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It was Ryuu's first time acting as a teacher, so she was a little awkward—but also pretty excited.
"Well, since Kaguya lent you her beloved sword temporarily, I'll go ahead and teach you her Iai Slash."
[Higanbana] was usually something Kaguya treasured a lot, so the fact that she lent it so freely to a newcomer like Dan genuinely surprised Ryuu.
She also couldn't help but feel a tiny bit jealous inside.
Back when I first joined the familia, she never treated me this well. It was like she held a grudge or something—always clashing with me!
"Though I hate to admit it, purely in terms of swordsmanship, she's the best in our familia."
"In the battle coming up, make sure to watch my movements carefully!"
"I'm sure if you just watch it a few times, you'll get the hang of it easily!"
"It's super simple—draw the sword, slash, sheath the sword. That's it!"
The girls eavesdropping nearby almost choked trying to hold back their laughter. Seriously? You expect someone to learn just by watching? And your instructions are way too vague!
Still, they saw Ryuu explaining with a serious face while Dan nodded along like he actually understood.
The girls exchanged looks, speechless.Alright, fine... we won't crush their confidence yet. We'll wait for the practical part to go wrong—then we'll step in.
Only Maryuu, the honest one on the left, spoke up gently.
"Ryuu, I don't remember Kaguya teaching you like this..."
Ryuu got a bit flustered and defensive about her teaching style. She loudly insisted:
"No, trust me—it'll work!"
Then she turned her beautiful sky-blue eyes toward Dan.
"Dan, believe in my teaching!"
Dan pressed his lips together, trying to stay serious, then nodded.
"Yeah. I never doubted you."
"Eh? Eh... uhh, a-anyway, I think I see some goblins—I'll go kill them now!"
Caught off guard by his straightforward response, the awkward little elf panicked and ran ahead, clearly flustered.
Maryuu smirked and tilted her head playfully at Dan.
"Flirting with our innocent little elf on your first day? I'm starting to regret letting you join."
Dan raised an eyebrow and shot back without missing a beat:
"Honestly, I prefer the mature big-sister type."
Maryuu face flushed red with a soft "Mmph."
At 19, she was one of the older members of the familia. She wasn't used to getting this close to any guy, especially in this particular familia.
That sudden comment from Dan definitely sent her imagination running wild.
"Dan! Focus! Watch closely, okay?"
Right then, Ryuu's cool voice rang out from the front, snapping the two out of their moment.
Dan stopped joking and narrowed his eyes.
His three-tomoe Sharingan spun silently into view, and Ryuu's movements began to slow in his vision.
With a sharp shout, Ryuu burst forward, her slim legs delivering explosive speed as she slashed into the goblins swinging their wooden clubs.
Her wooden blade moved with the grace of an artist. The weak monsters didn't even have time to blink before they were all diced to pieces in a single instant.
She landed smoothly after the strike and turned around, looking at Dan with anticipation.
"So? Did you get it? I slowed down to about one-fifth of my usual speed!"
Dan didn't reply right away. He was mentally replaying the exact movements he had copied with his Sharingan.
No offense to Ryuu, but... if Kaguya's swordsmanship is a perfect 10, then Ryuu's is barely a 3—maybe a 4 in the future.
But that made it easier to pick up the basics and copy them.
Sensing the awkward silence, Lyra chuckled and turned to tease Ryuu.
"Told you that kind of teaching wouldn't work..."
"No, I actually got something from it."
Dan cut in, locking eyes on a large rock nearby. He placed his right hand on the sword's hilt and slammed his toe into the ground.
Combining Suzuka's silent starting footwork with the motion he just learned from Ryuu…
He drew [Higanbana]—and vanished in a flash.
Swoosh!
"Gugyaaah—!"
The six goblins hiding behind the rock for a sneak attack—and the rock itself—were all split clean in half in an instant.
"Eh?"
"Huh?"
"Wait… huh?!"
All the girls stood frozen, their jaws practically on the ground. Did we just hallucinate?
Aisha, who carried a shield, walked up to the now-split rock. She placed her hand on the smooth, clean cut, still feeling the sharp edge lingering in the air.
"That's insane… Even I'd have to go all out to block a slash like that."
She turned to look at Dan with a new perspective—not just as a rookie, but as a rapidly growing force. She sighed in awe.
"And you're doing this without even receiving a Falna yet... I'm starting to believe those rumors about you being a reincarnated ancient hero."
Aisha laughed out loud.
"To be able to pull that off after watching it once... I can't wait to see Kaguya's shocked face when we tell her."
Lyra scratched her head in frustration and muttered to herself.
"This makes no sense... A normal body without blessings shouldn't even be able to swing like that without wrecking their arm..."
The girls were all stumped. Except Ryuu, who after a brief moment of stunned silence, puffed out her chest proudly and lit up with a big smile like she was Aliceliese herself.
"See? I told you my teaching method works! Dan, you're amazing!"
"Let's keep going! I've got so much more to teach you!"
Ryuu was beaming with pride at Dan's "rapid progress." Her opinion of him just shot through the roof.
Inside his mind, Suzuka Gozen was clapping with excitement.
"Wow! So this is what adventurer battles are like? Different from racing, but just as thrilling!"
"As expected of Master!"
With the emotional support of so many beautiful girls, Dan was in a great mood. He picked up the magic stone fragments from the ground, tossed them into his backpack, and quickly caught up to Ryuu, who was urging him forward.
The rest of the girls exchanged glances, shared a wry smile, and silently agreed to keep this whole incident a secret.
Probably only Ryuu would believe that all of that was thanks to her teaching.
But any sharp observer would know—Dan was hiding something big.
The girls didn't really care what the secret was, though. What they cared about was protecting Dan and keeping those wild talents from drawing dangerous attention.
Sometimes, having absurdly good gacha luck can actually be a headache…
"....."