How To Ruin A Love Comedy – Chapter 113

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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Nekorune
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A surprise thrust to the neck was difficult to block. But that was only if your posture wasn’t properly set.

Before being hit, Miura was clearly prepared. Moreover, he was maintaining a chūdan stance, so if he had been properly prepared, he could have blocked it with a slight movement of his hand.

But Miura couldn’t do it.

Was it because his reflexes were slow? No.

Matsuda was just too good.

He skillfully targeted a range that was difficult for Miura to move in and thrust his shinai precisely at the moment Miura was executing his move. Although his breathing was somewhat subdued, there was a spirit, a “ki,” in his attack. The shinai was thrust with power, and the movement was clean and efficient. His footwork seemed slow, but his ki-ken-tai-no-ichi and zanshin were properly executed, so I had no choice but to award him the point.

Objectively, it was a good strike, aside from a few minor issues. I was almost impressed by it, too.

A second-year with decent experience would have blocked it. But it was too much for Miura, who was still a beginner. He wouldn’t have been able to block it even if he knew it was coming. That’s how sharp and decisive the attack was.

‘This is too much…’

I knew there would be a difference in skill… no, a difference in talent, but I didn’t know it would be this significant.

‘What should I do…?’

I wanted to stop the match right then, but… stopping it now would severely damage Miura’s pride. He was already burning with competitive spirit when he said he wanted to spar.

But what made me hesitate was the uncertainty about the second round. If it ended as quickly as the first, it would be a huge blow to his morale… Of course, Miura hadn’t shown his full potential yet, but even considering that, he had no chance of winning.

“Well done.”

Miura, checking if his men was crooked, complimented Matsuda. Hearing his calm voice, Renka inwardly sighed in relief. There was no tremor in Miura’s voice. It meant he was in control of himself. He seemed a bit annoyed, but it was probably just his competitive spirit.

Putting aside her thoughts of stopping the match, Renka took a deep breath as Miura prepared to face Matsuda again.

“Let’s take a short break. The impact was quite strong, so I need time to recover.”

“Did I do something wrong again?”

“…Not really.”

“Alright.”

Matsuda replied casually, turned around without hesitation, and approached Chinami, who was trying to suppress her excitement.

“You told me to be careful of the first strike… I’m sorry.”

Miura apologized, having approached her unnoticed. Renka smiled gently and shook her head.

“No, don’t worry too much. If it’s okay with you, I have a piece of advice. Want to hear it?”

“Yes, please.”

“Your specialty is long matches. Focus on close combat, retreating, and defense. Matsuda uses jōdan, so his left side will be open when he attacks. When you see an opportunity, focus on that side and drag him into a close-range fight. Don’t try to create distance. Jōdan has a longer reach.”

“Understood.”

“Trying to strike his head right from the start isn’t a bad idea either.”

“Huh? But isn’t jōdan good at defending the head?”

“If you strike his head and close in, he’ll think you’re trying to initiate a fierce offensive. He’ll definitely try to push you away, and when he does, pretend to be pushed back and strike his wrist.”

“I see… Strike the head and then a retreating wrist strike… Strike the head and then a retreating wrist strike…”

Miura muttered, as if trying to imprint the strategy in his mind. Renka chuckled at his naivete.

“Of course, Matsuda won’t just stand there and take it, so if it doesn’t work, it’s good to retreat quickly. Always think during the match. If you’re too focused on winning or losing, you’ll get stiff, so it’s good to stay relaxed. Just do what you normally do.”

“I’m not good at controlling distance, so it might be difficult to do this while trying to stay out of his range… but I’ll try.”

“That’s normal. It’s hard to gauge distance with jōdan because the shinai is held upwards above the head. Is your neck okay?”

“Oh… It’s okay now, but I couldn’t breathe when I got hit.”

“Let me see.”

Renka pulled down the neck protector of the men and slightly bent forward.

“C, Captain…! You’re too close…!”

Ignoring Miura’s innocent remark, she checked his neck.

“There doesn’t seem to be any bruising. You can stop if it hurts too much.”

“N, no. I’ll continue.”

“Alright. Good luck.”

“Yes, Captain…!”

He was so enthusiastic. Did my encouragement give him strength? Or was his competitive spirit burning? Whatever it was, it wasn’t a bad thing.

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I scoffed. She was checking his smelly body right in front of me. I’d make her pay for that prickly behavior later.

The second round was different from the first. As soon as Renka gave the start signal, Tetsuya quickly moved his feet and charged, aiming for my well-protected head.

*Clack-!*

I easily blocked his attack on my head and frowned as Tetsuya tried to push against my armor. I hated coming into contact with his filthy body, but it should be fine since we were wearing armor.

I lowered my arm and blocked Tetsuya’s shinai as he charged.

*Crack-!*

We were so close that our armor touched. I lightly pushed him away with my arm, and his body slid back. He was retreating without resistance, aiming for a counterattack. It seemed he had taken Renka’s advice… He could have at least pretended to put up a fight.

It was too easy to read. And he was retreating too far, creating the perfect range for me to strike. Scoffing inwardly, I stared directly at Tetsuya, who was practically setting himself up, and swung my shinai.

*Whoosh-! Crack-!*

The cheerful sound of bamboo echoed from Tetsuya’s waist and my wrist.

We had struck each other almost simultaneously, but while the wrist I had been hit on wasn’t a scoring area, the waist Tetsuya had been hit on was a perfect target.

However, this wouldn’t mean I could be scored for this strike. Because it wasn’t the striking surface of the shinai that had hit Tetsuya’s waist, but the central ridge. Since hits with parts other than the striking surface were invalid in kendo, it wasn’t a point at all.

This was entirely intentional. I could have easily aimed for a scorable strike, but I deliberately extended my arm to toy with Tetsuya. Pretending to be clumsy with my distance control.

“Ugh…!”

Having been hit so easily, Tetsuya gritted his teeth. If this were before, he would have whimpered timidly, but he seemed to have gained courage since joining the kendo club.

Before Tetsuya could regain his composure, I charged at him and swung my shinai down.

“Gah…!”

Tetsuya, startled, tried to raise his arm, but the shinai had already landed on his shoulder.

*Crack-!*

His back arched, then straightened. The impact was significant. I thought he was useless, but it seemed he had some small value after all.

“Ugh…”

Tetsuya groaned, as if enduring pain. It shouldn’t have hurt that much, thanks to the padding that protected his shoulders. He was being dramatic. It was my wrist, hit by his blind swing, that hurt. It was still tingling. That bastard hit the bare skin right below the kote…

The rest of the spar was a one-sided beating. Tetsuya, who had confidently declared he could hold his own against me, was desperately trying to defend. I could see the bewilderment growing in his eyes, visible through the men. He must have been dumbfounded. He thought he had trained hard and was ready, but he was just getting hit without being able to fight back properly.

*Crack! Thwack!*

Head, waist, even his back. Pretending to lose control, I gleefully beat him, making sure not to injure him.

“Stop! That’s enough!”

I stopped all movement at Renka’s angry shout. I glanced at him, cornered and almost out of bounds, then turned to Renka.

“Isn’t this one point?”

“One point…? Are you kidding? What are you…”

As Renka let out an exasperated chuckle, about to scold me,

“Matsuda-kouhai! What are you doing?!”

Chinami came running and lightly punched my men.

*Thump!*

“What you just did was violence! That wasn’t a proper attacking posture at all!”

*Thump! Thump!*

“The shinai you’re holding isn’t a steel pipe or a baseball bat! I am so, so disappointed!”

*Thump! Thump! Thump!*

She looked cute, standing on tiptoe to scold me. Come to think of it, something similar had happened during our first spar… I silently endured Chinami’s cute attack and apologized.

“I’m sorry. I got excited because my wrist got hit hard.”

“Your wrist? Are you talking about the first exchange?”

“Yes.”

“Let me see.”

I took off my kote, rolled up my sleeve, and showed her my wrist. The skin was red and slightly swollen in a straight line. Chinami flinched when she saw it.

“Oh… that looks painful…?”

She touched it with her delicate hand. I twitched my eyebrow at the stinging sensation, and she continued,

“Are you okay…?”

“Yes, it’s bearable.”

“I’ll apply some medicine later. It’s common for beginners to get heated during sparring. But even so, this time, it was clearly your fault, Kouhai. What you just did… was way beyond the bounds of martial arts. If this were a real match, you would have been disqualified for unsportsmanlike conduct.”

“I’ll be careful next time. I’ll apologize to Miura as well.”

While I was being scolded by Chinami, Renka was checking on Tetsuya.

“Are you okay?”

“Y-yes… I’m fine…”

Tetsuya’s voice was hoarse. He was despairing at the overwhelming difference in our skills. Noticing his feelings, Renka helped him up and patted his back.

“Rest for a bit.”

He was slumped over like a drenched puppy. His pride must have been hurt. He must have realized that it was him, not me, who was being arrogant. Lick your wounds and come back for another beating later. And since your role for today was over, go back to your room and cry or something.

“Chinami, I’d like to talk to Matsuda alone for a moment, is that okay?”

Renka said, striding towards us. Chinami, who had been scolding me, nodded.

“Oh… sure. Don’t scold him too much. I just gave him a piece of my mind.”

“…I will. Come with me, Matsuda.”

Renka called out to me in a cold voice and left the training hall. I followed her out and closed the door, and she said in a subdued tone,

“Chinami might not have noticed, but I know. That you were deliberately targeting areas covered by armor. You looked very agitated on the outside… but your strikes were too precise for someone in that state, weren’t they?”

“What are you trying to say?”

“That you did it intentionally. And the way you hit Miura, who was on the defensive, not like a kendo practitioner, but like a thug with a weapon… I can only think that you did it out of personal spite, or to humiliate him. Am I wrong?”

She saw right through me.

I remained silent, as if at a loss for words. Renka gestured towards my wrist and asked,

“Is your wrist okay?”

“Yes. It’s alright.”

“When I was a beginner, I used to get angry even if I was just grazed by a strike. I was also very competitive and hated losing, and I always wanted to get even. But… I think you went too far. Your actions went beyond the realm of competitive spirit.”

“Yes… You are right. I’m in the wrong here.”

“It’s good that you’re admitting your mistake. Chinami is too soft on you. She’s too kind to say anything harsh. So I’m going to do it for her. You have talent. But your personality is too arrogant and hot-headed, it’s not suitable for kendo.”

Oh, here it is. Looks like we’re about to start.

“Are you telling me to quit?”

“That’s not what I mean. I’m going to guide you.”

“Guide me?”

“Let’s have a match. Not a practice match like last time, but a real one, like an actual competition.”

She took the bait. Tetsuya was a good lure.

“A real match…? You’re going to spar with me directly, Captain?”

“Yes. Isn’t that what you wanted? You said you wanted to spar. I’ll do it for you. Don’t you want to?”

“Well… I’d be grateful if you did, Captain… but it sounds like you’re trying to teach me a lesson. And honestly, objectively speaking, there’s a big difference in skill between us.”

“Are you afraid of losing?”

Of course not. I could lose hundreds, thousands of times if it meant getting what I wanted.

Scratching the back of my head, I said,

“It’s not that… I think we should bet something for motivation.”

“A bet? What kind?”

“One point.”

“…One point?”

“For every point I score against you, Captain, grant me one wish.”

Renka’s eyes widened at the unexpected proposal.

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Small reminder of kendo terminology:
“Ki-ken-tai-no-ichi” literally it means “soul, sword and body are one”. It represents the inseparable nature of these three elements in Kendo. If these are not combined, a blow in a combat cannot be delivered correctly.

In the context of kendo, “zanshin” is the continued state of spirit, mental alertness and physical readiness to meet the situation (such as an opposing attack) that must be maintained when one returns to kamae (one’s stance, both physical and mental) after attacking. It is one of the essential elements that define a good attack.