Published: January 24, 2026
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After parting ways with Orun, Fuuka took the left path at the fork, passed through the gate, and entered the mansion grounds.
The front yard before her was almost unchanged from how she remembered it.
The white, neatly laid stone pavement stretched straight toward the main house, with low shrubs planted evenly on both sides.
The green leaves shimmered brilliantly under the summer sunlight, and seasonal flowers blooming here and there added a quiet splash of color.
This was a place she herself had walked through countless times in the past.
But now, it was completely different from those days.
She directed her gaze straight ahead.
There stood a man quietly waiting.
Kiryuu Tendou.
His white hair had seemed to increase, but there was something nostalgic about him.
Yet, to her, he now looked like a wall blocking her path.
The wind blew.
The summer breeze she once loved.
But now, she didn’t even have the luxury to feel it.
Fuuka stopped walking.
This garden was where Kiryuu had once taught her swordsmanship.
In this place filled with memories—now, the disciple was about to turn her blade against the master.
“You’ve come here, haven’t you?”
“As you taught me, I have grown stronger. I have many reliable comrades now. So I will do only what I can do.”
“That seems to be the case. Even without crossing swords, it’s clear the princess has become strong.”
“…Are you willing to step back?”
“No. This is the only role left for me.”
“I see. Then, even if by force, you will push through.”
Fuuka drew the cursed sword she carried at her left hip from its magical storage and quietly gripped it with her left hand.
“Haha… Why make such a bold claim? A young girl who has only been holding a sword for about ten years, seriously thinks she can beat me who has devoted over fifty years to the blade?”
Kiryuu’s voice was low, quietly becoming heated.
The atmosphere shifted from calm to slowly becoming tense and dangerous.
Yet Fuuka did not flinch.
As she formed the grip on the sword, she used distance shrinking to close the gap in an instant.
No hesitation.
She was fully prepared to cross blades.
However—Kiryuu didn’t move at all.
Not just now, but even through her future sight, his stance remained unchanged.
He simply stood silently, gazing steadily at her.
That sight planted doubt in Fuuka’s mind.
(…He’s not moving? Then, just like this—)
But if she hesitated even for a moment, she would be the one cut.
Fuuka stepped in decisively, swinging her sword.
At that moment.
Kiryuu moved.
Through her future sight, Fuuka saw the vision.
A future where Kiryuu’s blade cuts her.
But it was too late.
Fuuka had already begun her swing.
Kiryuu’s sword deflected her blade’s path.
Then, without hesitation, the second strike lunged toward her.
“—!!”
She managed to dodge, but not completely in time.
A sharp trace grazed her cheek, leaving a shallow cut and a burning pain.
Fuuka pushed off the ground and reestablished distance.
“Hmm. It seems even this movement was a bit early. Had you waited one more beat, it would have been a sure cut.”
Kiryuu muttered this.
His voice remained calm, but his eyes calmly assessed the situation.
“……”
“I taught you once before, princess. If you rely too much on those eyes, your feet will be swept out from under you.”
The next moment, Fuuka saw again a future where she would be cut.
“—!?”
She quickly retreated, escaping Kiryuu’s striking range.
…Yet Kiryuu hadn’t moved a step.
At that fact, Fuuka’s sword tip trembled slightly.
“Seeing too much can be a problem, can’t it?”
Kiryuu said quietly, and Fuuka’s heart stirred.
—Future Sight.
Like self-healing, it activates constantly, regardless of the user’s will.
Fuuka’s vision always overlapped two scenes—‘the present’ and ‘a near future.’
Normally, the future she sees becomes reality.
Except in one case.
When the one who knows the future (Fuuka herself) changes their actions.
If she changes her behavior, those around her change accordingly.