Chapter 3: The Sudden Intruder
“By the way, I was wondering, were you two aiming for Kazuma-kun?”
Sensing Yukihime and Karin’s attitudes, Shiori asked if they had been conscious of Kazuma as a member of the opposite sex.
In response to her question, the two looked at each other, their cheeks relaxing slightly, and with silly grins, they answered Shiori.
“Well~, to tell you the truth… we just wanted boyfriends, that’s all.”
“Me too. I’ve been confessed to before, but I always decided I didn’t need one…”
“Eh? Then, why Kazuma-kun?”
“The two of us were talking, and it came to, ‘If we were to get boyfriends, what kind of guy would be good?'”
“And we thought Kazuma-kun might be the best…”
“Well, his looks aren’t bad, he’s skilled, and we know his personality well, so if you’re thinking of him as a boyfriend, he’s definitely an option~. But, he can be clueless about the mood, gets carried away easily, and is slow on the uptake. More than that, though, his relationships with women are so extensive it’s worrying~.”
Kazuma got along well with everyone, regardless of gender.
The fact that they were all gathered like this was due to his personality.
However, as Shiori said, his relationships with women were extensive.
It was worldwide, with people like Alicia and Charlotte.
Furthermore, his fame had risen even more due to his performance in the Academy Battle Tournament, and it was highly likely to increase in the future.
From that perspective, if he were your boyfriend, his relationships with women would seem worrying.
“That’s true, but… I don’t really want to say this because it sounds vulgar, but isn’t Kazuma-kun quite a prime catch?”
“…Skill, looks, personality, ability to handle all household chores, how caring he is, his connections, and outstanding future prospects. I think there’s more, but even with just this, he’s a man you could seriously consider for marriage.”
“Hearing that, his specs are terrifyingly good. Since he grew up in an orphanage, he seems like he’d be good at taking care of kids too… Oh my, isn’t Kazuma-kun super high-spec!”
“Are you talking about Kazuma-niichan~?”
As the three were discussing Kazuma, a young girl who happened to overhear their conversation suddenly joined in.
The three were surprised by the girl who suddenly appeared, but judging it to be a perfect opportunity to hear from a girl who seemed to know Kazuma well, they spoke to her.
“That’s right~. We onee-chans want to know about Kazuma-kun, so we’d like to hear what you have to say~. Can you tell us your name?”
“Kasumi! My name is Satsuki Kasumi! Nice to meet you!”
“So your name is Kasumi-chan. Thank you for telling us. As for us onee-chans, I’m Karin, this onee-chan here is Yukihime, and this onee-chan is Shiori-san. Nice to meet you.”
“Karin-oneechan, Yukihime-oneechan, Shiori-oneechan, nice to meet you!”
“So, we want to ask about Kazuma-kun, is that okay~?”
“Okay! What do you want to ask?”
Having found a valuable source of information, the three seized the opportunity to question Kasumi.
“Can you tell us what kind of kid Kazuma-kun was?”
“Hmm, Kazuma-niichan, you see~. A long time ago, he was a very bad kid, but thanks to Mama, he became a decent person.”
“A decent person…”
This was the moment a misunderstanding arose that he was an outrageous degenerate.
As Kasumi said, it was true that Kazuma had been an unmanageable problem child in his early childhood.
Therefore, it was Honoka who corrected such problem children, and as part of Kazuma’s education, she disciplined him with a whip of love.
The Kazuma of today was the result of that upbringing.
“Um… how long ago are we talking about when you say ‘a long time ago’?”
Shiori, who naturally found Kasumi’s story questionable, asked again.
“When Kazuma-niichan was very little. I heard he used to be an unmanageable problem child. But now, he takes care of us, and he even looks after the little kids. He changes diapers and even makes sweets!”
“I-Is that so~”
Hearing Kasumi’s story, Kazuma’s evaluation rose even further.
Rather, the three broke out in a cold sweat, feeling a sense of crisis that he might be even more amazing than your average stay-at-home dad.
“That’s incredible…”
“Taking care of babies and homemade sweets! I thought he was skillful when he was making mochi earlier, but I didn’t expect it to be to this extent…”
“Let’s ask if there’s anything else!”
The three, whispering amongst themselves in front of Kasumi, were trembling at Kazuma’s unknown abilities.
Kazuma usually stood out as a joker and a mood-maker, but it seemed the fact that he was far more domestic than they imagined was quite shocking.
“A-Are there any other amazing things about Kazuma-kun~?”
“Umm… Oh, right! Look at that!”
After letting out a troubled groan, Kasumi pointed as if she had remembered something.
The three turned their faces in the direction she indicated and saw a small wooden chair.
“Um, what about that?”
“Kazuma-niichan made that chair. At first, he was bad at it, and it was wobbly so you couldn’t sit on it, but now he can make things like bookshelves and desks.”
“…I think I’m going crazy.”
Hearing Kasumi’s story, Shiori couldn’t understand Kazuma anymore.
The Kazuma in Shiori’s mind was a joker but also an eccentric male student with top-class abilities.
A foolish boy who barely managed to avoid failing grades on academic tests.
That image was crumbling with a crash.
“Also, he’s good at things like sewing! Wait a sec!”
While Shiori was confused, Kasumi ran indoors and, after a short while, returned holding a cute teddy bear.
“This! When the ear part came off, Kazuma-niichan fixed it for me!”
“Ehhh~~…”
Yukihime, who was handed the stuffed animal by Kasumi, looked at the ear part Kasumi pointed out, but honestly, she didn’t know how to evaluate it.
However, she could tell that it wasn’t poorly done.
It wouldn’t tear even if pulled a little.
Yukihime concluded that he was probably quite skilled.
“Th-That’s amazing~”
“Yup!”
Kasumi had a very nice smile, seemingly happy that her older brother was praised.
It was clear he was adored by the children, and the three of them also smiled.
Having apparently finished talking, Kasumi returned to the other children, and watching her go, the three discussed Kazuma once more.
“To put it bluntly, Kazuma-kun is perfect husband material for the future.”
“Indeed.”
“However, knowing his usual attitude, he’s also a joker and a foolish boy, so as a boyfriend, it might be a bit of a minus?”
“When it comes to marriage, it’s a different story, but isn’t he just right even as a boyfriend? I think he’s charming and fun to be with.”
“But there might also be times when you find him annoying.”
“Hmm… It’s difficult to evaluate.”
As a marriage partner, he was impeccable, but as a boyfriend, he was just about passing.
If flattered, he got carried away immediately, and he barely avoided failing grades on academic tests.
He wasn’t bad, but if he got too carried away, you’d probably find him annoying.
The fact that he barely avoided failing grades meant there would probably be times when he had to concentrate on studying, so there would be times you couldn’t be together.
A student’s main duty was studying, but still, high school life was only three years long.
For someone who wanted to fully enjoy their youth and romance, it was tough.
“Well, I have Hayato, so it doesn’t really concern me though.”
“Uwah, just because you’re in the winner’s circle~”
“That’s something only someone with a boyfriend can say~”
Shiori had a boyfriend named Hayato.
Therefore, the other two’s worries were, after all, someone else’s problem to her.
Saying it had nothing to do with her, Shiori ate the mochi that had become lukewarm.
After a while, a piercing sound came from the sky.
Everyone who was enjoying themselves in the plaza looked up at the sky, wondering what was happening, and saw a helicopter flying towards Ivy.
“What’s that?”
Shortly after Kazuma muttered, the helicopter stopped above Ivy.
Just as Kazuma and King took a cautionary stance, ready to intercept at any moment, a woman in a kimono appeared from inside the helicopter.
“Yayoi-san!?”
“Catch me, Kazuma-san!”
“Heah!?”
Yayoi jumped splendidly from the helicopter.
Faced with the situation of a beautiful girl falling from the sky, Kazuma, while flustered, determined the landing spot and splendidly caught Yayoi.
“Hnngh!”
He let out a spirited grunt, but Yayoi had adjusted her falling speed with her Wind Ability and could have landed on her own even if Kazuma hadn’t caught her.
However, since that would be dull, Yayoi had shouted “Catch me!” to Kazuma for dramatic effect.
Thanks to that, Yayoi was caught by Kazuma in a princess carry.
Needless to say, she had adjusted her posture in mid-air to achieve this.
“Ufufu, it’s been a while, Kazuma-san.”
“Yeah, long time no see. But how did you know this place?”
“What would you say if I told you it was the power of love?”
“I see. As expected, we are bound by the red thread of fa-DEDEDEDEDEDEDE!”
“Kazuma-san!?”
Kazuma, who was spouting cheesy lines with a sharp expression, suddenly had his ear pulled by someone.
Wincing in pain, Kazuma looked around to see who was pulling his ear, but there was no one there.
Hmm, Kazuma wondered what on earth was going on, and he quickly figured out the answer.
It was either Alicia or Kaede, both of whom possessed Telekinesis.
Kazuma shifted his gaze to look at the two of them, but neither showed any sign of having activated their Telekinesis.
“(Darn it. Because I trained them both, I can’t tell which one is using Telekinesis.)”
Previously, Kazuma had pointed out to the two of them that he could tell the moment they activated their Telekinesis by their gaze or movements.
So, Kazuma had instructed them on how to use Telekinesis without their opponent detecting it.
Thanks to that, Kazuma also couldn’t tell which of the two was using Telekinesis.
“(It’s difficult to break free from Telekinesis, which is neither magical nor physical…)”
Deciding there was no helping it if he couldn’t figure it out, Kazuma activated Body Enhancement and forcibly broke free from the Telekinesis.
Apparently not expecting the Telekinesis to be broken by brute force, the culprit, Alicia’s, face twisted slightly.
Kazuma, who didn’t miss it, retaliated by playing a prank on the nape of Alicia’s neck with ice magic.
“Hyan!”
“Whoa! What’s wrong, Alicia? Making such an alluring sound.”
“I-It’s nothing!”
Making an excuse to Charlotte, who was with her, Alicia turned a reproachful gaze towards Kazuma.