and his muscles burned, yet his feet never slowed.
[Gust step proficiency +1%]
[Gust step proficiency +1%]
The cool chime of the system prompts sounded like sweet music in his head.
Ninety-one percent.
Ninety-two percent.
Ninety-three percent.
The night was long.
He would not stop.
Not until his proficiency was maxed out.
Time slipped away, minute by minute.
Alise yawned and headed to bed.
Asta and Maryuu lost interest as well, dispersing after a few playful remarks.
It seemed as though everyone had forgotten about the boy running outside.
Yet, behind three separate windows, small gaps remained in the curtains.
Ryu watched quietly from her room.
Even if it was just running, the simplest and crudest form of effort, she could feel a fierce resolve radiating from Mizuki.
It was unyielding stubbornness.
Kaguya, despite claiming she was going to sleep, stood by her window with her lips pressed into a tight line, her chest rising and falling softly.
She could not understand him.
If Mizuki was afraid, he could have refused the challenge or slipped away into the night.
Yet he stayed.
He chose to run himself into the ground instead.
What was the point?
As for the third window, Haruhime peered through the glass.
Her heart ached for him.
If Mizuki had not warned her to stay inside, she would have rushed down to hold him and cry.
At the same time, she felt a quiet envy toward Kaguya for being able to drive Mizuki to such intense dedication.
A few hours remained before dawn.
Mizuki had pushed his body to its absolute limits, his lungs burning like fire and his legs feeling like lead.
[Gust step proficiency: 100%]
[Congratulations, your skill gust step has reached mastery, unlocking a new reward.]
[Processing reward distribution…]
[Congratulations, you have earned one roll on the prize wheel. would you like to draw now?]
Finally, one hundred percent.
Mizuki’s knees buckled, and he collapsed onto the grass.
Without hesitation, he gave the command in his mind.
“Draw.”
A glowing golden wheel, visible only to him, materialized in the air.
It spun with blinding speed, its needle blurring across countless options.
Eventually, the wheel slowed, coming to a gentle halt over a slot that shone with a rich purple light.
[Congratulations, you have acquired: heroic spirit Sasaki Kojiro’s technique, Tsubame Gaeshi, including knowledge of the sword.]
A massive surge of knowledge poured into Mizuki’s mind.
[Tsubame Gaeshi]: Neither magic nor a magical weapon, this is the pinnacle of swordsmanship achieved through sheer mortal skill. using peerless speed and precision, it bends spatial reality to unleash three simultaneous, overlapping slashes, creating an inescapable prison of blades that can strike down a swallow in mid-flight.
[Knowledge of the sword]: Kojiro’s lifelong mastery, granting the ability to maintain perfect accuracy regardless of how often a technique is used against the same opponent, preventing enemies from reading or anticipating his attacks.
Tsubame Gaeshi?
His gamble had paid off, arriving at the exact moment he needed it most.
The system truly delivered.
While it was not absolute omnipotence, it far surpassed simple footwork, making it the perfect tool for his current situation.
Swallow reversal and Kojiro’s refined skill gave him the exact edge required to duel Kaguya while her status was suppressed.
Mizuki closed his eyes, and when he opened them, the soreness and exhaustion had faded beneath the surge of newfound knowledge.
With only a short time left before dawn, he quietly returned to his room.
After a quick wash, he lay down and drifted off to sleep.
A little over an hour later, morning arrived.
Mizuki opened his eyes on the guest room bed, the lingering fatigue of an all nighter completely swept away by the profound sword techniques settling into his mind.
Just then, a lively shout echoed from the courtyard below, brimming with playful mischief.
“The duel is about to start!”
It was Lyra.
A confident smile touched Mizuki’s lips as he opened the door.
Haruhime was already waiting in the hallway, looking anxious with her fox ears drooping and her eyes rimmed with red.
“Lord Mizuki…” Her voice trembled on the verge of tears.
“Please, let us skip the duel, alright? We can just leave this place…”