Chapter 173: The Early Master (7)

"It's held in two weeks from now."

"Two weeks?"

"Yes. It's always held around this time. Our shrine has quite a connection to it too."

"What kind of connection?"

Rise answered his question with a slightly bitter expression.

"They also have public matches to contribute to the region and show their achievements to people. Thanks to that, people flock to watch the matches, and naturally, a small festival is held there."

"Since you call it a small festival, I guess there won't be fireworks or anything like that, probably just stalls opening."

"Yes. Selling food, goldfish scooping, shooting games... That's about it. And our shrine used to observe the matches there."

Jinseong nodded as if understanding after hearing Rise's words.

"I see. If it's about showing off achievements, contributing to the region, and making a name for themselves, it would naturally be right to bring influential people from that area."

Jinseong heard this and frowned slightly as if pondering something, and alternately looked at the smartphone that had returned to Rise's hand and the ceiling.

"What are you worried about?"

"Worried, huh."

Rise asked, leaning slightly towards Jinseong as if concerned.

"All the conditions are good, but there's one variable that bothers me."

"A variable, perhaps...?"

"That's right. A martial artist who has undergone rebirth and transformation. I didn't know there would be such a person. It's not welcome."

"Oh my, you didn't... know?"

Rise opened her eyes wide at Jinseong's words.

"He's someone who always appears when TV shows rank Japan's strongest..."

Strongest.

It was a word that made men's blood boil and their bodies tense up naturally.

Of course, TV stations obsessed with ratings wouldn't miss this, and they often created programs using formats like 'Who is Japan's strongest martial artist?', 'Who has the highest intelligence among magicians?', 'Battle of combat power among Japan's representative summoners! The strongest battle!'

Of course, there were reactions saying it was tiresome, calling it overused.

But originally, strength was something that changed over time.

A promising rookie becoming a full-fledged martial artist.

Someone who once made a name for themselves becoming obsolete.

An unexpected person returning after building up strength through determined effort.

Time showed changes that broadcasters couldn't have asked for better, and even with the same material, it showed a different flavor.

Someone who was miserably defeated last year succeeding in revenge.

A magician who was just stuck in a corner without proper attention appearing as a star in academia with one paper.

A cute chick returning having bulked up as if it ate some kind of drug, big enough to chew up a tiger in one bite.

For viewers who knew the past, it would be something they couldn't help but watch, and even those who weren't interested before, once they watch, they can't escape this format that's milked like bone broth as if falling into a swamp.

Like snacks that make you eat mindlessly until the bag is empty once you put them in your mouth, programs that determine the strongest have such a strange charm.

"I have no interest."

But there were also people who weren't affected by charm.

For Jinseong, information about who suited the position of the strongest, what techniques martial artists used, what characteristics martial arts had, and which martial arts were compatible with which, held no more value than fallen leaves on the ground.

Because he was only interested in sorcery.

Moreover, even if he had been interested in something other than sorcery, such formats wouldn't have greatly piqued Jinseong's interest.

Determining the strongest through duels, and strange people who act pompously as experts coming out to babble...

What meaning did that have?

Right now, Jinseong was someone who worked as a mercenary in World War III.

How many times had he seen 'self-proclaimed famous experts' die ridiculously while working as a mercenary, and how many times had he seen people he didn't even know existed suddenly pop up and destroy villages and turn cities into wastelands?

Moreover, if they had played a significant role in the future, Jinseong should have known about them, but that wasn't the case either.

In other words, this meant they were eliminated in the early stages of World War III when Jinseong's information and influence were poor.

They must have died or become disabled when fighting against Korea.

Perhaps it didn't end with just Kazuo disappearing from the stage engulfed in the flames of war, but Shigen-ryu itself might have been shattered.

"He's said to be very competitive even on a global stage... They said he was Japan's pride... but..."

Rise carefully spoke while examining Jinseong's expression as he responded indifferently.

His expression says it's the first time he's heard of this.

Jinseong's expression went beyond lack of interest, it was the expression of someone who had never heard such a thing in his life. No, perhaps it was the expression that would appear when completely useless information brushed past his ears.

"I don't know much about that. But yes, I've certainly heard the name Shigen-ryu itself..."

Jinseong met Rise's eyes, who had somehow gotten quite close to him.

"I gave a blessing to someone who sponsors Shigen-ryu. Isn't that right?"

"Huh? Yes."

"The president of a security company."

Rise was flustered when Jinseong met her eyes and brought his face close. But she didn't pull her body back, instead, she just slightly moved her eyes elsewhere due to the embarrassment she felt inside.

"It seems it's not martial arts suitable for defense or protection. It would be most effective when used elsewhere while just keeping the name as 'security guard'. Isn't that right?"

"Yes, your words are correct, Kannushi-sama."

Jinseong said this while raising his hand over Rise's head.

"Let's see. Evil disguised as legal has one characteristic. That is the bond between them, their closeness. It's incomparably shallow, able to stab each other in the back at any time, so it can't compare to the bond between good people. But even though it's infinitely shallow, it doesn't easily disappear, and if you don't pay attention, it has the characteristic of proliferating and forming groups like pests multiplying."

Jinseong reached out and lightly grabbed the twitching fox ears.

"Eek!"

When Jinseong's fingers touched the fox ears, Rise flinched in surprise. Moreover, every time Jinseong's fingers moved, she trembled slightly as if feeling a strange tickle.

But she didn't show any gestures of refusal like pulling away or pushing Jinseong's hand away, rather, as if trying to suppress the ticklishness, she stiffened her body in that position and only moved her eyes to look at Jinseong.

"And that means if we go through the person who received my blessing, we can know quite deep things. There won't be much inconvenience in obtaining information..."

"Sh-Kannushi-sama...?"

Jinseong kept moving his fingers to fiddle with Rise's fox ears while speaking. And as his fiddling continued, fur that seemed to come from the fox ears stuck to his fingers and gradually increased in size.

When a sufficient amount of fur had gathered on his hand, Jinseong seemed satisfied and removed his hand.

"Haaa..."

Then Rise's body tension seemed to completely release, and she leaned on the table, relaxing her body. And just like Rise's slumped body, the fox ears that had been twitching on top of her head also flattened.

Rise turned her head towards Jinseong while leaning on the table like a duck melting in summer heat. Then she asked Jinseong with slightly drowsy eyes:

"Kannushi-sama. Why the ears all of a sudden...?"

"It's nothing."

Jinseong answered Rise's question simply.

"It's the same principle as when I take your tail fur."

"Huh? Ah..."

Rise let out an exclamation as if understanding Jinseong's words.

"I guess you're planning to use it for something."

"That's right."

Jinseong answered Rise's words like that and stood up from his seat.

Rise looked at him as if she had become accustomed to this, seemingly unbothered.

"Then, once strength returns to my body, I'll contact you right away and look into it."

"Hmm."

He picked up the suit jacket that Rise had carefully hung up and turned back towards Rise. Then he grabbed the back of Rise's neck with his left hand and placed his right hand near her lower back, while she looked at him puzzled.

"K-Kannushi-sama?"

Then, ignoring Rise's confusion, he drew up the taiji and infused warm energy into her body, and as Rise's body began to relax comfortably due to the warm energy, he chanted a mantra.

"Om kirara modra hum phat."

Then an overwhelming drowsiness began to come over Rise. Rise tried to overcome the sudden drowsiness, but the comfort and languor like melting her body by plunging it into warm water was impossible to resist.

In the end, Rise couldn't overcome the weight of her eyelids becoming heavy like the demolition iron ball in the video Jinseong had watched earlier, and had no choice but to fall asleep.

And just before Rise completely fell asleep.

"It's not an urgent matter."

"Ah..."

"So completely resolve the unnecessary fatigue accumulated in your body."

Jinseong's admonition reached her ears.

To Rise, that admonition seemed to contain a warm spring breeze within coldness, and sounded like words mixed with concern asking how she could overwork her body when it was for finding happiness.

Therefore, as Rise surrendered herself to sleep...

She smiled.