"This is the place?"

Cleo looked at the slightly dilapidated place of the Martial Redemption dojo and looked quite starry-eyed.

While some people might consider the place as rundown, she quite liked the cozy vibe of it, especially the stone yard with a cherry blossom tree at the corner.

It truly felt like a dojo.

To her, Ok Family Dojo was too big. It didn't feel homely. It never made her enjoy her time over there.

Ok Family Dojo had everything. Big dojo. Dozens of trainers. Hundreds of students. It made it feel more like a factory than a place of learning.

"It is."

Jock said, and then knocked hard on the iron gate.

A moment passed, and then, the gate opened, and with a smile on her face, Aoi stood there with a hose in one hand.

She was doing some gardening to take care of the cherry blossom tree so it wouldn't wither away and die.

"Oh, what a welcoming surprise~"

She said with a sweet smile.

"Miss Aoi."

Jock bowed respectfully, and Cleo felt bashful while also nodding. She thought that Aoi was really pretty.

When she asked all sorts of questions about Martial Redemption from Jock during the school hours, he mentioned Aoi, who was apparently Kiernan's fiancee.

"Who is this one? Your girlfriend?"

Aoi asked with a clear teasing smile on her face.

She already had a hunch who she might be, as Jock was supposed to compete in the tag-team competition with a female classmate of hers.

"Ah, no… Haha, this is Cleo, and she came here to meet Master. Is he around?"

Jock asked with an awkward smile.

He knew that she was just joking about the girlfriend part, as he considered himself ugly and wouldn't be able to get someone as pretty as Cleo.

Cleo smiled at the teasing.

"Come in."

In that moment, a deep voice came from inside, and as Aoi stepped aside, the girl and boy entered the stone yard.

They saw Kiernan sitting at the steps, holding the Crystal Broadsword in his hand, sharpening it with a whetstone.

The sword looked mighty.

"This is Cleo…"

Jock said, introducing the girl, who had long brown hair and a friendly smile.

"We've met."

Kiernan said and put the Crystal Broadsword leaning against the wall of the dojo, right at the frame of the arched entrance.

"It is an honor."

Cleo curtsied, holding the skirt of her school uniform.

"Master, she is here to actually join the dojo."

Jock said.

"…Is she now?"

Kiernan rubbed his chin and nodded thoughtfully, but first, he turned to look at the glasses-wearing Jock.

"I suppose you've made your decision as well?"

"…I have, and I'd like to keep training, if you accept me, master. I know that I might not have performed as well as you would have liked me to, but I want to learn more!"

Jock put his arms beside his body and bowed in a sharp ninety-degree angle. It looked as sharp as a military man bowing.

'It is always a girl that can make a young boy like Jock change.'

Kiernan rolled his eyes and looked at Aoi, who was smiling and trying not to burst into laughter, as she could tell.

Jock, for starters, joined this dojo since he didn't want to disappoint her, but now, he also came today because of her.

While Jock most likely wanted to keep training, in the end, Cleo also wanting to join this dojo made him commit to this big life decision.

"Thousand gold coins, monthly payment. Is that good?"

Kiernan asked.

"…I will talk to my parents about it, but yes."

Jock said.

He expected it to be more, honestly, and he had enough of an allowance to pay for a few months, but any more than that, he needed his parents to pay.

His parents were extremely proud of his performance during the competition, so he was confident that they would like for him to commit to this different path of life.

"…Thousand? That's much lower than Ok Family dojo. In there, it is ten thousand a month!"

Cleo said.

"In the end, I am only master of Zero Star Dojo. In the future, the price will increase based on how well our dojo does."

Kiernan said.

However, ten thousand in a month also surprised him.

Ok Family Dojo had hundreds of dojos, so they were making over a million in revenue every month, which was insanity.

While they definitely had a lot of costs as well, as they had to pay for all the trainers, new equipment, and maintenance fees.

It was still crazy!

'I am really poor for Martial King, oh man. I think the average person in this country is even richer than I am. That is a Tier 1 country for you.'

Kiernan scratched the back of his head and looked at Cleo, who was looking at him with a nervous look.

She was hoping that he was going to accept her.

"You're really going to leave the Ok Family dojo? Why?"

"…As a talent of my caliber, I will always have trainers there ready to assist me if I need it. Sozen Ok, the master of the dojo, also considers me as somewhat of a daughter.

"I could have the best trainers there helping me at all times with the best training equipment and great sparring partners.

"It all sounds great, but…

"I feel like I have met my bottleneck in the Ok Family Style. I listened to my martial soul, and it was displeased.

"I wanted something else. When I saw Jock using your style, my heart started racing, and my martial soul peeled slightly.

"It was telling me to follow my heart, and so I did, which is why I am here currently, bowing before you, hoping that you'll accept me as your disciple, master!"

Cleo said.

She poured her heart out without leaving a single stone unturned.

"…It will seem like I poached a student from a rival dojo. It isn't a good look, but… I don't really care what they think.

"Welcome onboard."

Kiernan stood up, pulled out a white headband from his pocket, and handed it over to her, which she accepted with a bright smile.

She put the white headband on her head and tied it securely in place, feeling a surge of pride in her heart.

The number of students in the Martial Redemption dojo jumped by one. The second student acquired, but it was still only the beginning.

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