The following morning.
“It has arrived!” A brunette-haired student entered the dojo with a closed box in her arms.
“Oh!.” Tiger Erwin took the box from the female student and carried it over to the upstairs, where he knocked on the door to their master’s study.
“Come in.” A deep voice came inside.
“Master!” Tiger Erwin pushed the door handle down with his elbow and opened the door with his foot. He then put the box on the couch.
“They have arrived!”
Ambrose had a bunch of documents about Reverse Tiger Blade’s dealings with other businesses open at the desk. He looked away from them and towards the box.
“The belts?”
“Yes!” Tiger Erwin opened the box with a smile and took out a white belt made of thick cotton. He thought it felt very light and nice.
“That was faster than I expected.” Ambrose said to him and took out a black belt from the box. He weighed it on his hand and nodded with a smile.
“Hand them over to the students.” Ambrose said, and he took out a green belt from the box, then handed it over to Tiger Erwin.
“Thank you, master!” Tiger Erwin accepted it with a bow, and he put it around his waist with a sense of pride.
“Whenever I feel like it’s time, there’ll be training sessions with the students of the dojo.” Ambrose said and put the black belt in his inventory.
“At the end of the training sessions, I might promote others into higher colors.”
“All right, master.” Tiger Erwin nodded, planning to share the news with others to increase their morale, and then took the box into his arms and left the study.
After the door closed, Ambrose put away the documents and checked the on his pocket watch.
‘It’s time. I hope she managed to learn it.’
…
A heavily armored guard walked past the bookstore ‘Whispering Pages’ and glanced inside. He hoped to get a glimpse of the bookstore Goddess, but unfortunately, it was currently quiet inside as it was still closed.
“Yo.” Another heavily armored guard stood on the sidewalk, greeting his colleague. “Heard about another bloodshed night? These players are becoming more annoying with each passing day.”
“So I’ve heard.” The guard shook his head and joined his friend in standing in front of a closed cafe. “The recent string of violent actions has increased worry.”
“Nn, I wonder when our higher-ups tell us to intervene.”
The armored guard shrugged his shoulders and then heard a strange swoosh sound. He looked up into the sky and could swear that he saw a shadowy figure fly, but it then disappeared.
The window on the top floor of Whispering Pages opened swiftly, but closed instantly afterwards.
‘Strange…’ The guard shook his head and thought it was perhaps just a bird flying by.
In the room of Whispering Pages, Bella jumped into Ambrose’s embrace, wrapping her legs around his waist with a smile on her beautiful face.
“Guess what?”
“Hmm, what?” Ambrose asked curiously while holding Bella by her thighs.
“I learned it.” Bella’s smile grew, and she jumped away from his embrace. Then she seemed to speak something as her lips moved, and she then moved quickly across the room.
However, not a single afterimage appeared, as she still wasn’t fast enough, but it already looked very impressive.
‘She actually learned it?’ Ambrose’s eyes widened in surprise, but he then saw slight eyebags under Bella’s eyes, and he realized that she must have been practicing for the entire night.
“Aaah…” Bella hunched over, holding her knees while trying to catch breath. She was very drained, but she still had a weak smile on her face.
“Good job.” Ambrose crossed his arms and smiled. “Like I promised, you can come with me.”
“Yay…” Bella cheered weakly, trying to stand straight, but she was still too weak.
“However, I think we need to postpone that for tonight.” Ambrose said and helped her sit down on the bed. “It’s dangerous to go there if you are too exhausted to use any of your skills.”
“O-okay…” Bella laid down and breathed in and out, her chest moving in the same rhythm.
“I’ll send a message when I am coming to pick you up.” Ambrose patted her in the head, then opened the window and waved his hand.
Within an instant, he flew away like a missile, disappearing into the distance in a second.
‘I-I should open the store.’ Bella sat up with a fatigued look, but then heard a ding in her ear, and when she looked at her messages, she saw that she received one from Prince.
‘Hmm, Prince?’ Bella curiously checked it out.
As they got to know each other, they added each other to the friend list, as Prince said to send a message to him if there was any trouble in the store.
This was the first time he sent a message to her.
[Prince: I heard troubling news. A dojo named ‘Immortal Dojo’ might cause trouble in my territory. Be careful]
‘Huh?’ Bella’s eyes widened in surprise. “He wouldn’t cause trouble here. A misunderstanding?”
She frowned and sent a reply.
[Dawn: There must be a misunderstanding. I know the master there, and he wouldn’t]
Ding, ding.
[Prince: Are you certain?]
[Dawn: Yep!]
[Prince: Good]
After that, Bella saw that no more messages came; therefore, she shrugged her shoulders and ran upstairs to open the store, putting the previous messages out of her mind.
…
Prince closed his interface and tapped his finger against the desk.
‘They are acquintanced, that is sure.’ He nodded. ‘She trusts him, and I trust in her judgment. However, I still need to meet him and see what kind of person he really is.’
Knock, knock—following the knock, a member of Saturn entered the room.
“The time is near.” The member said: “Are you still sure you want to go alone?”
“I am sure.” Prince stood up, grabbing his coat from the chair. “Do not disobey my orders. If I hear that any of you did, I will show that I do not like disobedience.”
“We will listen to your orders.” The player bowed and left the room.
Prince then draped the coat over his body and left the room. He saw that Saturn students were hardworking at training in the dojo’s training room.
The highest-leveled members had left to do quests and missions outside the city. It would often take them several days to return.
Therefore, Prince had a serious look on his face since the strongest members of the dojo weren’t present.
If they ended the fight with this Immortal Dojo, it might not end well.
He then left the dojo, walked through the gate, and watched as the light-clothed pedestrians moved by with their lives, some holding the hands of their children and others walking with their friends.
Because he had the territory’s ownership, the lives of innocent citizens who lived here were his responsibility. If a war happened, their lives would also be in danger.
Whistle—Prince whistled loudly, and a horse-drawn carriage stopped in front of him. It was common to move around the city in such a vehicle, as the city was quite enormous.
Prince entered the carriage, gave the driver the address, and leaned back as he watched the city go by.
‘I hope your judgment is correct, Bella.’