Chapter 25: Getting a Girl’s Contact Info
“Sorry. Did I keep you waiting!”
“Ah, Kaori-chan!”
“Hey, it’s been two days, Natsume-san.”
Kaori was slightly out of breath, as if she had rushed over. The two tilted their heads, wondering why she was in such a hurry.
“Hey, Kaori-chan. Why are you in such a rush?”
“Um, actually, there’s something I wanted to tell Satsuki-kun.”
“Something you wanted to tell me? Did something happen?”
Kazuma, having no idea what it could be, folded his arms and tilted his head in thought.
“Ahem. Guess what! My Body Enhancement multiplier has increased!”
“Oooohhh!”
Kaori, having caught her breath, thumped her chest proudly and reported to the two that her Body Enhancement multiplier had increased.
Hearing this, the two exclaimed in surprise and applauded, as if to praise Kaori’s growth.
“That’s amazing, Kaori-chan! What did it go up to?”
“It went from 3.5x to 4.5x!”
“Eeeh!? Isn’t that really incredible!?”
“Yeah. The examiner was surprised too. They said something like this rarely happens.”
Body Enhancement typically improves gradually, usually by 0.1x at a time. Therefore, Kaori’s growth rate was astounding. It was rare for it to increase so dramatically.
“Uhm, so, Natsume-san. Why are you telling someone like me?”
“About that, I think it’s thanks to Satsuki-kun that I was able to grow this much.”
“Eh? I don’t think that’s the case.”
“No, no, it is. Because it was thanks to Satsuki-kun that I was able to win at the end of last week’s training. Satsuki-kun taught me.”
Kazuma, not knowing what to say, just offered a vague smile.
“And so, I want to thank you, Satsuki-kun.”
“Eh, you don’t have to. That was the result of your hard work, Natsume-san. I didn’t do anything to deserve thanks.”
“Didn’t I just say? It’s thanks to Satsuki-kun. So, I really want to thank you. Is that not okay?”
“Eh, uhm, it’s not that it’s not okay… Ah!”
As far as Kazuma was concerned, he really hadn’t done anything, so there was no need for thanks. Therefore, he tried to somehow convince Kaori, but then he suddenly remembered something. Remembering it, Kazuma sought confirmation from Kaori.
“Hey, you said you wanted to thank me, right?”
“Eh, yeah. Ah, but nothing weird, okay!”
Since Kazuma suddenly seemed eager, Kaori, perhaps warily, gave a warning. However, Kaori’s caution would prove to be pointless.
“Actually—”
Just as Kazuma was about to broach the subject with Kaori, Kosuke, who happened to be passing by, spotted the three of them. Two girls from the Combat Course with Kazuma. Moreover, they seemed to be on friendly terms. The moment Kosuke saw this, a shock ran through his mind.
Kazuma was getting friendly with girls, leaving him behind. And what’s more, even from a distance, the two girls were quite cute. Kosuke, judging this to be a grave situation, made the fastest start of his life.
“Kaaaaaazumaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!!”
Kosuke, exhibiting the best run of his life, shouted Kazuma’s name with that same momentum and swung his arm back widely.
“Huh?”
Kazuma, turning around at the familiar voice, saw Kosuke heading straight for him. If Kosuke had directed killing intent towards Kazuma, Kazuma would have noticed immediately.
However, Kosuke had no intention of killing Kazuma. It was just for the petty reason that he couldn’t forgive Kazuma for being the only one talking to girls. For that reason alone, Kosuke had started running and punched Kazuma in the cheek with a widely swung fist.
“Guheh!?”
Kazuma, caught by the sudden ambush, was easily sent flying without resisting, letting out an unsightly cry as he fell. And Kosuke, who had punched Kazuma away, was panting heavily, his shoulders heaving.
Kaori and Megumi’s eyes widened at the sudden event. They didn’t know whether to immediately go help Kazuma up or to ask Kosuke, who had punched Kazuma, for an explanation, and were flustered.
Ignoring the two girls, Kosuke let out a breath and slowly walked towards Kazuma. His steps were heavy, as if reflecting his mood, thudding along.
He grabbed the collar of Kazuma, who had fallen and was rubbing his cheek, lifted him up, his eyes flew wide open, and he opened his mouth wide to shout.
“Have you forgotten our Virgin Alliance!”
“No, what are you talking about?”
Kazuma, completely clueless, asked Kosuke to repeat himself. Kosuke brought his face close to the uncomprehending Kazuma and whispered in his ear.
“I just came up with that on the spot. More importantly, sorry for hitting you. But I just couldn’t forgive you for talking so friendly with girls.”
“Yeah, well, being honest is a good thing, but there’s a limit, you know?”
He acknowledged the sincere apology, but Kazuma, having been punched for no apparent reason, was still not in a good mood.
“Really, sorry. So, hey. What’s your relationship with those two?”
“Hm? Ah, they were on the same team during last week’s practical training.”
“Is that so. But you seem pretty friendly.”
“Well, I guess that’s my charisma?”
“That’s not it.”
“Why not!”
Kosuke bluntly dismissed Kazuma’s joke. As the two were doing this, they felt gazes on them and turned around. There, Kaori and Megumi were glaring at them, as if demanding an explanation.
Realizing this would be bad if he didn’t explain immediately, Kazuma moved away from Kosuke and went towards the two girls.
Kazuma was momentarily intimidated by the two girls staring at him with reproachful eyes, but he knew he couldn’t back down here and stepped forward.
“Um, sorry for the interruption. It seems my friend misunderstood something.”
“Friend? Even though he punched you full force?”
“Well, it seems he didn’t mean any harm. More importantly, about what we were talking about earlier, Natsume-san, are your grades in lectures good?”
Kazuma changed the subject before Kaori could form a negative impression of Kosuke. Returning to their previous conversation, Kazuma asked Kaori about her grades.
“Why do you ask something like that?”
“Actually, I’m in trouble with the upcoming final exams. At this rate, I’m heading straight for supplementary lessons during summer vacation. So, I was thinking of asking a friend to help me study, and I was wondering about you, Natsume-san.”
“So that’s why you asked about my grades. Hmm, my lecture grades are about average. My test rank is usually around the middle.”
“I see. In that case, do you know anyone else who might be able to help?”
“I do, but… is that enough for a thank you?”
“Yeah. I don’t want to waste my summer vacation on supplementary lessons.”
“I understand. I’ll think about it a bit.”
Megumi, who had been listening to their conversation from the side, seemed to have someone in mind and asked Kazuma.
“Hey, hey, Satsuki-kun. Is anyone okay?”
“Anyone who is an acquaintance of Kizaki-san and the others, and doesn’t have a prejudice against the Support Course, would be fine.”
“Got it. Kaori-chan, how about Kaede-chan?”
“Eh? Makimura-san? It’s true she’s smart, but I wonder if she’d agree?”
“Kaede-chan seemed to like Satsuki-kun quite a bit, so I think it’ll be fine.”
“Really? Well then, shall we ask her?”
“Uhm, is it okay if I leave it to you two?”
Watching Kaori and Megumi consult in front of him, Kazuma felt he wouldn’t be of any help and decided to leave it to them.
“Yes, leave it to us. Well then, we’ll let you know when it’s decided, so could you give us your contact information?”
“Ah, while we’re at it, let’s exchange contact info too!”
“Eh! Is that okay!?”
Kazuma was surprised by the unexpected proposal. He had never imagined he would get contact information from two girls in the Combat Course and was bewildered.
“Well, it’s better to contact you by phone, right? It’s a hassle to go all the way to the Support Course classroom.”
“Yeah, yeah. Besides, I think it’s okay to give Satsuki-kun our contact info.”
“Ooh…!”
Kazuma couldn’t help but tremble with emotion at the trust from the two girls.
After that, Kazuma quickly exchanged contact information with the two girls, parted ways with them, and headed towards Kosuke, who was frozen stiff behind him.
“O~i, Kosuke~”
Kazuma waved his hand and tried to call out to Kosuke, who was frozen as if his soul had left his body. However, since there was no reaction at all, Kazuma, as a bit of payback, punched Kosuke in the cheek.
“Ouch!?”
“Finally snapped out of it?”
“Ha! You! You were just exchanging contact info with girls, weren’t you! That’s unfair!”
“No, this is a legitimate reward.”
“What do you mean, legitimate reward!? How do you get the contact info of such cute girls!?”
“Hmmmm… Maybe start by working hard in practical training.”
“Huh? What’s that supposed to mean! Tell me in more detail!”
Kosuke, not satisfied with Kazuma’s explanation, grabbed Kazuma’s shoulders and shook him repeatedly, but Kazuma didn’t answer any further.