Stealing Spree

“It’s fine, lad. You go and make it something that will be remembered by them.” Hisa-jii, while laughing in a bit of satisfaction, patted my shoulder, “We cannot deny that this sight is your accomplishment. I never expected it to be this well-received. There are some voices of dissent about the way you conducted those lessons but the results spoke for themselves.”

“You did revitalize this little gym a little too much though,” Hisa-jii added at the end before coughing to stop himself from grinning.

“Mhm… I can see that.” I replied with an awkward laugh. With how many women whose ages ranged from the late 20s to late 30s are becoming a common sight here, it’s a bit weird or rather, unusual for a boxing gym.

Anyway, we’re currently a little distance away from where the enrollees of my program as well as the spectators that were allowed inside were gathered. Kujou Marika was among those spectators and believe it or not, Sena was next to her, conversing with the girl.

Because I thought it became somehow chaotic inside because of my program, I approached the old man to apologize. Standing with us was Ayu who was only listening for the most part.

Halfway through our talk, Ayu suddenly brought up a suggestion to the old man, asking him to allow us to use one of the boxing rings.

Earlier, when I went to see her to make sure that today wouldn’t be a repeat of yesterday, I also told her that I planned something like a graduation ceremony for my students even if it’s just a ten-day course.

A one-round sparring against each other or me. Just to showcase what they learned from me.

Of course, if they picked me as their opponent, I would only be on the defensive, letting them throw those punches. And if they picked their fellow student, it should be according to their height, weight and reach.

The five idiots could fight against themselves and I’ll take on the leftover. They will also have the option not to participate; especially the ones who were only in for the exercise like the mothers.

But I could already imagine those grade school and middle school kids getting too excited over it.

The problem about the headgears, gloves, and mouthpieces that would fit them was already solved. The gym has some of those in the storage.

I never thought of using a ring but since Ayu brought that up by herself while looking at me as though saying ‘Leave this one to me.’, I could only hope for a great result.

And now, we’re at this moment where Hisa-jii had just approved of it.

“Inaho, help this young lad. Make sure that it won’t lead to unforeseen injuries. I’ll leave being the referee to you.

“Yes, I’ll see to it that it ends successfully.”

After saying that, Hisa-jii walked back to his corner and the two of us returned to that area, starting this tenth session.

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Thirty minutes later, after finishing their last set of exercises, I returned in front of them and clapped my hands, gathering everyone’s attention.

While ignoring the eyes of the spectators, I started by giving a small speech, commending all of them for persevering through my program. I kept it short, of course. There’s no need to add a lot of flair to a simple program where I teach the basics of boxing to complete beginners.

“Mhm. I’d like to congratulate all of you on finishing my program. With this, you can now say that you’re a beginner in boxing. You might not have the right stamina yet but the technique and knowledge about the sport are already ingrained in your mind. I implore you to continue with those set of exercises that I imparted to you. And after this day, the path in this sport has opened up to you. it will be your choice if you will continue pursuing a higher skill level in this sport. It will not be easy and certainly not something you master right away. However, if you decide to take that step, do consider this boxing gym.”

Ending that by promoting this gym, I saw Ayu facepalming at the side. Nonetheless, some of my students were already considering that. I mean, the reason for this program was also to attract more members of the gym. While some of them have already signed up, that advertisement might convince others to do the same.

My purpose for taking up this part-time job was originally for the money; something I earned for myself as well as the experience of teaching. To see if it’s a path I could take for our future.

For now, I couldn’t make a conclusion yet. It’s a little fun seeing their progress each week or each lesson that passes. However, I got to think far ahead and imagined myself in this profession. And honestly, I found it a little tiring…

But it’s an option that I would seriously consider in the future. I mean, there’s no point in deluding myself any longer that I’m not good at this. Again, the result speaks for itself.

I gained the admiration of almost everyone, even the five idiots revered me as their ‘mentor in their path to success’.

“Alright… With that out of the way, let’s move on…” I put on a smile as I scanned everyone’s gazes. “For this last session, with all of you mastering the basics, it’s about time for you to experience stepping inside the ring. Today will be the moment for you to showcase everything you learned for the past month, are you excited?”

“Yes!”

As soon as I finished speaking, all of them answered in chorus.

With this, I started explaining what was going to happen next.

Even though I called it one-round sparring, it will only last for 2 minutes. Normally, hardly anything will happen there but that’s enough. They’re not professionals anyway. For sure, some of them will try to be aggressive but if they suddenly go berserk, Ayu will be there to stop them.

For the next ten minutes, I let them pair up first while I accepted those who opted out of the sparring. As for those who chose me as their partner, I asked them to rethink their choice.

Not that I was scaring them but I deemed it a lot better for them to pair with another beginner than try me...

And while they were doing that, I walked over to Sena who was keeping Kujou-senpai entertained.

When they saw me approaching, Sena put on a meaningful smile. Most likely, she got something from conversing with the girl. On the other hand, Kujou Marika’s eyes lit up in sheer excitement.

“Junior-kun, I must say, I’m impressed. You truly possessed the grace and form of an instructor.”

“Thank you, senpai. It’s nothing though. I’m only doing my job.”

“A job, huh? That’s also admirable. Not as much as Jun-kun, however.”

This girl… What’s the point of comparing me to that guy? He’s a spoiled brat relying on his family’s influence to do everything he wants to…

Ugh, wait… That sounds like me as well, right? I got to do everything I did because of my parents or whatever they did in the background…

Anyway, should I agree to her here and act subservient or… continue acting normally, disregarding her status?

Considering she took interest in me because I was different from those surrounding her, I should continue that way.

“Is that so? But if I have to guess, everything he does will be admirable to you, right?”

As soon as I finished saying that, I instantly noticed Kujou Marika’s eyes narrowing slightly.

“What do you mean by that, Junior-kun?” She asked as her lips stretched to the side. The previous excitement in her voice was seemingly subdued.

“He’s your fiancée, senpai. Your future husband. It’s normal to raise someone that special to you as the most amazing person in the world.”

“My, you’re blunt, Junior-kun. Does that mean you’re telling me that I’m running with my cognitive bias?”

That’s how it is for me as well anyway. I’ll find everything my girls will do as admirable. If Ichihara Jun is that kind of person for her then it’s really normal for her to act like this.

However, what I was picking up from her at this moment was her growing interest in how I converse with her. She probably hadn’t noticed but her smile had already disappeared. She’s intently staring at me, waiting for my next words.

“Mhm… But you can disregard my words, senpai. Think of it as me running my mouth off.” I answered with a shrug.

I expected her to press on but the girl simply nodded her head before saying, “Interesting take, Junior-kun. No one has told me the same words before. You might be right, however. Ever since I arrived here in this city, I have only seen Jun-kun as the best guy in the world. That’s what I wanted to believe. I am promised to him, after all.”

This girl… Are these her real thoughts or something she just spilled for me to consume? Is she really naïve or just too devoted? Where’s the cunning girl that I expected her to be?