By the end of the day, Tetsu no Sosuke’s condition could be sumd up in a single word: miserable.
His clothes were torn to shreds. Tomioka had deliberately tried to avoid injuring Sosuke’s body, but there were tis when he lost control, resulting in a chaotic array of cuts and bruises across his body.
Besides the sword wounds, there were bruises from various beatings all over his body.
By evening, after dinner, Kanae began applying dicine to Sosuke’s injuries.
She massaged the bruises to disperse the clotted blood, applied wound ointnt to the cuts, and bandaged them carefully.
Throughout the entire process, she didn’t say a word, her eyes slightly reddened but no tears falling.
After tending to his injuries, she glanced at her Nichirin Blade, repeatedly reaching for it, only to withdraw her hand each ti.
"What’s wrong?" Sosuke asked, a hint of amusent in his voice as he watched her. He took her hand. "Want to avenge ?"
"Still laughing..." Kanae sighed softly. "I know he held back, and I know injuries are common in training. It wasn’t intentional—accidents happen... But I still can’t help being angry, still can’t help..."
Sosuke chuckled. "I understand completely."
Kanae instinctively leaned her head against his shoulder.
His shoulder felt solid and steady, giving her a sense of security and comfort. She bit her lip, wanting to say sothing, but ultimately held back.
Everyone has their own pursuits and ideas, their own goals and hopes.
She could have told Sosuke that she didn’t need him to strive to beco a Pillar, that he only needed to be a swordsmith, and that she could protect him.
But if she said those words, what would beco of Sosuke’s efforts?
Mutual affection might blossom in an instant, but enduring love requires the temper and trials of ti.
What truly mattered was allowing ti to smooth away their incompatible edges, allowing them to beco more harmonious.
She understood Sosuke, his worries and fears. She knew why he was so determined to work hard, why he needed to beco stronger.
It was because... he wanted to protect her.
He didn’t want to always rely on her protection in every situation.
More importantly, he wanted to face everything together with her, not hide behind her.
She understood, but that didn’t an she could stop her heart from aching.
Just like now, watching him covered in wounds while she could do nothing.
"If only I could take your place..." Kanae murmured softly.
Sosuke froze, sensing the girl’s sincere feelings. He couldn’t help but ask, "Do you realize how dangerous those words are?"
Kanae looked bewildered. "Dangerous?"
What’s dangerous about them?
"Those words make want to recklessly burn through my entire life to love you."
The whispered endearnt sent a tingling sensation through every strand of her hair. Her eyes glistened with tears as she gently bit her lip. "Don’t be reckless... don’t burn through your life..."
Sosuke listened quietly, then reached out and cupped her cheeks.
He pressed a soft kiss to her forehead.
They embraced in silence, wordless... utterly still.
Outside the courtyard, Tomioka, who had co with wound dicine, watched the overlapping silhouettes through the window.
He glanced at the dicine in his hand, suddenly realizing that if he barged in, he’d probably be the one who needed it most.
This wasn’t a matter of emotional intelligence; it was pure survival instinct.
Without hesitation... he turned around and went back to his room to sleep!
From that day forward, Sosuke embarked on another journey of training.
Tomioka and Shinobu were two completely different types of sparring partners.
Shinobu was ticulous and earnest during practice, always able to summarize key points and offer critical insights that helped Sosuke understand his weaknesses.
But Tomioka lacked such verbal dexterity. Instead, he relied on repeated clashes and injuries to imprint physical mories into Sosuke’s body.
This thod forced Sosuke’s body to instinctively avoid repeating the sa mistakes in battle.
For Sosuke, this process was undoubtedly painful.
But the results were remarkable.
For the first three days, Sosuke was beaten relentlessly. After Tomioka left on a mission and returned three days later, Sosuke’s performance in their sparring matches had improved dramatically.
His injuries were fewer, his movents more agile, his gaze sharper, and his blade more lethal.
Another half-month passed, andSosuke could now effortlessly evade the vast majority of Tomioka’s strikes in combat.
At this point, Tomioka declared, "Continuing this would be pointless. Everything I could teach you has already been fully conveyed through my blade."
Sosuke nodded and took his leave.
Tomioka escorted them to the gate, marking the end of their training under his tutelage.
The journey back was uneventful, and before they knew it, they had arrived at the Butterfly Mansion.
Sosuke found it rather odd. Whenever he went out with Shinobu, they always encountered demons, but when he went out with Kanae, they never encountered a single one.
Upon arriving ho safely, the first to greet them was naturally Shinobu.
The young girl, like a well-trained hunting dog, sniffed and examined both of them thoroughly. After a long mont, she rubbed her nose, finding no suspicious scents, and finally gave up.
She then declared that Sosuke reeked of sweat and was utterly disgusting.
Sosuke’s face darkened. ’Did I ask you to sniff ?’
His sister-in-law then furtively pulled him aside. "Tell ," she whispered, "did you do anything strange?"
Sosuke sighed and ruffled her hair. "Even if I did, I wouldn’t tell you."
"You did?" Shinobu’s eyes widened in shock.
Sosuke’s face darkened further. "No, I didn’t!"
"Really?" Shinobu eyed him suspiciously, her gaze making him look like a pri suspect.
Sosuke swore an oath, and only then did Shinobu reluctantly agree to let him off the hook.
Sosuke was speechless. This ddleso sister-in-law was truly a handful.
However, he hadn’t lied about anything.
Although he had often shared a room with Kanae while visiting Tomioka, their interactions remained strictly platonic, never crossing the line of propriety.
Even their kisses were limited to the forehead.
"Oh, right," Shinobu said. "While you were away, a letter arrived for you. It’s from the Swordsmith Village."
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