Laid-Back Life in Tokyo: I Really Didn't Want to Work Hard
Chapter 275 - 221: No One’s Heart Remains Unchanged

Chapter 275: Chapter 221: No One’s Heart Remains Unchanged

Uesugi Sakura woke up at 10 in the morning, and for the next half an hour stared blankly at the chandelier hanging from the ceiling above.

...

After a long time, reaching out with his right hand to the side, he felt nothing but the empty air besides the bedding.

...

She’s really gone...

With his eyes wide open, Uesugi Sakura groped around for a while before finally extending his hand enough to grasp his phone at the edge.

He held the phone in front of him, pressing the power button with his thumb, and stared absentmindedly at her adorable smiling face on the wallpaper.

The screen would go dark only to be lit once again.

After another stretch of dazing off, Uesugi Sakura finally put down the phone, turned on his side, and pushed himself up from the bed.

Lazy as ever, he walked to the window where the rain was still pouring and listened to the pattering raindrops purifying the small town below the mountain.

Using a wooden stick, he propped open the window, leaned out with hands resting on the wooden frame, taking a deep breath.

The fragrance of the rain-soaked morning wafted in, refreshing his mind.

Having idly spent another day, Uesugi Sakura couldn’t help but wonder what he should do today.

Never mind, maybe read a book.

Trying to read, Uesugi Sakura pulled a book from his suitcase but found it impossible to focus.

He could understand every scene the book depicted, yet it felt like he was facing an unwelcome movie genre.

No matter how renowned and fluently made the movie was.

It was hard to continue enjoying it.

Looking up absentmindedly, Uesugi Sakura noticed the PS5 console in the corner, not yet gathering dust.

He planned to try a game to get through this boring scorching summer day.

There was a flat-screen TV in the room, not new but not too old either.

After fumbling around for a while, Uesugi Sakura finally got the console on, and as the TV lit up with icons, he suddenly realized he had neither account nor games.

Moreover, it had been years since he’d used a game controller, he barely recognized the buttons and had no habit of using it.

Just as Sakihara Uncle came around, and playing games was temporarily put aside.

Walking along the eaves corridor, the sound of falling raindrops splattered across the adjacent small courtyard.

"Ahem, did you properly look into Hanamaru Hiroki yesterday, my dear apprentice?"

"..."

"Well, I know a bit, seems he’s a Swordsman of the Jigen Style, and also a policeman."

"That’s right!"

Sakihara Uncle walked ahead with a dripping wet umbrella, leading the way, drops occasionally falling from its tip, "His moves are characterized by speed; he’d never use a second move if he can knock down the opponent with one."

"What if there’s a third move?"

"If there’s a third, it’s when he’s dominating you."

Uesugi Sakura acknowledged that Uncle made a lot of sense.

Yet his current mindset was akin to that of a retired hermit swordsman, with no interest in goals of superiority.

"It feels like you’ve changed somehow." Walking past a corner, Sakihara Uncle shot a glance back and came out with a sudden remark.

Uesugi Sakura felt the tone was somewhat flat, making Uncle seem uncharacteristically unlike himself:

"Have I?"

"You should be more aware of it than I do," Sakihara Uncle turned around, "Is it because of that little girlfriend of yours who left?"

"..."

Silence.

Uesugi Sakura admitted he missed her; tossing and turning at night, all he could recall was her peaceful and steady breathing while asleep in front of him.

Under the roof of the main entrance, Sakihara Uncle opened the umbrella, and Uesugi Sakura stepped under it.

The cold morning raindrops sparkled all over the curved blue umbrella surface.

"Sigh, though Uncle can’t offer you much better advice in this regard, I still hope you reflect on what you truly want."

"Isn’t that rather selfish?"

"You also need to think for yourself about that; Uncle here is just someone who teaches swordsmanship."

Treading on the grass-covered stones around, Uesugi Sakura stared at Sakihara Yishin’s face for a long time:

"Why did Uncle go to that Hachiman Shrine back then?"

Sakihara Yishin did not turn back, looking forward, his tone filled with reminiscing: "There... should be my home.

"After leaving Tokyo, I’ve spent over a decade searching for this place, Hokkaido, Kantou, Kansai, Kyushu, I searched all over the country and only came to Shikoku Island two years ago."

With just a few words, Uesugi Sakura could sense a hint of a story in Uncle’s tale.

"But wasn’t that Hachiman Shrine destroyed by an earthquake decades ago?"

"These things I was completely unaware of; in my memory, I only recall certain features: the torii, the ancient bell, the shrine, the thick rope, a promising young father, and an exceedingly beautiful woman in a witch dress showing a smile."

After saying this, Sakihara Yishin shook his head.

"Never mind, let’s go practice Sword Dao first; even if you seem to have no goal, it’s always good to strengthen the body."

Along the grassy stone path, entering the warehouse from the side, Cousin had already started practicing there.

Sakihara Uncle put away the umbrella, leaned against the door outside, and picked up two wooden swords, handing one to Uesugi Sakura.

"How about some real combat training today?"

Uesugi Sakura took the wooden sword handed to him without any objection.

————————

"Killing Sword!"

"Killing Skill!"

"Killing Intent!"

Sakihara Yishin shouted three times, his wooden sword deftly blocking and neutralizing the attacks from Uesugi Sakura, "The Chiba Clan of the Hokushin One-Sword Style relies on this so-called Three Killings Technique to crush the opponent’s momentum!"

"Killing Sword! to suppress the opponent’s incoming attack!"

Uesugi Sakura’s overhead slash was deftly deflected about 10 centimeters from the root of the blade by Sakihara Yishin.

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