Chapter 17: Idiots Are Mostly Never at the Scene
With the self-introductions over, Kazuma and the others enjoyed karaoke. The boys, who had been nervous, also became friendly with the girls from the Combat Course through karaoke, and by now, they had completely become friends.
“Well, if they weren’t people like Makimura-san and Miyazono-san, Akatsuki and the others would probably be fine~”
Kazuma knew that Akatsuki and his friends weren’t comfortable with Kaede or Alice. Well, it was true that from an outsider’s perspective, the two of them were violent. From their point of view, it was just skinship, but for the Support Course students, communication using Gifts was undoubtedly synonymous with violence.
“I’m not particularly sad, you know?”
“No, I can tell just by looking.”
“How cruel. Girls are supposed to hide their emotions, you know?”
“If you put it that way, I guess so, but in Makimura-san’s case, it really feels like you’re not hurt at all.”
“Waaah, waaah.”
Kaede, pretending to cry, glanced sideways at Kazuma and then resumed her fake crying.
“There’s absolutely no emotion in it… Even for acting, it’s too terrible.”
“…”
“Owowowow! Stop using Telekinesis on me without saying anything! My head’s going to get crushed like a tomato!”
“It’s fine. I’m holding back.”
“As if you know the pain of being squeezed by a vise!”
“Yeah. I don’t.”
“Ughghghghghgh…!”
Kazuma and Kaede were sitting together on a two-seater sofa. They were teasing each other as usual, but from an outsider’s perspective, they really did look like nothing but a couple.
The five people watching them, who were talking so amicably (though it was debatable whether one could call it flirting), had the same thought in their hearts.
“They’re already a couple…!” they thought.
It felt repetitive to say, but the two were not a couple. They were just friends. However, no one knew what the future held.
Afterwards, Kazuma and the others, having thoroughly enjoyed karaoke, were walking through the town at dusk.
“Oh, right. Satsuki-shishou!”
“Eh… What’s with that way of calling me?”
As they were all walking together, Shion called Kazuma “Shishou.” Kazuma was surprised by this suddenness and grimaced at the strange address.
“Ah, um, was that no good?”
“No, it’s not that it’s no good… Don’t tell me you’re serious about becoming my disciple?”
“Eh!? Could it be, you were lying?”
“No, no, it wasn’t a lie or anything, it was Makimura-san’s joke!”
“Are you trying to blame me? Even though you were totally into it too, Kazuma.”
“Well, that’s because I thought it was a joke! But wanting someone from the Support Course like me to teach you how to fight… That’s a bit much, you know.”
As Kazuma furrowed his brows in a troubled manner, Shion raised her voice.
“Being in the Support Course or whatever has nothing to do with it! Since Kaede recommends you this much, I’ll believe in my friend!”
“Oh…”
Kazuma was somewhat overwhelmed by Shion’s intensity. He had been enthusiastic during karaoke, but he had thought that was just lip service or some kind of joke. However, she didn’t seem to be joking now. No matter how he looked at it, she was serious.
“Um… If Satsuki-kun really doesn’t want to, I’ll give up, but…”
“…Hey, why are you going this far?”
“There’s the fact that my promotion is in danger, but also, I really admire the National Defense Force. That’s why I want to work hard. I might not make it, though. Ehehe…”
Seeing Shion smile weakly with a “nihe,” Kazuma caught his breath. He was impressed by her admirable goal.
“………Alright. If I’m good enough, I’ll lend you my strength.”
“Eh!? Really?”
“Yeah. I don’t know how much help I can be, but I’ll lend you my strength to the best of my ability.”
As Kazuma gazed at Shion with a calm expression, she began to tremble and then jumped up vigorously on the spot.
“Yes!!! Thank you, Satsuki-kun! I’ll be in your care from now on!”
“Yeah, likewise.”
Shion, who had jumped up in sheer joy, took both of Kazuma’s hands and thanked him with a beaming smile.
“That’s great, Shion.”
“Yeah! Thanks, Kaede, too! For introducing me to Satsuki-kun!”
“It’s no big deal, so ice cream will do as thanks.”
“Ahahaha! For someone saying it’s no big deal, you still want ice cream! Alright, I’ll treat you! Oh, Satsuki-kun, how about you too?”
“Is it okay? In that case, maybe I’ll have you treat me too.”
“Sure, sure! I’ll be in your care from now on, so I’ll treat you to as much ice cream as you want!”
“Eh, in that case, I want some too! Buy me ice cream from 39 (Thirty-Nine)!”
“39 is impossible! That’s way too expensive~!”
39 is a national ice cream chain store. It’s famous for having 39 varieties of flavors. It’s an ice cream shop that’s very popular with everyone from small children to adults. However, it’s a bit pricey, but it still boasts enough popularity to expand nationwide.
“Convenience store! Only up to convenience store ice cream!”
“Ehh~! Then, I’ll have that expensive one! A new one just came out, so I wanted to try it~! Thanks, Shion!”
“No, that’s not okay! Only the more ordinary ones!”
As they were walking towards the convenience store, making a racket, Kazuma spotted a certain shop and headed there by himself.
“Hey, Kazuma. Where are you going?”
“Sorry, Kosuke. I’m just going to do a bit of shopping, so go on ahead.”
“Alright. If you’re going to be late, contact me.”
“Okay!”
Leaving the group, Kazuma entered Gekiyasu-do’s Fura Fura Flamingo. It was a shop that sold a wide range of things from daily necessities to home appliances, and even mysterious products from overseas.
Kazuma searched around for what he was looking for. After wandering through the corner where party costume goods were displayed, Kazuma found his target.
“Oh, this is it!”
What Kazuma picked up was a white fake beard and a wig. One might wonder why he bought such things, but he was an idiot.
“(I’ll put these on and act like a master!)”
It was nothing special. He just bought them to create an atmosphere and for laughs. One would want to curse him as a hopeless idiot. Well, either way, there was no doubt he would be thoroughly roasted by everyone later.
Having obtained what he wanted, Kazuma headed for the register when he heard screams from outside. Wondering what had happened, he peeked outside from the register area, and Kaede came flying in.
“Eh…!?”
By the time he realized it, it was too late. Kaede, who had flown right at Kazuma, sent him flying along with her, knocking over product shelves. Finally stopping when he hit a shelf, Kazuma, who had caught Kaede, checked her condition.
“Ouch… What in the world? Ah, Makimura-san! Makimura-san, are you okay?”
“Ka-Kazuma… R-run…”
Leaving only those words, Kaede lost consciousness. Looking closely, her uniform was scorched in places, and she had burns on her face. Seeing that, Kazuma realized something abnormal was happening outside and immediately checked for security cameras.
“(Lucky! It broke from the impact just now! This way, I won’t be found out!)”
It seemed the security camera had also broken from the impact when Kaede flew into the store earlier. Thanks to that, Kazuma could use magic without worrying. Just as he was about to use Recovery Magic on Kaede, something unexpected happened.
“Huh!?”
Unbelievably, a fireball of tremendous size was flying towards them. This is bad, Kazuma thought, and shouted at the top of his lungs.
“Everyone, run!!!”
The dozens of people inside the store, including staff and customers, all fled at once. Seeing them scatter like baby spiders, Kazuma, thinking there was no longer a risk of being secretly filmed, created a Barrier to envelop himself and Kaede, blocking the fireball.
“What’s happening outside?”
While applying Recovery Magic to Kaede, Kazuma wondered what was happening outside and looked out from the store, which now had a large hole in it.
◇◇◇◇
Time rewinds a little, to when Kazuma was shopping. Akatsuki and the others were heading to the convenience store to buy ice cream.
Then, at that moment, Inoue and Tamura happened to be walking towards them from the direction they were heading. The Combat Course girls, recognizing the two, frowned suspiciously.
“Hey, isn’t that Inoue and Tamura?”
“Ah, you’re right. I wonder what they were doing, skipping school.”
Marin, her well-featured eyebrows furrowed, spoke to Shion. They had considered ignoring them, but since they were in their path, they couldn’t. In the end, the group ended up having to face the two.
“You guys, what were you doing skipping school?”
“Huh? What’s this, Nikaido and Ichinose, huh? And Makimura’s even here too.”
“Hey, I’m asking what you were doing skipping school. Do you understand my words?”
“Shut up. It’s none of your business what we’re doing or where!”
“Marin. Let’s just ignore these guys and go. Dealing with them is just a waste of time.”
Kaede pulled on Marin’s clothes to stop her, as Marin was on the verge of exploding at the two who were talking down to them. Although Kaede’s words were a bit problematic, they were generally correct, so Marin obediently complied.
“Well, I guess Kaede’s right. Sorry, everyone. Let’s ignore these guys and go buy ice cream!”
Following her words, the group tried to avoid the two and move on, but they were stopped by them.
“Hey, you guys, are you making fun of us?”
“Not really? Aren’t you just assuming that on your own?”
“Is that so. Looks like we’ll have to teach you bastards who’s superior.”
“What’s that? Aren’t you crazy in the head?”
“I’ll shut that mouth of yours right now!”
Inoue, having snapped, turned around and unleashed fire. Kaede instinctively stepped forward and blocked the fire with her Telekinesis. While everyone was shaken, surprised that they had suddenly activated a Gift in the middle of the city, Kaede spoke to the two of them.
“Do you understand what it means to use your Gift in the middle of the city? You’ll be arrested, you know?”
“Hahahaha! Of course, I damn well know that! But that only applies to weaklings! We are the strongest!”
Inoue shouted, his bloodshot eyes fixed on Kaede, scattering a large amount of saliva from his mouth. He, who spewed delusions like “I am the strongest, so I’ll absolutely never be caught,” was emitting a strange aura. It was as if he were a completely different person than before.
“What’s with these guys? They’re seriously bad news.”
“I’ll call the police!”
“Anyway, let’s beat them up. They attacked first, so it’ll count as self-defense.”
“I’ll help too!”
The two, laughing like madmen, and the girls from the Combat Course faced each other, a fight about to begin.