As Kanao nodded, a notification sounded beside Xia Feng's ear.
[System Notification: Favorability from Kanao Tsuyuri obtained. Recognition level reached. Reward: One Silver Card Draw.]
Xia Feng froze slightly.
Today's sword practice with Kanao had only been meant as a way to interact with her a little.
He hadn't expected it to suddenly increase her favorability…
He fell into thought.
So for girls who were obsessed with swordsmanship, building goodwill was as simple as practicing swords together?
While pondering this, he activated the reward he had just received.
[System Notification: Drawing… Drawing successful! Congratulations! You obtained the Silver Ability — Enhanced Hearing!]
[System Notification: Enhanced Hearing — Greatly improves auditory perception. Allows detection of extremely subtle sounds, including small-range ultrasonic and infrasonic waves.]
As the notification faded, Xia Feng felt a strange energy surging into his ears.
In the next moment—
The world around him completely changed.
The faint rustling of wind brushing through leaves.
Footsteps of Butterfly Estate attendants walking in the distance.
The sound of Kanao's heartbeat.
Even the faint flow of blood inside her body…
Sounds that were normally impossible to hear flooded into his ears.
The miraculous ability left him stunned for a moment.
Meanwhile, Kanao suddenly seemed to remember something.
She bowed to Xia Feng.
Then she turned and ran off somewhere.
The three little girls hurried over.
"Mr. Xia Feng! You're amazing!"
"You actually defeated Miss Kanao! She's Lady Shinobu's Tsuguko!"
"Are you a Hashira?"
Amid the girls' excited chatter, Xia Feng snapped back to his senses.
Sounds that would normally seem harmless now felt a bit noisy to him.
He reached out and rubbed their heads.
"Didn't I tell you earlier? Don't worry. Everything's fine."
"By the way, do you know where Kanao went?"
Sumi looked toward the direction Kanao had run.
"She probably went to the kitchen…"
The kitchen?
Xia Feng felt a bit puzzled.
Why had Kanao gone to the kitchen?
With the three girls following behind him, he headed toward it.
As soon as they arrived nearby, they saw Kanao walking out of the kitchen carrying a basket.
When she saw Xia Feng, she blinked.
Then she walked over quietly.
She lifted the basket and handed it to him.
Xia Feng accepted it and discovered warm food inside.
"For me?" he asked with a smile.
Kanao nodded.
Seeing her somewhat absent-minded yet adorable expression, Xia Feng couldn't help but smile.
But he suddenly felt curious.
The Butterfly Estate wasn't a restaurant.
Would the kitchen really keep food prepared at all times?
If it had been freshly cooked, there wouldn't have been enough time.
Just as he was about to ask—
Naho suddenly exclaimed in surprise.
"Th-That's Miss Kanao's lunch!"
Xia Feng suddenly understood.
No wonder there was prepared food.
It was originally Kanao's meal, set aside while she practiced.
A hint of panic flashed across Kanao's eyes.
She seemed to want to explain that it was fine, but she didn't quite dare to speak.
It was clear she still wasn't used to communicating with others.
Xia Feng gently shook the basket.
"Perfect. I'm not very hungry anyway. Let's share it."
Kanao froze slightly.
Xia Feng then looked at the three girls.
"Do you want some too?"
The girls shook their heads together.
"We already ate before Lady Shinobu asked us to come!"
"Alright, then you can play nearby for a bit," Xia Feng said with a smile, sending them off.
Then he simply sat down on the grass.
"The environment here is nice. Let's eat here."
Kanao hesitated.
Breaking etiquette like this made her feel very uncomfortable.
But Xia Feng already knew how to deal with her hesitation.
"I'm currently Miss Shinobu's guest. You're her Tsuguko."
"According to etiquette, shouldn't the host follow the guest's preference?"
Kanao blinked.
After thinking for a moment, she seemed to make up her mind.
She properly knelt down and sat opposite Xia Feng.
Xia Feng nodded in satisfaction.
His personality was very different from Tanjiro Kamado's.
He couldn't rely on bright optimism to influence Kanao.
But he also had his own way of interacting with people.
There was no need to imitate anyone else.
After sharing the meal together, Xia Feng could clearly feel that Kanao had lowered her guard toward him a little more.
After lunch, Xia Feng followed the three girls to explore the rest of the Butterfly Estate.
By the time they finished walking around, the sun had already begun to set.
When they returned to the courtyard, Xia Feng was slightly surprised to see—
Kanao had already started practicing again.
He watched for a moment before walking over.
"It's getting late," he said.
"Let's spar for a bit more, then call it a day."
Kanao smiled faintly.
"Okay."
She had already been close to finishing practice anyway.
Reviewing techniques with Xia Feng once more would be perfect.
This time, Xia Feng picked up a real sword.
It wasn't a Nichirin Blade meant for killing demons, but it still carried considerable lethality.
"Training against real weapons makes combat practice more meaningful," he said.
Kanao nodded in agreement.
Though she still rarely spoke, her expressions and body language toward Xia Feng had become noticeably more open.
At Xia Feng's signal, she attacked.
As he faced Kanao's strikes, Xia Feng realized he now had far more ways to respond.
Previously, he could only analyze her swordsmanship using the knowledge from Advanced Swordsmanship.
But now, with his enhanced hearing, his analysis of her movements improved dramatically.
Almost instinctively, he thrust his sword forward.
The move looked casual.
Yet it immediately put Kanao in a difficult position.
If she maintained her current trajectory, Xia Feng would easily intercept it.
But if she changed her attack—
Within a split second, she analyzed two possible alternatives.
Both of them fell perfectly within Xia Feng's counterattack range.
Left with no choice, she withdrew her attack and stepped back to find another opportunity.
A few breaths later, Kanao reorganized her stance and attacked again.
But after only two exchanges—
She was forced back the same way again.
Not far away, the three little girls looked confused.
Were they sparring or dancing?
Watching Xia Feng—who looked full of openings yet somehow completely impenetrable—Kanao felt a little frustrated.
Meanwhile, Xia Feng couldn't help feeling pleased.
With the combination of Advanced Swordsmanship and Enhanced Hearing, his attacks now carried the feeling of perfectly dismantling an opponent's sword techniques.
After a moment, he spoke.
"Use your breathing technique, Kanao."
Kanao nodded and placed her hand firmly on her sword hilt.
But just then—
Xia Feng suddenly turned his head and looked toward the distance.
There stood a cherry blossom tree.
At first glance, nothing seemed unusual.
But Xia Feng narrowed his eyes.
Seeing his reaction, Kanao also stopped and looked over.
She saw nothing.
Just as she was about to ask what was wrong—
Xia Feng suddenly tightened his grip on the sword in his hand.