Episode 20: The Man Who Makes Favorability Hit Rock Bottom With a Smile
The two camps had mostly concluded satisfactory negotiations.
However, Momoko alone was bursting with dissatisfaction, but being in a position where she ultimately had to obey her superiors like a corporate drone, she couldn’t say anything.
Kazuma got what he requested, and the government obtained the Crimson Knight, a unique and versatile fighting force unparalleled in the world.
If anyone were to complain about this, Ema would likely use any means necessary to eliminate them.
He couldn’t stand having dissatisfaction directed at him, and if Kazuma defected to another country, it would be an unbearable disaster.
“Well then, I’ll bring the official documents at a later date, so could I ask for your signature?”
“Okay. And while you’re at it, take care of Momoko-chan too.”
“Understood. I’ll notify her. I’ll arrange for her to become your subordinate.”
“That’s a great help~”
The two exchanged a handshake with smiles.
Just when it seemed to be over, Kazuma’s phone, which he had unexpectedly put in his pocket, rang loudly.
Kazuma, who had completely forgotten to put it on silent mode, quickly took his phone out of his pocket and checked the caller.
“Alicia?”
“Alicia Miller!? You have dealings with the Witch?”
Ema showed a strong reaction to Alicia’s name, which Kazuma had inadvertently let slip.
“Is there a problem with my social circle?”
“Tch… My apologies.”
Kazuma glared sharply at Ema, as if to say, “Don’t meddle in my private life.”
Shifting his gaze from Ema back to his phone, Kazuma answered the call without a care.
“Yes, hello—”
“Kazuma! Did you see the news!?”
Surprised by Alicia’s panicked voice, Kazuma pulled his ear away from the receiver.
Alicia’s voice came rapidly from the phone, and Kazuma, frowning, told her to calm down for a moment.
“Calm down, Alicia. You’re talking too fast, I can’t understand what you’re saying.”
“Sorry! But Shar is in trouble!”
“Charlotte? Did something happen?”
“I just found out from a news flash, but Shar’s been kidnapped!”
“What did you say!?”
Hearing Alicia’s report, Kazuma checked the news flash online.
There, at the top of the news list, it was written that the French Holy Maiden had been kidnapped.
The details were that the Ivera Church had attacked Holy Maiden Charlotte while she was visiting a hospital to treat those injured in the recent Ibinom attack.
Her escorts resisted but were no match, and Charlotte was abducted by the Ivera Church.
Currently, the French government is calling on various countries, advocating for the Holy Maiden’s rescue.
Furthermore, it was stated that a huge reward would be given by the French government to whoever rescued the Holy Maiden.
“Alicia. Do you know Shar’s location?”
“She has a GPS embedded in her. Apparently, something like a microchip is embedded in her ear, but…”
“But, what is it?”
“I’m concerned that even though the French government is aware of it, they still haven’t been able to locate her…”
“Tch! So there was an insider!”
Due to her rare Gift, Charlotte was protected as a person of utmost importance not just by France but by countries all over the world, and she was under surveillance.
Naturally, her location was made to be known in real-time.
Of course, many knew she had a GPS embedded in her, but they didn’t know where it was embedded.
However, some people did know.
In other words, there was an insider.
“Alicia, can you move out immediately?”
“I’m sorry. I’m still busy on my end…”
“Got it. I’ll go.”
“Thank you, Kazuma.”
“No need for thanks. It’s only natural to help a friend.”
“Please take care of Shar…”
“Leave it to me.”
Hanging up the phone, Kazuma shifted his gaze to Ema.
Ema, who had been listening to the entire conversation, sensed what Kazuma wanted to say.
Therefore, he made a call to his friend in France, another politician.
“Hello, it’s me. I’m about to send our top fighting power over to you.”
“Top fighting power? Could it be Sanada Nobuyasu? If so, I can’t expect much…”
“No, it’s not him. It’s an extraordinary asset. I’m sure he’ll be able to bring back the Holy Maiden safely.”
“No way…!”
“Alert the European sphere.”
“Ah, damn it! Understood!”
The man who heard Ema’s words cursed but was slightly elated.
The notion that Japan’s top fighting power was Sanada Nobuyasu was already a thing of the past.
Japan’s current top fighting power was the Crimson Knight.
The man, who could easily imagine it from Ema’s words, found the corners of his mouth naturally turning up.
“Your quick work is a great help.”
“I may not look it, but I have quite a few friends. Is there anything else you need?”
“Nope. I got a translator and a military-grade mobile terminal from a friend in America.”
“I-Is that so… In that case, could you register my contact information as well? If you run into any trouble, I might be able to help.”
“Oh, right! Then, I’ll register it on this thing right away.”
Kazuma registered Ema’s contact information on the mobile terminal he received from Stephen.
With this, he could probably dump any problems onto Ema when he was in a bind.
Being a politician, things like concealment and forgery were his forte.
He had no intention of committing criminal acts, but Kazuma, having acquired a very useful friend, nodded in satisfaction.
“Well then, I’m off for a bit.”
“Yes, I’m counting on you for the Holy Maiden. She’s a healing-type Gifted, second only to you. If she’s lost, the world’s loss will be immeasurable.”
“That doesn’t matter to me. She’s my friend. It’s only natural to help her.”
Profit and loss didn’t matter.
He helps simply because she’s a friend.
Ema wondered to himself if he had any friends who would say such a thing for him.
“(I suppose there’s no way I do… I’m a little envious, to be honest. That he has friends like that.)”
Ema narrowed his eyes, finding Kazuma, who could calmly perform acts that offered no profit, dazzling.
Kazuma stood up, turned on his heel, and walked towards the outside of the room.
On the way, Kazuma turned his face to Honoka and Nanami and greeted them.
“I’m heading out for a bit.”
“Take care. Be careful, okay?”
“If you have time, pick up some souvenirs for us, okay?”
“Yup! See ya!”
After a light wave and a quick goodbye, Kazuma dashed outside and took off into the sky.
Watching Kazuma disappear into the yonder sky in an instant, everyone once again understood that he was an extraordinary existence.
“Hey, Mom.”
“What is it?”
“The Holy Maiden-sama is a girl, right? Obviously?”
“Yes, that’s right. I’ve met her once, so I know, but she was a very cute girl.”
“Eh!? Is that so?”
“At the school festival.”
“Ah, now that you mention it, she did come, didn’t she?”
Nanami clapped her hands as she remembered.
“Hey, that’s not what I meant. You know how Kazuma has that natural charmer aspect to him? I’m wondering if Holy Maiden-sama will be okay.”
“She’ll be fine. That boy is also a genius at making any favorability he’s earned plummet to rock bottom with a smile.”
“Come to think of it, in middle school, he distributed Valentine’s chocolates to his ‘friends’ and completely crushed the girls, didn’t he…”
“Moreover, he’s the man who shattered the girls’ pride by giving them unnecessarily elaborate handmade ones.”
◆◆◆◆
This is a story from Kazuma’s middle school days.
It being Valentine’s Day, Kazuma bought ingredients for chocolate at the supermarket and made a large amount of fondant chocolat for his “friends.”
He had also bought wrapping materials at a 100-yen shop, and having made something unnecessarily elaborate, Kazuma was smiling fearlessly.
“Kukuku, with this, tomorrow the stage will be all mine!”
It wasn’t that he was hated by the girls or anything.
He simply intended it as a surprise.
Kazuma was just looking forward to seeing his classmates’ faces dyed in astonishment, but this would lead to tragedy.
On Valentine’s Day, Kazuma went to school with a large paper bag filled with his handmade fondant chocolat.
At first, his classmates grilled him, asking if he had received a ton of Valentine’s chocolates, but he explained these were made for his “friends” and handed them out one by one.
While the boys were delighted, Kazuma tilted his head at the lukewarm reaction from the girls.
Strange, girls are supposed to love sweets.
Yet, why were they frowning? Kazuma wondered.
In the end, that question remained unsolved, and Kazuma finished Valentine’s Day.
That day, several female students visited Ivy, Kazuma’s home, and “donated” chocolates.
The children living at Ivy were overjoyed, but Nanami, who received them, had heard the circumstances from the girls and couldn’t be purely happy.
“…Kazuma. Why are you like this…”
He wasn’t a bad kid.
Nanami, living with him, knew that well.
If anything, he was far more capable, brave, and kind than most boys around.
However, his slight flaw was being a bit of one to get carried away easily.
“Mom. What should we do?”
“It’s pitiful, but it just means they weren’t fated to be. He didn’t do anything wrong.”
“That’s true… He didn’t do anything wrong, did he.”
And so, unbeknownst to Kazuma, the flags were extinguished.
◆◆◆◆
Nanami, reminiscing about the past, felt a sense of helplessness.
“He’s good-looking, a master at housework, and great with kids, and yet…”
“His upbringing shouldn’t have been bad, you know.”
Honoka and Nanami placed their hands on their cheeks, looking troubled.
Kazuma’s mother and older sister had looked after him since his childhood and had been involved in his upbringing. Thanks to them, Kazuma was quite popular with girls, but, just as the two of them would say, his ability to mess things up was also on another level, so he’d never had a girlfriend in his entire life.
Naturally, the same held true even in the other world. Although Kazuma got along well with his party members, his relationships with them never developed into romantic ones. Of course, there was also the aspect that his lineage could become a source of conflict, but fundamentally, it was also because he himself kept raising and then lowering the affection levels of the female members.