My dear wife, I still love you more.

Eriri waved her hand casually: "Hasegawa, my mom dragged me here specifically to see your performance. If you lose badly in the end, I'll laugh at you." Eriri said to Hasegawa without any politeness.

"Loss? Hasegawa-kun's kendo is incredibly skilled; he's practically already secured the championship this time." Saeko Busujima walked over, smiling as she spoke. She then looked at Sayuri Sawamura and Eriri: "Hello, you must be Eriri Sawamura Spencer. And who is this?"

"This is Mrs. Sawamura, Sawamura's mother," Hasegawa quickly introduced.

"Huh?" Saeko Busujima looked at Sayuri Sawamura in surprise: "Mrs. Sawamura is so young."

"Oh, not at all, I'm getting old. I'm getting wrinkles." Sawamura Sayuri smiled, seemingly very happy, but deep in her eyes, there was still a hint of wariness.

From Sawamura Sayuri's perspective, she vaguely felt that Busujima Saeko might be a threat. After all, Busujima Saeko was not only beautiful and had such a great figure, but she also casually interrupted Hasegawa and Eriri's conversation, which clearly indicated that she had a good relationship with Hasegawa.

Looking at her own daughter, Eriri is indeed very cute, but in terms of figure, she is completely outmatched by Saeko Busujima. In addition, there is Eriri's tsundere personality, which sometimes makes things even worse. No matter how you look at it, she is not as good as Saeko Busujima.

"By the way, what's your relationship with Kenichi?" Sawamura Sayuri asked with a smile.

"I am Hasegawa's senior, and also the captain of the kendo club."

"So it was just the upperclassman and the club president," Sawamura Sayuri said with a hint of realization, as if implying that the relationship between Busujima Saeko and Hasegawa was nothing more than that.

"I forgot to mention. I personally taught Hasegawa-kun the Busujima-ryu kendo style," Saeko Busujima said with a smile.

"Hand in hand—" Sawamura Sayuri was taken aback, feeling even more threatened by Busujima Saeko. However, when she subconsciously looked at Eriri, she found that her daughter was completely nonchalant, very casual, and even seemed a little bored as she yawned.

Seeing Eriri like this, Sawamura Sayuri couldn't help but grit her teeth. As her mother, she was facing off against a girl like Busujima Saeko, who seemed incredibly threatening, and Eriri was behaving like this—it was infuriating! If there weren't other people around, Sawamura Sayuri would have even wanted to pinch Eriri's butt hard.

"Hello, Sawamura-kun and Mrs. Sawamura." Yui Yuigahama stepped forward to greet them. Yui Yuigahama always felt that if she didn't step forward, she would feel like she was inferior to them.

"Hello, hello, may I ask who you are?" Sawamura Sayuri glanced at Yuigahama Yui again. She was another young and beautiful girl, and her figure could also easily surpass Eriri's.

Sawamura Sayuri suddenly had a toothache. Why were all these girls so beautiful, cute, and even more stunning than Eriri in terms of figure? In fact, these girls even outshone her, the lady of the house, in terms of figure.

“Yui Yuigahama, Hasegawa lives in my house,” Yuigahama Yuigahama said directly.

"What? You, you've already?" Sawamura Sayuri's eyes widened.

"Ahem, I'm just temporarily renting a place at Yuihama's house," Hasegawa had to say. After all, it wouldn't be good if this got out.

"Renting a place? I see." Sayuri Sawamura nodded with a smile, though the smile was a little stiff.

She had initially assumed that Hasegawa and Aki Tomoya were open to her daughter Eriri's choice, since Eriri, despite being a doujinshi artist, was undeniably talented and adorable. A cute girl like that shouldn't be able to escape a boy's attention. However, she hadn't expected that Hasegawa, this exceptionally talented young man in her eyes, would be accompanied by two equally outstanding girls. Especially since these two girls not only far surpassed Eriri in terms of physique, but they also displayed a certain degree of aggression.

But Eriri, on the other hand, seemed completely oblivious to everything.

As her mother, she was very anxious.

Hasegawa scratched his head, sensing that something was off. And, it seemed, the source of the unease was Sawamura Sayuri.

Two young girls around Hasegawa's age, and a woman whose daughter is the same age as Hasegawa. Something about it all feels a bit strange.

"Ahem, it's getting late, we should probably get going. It wouldn't be good if we were late." Hasegawa had to speak up to break the awkward atmosphere.

"Hmm, that's true, it's getting late. Although the kendo club has already booked rooms in Fukuoka, we need to book rooms sooner because of the three of you joining us," Saeko Busujima continued, echoing Hasegawa's words. She seemed to subtly agree with whatever Hasegawa said.

This made Sayuri Sawamura raise an eyebrow again. Looking at Saeko Busujima's hidden docility and then at her own daughter's oblivious look, she felt that Eriri was disappointing.

He couldn't help but sigh and shake his head: "Alright, let's go."

"Are we finally leaving? Then hurry up, it's so boring standing here." Eriri said, then yawned in a very unladylike manner. She had stayed up all night drawing manga yesterday, and her energy was completely depleted, so she couldn't wait to get on the bus and go to sleep.

Sawamura Sayuri sighed again. Her daughter was really too stupid, she was simply an idiot.

But it doesn't matter. Even if her daughter is useless, she still has her as her mother. She can try her best to help her daughter get rid of these two rivals and these two potential threats.

Thinking this, a long-forgotten fighting spirit welled up in Sayuri Sawamura's heart.

Chapter 126 Sawamura Sayuri's Little Calculations

The group arrived in Fukuoka and went to the hotel they had booked beforehand. It was a hot spring hotel, and although it was summer, hot springs were still quite popular, after all, Japan is a country that particularly loves bathing.

So after Hasegawa and the others arrived at the hotel, someone suggested going to the hot springs.

Meanwhile, Hasegawa, along with Yui Yuigahama, Sayuri Sawamura, and Eriri, came to book rooms. Unfortunately, because the Tamatsubune tournament is held here every year at this time, along with other competitions such as kendo and karate, and because many spectators, including Hasegawa, come to Fukuoka, hotels with good locations and onsen (hot springs) are already fully booked.

Knowing this, Hasegawa, Yui Yuigahama, and Sayuri Sawamura exchanged bewildered glances.

"It looks like we'll have to find another hotel," Hasegawa said with a hint of helplessness.

“But then, I won’t be able to stay at the same hotel as you, Kenichi.” Sayuri Sawamura looked disappointed.

"Uh." Hearing Sawamura Sayuri's words, Hasegawa felt a little strange, as if her words might be misunderstood: "There's nothing we can do about it, since there are no rooms available. Let's go check other hotels."

"I didn't expect there to be so many people in Fukuoka at this time. If I had known, I would have booked a room much earlier," Sawamura Sayuri sighed.

"So why did I come here? I'm not interested in kendo competitions or anything like that. I'd rather stay home and keep drawing manga." Eriri pouted, looking unhappy.

"You child, all you do all day is draw comics, your brain is about to break down!" Sayuri Sawamura pointed at Eriri's head with exasperation.

"You used to be quite supportive and fond of my doujinshi, but now that I'm starting to draw comics, you're objecting. Is it because—"

"Eriri." Sawamura Sayuri saw Hasegawa and Yuigahama Yui beside her and immediately covered Eriri's mouth. After all, it's not a very respectable thing for a girl to be a doujinshi artist, especially with a love rival right there. How could she just say something like that?

Yui Yuigahama's expression was a little strange. She seemed to have heard some rather explosive news. A doujinshi artist? Could it be that Eriri was a doujinshi artist before? That's too, too, too... something! Eriri is a girl, after all. Aren't doujinshi artists supposed to be middle-aged, overweight, bald, with lewd expressions and sloppy clothes?

A beautiful young girl who hasn't even reached adulthood is actually a doujinshi artist, and she feels that her worldview is about to be altered.

Hasegawa led the three girls to visit many hotels before finally finding one with available rooms. However, it was quite far from the hotel where the kendo club had originally booked rooms. Moreover, this hotel did not have a hot spring, and its comfort level was not very good; in fact, it even looked a bit run-down.

Hasegawa frowned slightly. To be honest, these three people came to Fukuoka entirely to support him, but now they were staying in this kind of hotel, which made Hasegawa feel a little bad. However, there was nothing he could do about it, as it was the best hotel he could find.

It has to be said that Fukuoka, which is not usually very popular, sees a massive influx of people every year around this time. If it weren't for this, there wouldn't be so many hotels in Fukuoka.

Sawamura Sayuri didn't seem to care about the environment at all. She casually looked around the somewhat dilapidated hotel without any disgust or dislike on her face, and even showed a bit of curiosity.

When Sawamura Sayuri noticed Hasegawa's expression, her eyes lit up: "Kenichi."

"What's wrong, Mrs. Sawamura? Are you unhappy with the environment here?"

"No, we're not dissatisfied, but the three of us are, after all, delicate girls, um, women. Living here makes us a little worried. So, if possible, could we ask Kenichi to stay here too? That way, we can have someone to look after us, and it would put our minds at ease." Sawamura Sayuri was thinking of keeping Hasegawa here as well.

On one hand, this would allow Hasegawa more time to spend with Eriri, and on the other hand, it would also isolate Hasegawa from Saeko Busujima. Although there is also Yui Yuigahama, it feels like Yui Yuigahama is not as threatening as Saeko Busujima, so they will target Saeko Busujima first, and then target Yui Yuigahama later.

Sayuri Sawamura went to great lengths for her daughter's happiness.

"This—" Hasegawa hesitated. After all, he was now a member of the kendo club, and it felt a bit inappropriate to come to the competition without living with the kendo team. However, just as Sawamura Sayuri had said, he didn't want these three women to live so far away. If something were to happen to them, it would be too late for Hasegawa to regret it.

“Alright, I’ll stay here with you.” Hasegawa nodded in agreement.

"Thank you so much, Kenichi. Even though there's a fancy hot spring inn, he had to stay here with us." Sayuri Sawamura said, feigning gratitude, though inside she was overjoyed, even excited. Her little scheme had worked!

……

"What? You're going to stay at another hotel with them?" Saeko Busujima asked in surprise.

"After all, they came with me, I can't just leave them behind." Hasegawa was a little embarrassed: "I'm so sorry, Busujima-senpai, but don't worry, I won't be affected by the kendo competition."

Saeko Busujima was having a bit of a headache. Who cared about whether Hasegawa's kendo match would be affected? She was concerned about something else entirely. It was quite obvious that Yui Yuigahama and Eriri might have feelings for Hasegawa, and even Mrs. Sawamura might be plotting something. Having the three of them living in the same hotel as Hasegawa seemed incredibly dangerous.

"Hasegawa-kun, how about this, there's no need to rush to move there. I'll think of something else," Saeko Busujima said to Hasegawa.

"Well, there's really no other way, right? The hotel is already fully booked at this point." Hasegawa scratched his head. "Besides, we're here to participate in a competition, and we need to be in top condition to prepare. Even if we let the three of them stay with the girls from the kendo club, it will inevitably affect their performance. So let's just forget about it."

Chapter 127: Hot spring bath

Hasegawa didn't take Saeko Busujima's suggestion to find a solution to her seriously, since he couldn't think of any solutions himself at that point. It was simply that there were just too many people coming to Fukuoka at that time.

Aside from those like the Kendo Club who book rooms in advance, the rest either find slightly run-down, less-than-ideal hotels like Hasegawa, or choose hotels further away from here.

Hasegawa had already started packing his things. Even Sawamura Sayuri dragged Eriri along to join in, offering to help Hasegawa. However, there wasn't much to pack, so Hasegawa declined to help.

Just then, Saeko Busujima arrived.

"Hasegawa-kun, you don't need to move. The hotel has already cleared out a room. Mrs. Sawamura and Sawamura-kun will share a room for now, and Yui-hama-kun and I will share one. That will solve all the problems." Saeko Busujima said with a smile, glancing at Hasegawa's already packed backpack.

"Huh? It's resolved?" Hasegawa was a little surprised. How could they find a room at a time like this?

"Well, I've participated in the Jade Dragon Flag twice before, so I'm quite familiar with this place. I'm also quite familiar with the kendo club members from other schools, so I talked to them and they reserved a room for me," Saeko Busujima explained with a smile.

"That's not really appropriate. They're also participants in the Jade Dragon Flag competition. It's not good to take up someone else's room. Why don't we go to the hotel over there?" Sawamura Sayuri couldn't help but say. How could she let her carefully laid plans be disrupted like this?

“Mrs. Sawamura, let’s think about Hasegawa’s feelings. After all, Hasegawa is also participating in the Jade Dragon Flag competition. It’s not very convenient for him not to stay in the same hotel as us. If it affects Hasegawa’s performance and he loses a match he could have won, that would be a real shame,” Saeko Busujima said to Sayuri Sawamura with a smile.

"Yes, Mom, none of the hotels over there have hot springs. I want to soak in a hot spring." Eriri was completely oblivious to her mother's good intentions and only thought about soaking in a hot spring.

"You—well then, if that's the case, we'll stay." Sawamura Sayuri was seething with anger, almost wanting to bite Eriri. What a spineless wretched thing.

Seeing that the matter was resolved, Hasegawa breathed a slight sigh of relief. It was still good that he didn't have to move out. Besides, although Hasegawa wasn't the type to indulge in luxury, staying in a better environment was always better than staying in a poor hotel.

Actually, if the kendo club had been able to have one room per person from the beginning, freeing up rooms would have been quite simple. Unfortunately, apart from Saeko Busujima and Hasegawa, the two top members of the male and female teams respectively, who were eligible for single rooms, the rest of the members were sharing rooms. So, it seems that now, except for Hasegawa, everyone else is sharing a room.

While some might envy Hasegawa for having a room to himself, his swordsmanship is undeniably exceptional. Just like Saeko Busujima, who also has her own room, the strong always enjoy privileges.

With everything resolved, Hasegawa changed his clothes and prepared to soak in a hot spring.

Hasegawa had been eagerly anticipating Japan's hot spring culture.

Aside from seeing hot springs in some anime, Hasegawa has only seen scenes of soaking in hot springs in some action movies, such as men soaking in hot springs—cough cough, let's not talk about that.

After casually greeting the kendo club members who were already soaking in the hot spring, Hasegawa immersed himself in the hot spring.

"Phew~~~" Hasegawa exhaled. The feeling of being enveloped in the spring water, which was slightly warmer than his body temperature, was incredibly comfortable. Even though it was the height of summer, soaking in the hot spring was still quite pleasant and a wonderful experience.

The popularity of hot springs and bathing in Japan is actually related to the fact that Japan is an island nation. Located on the sea, the climate is relatively humid, and clothes tend to get damp and sticky. Soaking in hot springs makes the environment very comfortable, which is why bathing has become a particularly popular part of Japanese culture.

After soaking comfortably in the hot spring for a while, feeling weak and even a little dizzy, Hasegawa came out of the hot spring.

Well, everything went smoothly, and there weren't any particularly exciting plot developments. Neither the kind of action movie plots nor the kind of anime plots. Absolutely none.

But think about it, this is the most normal situation. After all, there are so many people in the hotel now, and there are people soaking in the hot spring almost all the time. It is impossible for the male protagonist to be the only one soaking in the hot spring. In this situation, how could there be women? This is not a mixed-gender hot spring.

Of course, this hotel does have a mixed-gender hot spring. However, Hasegawa didn't go there.

Perhaps I'll go there when I'm older and more used to it, but for now, Hasegawa isn't quite used to those customs, so I'll pass. Especially since my body is currently in puberty, I'm bound to react to certain things.

Wearing a bathrobe, Hasegawa walked out of the hot spring and returned to his room, only to find someone already there.

Mrs. Sawamura, Eriri, Yui Yuigahama, and even Saeko Busujima were sitting in Hasegawa's room, playing cards.

Mrs. Sawamura had two pieces of paper stuck to her cheeks, Saeko Busujima had three or four pieces of paper stuck to her face, Yui Yuigahama was similar to Saeko Busujima, but Eriri's face was almost completely covered with pieces of paper.

Obviously, the loser in poker gets a sticker on their face, and Eriri, true to her reputation as a loser, is the one who loses the most even when playing poker.

"Has Hasegawa finished soaking in the hot spring?" Saeko Busujima turned to look at Hasegawa, smiling as she tossed down the playing cards in her hand.

"Speaking of which, Kenichi looks exceptionally handsome after soaking in the hot spring." Sayuri Sawamura also dropped her cards and even pushed them aside, scattering the deck.