During Dinner.
Fortunately, both her parents were home today, so Kotomi took the opportunity to bring up the topic during their meal.
"Dad, Mom, I just finished my painting for the art competition a few days ago. Lately, I've been hanging around the Art Club, but it's starting to feel a bit dull… So, I was thinking of checking out the Kendo Club."
"The Kendo Club?"
Izumi's parents exchanged glances before Kaneyoshi smiled gently and asked, "Why the sudden interest in joining the Kendo Club? Did you rekindle your passion for kendo, or do you have friends in the club?"
"Speaking of kendo, I remember you practiced it for a while when you were little. But as the lessons got harder, you got so exhausted that you quit. The next day, you refused to go back, no matter what we said."
There's nothing parents love more than reminiscing about their child's embarrassing childhood moments, and Akina was no exception.
When Kotomi had started learning kendo as a child, everything was going well at first. But as the training became more demanding, she struggled to keep up physically. On top of that, she wasn't exactly the sharpest back then—she often didn't understand the instructor's explanations. As a result, she would come home every day sobbing.
It wasn't because the instructors scolded her—on the contrary, they were always encouraging and patient. From the very first day Kotomi joined, they had all silently agreed that she was an adorable little girl, just… not the brightest.
So they constantly reminded themselves to be patient with her.
The instructors were patient, but young Kotomi, though a bit slow, was also quite proud. Every time her classmates grasped a technique while she remained clueless, she would blush with embarrassment. She would stand there awkwardly, gripping a bamboo sword taller than her entire body, utterly at a loss.
For children, feeling lost and embarrassed often turns into a sense of grievance. Kotomi was no exception. Before long, her lips would tremble, and her big, beautiful eyes would turn red with unshed tears.
Even now, she couldn't quite articulate why she had refused to continue kendo. Maybe she simply felt ashamed of being the only one who couldn't keep up. Maybe she was just overwhelmed with frustration.
All she knew was that after her parents picked her up from the dojo, she had cried her heart out. And the next day, no matter what, she refused to go back.
And just like that, Kotomi's childhood kendo journey came to an end.
Her parents had assumed she would never bring up kendo again. After all, Kotomi had always been stubborn and prideful when it came to certain things.
So, when she casually mentioned joining the Kendo Club over dinner, they weren't opposed to it—but they were definitely surprised.
What could have possibly made Kotomi decide to pick up kendo again after all these years?
Akina, who frequently borrowed manga from Kotomi's bookshelf, had already started picturing countless hot-blooded shounen manga scenarios in her mind.
For example.
Kotomi, who once possessed extraordinary talent in kendo, gave up her most beloved sport out of frustration following her childhood failure at a kendo training class. Resentful and disheartened, she abandoned her potential, let herself go, and ultimately degenerated into a delinquent girl (strike that— a foodie girl!).
One day, out of jealousy toward a fellow Kendo Club member's outstanding performance, Kotomi stormed into the dojo and challenged them to a fight. The two battled fiercely, leaving each other covered in bruises and injuries. Just then, the Kendo Club captain—the very person who had once encouraged Kotomi—appeared.
Seeing the person she had regarded as a guiding light standing before her once more, Kotomi could no longer hold back her tears. She fell to her knees and choked out:
"Captain… I… I want to practice kendo."
With that single sentence, years of frustration, grievances, longing, and hope—all the emotions she had bottled up regarding kendo—came pouring out…
Just as Akina was deeply immersed in this dramatic mental scenario, Kotomi glanced at her mother, twitched the corner of her mouth, and couldn't help but comment:
"Mom, are you seriously imagining my decision to join the Kendo Club as some Slam Dunk
Hisashi Mitsui redemption arc?"
Akina looked completely shocked. "How did you know?!"
…She really had imagined it that way!
Unlike the animated Akina, Kaneyoshi chuckled and continued the conversation with a gentle smile:
"Wanting to join the Kendo Club is a great thing. Practicing kendo not only strengthens the body but also builds character in many ways. I fully support you joining the club. But what about you? How do you personally feel about it?"
When making decisions about their daughters, the Izumi couple never rushed to deny their choices or simply say "No, you can't." Instead, they preferred to calmly discuss the reasoning behind their decisions.
Why make this choice?
If they chose this path, had they come up with a solid plan?
If not, they would be encouraged to take a step back and think things through.
If they did have a plan but it had flaws, the Izumi couple would offer their own perspective and provide suggestions for improvement before continuing the discussion.
To them, understanding, respecting, and acknowledging their children's thoughts was crucial. So many rifts between parents and children, after all, stemmed from a lack of mutual understanding built up over time.
Kotomi hesitated for a moment but eventually decided to be honest about her true reasons for joining the Kendo Club and participating in the Six-School Tournament.
"To be honest, I'm not particularly passionate about kendo. In fact, I've never been that interested in club activities in general. Just like how I joined the Art Club mainly to compete in the art contest and secure a spot in a prestigious university, my reason for joining the Kendo Club is because Tendo-senpai made me a very generous offer—she promised me the honorary title of club president and gave me an envelope containing 350,000 yen."
After finishing her explanation, Kotomi took out the envelope she had been carefully keeping in her pocket and placed it on the table. Even without opening it, the thick stack of bills inside was visibly substantial.
Izumi's parents exchanged glances, unable to avoid feeling a bit concerned. After all, for the captain of the Kendo Club to offer such generous conditions just to recruit Kotomi from the Art Club—it was hard not to wonder if there were ulterior motives involved.
Since her parents were unaware of Kotomi's rapid improvement in kendo, it was only natural for them to overthink the situation. To them, this Tendo-senpai might have another agenda when it came to Kotomi.
Kaneyoshi opened the envelope and pulled out the thick stack of 10,000-yen bills. Seeing the pile of cash, Aimi couldn't help but take a sharp breath.
Even if she withdrew all the savings from her bank account, she probably wouldn't have this much…
Well, maybe she used to. But ever since she got hooked on buying capsule toys, her pocket money had plummeted drastically.
At the same time, Aimi's sharp ears caught the name "Tendo-senpai" in Kotomi's words.
Senpai?
A woman?!
Yet another unfamiliar woman had appeared!
Ugh—if I had known, I wouldn't have wasted my money on capsule toys! Damn it! Why is there another woman I don't know? And she seems rich too! Throwing 350,000 yen at my sister right off the bat? She's not after my sister, is she?!
!
Suddenly, Aimi found tonight's dinner completely tasteless. She silently put down her chopsticks and gulped down her miso soup.
Somehow, the miso soup tasted saltier with every sip.
After a brief moment of thought, Kaneyoshi placed the 350,000 yen back into the envelope and pushed it toward Kotomi. He then spoke slowly:
"If your senpai is willing to offer such generous terms to recruit you, it means that in her eyes, you have an irreplaceable talent. Even if she's just inviting you as the Kendo Club's mascot, that still means you have something unique—something that brings comfort or inspiration to others."
"That said, one should never accept rewards without effort, but at the same time, if there's no benefit, there's no need to take something too seriously. After all, we're not self-sacrificing saints."
"Always weigh the pros and cons before taking on a task. Analyze how much benefit it brings you and whether the reward is worth your effort. Only then should you make your decision."
After finishing his words, Kaneyoshi took a sip of warm water.
"Consider this some life advice from your father."
"So… can I just keep the money for myself?" Kotomi asked tentatively.
Kaneyoshi let out a hearty laugh.
"350,000 yen might be a lot for an average high school girl, and as parents, we wouldn't be at ease letting her handle it. But you're not an ordinary high schooler. You've been writing novels and drawing manga lately, and the money you've earned is far more than this amount. So your mom and I aren't worried about you being blinded by money."
"The more capable a person is at increasing their income, the less likely they are to be swayed by money alone—unless it's a lot of money."
Akina added, "Even though you've been making money, don't get into the habit of buying everything that catches your eye. You may still be in high school, but it's never too early to start saving and learning how to manage your finances. If there's anything you don't understand about financial planning, ask your father."
When it came to financial expertise in the Izumi family, no one could compare to Kaneyoshi.
"Got it," Kotomi nodded, making up her mind to plan every expense wisely!
Bit by bit—save a little today, save a little tomorrow, save a little more the day after—round it up, and who knows? Maybe one day it'll add up to a hundred million!
During dinner, Kotomi couldn't help but pick up her phone and noticed a notification from Amazon.
The gaming laptop she had been eyeing was now eligible for a special discount in celebration of the store's anniversary!
And the discount for her desired gaming laptop? A 16,000-yen price reduction!
Beep.
Kotomi pressed the payment button, and the screen immediately displayed: "Payment Successful."
A moment later, a text message from her bank popped up.
[Your card number: ***] A transaction of 518,183 yen has been processed. Your current balance is…
Silently, Kotomi set down her phone and resumed eating, as if she hadn't just spent nearly 520,000 yen in a single tap.
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