2
The legendary sacred mountain Hikenkabura.
The mountain path, which was shrouded in a light mist, was a steep slope littered with rocks. And in addition to that, to reach the summit that was their goal, they had to climb a total of 5,555 steps.
The air was thin and cold. Because the ascent was so rigorous, most visitors gave up halfway.
“I think this is as far as I go…”
“Sisbell?!”
“I-I’m at my limit! My thighs are tuckered out after all those stairs. And the bottom of my feet are blistered! And don’t get me started about the exhaustion!” Sisbell screamed from behind Alice, dripping with sweat. “We’ve been climbing all this time and have yet to reach the peak! There’s fog all around us reducing visibility, and on top of that, I’ve started to hear the growls of beasts!”
“Push through, Sisbell!” Alice panted as she turned to her weary little sister. “I’ve had a headache from the thin air, too, but we’re doing this to save Rin. I’m sure the peak is just ahead.”
“But we can’t even see what’s ahead of us because of all the fog!”
Yes. The farther they climbed, the thicker the mist became and the less they could see of the mountain. They couldn’t tell how close they were to the peak.
“Also I’m certain you said an hour ago that ‘the peak was just ahead,’ Alice!”
“That’s because it really did feel like it was close.”
“So all of that was baseless, then?!”
“It was a hunch. And I counted until we got to step 3,000. We should be near the peak soon… Oh! Look at that, Sisbell!” Alice pointed at the stairs in front of them.
The fog finally cleared, and it seemed they were indeed almost at step 5,555.
“Is that the summit?!” Sisbell sounded delighted. “We’ve reached the top! The legendary herb should be here!”
“That’s right, Sisbell. The herb of Kittokiki is here!”
They started to run up the stairs. At the same time, Alice and Sisbell both heard strange and unfamiliar shouts.
“Hup, hup!”
“Hagh!”
“Hrrah!”
These shouts echoed around the sacred mountain. It sounded like several dozen people.
“Alice? What is that commotion?!”
“Odd… This is supposed to be a sacred mountain. Not many people should come here, but it does sound rather rambunctious…”
They finished climbing the stairs. There, Alice and Sisbell saw what was at the summit…
“Hup, hup, hup!”
“Hiyah!”
They found a group of monks training in martial arts. Not only that, all of them were horribly injured, but not even one showed any sign of stopping.
“Alice?” Sisbell suddenly stopped in place, dumbfounded. “We came here to find the legendary herb.”
“Yeah, that’s right.”
“All I see are some dirty monks, though.”
“That is, in fact, what I’m seeing, too…,” Alice agreed.
Where were the herbs? And what were these monks doing here?
“Hm?! Who?!” The monks had noticed the visitors. “Who are you?! You can’t be here to challenge our dojo…”
“Two women have made their way up the sacred mountain… How suspicious…”
“W-wait?!” Alice said in a panic.
They had come to find the legendary herb, but all they’d found waiting for them were some brawny monks. The girls were the ones who wanted an explanation.
“We’re just normal people! We heard there was a legendary herb here…!”
“Waaait!” They heard a loud battle cry.
Zwoosh.
A large and fierce-looking man had appeared among the monks.
“Oh? It’s not often we see two young ladies in the mountains.” The man looked them both up and down from head to toe. “Welcome to the Daikungfu ancient martial arts dojo. I am the assistant instructor, Kurobi!”
“Ancient martial arts?!”
“This is a dojo?!”
“That’s right.” The man named Kurobi nodded. “This is a place where practitioners gather from around the world to practice legendary ancient martial arts.”
“Legendary…?”
“Oh, I see. There must have been a mix-up in legends, Alice.” Sisbell clapped her hands together once. “So the punchline is, instead of a legendary herb, there was actually a legendary dojo on this sacred mountain the whole time.”
“We can’t let this end as a punchline!”
This was no joke to Alice. She’d left the castle and risked her life to scale the mountain and save Rin.
“Oh?” Kurobi’s eyes glittered. “You came to this mountain in search of the legendary herb?”
“Do you know about it?”
“Nope.”
“That was so misleading! Agh, how did this happen? I was sure that we would be able to save Rin by coming here…only to find this!”
It had all been a fool’s errand. In low spirits, Alice began to trudge back down the mountain.
“Wait!” Kurobi’s powerful voice echoed. “Lost maidens, it is too early to lose hope! You should meet Grand Master Daikungfu, who runs this dojo.”
“A grand master…?”
“That’s right. He knows all there is to know about this mountain. He should know about the legendary herb as well.”
“Please let us meet your master!”
“Excellent!” Kurobi turned sharply on his heel. He led the pupils of the dojo and the two girls deeper into the mountain. “You show promise. You were able to best these Foot-Destroying Demon Stairs, so we’ll treat you as guests.”
So that’s what those stairs were called, both young women thought.
Kurobi continued on quickly, “This is our headquarters. Our grand master will be inside.”
They headed deeper into the training grounds to a giant temple built at the summit of the mountain.
“That thing is huge!”
“It’s as large as the palace! I’ve never seen a temple so large!”
The grounds were also vast. And on top of that, the temple had been built on a legendary sacred mountain.
“Say, Sisbell, what do you think that is?” As they walked through the grounds, Alice caught sight of something. “That gigantic tree has been cut in half.”
“You did well to notice!” Kurobi, who walked in front of them, turned around with enthusiasm. “That is the legendary Karate Kick Tree. Our Grand Master Daikungfu himself felled this tree with just his foot.”
“That’s amazing!” Alice yelled.
“That’s ridiculous!” Sisbell followed up immediately after. “Please wait, Kurobi, and all of you others. I cannot possibly believe that. How could he kick down such a large tree?!”
“It is possible for our great and grand master.” Kurobi’s eyes were filled with steadfast confidence. “This is a legend from Grand Master Daikungfu’s days of training when he kicked one tree after another. It was as though a storm had been called up and struck the tree with lightning… Before anyone had realized it, the tree was felled.”
“Are you sure that it wasn’t struck by actual lightning?!”
“Our master’s overflowing spirit is what summoned the lightning. And that was how Grand Master Daikungfu’s No. 519 special deadly skill, Sacred Tree Roaring Thunder Kick, was perfected!”
Kurobi was talking about the legends of his master, but who was this master, anyway? Though Alice and Sisbell were already questioning the possibility of Kurobi’s claims, it seemed this was only the start of the legends.
“Oh?” Sisbell pointed at the mountainside. “The stream that was running through here seems to stop there.”
“Excellent observation. This is yet another legend of Grand Master Daikungfu.”
“You mean, that river?!”
“That’s right. It’s a tale of back when the master was in the river bathing. The mountain burned with a fire that almost consumed it…and all the water in the river evaporated before anyone knew it. The master’s raging energy likely sparked the mountain fire.”
“That was definitely just a natural fire!”
“That was how Grand Master Daikungfu’s No. 40 deadly special skill, Mount Tai Howling Fire, was perfected!”
“A master fraudster, more like!” Sisbell quipped again.
On the other hand…
“What an amazing master!”
Alice’s eyes glittered as she listened to the stories about the master.
Rin’s life was on the line, after all. Alice was ready to grasp at straws for a solution, so the master’s legends sounded amazing to her ears.
“Alice…,” Sisbell whispered into her ear. “What are you expecting? We have no idea who this master is or whether he actually knows about the legendary herb. I think we should be rather dubious.”
“There’s no need for doubt, Sisbell!” Alice’s head was so full of dreams of reviving Rin that her sister’s warning didn’t get through to her. “Kurobi! If your master is that amazing, I’m sure he must know about the legendary herb!”
“Of course he does!” The assistant instructor’s reply sounded confident. “However, the master has many pupils. In order to get an expedited meeting, you’ll need to pay for the Master Meeting Plan and also for an extra Same-Day Line-Skipping Plan.”
“This is obviously a scam!”
“I’ll pay it immediately, for me and Sisbell both!”
“Sister?!”
Alice shook Sisbell off and whipped out her coin purse.
“Would this work?”
“It will do. We also have a Special Meeting Plan that will extend your time with the master from one hour to two. And for a limited time only, you’ll also receive a commemorative photo with the master!”
“I’ll buy it all!”
“Sister!”
Despite Sisbell’s protests, Alice made the payment. And that was how Alice and Sisbell got a meeting with the master.
“Okay, let’s go! Now that it’s all settled, I’ll lead you through the dojo.”
The temple of Daikungfu-style martial arts…
Once they were past the gates, they found several hundred pupils wiping the floors of the hallways.
“Th-that’s amazing…”
“This is a part of their training.”
Kurobi walked down the hallway. Alice and Sisbell both removed their shoes and went barefoot from there.
“The master’s hall is up ahead.” Kurobi pointed at an entrance. “Normally, only the pupils who have trained long and hard are allowed to enter, but we will allow you the privilege, because you’ve gotten the Special Meeting Plan.”
The moment they took a step inside…
“Eek! I-I’m so sorry!” Sisbell screamed after stepping on a monk who was collapsed on the ground.
There were other unconscious monks littered across the floor.
“Kurobi…uh, um…is there a reason so many people are unconscious here?”
“Don’t worry about it.” He walked forward without even glancing at the pupils on the floor. “The master used his Hundred-Strong Karate Combo to take them down.”
“H-hundred strong?!”
“Behold! That is our master.”
He pointed ahead.
The master, clothed in black martial arts robes, stood surrounded by a crowd of pupils. The most remarkable thing about him was his magnificent beard. He was as slender as a willow.
“What? That’s your master?” Sisbell was taken aback. She blinked. “He looks pretty lanky and not very reliable. All the pupils are young and muscular…and look way stronger…”
“No, pay close attention!”
Just as Kurobi said this, the master howled, “Haah!”
He punched the empty air. At that moment, all the pupils screamed and fell over, though he hadn’t touched them. And by all, that meant not only the ones on either side of him, but even the ones behind him.
“That’s obviously fake!” Sisbell immediately yelled, but for better or worse, her voice was drowned out by the pupils’ screams.
“Whew…” The master exhaled and withdrew his hand, looking rather satisfied with himself. “Void, form, body, spirit, strength, reason. These things together make up the heart… Use all of your heart. Then you will have the entire universe within your fist.”
“Thank you! Thank you!” All the pupils on the ground sprung up simultaneously and bowed deep and low.
Everyone watched the scene play out.
“This is complete nonsense!” Sisbell blurted out. “I thought it was suspicious… Alice, this is a dangerous place! We mustn’t meet him, and we should leave immediately!”
“How wonderful!”
“Sister?!”
“Sisbell, you saw it too, didn’t you?! The master made all his pupils go flying without so much as touching them!”
This truly is a grand master.
Alice was certain of that. As far as she was concerned, someone who had mastered a technique that went beyond human logic would know where some medicinal herb would be. In fact, he might know about a couple legendary herbs.
And also…
In the back of her mind, Alice thought of her one and only rival, the Imperial swordsman Iska.
It occurred to her that learning a thing or two about martial arts could help her compete against him.
“Oh-ho-ho-ho. So we have ourselves newcomers?”
After hearing Alice’s and Sisbell’s voices, the grand master made his way over to them. He was draped in those black martial arts robes and looked like a thin old man. However, hundreds of pupils stood behind him.
“You did well to come here. I am Daikungfu, the founder and teacher of the ancient ways of Daikungfu.”
“My name is Alice! And this is my little sister, Sisbell. So, Grand Master…”
“Wait!” the grand master howled. His voice was so impressive, one had to wonder how his small frame even had the lung capacity. “Say no more, young girl…or rather, Alice.”
The grand master stared into her eyes. “I see some trouble has beset you. And you came here seeking a way to fix it. Isn’t that right?”
“What?!” Alice’s eyes went wide.
He’d hit the mark. Rin’s life was in danger.
“How did you know?!”
“Oh-ho-ho-ho. Nothing escapes the sights of Daikungfu.”
He seemed rather confident.
Meanwhile, behind them, Sisbell was muttering to herself, “We came all this way into the mountains. Obviously, there was some issue that led us here.” Alice, however, was so giddy that she never heard her sister.
“Not to worry.” The grand master stroked his beard. “You would do well to train your body and mind at the dojo. Then your worries will leave you.”
“I’ll do the very best I can!”
“Wait, Sister?! What about the whole reason we’re here? Aren’t you going to save Rin?!”
“Oh-ho-ho-ho. Do not worry, small maiden.”
“Who are you calling small?!” Sisbell narrowed her eyes.
Alice was the older sister, so it seemed the grand master thought of Sisbell as a little girl.
However, Sisbell had some hangups about the part of her body that was actually small, so this was a slight she couldn’t ignore.
“Answer me, Grand Master! What makes me small?!”
“So, about the herb of Kittokiki that you are seeking…,” the grand master said.
“Did you just ignore me?!”
“You need not worry. You are already close to it.” The grand master’s eyes glistened. “We cultivate the herb of Kittokiki here at this dojo, as it gives us inexhaustible strength. Steeping it and drinking it will create a well of strength within you.”
“Will it really?!” Alice took the grand master’s hands. “Grand Master, please give us the herb…!”
“Mm-hmm. Alas, only those belonging to our dojo may have the herb of inexhaustible strength. If you join us, we would gladly give you some of the herb.”
“W-wait, I cannot believe what I am hearing. You want us to join your dojo?!” Sisbell yelled, unable to hold back. “You want two women to join a dojo of all men in this cold mountaintop, where the air is too thin to breathe…?”
“Do not worry, small maiden.”
“Who are you calling small?! I—I realize I’m not nearly as developed as my sister…but I have some of my own assets as well!”
“Once you consume the herb of endless strength, various parts of your body will mature.”
“What?”
“Small girl, wouldn’t you like to surpass your own sister?”
“Guh!”
The moment the grand master said this to her, Sisbell’s entire opinion reversed.
“I’ll join! Oh, great Grand Master!”
Thus, Alice and Sisbell began their training under the great Grand Master Daikungfu.
They had signed up for the Special Grand Master Course. Because they were beginning instruction directly under the grand master’s tutelage, Alice and Sisbell changed into white martial arts robes.
“Grand Master, I changed clothes!” Alice tightened her belt as she came back to the dojo. “Let’s start the training immediately!”
“Oh-ho-ho-ho. What great passion. But how long will your spirit last? My training is rigorous, you know.”
“I want to become stronger!”
“Alice, that wasn’t our original goal!”
However, they ignored Sisbell’s quip.
“As you wish!” The grand master nodded with approval. “This is a holy and sacred mountain. As you climbed this mountain from below, we must first start your training by purifying you of your worldly filth.”
“We’re being purified?” Sisbell blinked, taken aback. “What do you think that means, Alice?”
“How should I know? I’ve never heard of such a thing.”
Alice and Sisbell were both princesses. As the two had been raised in a palace, everything about the dojo’s training methods seemed new and novel.
“Grand Master, what would purification entail?”
“You will soak yourself in water to cleanse yourself.”
“In a shower?”
“In a waterfall.” The grand master’s reply was succinct. “The water from the melted snow on this mountain is perfect for training.”
“A waterfall?!” Sisbell’s eyes went wide. “Surely, you must be joking! We would catch our deaths under water that cold! Wouldn’t we, Alice?!”
“Y-yeah, we would…”
Alice had to agree there. Her goal, when it came down to it, was to acquire the herb of inexhaustible strength to save her attendant. Engaging in the dojo’s training had been just a means to an end.
“I’m not sure…I could actually do training like that…”
“You need not be afraid!” the grand master exclaimed. “Alice, you have what it takes. Complete my training and become the most skilled woman martial artist in the world!”
“In the world?!” Alice’s heart skipped a beat.
The whole world…
Though she was a princess, that phrase sounded so sweet to her ears that she couldn’t help but latch on to it. Also, the Imperial swordsman Iska flashed through Alice’s mind again in that moment.
“The best woman in the world at martial arts… Then even Iska will have to acknowledge me… All right!”
She took the grand master’s hand.
“I, Alice, shall put myself in your care!”
“Excellent!”
Alice and the grand master shared a firm handshake as they made a vow between teacher and student.
“What? Alice, you don’t need to learn martial arts. What happened to saving Rin?”
Sisbell’s murmur didn’t reach the two, who were fired up to start training.
The waterfall was gigantic. Descending from a towering cliff, an impressive rush of water mixed with snow poured from overhead.
“Ah, this takes me back…” The grand master squinted as he took a trip down memory lane. “When I see this waterfall, I recall another small girl who visited the dojo.”
“Grand Master? Who do you mean?”
“It’s all in the past…” The master shook his head at Alice’s question. “All I will say is that she was a young maiden who spread her wings and left our dojo. But you have what it takes to rival her. Under my tutelage, you will seek to become unequaled!”
“All right!”
“I’m not going to try that hard, personally…”
Alice and Sisbell headed to the base of the waterfall. Shirtless pupils were already standing below the falls for their training.
“Well…this looks like it really will be cold.”
“Alice, look at the pool below the waterfall. There’s ice floating in it!”
Sisbell, who wore a towel, cautiously reached a fingertip toward the waterfall’s spray. She jumped the moment she felt it.
“Cooold!”
Sisbell’s lips were already blue from simply touching the fall with her fingertips.
“I can’t feel how cold it is—it just hurts! Master…I’m pretty sure I’d die if I stood under this waterfall!”
“Do not hesitate, small girl!” the master exclaimed again.
The master pointed at the pupils under the falls.
“Look at them. They don’t even shiver under this extreme cold. Do you know why that is? Because they’ve abandoned all worldly desires!”
“Worldly desires?”
“That’s right. The purifying cold has washed away all hesitation and temptation!”
This was martial arts training for the mind. By standing under the rushing water of the falls, one could unite with the great outdoors, thus ridding oneself of any hesitancy of the heart or unwanted desires. This was supposedly the truth the grand master had reached.
“I don’t really understand it…”
“First, you should step right into the waterfall. Then you will understand it with your entire being.”
“Ugh, come on… Okay, I’ll do it! I’ve come this far!”
Sisbell made up her mind, pulled off her towel, and threw it to the side.
Her pale skin was exposed; however, she wasn’t naked. She had borrowed a white bathing suit for women from the dojo.
…Splish.
The moment the spray from the waterfall splashed onto her face, a scream emerged from deep within Sisbell as she felt the stabbing cold.
“Coooold!”
After all, when it came down to it, it was melted snow. A single droplet was enough to make the chill sink right into her bones.
“If we get doused by this freezing water, we’ll get sick!”
“It does seem cold…”
“Alice! It’s not fair of you to just watch. You’re not even near the waterfall!”
“I-I know!”
Alice let her towel flutter off. In that moment, Alice’s voluptuous curves were exposed. They seemed about to burst out of her clothes. She was wearing a black swimsuit that alluringly showed off her impressive and fully developed bosom, as well as her curvy, prominent backside.
In other words, her assets were revealed for all to see.
“Urgh?!”
“Gaah…!”
All the pupils under the waterfall cried out in agony.
One of them gripped his chest, another started to pant, and all of them slipped and fell right into the pool at the base of the waterfall, one after another.
“The pupils! What happened to them, Grand Master?!”
“Hmph…” A grim expression came over the grand master’s face as he looked between his pupils and Alice in her swimsuit. “They interact with no women in their day-to-day training. It seems your lascivious body was a bit too much stimulation for them to handle.”
“You’re saying this is my fault?!”
“Wait, Master! Why didn’t they act the same way for me?!” Sisbell in her white swimsuit placed her hand on her breasts. “You cannot ignore me this time! If they reacted in that way to my sister’s swimsuit, they should at least swoon over mine!”
“Hmm…”
“Grand Master?!”
“It seems no little sister is capable of outdoing her older sibling.”
“But I can!”
“The small can never triumph over the large…”
“Exactly what about me are you calling small?!” Enraged, Sisbell pointed below her at the pupils in the water. “And they don’t seem very disciplined. If they’re falling over just because of my sister’s swimsuit, it seems to me they haven’t trained enough.”
“…Right.” Alice agreed on this point. “If seeing a girl in a swimsuit is enough to make them fall over, I’m not sure they’re people we can really depend on.”
Alice and Sisbell whispered to each other.
This was bad—something like this would besmirch the honor of the dojo’s art. Sensing the danger, the grand master quickly made a decision.
“So be it! I, Daikungfu, will show you the proper way to stand below a waterfall!”
He pulled off the top of his robe and threw it to the side, then leaped into the waterfall himself.
“Whoa?!”
“The Great Grand Master himself has jumped into the falls!”
The pupils were all atwitter.
“Ladies, join me!”
And so, Alice, Sisbell, and the grand master all stood together below the falls.
“This is much too cold!” Sisbell screamed.
“Oh? This actually isn’t too bad.”
Next to her, Alice was perfectly unbothered as the water poured over her. Alice was an ice astral mage. She was used to cold temperatures, so the snow water was tolerable. In fact, she could have withstood freezing cold weather in general.
“Urgh, I can’t accept this… How are you able to do this without blinking an eye, while I’m suffering so much…?”
“Sisbell, a little fat can keep the cold at bay.”
“Are you saying I’m too skinny?!”
About half an hour passed. After being continually pelted by the ice-cold water, Sisbell finally crawled out of the waterfall.
“I-it’s finally over… I-I thought I was going to die…”
“E-even I’m at my limit…”
Alice’s lips were purple. It had been all right at the start, but after being in the shower of freezing water for so long, she couldn’t help but feel the chill, too. She couldn’t stop trembling.
“I almost lost consciousness partway through and was this close to falling into the pool below.”
“You too, Alice…? The grand master is amazing. I can’t believe he didn’t have any trouble over there next to you.”
“He wasn’t next to me?”
“Huh?” Sisbell blinked. “He wasn’t next to me, either.”
“Oh? That’s strange.”
They couldn’t see hide nor hair of the master anywhere. After realizing that, Alice searched around the waterfall.
“Grand Master?!”
She looked over the surface of the pool of water below. Everyone present turned white as sheets when they saw his unmoving body floating in the pool.
“Grand Master?!”
The pupils leaped into the pool and pulled him ashore in a panic.
“…Hah?!” The master was quick to open his eyes. “Where am I…?”
“You fell into the pool,” Sisbell immediately answered. “Grand Master, I can hardly believe it… But did you fail the training Alice and I succeeded at? Did you faint?”
“………”
He said nothing.
The atmosphere felt awkward.
But then the grand master got to his feet before anyone else could.
“That is it! My pupils, I’m close to uncovering another truth that will lead to a new form of art!”
“Grand Master?!”
“I didn’t lose consciousness! My mind unified with the waterfall, so my body became one with the ice drifting along with its flow. I’ve perfected a new secret art! The Running Water Ice Boulder Technique!”
“Whooooaaaa!”
“You came up with a new secret technique by falling into the water?!”
“You’re amazing, Grand Master!”
The pupils and Alice yelled, impressed.
However, behind them…
“He just fainted!” Sisbell’s umpteenth exclamation disappeared into the roar of the waterfall.
After they had purified themselves, it was finally time for their real training to start.
They would learn by doing.
“There is an ancient phrase—‘Wind, forest, fire, shadow, mountain, and lightning.’ You are to be as fast as the wind and as quiet as the forest.”
They were in a bamboo grove deep in the mountains.
The grand master turned around to face his pupils, as well as Alice and Sisbell.
“In ancient times, martial artists would learn their art through nature itself. This is our ultimate initiation technique. This is what I will confer to you today.”
“Yes, Grand Master!” Alice nodded firmly. “What should we do then?”
“Mm-hmm. You will punch the bamboo. By exchanging blows with the bamboo, and thus nature, you will feel its power.”
“Is there a point to this?”
“Stop that, Sisbell!” Alice muttered under her breath to scold her sister. “The grand master’s teachings are absolute.”
“No, Alice. These methods are fundamentally unscientific!” Sisbell pointed at the master. “Grand Master! I didn’t believe it during the waterfall purification, and I don’t believe it now! Are your abilities even real?!”
“Oh-ho-ho-ho. You’re a feisty one.” The grand master easily laughed off Sisbell’s accusatory question. “I have seen hundreds of young waifs like you, but—”
“Enough talk. Please show me how much progress can be made by punching a bamboo stalk.”
“All right!” the grand master shouted and tightened his belt. “These are the fruits of my training. Hwah-chaah!”
He kicked the bamboo.
Slap. To Sisbell’s eyes, it just looked like a flimsy kick from a haggard old man.
However, immediately, the bamboo warped, and a black lump fell out of it.
“Hm?”
“Oh?”
They heard something buzzing, only to realize it was wings. Dozens of yellow, winged insects darted out of the object.
“It’s a wasp nest! Waaah!”
This was bad. The grand master had kicked a nest out of the bamboo stalk. The wasps were furious about losing their home.
“W-we need to run! Huh?” Sisbell was taken aback. She blinked.
The wasps weren’t after her or Alice. They headed into the bushes that happened to be in front of the nest. Several hundred wasps flew into the shrubbery, and after a bit, a snake emerged.
“A snake?!”
“It must have been hiding in the bushes!”
The wasps directed their anger at that snake. It seemed they’d mistaken the snake as being the perpetrator that had disturbed their nest. However…
“Is that a venomous snake?!”
The pupils stirred.
“It definitely is! That’s the snake!”
“It’s the snake that we dedicated our lives to hunting—the venomous dragon cobra! That’s the snake that’s so poisonous a single bite can land a bear in the grave!”
“What?!”
“The snake was that dangerous?!”
Alice and Sisbell were both taken back. If they had approached the bushes without knowing, they could have been bitten.
“The grand master drove back the enemy!”
“Yes… The grand master knew from the start. He knew that the snake was hiding in that bush!”
The pupils were all moved.
The grand master, who had been silent that whole time, hollered, “This is it!”
The snake was attempting to run away. They watched as the wasps followed it.
“This is the way of the arts and our hearts. Nature responded to my burning heart. This is the Thousand Insect Heart Echo Kick! I have perfected a new secret technique!”
“Waaaah!”
“Grand Master?! Grand Master!”
“You’re amazing, Grand Master!”
The cheers for the grand master were overwhelming. Alice’s and the pupils’ applause resounded throughout the bamboo grove.
“That’s not possible!” Unfortunately, Sisbell’s cries were drowned out by the praise.
The next morning.
It was a race against time to save Rin.
Alice and Sisbell were already on their last trial, just two days into training.
“Your last trial will be to fight one of my pupils!” Daikungfu’s firm voice rang throughout the dojo. “He won’t fight back and will only take what you give him. Attempt to break through his iron wall, young ladies! If your fiery enthusiasm is true, then you’ll overcome this hurdle!”
If they passed, they would graduate. And if they did that, they would receive the legendary herb of Kittokiki (aka the herb of inexhaustible strength) as a reward.
This was the time for them to show their passion.
“Wonderful!” With a headband on her head, Sisbell tugged her belt tight and stood. “I’ll display the results of my training from yesterday!”
“Then go forth, my pupil Kongou!”
“Yessir!”
A large man with a shaved head stood up. He was muscular, and his dojo robe displayed his brawny chest, which was so stout it looked like it could stop a bullet.
“Urk… He seems even stronger than anticipated! But I’ve finished my training. Something like this can’t frighten me!”
Sisbell went on the offensive. She headed toward the pupil standing at attention.
“Haah!”
Slap.
Sisbell’s flying kick connected with his broad chest, and she bounced off.
“Haah! Daah!”
She tried punching, then kicking. However, his tough muscles took it all in stride. He reacted as though a dandelion had tickled him.
“H-he’s so strong!”
“I’ll help you, Sisbell!” Alice barged in.
Now, it was two against one. The sisters coordinated like the siblings they were to punch and kick the man. However…
“Yaah!” Kongou let out a loud shout, and Alice and Sisbell both fell to the ground.
“Eep?!”
“Urgh?!”
“I-it didn’t work at all?!”
“But we worked together!”
It was no use. Even at full power, their fists had no effect on the man’s body of steel.
“…Guh! I’m not giving up yet. I need to do this to save Rin!” Alice began grappling with Kongou.
She tried to throw him in order to break his unshakable stance. Unfortunately, because he was several times her weight, it didn’t work.
So, what was she to do?
“…Ugh. I’m sorry. I need to do whatever it takes!”
Alice was an ice astral mage. So she created a fragment of ice that no one could see and sneakily placed it under the pupil’s feet.
“Daah!”
“Mgh?!”
The pupil lost his balance.
The moment he slipped, Alice attacked him with her full body weight.
The two of them fell over.
“Now!” Alice got on top of the pupil and used all she had to push him down. “I’m holding him down!”
“Guh gaah!”
The pupil flinched. Based on the sheer difference in weight between them, Alice obviously had used some underhanded trick. Despite that…
“What is this…?!” The grand master’s eyes went wide.
The brawny pupil was pinned under Alice. Alice’s ample bosom covered the man’s entire face and hid it from view. He couldn’t move recklessly.
If he tried to push Alice off, he would end up touching her breasts. Because of that, the pupil was bewildered and had frozen up.
“The girl has quelled her foe with her great affection! What magnificent love… The pupil, Kongou, has lost the battle!”
“She’s just holding him down with her breasts!” Sisbell cried out. “You’re all too impressed by this! All she did was seduc—”
“No ordinary person could use this technique!”
“Are you calling me a small-boobed ordinary person?!”
“This is the way of the arts and our hearts. And now also of love!”
The grand master produced a folding fan from somewhere. The message Bravo! was revealed to be written on the fan once the grand master proudly opened it.
“The way of Daikungfu secret technique: Grandmother’s Embrace Dance. You did an excellent job of acquiring it. You’ve passed with flying colors!”
“I can’t believe this!”
Thus, though Sisbell was distraught, Alice was initiated into the dojo with a black belt and obtained the herb of Kittokiki (aka the herb of inexhaustible strength).
Now, they were back in the palace.
After a long journey home, Alice was out of breath when she dashed into Rin’s room.
“Rin, I’ve gotten my hands on the herb!”
“…Come again?”
Alice walked in on Rin, who looked perfectly fine, as she was cleaning the room.
“Right, I was fak—I mean, the disease I had is gone now.”
“You’re already better?!”
“Yes, as you can see.”
As it so happened, as soon as Alice had left the castle, Rin had stopped pretending she was sick and had gotten right back to work, but Alice had no way of knowing this.
“But Lady Alice, I was only sick because of the original issue that caused it.” Rin coughed. “If you had acted as a princess as you should have, I never would have gotten sick. So please conduct yourself in a—”
“This is perfect!”
“…What?” Rin was taken aback.
Alice grabbed her hands and declared firmly, “Rin, let’s train together!”
“Train?”
“We’ll train in the mountains, so you’ll become healthy and never get sick again. It’ll be all right, Rin! I’m sure the grand master will see your potential!”
“The grand what now?!”
“Right now, the Special Short-Term Concentrated Course and Special Grand Master Direct Teachings are both on discount. And we’ll even get an autograph from the master thrown in!”
“Wh-what are you talking about?!”
It seemed that this plan had also backfired. Now that Alice had learned martial arts, Rin had to spend a week holding her lady in check.
A few days passed.
In a land far away from the Nebulis Sovereignty, called the Empire…
“Iska, this is huge! The Nebulis Sovereignty is showing activity!” When Commander Mismis spotted Iska walking down the hall, she ran over to him, out of breath. “Some strange martial arts technique is becoming popular in the Sovereignty. And no one’s heard of the ancient school it comes from!”
“Ancient martial arts?”
“Yes. They’re learning some inscrutable form of ancient martial arts to use with their astral powers to fight the Imperial forces. This is a huge deal!”
“Ancient martial arts…? Who would try such a fishy training method nowadays…?”
“People would, Iska!” Commander Mismis stopped Iska as he voiced his doubt. “I should know. This is the Nebulis Sovereignty’s scheme… If we don’t find a way to fight back, then the Empire is done for!”
“You don’t have to be so dramatic. It’s just a rumor, right?”
“We can’t just sit around doing nothing!”
She wasn’t listening to Iska. In her head, Commander Mismis could see the powerful Nebulis Sovereignty getting stronger.
“Fight fire with fire. I’m going to train in ancient martial arts, too!”
“What are you talking about?!”
She was definitely barking up the wrong tree. Iska did all he could to stop Commander Mismis from heading out to some remote mountain.
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