The Passive Income System

As she drove, we kept up a light conversation. Before long, her home came into view, and I still couldn't get over the sheer size of the place.

"Huh?"

"What's wrong?" she asked, glancing at me.

"We're not going inside?"

She shook her head. "No, the dojo is a little further ahead."

I nodded blankly.

Her house is too fucking big!

Nature kept passing by, and finally, after ten minutes, we reached the dojo. Now, this was ten minutes from the gate to here, so I guess it wasn't too bad when you considered the sheer dimensions of this place.

The dojo was about what you'd expect, except it had an open ceiling, which—considering the weather—was a problem.

"Saeko, it's supposed to rain, so wouldn't it be better to-"

"No, it won't rain."

"Yes, it will."

"It's just cloudy."

"No, it quite literally will."

"Nope." She was so adamant about this even with the facts above her. The grey clouds were so dark that it nearly looked like night. 

"Uh-huh."

I stopped arguing with her and just accepted the situation. A warm shower would definitely be in session after practice.

"Here, go in that room to the left and get changed."

I walked down the hallway Saeko had pointed to, entered the room, and stripped off my clothes. I didn't want to make her wait, and thankfully, this time I knew how to put the uniform on more comfortably.

Unlike the one at school, which was black, this one was purple.

Staring at myself in one of the mirrors to the right of the shelves, an urge overtook me. I flicked my hair back and put on the evilest smile I could muster.

Just give me some of those markings, and I could look like Sukuna-possessed Megumi.

After my little fun, I moved away from the mirror and folded my other clothes. Making sure they were neatly arranged, I left and met Saeko in the center of the dojo.

The best part about this dojo was that it didn't confine us to a small, enclosed space. Instead, the entire area was our battleground.

But thinking about it some more, I couldn't help but wonder why.

A strange way to practice kendo… unless…

I glanced around, analyzing the dojo further, and in doing so, Saeko confirmed a suspicion that had begun to form.

"You're more perceptive than I thought."

"So, it's safe to assume..."

She nodded. "Yeah. My family line is that of warriors, so 'kendo' is nothing more than a guise for our real practice—the true way of the sword!"

"No wonder you're so scary when you try."

I thought back to when I first entered the Kendo club and watched Saeko's duel. Her poor opponent never stood a chance. Saeko's entire mindset was to kill, while that girl had simply been thinking in terms of competition.

She chuckled. "Are you scared now?"

I didn't respond immediately. Instead, I took a moment to truly assess myself. My arms were trembling slightly, but not from fear. My body wasn't cold, nor was I breaking into a sweat. And my lips-curving into a grin-were anything but afraid.

I felt a heat rising inside me, the kind that comes when you finally let go of something you've held back for far too long.

I felt like I was on the cusp of experiencing true freedom; a freedom that came from releasing everything I'd kept buried, even the things I hadn't realized I was suppressing.

This is so strange, but this feeling is wonderful. If being with my girlfriends is a soothing release that helped me relax… then this… this is a way for me to vent my frustrations!

[About time.]

'Shut it.'

[Just being honest.]

'That's why you need to be quiet. Talk to me after!'

[Fine, good luck.]

'Hahaha~, I'll definitely need it.'

Saeko walked over to the right side of the dojo—where the hallway was—and grabbed two practice swords.

"Here!"

She tossed one to me, and its weight felt similar to the ones at school. I gave it a few practice swings, then did a couple of stretches. I didn't want to risk injuring myself out of sheer stupidity, after all.

She followed suit, copying my stretches. We even helped each other, taking a closer look at each other's bodies. Not in a lewd way! Sure, her feminine features were more prominent, and her perfume or perhaps her shampoo smelled like fresh jasmine and soft lilies.

I focused more on her toned arms and strong legs, giving me further insight into her abilities, even though I'd already witnessed them firsthand.

She also examined me but again, not in any weird or inappropriate way. I was definitely more fit than I used to be. My well-defined six-pack and strong arms were proof of that. My body felt loose, and my dexterity was leagues above average.

My greatest strength, though, was definitely my speed, both reaction time and movement speed alike.

Years of playing fast-paced and FPS games in my last life had trained my reflexes to an above-average level. I even scored 0.142 ms on the human benchmark, though the credibility of that could be argued. My movement speed had also increased with all the running and proper workouts.

Thankfully, I wasn't sore from helping Iori, so I was in peak condition—both in body and mind!

I took a deep breath, exhaling slowly. "Hmmm... Hah~." Then, I positioned myself, putting the proper distance between Saeko and me.

"You know, I admire that you can face me."

"I don't believe I have any right to back out. I was the one who suggested this, after all."

She let the silence linger for a second, just long enough to make me wonder what she was thinking.

Then she sighed dramatically, tapping her chin.

"You know…" she started slowly, glancing at me out of the corner of her eye, "I think integrity is the hottest trait in a man."

"I-I don't think that's appropriate to bring up here."

Yeah, I stuttered. She caught me off guard!

Wait, what if this is to throw me off!?

I immediately went on guard, which seemed to surprise her. Her mouth formed an "O" before she suddenly burst into laughter.

"Hahahaha~! Y-You! I'm not going to do something so underhanded!"

She clutched her stomach, laughing so hard that tears streamed from her eyes.

'It wasn't that funny!'