Chapter 103 This System Seems Pretty Useless

Chapter 103: Chapter 103 This System Seems Pretty Useless"Why aren’t you going?" In the same Kyudo uniform, Sugita Shuhei walked over from behind, holding a brand-new kake in his hand. "It’s too troublesome." Uesugi Sakura put down the bamboo bow and glanced back, using the "Gender Detector." "Gender: Male" Hmm, it lives up to its name. Not even showing the name. Just now, even Sugita Shuhei couldn’t help but glance at him, "For the past half month, you’ve been leaving early every day, haven’t you?" "Leaving early has its purpose," Uesugi Sakura said seriously. "What purpose?" "Dating." "..." What could he say? That Kyudo doesn’t need love? "Forget it," Sugita Shuhei handed the deerskin glove to Uesugi, "This is the kake you custom-ordered earlier, the string pillow uses ’Asaarashi.’" "What does that mean?" Uesugi Sakura knew the string pillow was the small groove for hooking the string with the thumb, but what was Asaarashi? "’Release’ should be as swift as the morning mountain mist, or as gentle as the breeze blowing through a pine forest." Sugita Shuhei recited a seemingly mystical poem and then continued, "This is a song from the Heki Ryu Bamboo Forest Sect. Although it’s not the origin of ’Asaarashi,’ it fits the meaning well." Uesugi Sakura roughly understood what he meant. "Release" refers to the Shooting Technique Eight Steps—specifically, the step of releasing the string. Analyzing the poem’s meaning, it likely refers to a swifter release. This so-called ’Asaarashi’ seems to involve special treatment on the small groove of the string pillow. The purpose is to increase the speed of the arrow’s flight. Receiving the kake handed over by Sugita Shuhei, Uesugi Sakura put it on. He had to admit, the custom fit was indeed exceptional; it felt remarkably comfortable as soon as he put it on. The belly leather, twist leather, and thumb pocket fit snugly, with the pointed cap (where the string pillow is at the thumb) facing the middle finger. Not too tight, not too narrow, allowing the thumb some freedom of movement inside the cap. "How does it feel?" Sugita Shuhei asked with a smile, "Actually, I’m quite confident in making kake." Uesugi Sakura inexplicably felt that he had heard this statement from his senior somewhere before. "Very good." "Did you make it, senior?" Sugita Shuhei took the old kake he had replaced and then said, "It’s a craft passed down from my ancestors, and I need to inherit it. Although Kyudo isn’t exactly a popular sport, it can still earn a living." "You’re being modest, senior." Uesugi Sakura knew his so-called earning a living meant—"Our family isn’t lacking in money." Sugita Shuhei: "By the way, Uesugi, are you really not planning to participate in the district tournament?" Uesugi Sakura weighed the bamboo bow he had been using very skillfully during this time, "I’m out of money. I’m looking for a part-time job at a convenience store." He had tried to improve his cooking skills to apply for chef or barista positions, but the negative points were even harder to overcome than improving his level 8 accuracy. It was impossible to gain points through ordinary observation. This golden finger of his was quite useless. "Working because you lack money?" Sugita Shuhei showed a shocked expression. "..." Uesugi Sakura inexplicably felt despised. Though he was admittedly a bit lazy and broke, his reaction didn’t warrant such an expression, did it? "If you’re short of money, you should definitely come and join the district tournament." Sugita Shuhei said. "Is there a prize?" Uesugi grasped his meaning. "First place, 5 million yen." "That much!?" "Of course, it’s a team event with five participants." "Even 1 million yen is very appealing." Uesugi seemed quite satisfied. "Are you saying you’ll participate in the competition, Uesugi?" Still with a shocked expression. "I suppose so." "..." Sugita Shuhei didn’t expect that just 1 million yen could completely change his mind. Logically, students attending Kanzaki Togoshi Private High School should come from families with some financial strength. Is Uesugi actually a special recruit from a poor background? Doesn’t seem that way, not at all. Spending days leisure without worries, his appearance clearly showed he had no burdens. Uesugi Sakura’s true thoughts were—it was such a relief not to have to work at the convenience store. Recently, expenses were too high, and little Hanabi still needed him to support her, how could he manage without money? A man couldn’t say he couldn’t manage. "Wait a minute, a team of five, who are the five participating?" Uesugi Sakura suddenly thought of something and asked. Sugita Shuhei: "Me, you, Seisuke Yooya, Hirata Masanobu, Sugai Hideyoshi." "Who’s that last person?" "A third-year member of the Kyudo Club, recently preparing for Tokyo Metropolitan University, hasn’t had time to participate in Kyudo Club activities. He was specially invited to join the competition this time." "Is he good?" "Hmm..." Sugita Shuhei rubbed his chin, recalling, "He should be slightly weaker than you, but he hasn’t practiced for a long time, so there will surely be a decline." "Alright." Uesugi Sakura accepted the appearance of this sudden person. As for the competition rules and such, he’d deal with it when the time came; he just needed to shoot accurately. So, he decided to try shooting a few more arrows today. At 46 arrows, before reaching 50, Uesugi Sakura concluded today’s club activity. With the monthly evaluation concluded, he proved his strength, and the first batch of students from the learning group graduated. As Haneda’s test subject, he felt decent about it. He couldn’t understand why Tsubokawa Takahiro and Goto Iwao were howling like ghosts upon being selected. As the second batch of students, they should feel happy. After all, they received guidance from a beautiful top student teacher from Tokyo University; there was no reason not to enjoy it. Facing the sunset, with the gentle evening breeze rolling in layers, Uesugi Sakura wandered the campus and, out of boredom, headed to the library to read books. He ordered a cup of coffee, sat by the window, and began flipping through a book he randomly picked from the history section, while enveloped in the rich aroma. He found an interesting incident called the Namamugi Incident. The general gist involved four British people encountering a daimyo’s procession. According to the regulations, commoners had to kneel to the procession, but the British refused, and their horses suddenly got frightened, rushing into the procession. Conflict erupted just like that. The samurai in the procession killed the horse and rushed in, injuring the British. It ended with one death and two serious injuries. With its citizens killed, Great Britain naturally became furious, demanding compensation and an apology, later escalating into the Anglo-Satsuma War by bombarding Kagoshima, causing a series of further impacts. That’s how the record described it, but the question of who was truly at fault has never been conclusively answered. He learned a little history. Sipping the hot coffee and feeling the bitterness linger on his tongue, the glow of the setting sun through the windows brought a sensation of comfort. Leisure and ease. This might be what they call everyday life. Fifteen or sixteen minutes later, as the coffee in the cup gradually disappeared, Uesugi Sakura received a line message from Hanamaru Hanabi. ’Sakura-kun, the club activity has ended today. Do you want to go shopping together at the supermarket?’ His fingers quickly tapped the screen. ’Today, why don’t we have dinner with your mother?’ ’But... didn’t Sakura-kun say you’ve always wanted to eat a meal cooked by Hanabi?’ How should he reply? Could he say because I’m broke and can’t afford groceries? Picking up the coffee cup, Uesugi Sakura finished off the last bit of money in his little treasure chest.