-1606- Who knows...

At this moment, Suguha was genuinely worried.

"Seriously… How can they still be fooling around in this situation?"

Yes, it was playing.

In Suguha's eyes, the match between Rozen and Kazuto was nothing more than play, leaving her both exasperated and concerned.

Ever since their grandfather passed away, the three siblings had been required to practice kendo at a nearby dojo since elementary school. However, Rozen was never interested in sports. After a few days of kendo lessons to fulfill their grandfather's wish, he quickly quit. Kirito preferred keyboards over bamboo swords, and under Rozen's influence, he also gave up kendo within a year. Surprisingly, the one who initially only went to watch, Suguha, developed a deep love for the sport and stuck with it.

As a result, by the age of 15, Suguha had already achieved a top-eight finish in her last national junior high tournament the previous year. This spring, she secured a recommendation to a high school with a renowned kendo club. Her kendo skills were far beyond those of Rozen and Kazuto.

Furthermore, unlike Suguha, who kept up physical training, her brothers had spent most of their time holed up in their rooms playing games. In fact, Suguha's stamina likely surpassed both of theirs.

Considering the aftermath of the SAO incident, the sight of her brothers recklessly playing with bamboo swords left her deeply concerned.

This concern grew even stronger when Suguha noticed the way Rozen and Kazuto held their swords.

"Who holds a bamboo sword with one hand?"

In standard kendo competitions, both opponents are required to grip the sword with both hands and assume a correct stance. Single-handed swordplay had no place in kendo.

To make matters worse, neither Rozen nor Kazuto was using proper kendo stances.

Kazuto, for instance, held his sword in one hand, adopting a charging posture with the blade pointing backward. To a kendo expert like Suguha, it looked utterly bizarre.

Meanwhile, Rozen's stance, though less strange, was relaxed with the sword tip drooping naturally. His whole posture exuded a casual and carefree vibe, making it seem as if he was merely playing around.

Suguha resolved that if things went too far, she would intervene immediately.

But what happened next completely overturned Suguha's assumptions and shook her understanding.

Suguha had no way of knowing that in the world of SAO, both Rozen and Kazuto, as one-handed sword users, had honed their one-handed swordplay to perfection—developing the most natural and effective way to execute sword techniques.

"Ha!"

Kirito's eyes sharpened, more focused than any kendo expert. With a swift and fluid slash, he swung his bamboo sword, the blade whistling as it cut through the air toward Rozen.

"Clack!"

With a crisp sound, Rozen parried Kirito's sharp strike effortlessly with a light upward flick of his own sword.

Without even glancing at the incoming blow, Rozen's sword moved with an unpredictable twist, following the path of Kirito's strike before shifting into a powerful thrust toward Kirito's chest.

"Whoosh!"

The air trembled as the tip of the bamboo sword shot forward. In the nick of time, Kirito dodged to the side, barely avoiding the thrust, and immediately countered with a fierce three-hit combo.

Rozen responded without hesitation, swinging his bamboo sword with such speed that it whistled through the air.

"Clack! Clack! Clack!"

The courtyard echoed with the sound of bamboo swords clashing—sharp and rapid, like the crackling of fireworks.

Rozen and Kirito fought with the grace and precision of seasoned kendo masters. Their attacks were fast, and the seamless flow between their moves suggested they had repeated these motions countless times before. The bamboo swords collided continuously, creating a dazzling spectacle.

"Well, you're not just all talk after all."

"You're the same, huh…"

The two brothers kept pressing and countering each other, exchanging attacks and defenses. Although their fight bore little resemblance to a formal kendo match, it was thrilling to watch and captivating to the eye.

"How... How is this possible?"

Suguha was utterly stunned.

She had never imagined that Rozen and Kazuto were this skilled.

For a moment, she imagined herself facing either of them, only to realize that she might struggle to win against either of them.

In fact, given how proficient they seemed, there was a good chance she could lose.

"Are these really my brothers?"

Suguha couldn't help but question in disbelief.

What she didn't know was that despite their impressive performance, Rozen and Kirito were nowhere near their peak—compared to their days in SAO.

In SAO, with the advantage of enhanced character stats, their physical abilities had been far beyond what was possible in reality.

Now, Kirito was just a recovering high school student still undergoing physical rehabilitation, and Rozen was fighting solely with his natural abilities, without relying on any mystical powers.

Moreover…

"Without the system's assistance, you really can't use sword skills, can you?" Rozen smiled as he flicked away Kirito's strike toward his face.

"It's not like you can." Kirito panted slightly, glaring at Rozen.

"Who knows.." Rozen smirked mischievously.

Then, with a sudden burst of speed…

"Thud!"

Rozen kicked off the ground and charged straight toward Kirito in an instant.

"So fast…!"

Kirito's pupils shrank as he instinctively tried to retreat.

But it was too late.

"Swish!"

With the sound of wind splitting, Rozen raised his bamboo sword and delivered a two-hit combo in a vertical arc.

This was...

"Horizontal Arc—?!"

Kirito was stunned.

"Clack!"

In the next moment, with a crisp sound, Kirito's bamboo sword was sent flying out of his hand, landing on the ground nearby.

His palm tingled with numbness, and he stared in disbelief at the fallen sword.

"See? I can do it, right?" Rozen grinned, resting the tip of his bamboo sword lightly against Kirito's throat.

"...Fine, I lose," Kirito said with a bitter smile, raising his hand in surrender.

He had no choice.

"I didn't expect you to pull off a sword skill without the system's help. When did your physical abilities get this good?" Kirito admitted reluctantly.

"I've been like this for a while." Rozen shrugged, withdrawing his sword.

Though he hadn't used any magical powers, Rozen's experience and training across multiple worlds had significantly enhanced his physical abilities. While not superhuman, he was now capable of executing sword skills that once required system assistance.

"Don't think I'm the same old me," Rozen said, flashing a confident grin at Kirito, leaving his brother helplessly amused.

At that moment, Suguha finally snapped out of her daze.

"When... When did you two get so good?" she asked, her mouth hanging open in disbelief.

"Haha…"

Both Rozen and Kirito chuckled at her reaction, finding it amusing.

The three of them soon began playfully teasing each other in the courtyard.

The atmosphere was warm and harmonious.