For Mamoru Suzuki, returning to school after a year off does have a different meaning, a change, and an end to the inertia of life that has been carried over from the previous year.

However, other than that, campus life is still as familiar to him, calm and undisturbed.

As a "person outside the circle", the biggest emotion is nothing more than a change of observation objects. As for the other students, the second year already has a relatively fixed social circle, and he, a transfer student from Tokyo, is a little out of place.

Although his outstanding appearance did bring him a lot of attention, people like Mamoru Suzuki never thought of actively fitting into other people's circles.

At the front table was a boy, and there wasn't much communication other than exchanging names; There is a girl at the next table, and she often looks at him, but it seems that she doesn't dare to take the initiative to talk to him; Every day after class, there are girls looking for him from time to time, but most of them silently dispel their thoughts in Suzuki Mamoru's polite perfunctory.

The so-called new environment is nothing more than that, and Mamoru Suzuki maintains his old style.

The only change is about Tamajo Sanchiyo, and it's indeed the first time he's paid so much attention to a girl-

Of course, it is essentially a concern for the ability of the three thousand generations of Tamaki to "turn into a cat".

But whatever the purpose, he did it.

At this point in the beginning of the school season, various clubs attract new recruits, and when school ends at 3 o'clock in the afternoon, Mamoru Suzuki knocks on the door of the kendo club.

"Please come in." The familiar cold voice that belonged to the three thousand generations of Tamaki came into my ears through the door of the activity room.

Mamoru Suzuki opened the wooden sliding door, revealing the activity room behind the door.

Boxy room, simply furnished, barely decorated, just cleaned. In the middle is a long, incoherent-looking table that was probably moved here for a new job.

The open window greeted the warm breeze of the April afternoon, and the wind blew the long ponytailed hair of the girl behind the long table, and she sat there, raising her face to look at the door of the activity room, intersecting with April, but without contradiction, this space was pulled back to March—

It's not cold, it's just a slight chill to breathe in the fresh March air that makes you feel refreshed – just like that.

She sat quietly behind the table, empty except for a bamboo sword on the table in front of her. One wonders what the girl was doing in her free time when no one was visiting the place. In a daze?

Mamoru Suzuki stared at Tamaki Michiyo's calm gaze that had not fluctuated even because of his arrival, and after some thoughts flashed through his mind, he turned around and closed the door.

"Excuse me."

The wooden door was closed along the track, and the edge of the door made a small "pop" that matched the silence of the door. Mamoru Suzuki turned to face Tamashiro Michiyo again.

"You may be seated." The girl nodded slightly at him.

"Thank you."

Mamoru Suzuki sat on the chair opposite Tamashiro Michiyo.

"This is the Kendo Club?" His gaze shifted to his surroundings for a moment, and finally asked Tamajo Michiyo.

"Yes."

As always, a cold and short affirmation.

"Not many people?" Mamoru Suzuki asked again. Because the activity room here is obviously on the small side, there is definitely not enough for too many people to practice kendo here.

However, the answer is unexpected.

"It's just me." Tamashiro replied.

Hesitating, Mamoru Suzuki and the girl's eyes met for a few seconds, deciding to suppress the doubts in their minds for the time being.

"Jade-san, I want to join the kendo club." He affirmed his intention for today.

"Why?"

"I want to try kendo and exercise."

"Have you ever been exposed to kendo before?"

"Learned a little."

"A little?"

"Yes."

"How long is one o'clock?"

“... week. Mamoru Suzuki hesitated, but chose to answer truthfully.

"Why give up?"

"Not interested at the time."

"And now?"

"For some reason, I'm interested again."

"Some reason", in Tamaki Michiyo's understanding, is what Mamoru Suzuki said to her in cat form that day.

"Okay." She nodded lightly and asked no more.

Then, Suzuki Mamoru saw that Tamaki Michiyo's hand on his lap was finally lifted from under the table, and the girl's hand held the bamboo sword on the table.

"Give it a try." She handed him the bamboo sword.

Mamoru Suzuki stared at the bamboo sword and the girl's white hands, "Try it?" ”

"Swing your sword."

"Oh."

Mamoru Suzuki took over the bamboo sword in the hands of Tamajo Michiyo.

It is more than a meter long and weighs 480 grams, and it will be heavier than many people imagine when you start it.

Perhaps in the layman's mind, the action of swinging a sword seems to be as simple as it is - hold the sword, raise it, swing it down, that's it.

However, only when you actually come into contact with it do you know that simply swinging a sword actually reflects a person's basic kendo skills in many places.

Taking the sword, Mamoru Suzuki got up from his chair and slowly stepped aside.

At the same time, in his mind, the image of the character belonging to the three thousand generations of Yucheng was becoming clearer and clearer.

She was dressed in a kendo suit, standing upright, and holding the same bamboo sword in her hand—exactly what he had seen from Tamaki Michiyo practicing with Rin Hua in the kendo hall.

Every move, the picture, the posture, and every detail that he has observed, everything is fully displayed in Suzuki Mamoru through the imagination of the characters of Tamashiro Michiyo.

That's exactly what he observed.

Mamoru Suzuki closed his eyes and carefully compared them over and over again according to the images that came to his mind, correcting his posture.

The right foot is in front, the left foot is in the back, the left hand holds the end of the bamboo sword, the right hand assists the force, and the bamboo sword should be kept in the center line of the body... From the pace, to the sword, to the posture in all aspects.

Even, it belonged to the extremely serious momentum when the three thousand generations of Yucheng practiced swinging the sword. It all emerged from Mamoru Suzuki's mind and was projected into reality.

Mamoru Suzuki opened his eyes, and he took a deep breath.

He lifted the bamboo sword he held in both hands, raised it above his head, and then swung it down with great fluidity and force with a steady step of his right foot!

The bamboo sword slashed through the air in the activity room, and then stayed firmly in mid-air with a chorus of "ha".

Raise the sword, swing the sword, stop the sword.

Mamoru Suzuki maintained the position of finally dropping the sword, and after a pause, he slowly lowered his hand.

He turned to look at Tamashiro Michiyo, who had been watching him all the time, watching the whole process of his sword swinging.

"Alright."

Mamoru Suzuki walked back to the table, sat down opposite Tamajo Michiyo, and gently put the bamboo sword back on the table.

After that, there was silence, and there was no sound in the activity room. Only the open windows bring in the various voices of the rest of the student activities on campus.

The girl who was in the midst of the noise was unmoved, and looked at him with eyes as calm as a handful of clear lake water.

Mamoru Suzuki waited for the opinion of Tamashiro Michiyo.