Chapter 99: What's Your Three Sizes?
"Heave-ho! Ganbatte, Miu!"
After ten full days at Ryōzanpaku, the early-morning training had become routine. Sure, the tears she'd shed outnumbered the buckets of sweat, but sticking it out had worked miracles. Miu looked completely transformed—her spirit sharp, her energy bursting. She'd gone from bookish literature girl to full-on sporty genki heroine.
Under the masters' "gentle" guidance, she'd finally found a path that suited her. Miu gripped a longbow, stepped into a wide stance, drew back the string—and instantly felt every tendon in her body stretch taut like the bow itself. When she released, the recoil made her whole frame vibrate like a plucked string.
This was her daily grind: bow-drawing strength training, an ancient method passed down by Shigure. Simple in theory, brutal in practice. Every pull felt like someone had viciously wrung out her muscles. Waist, legs, abs, arms, back, neck—everything ached faintly afterward. Japanese and Chinese traditions overlapped here; in ancient China, bow training was the premier method for building raw power. Even Confucius ranked archery among the Six Arts. Sure, there were other brutal ways—carrying iron sand, strapping lead weights, stone-rolling, padlocks, spear-lifting—but nothing beat the bow for total-body forging.
"Yo, young lady. Looking diligent today."
After a hundred grueling draws left her feeling like her body was about to split apart, a familiar voice cut through the pain. Miu looked up—there was Takumi, core disciple of Ryōzanpaku, smiling warmly at her.
Her heart skipped. A faint blush colored her cheeks. She opened her mouth to reply—
—and then noticed the mature woman standing right beside him.
High ponytail. Blank expression. Ninja garb. It was none other than her master, Shigure.
Miu knew the two often went up the mountain for special training, but they'd never appeared together like this in front of everyone. And… they were holding hands.
A sharp, inexplicable pang stabbed her chest. The fire she'd built through all that grueling effort flickered and died. Tears threatened to spill. 'No—no crying. Absolutely not.'
She forced a smile.
"Sensei, Kōichi… you're back?"
"What's wrong? That smile looks more painful than crying."
Takumi let go of Shigure's hand and stepped closer, concern in his eyes. He glanced at the bow in her grip.
"Did the bow training hurt your arms? Let me see—"
He took her hand gently, rubbing it. A soft blue glow pulsed from his palm, the familiar cool sensation spreading through her aching tendons, soothing the burning strain.
This feeling—she'd experienced it many times over the past ten days, and she loved it. Soothing, refreshing, far more comforting than mere warmth. But today… that gentle magic couldn't touch the real pain burning in her heart.
The kinder he was, the worse it hurt.
"Don't worry about me."
With sudden strength she shoved him away—hard. Takumi stumbled back several steps. Miu covered her face and bolted.
Takumi blinked, completely lost.
"What just happened…?"
Shigure let out a rare sigh.
Then—'thwack!'—her scabbard cracked against his skull.
"Sometimes sharp, sometimes a complete idiot."
With that, she vanished in a few swift leaps.
Takumi rubbed the growing lump, healing himself with ki while muttering.
"She keeps smacking my head with that thing—one day I really will get dumber. I know the little one has feelings for me, but ever since that morning incident she bolts like a startled rabbit whenever she sees me. I haven't even had a chance to confess my grand harem ambitions! And she's over there brooding and self-pitying for no reason. Geez…"
He sighed heavily.
Then Sakaki's voice boomed.
"Takumi—catch!"
A whoosh through the air. Takumi snagged the flying object between two fingers.
Sakaki grinned.
"Training success, huh? Here's the thing you've been waiting a week for."
Takumi looked down—a bank card.
"Wait… is this—?"
"Yep. The bounty money finally cleared. I got you a card—cash would've tipped off Miu. After taxes, you've got 130,000 yen. Spend it wisely. I'm off to drink."
"Son of a—twenty thousand yen vanished to taxes?! Why do I have to pay taxes in a 2D world too?!"
Takumi grumbled internally, but he was grinning as he tucked the card away carefully.
He thought about going to find Miu, but spotted her with Miu prepping lunch. Not the place for what he wanted to say. 'Guess I'll sneak into her room tonight… cough. Definitely not a night crawl. Purely innocent conversation.'
After lunch, while Miu was finishing chores and about to nap, Takumi knocked on her door.
"Miu? You in? I've got something important to talk about."
"Important?"
Fuurinji Miu opened the door and let him into her room. Takumi immediately pulled her into a gentle hug.
Miu pressed both hands against his chest.
"Hey! No groping right off the bat! Is that your important thing?!"
"No, actually what I wanted to say is…"
When he finished speaking, Miu's face turned beet-red, practically steaming.
With a twist of her slim waist, she lunged—shoulder-first in a devastating shoulder tackle. The legendary "Mountain-Leaning Strike" from Eight Extremes Fist. Even ordinary martial artists who mastered the technique could snap thick wooden posts in half with one hit.
Takumi went flying—straight out the window—BOOM!—crashing to the ground outside.
"Idiot! Your 'important thing' was asking a girl her three sizes?! Pervert! H!"
Miu yelled from the window, voice echoing across all of Ryōzanpaku.
The first to react was a certain figure in a Chinese jacket—Kensei Ma—grinning as he helped Takumi up.
"Young man, you're hopeless. Ten days here and you still don't know the three sizes of Ryōzanpaku's three ladies? Want me to tell you? These eyes have seen countless women—I can guess with scary accuracy. Just 1,000 yen and the info's yours."
"How about I gouge those eyes out? Problem solved, right?"
Three cold, clipped words. A razor-sharp glint of steel.
Kensei broke into a cold sweat, vanished in a flash—but a lightning-fast blade chased after him. A bloodcurdling scream echoed soon after.
Takumi traced a cross over his chest.
'Rest in peace, old man.'
Later that evening, Takumi appeared in Miu's bedroom holding a beautiful high-grade yukata—deep cyan with delicate cherry blossom patterns.
"Do you like it?"
Miu's eyes lit up as she unfolded it. The pure joy on her face made every bruise, every love-filled beating, every hellish training session worth it.
She clutched the yukata to her chest, then threw her arms around him.
"Thank you, Kōichi… I finally understand. You went through all that trouble for me. I'm so sorry—I kept getting mad and hitting you. Really… I'm sorry."
"Miu, I'm not mad at all. I don't want to be labeled a masochist, but… your kindness is hidden under those fists, you know? There's that saying—'beating is affection, scolding is love.' Punching and yelling our way into romance. Haha… I kept my promise. I'm seriously dating you now."
His words hit her hard. Miu hooked her arms around his neck and pulled him down into a deep, passionate kiss.
Chapter 99: What's Your Three Sizes?
"Heave-ho! Ganbatte, Keni!"
After ten full days at Ryōzanpaku, the early-morning training had become routine. Sure, the tears she'd shed outnumbered the buckets of sweat, but sticking it out had worked miracles. Keni looked completely transformed—her spirit sharp, her energy bursting. She'd gone from bookish literature girl to full-on sporty genki heroine.
Under the masters' "gentle" guidance, she'd finally found a path that suited her. Keni gripped a longbow, stepped into a wide stance, drew back the string—and instantly felt every tendon in her body stretch taut like the bow itself. When she released, the recoil made her whole frame vibrate like a plucked string.
This was her daily grind: bow-drawing strength training, an ancient method passed down by Shigure. Simple in theory, brutal in practice. Every pull felt like someone had viciously wrung out her muscles. Waist, legs, abs, arms, back, neck—everything ached faintly afterward.
"Yo, young lady. Looking diligent today."
After a hundred grueling draws left her feeling like her body was about to split apart, a familiar voice cut through the pain. Keni looked up—there was Takumi, core disciple of Ryōzanpaku, smiling warmly at her.
Her heart skipped. A faint blush colored her cheeks. She opened her mouth to reply—
—and then noticed the mature woman standing right beside him.
High ponytail. Blank expression. Ninja garb. It was none other than her master, Shigure.
Keni knew the two often went up the mountain for special training, but they'd never appeared together like this in front of everyone. And… they were holding hands.
A sharp, inexplicable pang stabbed her chest. The fire she'd built through all that grueling effort flickered and died. Tears threatened to spill. 'No—no crying. Absolutely not.'
She forced a smile.
"Sensei, Kōichi… you're back?"
"What's wrong? That smile looks more painful than crying."
Takumi let go of Shigure's hand and stepped closer, concern in his eyes. He glanced at the bow in her grip.
"Did the bow training hurt your arms? Let me see—"
He took her hand gently, rubbing it. A soft blue glow pulsed from his palm, the familiar cool sensation spreading through her aching tendons, soothing the burning strain.
This feeling—she'd experienced it many times over the past ten days, and she loved it. Soothing, refreshing, far more comforting than mere warmth. But today… that gentle magic couldn't touch the real pain burning in her heart.
The kinder he was, the worse it hurt.
"Don't worry about me."
With sudden strength she shoved him away—hard. Takumi stumbled back several steps. Keni covered her face and bolted.
Takumi blinked, completely lost.
"What just happened…?"
Shigure let out a rare sigh.
Then—'thwack!'—her scabbard cracked against his skull.
"Sometimes sharp, sometimes a complete idiot."
With that, she vanished in a few swift leaps.
Takumi rubbed the growing lump, healing himself with ki while muttering.
"She keeps smacking my head with that thing—one day I really will get dumber. I know the little one has feelings for me, but ever since that morning incident she bolts like a startled rabbit whenever she sees me. I haven't even had a chance to confess my grand harem ambitions! And she's over there brooding and self-pitying for no reason. Geez…"
He sighed heavily.
Then Sakaki's voice boomed.
"Takumi—catch!"
A whoosh through the air. Takumi snagged the flying object between two fingers.
Sakaki grinned.
"Training success, huh? Here's the thing you've been waiting a week for."
Takumi looked down—a bank card.
"Wait… is this—?"
"Yep. The bounty money finally cleared. I got you a card—cash would've tipped off Miu. After taxes, you've got 130,000 yen. Spend it wisely. I'm off to drink."
"Son of a—twenty thousand yen vanished to taxes?! Why do I have to pay taxes in a 2D world too?!"
Takumi grumbled internally, but he was grinning as he tucked the card away carefully.
He thought about going to find Miu, but spotted her with Keni prepping lunch. Not the place for what he wanted to say. 'Guess I'll sneak into her room tonight… cough. Definitely not a night crawl. Purely innocent conversation.'
After lunch, while Miu was finishing chores and about to nap, Takumi knocked on her door.
"Miu? You in? I've got something important to talk about."
"Important?"
Miu opened the door and let him into her room. Takumi immediately pulled her into a gentle hug.
Miu pressed both hands against his chest.
"Hey! No groping right off the bat! Is that your important thing?!"
"No, actually what I wanted to say is…"
When he finished speaking, Miu's face turned beet-red, practically steaming.
With a twist of her slim waist, she lunged—shoulder-first in a devastating shoulder tackle. The legendary "Mountain-Leaning Strike" from Eight Extremes Fist. Even ordinary martial artists who mastered the technique could snap thick wooden posts in half with one hit.
Takumi went flying—straight out the window—BOOM!—crashing to the ground outside.
"Idiot! Your 'important thing' was asking a girl her three sizes?! Pervert! H!"
Miu yelled from the window, voice echoing across all of Ryōzanpaku.
The first to react was a certain figure in a Chinese jacket—Kensei Ma—grinning as he helped Takumi up.
"Young man, you're hopeless. Ten days here and you still don't know the three sizes of Ryōzanpaku's three ladies? Want me to tell you? These eyes have seen countless women—I can guess with scary accuracy. Just 1,000 yen and the info's yours."
"How about I gouge those eyes out? Problem solved, right?"
Three cold, clipped words. A razor-sharp glint of steel.
Kensei broke into a cold sweat, vanished in a flash—but a lightning-fast blade chased after him. A bloodcurdling scream echoed soon after.
'Rest in peace, old man.'
Later that evening, Takumi appeared in Miu's bedroom holding a beautiful high-grade yukata—deep cyan with delicate cherry blossom patterns.
"Do you like it?"
Miu's eyes lit up as she unfolded it. The pure joy on her face made every bruise, every love-filled beating, every hellish training session worth it.
She clutched the yukata to her chest, then threw her arms around him.
"Thank you, Kōichi… I finally understand. You went through all that trouble for me. I'm so sorry—I kept getting mad and hitting you. Really… I'm sorry."
"Miu, I'm not mad at all. I don't want to be labeled a masochist, but… your kindness is hidden under those fists, you know? There's that saying—'beating is affection, scolding is love.' Punching and yelling our way into romance. Haha… I kept my promise. I'm seriously dating you now."
His words hit her hard. Miu hooked her arms around his neck and pulled him down into a deep, passionate kiss.
Wanna read ahead? Join my Patreon and support the story — up to 6 new chapters are published for you every day!: patreon.com/ArealMaster