The next morning, Kazuma woke up as usual, feeling perfectly fine.
—That's odd. I thought my shoulders would be sore today after all those sword swings yesterday.
He flexed his arms as he pondered.
Is it because this body was already well-trained… or is it thanks to my cheat?
Kazuma shook his head—no way to be sure.
Either way, since he wasn't tired, that meant he could push his training even further. Right now, his combat ability was his biggest bargaining chip with Sumitomo Construction. With the cheat on his side, he needed to seize every opportunity to level up.
The problem was, this cheat didn't come with any kind of tutorial—he had to figure it out entirely on his own.
Thankfully, humming a song yesterday had taught him something valuable: if he sang something that fit the mood after real combat, it massively boosted how much experience he gained. If he'd kept trying to recite poetry instead, he would've missed out on a ton of XP.
That was the XP that had raised his Combat Experience from 3 to 5.
Missing that would've meant having to wipe his save and start over!
Still, he wasn't completely clueless about how the cheat worked. From his experience these past few days, he'd noticed that as long as his actions were done with a sense of ceremony, the cheat seemed likely to give bonuses.
Take Nishiyama Heita, for example. The man probably wasn't aware he had a "Hannya Mask" marker, but he did know to rip his shirt open before a fight, show off his tattoo, and loudly declare his group and name.
That was full of ritual. And Kazuma's cheat definitely seemed to register such ceremonial behavior.
On his side, things like reciting poetry before flipping a table, or humming beneath the cherry tree afterward, were also highly ritualistic.
As he thought this over, Kazuma got dressed.
Japan is a country obsessed with rituals—they take it to a pathological level. Maybe my cheat's just adapting to local customs?
If that was the case, then going forward he needed to incorporate as much ritual as possible into his actions.
Maybe I should browse the shopping street after school today and pick up a statue of Guan Yu. Then, before any big fight, I could offer a little prayer—might even get a buff out of it.
What other ritualistic things could he do?
Lost in thought, Kazuma walked into the combined kitchen-dining area. Chiyoko was already bustling around the stove.
"Morning, Bro!" she called brightly. She seemed to be in great spirits today—even her movements around the kitchen looked faster and more energetic than usual.
"Morning," Kazuma replied.
He grabbed the barley tea on the table and chugged it down, then headed to the bathroom to wash up.
"You looked so serious just now—what were you thinking about?" Chiyoko asked, still slicing fish.
Seemed like they were having cheap fish again today.
Kazuma splashed some water on his face and, while rubbing the sleep from his eyes, answered, "I was wondering what kinds of things are really ceremonial... and cool."
"Rituals I get—but what's 'cool'?" Chiyoko asked, puzzled.
Kazuma realized he'd used a Chinese term that didn't have an exact equivalent in Japanese yet.
After a moment's thought, he said, "It means something coooool."
"You're getting into hip-hop?!" Chiyoko gasped, freezing mid-slice.
"No—never mind," Kazuma sighed. "Just tell me, what's something ritualistic? Preferably related to kendo."
Chiyoko tilted her head. "Uh... cutting falling cherry blossom petals with your sword?"
...That's something only a true master swordsman would do!
Clearly, she wasn't going to be much help here. He'd have to figure out the cheat's mechanics himself.
"So why are you asking about this all of a sudden?" Chiyoko asked.
"To get stronger," Kazuma answered simply.
It was the truth—but Chiyoko clearly thought he was joking.
"Rather than rituals, Bro, you should focus on studying. Getting into Tokyo University isn't easy, you know. Last time you were dead last in the class."
Kitakatsushi High was a public school known for its university prep track. It was full of students who couldn't afford private school but still aimed for college, so the overall deviation score was quite high.
The original Kazuma had entered on a kendo scholarship—and had indeed been at the bottom academically.
But the current Kazuma wasn't the same person. He wasn't too worried about grades.
So he gave her a vague reply and started brushing his teeth.
Just then, the doorbell rang.
"Who could that be? Don't tell me it's that Itō guy from Sumitomo again..." Chiyoko grumbled as she washed her hands. Carefully drying them, she trotted off toward the entryway.
Chiyoko always dried her hands thoroughly—she'd never leave water dripping everywhere. Kazuma, on the other hand, just shook his hands off after washing and called it done.
Suddenly, he heard Chiyoko scream from the entryway.
Heart leaping, Kazuma dashed out. On the way past the kitchen, he grabbed a glass bottle of soy sauce.
A glass bottle could definitely crack a skull—and if nothing else, he could splash soy sauce in the attacker's face.
Reaching the entryway, Kazuma prepared to heroically rescue his sister—only to skid to a confused stop.
Several yakuza were standing outside, bowing to Chiyoko. She was huddled inside the entryway, arms up protectively, glaring with disgust at a small box on the floor.
Kazuma looked closer. Inside the box were two severed fingers.
—Right. Yesterday, Nishiyama Heita said he'd make their wakagashira Bandō cut off a finger in apology. And that he'd send the fingers over.
Didn't think he'd actually follow through.
A cold sweat ran down Kazuma's back.
He understood all too well now: Nishiyama Heita's crew were real yakuza. There was no line they wouldn't cross.
If Heita could force his wakagashira to cut off a finger, he could certainly force Chiyoko—or even Mikako—to do the same.
Chiyoko shouted, "Take it away! We don't want that thing in our house!"
"We can't!" one of the yakuza replied loudly. "The boss ordered us not to return until Young Master Kiryu has accepted it!"
Chiyoko started to argue again, but Kazuma stepped in. "Alright. We've received the apology. Please tell Boss Nishiyama that I'll bury this under our cherry tree."
Ritual! This counts as a ritual, right?
"No way!" Chiyoko protested. "What if something comes out of it? That big bald guy is probably cursed!"
Kazuma picked up the box and patted her shoulder. "Chiyoko, I agree—if he dies, he'll definitely come back as an evil spirit. But a person doesn't die from losing a couple fingers. He's probably just fine."
Chiyoko looked at him. "Oh... right." She seemed genuinely surprised.
Kazuma stored the box carefully, then told the yakuza, "Alright, you've done your job. You should head out—no need to make the neighbors think we've turned yakuza."
"Hah!" the young men replied in unison, then hurried off.
Kazuma watched them go, then shut the door.
"Chiyoko, go grab a trowel."
"We're really burying it?" she asked in surprise.
"What else? Keep it inside?"
"No, no—bury it, bury it."
A little while later, Kazuma dug a small hole among the tangled roots of the cherry tree and buried the fingers.
After patting the earth flat, he immediately sat down under the tree to meditate—eager to see if he'd gained any new buff.
And sure enough, one popped up.
Buff: "Under the Cherry Tree"
Description: The cherry tree sways gently.
Kazuma ended his meditation, half laughing, half crying.
Still, it wasn't a bad result. He didn't know what the buff actually did—but at least he was starting to understand how the cheat worked.
Ritualistic actions were key. Even if they seemed meaningless, the ritual itself was what mattered.
It was like playing League of Legends as Yasuo.
Didn't matter if you had no damage or whether you won—you had to fully embrace the ritual and tilt both enemies and teammates.
And the true essence of playing Yasuo? Before the minions even spawned, you had to type:
"Face the gale!"
And if you lost the game? You'd type out Tōshō's death poem:
"Judge not by victory or defeat,
In this fleeting moment of human feeling.
When all fades away,
The mountains chill and the seas grow clear."
Sure, your teammates would probably curse your entire family tree—but you'd be having fun.
And that was all that mattered.
Thinking this, a smile crept onto Kazuma's face. The mood felt lighter already.
(End of Chapter)