To be honest, even though Sirius and Rudolf weren't Umamusume who specialized in combat, their level was still top-tier even among those who did.
Physical ability, technique, real-world experience—calling it "bad" didn't even begin to cover it. Even true martial veterans would watch and click their tongues in admiration: frightening talent, absurdly good for their age.
The problem was, the one judging them right now was Kitahara.
A monster who, in a human body, could go toe-to-toe with an Umamusume who excelled in actual combat—and win.
Still, if it were only a matter of being strong, Kitahara wouldn't have flat-out called their fighting garbage.
After all, without a reference point, even he couldn't pull a "standard" out of thin air and judge them against it.
But he did have a reference point.
Two of them, right at his side—people who'd spent years getting their hands dirty with him.
And aside from those two, he'd never met any other "masters," much less received formal training. Which meant the baseline for his eyes… had been set at the same level as theirs.
One of the people who set that baseline was Symboli Speed—the universally acknowledged modern-day "strongest on Earth." Her race results weren't as dazzling as Rudolf's, but her achievements in kendo and real combat were no less legendary.
The other was Eclipse.
You could say that from the very beginning, Kitahara's sense of what counted as "good" in a fight was completely warped—so warped it was even worse than his miscalibration when it came to Umamusume strength.
Especially since a huge portion of Rudolf and Sirius's kendo had been taught by Symboli Speed. Out in the world, that was already considered an absurdly high standard.
But to Kitahara, it wasn't "high" at all.
It was just… a mess.
And the truly fatal part was this: after teaming up with Symboli Speed to hunt down Umamusume hunters time and again—and sparring with her whenever the mood struck—Kitahara had developed an instinctive sensitivity to that kind of swordplay.
When he forced himself to hold back, he could endure it. But the moment he relaxed even a little, his eyes would drift over on their own—and he'd be stuck watching something that, to him, was pure torture.
So in the end, after failing again and again to distract himself, he could only grit his teeth, call a halt, and say something that even he knew sounded like he was begging to get punched.
Facing Kitahara's assessment, Sirius and Rudolf lowered the wooden swords that had been aimed at each other, their brows knitting beneath their protective gear.
Honestly, if anyone else had said that, they wouldn't be frowning—they'd be telling that person to step in and prove it.
Whether it was Rudolf or Sirius, they were Umamusume born of the Symboli family, and they'd achieved plenty in their own arenas.
That kind of naked insult was unacceptable. Not just to them—any ordinary Umamusume would've snapped. Let alone these two.
And with both of them staring at him—silent, but not exactly hiding what they were thinking—Kitahara could pretty much guess what was going through their heads.
After a moment, he sighed, stood, and walked to the edge of the dojo. From the rack, he picked out a wooden sword that sat right in his hand, then looked back at them.
"Rudolf, Sirius. What I said just now wasn't meant as an insult. It's just… I've met certain people, been through certain things. I'm sensitive about this sort of thing."
"I know words don't prove anything, and it's hard to believe. So if you don't mind… I'll show you."
As he spoke, Kitahara gave the wooden sword a casual flick. The blade hissed as it cut the air.
"The most direct way."
The moment he finished, the other two's brows tightened even more.
Even couples have spats. And even if it was Kitahara, poking them again and again like this was bound to sour the mood.
Still, Sirius didn't think he was genuinely trying to provoke them.
It felt more like he was trying to yank their attention away and end their dispute in the dumbest possible way.
If it were anyone else, she wouldn't have bought it. But this guy? Yeah. He'd do something like that.
Rudolf had been thinking along similar lines—until Kitahara's extra explanation made her remember something.
Early in the school term, Kitahara had apparently been attacked by an Umamusume with real strength behind her. That Umamusume had been carried unconscious into the Student Council room… while Kitahara had only suffered injuries to his arm.
Combined with what she'd learned in the study, Rudolf's gaze flickered. Looking at Kitahara's not-particularly-muscular frame, a thought she could barely accept began to form.
Kitahara… can he actually fight?
No. That couldn't be possible, right?
After all, the Symboli family was the most combat-capable among the Umamusume families.
And especially the current family head, Symboli Speed—her race record might not have shone as brightly as Rudolf's, but in combat alone, her achievements weren't inferior in the slightest. That title of "strongest on Earth" had been carved out one sword-strike at a time.
Sirius and Rudolf had inherited her blood—and learned her swordplay. They were still a long way from "strongest on Earth," but among their generation, they were absolutely in the top echelon.
After thinking it through—still not fully convinced—Rudolf lowered her wooden sword and turned to Sirius.
"Since Trainer Kitahara insists, Sirius… why don't you test him?"
"Are you insane?" Sirius stared at her.
"If he wants to fool around, fine, but you too? He's human."
Humans couldn't beat Umamusume. That was common sense.
"If you don't want to, I can," Rudolf said.
After their earlier talk, she was intensely curious about Kitahara. Even if Sirius refused, Rudolf fully intended to try him herself.
To see what kind of person her Trainer really was.
Sirius couldn't believe what she was hearing, but years together let her catch the seriousness in Rudolf's voice.
Is her brain broken today…?
Muttering to herself, Sirius thought for a moment, then finally sighed.
"Fine. Let's see this 'proof' of yours."
She stepped forward, eyes locked on Kitahara.
"But I'm used to sparring with Rudolf. If I hit a little hard… don't blame me."
"Mm. I get it."
Kitahara nodded, then weighed the wooden sword in his hand.
"Then… let's begin."
At his words, the other two froze.
"Um, Trainer Kitahara," Rudolf started, "you haven't put on any protective gear—"
"I've never worn that kind of thing."
He paused, then added, looking at them both,
"And I don't need it."
Kitahara meant it literally—but to the other two, it sounded like naked provocation.
Hearing that, Sirius didn't hesitate anymore. Wooden sword in hand, she strode toward him.
"You can still back out."
Kitahara didn't react. He simply watched her approach, then raised his wooden sword slightly.
Whoosh—
The air screamed. Kitahara struck first, slashing toward Sirius's face.
After all the harsh talk he'd just thrown around, Sirius had assumed he must have at least some skill, and she'd prepared accordingly.
But the moment he swung—watching that speed, decent for a human and nowhere near enough for an Umamusume—she gave the tiniest shake of her head.
Of course. In the end, he's still human. And his grip is wrong, too—that isn't even a stance suited for generating cutting force…
With that thought, she lifted her own sword, ready to show him—directly—what "humans can't beat Umamusume" really meant.
But the instant she raised her blade, Kitahara's slash changed.
It wasn't a feint from the face to the chest, or anything like that. Instead, in a motion that looked almost like a drop, the angle snapped down—nearly ninety degrees—and he chopped straight toward the floor.
By all logic, a sudden mid-swing change like that might catch someone off guard, but the inertia should bleed off the power. The speed should dip.
Yet something was wrong.
The moment he changed lines—using that grip Sirius had already written off—his blade didn't slow at all.
It got faster.
Several times faster.
Thud—
By the time Sirius realized what was happening, the reinforced wooden sword had already slammed into her forearm guard. The force—tightly controlled—threaded through the surface and sank precisely into the critical point where her wrist generated power.
It wasn't a huge amount of force.
But it hit the exact point that mattered. One strike shattered her defensive motion—and for a heartbeat, her center of gravity wobbled.
Crap—
Sirius tried to retreat, but as soon as she completed the step, she realized a foot—somehow, as if it had predicted her reaction—was already there, planted right beside her.
And in the next instant, Kitahara didn't withdraw his blade at all. Riding the impact of that wrist strike, he snapped the sword back up, driving it toward her face—up from below—and laid it steadily across the sliver of exposed gap between her mask and chest protector.
Then Kitahara's voice reached her.
"I never learned proper kendo," he said, looking at Sirius. He lightly tapped that gap with the wooden blade, his tone calm. "So I don't really know dojo rules."
"But by my usual standards…"
He paused.
"…This should count as your loss."
He looked her straight in the eye.
"What do you think, Sirius?"
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T/N: aurafarm timeeeee
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