Episode 15: Starting Today, I’ll Do My Best as a Combat Course Student!
In the cafeteria, Kazuma was having his last dinner with Kosuke as a Support Course student.
“Still, Kazuma in the Combat Course, huh~”
“Is it strange?”
“No, it’s more like, ‘finally.’ You were always weird from the start.”
“I really don’t want to hear that from you, of all people.”
“What did you say?”
“I can’t talk, but you tend to do some pretty outlandish things yourself, don’t you?”
“I have no idea what you’re talking about?”
“The sports festival and the school festival, sure, but you’d also attack me whenever I was interacting with girls, right?”
“…I don’t seem to remember anything like that~”
“Think you’d remember if I punched you?”
With a bright smile, Kazuma showed Kosuke his fist, clenched like a hammer.
Kosuke, realizing his life would be in danger if he were hit by that fist, apologized profusely.
“I’m sowwy.”
“Mm. I’ll forgive you. But I wonder if this fist will.”
“W-We’re eating right now, so I’d appreciate it if you could do it later~”
It was decided that Kosuke would be punched.
Afterward, once they finished dinner, the two were about to return to their respective rooms, but just as Kazuma had decided, he pressed his fist against Kosuke’s chest.
“I’ll be moving out of here sometime this week. I think today will be the last time we go out to eat like this. Thanks for everything up until now.”
“Kazuma… Yeah, I had fun too. Do well even when you go to the Combat Course. Well, I’m sure you’ll be fine.”
“Of course. After all, I’m The Strongest Civilian!”
“Hahahaha! No doubt about it!”
After sharing a good laugh, Kazuma parted ways with Kosuke.
Having parted with Kosuke, Kazuma returned to his room, did a light workout, and then took a shower.
After washing off his sweat and feeling refreshed, Kazuma, wearing only his underwear, sat down on his bed, bare-chested.
“Hmm…”
Kazuma, letting out a groan, folded his arms and wore a solemn expression.
It seemed he was thinking about something, but he was, fundamentally, an idiot.
“Transferring tomorrow means there’ll be a self-introduction, right? How should I greet everyone…?”
Kazuma agonized over such a trivial matter for several minutes.
In the end, since no good idea came to mind, he decided to go to sleep.
Kazuma changed into his sleepwear, flopped onto his bed, snuggled into his cold futon, and fell asleep thinking about the next day.
◇◇◇◇
The next morning, Kazuma woke up earlier than usual, washed his face, and went out for a jog.
The harsh cold still lingered, and under a dim sky where the morning sun had yet to rise, Kazuma ran, his breath white.
After running for about thirty minutes, Kazuma sat down on a bench as if to cool his flushed body and let out a big sigh.
“Phew~~~. What a refreshing morning.”
He spent a while relaxing, but when the sun began to show its face, Kazuma knew it was about time, so he returned to his room and started preparing for school.
Dressed in his usual Support Course uniform and after quickly fixing his hair, Kazuma headed to the academy.
As he had been told the other day, Kazuma, unlike usual, headed straight for the Faculty Office.
Kazuma reached the Faculty Office without passing anyone on the way.
“Excuse me~”
After a casual greeting, Kazuma stepped into the Faculty Office and looked for Tanaka-sensei.
Craning his neck around, Kazuma spotted Tanaka-sensei and ambled over to him.
“Good morning~”
“Oh, morning. You weren’t late.”
“My bad. Even though you went to the trouble of setting up a flag for me.”
“No, I just warned you not to be late. It wasn’t a flag.”
Tanaka-sensei repeated it twice to Kazuma, as it was an important matter.
“I get it. So, which class am I transferring to?”
“I think your homeroom teacher should be here to pick you up soon…”
Saying that, Tanaka-sensei glanced at the clock hanging on the wall.
Just as Kazuma, following his gaze, looked at the clock, the Faculty Office door opened, and someone came in.
When they both turned towards the door, a Combat Course teacher was standing there. Upon making eye contact with the two, she headed towards them.
“Good morning, Tanaka-sensei. I’ve come to pick up Satsuki-kun.”
“Good morning, Satou-sensei. Here are Satsuki Kazuma’s documents for your review.”
“Yes. Understood.”
In front of Kazuma, Tanaka-sensei and Satou-sensei went through the handover process, discussing various things.
When the handover was complete, Tanaka-sensei bowed his head to Satou-sensei.
“Well then, please take care of Satsuki Kazuma-kun. He might cause some trouble, but he’s a good kid at heart, so please don’t give up on him.”
“Of course. We’ve heard about his character in the Combat Course as well. So please rest assured.”
“Is that so? Well then, once again, I leave him in your care.”
“Yes. Please leave it to me.”
With the handover finished, Satou-sensei turned to Kazuma.
“Nice to meet you, Satsuki Kazuma-kun. I’m Satou, and I’ll be your homeroom teacher starting today. It’s a pleasure.”
“Ah, yes. A pleasure to meet you.”
“If you have any problems or anything you don’t understand, please don’t hesitate to ask.”
“In that case, I have a question.”
“What is it?”
“It’s about the Support Course uniform. When will I be issued a Combat Course uniform?”
“Ah, about that, we’ll need to measure your size first. From the looks of it, your current uniform seems small, so if we don’t measure you, it’ll end up like this again.”
“I see. Understood.”
“Is that your only question?”
“For now, that’s all.”
“Alright then, shall we head to the classroom you’ll be attending before morning homeroom starts?”
“Understood. Well then, Tanaka-sensei. I’ll be going!”
“Yeah. Do your best.”
Bidding farewell to Tanaka-sensei, Kazuma followed Satou-sensei.
They stopped by the Combat Course Faculty Office once, where Kazuma received his textbooks and other materials, and then headed to his new classroom.
“Come in when I give you the signal.”
“Okay~”
“Mm, good. It’s better to be natural like that than all stiff and nervous.”
“Thank you.”
“But be careful, okay? There are some teachers in the Combat Course who are quite strict about discipline.”
“Understood! I’ll be careful from now on!”
“It helps that you’re so straightforward. Well then, come in when I signal.”
Morning homeroom began, and Kazuma waited outside the classroom until he received the signal.
Before long, Satou-sensei gave the signal, and Kazuma entered the classroom.
Unlike when he had enrolled three months late, Kazuma entered the classroom quite normally and surveyed his classmates.
“I’m sure you all know him, but this is Satsuki Kazuma-kun, who’s joining our class as a new member starting today.”
“Heya~. I’m Satsuki Kazuma~. I transferred to the Combat Course to avoid expulsion and repeating a year. Nice to meet ya~”
Having finished his perfunctory self-introduction, Kazuma waved his hand cheerfully.
Upon hearing Kazuma’s self-introduction, voices of disappointment arose from his classmates.
“What the, it’s just Kazuma~?”
“I was hoping for a cute girl~”
“Ugh~, what a letdown~”
“I was so looking forward to a new person, but it’s Kazuma? That’s too disappointing~”
“I got my hopes up for nothing~”
Voices of dissatisfaction rose from the male students, and Kazuma, with a beaming smile, turned to Satou-sensei.
“Sensei, can I beat those guys up?”
“Hey, hey, don’t go causing trouble on your first day of transfer.”
“I hate those guys for not welcoming me!”
Satou-sensei could only give a wry smile at Kazuma, who was ready for a fight on his very first day.
She had heard he was a bit of a clown, and it was exactly as described. Satou-sensei was at a loss, but then voices welcoming Kazuma came from the female students.
“It’s Kazuma-kun~! He’s handsome, so it’s kinda okay!”
“He can be a bit annoying, but he has more potential than the other guys in class, so it’s good!”
“He’s handsome as long as he keeps his mouth shut.”
“Next time, introduce us to that cool, handsome older guy who looks like a Hollywood star~”
“He’s prime real estate, so I gotta stake my claim…”
He couldn’t quite hear the last part, but Kazuma, realizing he was being welcomed by the female students, calmed his anger and turned to Satou-sensei with a cool, composed look.
“Sensei, where is my seat?”
“You really are something, aren’t you? Your seat is over there.”
Satou-sensei, exasperated by Kazuma’s complete flip-flop, pointed to an empty seat.
Heading to the seat indicated by Satou-sensei, Kazuma was to begin his academy life anew as a Combat Course student from that day forward, with a fresh feeling.