By now, the school teachers were already well aware of Kenji's excellent grades and superb learning ability. Even if Kenji spaced out during class or did other things, the teachers of several subjects chose to turn a blind eye to his small actions, or simply ignored him altogether.
Since he had already mastered the knowledge, whether he listened to the lecture or not was no longer important.
As a result, Kenji freed up more time for himself.
The serialization speed of his novel also accelerated significantly.
Following the huge success of sword art online, Kenji had a new plan in mind.
He decided to serialize 'Rimuru' next, which is 'That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime'. This novel was brilliantly conceived and full of fantasy elements. Before his reincarnation, it was a huge bestseller in the market, with sales figures not inferior to sword art online, and even showing a trend of surpassing it.
Moreover, if it could be adapted into an anime later on, it would attract even more fans and set off a new craze.
The morning classes came to a quiet end.
In the afternoon, Kenji's time became even more abundant.
The school had scheduled two practical sessions for the afternoon, but Kenji skipped them and went straight to the club.
The various equipment orders he had placed yesterday began arriving one after another in the afternoon. Kenji was busy running back and forth, directing the moving of equipment and arranging their placement, enjoying the hustle and bustle.
Taking advantage of a break, Kenji thought of Busujima Saeko from the Kendo Club next door and decided to head over and take a look.
When Kenji arrived at the Kendo Club, it was quiet inside; after all, it was still class time.
Only Busujima Saeko, the president, was there, seriously organizing the protective gear.
She had a tall, straight posture, and her movements were skilled and elegant. Her long, bright deep-purple hair draped casually over her shoulders, swaying gently with her movements like a beautiful painting.
Kenji walked in quietly, intending to build their relationship and spend more time together.
Unexpectedly, when Saeko saw him, an excited light instantly flashed in her eyes. Without a word, she threw the wooden sword in her hand over and shouted, "Come, Kenji! Spar with me!"
For Saeko, having a suitable opponent to spar with was naturally far better than constantly practicing swings against the air by herself.
Without someone to practice with, the improvement of one's strength would naturally be extremely slow.
However, in the Kendo Club, no one could defeat her, the winner of the national tournament.
For a long time, Saeko had been troubled by this, unable to find an opponent who could truly compete with her.
And now, Kenji's appearance gave her hope.
"This... alright..."
Kenji smiled wryly and rubbed his forehead, realizing that Saeko was treating him as a sparring partner.
But on second thought, wasn't this also a good opportunity to get close to Saeko?
Thinking of this, Kenji looked up, met Saeko's battle-hungry gaze, and responded loudly, "Come on! Saeko! Give it your all!"
The corners of Saeko's mouth curled up into a confident smile: "Here I come! Don't get hurt, Kenji-kun!"
Without realizing it, the way they addressed each other had begun to become more intimate.
Bang!
The wooden swords collided, producing a crisp and loud bang that echoed throughout the Kendo Club.
For a time, the wooden blades blurred as the two traded blows in an intense exchange.
"Saeko! Use more power in your step when you thrust!"
Kenji shouted a reminder while nimbly dodging Saeko's attacks.
Saeko smiled, a hint of cunning flashing in her eyes.
After a failed strike, she quickly lowered her body, and the original thrust instantly changed into a sharp Whirlwind Slash, sweeping toward Kenji's waist.
This unexpected change of move caught Kenji somewhat off guard. Startled, he could only retreat quickly to avoid the fierce blow.
Saeko pressed her advantage, immediately launching a new round of attacks.
Kenji responded calmly, skillfully neutralizing her every move.
"Kenji-kun, this is a move I practiced hard last night. How is it?"
Saeko's offensive slowed slightly as she spoke triumphantly.
While defending, Kenji praised, "No wonder, it's indeed very impressive! As expected of you, Saeko, a kendo genius has such great talent! So, next..."
Before he finished speaking, Kenji suddenly stepped forward, a forward thrust heading straight for Saeko.
Saeko's heart tightened, and she hurriedly raised her sword to block.
Then, under Saeko's surprised gaze, Kenji performed the exact same change of move.
The forward thrust closed the distance instantly, then suddenly changed into a Whirlwind Slash. The wooden sword, swung at high speed, came down with the sound of breaking wind.
Saeko did not have Kenji's superhuman reaction speed. Seeing that this strike was about to hit her abdomen heavily, the wooden sword suddenly lost its force at the last moment... "Pa!"
In the end, the wooden sword only lightly poked Saeko's stomach.
Saeko still hadn't recovered from her surprise. Her eyes widened, looking at Kenji in disbelief.
Kenji actually learned the new move she had only come up with last night just by seeing it once!?
Who exactly was the genius here!
And being poked like that, Saeko's center of gravity became unstable. Her body swayed slightly, and she almost stumbled and fell.
Fortunately, Kenji was quick and stepped forward to catch her by the waist.
Feeling Kenji's warm and powerful palm, Saeko's face instantly turned red, like a ripe apple.
"Hehe, Saeko, how was that?" Kenji asked with a smile.
Quickly regaining her senses, Saeko looked at Kenji, who was now holding her waist. Her heart couldn't help but speed up, and her face grew even hotter.
"I... how rude of me! I'm sorry!"
Saeko quickly broke free from Kenji's embrace and bowed in apology, her voice carrying a hint of panic.
Kenji looked at her tenderly and shook his head.
"Saeko, why are you apologizing to me? You haven't done anything wrong."
"I..."
Saeko blushed and turned her head away, not daring to look Kenji in the eye, her heart full of mixed emotions.
Right now, Saeko had only one thought in her mind: that she was not worthy of such a perfect Kenji, so she should never have any improper thoughts.
The reason she thought this way was closely related to Saeko's past experiences.
When Busujima Saeko was in middle school, she was once molested by a pervert on her way home from school.
At that time, she was carrying a wooden sword, so she intentionally let the pervert approach her. Then, seizing the opportunity, she used the wooden sword to inflict heavy damage on him, breaking his leg and shoulder blade.
In fact, from a legal perspective, it was already excessive self-defense.
But considering the situation—a middle school girl facing a pervert's assault—the police naturally did not hold Busujima Saeko accountable and instead drove her home.
Since that incident, Busujima Saeko painfully realized that she had a strong tendency toward violence.
When she struck that pervert, she actually felt very happy and excited.
She felt that there was an unforgivable dark side hidden in her heart. She felt she didn't deserve a maiden's heart, and thought that someone like her had no right to confess, no right to love others or be loved.
So... the more her favorability increased and the more she admired the Kenji before her, the stronger this thought in Saeko's heart became.
"Saeko... are you dissatisfied with me? Is there something... making you unhappy?"
Kenji asked with concern.
Saeko turned around and said loudly, "It's not that!" But then, her voice quickly weakened: "Kenji-kun... I..."
Her heart was in deep turmoil; she found it difficult to speak about her dark side, and even harder to know how to explain it.
But as for Saeko, Kenji naturally knew her extremely well.
He also had a good understanding of the experiences she had gone through and her personality.
Thinking of these things and looking at the struggling Busujima Saeko before him, Kenji already had some guesses.
"Is it because of what happened to you in middle school? You beat that pervert into a serious injury, and then you thought you were a freak who gets excited and happy by inflicting violence, and felt that such a lowly person as yourself has no right to be intimate with others, is that it?"
Kenji said slowly, his gaze gentle and firm.
"How... how could you know!?"
Saeko, whose deepest secret had been exposed, looked at Kenji with a face full of surprise: "Fū... Kenji-kun, why would you..."
Kenji smiled slightly and turned on his playboy mode.
Taking advantage of the fact that there was no one in the dojo, he walked straight over and boldly put his arm around Saeko's slender waist, pulling her into his embrace.
"Why do I know so clearly? Because I have always been watching you, Saeko. I like you, I understand you, and I know what's in your heart. I like this version of you, and I don't think you're a bad girl at all!"
Kenji said affectionately, his eyes full of sincerity.
"Fū... Kenji-kun!?"
Faced with such a sudden confession and being treated this way...
Even Busujima Saeko could no longer remain calm. Her face quickly turned bright red, and even her body began to tremble slightly.
There was actually someone... who could accept her like this!
And didn't think she was a bad girl!
"Saeko, no matter how filthy you think you are, in my eyes you will always be perfect. You are the girl I like. Whether you want to gain power or enjoy pleasure, Saeko, I will be with you. So, let us grow stronger together!"
Kenji held Saeko tightly and whispered.
"Fū... Kenji-kun... Mmm—"
Kenji could no longer suppress the emotions in his heart and dominantely went in for a kiss.
Saeko didn't offer the slightest resistance. Quite the opposite, at this moment Saeko was actually quite cooperative with Kenji's actions, actively opening her mouth. Her tongue met Kenji's, and they exchanged their saliva.
What Saeko needed was exactly the affirmation of others, allowing her to face her true self and stop running away.
That phrase 'Let us grow stronger together' could be said to have struck a chord in Saeko's heart.
At this point, what was there left to refuse?
Kenji was exactly the other half she had been longing for day and night, someone she could connect with on a soulful level!
Kenji leaned down slightly and gently wiped away the tears from the corners of Busujima Saeko's eyes.
The crystalline teardrops vanished at Kenji's fingertips, and he also stopped any further actions at the appropriate time.
He looked up at the wall clock in the Kendo Club classroom; the hands were unhurriedly approaching the end of class.
Kenji knew that the members of the Kendo Club would soon pour in like a tide to begin their training.
If he continued to be so intimate with Busujima Saeko now and was seen by those busybodies, there was no telling what kind of wild and strange gossip would spread through the school tomorrow.
When that happened, the difficulty of picking up girls in school would skyrocket.
Left with no choice, Kenji had to temporarily set aside the idea of continuing to flirt.
However, this interaction with Busujima Saeko could be considered as directly establishing a relationship with her.
Later, if he wanted to ask Saeko out to further develop their feelings, or even directly score... ahem, how could he use such a crude term!
This was a wonderful thing between two people who loved each other!
In short, he would continue later.
After saying goodbye to Busujima Saeko and telling her to be herself and not be affected by those unreasonable thoughts anymore.
Just as Kenji stepped out of the Kendo Club, the melodious school bell rang right on time.
He walked quickly back to his club room, planning to wait for Kanako, Natsuka, as well as Yoshida Saki and Reina to come so they could discuss the plan for recruiting club members.
However, after waiting and waiting, Natsuka and Kanako didn't show up. Instead, Kirimine Moemi and Ichijo Yurika from Class B arrived first.
...
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GIVE ME YOU POWER STONES.