After I said that, I could only shake my head in disappointment because none of them got it—including Cynthia—but it didn't take long before the mess the previous guy made was cleaned up, and the next person was brought in front of us. The guy looked like a regular ol' joe with glasses but it looked like he was more interested in talking to me than Kaley.
"Hello, my name's Isaac," the person said while looking straight at me, "I'm... I'm not from any family—actually, I haven't pledged to any family yet but I have purchased a few months' worth of residence here in this place just to have a chance to meet you."
Kaley interjected, "So... you wanna join us? Can you tell us a reason why?"
Isaac turned to Kaley for a moment and nodded at her before turning to me again, "I'm... this is embarrassing but I also practice the same—well, not the same technically... but I'm from the Kishin-Ryuu School of Martial Arts. I was enrolled for two years and I'm a 2nd-Dan practitioner before... you know—"
'Fierce God-Dragon, no way. Not in a million years this kid is a student of that place. Besides, they don't have "School of Martial Arts" at the end of their sign...'
"Kishin-Ryuu School of Martial Arts?" I asked with a faint smile.
"You— You know my school?"
"No— It kinda rings a bell but I doubt there would be an actual branch or any other branch here."
Isaac looked a little offended, "Do you know all of the branches—"
"I do, actually. Everything from the AJKF(All-Japan Kendo Federation) to the old, old schools you probably haven't heard of."
"C-Can I ask which school you learned from?"
"Yeah, no. You probably haven't heard of it even if I tell you."
'Ours isn't as cool sounding... so, no...'
"..."
From his silence, I thought it was over and as I was about to turn to Kaley so she could continue her interview, Isaac cut her off.
"Can... Can you tell me and take me in if I score a point off you?"
A few raised their eyebrows as they turned in Isaac's direction though most of them didn't know what Isaac was talking about.
"A point?"
"Basketball?"
"What are they talking about again?"
I chuckled as I stood up from my seat, "I accept the challenge if and only if you'd run 10 laps around this place naked if I score a point off you first."
Isaac was a little taken aback but a look of excitement replaced his expression before he nodded several times.
At this point, the interview process had taken a pause but I guess it was better than seeing another person's dick while everyone was still fucking tired and a little hungover. To my surprise, the twins had brought over actual shinais or bamboo swords we could spar with but Isaac was in the process of wearing his full kendo gear.
"Dude. Seriously?"
"No."
"Onii-chan?"
"You're fucking with me, aren't you?"
"No?"
"I'll count to three and if you're not—"
"I'M GOING! I'M GOING! I'M GOING!"
Without further ado, Isaac just started to sprint away while chucking out pieces of his clothing. But while that was happening, Kaley was looking at me amusedly but I just shook my head and sighed heavily before I turned to the twins.
"Can I get some more info on that guy?"
Ruru nodded, "Yeah, he came here a few months ago but he was probably present the first time you came here. He mostly just watched anything that's happening around here but he would sometimes rent some "entertainment" from time to time. He mostly keeps to his room but we'd also see him exercise in the gym or run laps around in the morning."
Riri added, "Oh! He hadn't been with us, before you ask."
I lightly chuckled, "I see no problem with that even if he already has."
Ruru pouted, "It would've been nice if you cared a little..."
Riri chuckled, "Anyway, that's because he has a little preference... We'll just leave it at that to give him a little bit of privacy."
Quinn joined in, "Hah! That's funny coming from you two since you gave away every bit of info from my crew."
"W-Well they're rude but he's nice. There's a difference."
With that said, as things went on, Kaley managed to interview a few more people but a couple of people—Quinn and Tatiana, were getting a little too bored so they proposed something to move things along.
"Alright, listen up! If you don't have anything to offer except muscle, come over on that side and we'll be the ones to test you. If not, just act like you heard nothing but we do welcome challengers."
Almost immediately, half of the people in the line walked over to the side where Quinn and Tatiana drew a line and it didn't take long before screams of pain and horror came from their side. However, it did make Kaley's job a little easier and she discovered a few more interesting ones among the bunch she was interviewing.
We found a personal trainer, an ex-cop, a bladesmith, a "Marital Aid" manufacturer, a watchmaker, and a circus performer.
Each of them had their own stories to tell and as much as I would've liked to have an actual bladesmith in my fold, I doubt that he'd pass my over-the-top standards. However, not everyone had the opportunity to wield a priceless treasure like mine and witness a grandmaster blacksmith do his work, so having regular old blades that were readily available to the public was a plus in my book.
'As long as it could cut open heads and chop off limbs without breaking or bending, it's good. Sometimes, quantity is better than quality...'
With that said, I was still listening to their replies to Kaley's question but my attention was caught by another dick flapping in the wind.
"ONII-SAN! I FINISHED THE TEN LAPS! ONII— OW! WHY ARE YOU HITTING ME?! AH! AHHHHH~!
HELP! HE'S FUCKING CRAZY!"