But the man who trained Inke—who defeated three opponents in succession—was now standing before them unarmed and saying “go ahead.” Naturally, they understood what that meant. None were under the delusion that they were being underestimated.
“Just to be sure—when you say ‘come at you,’ you mean we can strike at you right now, right?”
“Of course. Any of you, or all of you at once, if you prefer.”
Even Inke, with his three straight victories, had fought under fair conditions—equal weapons, equal numbers.
Sansui had abandoned even that and still wore nothing but an expression of absolute ease.
“All right!”
One of the young men raised his wooden sword high and charged. It was an overhead strike, very much like Inke’s opening attack days earlier.
“Eek—!”
The townsfolk, though not the targets, still squeaked in fear as the blade came down.
The young man’s strike had such ferocity that it felt almost demonic.
He’s strong.
But it was only raw force. It was momentum born of excitement, a crude swing that hardly deserved to be called skillful.
Sansui stepped back with the smallest possible movement, letting the wooden sword pass him. Then, just like Inke had done days earlier, he stepped on the blade as it struck the ground.
The townsfolk, the young men, and even the attacker himself all reacted with the same involuntary “Ah—!”
“Well then.”
Sansui did not stop there. Keeping his foot pressed on the wooden sword, he began to tilt it. Not downward, but sideways—putting pressure against the flat of the blade and rotating it without changing the angle at which it was embedded in the ground.
The young man’s grip on the sword was tight with both hands. Because of that, as the blade rotated, his wrists twisted as though someone had him in a joint lock.
His hands were still numb from striking the ground, and he instinctively let go.
Sansui had disarmed an attacker—without using a weapon, and without even using his hands—while causing no injury.
Having performed this miracle, Sansui calmly said, “Then I’ll borrow this,” and picked up the wooden sword.
Witnessing this, the townsfolk and the young men shuddered.
“Amazing...”
Even Inke, after his display the previous day, could not have done something like this. In the mere act of picking up the weapon, Sansui showed that he stood on a different level entirely.
“Kyaaaah!”
No one doubted his authenticity anymore, but one of the young men, wanting to see more of the real thing, raised his wooden sword and charged.
He at least avoided the shame of burying the blade into the ground—twice now he’d seen others do that and was determined not to repeat it.
“Perhaps Inke did something like this.”
Sansui stepped aside and placed his left hand on the attacker’s arm.
He truly only placed his hand there—he didn’t grab, didn’t press. But the young man recoiled instinctively at the touch.
“Or did he perhaps do this?”
Keeping his hand on the young man’s arm, Sansui lifted the wooden sword with only his right hand and swung it back. He aimed the pommel at the young man’s forehead.
It was the same kind of strike Inke had used on the third master—though Inke had done it after pinning his opponent down.
“Wah—!”
Inke had crushed a forehead with that blow. So naturally, the young man panicked and tried to retreat.
But Sansui’s foot was already hooked behind his.
The second young man fell straight onto his backside. And even though that was all that happened, he looked as though he had narrowly escaped death.
“Well then, I suppose it would be strange if I never attacked. This time, I’ll make the first move.”
With that, Sansui raised the wooden sword and took a stance as he regarded the remaining young men. There were still plenty of them standing there. Anyone could step forward. He was telling them he would act first.
“Whenever you’re ready.”
His behavior was so far beyond extraordinary that both townsfolk and young students felt their blood run cold.
Inke’s fighting had been like watching a wrathful god—but Sansui’s fighting transcended combat entirely. He handled them gently, almost like children.
“W-We surrender!”
Here, the young men’s spirits finally broke. Unlike their instructors from the previous day, they had committed no crimes, so yielding had no downside.
And so, having confirmed the man before them was the genuine article, they bowed deeply in defeat. Of course, this included the two who had tried to attack him.
“No, no, that’s not necessary. But from now on, you should make sure to study under someone whose identity is clear.”
Sansui returned the wooden sword without the slightest hint of annoyance.
Everyone present—who had feared something dangerous might happen—found themselves even more terrified by what they had actually witnessed, and were left speechless.
“Well then, I’ll take my leave... It seems everyone has finished their business here. I’m traveling with my family right now, so I’d appreciate it if you could be considerate.”
Sansui’s words, politely phrased, nevertheless carried the unmistakable meaning: Do not disrupt me or my family.
Coming from a swordsman of godlike skill, the gentleness only made it more frightening.
The townsfolk, who’d been driven mostly by curiosity, froze, then hastily nodded and began to disperse.
“W-Wait, please!”
But the young men who had surrendered called out, stopping him.
“P-Please! Make us your disciples! We want to study the sword under you!”
They pressed their foreheads to the ground, begging to be accepted.
“When your students left this town, the idea didn’t even occur to us... But afterward, we regretted it—regretted not begging to be taken in as disciples...”
“We want to become strong swordsmen like them. Please, let us join your sword school!”
Even the small fraction of skill Sansui had displayed today was impossible for them to imitate in a lifetime, but they had witnessed his students’ swordsmanship. Training under Sansui could make them like that—something already proven.
That was why they pleaded.
“Everyone...”
Now, Sansui himself was a man who loved teaching—he had made it his profession, in fact. On a personal level, he would have gladly passed on his sword to anyone who sincerely asked. However...
“I’m very sorry, but I am a swordsman in the service of Sepaeda. I cannot freely choose whom I teach.”
As an official instructor under the kingdom, his schedule was already fixed. Regretfully, he had no choice but to refuse.
“If you truly wish to learn my sword... You will have no choice but to petition the lord who governs this land.”
Sansui looked genuinely apologetic. But he drew the line firmly—he could not make a promise he could not keep.
A mere commoner had no way to get an audience with the lord, let alone convince him of anything. It was essentially an impossible condition. Hearing it, the young men choked back tears.
Sansui walked back toward the inn, and naturally, he did not look back.
Watching him leave, the young men finally understood—far too late.
“Damn it...”
Now they understood why those five former students had been so enraged.
To be taught by such a strong, dignified man, to receive approval from him, and then to have that name tarnished—it was infuriating beyond words.
And they understood, too, how proud one must feel to bear the title of Sansui’s disciple.
They wanted to be his disciples as well.
Missing that chance filled them with bitter regret.
And so, the chaos in the town temporarily settled.
No one gathered outside the inn anymore, and the townsfolk who had crowded the plaza returned to their homes.
But once home, every one of them—still flushed with excitement—retold the story of Sansui’s display of skill.
His movement and presence far surpassed even Inke’s performance from the other day. Indeed, everyone praised him endlessly as the strongest swordsman in all of Arcana.
The situation inside the inn was much the same. Employees who had slipped out to watch Sansui fight were now animatedly recounting his strength to their coworkers, stirring up excitement.
Sansui, sensing the atmosphere, looked a bit embarrassed, though he was relieved that it hadn’t turned into a larger commotion.
At the very least, Fanne had completely calmed down. She must have been tired, because she’d already fallen asleep.
Meanwhile, Sansui, Blois, and Lain were deep in conversation.
“When I saw my name on those burnt signboards, I had no idea what was going on...”
“I’d heard rumors before, but it seems frauds using your name have been spreading. It wasn’t considered a major crime, so it wasn’t being strictly cracked down on...”
“Well, of course. I don’t find it amusing, but every lord has plenty of other things to deal with.”
“True... But then why take action only now?”
Judging from the freshly burned state of the sword school, it must have been dealt with recently.
None of them knew how long it had been left alone before that, but it was clear that a crime ignored for a significant amount of time had suddenly been exposed and punished.
“Maybe because they knew we were coming?”
Lain’s guess was correct, and Sansui and Blois both agreed.
“That must be it. They probably cleaned it up so I wouldn’t have an unpleasant experience when I arrived.”
They had eliminated a fraudulent school that could have been longer ignored, just to spare Sansui from discomfort. And they had done so thoroughly, ensuring it wouldn’t happen again. Even if another swindler came in the future, the townsfolk would no longer be fooled.
“I think Lain’s right. So, Sansui, let’s keep it a secret that we saw anything unpleasant.”
“Yes... That’s probably for the best.”
The lord and the combat instructors likely never imagined that Sansui and his family would see the remnants of the destroyed signboards. To have gone to such an effort only to make Sansui feel bad—it would rob them of their good deed.
Thus, the Shirokuro family decided to pretend they had never seen the charred remains on that street.