Good...... is so strong, in the face of that level of attack, he can calmly and correctly respond, and he can also have this kind of powerful counterattack......

Without a doubt, he is the strongest swordsman I have ever tried, even better than the chief knight of the Holy See......

Ha...... Huh......

Breathing slowly subsided, and Alice once again confirmed the identity of the enemy in front of her.

This is Kitamura Isshin.

This is the peak of swordsmanship, and maybe it's ————

"Ha, haha, haha. ”

Thinking about it, Alice couldn't help laughing.

The eighteen-year-old blonde girl had a smile on her face that did not look like a woman, hearty, sharp, and as focused and beautiful as a wolf staring at its prey.

That joy all comes from ...... Now, I can confront such a person............

“...... Hmph, I feel like you're full of energy. ”

There was no pursuit, just waiting quietly for Alice to adjust her breath, think about the answers to the questions and countermeasures, and the courage to fight for her life again.

And that courage ...... The moment had been replaced by excitement and joy, urging her to win.

With a wave of the wooden knife in her hand, Alice took another step forward.

I thought to myself, I must ...... Bet everything you have.

Fight all your swordsmanship and all your life here!!

Boom!!!

A pair of jade feet that took off their slippers slammed on the floor, lifted their knees that were taut by the light blue jeans, Alice raised the knife in front of her forehead, and rushed towards Kitamura Yishin!

In this blow, she was about to kill herself!!

Seeing Alice's charge, Ichishin reacted immediately.

Almost at the same time, he raised his arms high, protruding his elbows, and squatted down, using his injured right wrist against his sword-gripping left wrist.

Interesting!!!!

Seeing that Yixin directly swung his knife in the direction where Alice was rushing, he slashed downward.

Alice, who held the blade in front of her, immediately changed her posture and turned the wooden knife sideways.

She knew very well that the weight of this man's blade was overwhelming, and it was absolutely impossible to fight hard.

That's not the weight that a woman's strength can resist.

There is simply no way - to bear it completely!!

Case............

Alice, who was sprinting, stopped suddenly, and her knees seemed to be pressed against a thousand pounds, and she lifted up violently.

At the same time, hold the knife in both hands, swing in an arc, and lift up!!

Break the straight with the oblique!!, and let the force be transferred!!

The green eyes widened at the boss, and he was mentally ready to pick up Kitamura Yixin's strange knife!

There will inevitably be a flaw after the slash, it will work, it will succeed, and the next thing will be my victory............

"Drink, !!"

！？

In Alice's eyes, Yixin's surging sword aura seemed to merge with the muscles all over her body.

The wooden knife held in one hand also looks very large............

Pop, pop, bang!!

Alice, who looked sluggish, didn't feel much weight in her hands at all, and the wooden knife on her side had been smashed in two.

It's no wonder, after all, this old yin current that he is bent on using - [Flame Pillar].

Even the pair of plate axes could have been cut off directly that day..................

And if Alice uses it in front of Kitamura Isshin, who has exquisite swordsmanship and excellent body coordination, he uses it to break straight obliquely. It's even more of a class axe, a small skill of carving insects............

Between the lightning and flint, some fragmentary thoughts flashed through Alice's mind, and they couldn't be put together at all.

Miscellaneous...... My strategy can't match the speed of Kitamura's single-minded slashing...... ...... with Power

Seeing the sharp appearance of spinning and stepping on her feet and swinging a knife with one hand, Alice's thoughts in her mind became more concise.

There is only one word left.

The word that symbolizes the end.

Die.

Phew——————

A strong wind blew through the dojo.

Ichishin's face was expressionless, and the sword was already swinging, and when he swung the sword, Kitamura Isshin didn't think about anything.

Huh...... Huh......

Less than ten centimeters in front of the wooden knife of Yixin, Alice's small mouth was slightly open, her face was frightened and disdainful, and the cold sweat had soaked a little white shirt, revealing a little flesh color.

“...... Why? Stopped......?

Slowly removing the sword from Alice's eyes, as a samurai, he naturally understands the truth of 'there is the glory of death, but there is no shame of life'.

But even so, he didn't want to behead an unarmed eighteen-year-old girl.

So, he said so.

"The matter has come to an end, the winner has been decided, there is nothing to be dissatisfied with, and there is no point in continuing to fight. ”

Alice was still dumbfounded, but her emerald green eyes were wandering and very shaken.

"But my life .................. Why don't you kill me? Because I'm a woman?"

"Hmph, don't be presumptuous. ”

Nose exhaled, putting the wooden knife on his shoulder, Kitamura gently touched Alice's head.

"You're still young, you can get stronger, and if you want to have a decent fight with a samurai like me, try to be a knight who can threaten me. The real victory or defeat will be stored until that time. ”

————！！

The corners of Alice's eyes moistened again, and soon after, two lines of tears flowed like a filled cup————

It's been a long time since anyone touched their heads............

True, win-lose...........................

I'm still too weak to cry because of this kind of thing......

Not strong enough...... I'm just a woman after all............

No, it has nothing to do with men and women, I'm just just weak, so I lost.

That's all..................

even blamed his weakness on the body of the gender and rested on his laurels......

This time it's me...... Lost through..................

"Have you calmed down?"

Watching Alice gently use the hands that had just held the sword to the side of her head, Yixin looked much more relieved.

It's just that...... Alice squeezed her hand, but still didn't let go.

She touched the hand and felt the calluses condensed in the palm of her heart.

What kind of life is it and what kind of training has it undergone...... There will be such rough hands............

It's like an extension of the hilt, and the friction is extraordinary.

Myself...... When will we be able to catch up with such a powerful samurai............

I couldn't help but be curious, Alice was still holding Yixin's hand, and asked him in the moonlight, "Mr. Yixin, I became a trainee knight at the age of fourteen, when did you start becoming a samurai?"

Yixin would not have taken care of the feelings of these men and women for a long time, let alone how dedicated a man he was.

Naturally, he was not shy, but seemed a little lonely to answer Alice's question.

"Samurai?"

As I thought about it, I couldn't help but think back to when I became a samurai.

Pinching his chin, the answer was coming out as his gaze sharpened.

"If you have nothing, you will be a samurai in the next life. ”

In the moonlight, Alice was keenly aware of the difference in the atmosphere when Yixin said this.

It's like a sharp blade that sharpens iron like clay, and suddenly cracks a gap.

It's a pity............

Alice, who was holding the samurai's hand, exerted a little more force, and now she no longer cared about herself, but wanted to know the answer to the words in her mouth.

"What is a samurai?"

The innocent girl's sincere questions are impossible to refuse.

Yixin paused, steadied himself, and did not let the shadow of the past entangle him again, and replied to Alice......

"To be a samurai is to become stronger. From then on, cut off and bind the weak self in the past. In order to face the past, there is a ...... under Reasons why you can't lose. ”

Seeing that Yixin had regained her former demeanor, Alice let go of her hand and looked out of the verandah in early spring, where a young shoot happened to poke its head out of the snow.

Behold, even in the midst of the wind and snow, the sprout and the swordsman in front of him are so resilient......

Touched by this view, Alice's mentality also changed.

"Hey, Yixin, you're strong. ”

Listening to Alice's age-appropriate witticism, she was stunned for a moment, but this time she turned her head a little embarrassed.

"Huh, me?"

Yixin didn't feel how strong he was, and like Aoyama, he held his sword and wanted to be strong, but because of this, he knew his weakness............

He looked at Alice's calm, beautiful, doll-like face.

I always felt that I should tell her these things that I felt in the sword............

"As long as you have a sword, you will know. There is no such thing as a sword. ”

"There are no boundaries to being strong. ”

"Everybody is weak, that's why they want to be strong. ”

"There are no strong people in this world. ”

"Some are just ...... It's just someone who wants to get stronger. ”

Listening to the humble and thought-provoking speech, Alice felt that she was still feeling sorry for this kind of thing, it was too much............

Even though there is no absolute strong person in the world, everyone's strength and weakness are very different, just like ......

"But compared to you...... I care about the eyes of others, but I don't dare to fight hard for myself......"

"I'm so weak......"

looked at Alice, who was looking down sadly, as if she had seen her former self from her.

On that snowy night, I thought about it myself............

As a person who has come over, Kitamura Isshin naturally knows what to say at such a time.

He approached Alice, who was looking down sadly, patted her shoulder, which had been used to rush at the enemy, fearlessly, and said with a happy face, "Well said, Alice. ”

"Huh?"

Alice, still immersed in sadness, raised her head and looked at Yixin's sharp handsome face. Listen carefully to what he was going to say next.

"Weaklings won't admit that they're weak, you're not weak anymore. ”

"You're the one who wants to get stronger, you've taken the first step!"

The eighteen-year-old girl's eyes gradually widened, and she saw her own way forward from this dojo with bright moonlight and sharp eyes.

Change, you can change. It can also get stronger.

There are no strong people in the world, only people who want to be strong.