"...Meeting the principal is going to be troublesome now."

Kai muttered with a sigh.

Just a few minutes ago, they had been released from Anne's interrogation. Although Kai tried to hold as much information as possible, as long as their identities were known, there was little he could do.

And, even though it was a matter of grave importance, Anne let personal feelings affect her. During questions about Kenji, she'd listen intently and when he used those gaps to trick her, she believed it most of the time.

"...I'm sorry."

Erina hung her head.

"It's fine."

Kai waved his hand.

"I'm not talking about the fight."

The two of them fell silent, it looked like she wanted to say something but she couldn't. Judging by the time, the students should still be in class.

"Let's go somewhere quiet."

Kai rubbed her head a few times and began to lead her by the hand. Although he had already decided on a place and he only took about seven or so minutes to walk, the way there was insanely painful. Not only was Erina completely silent, but Kai could also feel the heavy atmosphere produced behind him.

Ever since I experienced going back in time, I've experienced these sorts of things left and right. Erina and Amelia never gave me any trouble before but why now...? Well, there was a problem between Amelia and Heliana before but... I never had to deal with that.

The first thing that they did when arrived there was... just standing still. Neither of them talked or even moved in the slightest. Erina had her eyes fixated on the floor while Kai had his eyes on the top of Erina's head.

Only now did Kai realize how lucky he was before.

Having a harem is troublesome, isn't it?

Thinking so, Kai decided to break the ice.

"Erina-"

He was forced to stop halfway as he heard her finally utter some noise. Even though Kai's hearing was insanely keen and could pick up even the footsteps of ants if he felt like it, for some reason, Erina was muttering something he couldn't quite hear properly.

"-I've decided!"

Seemingly finished with her mutterings, Erina suddenly looked straight into Kai's eyes and shouted.

"D-decided what?"

A former God, stuttering against his girlfriend.

"Kuroshi Kai, during the tournament of swords, I will defeat everyone in my way so I can fight you! If I win, you'll tell me and Amelia everything, and if you win, I'll do anything you want, even if you tell me to stop prying into your secrets or the reason you can't sleep anymore!"

...

"...Challenge me?"

"Yes!"

"In a sword tournament?"

"Yes!!"

Kai was speechless. If he was in her place, he'd use a bet that relies on magic or an area of her expertise. Using a variety of weapons was Kai's territory and even then, he uses the sword fairly well compared to the rest of the weapons. During the war, he used the scythe almost at all times and he was on the battlefield at almost every moment of the day so in terms of mastery, he had more confidence with it.

But it was a different matter for Erina. For her swordplay, she had only learned defensive measures and self-taught herself with offensive techniques. Not to mention that she used a rapier of ice.

"...Then, what are the conditions for me to lose?"

"Since we're wearing masks to hide our identity, I can't very well ask to break yours. I'll defeat you completely."

If Kai was surprised before, then he was in utter disbelief right now.

Though I did plan to reveal it to them soon, I guess a little delay won't be a problem, it'll help me mentally prepare myself more as well.

"I accept."

Erina gave him a smirk and walked away after kissing him on the cheek, leaving a dumbfounded Kai.

"I love you~"

Erina cheerfully said while walking away with a wave.

"What's with that?"

An expression not normally seen on Kai's face. If Erina and Amelia were to see this sight, they'd feel intense nostalgia. It only happened before Kai's memories were transferred from the future. Meaning it had at least been four years, but for Erina, it should be at least seven.

Kai had his right arm covering the lower half of his face. It was an expression normally seen on Erina, his face was as red as a tomato and he had a goofy grin on his face.

"Surprise attacks aren't fair..."

Ever since then, until the end of the school day, Kai kept on covering his mouth every time a smile crept up his face. Anne, who was with him for nearly the whole day despite the interrogation, even drew back from him a little. Although a smile would fit Kenji more than Kai, his smile was just terrifying to onlookers.

During the end of the day, he quickly gave Anne a rose and ran out much to her bewilderment.

Needless to say, he avoided everyone as much as possible until he managed to control his emotions.

"Am I a kid?"

Kai had his face buried in his hands as he mocked himself.

"Is the future really going to be alright...?"

The guardian sighed.

"The champion we chose to send to the past is acting like a boy in puberty... To actually be embarrassed by a kiss on the cheek when you've already gone way farther with her, is there something wrong with your brain?"

The longer Kai and the guardian spent together, the less reserved she was. They were at the level where she could spout insults at him like it was natural.

The guardian had to guard the flow of time and of course, that included Kai. The events of today were witnessed by her personally.

"I don't think I have any memories of you in the future acting like this, though we were in a war so that was natural. Look, I've got to ask."

She drew four figures on the dirt by using a stick she took from who knows where and each pair was atop a line.

"This is the Vampire Princess and Snow Princess from before."

She pointed at the top line.

"And this is them now."

She then pointed at the line below.

"To me, although they're different, they're one and the same. But according to you, the one you fell for wasn't Mariko Erina or Amelia Tepes, but the ones from the first timeline."

Kai solemnly nodded.

"You see, that's strange. You consummated with the Vampire Princess before you had your memories so shouldn't you still have feelings for her? Also, you met the Snow Princess when you were younger and though I can't say that feelings have blossomed between the two of you back then, shouldn't your feelings for the first be projected onto the second?"

Kai sighed and looked up.

"It's hard to explain when you haven't really experienced time travel yourself. Although you do have the memories I gave to you, so do your comrades and so do I. That means that we're all from the future, you won't feel any changes."

Kai took the stick in her hands and began drawing on the dirt. He drew two figures with distinct features.

"This is me, Kai, and this is my persona, Kenji. We may be the same person but at the same time, we're different. Amelia fell for Kai, but not Kenji yet she projects her feelings for Kai to Kenji. Erina is the same. This is because we're still one."

He slightly changed the figures.

"Now, imagine if there is a person with two personas. A girl fell for one, but hates the other, wouldn't she have mixed feelings about it? That's exactly the case for me. I've grown too used to the ones in the future that seeing them like this, with completely different personalities leaves me conflicted. It's not like I don't like them, in fact, I like them a lot. It's just that..."

"You love the ones from the future more."

The guardian cut in.

"That's right."

Once more, Kai sank into a melancholic mood and hung his head.

"You're quite dense, aren't you?"

Kai raised his head and furrowed his brows.

"Me? Dense?"

In response, the guardian nodded several times to emphasize it.

"You say that you love the two in the future more but if you're agonizing over these ones just as much as those ones, then doesn't that mean you love them all the same? Or is it that by spending time with the ones in the past, that way of thinking was engraved in your mind but your feelings have long since been changed? You're quite a handful."

The guardian leaned her body forward and flicked Kai's forehead. Although she couldn't even hurt him if she wanted to, she still wanted to flick his forehead.

"I'll give you advise not as a guardian but as a woman, think with your heart, not with your brain for once. You're overthinking things. I'm sure it's because you've been in war for too long."

Leaving behind those words, she waved goodbye and left Kai on his own. While leaving, she held the finger that flicked Kai and began blowing on it.

Seeing her silly action, the tension in Kai's face disappeared and he chuckled for a bit before standing up.

"...With my heart, huh?"

"Again."

DING

"Again."

DING DING

"Haa... Haa..."

Erina panted.

"If this is all you're capable of then we can forget about winning against Kai."

Amelia sighed. After hearing Amelia's words, she gripped her rapier firmly once more.

"Once more!"

Amelia smiled.

"Come at me."

Amelia raised her sword and deflected Erina's attack.

Flash Step, Erina told herself.

The scenery in front of her changed. By her side was Amelia's back. She quickly slashed with her rapier but in response, Amelia's figured blurred and Erina was knocked away several tens of meters. Although she quickly stood up, she didn't attack Amelia.

"You're forgetting that you're not the only one who can use Flash Step. Erina, remember, this technique isn't for closing the distance, it's for launching attacks. Remember how Kai used it against that swordsman?"

Kai used Flash Step for each and every one of his attacks. He used the short burst of speed to move his limbs and stopped it right as his attack hits then he uses it again to use another attack by canceling his movement and creating a new one. If it was a game, it should be called 'Animation Cancel'.

"You have to master Flash Step before you face Kai otherwise you won't stand a chance. Let's not mention your weight and power difference, there's also the difference in experience. Kai is a match for even the greatest swordsman in the continent. Once you master Flash Step, you'll be able to have a much higher chance against Kai. With a rapier, you'll be able to change angles to strike in an instant."

This meant that she didn't need to use feints, she could just change trajectories the moment her opponent counters. She could strike both the abdomen and the neck in the same second. She would also be able to target several vitals at once and overcome the weight difference when defending.

"Your defense is nearly absolute because you learned Noble Sword but knowing Kai, he's most likely already made countermeasures for that. You also won't be able to thrust your rapier as fast as he can attack."

Erina bit her lip.

"Amelia, what do you say are my odds of winning?"

Amelia hesitated for a few seconds.

"Magic isn't forbidden but in the end, the participants have to use the sword as their main form of attack. You're both S-class but Kai can use not just one or two, but all of the primary elements. I'd say your odds of winning is..."

Erina patiently waited.

"...practically zero."

"Of course it is..."

Erina sighed.

"Then, once more."