Thwack—
Remilia, who had been unexpectedly hit, was completely bewildered.
'Didn't I dodge that? With my agile movements and perfect side roll, how could I still get hit?'
Before she could figure out what was going on, the sound of another gust of wind whistled past her ear.
Almost instinctively, she rolled again—
Thwack!
Remilia, who had been hit again, turned green with rage. She swung the sponge stick wildly around her.
But just as she turned, another precise blow landed squarely on the top of her head.
"Damn you!!!"
"You bastard, stop running if you dare!!"
"..."
Sakuya and Patchouli, who's watching from a distance, had subtle expressions as they watched Remilia being utterly dominated. Their eyelids twitch uncontrollably.
Rather than saying Rin was accurate, it was more like their young lady was exceptionally good at catching his blows.
'How did she manage to get her head in the way of the stick every single time?'
"Is she going to cry from being beaten?"
"Hard to say."
"If she does, you're the one comforting her. I don't want to be woken up in the middle of the night by her wailing."
Patchouli rubbed her temples in frustration. This little one couldn't even take advantage of the opportunities given to her!
Sakuya shot her a glare, then tentatively called out to Remilia—
"Young lady, maybe we should just end this..."
"No way!"
"I haven't landed a single hit yet! How can it end like this? I refuse to believe he can hit me every single time!"
"I'm going all out against this bastard!!!"
Remilia cursed and ranted, still flailing around the hall like a madwoman.
But during this brief moment of distraction, she was hit a few more times by Rin, grinding her teeth in frustration.
Seeing her young lady being both terrible at fighting and utterly magnetized to it, Sakuya couldn't help but sigh.
"They're not going to finish anytime soon. Patchy, keep an eye on them. I'm heading to the kitchen."
"Got it~"
Patchouli waved her hand, watching Sakuya leave before turning her attention back to the ongoing battle between the two.
Just then, she casually reminded them—
"Oh, I forgot to tell you. I added a punishment mechanism for the loser to these blindfolds."
"After putting on the blindfold, the first one to take it off, or the one who surrenders, will have the experience of the duel haunt them as nightmares for three days."
"It's like you'll be sleeping, and suddenly a stick will come out of nowhere and whack you."
"If you sleep too deeply, you'll be half-awakened by the nightmare and then get whacked again."
"..."
Remilia's face immediately changed upon hearing this.
'Patchy, whose side are you even on?! I'm the one at a disadvantage here!!'
Realizing the severity of the situation, Remilia's attacks became even more frenzied. The sponge stick in her hand swung with such force that it whistled through the air.
However, to Patchouli's surprise, Rin effortlessly dodged all of Remilia's attacks, even casually landing a few more hits that made her grimace in pain.
"This guy's got some skills…"
Patchouli muttered with interest. But upon closer inspection, he was indeed just an ordinary human with no magical or special abilities, albeit in excellent health.
'Gensokyo really has a lot of talented people!' Just then, she noticed something and her eye twitched.
Remilia, who had been taking hit after hit, was now desperately making gestures for help toward her.
'Isn't this just too embarrassing?' Patchouli shot her a sidelong glance but ultimately chose to ignore her.
It's good for the little one to suffer a bit. It'll teach her not to be so cocky and cause trouble every day.
Under Patchouli's cold observation, Remilia lasted less than three minutes before collapsing on the floor like a salted fish, completely giving up.
'I can't win. No matter how I think about it, I can't win. Is this bastard cheating? How come I can't hit him even once?! Is this even fair?!'
Hearing the sound of the sponge stick whistling toward her again, she finally snapped and shouted—
"I give up! I surrender!!"
As soon as she spoke, a strange magical energy emanated from the blindfold, silently seeping into her body like a curse.
As Remilia, with a dark expression, removed the blindfold, she saw the sponge stick stopping just inches above her head.
Seeing Rin still wearing his blindfold, her little brain couldn't comprehend what was happening.
'How the hell is this humanly possible?!'
It wasn't until Patchouli announced the result that Rin finally removed his blindfold, giving Remilia a disdainful look.
"You're pretty bad at this. You're not even as good as that old lady who sneaks into my place for midnight snacks..."
Thwack—
Without warning, a flick to the forehead silenced Rin.
Watching the gap slowly close before him, Rin's eye twitched.
'How long has Yukari been spying on us?'
Meanwhile, Remilia, hearing Rin's muttering, was seething with rage.
'Damn it, I must be fated to clash with this bastard!' Just as she angrily got up to run away, a hand firmly pressed her down—
"Remy, did you forget something?"
Turning her head to see Rin's kind smile, Remilia's heart sank.
"Pa... Patchy, where are you?!"
"I'll haunt you even as a ghost, you traitor!!!"
"..."
Hearing the shrill screams coming from the hall, Sakuya in the kitchen couldn't help but glance at Patchouli, who had somehow appeared beside her.
The culprit, however, acted as if she had suddenly gone deaf, panting heavily with an innocent expression.
The amount of exercise she'd done today was almost equivalent to a year's worth. If she ran any more, she might really drop dead!
"I've never seen you run so fast in my life."
"Ahem, it's good to exer... hah.. exercise once in a while."
"Hearing that from you feels a bit strange."
"Are you going to save her?"
"Probably not. Mr. Rin wouldn't be too harsh on a child."
Sakuya calmly brewed tea. After all, the guy was capable of taking care of a whole family, even if their relationships were a bit messy. It showed they were quite close.
'Besides, the young lady is so cute. The boss probably wouldn't go too far.'
"But they made a bet. The loser has to obey the winner."
"..."
Sakuya's hand trembled as she poured the tea. She immediately put down the teapot and walked solemnly toward the door.
"Where are you going?"
"I'm going to ask Boss if he can transfer the bet to me. The stakes are too deep for him to handle. I can share the burden."
"How could he just transfer it like that... Why do I feel like you're looking at me strangely?"
"It's just your imagination."
Sakuya smiled deeply at Patchouli before rushing off to the hall in a hurry...