The Path to Godhood Begins from the Otherworld

No, I need to find a chance to ask in private later.

Luo Shu's curiosity kept growing, but he suppressed his eagerness and maintained a calm demeanor on his face.

He understood that at this moment, as a listener, he would be much more likely to avoid making mistakes than if he intervened in the conversation.

After all, too much talk leads to mistakes.

Miyajima Sakura's silence did not win Kurumizaka Ruri's sympathy. On the contrary, she directly answered the question, "Do you know how a peacock spreads its tail?"

"Liuli, what do you want to say?"

"I remember that Kase Masafumi joined Miyajima Tenshin-ryu only two years ago. He was awarded 'Paper Cutting' a year ago and was recognized by your father as a rough diamond. However, you may not know that he had already practiced kendo before joining Miyajima Tenshin-ryu."

"This is impossible." Miyajima Sakura was stunned. She had previously considered letting Kase Masafumi join the kendo club this year, let him show his style as the representative of the new generation of Miyajima Tenshin-ryu disciples, and use this to push him to the position of vice-president of the kendo club.

On the one hand, it was because Masafumi Kase's ability was indeed very good among his peers. At least he had not found a rough diamond in Seishin Academy whose talent could be compared with his.

On the other hand, it was his father Miyajima Muneshige's evaluation of Masafumi Kase as a rough diamond that made Masafumi Kase's first impression on Miyajima Sakura higher than that of others.

However, after hearing what Kurumizaka Ruri said, she immediately realized that Kase Masafumi's rapid progress in swordsmanship was indeed contrary to common sense.

Why would someone with such outstanding talent, who was awarded "paper cutting" after only one year of practicing kendo, choose the Miyajima Tenshin-ryu school?

In Fuso Kendo, there are many branches of Tenshin-ryu. The Miyajima family gained some fame in the Fuso Kendo world because of a talented female swordsman who was awarded the "Catalog" at the age of eighteen.

If Masafumi Kase is really a "diamond in the rough", then the other party will obviously have a better choice.

After all, the Miyajima Tenshin-ryu's dojo is not big. As the current "Menkyo Kaiden" of Miyajima Tenshin-ryu, Miyajima Sosuke is a policeman and has no way to frequently provide guidance to the disciples in the dojo.

After Miyajima Sakura was awarded the "Catalog", she took on most of the swordsmanship guidance of Miyajima Tenshin-ryu.

If Masafumi Kase is really a "diamond in the rough", then if he wants to achieve something in kendo, Miyajima Tenshin-ryu is not a good choice.

But the strangest thing is that even though he knew that the "Menkyo Kaiden" of Miyajima Tenshin-ryu would not come to the dojo frequently to teach, Kase Masafumi did not show the slightest dissatisfaction.

Seeing Miyajima Sakura's face changing from gloomy to bright, Kurumizaka Ruri knew her teasing had worked. She added a final stab, "Senior, no matter what, the Miyajima family is still the only famous swordsmanship family in Bunkyo District that has inherited the Tenshin-ryu swordsmanship. Your family has no male heirs, so what do you think your father will think when he sees this uncut gem?"

Miyajima Sakura's face also turned pale because of Kurumizaka Ruri's words.

"It seems that Senior Sister has finally figured it out."

Chapter 10: Professional habits can kill people

Kurumizaka Ruri has been involved in the business world and the world of fame and fortune since she was a child, following her parents who run a cosmetics company. She has rich social experience and has witnessed too much of the ugliness of human nature.

Therefore, when she visited the Miyajima family not long ago, she saw that Miyajima Muneshige, who was usually rude, was actually fond of Kase Masafumi and even regarded him as a "rude gem". She obviously sensed that there was something fishy going on.

Therefore, she considered the fact that the Miyajima family currently had no male heir, and only had a daughter like Miyajima Sakura, which meant that the inheritance might be cut off.

If it were his Miyajima Sosuke, then the more outstanding his daughter's appearance and the higher her kendo talent, the more painful it would be for him.

In a patriarchal society like Fuso, Miyajima Muneyasu would not consider letting his daughter become the next "Menkyo Kaiden" of Miyajima Tenshin-ryu unless it was absolutely necessary.

Kurumizaka Ruri knew very well that Miyajima Sakura's father, Miyajima Sosuke, was essentially a typical Japanese man.

Therefore, she only needed to put herself in Miyajima Sosuke's shoes a little to understand his thoughts.

From Miyajima Muneyoshi's point of view, if he wants to avoid a situation that may cause the Miyajima family to lose face in the Fuso kendo world, he must introduce external forces.

It is very likely that Masafumi Kase is the future husband chosen by Sosuke Miyajima for his daughter Sakura Miyajima, and is also the candidate he considers to inherit the Miyajima Tenshin-ryu school.

After Kurumizaka Ruri realized this, she naturally couldn't sit idly by and watch her friend step into the fire pit.

However, she never found the right opportunity to make it clear.

Luo Shu's unexpected appearance and today's trip to the Kendo Club can be said to have given her a godsend opportunity.

That's why she had deliberately used provocative words in order to anger Kase Masafumi.

Unfortunately, she found that she had obviously underestimated Kase Masafumi's patience.

However, Kurumizaka Ruri will not easily give up this hard-earned opportunity to remind Miyajima Sakura.

That's why, contrary to her usual practice, she did not leave the Kendo Club immediately, but came to the reception room.

"Liuli, what should I do?"

At this time, Miyajima Sakura finally understood that it was not a coincidence that Kase Masafumi chose Seishin Academy. It was very likely that the other party's choice to go to the same school as her was a deliberate arrangement by someone.

At this moment, Miyajima Sakura recalled the conversations she had with several female disciples at the Miyajima Tenshin-ryu Dojo.

They told them that Masafumi Kase seemed to be asking about the high school they wanted to apply to in the future.

At first, she didn't care too much about it, because she couldn't reveal her college application to anyone other than her parents.

However, thinking back on it now, she understood that the so-called "coincidence" of Kase Masafumi applying to Seishin Academy might have been a deliberate arrangement that she was not aware of.

Miyajima Sakura naturally didn't think it was her mother's doing, because although her mother was strict, she would never do anything like that to interfere with her future.

Then, the only person who could have leaked the information about my choice of Seishin Academy was...

"Senior, I can't guarantee that my speculation is correct." Kurumizaka Ruri didn't rush to answer. She pretended to be embarrassed and said, "I'm sorry, it seems I thought too badly of my uncle. Please forgive my rudeness, Senior."

"Liuli, I understand."

Miyajima Sakura had a bitter look on her face. She was intelligent and had outstanding talents in both kendo and reading.

Therefore, after thinking about it for a while, she realized that Kurumizaka Ruri's sudden verbal provocation in the Kendo Club might not just be because of Luo Shu's presence.

Based on his understanding of Kurumizaka Ruri, her junior is a person who has a very clear distinction between love and hate, and only pays attention to people she cares about.

It can be said that if you can't become friends with Kurumizaka Ruri, it will be difficult to enter her social circle.

Obviously, in the Kendo Club of Seishin Academy, apart from himself, it is impossible for anyone else to attract the other party's attention.

It may seem abrupt that Kurumizaka Ruri used words to provoke Kase Masafumi, but in essence it was because she had spent time investigating Kase Masafumi for her own sake.

Miyajima Sakura understood that Kurumizaka Ruri did not investigate and test Kase Masafumi because she was interested in him, but because her junior discovered that Kase Masafumi had joined Miyajima Tenshin-ryu after investigation, and unexpectedly became her junior in the same school this year, and chose the Kendo Club early on. These coincidences may be related to her father.

Therefore, she now regarded Kurumizaka Ruri as her life-saving straw.

Others don’t know how capable this junior of theirs is, but because her mother has a close personal relationship with Liuli’s mother, she has known Liuli for a long time. Under the leadership of her mother, Miyajima Tsubaki, she also saw Liuli chatting and laughing with those successful business people at Liuli’s birthday party.

At that time, Liuli was still a junior high school student.

Therefore, after Kurumizaka Ruri took the initiative to point out the difficulties she was facing today, Miyajima Sakura immediately understood that she should have a way to solve the dilemma she was facing.

After all, Kurumizaka Ruri's business methods have always been known for being precise, efficient, and foolproof.

Therefore, Miyajima Sakura knew that if she wanted to avoid the tragic future of being used as a tool for marriage by her father, she could only hope that he would be willing to give her advice.

"Liuli, please help me."

"Senior, you should understand that the Kurumizaka family motto is 'Friendship is friendship, and business is business.'"

Kurumizaka Ruri smiled, "Of course I can help you, Senior, but what price can you pay?"

"Price?" Miyajima Sakura fell silent after hearing this. She did not blame Kurumizaka Ruri for asking for a higher price. After all, she was just asking for help.

What's more, she was not worried that Kurumizaka Ruri would put forward conditions.

Since my future schoolmate took the opportunity to ask this question, it shows that I have value that she values.

"Yes, senior sister should have heard such a saying."

Kurumizaka Ruri's expression returned to calm. "Every gift from fate has already been secretly marked with a price. If you want to change your fate, you must pay the corresponding price."

"what do you want?"

When Kurumizaka Ruri heard Miyajima Sakura say this, she was about to speak, but then she remembered that she almost treated this conversation as a business negotiation.

She was a little embarrassed.

Oops, I almost forgot, I didn't initiate this conversation today to ask for payment from the senior.

What should we do now?

"Ahem, cough, cough, you two, please stop for a moment." Luo Shu naturally noticed that Kurumizaka Ruri was acting strangely. He looked at Miyajima Sakura and suggested, "Kurumizaka-san, could you please let me go out with you for a moment?"

Kurumizaka Ruri was stunned when she heard this, then she realized that Luo Shu was aware of her situation and quickly said, "Of course, Senior Sister shouldn't mind, right?"

"Please go ahead, both of you." Seeing how much Kurumizaka Ruri valued Luo Shu, Miyajima Sakura couldn't help but become more curious about him.

More importantly, Miyajima Sakura obviously realized that Luo Shu was trying to help her out, so she naturally did not choose to stop him.

After leaving the Kendo Society's guest room, Luo Shu and Kurumizaka Ruri came to the end of the corridor outside the guest room.

Chapter 11: Kurumizaka Ruri's Advice

Luo Shu opened the window, looked at the fiery clouds in the sky, sighed, and asked, "Kumizaka-san, what you said just now, are you trying to use this opportunity to blackmail me?"

"No, I just said that out of professional habit." Kurumizaka Ruri's tone was a little awkward. She asked in some confusion, "Shu Jun, what should we do now?"

"Words spoken are like water spilled." Luo Shu didn't expect that Kurumizaka Ruri would say that. He glanced at her and found that she was winking at him. He couldn't help but be stunned.

However, Luo Shu thought about it for a moment and didn't forget the main thing. He asked a key question, "You probably don't want your friendship with your senior to deteriorate, right?"

"Ah, well, it's not impossible."

"what?"

"Ahem, what I mean is, of course I don't want to." Kurumizaka Ruri smiled awkwardly and muttered softly, "It's just that, having said that, I really haven't figured out how to end this."

"Then let me owe you a favor." Luo Shu was speechless, but to be honest, he didn't have any good ideas. "But, do you really have a way to help me solve this problem?"

"The dilemma of the heir of the Miyajima family is actually very simple to solve."

Kurumizaka Ruri whispered in Luo Shu's ear, "As long as we can prove that Kase Masafumi is a 'rough jade' that cannot be polished, or even that he might not be a rough jade at all but a piece of stone, then Senior's father will definitely choose to give up this chess piece."

"Just make your own ideas."

When Luo Shu heard what Kurumizaka Ruri said, he realized that she was really confident that she could solve the problem for Miyajima Sakura, so he felt relieved.

"Okay, go back. Senior is still waiting for you to propose conditions."

"Hey, professional habits are killing me." Kurumizaka Ruri complained weakly, and then took the opportunity to lean towards Luo Shu, "Shu Jun, I'm so tired."

"Be serious." Luo Shu grabbed the other person's increasingly presumptuous hand in annoyance, "Let's talk business."

"Oh." Kurumizaka Ruri let Luo Shu hold her hand. Not only did she not think of resisting, she also took the opportunity to clasp their fingers together.

Luo Shu felt his hand being held tightly, and he was suddenly speechless.

No, isn't it so proactive?

That's not right. Who would hold hands with someone just after meeting them?

Is this strategy too fast?

Besides, shouldn’t boys be the ones to take the initiative when holding hands?

Why is it the other way around when it comes to me?

Well, I think it’s a problem with this derivative world.

As expected, no matter what happens in the other world, you won’t feel any surprise.

Luo Shu felt that even if a few elves, mermaids and other alien transfer students suddenly arrived after school started, the indigenous residents of this derivative world would probably get used to it.

Luo Shu was overwhelmed with thoughts for a moment.

He even forgot to pry open Kurumizaka Ruri's slender hand with her ten fingers clenched tightly.

The two of them returned to the reception room like a couple who had been in love for a long time.

When they saw Kurumizaka Ruri and Luo Shu holding hands, Miyajima Sakura was a little surprised, Sasaki Setsuna and Hamasaki Reina were a little angry, they looked at each other and nodded silently.

Since your bestie has run away, forget about them teaming up!

Unfortunately, Kurumizaka Ruri didn't care about their gazes at all, but held Luo Shu tightly and returned to her seat. After being glared at by Luo Shu, she reluctantly let go of her hand.

Luo Shu looked at Miyajima Sakura awkwardly and coughed lightly, "Senior, you can continue the previous topic."

Miyajima Sakura's expression remained calm. After all, it was Liuli's choice what kind of boy she liked.

"I understand." Miyajima Sakura sat upright and poured everyone another cup of tea before speaking again, "So, Liuli, what's the price for your help?"

Miyajima Sakura chose to be straightforward, which saved Kurumizaka Ruri from embarrassment.

However, she certainly wouldn't show it on her face. She just looked solemn as she gave her response, "I'll ask for three favors from you, senior. How about that?"

"Ah?" Miyajima Sakura was stunned for a moment, then looked at Luo Shu with gratitude.

Luo Shu looked at Kurumizaka Ruri in shock.