I Thought I Was Dead After Getting Stabbed While Protecting a Girl From a Random Attacker, but a Goddess Gave Me a Special Reward and Brought Me Back to Life in My Original Body—Now, All These Girls Are Coming on to Me!? - Chapter 33: Yuna Yamamura, Great Victory!

Chapter 33: Yuna Yamamura, Great Victory!

I successfully advanced to the finals. I finished using the restroom and was returning to the venue.

A certain person visited there.

“As expected, you came, Yuna Yamamura,” she said.

“…Kanemura-san,” I replied.

The person there was Ririka Kanemura, my opponent in the finals.

She was a formidable competitor. During middle school, we clashed repeatedly in various tournaments.

Her style was to overwhelm opponents with lightning-fast footwork, born from her exceptional leg strength, literally crushing them without letting them do anything.

However, in high school, we never faced each other in official matches due to the luck of the draw. This was our first time.

“I can finally fight you. How long I waited for this moment…” she said.

“That’s my line, Kanemura-san,” I replied.

She was the first person, not from my dojo, who could fight me on equal terms when we met in middle school. Even now, I remember it. The shock of losing to someone other than my senior sister in an official match for the first time in my life—I will probably never forget it until I die.

As an opponent for the finals, no one was more suitable than her.

“You became very strong, didn’t you?” she said.

“I’m aware I survived my share of tough battles,” I replied.

“Hehe, I thought I’d crush you if you were soaking in lukewarm water, but it seems I don’t need to worry about that,” she said.

“I can clearly see your spirit is full of energy. You’re a worthy opponent,” I replied.

“…Hehe,” she laughed.

“…Haha,” I laughed.

“I’ll take the championship,” she declared.

“Sorry, but I can’t let that happen. I’ll win,” I said.

Important people came to watch me, so this time, I’ll win no matter what.

“Is the opponent in the finals strong?” someone asked.

“Last year, she made it to the top four, but she lost to a third-year student from Yuna’s dojo. Yuna lost to that senior and got second place too…” another person answered.

“A senior stronger than Yuna? How strong was she…?” someone wondered.

“But after the tournament, Yuna apparently got revenge on that senior at the dojo,” another said.

“Not letting a loss be the end—that’s so Yuna,” someone remarked.

In other words, if that strongest senior wasn’t there, this opponent might have been on par with Yuna. Without a doubt, this match would likely be the toughest for Yuna.

Both competitors bowed deeply and entered the match area.

They drew their swords and assumed a crouching stance.

The tension in the match area reached its peak.

As the venue’s excitement grew, their concentration deepened noticeably.

“Begin!” the referee commanded.

The match started.

“…! That’s…” someone gasped.

“Huh, what’s Yuna’s stance?” another asked.

“Cool. Badass,” someone said.

Yuna, at the start of the match, raised her bamboo sword above her head.

It was the “upper stance” in kendo, a well-known stance even to someone like me, who only dabbled in kendo because of Yuna’s influence.

It was a stance used by competitors confident in their offensive power, also called the “fire stance,” completely abandoning defense.

I thought female competitors, who typically had less muscle strength, rarely used it, but Yuna would likely master it perfectly.

The opposing competitor showed no sign of panic seeing that stance.

As expected, she was a seasoned competitor. Not to be underestimated.

The “upper stance” appeared to leave the torso wide open, a weakness, but stepping in carelessly would result in a powerful downward strike to the unprotected head.

The opponent, knowing this, hesitated to step forward. It was a stalemate.

“…Gulp,” someone swallowed.

“The tension is incredible,” another said.

“I heard that battles between top-class swordsmen are usually like this. The match will probably be decided in an instant,” someone explained.

“Then we can’t miss it…!” another said.

“Yeah, no blinking…!” someone agreed.

At the moment we focused on the match’s outcome, it happened.

“Yaaaaaaaah!” the opponent shouted.

Ririka Kanemura, the opponent, moved.

With her signature lightning-fast footwork, she swung her bamboo sword to strike Yuna’s open torso.

But Yuna remained calm.

Judging instantly that her downward strike wouldn’t match Kanemura’s speed, Yuna chose to retreat immediately. Kanemura’s bamboo sword cut through empty air.

But it didn’t end there.

Using her leg strength, Kanemura accelerated again, chasing Yuna as she retreated.

For an ordinary competitor, avoiding an attack while retreating with their weight shifted backward would be nearly impossible.

(I won…!) Kanemura’s eyes, visible through her mask, showed no doubt in her victory.

But Yuna—

Thud!

“What…!?” someone gasped.

Normally, recovering balance with weight shifted so far back was impossible.

But Yuna’s body, forged through immense training, responded perfectly to her will.

Using almost pure muscle strength, Yuna forcibly regained her posture and charged at the approaching opponent.

There was no overwhelming force to blow each other away, but because the distance between them closed to zero against Kanemura’s intent, her plan collapsed. That shock created a small but certain opening.

“Meeeeeeen!” Yuna shouted.

Yuna didn’t miss it.

“One point! That’s the match!” the referee declared.

A pull-men strike. Yuna’s point.

Yuna Yamamura achieved the national championship victory…!

I looked at my smartphone and walked to a passageway away from the spectator seats.

My purpose was simple…

“Yuna!” I called.

“Ryu!” she replied.

The women’s individual match ended, and there was about an hour until Yuna’s team match, so I arranged to meet her to congratulate her.

When Yuna saw me, she hugged me at a speed she never showed in matches.

I gently hugged her back, and she wrapped her arms around me in return.

“…I won,” she said.

“Yeah, I watched everything closely,” I replied.

“Was I cool?” she asked.

“Super cool,” I answered.

“…Praise me more,” she said.

“Yuna, you were super strong and super cool. Having a girlfriend like you makes me so proud it’s unreal,” I said.

“…Hehe,” she giggled.

I gently patted Yuna’s head as she nuzzled into my chest, and her already softened expression melted further.

To those who saw her usual dignified self, it was hard to believe she was the same person.

Satisfied with the patting, she suddenly pulled away from my chest.

…That face—probably she acted on the high of winning and now felt embarrassed reflecting on her actions.

“…Ahem! Now it’s your turn, Ryu, right?” she said.

“…Yeah. I have to carry the baton you passed me,” I replied.

“I’ll cheer for you this time!” she said.

“I’m counting on your cheers,” I said.

“Leave it to me! I’ll cheer loud and clear!” she declared.

“Well, before that, you have the team match,” I reminded.

“I’ll definitely win that too, so watch me until the end, okay?” she asked.

“Of course. I’ll watch every moment,” I said.

“Then I have to give it my all until the end!” she said.

Her smiling face was truly beautiful.

After the men’s individual match, the team matches for both genders took place.

Our Phoenix High School advanced steadily, reaching the semifinals.

The opponent in the semifinals was Iwato Academy High School, led by Kanemura, who had a heated battle with Yuna in the finals.

Yuna, naturally, competed as the team’s anchor, but the opponent surprisingly placed Kanemura as the vanguard.

Our side had a second-year student, but the opponent was just too strong.

She was defeated in almost no time with a single strike.

Riding that momentum, Iwato Academy led 2-1 against our vice-captain.

If our vice-captain won here, it would connect to Yuna… but…

“That’s the match! Iwato Academy wins!” the referee announced.

Phoenix High School, unfortunately losing in the vice-captain match, ended the tournament in the top four without Yuna getting to compete.

After the match, I spoke to her, thinking she might be upset about not winning the team event, but she said,

“These things happen in team matches. Everyone gave their all, so that’s the result.”

She was surprisingly carefree.

“The award ceremony will now begin. Spectators, please take your seats,” the announcer said.

At the award ceremony, Yuna received the certificate for winning the individual match.

Seeing her dignified figure, it was hard to believe she was the same person who hugged me so softly earlier.

With this, we completed the entire Tokyo trip schedule.

Now, we just had to relax on the bullet train home.

Yuna’s heroic performance gave me so much strength. Now it was my turn to deliver results at the prefectural tournament.

At this point, I wasn’t reflecting at all.

I should have learned from the recent hotel incident that focusing too much on the future could trip me up in the present.

“…So, how did this happen?” I asked.

“Hehe, I won’t let Makoto have all the fun. It’s my turn on the way back,” Kanade said.

Holding my arm as we headed to the station was not Makoto, but Kanade.

“Uh… where’s Makoto?” I asked.

“Makoto is going back with the newspaper club. I have the bullet train tickets, so don’t worry,” Kanade said.

“That’s not the issue,” I said.

“Everyone in the club happily cooperated. Especially the club president,” she said.

“Why is the newspaper club so quick to act like this…?” I wondered.

“Journalism is all about action,” she said.

“I feel like their action is directed the wrong way…” I muttered.

Thus, after the eventful trip with Makoto on the way there, I ended up traveling back with Kanade.

My sixth sense was buzzing, telling me things wouldn’t go smoothly until the very end…