Villain: Your Heroines Were Delicious - Chapter 114 - 35

Chapter 114: Chapter 35

Seijirou and Retsu sat alone in the kitchen, eating their food that Retsu herself had personally prepared after they arrived at the dining hall.

Yes, hall.

This place was way too big!

Well, considering the amount of disciples Ichibei has, this should be quite normal.

Their breakfast consisted of traditional mountain fare—miso soup with wild mushrooms, grilled salted mackerel, and freshly harvested rice.

Seijirou ate with a steady appetite, watching Retsu across the table. She had fully recovered from her earlier flustered state, once again the calm, collected woman who wore a perpetual, gentle smile.

In the end, he had pulled back and didn’t actually do anything. From her reaction, he can tell that she wasn’t actually ready for a physical intimacy quite yet.

Although, he knew that if he pushed a little, she wouldn’t even try to resist, but in the end, he didn’t do that.

He doesn’t want to push someone who wasn’t ready.

And seriously, he just realised back then that for all her clinical efficiency and cold manipulation of others, Retsu was surprisingly inexperienced when the target of her obsession actually struck back.

Obviously for Retsu, the rest of the world was a simulation filled with non-player characters that she could discard or destroy without a second thought, so she can act the way she does without worries.

But because Seijirou was “real” in her eyes, his offensive had bypassed her logic and left her genuinely defenseless.

She was like a keyboard warrior who dominated an online space with unrestrained aggression because nothing there felt permanent or real, only to become completely timid when faced with a physical confrontation.

Retsu set down her chopsticks and wiped her mouth with a silk napkin. “Since the official training with Grandfather is delayed until the funerary proceedings are finalized, what do you plan to do with your day, Seijirou-kun?”

Seijirou chewed a piece of mackerel and swallowed before answering. “I’ll probably spend the morning familiarizing myself with the estate. I want to know the layout, the exits, and the terrain of this peak. It’s better than sitting in a room staring at the walls.”

“If you’re going to wander, you might as well be productive,” Retsu suggested, her eyes glinting. “Would you like me to train you instead? I may not have the decades of experience Grandfather possesses, but I can certainly drill the basics of Spirit Circuit circulation and ki into you, I can even teach you some of our family’s secret techniques.”

Seijirou raised an eyebrow, genuinely surprised by the offer. “Is that alright? I thought the ’King of Acupuncture’ had some strict rule about his family’s techniques?”

“Grandfather is currently occupied with a grieving dojo and a suicide investigation,” Retsu replied with a dismissive wave. “He won’t notice, and frankly, he wouldn’t dare stop me. Besides, with this I can give you a head start so that when he finally trains you, you aren’t starting from zero.”

“Well, teaching me the basics is more than enough…” Seijirou set his bowl down and offered a mock-serious bow from his sitting position. “But, I’m in your care. Please teach me, Shishou!”

Retsu let out a soft, playful giggle. “Shishou, huh? That has a nice ring to it. Though, given your track record, are you perhaps expecting some ’Friendship of Thighs’ after our training session is over?”

Seijirou froze, his finger pointing at her in genuine shock. “Wait! That’s a Destiny reference! Or rather, that’s a Shishou reference! You actually play Destiny?”

Retsu shrugged, her smile turning a bit more casual. “I have a vast amount of disposable income and a significant amount of downtime when I’m not monitoring patients. I tend to spend it on various gacha games. Destiny was… quite ’grand’ in its character designs. The physics were particularly detailed.”

Yes, ’physics’. Very detailed indeed.

“Tell me about it!” Seijirou laughed, feeling a surge of relatability that was rare in this world. “I heard there’s an anime adaptation in the works too! I was planning on checking it out with Emi. Oh, and if you’re into spending money on high-quality gacha, you should definitely check out Uma Derby. It’s a racing game where all the characters are based on legendary real-life racehorses. The production value is insane.”

“I will add it to my list,” Retsu responded, her gaze softening as she watched him.

She found this side of Seijirou, the excited, childishly gleeful gamer, incredibly cute.

It was a sharp contrast to the cold, brooding delinquent he portrayed to the rest of the school, it feels like she was back in the past where Seijirou wasn’t corrupted by her ’darkness’ just yet.

At this moment, she thought, that this version of him must be treasure that only she had the privilege of seeing.

They finished their breakfast in a rare state of harmony, the dark tragedy of the morning forgotten as they traded tips on gacha luck and upcoming anime seasons.

For a brief moment, they weren’t a sociopathic doctor and a reincarnated delinquent; they were just two people enjoying a quiet morning before the storm of training began.

*

*

*

The training took place in a small, private courtyard tucked behind the guest wing, far from the prying eyes and the mourning cries emanating from the main hall.

The space was simple: a flat patch of white sand surrounded by bamboo thickets that hissed in the mountain breeze.

Retsu had changed into a form-fitting black training Gi that allowed her to move with terrifying fluidity.

She stood in the center of the sand, her posture relaxed but her eyes sharp.

Seijirou stood opposite her, stripped to his waist, the morning sun highlighting the fading bruises from his fight with Ayano.

“Before you can use Ki, you must understand the Spirit Circuits,” Retsu began, her voice losing its playful edge and becoming clinical. “Most people believe Ki is something you ’generate’ like a battery. That is a peasant’s understanding. Ki is a constant, ambient pressure that exists in the world. Your body is a vessel, and your Spirit Circuits are the pipes. Training it is not about making energy; it is about opening the valves.”

She moved toward him, her footsteps making no sound on the sand.

She stopped inches from his chest and raised a single finger, the tip glowing with a faint, concentrated silver light.

“Close your eyes,” she commanded. “I am going to send a microscopic pulse of my own Ki into your primary nodes. It will feel like a hot needle. Your goal is not to resist it, but to try and chase it.”

Seijirou did as he was told.

The moment her finger touched his solar plexus, he felt a sharp, searing jolt of heat.

It wasn’t quite like the dull ache of a punch; it was a high-frequency vibration that seemed to bypass his skin and muscles, striking directly at his core.

“Don’t flinch,” Retsu whispered. “That heat is the ’ki’ I mentioned. Your body naturally wants to reject this foreign energy. It feels intrusive, doesn’t it? It feels like an insult to your autonomy. Use that annoyance. Focus on that speck of heat and try to drag it down toward your navel.”

Seijirou gritted his teeth. The sensation was maddening. It felt like a stray spark from a fire was crawling underneath his ribs.

He focused all his mental energy on that point of pain.

He thought of the weakness he felt when Ayano looked down on him.

He thought of the “script” of this world being so completely unreasonable.

And suddenly, the spark moved.

“Good,” Retsu murmured, her face inches from his. “You have a natural talent for being stubborn. Now, once you reach the base of your spine, the path will split. This is where most disciples fail. They try to be ’calm.’ They try to be ’at peace.’ Do not do that. Be offended that your own body is resisting you, and force the gates open.”

Seijirou felt a sudden, massive resistance at the base of his spine, a physical sensation of a heavy, rusted iron door.

He pushed against it with his will, his breathing becoming ragged.

It was impossible!

No matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t force that door to open!

Retsu also noticed and furrowed her brows. Truthfully, if given some time, he could’ve done this quite easily.

After all, even geniuses like herself took a week to awaken ki, and even with that speed, her grandfather has praised her as a once in a lifetime genius!

But she believes that Seijirou can do it faster than her, so she had Seijirou forcefully open his circuits instead of slowly meditating for weeks or months.

This would hurt, but wouldn’t have any lasting effect, or else she wouldn’t have him try this method.

“….Remember the ’Friendship of Thighs’?” Retsu’s voice suddenly turned teasing, whispered directly into his ear, her warm breath sending a different kind of jolt through him. “If you can’t even open a single gate, how are you ever going to handle a ’Grand’ reward like me?”

The sheer absurdity of her timing—mixing high-level spiritual instruction with gacha-game fanservice—triggered a surge of genuine, focused irritation in Seijirou.

Is she seriously doing this now?! I’m trying to train here!

That flash of annoyance was the catalyst, and with a mental roar of frustration, Seijirou’s internal energy surged.

The “iron door” at the base of his spine didn’t just open; it was blown off its hinges.

A sudden, cold rush of energy flooded his legs and then surged back up his spine, making his skin tingle and his vision sharpen to an impossible degree.

Retsu stepped back, her eyes wide with genuine admiration.

Seijirou was now standing in the center of the courtyard, a faint, flickering silver mist beginning to rise from his shoulders.

He had activated his Spirit Circuits in record time, and has now finally stepped into the ranks of ki practitioner!

“Look at that,” Retsu said, a proud, predatory smile appearing on her face. “You’ve opened the gate. At this moment, you are no longer an ordinary man trying to fight the supernatural, but a genuine super human capable of challenging the supernatural.”

Seijirou exhaled, a cloud of white steam escaping his lips despite the warm morning.

He looked at his hands, feeling a strange, humming vibration under his skin. “Is this it? Is this Ki?”

It feels warm. Not only that, he felt his body brimming with power! If he want back and fought Ayano now, he would’ve already wiped the ground with his face!

This feeling is exhilarating!

“That is just the beginning,” Retsu replied, her tone becoming serious again as she settled into a combat stance. “Now, let’s see if you can keep those circuits open while I try to break your ribs. Defend yourself, Shishou is coming!”