With this blatant cheat of a fighter joining the fray, a battle that should have dragged on for quite a while came to an end in less than two minutes.
"So after all that, these small fry were really this weak?"
Kamisato Satoru dusted off his hands and deliberately shot a mocking look at the wreckage scattered across the deck.
After the entire fight, not even his hairstyle had been disturbed. The new clothes he wore were still as pristine as if they had just come off the rack.
"Thank you for helping me just now, Brother Satoru."
Ayaka sheathed her sword, breathing slightly harder after the intense burst of exertion.
Although she was exceptionally talented, her actual combat experience was still limited. A monster had nearly caught her off guard with its claws earlier, and Satoru had stepped in just in time.
Satoru reached out and affectionately ruffled the loose strands of hair across his sister’s forehead.
His gaze was filled with warmth as he said softly, "Silly girl. You’re my only little sister. If your big brother doesn’t protect you, am I supposed to wait until Ayato comes chasing after me with a sword?"
Ayaka lowered her head shyly, sweetness blooming in her heart.
After all, Beidou and Kazuha were standing right there watching.
"You really hid your strength well, Young Master Satoru. We’ll have to find some time another day and have ourselves a proper spar!"
Beidou casually flicked the blood from the blade of her Prototype Archaic before swiftly returning it to the storage space of her Vision. Her eyes gleamed with eager fighting spirit.
"Mmph... Sure. If you’re asking, Captain, I’ll gladly oblige!"
Satoru pulled another skewer of Tricolor Dango from his pocket and stuffed it into his mouth, answering indistinctly as he chewed.
Although he usually preferred fooling around with his various space-based "superpowers," the Kamisato Art swordsmanship he had practiced in his younger years was more than enough for a friendly duel like that.
"Everyone! Get this filthy mess scrubbed off the deck!"
Beidou swung an arm and roared, instantly radiating the full commanding presence of the crew’s larger-than-life captain.
"You got it, Captain!"
The sailors laughed as they grabbed mops and buckets, sweeping all the disgusting monster remains back into the sea.
The filthy creatures had been born from the ocean in the first place.
Now that they were returning to their source, it was, in its own strange way, a homecoming.
"Brother Satoru, you always look so lazy. I never knew you were actually this strong."
Ayaka continued studying her brother with astonishment in her eyes.
Beneath that unreliable exterior was such frightening, overwhelming strength.
Satoru folded his hands behind his head and grinned.
"I’ve bragged about it to you plenty of times, haven’t I? Your dear brother really is a man standing at the very top of the pyramid."
He did not even bother checking his template panel.
Those few pieces of trash he had just killed probably had not moved the progress bar by so much as a hair.
"Then... does Brother Ayato know about this too?"
Ayaka tilted her head and followed up with another question.
Satoru raised an eyebrow and answered casually, "Ayato’s way too sharp not to notice. That brat figured out something was off years ago."
After all, with the Six Eyes active, how could he possibly fail to notice little Sayu of the Shuumatsuban tailing him every time he went out?
He had simply never bothered exposing her.
Even the pink-haired fox lurking behind the Kamisato Clan—Yae Miko—had once tried to pry into his secrets.
In response, Satoru had simply put his culinary skills from his previous life—far beyond anything of this era—to good use and captured that fox’s stomach.
He had even secretly taken a photo of her being tempted by fried tofu into reverting to her fox form.
With that tiny little piece of "leverage" in his hands, the troublemaking pink-haired fox had finally stopped keeping such a close eye on him every day.
"Hmph! So basically the whole world knew, and I was the only one you kept in the dark?"
Ayaka puffed out both cheeks in frustration, looking like an angry little pufferfish.
Satoru hurriedly produced another skewer of Tricolor Dango and handed it to her, while his other hand continued wreaking havoc on her hair.
His tone softened as he coaxed her.
"All right, all right. Be good. Have something sweet and don’t be mad. Ayaka’s the cutest."
"Ugh... Brother Satoru, really! Why can’t you go anywhere without bringing all these little sweets with you?"
Despite her complaints, Ayaka honestly accepted the dango and began taking small, elegant bites.
"Well... keeping your brain running at high speed burns a lot of energy. Obviously, I need to replenish my sugar in time."
As he spoke, Satoru seemingly conjured another piece from nowhere and popped it into his mouth.
Ayaka shook her head helplessly.
Her two elder brothers really were something.
One was hopelessly obsessed with milk tea, while the other had an undying love for sweets.
The reason The Crux had built such a formidable reputation at sea was precisely because of its swift and decisive way of doing things.
After departing from that troublesome place called Inazuma, it had taken them less than four weeks before Liyue’s coastline came clearly into view.
"Brother Satoru, look! Is that the legendary Liyue Harbor over there?"
Ayaka hurried out of the cabin, her normally serene gray-blue eyes now brimming with the innocent curiosity of a young girl traveling abroad for the first time.