After teaching Aoto Suburi, as well as the methods of drawing and sheathing his sword, Okita-kun did not teach Aoto anything new today.
As for why, Okita-kun had explained it to Aoto—at this foundational stage, learning too many things at once would be counterproductive, doing more harm than good.
He told Aoto to focus on practicing Suburi, drawing, and sheathing his sword today.
One cannot become a fat person by eating in one bite—Aoto naturally understood this principle, so he had no complaints about Okita-kun’s arrangement and diligently alternated between practicing Suburi, drawing, and sheathing his sword.
He performed the monotonous, mechanical exercises repeatedly, but Aoto did not feel bored or impatient.
On the contrary, the more he practiced, the more engrossed he became.
The reason was that, with the blessing of Sword Genius, the feeling of rapidly improving was truly addictive.
Why were games in his previous life so addictive?
Because the positive feedback in games was so immediate.
Defeating a monster would yield experience points, allowing one to see their experience bar rise, and after leveling up, they could use the gained points to strengthen themselves.
Such quick and direct positive feedback was far superior to memorizing vocabulary or texts.
You diligently memorize vocabulary, but in the end, you still don’t remember it—such terrible positive feedback would be hell to get addicted to.
The strong positive feedback brought by Sword Genius made Aoto, as if enchanted, stay in Shieikan, diligently practicing his sword.
Aoto remained in Shieikan, from morning…
until dusk.
…
…
The setting sun, about to sink below the horizon, cast a faint, anemic Aotao glow through the windows into Shieikan’s dojo.
Okita-kun, who had been a coach for the entire day, glanced at the setting sun outside the window and clapped his hands forcefully:
“Alright!
Today’s practice ends here!”
Okita-kun’s shout caused everyone in the dojo to put down their bamboo swords, and it brought Aoto’s consciousness, which had been fully engrossed in practicing drawing and sheathing his sword, back to reality.
—Hmm?
Is it that late already?
Aoto looked at the setting sun outside the window with surprise.
Because he had been so focused on practicing his sword, Aoto hadn’t realized how late it had become.
Kondo had previously told Aoto that Shieikan opened at 8 AM and closed around 6 PM.
Aoto observed the sky outside the window—in about half an hour or so, the sun would completely sink below the horizon.
“Today’s practice is over!” Okita-kun said, hands on his hips.
“Everyone, quickly help clean up the dojo, then head home!
The world isn’t very peaceful lately, so don’t go home too late.”
As Okita-kun finished speaking, everyone in the dojo responded with a collective “Yes,” then put down their bamboo swords and brought out cleaning tools like rags and buckets, beginning to clean the dojo.
This was one of the dojo rules of this era—unless no apprentices had practiced in the dojo all day, apprentices remaining in the sword school when it closed were obligated to stay and help clean the dojo, mainly by wiping the floor.
Excluding Aoto, there were a total of 9 apprentices still remaining in Shieikan.
Since Aoto was new today, all the apprentices in Shieikan were his senior disciples.
Aoto followed his senior disciples, picked up a rag, knelt on the floor, and wiped the dojo floor, which had been “moisturized” by many people’s sweat all day.
Okita-kun also joined in the cleaning of the dojo.
Not only did he participate, but he was also the most efficient, cleaning one-fifth of the dojo floor by himself, and doing so extremely cleanly.
After successfully cleaning up, Okita-kun stood at the entrance of Shieikan with his hands on his hips, like a homeroom teacher at a primary school gate supervising students going home, watching each disciple leave the school.
“Okita-kun, goodbye.”
“Hmm, goodbye.
Remember to practice Suburi more privately when you go back; your Suburi still needs improvement.”
“Okita-kun, goodbye.
I’m going back to my hometown starting tomorrow and won’t be able to come to the sword school to practice for a few days.”
“Hmm, alright.
Your Suburi also needs improvement; you should practice Suburi more often on weekdays.”
…
At this moment, Okita-kun had returned to his previous cheerful, always-smiling demeanor, with no trace of the fierce, intimidating expression he had when teaching sword skills earlier.
Aoto was the last person to leave the school.
“Tachibana-kun, goodbye,” Okita-kun said with a smile, taking the initiative to bid Aoto farewell.
“You must be very tired after practicing all day.
Remember to rest early when you go back.”
“If conditions allow, it’s best to set aside some time each day to practice Suburi.”
“Suburi is the most fundamental of basics; you must practice it often, regularly, and diligently.”
“Mm.” Aoto nodded vigorously.
“Okita-kun, goodbye.
You should also go home and rest early.”
“I don’t need to go home,” Okita-kun chuckled, then pointed his right index finger at the ground beneath his feet.
“I live here.”
“Okita-kun, you live in Shieikan?” Aoto was stunned.
“To be precise, I live with Kondo-kyo and his family,” Okita-kun explained.
“Our Shieikan is a very typical structure where the master’s home and the dojo are integrated.”
“See, that house connected to the dojo is where Kondo-kyo and his family usually live.”
Okita-kun raised his hand and pointed to a simple private house connected to the back of the dojo.
“Our Okita family and the Kondo family have a very good relationship, almost like one family.”
“To facilitate sword practice, I moved here and lived with Kondo-kyo and his family not long after joining Shieikan.”
“Living directly in the sword school…
that’s indeed very convenient,” Aoto said with genuine emotion.
In his previous life, when he was in middle school, Aoto most envied those who lived very close to the school.
He was one of those students whose home was a bit far from school.
Every day, he had to cycle vigorously for half an hour to get to school. Get faster updates on novelping.com.
Every time Aoto recalled the time he had to cycle vigorously like a cyclist every day, he felt a chill run down his spine…
“I remember Kondo-kun told me that his father and mother happened to be away from home today,” Aoto said, now in a half-joking tone.
“And Kondo-kun is also temporarily away due to some business.”
“So, that means you’re the only one staying in such a big place tonight?”
“Yes…” Okita-kun smiled helplessly.
“Tonight, whether it’s cooking or heating bath water, I’ll have to do it myself…”
“I’m too lazy to cook tonight, so I’ll just eat something simple.”
“Ah, speaking of Kondo-kun…” Aoto paused, as if remembering something.
“Okita-kun, can I ask a question about Kondo-kun?”
“Hmm?
What do you want to ask?”
“Today I heard Suzuki-kun say that our master is already 68 years old this year,” Aoto said slowly.
“I’m a little curious…
the age difference between the master and Kondo-kun seems a bit large.
Is Kondo-kun the master’s adopted son?”
Today, when listening to Suzuki-kun introduce the five vajra guardians of Shieikan, Aoto was quite curious about the age difference between Kondo and his son.
According to Suzuki-kun, their master, Kondo Shusuke, was already 68 years old this year.
And Kondo Isami, as Kondo Shusuke’s son, looked no older than 25.
An age difference of over forty years…
it certainly didn’t look like a normal age difference for a biological father and son.
“Oh, that…” Okita-kun, whose expression became slightly strange, raised his hand to play with the slender high ponytail at the back of his head.
“You guessed correctly.”
“Kondo-kyo is the master’s adopted son.”
“Kondo-kyo was originally the son of a wealthy farmer in Tama, and his original name was ‘Katsugoro’.”
“The master never had any children of his own, and by a very rare chance, he met Kondo-kyo.”
“The master was very fond of Kondo-kyo’s character, and the sword talent Kondo-kyo displayed also greatly pleased the master.”
“So, in the year Kondo-kyo turned 16, he was formally adopted into the Kondo family by the master.”
At this point, Okita-kun let out a long sigh.
A hint of sadness appeared between his brows.
“His identity as a ‘former farmer’ and an adopted son has always put a lot of pressure on Kondo-kyo.”
“To not disgrace the names of ‘Kondo’ and ‘Tennen Rishin-ryu,’ he has always worked harder than anyone else.”
“But even with all that effort, there are still many annoying people who cling to Kondo-kyo’s identity as a ‘former farmer’…
“Even Kondo-kyo’s mother…”
At this point, Okita-kun abruptly stopped speaking, clamped his mouth shut, and then shook his head vigorously, his slender ponytail at the back of his head flying with the motion.
“Forget it, forget it!
Let’s not talk about these unlucky things!”
Seeing that Okita seemed unwilling to discuss the topic further, Aoto tactfully kept silent and did not delve deeper into the previous conversation.
“Alright, let’s stop here.
You should hurry home now.”
Okita waved to Aoto.
“It’s almost completely dark.
In these times, it’s best to avoid walking alone at night.”
“Remember to come here often to practice swordplay.
There are no shortcuts in swordsmanship; there’s only one path: diligent practice.”
“If possible, I’d actually like to come here to practice swordplay every day now…” This time, it was Aoto who showed a helpless smile, “However, my current circumstances don’t allow me to do that.
Starting tomorrow, I have to go to work… Ah, no, I have to go to the Magistrates Office.
I’ll only have time to continue practicing swordplay when I have another day off.”
…
…
After chatting with Okita for a few more moments, Aoto, with his sword at his left hip, quickly set off on the path home.
Okita stood rooted to the spot, silently watching Aoto depart.
Only after Aoto’s figure had completely vanished from his sight did Okita turn and re-enter the dojo.
As Okita closed the dojo’s main door from the inside, he muttered with a hint of triumph in his voice:
“Next time we compete against those from Genbukan and Kochiba Sword School… we finally have a chance to turn the tables on those annoying fellows…!”
…
…
Facing the gentle breeze, Aoto, walking on his way home, couldn’t help but reveal a faint smile.
The sheer amount and significance of today’s gains made it impossible for Aoto to suppress the upward curve of his lips.
The power of the “Sword Genius” talent was like a potent calming pill, significantly settling Aoto’s mind, which had been troubled by the death threats from the Anti-Foreign Faction and the property threats from the Yakuzas.
Today, in between sword practice, Aoto had occasionally chatted with Okita and Others.
Through these conversations, Aoto learned much more about the sword dojo he had just joined.
According to Okita, Shieikan currently has 43 apprentices.
This number of apprentices… could only be described as dismal.
Solely based on the number of apprentices, Shieikan is a typical small to medium-sized sword dojo, with its apprentice count not even a fraction of large dojos like Genbukan, Kochiba Sword School, or Training Hall.
With a sparse number of apprentices, naturally, not many people came to practice swordplay daily.
Today, up until Shieikan closed, only 14 apprentices, excluding Okita, had come to the dojo to practice swordplay.
Aoto’s only regret today was that, besides Okita, he hadn’t managed to copy any talents from anyone else.
With the mindset of “maybe I can copy some amazing talent again,” he tried various methods and excuses to invite every senior he met today to spar.
Everyone who came to the dojo today knew that they had a new junior who possessed extremely high talent, was highly praised by Kondo, and was so skilled that even Okita, the “demon coach,” found it difficult to find fault with his sword training.
Facing this new genius junior, some people were very enthusiastic, while Others were quite indifferent.
Therefore, regarding Aoto’s sparring invitations, some readily agreed, while Others coldly refused.
Among the 14 apprentices who came to the dojo today, only 8 agreed to spar with Aoto.
Although he couldn’t spar with all the seniors he met today, Aoto wasn’t too bothered by it, as his mindset was originally “spar with as many as I can.”
Because his current swordsmanship level was still quite subpar, his record against the 8 seniors wasn’t very good: 3 wins and 5 losses.
In the 3 matches he won, Aoto primarily relied on the footwork and combat techniques accumulated from his previous life.
These 8 battles, without exception, failed to yield any new talents…
But fortunately, gaining the “Sword Genius” talent today was already a huge surprise.
Compared to this immense surprise, this small regret was hardly worth mentioning.
And besides “Sword Genius,” Aoto actually gained another insight today: through today’s sword practice, he profoundly realized that the physical fitness of his current body urgently needed strengthening.
Wielding such a light bamboo sword just a few times, his arms started to ache, and his breathing became unstable.
Both his endurance and the muscles in his limbs could only be described as “appalling” in Aoto’s eyes.
Measured by ordinary standards, this body’s physical fitness was passable.
But for Aoto, whose personal and property safety were currently at risk, such physical fitness was truly insufficient to cope with the threats posed by the Anti-Foreign Faction and the Yakuzas.
“Practice martial arts without training your body, and you’ll achieve nothing in old age” – Aoto had always regarded this saying as a profound truth.
No matter how well you practice your moves, if your strength and speed don’t improve, you might not even be able to touch the enemy.
—After this… I also need to make time to train my physical fitness…
—I wonder if there will be any opportunities to acquire talents related to physical fitness later on…
Aoto massaged the muscles in his right arm while muttering these thoughts to himself.
…
…
His steps were swift, and in a short while, Aoto returned to his home in Hatchobori.
“I’m home.”
As soon as he stood before his doorstep, Aoto caught a faint scent of cooking.
After shouting “I’m home” and sliding open the door, Aoto saw his old servant, Kyubei, clutching a wooden spatula, pattering out of the kitchen.
“Young Master, you’re back.
Why are you so late today?
How was it?
Did you find a suitable sword dojo at Thousand Affairs House?”
“Yes.” Aoto unfastened the katana from his left hip and nodded with a smile, “Today can be said to be quite fruitful.”
Aoto concisely recounted everything that had happened today to Kyubei.
After listening to Aoto’s “daily itinerary report,” Kyubei first let out a low gasp, then spoke in a worried tone:
“Young Master, you actually practiced swordplay all day at that Shieikan?
No wonder you look so tired, Young Master…”
With that, Kyubei picked up his spatula and turned back to the kitchen.
“Young Master, please rest in the living room for a while.”
“Dinner will be ready soon.”
“After dinner, you should go to bed early.”
“You have to return to the Magistrates Office for duty tomorrow.”
“You must rest early and get enough sleep.”
“Don’t let today’s fatigue affect tomorrow’s duty.”
Upon hearing the word “duty” from Kyubei, Aoto’s mouth twitched, and he let out a silent sigh.
—Duty, huh…
The brief one-day holiday had ended.
Tomorrow, he would return to the North Precinct and revert to his “corporate slave” state.
In his previous life, he had just graduated from the Police Academy and hadn’t even entered the workforce before transmigrating to this unfamiliar era.
The “public service meal” he hadn’t gotten to eat in his previous life, he was now eating in this life…
Starting tomorrow, Aoto was effectively beginning his official career in the Edo Period after his transmigration.
He felt both a little apprehensive and nervous about this.
He also felt a slight sense of anticipation.
[Japanese History Classroom is now open~]
In the Edo Period, people’s social status was fixed.
Samurai remained samurai for generations, and commoners remained commoners for generations.
Class stratification was solidified to an extreme degree.
[Of course, this was only theoretically fixed status]
A samurai becoming a commoner, or a commoner becoming a samurai—such things were not too uncommon in the Edo Period.
If a samurai committed a serious offense, he might be stripped of his samurai status and demoted to a commoner.
And there were many ways for commoners to become samurai.
The simplest way was to become an adopted son of a samurai; as long as one could be adopted by a samurai, one would automatically be promoted to samurai status.
Just like Kondo Isami mentioned in this chapter, as the son of a wealthy farmer, he gained samurai status after being adopted by Kondo Shusuke.
Another method was to buy it.
Many “potato samurai” who were so poor they couldn’t eat would sell their samurai lineage cheaply just to get by.
Although the Edo Shogunate strictly prohibited the buying and selling of samurai lineage, by the mid-to-late Edo Period, due to various reasons such as the decline of the Shogunate’s control and the breakdown of social order, its control over the “buying and selling of samurai lineage” also significantly decreased, thus it could only turn a blind eye to such matters.
*************
More chapters in
94treon.com/c/Swordishyng
94treon.com/c/Swordishyng