Asahi, who had been completely focused on his training, hadn’t noticed that the little girl had been hiding in the shadows, spying on him and gathering information about her opponent.
He only realized she was there when she walked right up to him…
Looking at her pitiful and helpless expression, Asahi found her incredibly cute and couldn’t help but smile.
“When did you get here?”
The little girl pouted her lips and spoke in a soft, timid voice.
“I…
I just got here a moment ago…”
If she had known things would turn out like this, she never would have made that stupid bet in the first place.
Now look at her – she had dug herself into a hole and fallen right into it!
But how was she supposed to know that Asahi was such a terrifying freak of nature?
Blinking her big round eyes, Yūhi tried her best to act as adorable and innocent as possible.
“Asahi, Asahi…
I really admit defeat, okay?
Can we just forget about the match tonight?
I’ll be the little sister, and you’ll be the big brother!
That’s all there is to it!”
She was giving in and surrendering completely.
If even a solid wooden stake had been split apart and sent flying by his punch, what chance did she have with her soft, tender skin and delicate body?
She definitely would end up crying for ages!
Actually…
being the little sister didn’t sound like such a bad idea after all, did it?
The way this cute little girl was using her charm and cuteness as a weapon was absolutely devastating.
Asahi felt his heart melt completely.
He smiled and poked her gently on the cheek, raising an eyebrow as he spoke.
“Hehe…
so now you’re finally scared, huh?
Weren’t you acting all confident and full of yourself just this morning?”
“I’m scared now!
I’m really scared!” When you were at a disadvantage, you had no choice but to back down and be humble.
Yūhi didn’t even dare to swat Asahi’s hand away as he poked her cheek, and she asked carefully and cautiously, “So…
can we just call off the match tonight?
Please?”
“Well, of course I…” The words can do that were already right at the tip of Asahi’s tongue, ready to be spoken, but he forced himself to swallow them back down.
To begin with, this had only ever been a silly little bet.
If Yūhi was willing to admit defeat now, that was actually the best possible outcome.
There would be no more risk of him losing his status as the older brother – he would be the big brother, and she would be the little sister, and everything would be settled.
But…
Asahi suddenly realized something very important.
The system still hadn’t made that familiar ding sound!
Where was the reward for completing the mission?
Yūhi…
no, Rumi Ochiai had already surrendered, hadn’t she?
Then why hadn’t the mission been marked as completed?
Was it impossible to exploit the system like this?
His heart skipped a beat.
Asahi called out to the system in his mind.
System, Yūhi…
I mean, Rumi Ochiai has already surrendered, hasn’t she?
Then why haven’t I received the reward yet?
[Ding.
The mission has not been completed.
The host must defeat the challenger Rumi Ochiai before the reward will be issued!]
Are you kidding me…?
Winning without even having to fight is a far more impressive achievement than winning through battle!
Not only are you refusing to give me extra rewards for doing such a great job, but you won’t even count it as completing the mission at all?!
Asahi cursed the system silently in his heart.
This stupid system really was completely unreliable! Enjoying the story? Read on at novelping.com.
[Ding.
Please complete the requirements of the mission, and you will receive your reward!]
This entire exchange with the system had only taken a split second.
Yūhi was still standing there looking at him hopefully, waiting anxiously for his answer – she really, really didn’t want to end up crying for hours…
But why was Asahi suddenly being so mysterious and dragging this out?
It was so annoying!
“…” There was nothing he could do about it.
He had to meet the requirements to finish the mission, and this idiotic system wouldn’t accept a voluntary surrender ahead of time.
Asahi had no choice but to make Yūhi suffer just a little bit.
“Of course…
we can’t do that!”
“Huh!?” Yūhi’s eyes went wide with shock, disbelief and confusion written all over her face.
His defenses had actually resisted her cuteness attack?
That went against all logic and reason!
“‘Huh’ what ‘huh’?
Your little act of being cute isn’t going to work this time.” Asahi tapped Yūhi lightly on the head and put on a serious expression.
“A bet is a bet, and it has to be carried out even if you decide to surrender halfway.
Besides…”
“This is also a good way to train your willpower and determination.
The moment you run into any difficulty or setback, your first thought is always to give up and back away.
That’s not a good habit to have!”
For the sake of getting his reward from the system, what harm was there in making Yūhi suffer just a tiny bit?
And wasn’t this actually for Yūhi’s own good as well?
Right?
She couldn’t just give up every time things got hard.
She needed to learn to keep trying and putting in effort no matter what!
“…” Yūhi felt like she was about to cry.
Everything he said made perfect sense and sounded so reasonable!
But deep down, she was convinced that Asahi was just trying to secure his position as the older brother and was using this as an excuse to get back at her for teasing him earlier!!
She was absolutely furious, but she couldn’t find a single thing wrong with his words to argue against him.
All she could do was huff angrily and stomp away, going off to sulk and pout all by herself…
“My foolish little sister…
if you wish to surpass me, you must sail across the seas, and I shall leave everything behind…
cough…
if you wish to surpass me, you must work hard and keep fighting!
One day, you will understand that everything I did was for your own good…” Asahi was in such a great mood that he couldn’t help but quote some famous lines he remembered from his past life.
One day, Yūhi would definitely realize that everything her beloved older brother had done was truly for her own benefit.
Yes…
that was exactly how it was!
Shinku Yūhi, who had just finished preparing dinner and had come to call Asahi and Yūhi over to eat, happened to hear those words and fell into a long silence.
“…”
He immediately decided to take back everything he had said earlier about Asahi having a maturity that went far beyond his age.
And honestly, where had this kid even picked up such strange things to say?
He really had no idea what went on inside the minds of children these days…
…
After dinner.
The match began exactly as planned.
In the backyard, Asahi and Yūhi stood facing each other – one brimming with confidence, and the other looking equally sure of herself.
Does this little girl still have some hidden trick or secret move up her sleeve?
Seeing how she looked, Asahi felt a twinge of worry in his heart and knew he couldn’t afford to let his guard down.
This little girl had been looking upset and miserable all afternoon, so why was she suddenly acting so confident and self-assured now?
Something was definitely very, very wrong here.
This was bad news – there was still a risk that he might end up losing his position as the older brother!
Hmph!
I definitely won’t end up crying for ages!
Meanwhile, Yūhi was thinking to herself with great confidence, having already come up with the perfect plan.
As long as she surrendered fast enough, his fist would never even get the chance to hit her and make her cry!
Looking at the two little figures standing opposite each other, Shinku Yūhi, acting both as the witness and the referee, spoke up at that moment.
“Are you both ready?
Then let the match begin!”
Whoosh!
The moment he finished speaking, his figure vanished in a flash of speed, leaving only the two children standing in the training area!
“I won’t let you make me cry!” Yūhi declared with absolute confidence, putting on a serious expression as she charged straight toward Asahi.
“…” Asahi really did not dare to be careless.
When it came to matters as important as family status and hierarchy, he had to take everything very seriously.
The backyard wasn’t very big, and as Yūhi came running toward him, she suddenly appeared to trip over something on the ground.
She let out an exaggerated yelp of “Waaaaah!” and her small body thudded heavily onto the ground.
She struggled to lift her head and looked toward Asahi, who was standing just two meters away, her expression suddenly becoming incredibly solemn and serious.
“That was such a powerful Earth Release technique…
Asahi, you are truly amazing!
You’ve already learned how to use Earth Release ninjutsu!
I stand no chance against you…
I admit defeat!”
Hehe…
she had surrendered right in front of the referee, so surely Asahi wouldn’t try to punch her and make her cry anymore, right?
If he dared to try, her father would definitely step in and stop him immediately.
Her plan had worked perfectly – she was such a genius!
Asahi: “…”
Shinku Yūhi: “…”
So that was why she had been acting so confident.
She had already thought up her way to surrender from the very start.
Though her acting was far too exaggerated, and the excuse she had come up with was absolutely ridiculous and made no sense at all…
“You… you really are something…” Shinku Yūhi didn’t know whether to laugh or cry, but he still found Yūhi’s little act incredibly endearing and cute…
He stepped smoothly into the middle of the room and announced in a formal, official tone, “Yūhi has been defeated by Asahi’s Earth Release technique.
I declare that Asahi is the winner of this bet.
Starting from today, Asahi is the older brother, and Yūhi is the younger sister!”
Yūhi immediately dropped her act, leaped up from the floor and cheered, “Yes!
That’s awesome!”
“…” Asahi, meanwhile, didn’t even know what to say anymore.
[Ding.
Mission completed.
Rewards are being issued…]
The moment Shinku Yūhi finished speaking, the familiar notification tone rang out inside Asahi’s mind, and a stream of information appeared clearly in his thoughts.
It contained everything related to Hadō #1: Shō – how spiritual pressure flowed, how to release the technique, and all the principles and mechanics behind it… all of it was imprinted directly into his memory.
To put it simply, if Asahi were in the world of Bleach right now, he would already have fully mastered this technique.
Asahi thought carefully to himself: Surrendering in the afternoon didn’t work, but surrendering in the evening did.
So what exactly are the conditions that determine whether a mission is completed or not?
Is it the time?
The presence of a referee?
Or some other reason entirely?
He really needed to figure out exactly how the system judged whether a task had been successfully finished or not.
This was extremely important, as it would affect every single mission he would receive in the future.
The bet had originally been suggested by Yūhi, and they had agreed to hold it in the evening.
Surrendering earlier in the afternoon hadn’t counted, but doing so at the appointed time had completed the mission.
Was it simply the timing that was the key factor here?
Or was it because there had been a witness and official referee present this time?
He supposed he would just have to work out the answers to these questions gradually over time…
“Schedule”
Monday – Friday – Update 3 Chapters a Day
Saturday – Sunday – Off