"Good morning, Kazami-kun."
"Good morning, Kazami-kun."
In the vibrant morning atmosphere of the school, Yusei walked along the path to his classroom, occasionally greeted by girls with blushing faces.
Yusei, who was already somewhat 'well-known' at school, had recently undergone a change.
The confident aura radiating from within had truly elevated him to the status of a minor celebrity.
At the very least, Yusei's natural appearance was quite handsome. Before, he used to keep his head down, appearing very timid, even less assertive than some girls.
That kind of boy naturally didn't attract girls' favor. It wasn't just simple shyness… it was the result of being bullied too much, becoming submissive.
But recently, the incident at the Kendo Club, where Yusei taught Taiji a lesson, had spread.
Taiji was beaten to a pulp, and that was Yusei's handiwork.
Instantly, Yusei's reputation spread throughout the school. Fighting might not be a good thing, but it also indicated that this boy at least had some strength and could provide a certain sense of security.
Coupled with Yusei's current extreme confidence, completely shedding his previous submissive appearance, such a boy naturally garnered favor from many young girls.
Yusei also responded to each of them, which further increased their favorable impression of him. They couldn't help but marvel at 'how quickly a person can change'.
Arriving at the entrance of Class B, Yusei was surprised to find Utaha standing in the corridor, looking out the window.
Noticing Yusei from her peripheral vision, she also turned around and offered a smile.
"Good morning, Kazami-kun."
"Good morning, Utaha-chan."
Yusei smiled as usual, but he subtly changed the form of address.
It wasn't 'Kasumigaoka-kun' or 'Kasumigaoka-senpai', but the more intimate 'Utaha-chan'.
Utaha raised an eyebrow but didn't comment. She glanced at the surprised looks from passing students nearby, then looked back at Yusei with a slightly teasing tone.
"Kazami-kun has already become quite the celebrity at school, hasn't he? I just saw no less than ten girls greeting you. Not considering organizing them into a harem?"
"Cough..." Yusei was momentarily stunned by Utaha's words.
'A harem... That was indeed my idea, but the first target really should be you, Senpai. Picking from those girls was impossible.'
"Please don't joke about that, Utaha-chan. You know my feelings, and am I really such a playboy in your heart?"
Yusei showed a helpless expression and shrugged.
Utaha glanced at him indifferently, not fooled by his act.
"That's hard to say. After all, it's not surprising for someone who stares at beautiful girls' legs to have thoughts of having multiple partners."
This conversation was becoming impossible to continue.
Yusei didn't plan to keep bantering with Utaha either. He had important matters today.
"Are you free at noon today?"
"I am. What's up?"
Receiving an 'I'm free' reply, a smile appeared on Yusei's face.
"How about accompanying me to the Kendo Club? I need to participate in the selection competition for the Kendo Tournament."
Because the Kendo Club had a considerable number of members, and some had skills on par with each other, selecting participants for the tournament based solely on daily performance seemed somewhat unfair.
So, the Kendo Club's president, Takeo, decided to hold a tournament.
You want to compete? Then let's see the real skills. The strong go, and the weak stay. That way, it's fair.
The internal selection competition for the Toyogasaki Academy's Kendo Club was divided into two parts: Team Battle and Individual Battle.
As the names suggest, the former involved forming small teams, with one-on-one matches on the platform one by one until the last person remained standing. The winning team would qualify for the team tournament.
A school could only enter one team for the team tournament, so getting into the team event wasn't easy.
However, there was a rule: the winner could continue to the next match or step down to rest and recover stamina.
Therefore, if a team had a top player, that team's combat power could be very strong.
In fact, a top player could win one match, step down, let a cannon fodder member go up, and even if they lost, they could wear down the opponent while allowing their own top player to recover stamina.
Killing two birds with one stone!
The complications naturally went without saying: team communication, strategizing, and worrying about having weak teammates who get wiped out by others.
So, Yusei naturally wouldn't participate in the team battle. He was signing up for the individual battle… the kind where one person fights through everything alone!