A Snail's Wisdom

Matsushita Hizumi was communicating with Sora Yu and Hirose Hide to ask if either of them would partner with him.

He had noticed Hideaki Akiyoshi was heading to join that accursed group of girls, so even if Sora Yu and Hirose Hide teamed up together, he could safely pair up with Shimizu Mizutani.

Yet, his new senior sister was ordering him to partner up with her group.

What the f***!?

After suffering the many piercing gazes and mocking whispers of the sect's younger disciples, his revenge plot was foiled by Kenja which resulted in his master chewing him out in public before sentencing him to a month of isolation.

He had been thoroughly defeated, and all thoughts of retaliation had been forcefully swallowed down.

He just wanted to be left alone!

Matsushita Hizumi grit his teeth and wore the largest and fakest smile that he had never used before.

"Apologies, senior sister, but I can't. I have already found a partner," he fibbed, ambiguously pointing in the general direction of the other three Tributaries. This way, none of them could come out specifically and refute him.

Smiling back, Kenja did not relent, "Nonsense. You're our junior brother, so it goes without saying that you'd accompany your senior sisters. Now, come here!"

Matsushita Hizumi panicked and lashed out, "Don't go overboard!" His grit teeth were bȧrėd in defiance against Kenja's smile.

"Are you disobeying my order?"

Although Kenja's Snail-ified voice was soft and pleasing to the ears, everyone could discern the threatening tone in his words.

Hierarchy existed everywhere, and this was truer for the cultivation world.

Assuming their standings in the sect were equivalent, junior disciples had to respect and obey their senior disciples as long as they were not commanded to do anything unreasonable.

Of course, there was some wiggle room in interpretation and execution.

For example, if the junior disciple surpassed the senior disciple in strength, he could choose to ignore the command as long as there were not too many witnesses.

Such a situation was rare though as a junior surpassing their senior brother or sister would indicate someone with talent worthy of a promoted rank within the sect, such as an outer sect disciple becoming an inner sect disciple. In this way, even though he was still technically the 'junior', their standings were no longer the same.

It was because of this custom that Aoi Rin worried for Hanabi's well-being when Matsushita Hizumi set his sights on her.

Using his seniority, he could compel their junior sister into situations where they would spend their time together with no chaperones, granting him countless opportunities to take advantage of her.

It was also because of this reason that Kenja had to use Fifth Elder Kazane's name to ward him off the first time, and why Kenja made him wager that seniority on a soul oath. .

Now, Matsushita Hizumi could no longer plot against them, and he was easy to command and control, unlike the intelligent and calculating Hideaki Akiyoshi whom Kenja wanted to keep as far away from them as possible.

Matsushita Hizumi turned to his master, his gaze imploring the Third Elder's back for help, but Kondo did not turn around, acting as if he had not noticed.

Although he was forming seals to control some of the defensive enchantments in the Dragon's Basin, Matsushita Hizumi knew his master was still aware of what had happened.

And yet, his master had no plans to intercede on his behalf and bail him out of Kenja's demand.

Truthfully, he did not expect him to do anything as the elders would usually remain uninvolved with the juniors unless things truly got out of hand.

His master had already embarrassed himself enough by personally retrieving the keystones that he and his posse lost in a wager.

To require anymore help from him would be a sign of Matsushita Hizumi's own ineptitude.

He begrudgingly walked past Hideaki Akiyoshi and stood next to Aoi Rin, his eyes seething with hatred.

Aoi Rin did not speak, yet her lips curled upwards ever so slightly. She did not care whom she partnered with, but she was pleased with the way Kenja toyed with Matsushita Hizumi.

It was nice to see the scoundrel swallow his own bitter pill for once.

Meanwhile, Hideaki Akiyoshi's offer to pair up was stuck in his throat.

This time, he sought to improve relations with Aoi Rin so that he could communicate with her junior sisters in the future indirectly.

Because she was the least popular choice amongst the Tributaries, normally, none of the five would willingly pair up with her. So he figured he could earn a few brownie points with the frost princess if he demonstrated that she was his first choice.

However, before he could volunteer to ȧssist her in guarding her junior sisters, Kenja shot down his plan.

He turned back around and looked at Shimizu Mizutani with an embarrassed smile, but she turned her face away, sulking.

No girl liked being a man's second choice.

She waltzed towards Hirose Hide and dragged her away from Sora Yu without saying anything.

Hirose Hide and the others were stunned silent as those two young ladies had always buŧŧ heads and would never interact so intimately. It would already be a pleasant thing to witness them greet each other without either side making a snide remark.

After pairing up, each Core Crystallization mounted their weapon and awaited for the elders to finish.

Aoi Rin took out a larger and less frigid sword to carry the twins.

Meanwhile, Matsushita Hizumi stood atop his great sword, motioning for Hanabi to get on.

Matsushita Hizumi mood improved when he considered the prospect of carrying and protecting the little princess. Perhaps if he shook the sword enough, she would latch onto him in a panic like how Yoshie stuck to Kenja.

His mood worsened once more when his nemesis, Kenja, took the spot next to him, placing Hanabi on the other side. He wanted to rearrange them, but he knew better than to try and negotiate with Kenja into switching places with him or Hanabi.

Upon gazing at Kenja with bitterness, a new idea formed.

What if he accidentally grabbed this senior sister? He could have the sword carelessly scratch the ground, and in his best attempts to stabilize the sword, he might unintentionally grab Hirai Hikaru to make sure she does not fall.

His frown quickly became a creepy smirk.

He examined his senior sister more closely, inspecting Kenja's proportions and other details to decide on the best place to stabilize him from falling, but it was like peering into a heavy mist. The more he tried to squint and decipher, the less he seemed to grasp.

Snail's enchantments were subtle yet powerful.

A precursory glance made you feel that Kenja was one of the most beautiful fairies in the world while the scrutinizing eye would find themselves embroiled in discerning Kenja's exact appearance.

Like a painting that showcased the epitome of simplicity and elegance, its true complexities and intricacies appeared only when other artists attempt to break down the painting's elements so that they could comprehend it.

Circles and squares were not just shapes, and black and white were more than mere colors.

For a moment, Hizumi fell into a daze, but he instantly shook himself awake and looked away. He did not understand what happened, but he felt it would be unwise to continue inspecting Kenja further.

He was familiar with various tricks and enchantments that women and some men employed to augment one's appeal, but Kenja's charms seemed to reach a whole new level that he was incapable of circumventing.

He could only remember the simplest of details.

Kenja's robes appeared loose and baggy with his neckline and forearms visible as well as his hair freely flowing down past his shoulders, accentuating a naive innocence more prominent than Yoshie or Hanabi.

On top of that, he felt a powerfully mȧturė seduction dull his senses, a trait that would normally oppose the aforementioned innocence. Yet, Hizumi managed to perceive that Kenja accomplished all this without any conformation of a woman's delicious curves or flowing waves.

This was completely paradoxical!

Although one might view Kenja as a peach waiting to be pinched, Hizumi felt he was examining a hard apple with nothing to squeeze or stroke.

He began to question why he felt Kenja was attractive and whether something was wrong with his own perception of beauty.

Was there any advantage to take?

He could not grab what was not there…

'No matter how flat, everyone has to have a buŧŧ. I'll just aim there!'

He was only looking to embarrass Kenja, so even if Hizumi derived no pŀėȧsurė from the act, he could still enjoy the results.

He felt a throbbing pain pulsate from within, but it was somewhat bearable. His soul oath backlash was weak considering it was a harmless little plot that he had not fully decided to act upon.

This thought eased his pain tremendously.

Noticing Matsushita Hizumi's movements, Snail chuckled in amusement which sounded like a strange half-chortle, half-burp in the middle of the obnoxious snoring that Kenja was trying his best to ignore.

He ȧssumed Snail had dreamt up something weird with whatever part of his consciousness that was asleep.