Chapter 23: Show Me!
Lunch break was over, and Kazuma returned to the classroom from the student council room.
When he returned to the classroom, his classmates swarmed him, asking why he had been called to the student council. But when he replied that he was only asked whether he would participate in the student council president election battle, his classmates seemed satisfied and dispersed.
“So, did you decide to run?”
“I’m curious about the Student Council President Authority. I don’t know what it can do, but it sounds interesting, so I decided to go for it.”
“Student Council President Authority, huh? In manga and anime, they pretty much do whatever they want, but realistically, it probably isn’t that much, right?”
“If I become president, I’ll make all the girls wear miniskirts.”
“You’ll be hated…”
“Then, I’ll order them to come to school in bikinis!”
“You’ll be seen as an enemy by all the girls, and in the end, it’ll be a rebellion from below…”
“I’ll crush them in return…!”
“You probably could, but don’t do it.”
It was Shunsuke who admonished Kazuma, who was clenching his fists, ready to mow down anyone who defied him.
The afternoon training began, and Kazuma was excited for his first joint training session with the Support Course since transferring to the Combat Course.
Until now, he had been escorted by Combat Course students, but this time he would be on the escorting side, so Kazuma was looking forward to seeing who he would be paired with.
However, unfortunately for Kazuma, he was assigned to the Terrorist side instead of the escort side.
He was supposed to be on the escort side, but because Kazuma’s abilities were outstanding, it was suddenly changed.
“No way, why!”
“You understand best, don’t you?”
“I can’t accept this!”
“Your side would definitely win, so we’re giving you a handicap.”
“Please listen to me!”
“Your Powered Suit’s enhancement value is fixed at triple. Your weapon is a single knife.”
“Listen… Please listen to me…!”
“As a special rule, you’re a solo team. And, any team that manages to defeat Satsuki will receive the highest evaluation!”
“UOOOOOOOOOOOOH!!!”
The Combat Course classmates, realizing they could significantly boost their grades by defeating Kazuma, were brimming with motivation.
On the other hand, Kazuma, having been made into bait to motivate the students, felt somewhat dissatisfied.
“Sensei! Don’t you think it’s wrong to ignore the students’ voices?!”
“Satsuki, could it be that you’re afraid of losing?”
“Alright! I’ll take that provocation!”
Kazuma’s personality and character were well known to all the teachers, so he was somewhat easy to control.
Thanks to that, Kazuma moved exactly as the teachers had intended.
The training began, and Kazuma stood alone in the VR space.
“…Seriously, just one knife?”
Kazuma’s equipment was meager: a Powered Suit and a single knife.
The Powered Suit’s enhancement value was triple, lower than during the Academy Battle Tournament.
Nevertheless, for Kazuma, triple was more than enough.
As long as he had a knife and a Powered Suit, he wouldn’t fall behind.
Gripping the knife, Kazuma started running from his spot.
“Including the escorts and the targets, there are ten enemies. The time limit is thirty minutes. It’ll be tough if they focus solely on running away, huh~”
Even as he said that, his face was smiling.
For Kazuma, thirty minutes seemed both short and long.
He didn’t know what kind of tactics the students would use, but for Kazuma, it was like dealing with amateurs in warfare, so it wasn’t even a hardship.
“Now, now, where could they be~?”
With a smile that seemed to combine ecstasy and madness, Kazuma ran around the VR space.
The teacher watching him from behind the monitor couldn’t stop their cheek from twitching.
While Kazuma was racing through the VR space searching for prey, his classmates on escort duty aimed to rendezvous, moving cautiously while hiding behind cover.
If Kazuma found them, defeat was certain, so the classmates had decided to protect their escort targets and survive rather than fight.
“Oh! Natsume!”
“Ah, Hayami! You’re safe!”
“Yeah! Have you met anyone else?”
“Nope. I’ve been looking, but I haven’t met anyone besides you, Hayami.”
“I see~. If we don’t rendezvous soon, Kazuma will wipe us all out.”
“I know, but we don’t know where Satsuki-kun is hiding, so everyone’s being cautious, right?”
“That’s true. I was trembling as I made my way here too.”
“Me too. My heart’s been pounding, wondering when I might bump into Satsuki-kun.”
“There’s no way we can win against him.”
“You’re right. Running away is the best we can do, but… isn’t it game over the moment he finds us?”
“Kazuma’s Powered Suit has triple Body Enhancement, right? That’s lower than during the Academy Battle Tournament, so maybe we can escape?”
“It was five times during the Academy Battle Tournament. But did that look like five times movement to you?”
“No way. That was at a level where I’d think it was a lie even if someone said it was ten times.”
“See? So, the moment he finds us, it’s game over.”
The best strategy was to not be found until the time limit.
The worst case was being discovered.
Given Kazuma’s personality, he probably wouldn’t specifically target the escort subjects, but being discovered in the first place meant it was over.
“This is the worst game of tag…”
“It’s not tag, it’s hide-and-seek, though…”
Tag would be exciting if the skill levels were somewhat similar, but with such a huge difference, it was nothing but an ordeal.
Kazuma, whose natural physical abilities were monstrous, was wearing a Powered Suit with triple Body Enhancement.
It could only be described as utterly unreasonable.
“For now, let’s move.”
“Yeah. If we stay here, we might get found.”
“I hope no one’s hiding around…”
“When Satsuki-kun is the opponent, hiding until the time limit isn’t a bad strategy, right?”
“But if we’re found, it’s curtains for us.”
The two of them, leading their escort targets, went to search for other classmates.
Shunsuke walked in front, and Kaori watched their rear, vigilant of their surroundings, as they moved.
Considering places where other classmates might be, the two headed for the urban area.
With buildings and plenty of cover, this would be the best place to hide.
“Do you sense anyone’s presence?”
“There’s no way I’d know…”
“Oh, right…”
Kaori asked Shunsuke, who was walking at the very front, but Shunsuke didn’t possess such advanced skills.
“Generally, you can’t sense a normal person’s presence, can you…”
Kaori couldn’t argue with his very reasonable point and fell silent as if convinced.
The two continued to search the urban area for other classmates but couldn’t find any.
Just as they began to consider moving to another area, a chill ran down their spines.
“Ngh…! Natsume, did you feel that just now?”
“Yeah…! Satsuki-kun is probably nearby!”
“Let’s get away, quickly!”
“Got it!”
Their instincts screamed that it was dangerous to stay there, and the two started running, leading their escort targets.
They meticulously scanned their surroundings, confirming Kazuma wasn’t there as they dashed through the urban area.
Just as they were about to reach the forest area, the devil appeared.
“Took you long enough, both of you.”
At the exit of the urban area stood Kazuma, his lips curved into a crescent moon-like smirk.
The two, who had been moving cautiously without letting down their guard, realized they had been outmaneuvered and gritted their teeth in frustration.
“Kazuma. Where were you watching us from?”
“From where you two were casually strolling.”
“We were moving while hiding behind cover. We even used back alleys, cautiously.”
“Something like that is obvious if you look from above.”
“No way, were you moving on the rooftops!?”
“Correct.”
“Wait. Does that mean, Satsuki-kun, you could have defeated us at any time?”
“That’s right. You were full of openings, so I could have taken you down anytime. But I thought that wouldn’t make for good training, so I tried releasing a bit of killing intent.”
“So that was it…”
Shunsuke and Kaori, understanding that the chill they felt earlier was the killing intent Kazuma had released, broke out in a cold sweat.
They were keenly made aware that the person before them was their friend Kazuma, but at the same time, their enemy.
“That’s enough talk. There’s a time limit, so let’s wrap this up quickly.”
“Heh, don’t underestimate us. We won’t go down that easily!”
“Let me tell you, we’ve leveled up too, you know!”
“Then, show me.”
Those words served as the signal, and the three clashed.
The two escort targets watched the battle from behind cover, trying not to get caught in it.
In the end, Kazuma subdued the two of them with just a single knife in a little over ten seconds, thus demonstrating his overwhelming strength.