Chapter 14: Regrouping with Allies
Kazuma was about to offer words of appreciation to the approaching Kaori, but before he could, Kaori grabbed his shoulder. Startled by the sudden grab, Kazuma spoke to Kaori.
“Uh, um, Natsume-san?”
“Weren’t you scared?”
“Eh? Scared? Why?”
“Huh?!”
Kaori got goosebumps seeing Kazuma genuinely puzzled by her words. Certainly, Kazuma’s actions just now had been impressive, but more than that, she couldn’t understand why a Support Course student hadn’t flinched at all when attacked by Combat Course students. It was so baffling that Kaori had questioned him, but Kazuma hadn’t understood the intent of her question at all.
However, Kaori remembered. Kazuma had screamed when he was first targeted. That meant he wasn’t devoid of fear. But the movements he showed at the end were inexplicable, no matter how one tried to explain them. He should have been scared at first, so why was he able to move without faltering in the end?
“Hey, this might be a long shot, but do you have any aftereffects from the accident?”
“Eh? Not really, why?”
“I see, nothing in particular, huh…”
Kaori had speculated that Kazuma might have some kind of brain issue as an aftereffect of the accident. So, she asked him, but since Kazuma said there was nothing in particular, her guess was off. Because of that, Kaori became even more confused. She wondered if it was possible for a Support Course student to move like that when attacked by Combat Course students.
However, aside from the exception of Kazuma, most Support Course students she usually saw in combat training would only panic and flee in confusion. If that was the case, then Kazuma was indeed the strange one, and Kaori was the normal one.
“Um~, you’ve been thinking about something for a while now, did something happen?”
“Ah, n-no, it’s nothing.”
“I-Is that so? Then, shouldn’t we get away from here quickly? The sounds of battle were pretty loud.”
“Ah, y-you’re right! Let’s do that! We need to regroup with our allies quickly!”
For the time being, Kaori decided to switch her focus back to the training. There was no point in thinking about it any further. No one would ever imagine that Kazuma was someone who had been transferred to another world and had fought life-or-death battles for three years.
Meanwhile, Kazuma, seeing Kaori’s suspicious behavior, was worried for a completely different reason. He probably didn’t even imagine that Kaori was suspicious of him.
After that, Kaori, feeling strangely awkward, kept glancing at Kazuma but didn’t try to talk to him. Seeing Kaori like this, Kazuma misunderstood.
“(Hah! Could it be that she fell for me because I was so cool earlier?!)”
Absolutely not. Kaori was merely suspicious of Kazuma’s uncharacteristic reaction for a Support Course student; it wasn’t that she had developed romantic feelings for him or anything of the sort. If Kazuma continued with this misunderstanding, it would likely lead to a major disaster in the near future. Mainly for Kazuma, though.
As the two of them were misunderstanding each other, Kazuma sensed someone’s presence. It seemed like they might be allies this time. He sensed a pair, just like him and Kaori. If they were enemies, it would be completely over.
“(Please! Let them be allies!)”
Incidentally, Kaori hadn’t noticed yet. Kazuma thought about telling her, just like before, but since he was having such a foolish misunderstanding, he decided it was best not to carelessly provoke Kaori. Whether this would turn out for the better or worse…
And so, the presence of the approaching pair grew stronger, and they were about to encounter them. Kazuma prayed to the heavens. Let them be allies. As if his prayer was answered, a girl with a bob cut appeared from around the corner. Moreover, just like Kaori, she was wearing a Blue Armband, the mark of an ally.
“(Woohoo! More girls~!)”
Furthermore, behind her was a Support Course student, just like Kazuma. Though it was a coincidence, Kazuma found himself in a harem situation and was elated.
“Kaori-chan!”
“Megumi!?”
The girl who appeared from around the corner spotted Kaori and immediately leaped towards her. Kaori caught the girl called Megumi who had jumped at her.
“I’m so glad~. That the first person I met up with was Kaori-chan.”
“I feel the same way, I’m glad it was you, Megumi. Have you met anyone else?”
“Nope. I’ve just been walking around, looking for allies. More importantly, who’s that boy over there? He’s a Support Course student, but I don’t recognize his face…?”
“Ah, he’s, you know, Unlucky-kun.”
“Eeeh?! He’s that famous Unlucky-kun? The Unlucky-kun who was hospitalized after a traffic accident on the first day of the entrance ceremony?”
“Thanks for the detailed explanation. I’m Satsuki Kazuma. Nice to meet you.”
“Ah, sorry! I wasn’t trying to make fun of you or anything, okay?”
“No, I get it.”
“Thanks for understanding! I’m Kisaki Megumi! I’m in the Combat Course, same as Kaori-chan! Nice to meet you!”
“Nice to meet you.”
Kazuma felt soothed by the incredibly fluffy aura of Megumi. Kaori was a sharp cool beauty, while Megumi had a soft and cute impression. For this moment alone, Kazuma thanked God. Thank you for this wonderful encounter. He was quite a simple man, but men are often like that.
However, had he forgotten? There was one more person besides Megumi. And what’s more, it was a Support Course student, just like Kazuma.
“U-Um…”
“Ah! Sorry, Kyoko-chan! We got carried away by ourselves.”
“N-No, it’s fine. I’m not angry or anything…”
Megumi apologized to Seto Kyoko, her partner whom she was supposed to protect. However, Kyoko wasn’t particularly angry, so she reassured Megumi that an apology wasn’t necessary. If anything, Kyoko was more concerned about Kazuma. She had been glancing at Kazuma several times since a while ago. Kazuma had also noticed her gaze but didn’t try to speak to her.
After all, she was in the same class as Kazuma, but since he had started school three months late, they didn’t know how to interact with each other. Hence, it was awkward. Normally, as classmates in the Support Course, they should have been happy for each other’s safety, but because of Kazuma, it was hard to strike up a conversation.
“Hm? What’s wrong, you two? Something seems off…?”
Sensing the awkward atmosphere between the two, Megumi looked back and forth between Kazuma and Kyoko. Worried by Megumi, the two tried to say something, but no words came to mind. While this was happening, Megumi came to a wild misunderstanding. Could it be that one of them confessed to the other, or was confessed to?
That’s why they’ve been exuding such an awkward atmosphere. Having misunderstood this, Megumi started to panic about what to do. If the two of them were acting stiffly, it would worsen the team’s atmosphere. Thinking this, Megumi decided to get Kaori’s cooperation to help them get along.
“Kaori-chan, Kaori-chan.”
“Hm? What is it, Megumi?”
Megumi, being shorter than Kaori, stood on her tiptoes and whispered into Kaori’s ear. Kaori, considerate of Megumi, leaned her ear closer to listen.
“I think those two might have confessed to each other or something! But since we’re in combat training right now, we need them to get along! So, help me make them get along better!”
“…Hey, Megumi. Satsuki-kun was hospitalized until just recently, you know. I don’t think that’s it, do you?”
“That’s not true! It’s possible to fall in love at first sight and confess on the same day!”
“Well, that might be true, but…”
Megumi’s argument might indeed be a possibility, but Kaori was convinced that those two didn’t look like they were in that kind of relationship at all. In reality, Kaori’s guess was correct. They were classmates, merely in an awkward situation because they didn’t know how to interact with each other; the whole confession business was a mistake.
“Hey, Megumi. I’ll try talking to Satsuki-kun, so why don’t you talk to Seto-san?”
“You’re right! First, we need to understand each other’s situations!”
Though slightly running wild, Megumi agreed with Kaori’s opinion and headed towards Kyoko. Kaori, just in case Megumi’s misunderstanding might actually be correct, decided to confirm with Kazuma as a precaution.