"Rei , you're back?"
At Rei Miyamoto's home, Tadashi Miyamoto was sitting on the living room sofa. Seeing his daughter return, he immediately asked, as if he had been waiting for a long time.
"How was it? Are you adjusting well to the new school? Are the students and teachers friendly?"
At first glance, it seemed like nothing more than a father's concern for his daughter, who had just transferred to a new school.
But Rei Miyamoto knew exactly what her father was thinking. She sighed helplessly and replied:
"The school is fine. The teachers and classmates are friendly—at least, there's no one like Koichi Shido around."
As she spoke, she glanced at Tadashi Miyamoto's expression and, sure enough, saw a hopeful look in his eyes. Reluctantly, she continued:
"I asked my classmates about Shin, but I didn't get to see him..."
That's right. The reason Rei Miyamoto had been looking for Shin after transferring schools was because Tadashi Miyamoto had specifically instructed her to, saying that Shin was practically their family's benefactor.
Rei Miyamoto didn't know exactly what Shin had done, but judging by her father's fervent expression, she assumed it must have been something significant.
Because of Tadashi Miyamoto's reaction, she had grown curious about this boy—someone her own age, yet somehow their family's savior.
At noon, after hearing from her classmates that Shin was the president of the Occult Research Club, Rei Miyamoto had planned to visit the clubroom after lunch.
But the moment the idea crossed her mind, she was swarmed by enthusiastic girls in her class who insisted on giving her a tour of the school.
As a result, by the time lunch break ended, she had only managed to wander around the campus without ever getting the chance to visit the Occult Research Club or meet Shin.
Had Shin known about this, he would have immediately recognized it as the effect of Blackbird Requiem—preventing outsiders from interfering while he and Utaha were occupied.
After all, Rei Miyamoto currently had no prior connection to Shin, making her fall under Blackbird Requiem's classification as an "outsider." Naturally, she couldn't approach the Occult Research Club's classroom while someone was inside.
"I see... Well, it's fine. There should be plenty of chances to meet Shin in the future."
Tadashi Miyamoto sounded slightly disappointed. He had hoped Rei Miyamoto would make contact with Shin and convey his gratitude.
Even though Shin might not even know who he was, to Tadashi Miyamoto, gaining a Stand ability, killing Koichi Shido, and breaking free from Councilman Shidou's control was an enormous favor.
Right now, he was actually quite similar to the Kiryuu Group's Stand users—filled with reverence for Shin.
If not for the fact that Shin was a high school boy who might not care about some middle-aged man's gratitude, he might have even gone to thank him in person.
"Are you going out tonight?"
Though Rei Miyamoto found her father's enthusiasm for Shin a bit excessive, she didn't dwell on it, assuming Shin was probably just some rich, influential young master.
But when she saw Tadashi Miyamoto stand up and head for the door, she couldn't help but ask in confusion—it was dinnertime. Where was he going without eating?
"Yeah, I have some business to take care of."
Tadashi Miyamoto adjusted his glasses and nodded but didn't elaborate on what he was doing tonight.
Tonight was the day the Kiryuu Group would officially challenge the Ryuuju Group. Though he was the chief of police, after gaining a Stand, he had also become a member of the Kiryuu Group.
For such a major event, of course, he had to go and lend his support. And his position as police chief would certainly come in handy.
---
Shin, naturally, had no idea about Rei Miyamoto's family situation. He didn't even know that the transfer student Ikuyo Kita had mentioned earlier was Rei Miyamoto.
Though he had guessed that Shidou Kouichi's death was related to Tadashi Miyamoto, he never expected that Tadashi Miyamoto would go so far as to transfer his daughter to his school just to express gratitude.
At the moment, he was on the phone with someone he hadn't spoken to in a while.
"So, Shin, you've decided to stop practicing kendo?"
Saeko Busujima's voice came through the phone, her tone tinged with obvious disappointment.
"You have incredible potential. My family elders all said that if you continued training, you could definitely become a master."
Since Shin hadn't shown up at the Busujima Dojo for weeks, Saeko had finally caved and called to ask why.
And Shin had straightforwardly told her that he wouldn't be continuing kendo.
Originally, he had only taken up kendo because he lacked proper control over his ki and was severely lacking in combat power. It had been a temporary measure to fill the gap.
But knowing the plot and settings of the worlds he was in gave him a massive advantage. After acquiring Moro's energy-absorption ability, his growth had far exceeded his expectations.
Combined with the various power-boosting abilities he had gained from different mission worlds, Shin no longer needed kendo—his raw strength and the Turtle School's techniques were already enough to crush Frieza.
At this point, continuing kendo would be meaningless—it wouldn't even count as "icing on the cake."
In the original series, Future Trunks also used a sword, but was he really stronger with it than in hand-to-hand combat? Probably not.
Now that he had overwhelming strength, Shin simply had no need for kendo, which was why he hadn't returned to the dojo.
That said, his time at the dojo hadn't been entirely wasted—at the very least, it confirmed that this world also incorporated the zombie apocalypse storyline.
Being aware of this allowed Shin to eliminate potential threats in advance, which was still a worthwhile gain.
As for Saeko's comment about his "incredible potential"... Well, duh. If he swung a sword, both the opponent and the blade would be sliced in half. Anyone would call that "potential."
"I see... So you've made up your mind. Sorry for disturbing your rest."
After Shin reiterated his refusal, Saeko didn't press further.
She wasn't the type of woman to overstep. For someone like Shin—a true powerhouse—she maintained due respect. After a brief apology, she ended the call.
Shin didn't know if he'd cross paths with Saeko again in the future, but if they did, it certainly wouldn't be over kendo.
Setting down his phone, Shin prepared to rest. He had just finished his online gaming session when Saeko called, so now that the conversation was over, it was time to relax.
Tonight, he planned to revisit the One Punch Man world.
The Hero Association and the Monster Association should both be ready for him by now...
To be continued…
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