Episode 48: Ninja!? Why a Ninja!?
Due to the time difference, Kazuma couldn’t immediately launch a campaign to retake Hawaii, so he decided to spend some time sightseeing in America.
“Aren’t you sleepy from the jet lag?”
“Not at all! I can fight at full strength for ten days and ten nights, so jet lag is nothing!”
“I see… You’re still out of the ordinary.”
For Kazuma, who had been trained in another world, jet lag was not a factor that would cause him to feel unwell.
He had once fought against an army of undead for ten days and nights, even a month, without rest in the other world. He took naps from time to time, but as the Hero, Kazuma remained on the front lines, hardly sleeping at all.
Considering that, jet lag was not something that would cause him any physical discomfort.
“First of all… I want to eat an authentic hamburger!”
“I thought you just finished dinner in Japan?”
“It’s okay! For a high school boy, a late-night hamburger is like a snack!”
“I doubt that, but if that’s what you want, I’ll treat you.”
“Yes!”
For an average high school boy, a late-night hamburger would be quite heavy, but Kazuma is no ordinary high school boy, so it’s not a problem.
Riding in a limousine from the White House, Kazuma heads to a hamburger shop with Stephen.
“I’m looking forward to it! I’ve always wanted to try an American hamburger.”
“I’m glad to hear that… But couldn’t Mr. Satsuki eat one anytime? You can teleport to America in an instant.”
“That’s true, but there’s such a thing as mood, you know?”
“I see…”
Kazuma is still living by momentum and impulse.
It’s not a bad thing, but it’s a nuisance for those who get caught up in it.
Stephen is careful not to upset Kazuma.
“(Haa… Dealing with him is tough. I don’t even know what will make him unhappy… If only Alicia were here.)”
After all, it’s too much for Stephen to handle Kazuma alone.
Stephen would feel more at ease if Momoko or Alicia, who can’t stop Kazuma but can at least control him to some extent, were here.
However, Alicia is currently out on a mission to defeat a large Ibinom that appeared on the coast, so there’s no hope of that.
“We’re here.”
“Oh… It’s not a chain store!”
“Didn’t you say you didn’t want a chain store…?”
Kazuma had ordered Stephen not to go to a chain store because he wanted to eat an authentic American hamburger.
It took a bit of walking, but they came to a privately owned store that was highly rated on social media.
The owner was a bald, large man, but he was friendly and had a smile on his face when he handed over the food. The clientele and atmosphere of the store were also great.
“It looks super delicious!”
“Yeah. I’m getting hungry just looking at it. Let’s get in line.”
“Okay!”
So Kazuma and Stephen lined up and waited their turn.
The line moved forward, and just as it was finally Kazuma’s turn, a robber burst into the store.
Multiple gunshots rang out, turning the store into a scene of carnage, and the customers immediately dropped to the floor.
“Give me the money! I’ll shoot if you don’t!”
The robber shouted, threw a large bag at the owner, and pointed a gun at him.
While the owner was trembling with his hands raised and the customers were cowering on the floor, Kazuma and Stephen began to chat nonchalantly.
“Hey, is this a movie shoot? That’s a problem, especially now.”
“Mr. Satsuki, this isn’t a movie shoot. It’s a real robbery.”
“Wow! Really? That’s a surprise! I’ve never encountered a robber before!”
“Don’t provoke the criminal too much. It seems that there are no combat-type Gifted here other than Mr. Satsuki. Look, everyone is scared of the gun and crawling on the floor.”
“Stephen, you’re pretty calm. Aren’t you afraid of guns?”
“Of course I’m scared! But there’s something even scarier.”
“What’s that?”
“Mr. Satsuki. I’m worried that you’ll get angry and go berserk because your fun has been taken away.”
“Hahahaha! You’re right, Stephen! I’m pretty angry. It was almost my turn, and that idiot cut in line…! I want to make him realize the passion and terror that Japanese people have for food…!”
Even though there’s a robber in front of them, the two of them don’t seem to want to stop talking.
Naturally, most of the people in the store wanted to complain to them, but there was someone who was even more furious.
That’s right, the robber.
He was holding a gun and was in a position to be called the most powerful person and ruler in this store.
That’s why he found Kazuma and Stephen, who weren’t afraid of the gun at all and were chatting nonchalantly, so annoying.
“Y-you guys!!! Can’t you see this!”
So saying, the robber pointed the gun he had been aiming at the owner at Kazuma.
“Huh? See what?”
“Wha!? Aren’t you afraid of this!”
“Think of it the other way around. Aren’t you afraid of someone who isn’t even scared of having a gun pointed at them?”
“Hah! I’m not scared! No matter how strong a combat-type Gifted is, I’ll pull the trigger faster! There aren’t many people like King who can deflect bullets!”
Stephen, who was listening to the robber’s words, was desperately trying to hold back his laughter.
Not knowing anything might be a kind of happiness.
But if the robber in front of him knew that the person he was pointing the gun at was an even greater monster than King, how would he react?
Thinking about that made Stephen feel delighted.
However, it’s not a good idea to provoke the robber any further.
Kazuma is currently showing his face and is here as an ordinary person, not the Crimson Knight.
Stephen whispered to Kazuma, thinking that he couldn’t reveal his identity here.
“Mr. Satsuki, you’re showing your face right now. You shouldn’t do anything reckless.”
“It’s okay. No problem.”
“What are you whispering about!”
At the same time as those words, a gunshot rang out, and a bullet was fired at Stephen instead of Kazuma.
Stephen didn’t expect the gun to be pointed at him instead of Kazuma, and his eyes widened as he fell to the ground from the deadly bullet. Or at least, that’s what should have happened.
If Kazuma hadn’t been next to him, Stephen would have had a hole in his forehead and died, but that didn’t happen.
Kazuma, who had deployed his Powered Suit on his arm, caught the bullet. Moreover, with two fingers.
“What!? That’s impossible!?”
“I’ll tell you! My name is Satsuki Kazuma! I am a master of Satsuki-ryu, a martial art of assassination that has been passed down since the Asuka and Nara periods!”
“U-uwaaaaaaaaaaa!”
The robber, who panicked at the fact that the bullet had been stopped, didn’t listen to Kazuma’s speech and continued to pull the trigger to counter the monster that had appeared before him.
“Useless, useless! Playing with guns is useless against a ninja!”
“Ninja!? Why is there a ninja here!?”
The robber, with tears in his eyes, screamed as he continued to pull the trigger of the gun, which had run out of bullets, while Kazuma closed the distance step by step.
“Divine punishment!!!”
“Agaaah!”
Kazuma, approaching the robber who was cowering with a look of horror, mercilessly delivered a body blow.
Kazuma felt the sensation of bones breaking and internal organs rupturing from the tip of his fist, and immediately used healing magic to heal the robber’s injuries to the extent that they were not life-threatening.
He wouldn’t die from this, but he wouldn’t be able to eat properly for a while.
Kazuma grinned, thinking that he should realize how terrible the grudge of food is.
“Did you kill him?”
Stephen asked Kazuma, looking worriedly at the robber who had collapsed with his eyes rolled back.
“No. He’s alive. Well, he won’t be able to eat properly for a while!”
“…Well, it’s his fault. I won’t say anything.”
It might seem like he went too far, but the robber was the one at fault in the first place.
Stephen felt sorry for the robber, thinking that he wouldn’t have been in this situation if he had lived a normal life, but he gave up on him, thinking that it was his own fault.
And, as expected, the people in the store cheered for Kazuma, who had brilliantly defeated the robber like a hero.
What was especially amazing was the fact that he had called himself a ninja.
Whether they actually existed or not, it was a fact that he had called himself a ninja and overwhelmed the robber, so everyone there acknowledged it.
“We did it, Stephen! We got a free hamburger! And it’s a special menu!”
“That’s good, but was it okay to stand out that much?”
“It’s fine. Nothing bad will happen.”
“If Mr. Satsuki says so, I won’t say anything else.”
Kazuma, who had become famous from the Academy Battle Tournament, would become even more recognized due to this recent incident.
The trigger, of course, was his self-proclaimed ninja remark.
Those who were inside the store heard it directly, and because Kazuma put on such an extravagant display—posing for photos with people, shaking hands, and even demonstrating ninjutsu for them—his recognition rose even further.
Even in America, Kazuma was his usual, chaotic self.