Shirou, who returned from the Fairy Kingdom

"Let me in, Uncle. It'll only be a little while. I'll be right back after I'm done."

As Shirou spoke, he put his index finger to his lips, exerting suggestive power through his words.

"Okay... you can only stay for a little while, little brother."

The man in black, with a blank expression, made way for Shirou.

"I'm sorry, Uncle."

Shirou climbed the stairs and opened the door to the office.

The room, filled with smoke, was simply furnished, with two leather sofas and a low table in the center. On the wall hung a sign that read "Fujimura Group" and some Chinese calligraphy whose meaning was unclear.

Then, in the most conspicuous corner of the room, there was a bamboo sword with a somewhat flamboyant appearance.

"Where did this brat come from? Is Tanaka slacking off again?!"

Several men in matching suits and sunglasses were chatting on the sofa. When they saw Shirou, they were so surprised that they dropped their cigarettes on the floor.

"Who's the boss here? I want to see him."

Shirou's gaze swept across each man's face, and he immediately determined that these men were just underlings responsible for guarding the house.

For some reason, the term "gangster clone" popped into his mind.

"……Aha?"

"Who do you think you are, kid! Talking so arrogantly!"

"Is Old Man Lei someone you can just meet anytime you want?!"

One of the gangster clones strode over menacingly.

"Don't be angry, look at this."

Before he could make a move, Shirou pulled out 10000 yen in paper money from his pocket: "I want to see a man named Fujimura Raiga."

"........."

The men's expressions all froze.

Huh? That's strange. Could it be that the money wasn't enough?

Shirou frowned slightly and took out 10000 yen from his pocket. He had left in a hurry, and this was all the money he had.

"This should be enough..."

"Snapped!"

The money in Shirou's hand was knocked away.

"You brat! Are you kidding us?!"

"I'm sorry, that's not what I meant."

Shirou sincerely apologized, and all the men in the room gathered around him.

"Kid, which group sent you?"

"Group? Oh, you mean organization?"

Shirou proudly announced the name of the organization he had established in the Fairy Kingdom: "I come from the 'Fairy Round Table'."

"Huh? You were just kidding us, weren't you?!"

For some reason, the men grew increasingly angry and aggressively approached him.

That's it...

Seeing the increasingly furious expressions on the faces of the yakuza clones, Shirou suddenly realized what was going on.

It turns out there are places in this world where money doesn't work. It's really true...

Great.

That way, I'll be back in my area of ​​expertise.

"Eula!!"

A burly Han Chinese courtier rushed forward, and at the same time...

"--Projection, begin (Trace on)."

The room was filled with a fluorescent green light, and a wooden sword with the words "Lake Toya" engraved on it appeared in Shirou's hand.

Suddenly, a whirlwind swept through the tightly closed office.

The red-haired boy swung the wooden sword with his slender arm, and the tall, burly man in the suit flew through the air and crashed heavily onto the sofa.

"W-what?"

"Where did you pull that wooden sword from!?"

The men in suits panicked. One of them reached out to grab Shirou's collar, but a flying wooden sword struck the back of his hand, making him cry out in pain.

There were originally seven gangster clones in the room, but in less than five seconds, six of them fell to the ground one after another.

As for the remaining person, Shirou lowered "Lake Toya" and said to him, "Let me see your boss."

The man screamed and ran out of the office.

Shirou went to the back of the room, opened the window, and took a deep breath.

"You guys should smoke less; you can't even beat an elementary school student."

After placing "Lake Toya" beside me and sitting on the sofa for about fifteen minutes, the office door was opened again.

The first person to stride into the room was a tall, elderly man.

With a serious, square face, a neat, gray-white buzz cut, and a kimono paired with wooden clogs, he exudes an old-fashioned charm that seems out of place in the modern city.

Following behind him were men who filed in one after another.

Among the numerous gangster clones, for some reason a girl with a ponytail dressed in a school uniform was also mixed in.

The members of the Fujimura group didn't make a scene; instead, they quietly surrounded Shirou in layers, while the elderly man at the head of the group sat down directly opposite him.

"Is it you, the troublemaker who beat up all the young people here?"

I thought it was just old age and hearing loss, but it really is just a primary school student.

Fujimura Raika, the leader of the Fujimura Group, glanced at the group member huddled on the ground.

"The most important thing in our line of work is our reputation. If word gets out about what happened today, the Fujimura Group might as well just disband on the spot."

"Waaaaah! I'm so sorry, Dad!"

The yakuza clone, defeated by Shirou, cried out in grief.

Fujimura Raika spoke in an extremely calm tone.

"Even if it's just a little brat, it can't pay dividends... so just leave your little finger behind."

------

Volume 1, Chapter 16: The Tiger of Fuyuki

Keep the little finger?

Is this some kind of coded message?

Shirou was puzzled.

However, when he saw a team member throw a folding knife onto the table, he immediately understood.

I think I heard someone tell a similar story before, and now I remember!

It is said that losing a little finger would result in losing more than half of one's grip strength, which is equivalent to the end of a swordsman's life. Therefore, it was regarded as a special form of punishment in samurai society.

Shirou didn't make a sound, but instead revealed his purpose.

"I came here because of a man named Kunihiro Sato."

I thought I would need to explain who the other person was, but for some reason Fujimura Raiga seemed to know this Sato.

"Oh, that good-for-nothing who abandoned his wife and children, he does owe the group a lot of money, and with interest, it's already three times the original amount."

What? Has that guy fallen so low that he needs elementary school kids to mediate?

The old man laughed heartily for a while, then resumed his serious expression and cast a sharp glance.

"Kid, what's your relationship with him?"

Shirou answered truthfully, "Sato treated me to a meal this morning."

Fujimura Raika was stunned for a moment, then asked incredulously, "So, you came alone to fight the Fujimura Group to repay his kindness in providing a meal?"

Shirou didn't explain, he just nodded: "Just take that as it is, although I personally have no intention of starting a war."

Fujimura Raiga slapped his thigh and laughed.

"These days, elementary school students are being too influenced by yakuza movies!"

The gangsters also laughed.

Shirou didn't understand what was funny, nor did he know what a yakuza movie was.

He stared at the folding knife on the table and asked, "If I leave my little finger, will Sato's debts be wiped clean?"

“No, your little finger is the part where you hit the younger members of the group. If you want to forgive Sato’s debt, you have to cut off another one.”

Fujimura Raika rubbed her chin and said with a smile, "Although I really want to say that, at your age, even if you go to the cinema, you'll only be charged half price, so this time I'll just charge you for your little finger."

But are you really sure you want to do this?

Judging from your skills, you should be a promising future star in swordsmanship. Are you sure you want to give up your potential for that kind of trash?

"Thank you."

Without hesitation, Shirou grabbed the folding knife from the table and placed his right hand, with its fingers spread, on the table.

With Shirou's skill, he can cut the flattest cross-section, and then just use a third-rate magician's healing magic to put it back together.

"!"

Fujimura Raika's eyes widened.

The boy flicked away the folding knife, then, without hesitation, lunged at the junior officer—

A large hand caught the falling blade.

Fujimura Raiga gripped the blade, stopping Shirou from cutting off his finger.

"Dad!" the gangster clone shouted in a panic.

"This is so reckless, Grandpa!"

The girl in uniform rushed over to check the old man's injured hand, but...

"Huh? How could this be?"

Fujimura Rai's hand was not cut.

Even a yakuza boss is still a human being with flesh and blood. Shirou's sword swings are incredibly fast; in that situation, it would be impossible for him not to get cut, unless...

Fujimura Raika narrowed her eyes, looking at the red-haired boy with a mixture of surprise and amusement: "Kid, did you know from the beginning that I would do this?"

Shirou tilted his head and said, "I don't understand what you're saying, sir. Please don't stop me from cutting my finger, okay?"

"Tsk... I'm not cutting it anymore!"

Like a spoiled child, Fujimura Rai threw the folding knife into the trash can.

Seeing this, Shirou pressed further, "So, you're willing to forgive Sato's debts?"

Upon hearing this, the gang leader's expression turned serious.

"No, why not? Figure it out yourself."

"Sato has repented and will definitely work hard from now on."

Fujimura Raiwa asked, "What's your evidence for saying that?"

Shirou said with a serious expression, "I'm usually very good at judging people."

"..."