Why are there only loser heroines around me?

In Xiaoju's heart, whose inner defenses are as solid as a rock and who will keep all strangers out, this photo must occupy an extraordinarily important position.

Just as Ukyo was trying to find other factors that caused Komari to become ill in her room, Yanami suddenly patted his shoulder. When Ukyo turned his head, he saw Yanami making a gesture of silence at him.

"Xiaoju is asleep, let's go first."

sleep?

Wasn't she eating pudding just now?

Ukyo looked at Xiaoju. Her breathing was rhythmic and very steady, indicating that she was indeed asleep. Her two hands stretched out from under the quilt, and her delicate fingers grasped the edge of the quilt.

"Looks like we'll have to work overtime tonight," Ukyo said, pointing at Komari's computer.

There were still some original manuscripts for the display board left. If the three of them divided the work, it wouldn't take long to finish, so it couldn't be considered overtime.

Just as the two were about to leave, Xiaoju suddenly squirmed and turned over in her sleep, with a strange smile appearing at the corner of her mouth.

"Right...King..."

Her lips moved, and the expression on her face became extremely uncomfortable, as if she had suddenly tasted a lot of wasabi while biting sushi. She waved her arms restlessly while talking in her sleep.

"Haya...Hana-kun...don't...don't hit me..."

"...?"

A big question mark popped up above Yanami's head. What kind of weird dream is this guy Xiaoju having?

Never mind, this kind of thing doesn't matter.

Ukyo had already left the house. Before leaving, Yanami helped Xiaoju pull up the quilt. Her little brother was standing at the door with some cut fruit. After Yanami left, the little boy said to her, "Mom asked me to cut some fruit for you. Thank you for coming to see me."

The little boy pulled her sleeve and led her to the living room. Youjing had already sat on the sofa with Xiaoju's computer opposite him. He didn't seem to want to take his work home, but wanted to finish the manuscript here with Xiaoju.

Yanaijian sat down next to Ukyo and was about to eat some of the fruit Xiaojin brought when he heard Ukyo say, "You should be familiar with the Peach Blossom Demon, right? I'll give you another Neti Bride and a Clam Spirit. Use your phone to code it, and then send it to me via email."

".....Okay." Yanai saw the hand holding the apple with a toothpick hovering in the air and uttered a word reluctantly.

Xiaoju's younger brother Xiaojin sat on the other side of the coffee table with an innocent look on his face. He thought Ukyo looked a little fierce, but he couldn't suppress his curiosity, so he asked Yanami, who seemed to be more talkative, "Sister, are you brother's girlfriend?"

Hearing this, Yanami's eyes flashed with obvious panic.

".....ah?"

"No...no!" She secretly glanced at Ukyo's condition, then half-covered her mouth and said to Xiaojin, "Shh! Don't say such things. The big brother next to me is very cruel. If he hears us, both of us will be in trouble!"

"What is the relationship between sister and brother?"

This kid doesn't quite know how to judge the situation... Yanami thought.

"We are just good friends."

Xiao Jin's face suddenly lit up with joy.

"Sure!"

He had no idea what he was suddenly celebrating.

"Yona! Did you hear that? I'm not your brother's girlfriend!"

...Yana?

Yanami looked towards the entrance connecting the living room and the porch. A little girl with her hands tucked into her sleeves was standing there awkwardly. She looked like a scaled-down version of Komari. She was undoubtedly Komari's sister.

Why would such a young child be curious about such things?

.....Could it be? Yanami couldn't help but turn his gaze towards Ukyo. Could it be that this guy's appeal wasn't limited to people his age? Could it be that even elementary school students who didn't know what love was were attracted to him? Yanami thought carefully about when she was Haruna's age. It seemed that all she could think about was today's snacks and what her mother would make for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. She had no interest in men at all.

Yang Nai looked at the living room from a distance, a little afraid to approach. She took a small step forward with her little feet in cute rabbit slippers, but finally gave up and bowed to the two of them before running away.

It seems that it is really a smaller version of Xiaoju.

Yanami poked Ukyo's arm—

"Ajing, that little girl seems to like you~"

"You've been calling her that nickname a lot lately." Ukyo seemed to see through the truth behind Yona's question at a glance: "Maybe she's asking for someone else."

Yana was immediately awakened.

Yes, how could such a young child understand this? But it is true that many little girls like to play with handsome brothers when they are young.

"I'm only giving you three tasks. If you keep dawdling, Yanai, I'll have to stay up with you tonight."

Youjing has clearly arranged the time for everything recently, but he is always unable to go to bed on time every night. The regular life that is as precise as a mechanical watch is broken, which makes him feel a little impetuous recently.

"Oh, it won't be long."

Seeing this, Yana said, "What's the big deal about staying up a few minutes late? Wouldn't it be boring to go to bed early every day?"

"It's boring," Ukyo said. "But a regular schedule keeps your body in top shape. Staying up late looking at your phone can strain your eyesight. The reason I can use my sword to cut through bullets fired by others is not only because of my quick reaction speed, but also because of my good eyesight. Yanami, do you stay up late at night looking at your phone?"

"Of course." Yanaijian said subconsciously, "But I don't look at it every day. I've seen popular science articles in many places saying that cell phone radiation is bad for the skin. Over time, it will cause pimples, flaking, and roughness. So sometimes I have to control my desire."

"Very good." Ukyo said, "Then you still have a chance to kill bullets with a knife in this life. If you are determined to become stronger, you can start by training with the slowest tennis ball launcher. Once you get used to it, you can slowly increase the speed."

"Once you're able to adapt to the fastest tennis ball launcher, replace the tennis ball with smaller objects, gradually challenging your body's limits. Of course, without superpowers, this is still very difficult. However, this world has possessed shikigami. Why don't we choose a fox or cat for you? Forget the dog that can cause people to go crazy."

"It's fine for a lunatic like Yuan to use a dog, but we psychic detectives have to rely on our brains. If we use too many dogs, it will be very troublesome."

Yanaijian said while writing a manuscript on his phone, "Then I want a fox. I heard that foxes can make people thinner by absorbing human essence. This way, I won't have to worry about gaining weight no matter how much I eat!"

"But the lack of vital energy can also cause pale skin, fear of sunlight, fear of cold in winter and heat in summer, and feeling very tired when doing anything. The appetite will also decrease, and everything you eat will taste bland." Youjing said very seriously.

"Uh..." Yanaijian felt a little nauseous, "Then I don't want a fox anymore, I want a cat too."

The cat trapped in the phone expressed support and also observed a moment of silence for its companion who was about to lose his freedom.

But Yanai looked like a good person, so he shouldn't be like a "devil" and lock it up in his cell phone like a prisoner.

.......

...

Early the next morning.

Ukyo and Yana saw that the two of them were each carrying a thickened display board, and it took them two trips to carry all 41 boards to the school.

"Ah~, it's Yanana and Kotachi!"

Lemon, who had been arranging things in the classroom for a long time, saw the two of them coming into the classroom and opened her arms confidently to them, showing them the large classroom that had been basically decorated thanks to her efforts.

Now all we have to do is put up the final display board and we're done.

Ukyo looked at the "model display area" where the models had been placed. Xiaoju really liked the crows in Edgar Allan Poe's poem. She made several more afterwards. There were more than thirty lifelike black crows in the display area. It seemed that the source of her illness had been found. Perhaps she had overdrawn her physical strength while doing handicrafts.

Ukyo deliberately read "The Crow" after the crow incident.

The poem tells the story of a man who was so heartbroken by the departure of his beloved girl that he came alone to his old villa in the suburbs.

In the shadow of the flames, he saw a crow flapping its wings. The crow then used lonely and desolate poetry to mock the man for being too sentimental, but the man was unmoved. He thought the crow was very stupid, so he continued to indulge in his own sadness.

Ukyo didn't like this poem. He felt that it seemed to be mocking him, so he only read it once and then blocked it.

.....

The next task is to hang display boards with the members of the club.

Today is already Saturday, but they came early, and in a while, the corridor will soon be noisy. Their club's progress is actually very slow. They only finished decorating the classroom on the day when the Ishinobi Festival started. But in the end, they managed to complete it without any major problems.

Design experience area, kendo experience area, and model display area.

Among them, only the "Kendo Experience Area" is very unstable, because the sign there reads - "You need to wait here for a randomly refreshed Yanami."

You must win the sword duel to get the gift.

But would Yanami really show up? Ukyo felt she'd definitely go out and have a blast once the garden party started. She was also about to change into her Sakura Fairy cosplay costume, and with that outfit, a single swing of her sword would likely knock the cherry blossom petals off her headdress.

Therefore, Ukyo regarded the "Kendo Experience Area" as a blank space in the crowded area.

Although others might suspect that their literature club lacks content, Ukyo has already thought of an excuse.

Many masters of Chinese painting would deliberately leave blank spaces in their paintings, so the kendo experience area is the deliberate blank space of their literature and art club. Given his status in this school, if he gave the above answer, most people would think that he really did it on purpose.

As it turned out, Youjing's guess was correct.

After the garden party officially kicked off, Yanami was nowhere to be found in the club classroom.

She went out to look for food, shouting short sentences like "I'm so hungry!", "Breakfast!", "I must eat quickly".

Image: "Image", Location: "Images/1729775811-100416414-112267961.jpg"

 …

...

The teachers of the school's kendo club had long heard that there was a special "swordsmanship experience area" here, so they came to the literature club as soon as the Ishinobi Festival began, wanting to have a fair samurai duel with Ms. Yanami Anna, the famous psychic detective in Toyohashi City.

Yes, the name "Yanami Anna" is also very famous in the circle.

The reason for her fame is not how strong she is, but that many people are eager to explore her true strength.

You can find many videos related to Ukyo on the Internet, including his sparring with various ghosts, and videos of him fighting 1V10 at the Toyohashi Kendo Hall.

That battle was of great significance, as four eighth-dan swordsmen were among the participants, and the remaining six had seventh-dan certificates. Five of them had passed the special promotion exam this year and were promoted to eighth-dan.

Rounding off, that's equal to the ten great swordsmen Ukyo single-handedly challenged in that battle.

But it was different for Yanaijian. In the video slices, she rarely drew her sword to kill the enemy.

The only video circulating online about her skills is a special promotion test for the second dan, but she is a skilled swordsman who can follow Lord Ukyo, so how could her swordsmanship level be only the second dan?

The kendo club's teacher had gone to her membership-based swordsmanship gym to look for Yanami, but each time she was turned away by an old swordsman who was an eighth-dan. He told all challengers that Yanami was not accepting any sparring at the moment.

This is the old swordsman's protection for Yanami.

The swordsmen who came here for her reputation were all of a much higher rank than her. If she lost too much in the early stages, even if she lost to a senior with a higher rank than her, it might kill the child's enthusiasm for kendo. She was a swordsman genius sent by Lord Ukyo, and she must protect her well. He only allowed Yanami to spar with swordsmen who were two ranks higher than her.

This way, she could test her swordsmanship ability without losing her enthusiasm due to the "crushing" duel. The old swordsman of the eighth level always believed that artificially created favorable circumstances were more suitable for the growth of novice swordsmen than unfavorable circumstances.

It was for this reason that the seventh-degree swordsman, who was transferred from Tokyo to Toyohashi by a document from the Prime Minister's Office, never had the opportunity to spar with the "legendary female swordsman".

The more others protected Yanami, the less he believed him. After careful consideration, how could someone who traveled extensively with the foremost exorcist in Fengqiao be only a second-dan? Wouldn't carrying a second-dan swordsman around be like carrying a burden?

People in their line of work don't carry heavy loads. The psychic detectives who proudly take their apprentices on missions often die tragically at the hands of the supernatural because of their apprentices' "lack of experience".

He originally thought that he might be able to catch the other party at the Ishifu Festival this time, but when he arrived at the scene, he didn't expect that the person standing in the "sword challenge area" was actually "the other man in the legend."

He just wanted to learn Yanami's moves, but he didn't want to fight with that man.

"I've seen you before, Naoya Ogawa from Tokyo." Just as he was about to turn around and leave, Ukyo suddenly spoke up. "The story of your graduation exam from the sword hall is widely circulated. You almost defeated ten swordsmen of the same level and earned the title of Sword Master. But there are no ifs. At the third minute, you were intimidated by the 'Kihe' of a seventh-level swordsman. If you hadn't retreated that step, perhaps you could have truly earned the title of Sword Master."

"You came here to challenge me, right?"

Ogawa Nao was also confused. How could he be targeted by Lord Ukyo? Ogawa Nao had not only seen Ukyo's demon-slaying videos online, but he had also seen the video of Ukyo's 1v10 battle at the sword gym. That was a real fight against 10 sword masters. If it were in ancient times, he would have earned the title of "Sword Saint".

The reason Ukyo-sama didn't confer the title of Sword Saint upon him was because he hadn't even taken the most basic assessments, and his accomplishments weren't recorded in any school's archives. Therefore, no fencing organization had the right to bestow the title upon him. Even so, everyone recognized him as the modern-day "Miyamoto Musashi."

Even if he is not good at it, no one will say anything.

"Sir Ukyo, excuse me for disturbing you. Ogawa was just passing by the garden party by chance. I didn't intend to spar with you, Sir Ukyo. Farewell!"

Naoto Ogawa retreated without a fight.

When he was leaving, he ran into Yanami holding two skewers of takoyaki in the corridor, but he no longer had the face to challenge him because he had just been "stage frightened". A swordsman who was afraid of a duel was not worthy of challenging anyone else that day.

"Who is he?" Yanami asked after entering the house with takoyaki in his mouth.

"Naoya Ogawa," Ukyo said, "He once challenged ten swordsmen of the same rank in a swordsmanship hall. Yanami, after reaching seventh dan, one must wait another six years before taking the eighth dan examination. The age limit is 35, and there's no such thing as a special examination for the eighth dan. For most swordsmen, even if they have extensive social connections, it's not easy to obtain the title of eighth dan."

"But if you can successfully challenge ten seventh-dan swordsmen, the Sword Association will grant you an additional eighth-dan title."

Yanaijian asked naively, "How do you get the ninth dan? Do you have to beat ten eighth dan?"

Ukyo nodded, but there was another way. "If you maintain your eighth dan and have good moral character and conduct, the swordsmanship association will promote you to ninth dan after your death."

Teenagers can't help but be curious. Yanaijian asked again, "What about the tenth stage?"

Ukyo explained carefully, "A swordsman who can single-handedly challenge ten sword masters is considered a Tenth Dan Sword Saint even if he doesn't have a title. This title is usually reserved for the dead, such as the late Miyamoto Musashi, the founder of the Shinto-ryu school, Tsukahara Bokuden, and the founder of the Shinkage-ryu school, Kamiizumi Nobutsuna."

Yanaijian shook his head naively: "Aside from Miyamoto Musashi, I haven't heard of anyone else... Is Sasaki Kojiro the swordsman?"

"No," Ukyo said, "He can only be called a swordsman, but in the Warring States period, a swordsman wasn't an honorary title, but a universal one. Anyone with proficient skills could be called a swordsman. Also, Yanami, Sasaki Kojiro's biography contains a lot of fictional elements. He used a kodachi in many later works, but in many unofficial histories and biographies, he used a nodachi, a two-handed sword."

I don’t know when it happened, but many children gathered around the two of them and listened with great interest.

They were all brought by their parents to visit the Ishinobi Festival. At some point, Chika Komari had sneaked in among them. With her height being similar to that of elementary school students, she "pretended" to be an elementary school student in the crowd.

After a night's sleep, she seemed to be in much better spirits.