A trace of hesitation appeared on his brow at this moment.
Chokata Toshisuke was undoubtedly the person at Shiwei Hall who had the closest relationship with Aoto.
Having his best friend, with whom he shared everything, forced by his own sister to give up swordsmanship... Aoto really couldn’t turn a blind eye to such a thing.
No matter what, he had to get to the bottom of it—deepening this resolve, Aoto hesitated for a moment before taking a deep breath and then said in one breath:
"Mr. Chokata, your older sister wants you to give up swordsmanship... what on earth is going on?"
"Uh...!"
Chokata let out an astonished murmur.
With a height difference of 20cm between the two, you look up, I look down; you look at me, I look at you...
Time ticked away as their eyes met silently.
Aoto wasn’t in a hurry; he just kept quietly watching Chokata, waiting patiently for his response.
After quite a while, the astonishment on Chokata’s face slowly dissolved.
"How can it be such a coincidence...?"
Chokata chuckled wryly, reaching behind his head to play with his ponytail.
"That you happened to overhear my conversation with my sister..."
Chokata sighed slightly.
"Alright then..."
"Since you, Mr. Tachibana, overheard my conversation with my sister... I might as well fill you in on the whole story."
"Today, I went out with my sister for some play and shopping."
"On the way back to Shiwei Hall, I got a bit thirsty, so I took my sister to that tea house, intending to recommend this shop that I really like to her."
"But who knew, as soon as we settled at the tea house’s table, my sister would start talking about the topic I least wanted to discuss, ’giving up swordsmanship’... ruining my good mood."
Chokata sighed again.
"My older sister... she never supported me in learning swordsmanship..."
"Starting many years ago, my sister began trying various ways to persuade me to give up learning the sword."
"Perhaps it’s because I’m getting older, and it’s too late for me to switch and learn another skill... anyway, since last year, my sister has become more frequent in persuading me to give up swordsmanship."
"Now, my sister takes every opportunity to try to convince me."
"Whenever she finds a chance, she pounces over to give me a good lecture... it’s starting to wear me out..."
Listening quietly, Aoto finally couldn’t help but speak up:
"Mr. Chokata, why does your sister oppose you learning the sword so much? This doesn’t seem to add up."
"Your talent for swordsmanship is so high, not learning the sword and learning something else... this is like avoiding strengths and exploiting weaknesses, wasting a gift."
"From what I heard today, your older sister seems to think that few people can make a living with swordsmanship, which is why she stops you from learning the sword... indeed, her view isn’t wrong, it is rare for people to make a living from swordsmanship, but I still think it’s too far-fetched to stop someone as talented as you from learning the sword just for this reason."
Anyone who had some contact with Chokata knew: Chokata is undoubtedly a swordsmanship prodigy!
Not only does he possess exceptional swordsmanship talents beyond ordinary people, but he also has innate superior physical aptitude
Such a gifted material for practicing the sword, the whole person seems like he was born just for the sword...
To force such a genius to switch professions, not allowing him to fully utilize his talents in the field he excels in as if heaven itself has come down to feed him in this area... Aoto truly could not understand such an operation.
"Ah hahaha..."
Chokata let out a dry laugh, slightly increasing the force with which he was playing with his ponytail.
"Actually... worrying that I might not be able to make a living from swordsmanship in the future is merely a secondary reason for my sister opposing my learning the sword."
"Secondary reason?" Aoto was taken aback, "What is the primary reason then?"
"Uh... well..."
Suddenly, Chokata’s gaze became evasive, and his mouth began to stammer, unable to form a coherent sentence for a long time.
Aoto waited for a long time before finally getting a vague response from Chokata:
"As for the main reason... it’s inconvenient for me to say right now. Mr. Tachibana, I’ll tell you when there’s a chance in the future..."
Saying this, Chokata closed his eyes and took a deep breath.
After exhaling the air from his lungs with a "whoosh", Chokata opened his eyes again.
At this moment, his bright eyes were filled with the lively and cheerful light that Aoto was familiar with.
"Mr. Tachibana, don’t worry about me."
With a smile on his face, Chokata placed his left hand on his hip and lightly patted his flat chest with his right hand.
"Shiwei Hall is my second home; the Natural Reasoning Heart Stream is like my second life. No matter what my sister says, I will never leave Shiwei Hall nor give up swordsmanship."
"I will handle the trivial matters between my sister and me properly, so Mr. Tachibana, rest assured!"
Seeing the smile on Chokata’s face, Aoto couldn’t help but show a faint smile as well.
Since Chokata didn’t want to elaborate on the reasons his sister opposed his learning the sword, Aoto found it inappropriate to press further on this matter.
After all, this was a personal issue, and since Chokata had clearly stated that he would handle it himself, it seemed best to respect his wishes.
"... Well then. If you don’t want to give up learning the sword, you should communicate well with your sister."
"Of course."
Chokata nodded firmly without hesitation.
At this moment, Chokata seemed to recall something, his expression froze, and then he quickly said:
"By the way, by the way, Mr. Tachibana."

Comments

Loading...