Chapter 22: Inoue, Tamura? Who Are They?
The morning after Inoue and Tamura’s rampage through the city, Kazuma had come to the hospital to visit Kaede, Marin, and Shion, the three who had been injured by the pair.
That said, Kazuma, also known as the Silver Knight, had completely healed the three with Recovery Magic, so they didn’t have a single injury. If anything, only their mental state was a concern.
After all, this wasn’t training like they did in class; it was a real battle this time. Moreover, it wasn’t something lukewarm like a match, but close to a fight to the death. Since those two had been fighting with the intent to kill, the three who faced them must have been under considerable stress.
“Still… to think Akatsuki and the others would get summoned by the government.”
Right now, Kazuma was the only one on the hospital floor. Originally, the four of them were supposed to go together, but, as it happened, Akatsuki and the others had been summoned regarding the recent incident.
However, if that were the case, it would be strange if Kazuma wasn’t summoned as well, but since the “story” was that he wasn’t at the scene, he wasn’t called. Therefore, Kazuma ended up going to visit them alone.
“Ah, excuse me. I’ve come to visit Makimura Kaede-san, Ichinose Shion-san, and Nikaido Marin-san~”
Kazuma, holding the classic hospital visit gift of a fruit assortment in one hand, spoke to the nurse at the reception desk.
“Then, could you please present your identification?”
“Will this do?”
Prompted to show his ID, Kazuma took out his student ID card. The nurse who received it checked the student ID number to verify his identity. Since it existed in the database, she confirmed it was him, and the nurse told him the room where the three were hospitalized.
“Yes. It’s confirmed. Um, the room number where Makimura Kaede-san, Ichinose Shion-san, and Nikaido Marin-san are staying is Room 701. You can get there using the elevator over there on the right.”
Kazuma, spotting the elevator in the direction the nurse pointed, said his thanks and then headed to visit the three of them.
“Thank you very mu~ch.”
He immediately boarded the elevator, and Kazuma aimed for the seventh floor. A light ding-dong sound chimed, and Kazuma, having reached the seventh floor, looked for Room 701.
It didn’t take long to find Room 701. It was just a few seconds’ walk from the elevator. Well, it was a simple matter of looking at the room numbers.
Looking at the nameplate for Room 701, Kazuma confirmed the three names. Thinking it would be terrible if he made a mistake, Kazuma checked twice. As a result, he found there was no mistake, so he knocked on the room door and announced he had come to visit.
“It’s Satsuki Kazuma. I’ve come to visit~”
A little while after that, Kaede’s relaxed reply could be heard.
“You can come i~n.”
“Alrighty.”
Upon hearing the reply, Kazuma immediately opened the door and entered the hospital room. The hospital room was a four-person room, but only three people were inside. This was a room the National Defense Force had prepared for them, so there were no other patients.
““Ehe… Ehehe~””
Kazuma was about to open his mouth to greet them, but he saw something he shouldn’t have: Nikaido Marin and Ichinose Shion, both with slack-jawed expressions, drooling from the corners of their mouths.
He didn’t know the two of them very well, but Kazuma had praised them as warriors and recognized them as people deserving respect. However, the sight of the two before him made him doubt whether that perception had been mistaken.
“…Don’t mind them. Those two just became huge fans of the Silver Knight.”
“Eh…? What do you mean?”
“The video from that time was uploaded to SNS, and the Silver Knight praised those two, right?”
“Ahh… yeah.”
Kazuma, the very person who had praised them, had a complicated expression and began to scratch his cheek awkwardly.
“After seeing that, the two of them completely became huge fans of the Silver Knight. Not only were they rescued, but they also seemed happy to be praised so lavishly.”
“I-Is that so…”
No, well, it was true he had been quite angry at the time and had said various things, but Kazuma never imagined it would turn out like this, and he found himself staring off into the distance.
Several minutes had passed since they started “tripping” with their phones in hand. During that time, Kazuma had given the fruit assortment to Kaede and was sitting on a nearby chair, peeling an apple.
“Kazuma, you’re quite dexterous, aren’t you?”
“Fallen for me?”
“I’ve been head over heels for you from the start.”
“It’s like I’m talking to a wall.”
“Fallen for me?”
“I don’t intend to fall in love with an AI. Sorry.”
“Even though I love you this much…”
“Wow~! It’s like a sophisticated robot!”
It was a farce. Kazuma, enjoying small talk with Kaede while peeling the apple. To an onlooker, they looked like nothing but a couple, but they weren’t dating. They just got along well.
“You two get along as well as ever~”
“Hm? Ah, Nikaido-san, you’ve come back to your senses.”
“Hey, what’s that supposed to mean? What do you mean by that?”
“Until just now, you were tripping like someone who’d taken drugs.”
“Wha-!? Seriously? Was I making a weird face?”
“Yeah. It was gross.”
“Makimura-san, that’s too much. But, it was a face a girl shouldn’t make.”
“Uwaaaah! Seriously~?!”
Marin, looking embarrassed, pulled the futon over her head to hide her face. Meanwhile, Shion made a declaration to Kazuma.
“Satsuki-kun! I will become a disciple of the Silver Knight-sama! So, please consider our previous conversation as if it never happened!”
“Eh?”
It was truly an “Eh?” moment. Kazuma was confused, wondering what on earth she was saying.
“We had that talk about you taking me as your disciple, but I…! I’ve fallen for the Silver Knight-sama! I’ve decided I’ll definitely find him and have him take me as his disciple! I’m sorry, Satsuki-kun.”
“Ah, okay.”
It was already a comedy. The fact that Kazuma, standing right in front of her, was the Silver Knight was hilariously ironic. She herself had let go of that hand—the hand of the Silver Knight she had fallen for from the bottom of her heart.
“Tough luck, Kazuma.”
“…Well, it can’t be helped, can it? It’s true that the Silver Knight is stronger than me.”
“But you had your disciple snatched away by some nobody whose whereabouts are unknown, you know?”
“Such a way to put it! Sugarcoat it a bit more!”
“It’s a fact, isn’t it?”
“Nnnngh!”
It wasn’t a fact. He was that person. Kazuma was the Silver Knight, and the Silver Knight was Kazuma. Who could imagine having their disciple snatched away by themselves? What a strange story indeed.
“Ahhh, that was embarrassing.”
Marin finally showed her face. She glanced at Shion, who was on the next bed passionately sending love calls to the Silver Knight, then turned her face towards Kazuma and Kaede.
“Isn’t Shion kinda nuts?”
“Isn’t it fine? She looks happy.”
“She seems even crazier than an idol chaser, though?”
“Since it’s someone whose whereabouts are unknown, there’s no problem, right?”
“No, that is the problem. Given how she is, she’ll probably spend her days off searching all over town.”
(If I revealed my identity here, saying something like, “Actually, I’m the Silver Knight~,” she’d probably die…)
If he did that, Shion would undoubtedly shatter the window with a dynamic dive, shout something like “I can fly,” and commit suicide by jumping. After all, she had done something outrageous to the person she’d fallen for.
“Kazuma, Kazuma.”
“Hm? What is it?”
“Say ‘ah~,’ feed me.”
In Kazuma’s hand was the peeled apple. Kaede seemed to have been waiting the whole time for Kazuma to peel the apple and apparently couldn’t wait any longer. However, it might have been better if she’d phrased it a little differently.
“Wow, Kaede, you’re so bold!”
“Here, say ‘ah~.’”
“Hahya!?”
“Ngu…”
Without any particular embarrassment, Kazuma cut a piece of apple and popped it into Kaede’s mouth. At the unexpected sight, Marin let out a dumbfounded sound. Kaede, chewing the apple that had been popped into her mouth, was completely unfazed. She didn’t care what others thought.
“Is it good?”
“Delicious.”
“That’s good. Want more?”
“I do. Ah~n.”
“Here you go.”
“Nmu…”
At the sight that was embarrassing even to watch, Marin covered her face with both hands.
“Are they a married couple or what…?”
“Ah, Nikaido-san, do you want some too? There’s still more.”
Not feeling embarrassed at all even when watched, Kazuma, with a nonchalant attitude, offered an apple to Marin as well.
“Ughh~, well then, please put a few slices on a plate for me.”
“Ah, in that case, could you do mine too?”
“Okay.”
Kazuma, having heard their requests, arranged more cut apple slices as asked, and carefully stuck toothpicks into them so their hands wouldn’t get dirty, then handed them to the two.
“So thoughtful~~~”
“Thank you, Satsuki-kun.”
“No, no, you’re welcome.”
“Kazuma.”
When his shirt hem was tugged sharply and he turned around, Kaede was there, urging him for another piece.
“Ah~n.”
“Here, ah~n.”
“Nmu…”
“What’s with those two…?”
“Kaede really gets along well with Satsuki-kun, and Satsuki-kun doesn’t seem to mind at all~”
While watching the two who were as close as ever, Marin and Shion ate the apples they had received from Kazuma.
““So good…!””
The two were moved by the juicy and sweet apple.