In Tokyo: They are heavily dependent on me

Chapter 36. Victory

"Ah, please move a little to the left, a little further, yes, stop, perfect."

This week has been the busiest week since Hoshinoya Ramen opened.

Hoshino Rin devoted all her time to the renovation and repair of the ramen shop, so there would be no revenue this week. Although her brother had enough yen left to last for a while, she didn't want to keep troubling him.

She wants to earn at least... the 20 million yen needed for a heart transplant herself.

If you always rely on others, you won't grow; this is a lesson her mother taught her.

Starting next week! We need to work twice as hard!

"Okay! Let's do it that way!"

Even though the ramen shop is closed, Rin has a lot to do and can't stay idle at all.

She swept up the construction debris left by the workers, and put on a dust mask to prevent inhaling too much dust. She cleaned the newly installed floor spotlessly, and under the fluorescent lights, the newly installed wooden floor looked brand new and was noticeably cleaner than before.

Because the ramen shop has undergone a complete renovation, the space for customers is no longer as cramped as before. The enlarged entrance hall can easily accommodate multiple customers, and air conditioning has been installed on the first floor, so it won't feel stuffy in the summer.

Now, Hoshinoya Ramen will no longer leave people with the first impression of being "old-fashioned" and "outdated" as it used to.

"When we open next week, the customers will be shocked to see how much this place has changed."

After cleaning, Rin found a chair, sat down, cupped her face in her hands, closed her eyes, and enjoyed the cool air blowing on her face.

Wow... It's so refreshing and cool, it'll help me stay alert at work from now on.

"It's all thanks to... my brother."

"I wonder what my brother is doing right now..."

Feeling a little bored and missing her brother, Rin took out her smartphone, went into the photo album, and found a photo of herself and Kaoru.

This photo was taken when I went to the arcade in Shibuya to take some selfies.

This photo was taken by a passerby when I went to Tokyo Skytree.

This picture shows them enjoying dessert together...

She also kept the group photos from when she was a child.

That face is etched deep in my memory, a face that will never be forgotten.

Rin turned off her phone and went up the stairs to the second floor.

He skillfully opened the door to the bedroom on the right side of the hallway.

The air was filled with the scent that only her brother had.

Ah...it can't be wrong.

It's my brother's scent.

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From the very beginning, Ruri Yanagi no Shita had placed no hope of victory on her opponent. The moment her opponent decided to fight her, all she could see was a crushing defeat.

As a family that has always maintained close cooperation with the powerful Mizukami clan, the Yagyu family's responsibility is to protect the heads of the family throughout history. From a very young age, she began receiving swordsmanship instruction from her father, and brought the inherited "Shinkage-ryu" swordsmanship to a level that no one else could reach.

Until the day she personally defeated her father who had taught her for many years, she knew perfectly well that her life was destined to be mundane and boring. No opponent could make her give her name, because she would defeat all those who stood in her way in the next second.

The guy in front of me was no exception.

An attack devoid of any killing intent cannot defeat any opponent, let alone her. Her unpredictable footwork could easily knock her down with a single blow.

Having already faced each other many times before, she was quite certain that she would not lose.

The wooden blades clashed together, and the force transmitted to the palm... remained as weak as before.

Slashes, upward thrusts, and lunges—her opponent's movements were slowed down several times over in her eyes. She had already anticipated her opponent's next move. In her mind, she could end the battle in an instant if she wanted to.

What a pathetic struggle.

She could see the opponent's hands trembling as they gripped the knife hilt, indicating a fierce attack. However, such an attack would only increase the rate at which her stamina was depleted, and besides, the opponent's sluggish reaction speed made it impossible for them to even touch her body.

She had seen through everything about him.

"Hoshino! You bastard! Get your act together!"

From among the audience surrounding them, the voices of girls cheering could be heard.

Hoshino Kaoru steadied himself and barely managed to block the bamboo sword that was coming at him. In the head-on clash between the two, he was gradually at a disadvantage as he was running out of energy.

A head-on confrontation... as expected, I still couldn't defeat this guy.

Although her opponent had clearly relaxed their guard, her defense remained impeccable. She would block any blade that got close, and if she wasn't careful, she would be countered and suffer the same defeat.

However, it doesn't matter anymore.

Because his goal has already been achieved.

At the moment when the two were exchanging blows, Kaoru used [Charming Smile].

Instantly, Liu Shizhi Liuli's gaze became unfocused, staring blankly at the scene before her, and her offensive power also weakened significantly.

Everything is going according to plan.

A smile appeared on Kaoru's lips as she concentrated all her strength to lower the blade.

He relied on his "charming smile" to make the other person lose their focus. He had tried it once before. The effect of the charming smile lasted about five seconds in front of an ordinary girl, but less than a second in front of her.

He knew very well that his attacks would not hit the guy in front of him, and the only way to win was to deliberately expose a weakness.

He made his opponent think that he was no match for him, so that they would abandon their original swordsmanship and engage in a contest of strength with him.

Therefore, he wanted to minimize the physical distance between the two of them.

And now, he has achieved his goal.

"Get down...!"

Kaoru strained her voice to make a sound.

Under the impact of that immense force, Ruri Yanagishita, unable to withstand it, collapsed to her knees. Despite mobilizing all her strength to resist, she could only watch helplessly as the blade approached her body due to the vast difference in power between the two sides.

It wasn't until the moment of defeat that she realized the battle was out of her control.

She underestimated her opponent.

The bamboo knife in his hand fell to the ground.

Ruri Yanagi, kneeling on the ground, became the defeated party.

Kaoru dropped the bamboo sword, her gaze passing through the crowd before her, finally settling on the incredulous face of the young lady at the back of the crowd.

A slight smile finally appeared on his lips, an expression that clearly conveyed one thing.

I won.

"Hey... that guy isn't getting away! Give me the money right now! Not a penny less than 10 yen!"

Realizing what was happening, Kobayashi grabbed the collar of the boy who was trying to slip away in the crowd and shook him violently.

Kaoru brushed past the boy whose eyes were starting to see stars from being shaken so much, and walked straight to the back of the crowd.

The young lady was standing right in front of me.

"Just as you predicted I wouldn't win, I also believe I will never lose."

"Mizukami-kun, you lost from the very beginning."