The Sword Deity in Tokyo

Chapter 85: 10,000 Per Second
Translator: Larbre Studio Editor: Larbre Studio

Kimura Kazuki dashed to the dressing room.

By name, it was a dressing room, but it was much more grandiose than that. There were two dressing rooms in the resting room. Kimura Kazuki quickly went in and changed into his costume.

The kimono was new. Kazuki didn’t know what material it was made of, but it felt as smooth as silk.

“These kimonos are for cosplayers, so they’re quality assured. The manager prepared a variety of different colored kimonos for the comic con because there are many characters in “The Sword Saga,” and they all have different genders and personalities…”

The worker was a young girl. When she saw Kimura Kazuki coming out from the dressing room, her eyes were locked on him. In the first place, kimonos were always apparel that exudes the wearer’s charm. The kimonos made for the comic con were all wide-sleeved. The sleeves were all flowy, which gave off an impression of an angelic figure.

Even though Kimura Kazuki wasn’t exceptionally handsome, he had a unique charm, and the costume accentuated that. Words could not describe it!

When Kimura Kazuki received the bamboo sword from Mizuno Mari’s hands, the door of the dressing room was opened again.

She was a mature woman. When she walked into the door and saw Kimura Kazuki, her gaze was locked, and she exclaimed in praise, “Not bad! Looks exactly like a real swordsman!” She waved and indicated Kimura Kazuki to sit down, “Come, put on some make-up.”

“Make-up?” Kimura Kazuki looked at her, confused, “Do I need make-up to join a kendo battle?”

It was Matsukawa Chisato’s turn to be confused now, “Aren’t you a cosplayer hired by the company?” She looked at the workers.

Mizuno Mari quickly replied, “Ms. Chisato, you just came. This is…”

“I am Kimura.”

“This Mr. Kimura had registered to enter the kendo competition.” With that, she added to explain about the Elite Kendo Faceoff event organized by Muraoka Hiroshi. Matsukawa Chisato was a new make-up artist for the cosplayers, so she didn’t know what was going on.

After hearing all that, Matsukawa Chisato nodded profusely. She only knew that Muraoka Hiroshi arranged two kendo experts onstage for a face-off. She wasn’t sure about any changes midway, leading to changes in the activities. She never gave it much of thought. She gave Kimura Kazuki a good look, went to the shelves and picked out a full purple wig for him.

The wig was obviously dyed. Pale purple hair blended together with black hair. The layers of colors were magnificent. She passed the wig to Kimura Kazuki and hinted at him to put it on.

Kimura Kazuki didn’t take the wig. He furrowed his brows, “I’m only here for the kendo face-off, I have no reason to wear this.”

Matsukawa Chisato looked at Kimura Kazuki’s naïve face, and calmly offered, “Even though we invited many famous cosplaying societies for this comic-con, but there are also many appearances by characters from The Sword Saga. So, if you could enter the competition as Thunder Master, even if you lose, we will still pay you 10,000 yen. How’s that?”

“Now, don’t turn us down just yet. Usually, cosplayers only get a few thousand yen. Famous cosplayers get paid maybe around 50,000 yen… But you only have to cosplay as Thunder Master for one face-off, give us a few pictures and you’ll get 10,000 yen. This job is as easy as pie, what do you think?”

Kimura Kazuki was silent for a moment, then he slowly said, “100,000.”

100,000 yen? Are you crazy?

Upon hearing that figure, Mizuno Mari, who stood at the side, was shell-shocked. Matsukawa Chisato’s brows were locked. Before she could say anything, Kimura continued, “If you give me 100,000 yen, I will make the face-off more exciting before defeating Ono Nakamura.”

“More exciting?” Matsukawa Chisato was intrigued, “How exactly?”

“For example, a demonstration of my swordsmanship.”

Right after he finished, Kimura Kazuki’s arm jolted. He held his sword single-handedly, and a streak of silver light enveloped the bamboo sword before he slashed it to the chair beside.

The silver glow was like a crescent moon. Matsukawa Chisato and Mizuno Mari were shocked beyond description. Their proximity to danger made their skin ache. But, the chair in front of them looked exactly the same. As Mizuno Mari was about to speak, Kimura Kazuki gently tapped on the chair with the bamboo sword.

Snap!

The wooden chair that looked as good as new, now laid on the floor in two halves.

Kimura Kazuki saw the shock in their eyes, but he didn’t show any emotion. There wasn’t a CCTV in the resting room, so only the two of them witnessed it. Even if they told others, he didn’t think anyone would believe them.

Kimura Kazuki didn’t mind ordinary people knowing about his sword skills. Even the silver streak of light? That was Kimura Kazuki showing off intentionally.

Kendo and apparition were two different things. The apparition was supernatural, but the various kendo schools were slowly developed and have long been accepted by the public. Moreover, when he saw Ono Nakamura, he could feel the sword power hidden within him. His sword power was feeble, but it truly existed. There are practitioners in Japan, maybe they are not very strong, but they do exist.

Moreover, the current generation was very accepting of weird things. Just like Chiba Shiori, she was quick to accept that ghosts existed in our world, and started bugging him with questions. Obviously, she wasn’t afraid of spirits or whatnot.

Of course… if it were possible not to show it to ordinary people, he wouldn’t show off. He was doing it mainly for the money… he had no choice, he had to make a living off his practice.

According to history, when Isshin Yagyu was at his most desperate when he was homeless, he did not have a cent to his name, so he became a bodyguard to make ends meet. Even heroes have days where they encounter difficulties, including sword saints.

Matsukawa Chisato quickly came to a realization. Shocked, she said, “I never would’ve thought… that Kendo skills could be this amazing. But if you were to use that skill onstage, won’t Ono Nakamura die when your sword hits him?” Being a woman in her thirties, after all, Matsukawa Chisato seemed very calm and composed.

But clearly, Matsukawa Chisato’s gauge of Kimura Kazuki’s strength had risen tenfold.

“Don’t worry, I will only show my basic sword skills onstage. The effect should be fine… The face-off, on the other hand, will make it end within 10 seconds.”

“10 seconds is too fast…” Matsukawa Chisato frowned, she added, “Can you drag it, so the face-off lasts longer?”

Other than being optimistic about Kimura Kazuki’s kendo skills, Matsukawa Chisato also loved his cool. It fit the impression of the Thunder Master in the novel, so she wanted both of them to stay on stage longer. If they made it into a video, they would attract many people by uploading it online.

Even though she was a make-up artist, but she was also best friends with Muraoka Hiroshi’s wife. How else would a top make-up artist like her be here?

Upon hearing that, Kimura Kazuki nodded.

“That is possible. 10,000 per second.”