Chapter 28: A Sword to Embrace the Moon, a Sword for the Rivers and Mountains

Arisugawa Yuu stared at the ice-blue longsword in his hand, which suddenly felt incredibly heavy.

It wasn’t the sword that was heavy, but the meaning it represented.

Holding it meant he had made a promise to Miyamizu Rin, a promise he could never break.

“Senpai, what’s this sword’s name?”

Miyamizu Rin looked at him with her clear eyes, her voice cool, “It doesn’t have a name.”

“Huh? Why not?”

Arisugawa Yuu was surprised. The first two items had names; why didn’t this one?

Miyamizu Rin explained, “This sword and the one I’m currently using both appeared at Miyamizu Shrine on the day I was born. No one knows their origin. My parents searched through all sorts of ancient texts but couldn’t find any records related to them, so they have no names.”

“If it has no name, can’t you give it one?”

Arisugawa Yuu asked.

“All things have spirits, and divine artifacts choose their masters.”

Miyamizu Rin replied.

Before Arisugawa Yuu could understand what that meant, he heard Miyamizu Rin continue, “Some shrine maidens can foresee the future. My mother was one of them. She foresaw that this sword would one day meet its true master, and at that time, it would have a name of its own.”

“Got it, got it.” Arisugawa Yuu nodded, then raised his right hand like a diligent student, “Senpai, did my mother-in-law also foresee that the master of this sword would be your husband?”

Miyamizu Rin blushed, pondered for a moment, but ultimately did not deny it, “Yes.”

“So, we’re a match made in heaven?”

Arisugawa Yuu felt a little smug.

Miyamizu Rin glared at him irritably, “What makes you so sure it will choose you as its master?”

Arisugawa Yuu blinked, staring into Miyamizu Rin’s clear eyes, and said, “I believe in fate.”

Miyamizu Rin looked away in embarrassment and let out a soft “mm.”

He wasn’t sure if it was his imagination, but he felt that senpai was certain he could make this sword recognize him as its master.

“Senpai, can I ask you a question?”

Arisugawa Yuu looked at Miyamizu Rin cautiously.

“What question?”

“Can you foresee the future, senpai?”

“No.”

Miyamizu Rin answered very bluntly.

“Really? You can’t?”

“Has anyone ever told you that you’re very annoying?”

Miyamizu Rin glared at Arisugawa Yuu, her face red, her eyes cold and dangerous.

Seeing her like this, Arisugawa Yuu roughly understood. Perhaps it wasn’t a coincidence that Miyamizu Rin had saved him that day.

No wonder she was so nice to him. Even if Miyamizu Rin couldn’t accurately foresee the future, she must have foreseen something.

Although he roughly understood, Arisugawa Yuu didn’t dare to say more.

He was sure that if he did, he would be severely scolded by the embarrassed and angry Miyamizu Rin.

‘Seriously, do you have to be so shy?’

‘Wouldn’t it be better to just admit that they were destined to be together, a match made in heaven?’

“Senpai, how do I get this sword to recognize me as its master?”

Arisugawa Yuu changed the subject.

Miyamizu Rin took the bait and parted her crimson lips, “It’s simple. Hold it, try to establish a connection with it, and give it a name. If it recognizes you, the name you gave it will appear on the blade.”

“That simple? No need to drip blood to claim ownership or anything?”

Arisugawa Yuu remembered the novels he had read in his previous life. They were all written like that.

Miyamizu Rin looked at him with a loving gaze as if he were a mentally challenged child, “Are you an idiot? If dripping blood could claim ownership, would it recognize a new master every time it saw blood?”

“As expected of senpai, you make a good point. But—” Arisugawa Yuu raised his hand in protest, “Senpai, ‘Am I an idiot?’ is a question, right? Since it’s a question, can you not look at me like I’m mentally challenged? It’s causing me serious emotional trauma.”

“Sorry,” after glancing at Arisugawa Yuu, Miyamizu Rin continued, “I shouldn’t have said that. I should have just said—moron, since you have a brain, don’t just think about doing dirty things. Use it for some normal thinking once in a while. Don’t fill your mind with girls’ thighs and chests. Anyone with a normal brain wouldn’t believe that dripping blood can claim ownership.”

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I was wrong.” Arisugawa Yuu raised his hands in surrender, so fast that even the French would be dumbfounded.

Miyamizu Rin held back her laughter and said coldly, “What were you wrong about?”

“I was wrong for being nosy and criticizing senpai’s methods.”

Miyamizu Rin rested her chin on her slender hand and nodded with satisfaction, “It’s good that you know.”

“……”

Arisugawa Yuu tried to establish a connection with the ice-blue longsword in his hand using the method Miyamizu Rin had told him.

He originally thought the process would take a long time, but to his surprise, it was very fast.

He had just started using the method Miyamizu Rin had told him when the ice-blue longsword began to hum, and a dazzling light emanated from the blade, as if in joy.

A feeling of being one with the sword, as if their lives were connected, washed over him.

It was a very wonderful feeling.

Miyamizu Rin was not surprised by this. She looked at Arisugawa Yuu with her clear eyes, like a handful of water scooped from a summer lake, and reminded him, “Now, give it a name.”

“Senpai, what’s a good name to give it?”

Arisugawa Yuu asked.

“You’re asking me?”

Miyamizu Rin asked back.

True, this was something he should decide for himself.

Arisugawa Yuu smiled, “Senpai, didn’t we say before, ‘Offering mountains and rivers as a betrothal gift, adorning her with the sun and moon?’ To me, senpai is also as cold and beautiful as the bright moon in the sky. How about we call it the Moon-Embracing Sword?”

As Arisugawa Yuu’s words fell, the longsword hummed lightly, its light flashing, and the two ancient Chinese characters for “Moon-Embracing” appeared on the ice-blue blade.

Seeing this, Arisugawa Yuu marveled.

On the other hand, Miyamizu Rin blushed, her clear eyes wide with shock as she murmured to herself, “How can it be such a coincidence?”

Seeing Miyamizu Rin’s strange reaction, Arisugawa Yuu had a vague guess: “Senpai, what’s the name of your sword?”

Miyamizu Rin’s face was as red as if it were about to bleed, her voice a mere whisper, “Mountain and River.”

“Mountain and River Sword?”

Arisugawa Yuu’s eyes widened as well. He was even more shocked than Miyamizu Rin. Could it be that it was really destined by fate?

Perhaps his transmigration was not a coincidence either.

In his previous life, he was also 18 years old.

Perhaps their birthdays were on the same day.

He had to ask her when he had the chance.

Before Arisugawa Yuu could come back to his senses, a voice sounded in his ear.

“Special energy detected. System activating…”