Episode 52: A First Meeting Means a Fight!
Having finished their stroll around town, the two decided to return to the hotel as it was time for dinner.
When they returned to the hotel, Himuro Yukihime and Akeno Karin were there, heading to the dinner venue. Kazuma and Kaede ended up running into them, just like that. Moreover, the two were still holding hands.
Seeing this, Yukihime’s and Karin’s eyes sparkled as they closed in on the pair. They were completely ready to gossip about romance.
“What’s with you two holding hands like that~? If you’re dating, you could have told us~”
“Were you on a date at the Game Center? That stuffed animal is a prize you can only get from a UFO catcher, right?”
“Um…?”
Kazuma and Kaede tilted their heads. Since they weren’t dating, they couldn’t understand what Yukihime and Karin were saying.
As the two tilted their heads simultaneously, looking as if they were seeing something strange, Yukihime and Karin also tilted their heads in the same way. “Hmm, did we say something odd?” they wondered, looking at each other.
“Perhaps, were we interrupting something?”
“No, um… we’re not dating, though?”
“”Huh?””
Kazuma’s statement left the two bewildered. Kaede had a cat plushie in one hand, and she was holding hands with Kazuma. No matter how you looked at it, they seemed like nothing but a couple returning from a date, yet Kazuma said they weren’t dating. This was strange.
Perhaps the two of them weren’t aware of it themselves. Thinking this, Yukihime and Karin exchanged glances and nodded, then turned their eyes towards Kaede.
“Kaede-chan! Satsuki-kun is saying such things, but that’s not true, right?”
“No, it’s just as Kazuma says.”
“Eh? You can’t be serious, you’re really not dating? Even though you’re holding hands like that?”
“Yes.”
“No way…! Satsuki-kun! You’re not, by any chance, deceiving her, are you!?”
“Eh~, I’m not deceiving her or doing anything of the sort. Kaede and I are just normal friends.”
“I can still understand boys and girls being friends. But what’s with the hand-holding!? Please explain in detail!”
“We’re just holding hands because Kazuma gets lost.”
“Apparently so!”
“Not ‘apparently so!’ Why are you puffing out your chest with a smug look! And aren’t you embarrassed?”
“What’s embarrassing about it? Even kindergarteners hold hands, you know?”
“That may be true, but when you become high school students, the meaning changes, doesn’t it? That’s already something lovers do!”
“If it’s with Kazuma, I don’t really mind.”
“Eeh! So, does that mean… that?”
“Awawa! Could it be that we’ve done something unnecessary!?”
“Is that so?”
Yukihime and Karin glared at Kazuma, wondering how he could ask so nonchalantly, but he was facing Kaede and didn’t notice.
“Mm. I like Kazuma. But not in a romantic sense.”
“Well, I kind of figured as much.”
It was an answer he had anticipated rather than one he already knew for certain. Kazuma himself didn’t feel disappointed. He had encountered Honey Traps many times in the other world and hadn’t developed deep relationships with his female companions, so he had a vague sense of it.
“But, I don’t know what will happen in the future.”
“Ooh? Could it be, there’s a chance?”
“Yeah. Right now, it’s fun being with you, and your vibe is interesting, so it feels like we’re just cheerful friends. But if I were to date someone, I’d want someone like Kazuma, who treats me like a normal girl.”
“”…We get it.””
Yukihime and Karin also agreed with Kaede’s view on romance. They were treated like idols in the Combat Course, but they were just ordinary girls you could find anywhere. The only difference was that their Gifts were combat-oriented and powerful. Other than that, nothing was different. They, too, were girls of an age who wanted wonderful boyfriends.
“Kaede-chan. I totally get that. How should I put it… people tend to keep their distance from us, don’t they?”
“Exactly. We want boyfriends like anyone else, but for some reason, guys take a step back.”
“(Is it because you two are scary? I want to say that, but this really isn’t the atmosphere for it, huh.)”
As if they had heard Kazuma’s inner voice, the two turned their faces towards him with tremendous speed.
“Is something the matter, Satsuki-kun?”
“You look like you want to say something, Satsuki-kun.”
“No, it’s nothing.”
Kazuma wondered why women had such sharp intuition. He quickly averted his gaze, but the cold sweat wouldn’t stop.
“(Even in that other world, when I mentally cursed them as ‘gorilla women’ or something, I often got hit~)”
Naturally, Kazuma had done the same thing in the other world. If he mentally insulted his female warrior companions as ‘gorilla women,’ he would get hit with a, “You were just badmouthing me, weren’t you?” Of course, he hadn’t said it out loud or shown it in his attitude. They had guessed it purely on intuition. It was a terrifying thing.
“More importantly than that, isn’t it almost time for the dinner party? If I recall, the participating athletes from the First to the Eighth areas are having their meet-and-greet, right?”
“Ah, that’s right. We need to hurry!”
“Kaede-chan, you too, quickly!”
“I’m going back to my room first. Kazuma, let’s go.”
“Sure, sure.”
Still holding hands, the two headed towards the elevator. Watching them from behind, Yukihime and Karin sighed in exasperation.
“To say they’re not dating with all that… it has to be a lie…”
“So, friendship between a boy and a girl can actually exist…”
But, more importantly than that, they had to hurry to the venue, so the two quickly walked towards where the dinner party was being held.
After parting with their seniors, Kazuma, for some reason, was brought by Kaede to her room. Even though she had just arrived today, her room was somehow cluttered with clothes and underwear.
Seeing this sight, Kazuma, without hesitation, picked up Kaede’s clothes and underwear and began to neatly tidy them up.
“Why is it so messy… Honestly, honestly.”
Like an exasperated mother, Kazuma grumbled as he cleaned up the room Kaede had messed up.
Originally, he had been raised in an institution and strictly disciplined by Honoka’s upbringing.
Moreover, many girls close to Kazuma’s age also resided at the institution, and he had looked after the younger children like an older brother or sister.
Thanks to that, he was used to women’s underwear. He didn’t particularly feel aroused by it. Even if it belonged to a classmate.
“Thanks, Kazuma.”
“It’s fine, it’s fine. I’m used to this kind of thing.”
And Kaede, for her part, was also unconcerned. Normally, a girl would react the moment a member of the opposite sex touched her underwear. She might scream or hit them, but Kaede did nothing. Did she trust Kazuma, or did she lack a sense of shame? It was probably both.
“I’m ready, so let’s go.”
“Okay.”
Kazuma, too, had finished tidying up Kaede’s scattered clothes and was all set. Or rather, he didn’t particularly have anything to prepare. In the first place, only the Combat Course students were having the meet-and-greet. Support Course students could participate, but aside from the Crown Battle, they were essentially spectators, so there wasn’t much point in them joining.
Kazuma and Kaede headed to the dinner party venue together. Still in their school uniforms, the two followed an attendant and entered the hall.
The dinner party was a standing buffet. It seemed to have already started, as many students were talking with glasses in hand.
The two stood there, watching the scene. Just then, Hayato, noticing their arrival, approached them.
“Hey, you two are late.”
“Ah, President. Sorry for being late.”
“It’s fine. It’s not like punctuality is strictly enforced.”
Just then, a young man approached. He interjected himself into Kazuma and Hayato’s conversation.
“Yo. Mind if I join in?”
“Kenzaki Souji…!”
“Oi oi, calling me by my name without an honorific right off the bat, ain’t that a bit too familiar?”
“Ah, my apologies.”
“Fuhahaha. Just kidding. I’m not actually angry. Hayato, are these two your hidden gems?”
“Ahahaha. Well, who knows? But anyway, let me introduce them, Souji. She is Makimura Kaede-san, and he is Satsuki Kazuma-kun. Makimura-san is in the Combat Course, but Satsuki-kun is in the Support Course, so he’ll be spectating for anything other than the Crown Battle.”
“Hoh? That’s rare. A Support Course student showing their face here.”
“I heard the food was extravagant! So I thought I absolutely had to participate, no matter what!”
“Pfft! Wahahahaha! That’s true! The food at this hotel is delicious! And what’s more, it’s all-you-can-eat! You should eat a lot while you can.”
“Yessir! I’ll stuff myself with food you can’t taste in the Seventh Area!”
“Hahahaha! I like you. Satsuki Kazuma, was it? Can I call you Kazuma from now on?”
“Okay-ssu! I’ll call you Souji-senpai too! Ah, but please don’t touch me casually! I don’t want to be Copied!”
“Hoh! So you knew the condition for my Copy.”
“Yes. It’s making contact with the target, right? Not through clothes, but direct skin contact is all it takes, or so I hear about its cheat-like performance.”
“Yep. Though, there are limitations. I can only Copy up to three at most. The output depends on my own ability, though.”
“That’s really a cheat, isn’t it? By the way, what Gift are you Copying right now?”
“Curious?”
Everyone held their breath at the rather bold question. They were surprised by the sudden appearance of a Support Course student in the venue, but more than anything, everyone was astonished by his demeanor, not backing down an inch against Kenzaki Souji, the strongest active high school student.
The fact that he was from the Support Course likely made it even more so. Furthermore, he was trying to elicit information about Kenzaki Souji’s Gift, something no one could normally ask about. It could only be thought of as some kind of joke.
“Well, of course. Everyone here, aside from the students of the First Esper Academy, wants to know!”
“Kukuku, hahahahahaha! You’re really interesting. Alright, I’ll tell you. The Gift I’m Copying right now is—”
Just when it seemed he was about to hear what Gift Souji was Copying, an interruption appeared.
“Hey, what do you think you’re saying, you idiot!!!”
“Owww!”
Souji, who was struck hard on the back of his head, was hit with such force it felt like his eyeballs might pop out.
“What the hell was that for, all of a sudden? What’ll you do if my head goes flying off somewhere, Aoi!”
“Shut up, you moron! What do you think you’re doing, blabbering about your weaknesses!”
“What part of that is a weakness?”
“It’s your Gift, obviously! The greatest advantage of Copy is that no one knows what you’re hiding, right?! What kind of idiot goes around revealing that!”
“Right here!”
Souji was hit on the head once more. Kazuma watched the exchange between the woman called Aoi and Souji and felt a sense of familiarity. Kazuma thought that he could probably get along well with Souji-senpai.