Episode 25: I’m So Looking Forward to Tomorrow~
After training concluded, Kazuma returned to the classroom, changed into his uniform, and spent the time chatting idly with others until the homeroom session at the end of the day.
“Hey, you. Learn to hold back a little more.”
“I was holding back quite a bit, you know? If I’d gone all out, it wouldn’t have even taken ten minutes.”
“You’re kidding, right? You were holding back then…?”
“It’s not a lie. Look, I fought Juzo Hakari, right? If I’d used the same power as back then, it would’ve been over much faster.”
“Ugh… Now that you mention it, that’s certainly true.”
Since they knew about his performance in the Academy Battle Tournament, they understood that Kazuma’s words weren’t a lie.
If he had displayed the same strength as back then, they would have undoubtedly been wiped out in less than ten minutes, just as Kazuma said.
“Haaah~. I knew it, but Kazuma, you’re seriously strong.”
“Yeah~. I thought we could have a good match since you were weakened compared to the Academy Battle Tournament~”
“But, we’ve got a good goal now. The goal of making Kazuma sweat!”
“Isn’t the goal to win?”
“No, no, realistically, even if we try hard for these three years, I don’t think we can reach Kazuma. But maybe we can at least make him sweat a bit~”
“Ah~, true, I’d like to surprise Kazuma at least once!”
“Right?! And, it might sound weird, but… that feeling of challenging the strongest, you know?”
“I get it~! Being acknowledged by the strongest guy, that’s a situation you kinda yearn for, right!”
The male students got more and more excited about this dream scenario.
The female students couldn’t understand what was so fun about it at all, but they shared the desire to make Kazuma sweat.
And seeing his excited classmates, Kazuma had a creepy, smirking grin on his face.
He was elated by the title of “the strongest man,” and the corners of Kazuma’s mouth remained upturned until homeroom began.
“As I think you all know, next month there’s the Student Council President Election, the last big event of the academy. It’s open to all grades, so even you first-years are eligible to participate. If you’re interested in participating, write your name on the application form and submit it. Alright then, just because it’s the weekend, don’t get too carried away.”
After homeroom ended, Kazuma and the others headed back to the dorm.
On the way, Kazuma’s phone suddenly rang.
Taking his phone out of his pocket, Kazuma looked at the caller’s name. The two characters for “Momoko” were written there.
While Kazuma found it strange to get a call from her, he answered Momoko’s call with a slightly happy smile.
“Yes. Hello, Momoko-chan.”
“Please stop with the ‘-chan.’ Also, it’s Touko, not Momoko!”
“Yessir~”
“Haaah, honestly…”
Even over the phone, he could clearly imagine her reaction.
Momoko was surely holding her head while letting out a big sigh.
Dealing with Kazuma, her mental exhaustion just kept piling up.
However, since it was her job, Momoko, unable to do anything about it, would escape into alcohol to relieve her stress.
“So, what’s up with the sudden call?”
“I received a call from Kano Seiichi-san. He said filming for that Sentai show has started and asked if you’d like to come observe. He also mentioned he’d like your opinion. What will you do?”
He didn’t even need to ask.
Kazuma’s answer was yes.
There was no other possibility.
After all, no matter how you looked at it, this was a topic Kazuma absolutely loved.
“Of course, I’ll go!”
“Understood. Then, I’ll inform them.”
“Thanks~!”
After ending the call, Kazuma let out a happy smile.
A little while ago, he seemed embarrassed about the Silver Knight becoming a toy, but now he completely liked it.
Kazuma had a complete change of heart, thinking that becoming popular wasn’t so bad after all.
Returning to the dorm, Kazuma did some strength training in the training room, washed off his sweat with a shower, had dinner, and then returned to his private room.
As Kazuma sat on his bed feeling refreshed, his phone suddenly vibrated, and he received an email.
The email’s content was about what he had just discussed with Momoko, and the schedule for visiting the filming site was written in it.
“Tomorrow, huh? That’s pretty soon.”
He had expected it to be about a week away, so Kazuma was surprised that the visit day was earlier than he thought.
According to Momoko, she had heard from Seiichi-san.
This meant they had probably been in regular contact.
Then the topic of the visit came up, and Momoko had contacted Kazuma for final confirmation.
“I guess things were progressing without me knowing, huh? Oh well. Either way is fine.”
Things had probably progressed without his input, but it wasn’t anything to get particularly angry about.
As long as no harm came to himself or those around him, even if people did things on their own, his basic stance was to leave it be.
In fact, he hadn’t even complained to the toy manufacturer when the DX Sword Silver Knight Ver. came out, so it was a bit late to care now.
“Alright! I should sleep before I end up staying up late!”
Like a child the day before a field trip, Kazuma jumped into his futon.
Thinking he shouldn’t lack sleep because he was looking forward to tomorrow, he used the Sleep Magic he had cultivated during his time as a Hero to fall asleep in an instant, and fell into a deep slumber.
◇◇◇◇
The next morning, Kazuma woke up and frowned at the dim dawn.
“Oops. A little too early.”
Kazuma had woken up at five in the morning.
No matter how much he was looking forward to it, this was too early.
Kazuma considered crawling back into his futon, but he worried he might oversleep this time, so he decided to get up, even though it was too early.
“Maybe I’ll go for a run…”
Thinking it would be the best way to kill time, Kazuma changed into his tracksuit and went outside the dorm.
It was still dim outside, with no sign of people.
If anything, there might be a part-timer delivering newspapers.
Though, perhaps not even in the vicinity of the dorm.
“Guess I’ll kill some time with a light run.”
Saying that, Kazuma did some stretches and ran around the dorm for about thirty minutes.
Nicely warmed up, Kazuma bought some bread at the dorm’s 24-hour convenience store and relaxed in the lounge area.
While he was chilling in the lounge, he sensed people’s presence, and Kazuma headed towards the dorm’s entrance.
There, dressed in the same academy-specified tracksuits as Kazuma, were Tsuyoshi, Shunsuke, Shinya, Kaori, Kaede, and Alice.
As Kazuma watched from behind cover, wondering if something was about to start, Kaede and the others started stretching and then began to run.
Apparently, it was a gathering for a morning run together.
Realizing this, Kazuma sulked, wondering why they hadn’t invited him.
To begin with, there was an insurmountable difference in strength between Kaede’s group and Kazuma.
Trying to somehow bridge that gap, Kaede and the others were doing everything they could.
Running was part of that, and they were doing it secretly from Kazuma.
All for the goal of making Kazuma sweat.
However, Kaede alone intended to defeat Kazuma.
“…I’ll go back and take a shower.”
The fact that they were keeping it a secret meant they had their reasons.
Kazuma felt lonely, but he understood that everyone has boundaries they don’t want crossed, and he left the place without making a sound.
Returning to his private room, Kazuma took a shower and changed into his casual clothes.
Today’s plan was to visit the filming set of the new Sentai show themed after the Crimson Knight.
There was no need to dress up stylishly, but if he didn’t dress reasonably well, he would definitely stand out.
After all, the people on set were filming staff, actors, and actresses, so shabby attire would likely make him a laughingstock.
Though, if he were to be sneered at, Kazuma was the type who might just assassinate them one by one on a dark night road.
“For now, something like this, I guess~”
Dressed in a safe fashion, Kazuma checked himself in the full-length mirror, making sure there was nothing strange about his appearance.
The time was 7:00 AM. The meeting time was 9:00 AM. There were still two hours left.
Kazuma’s heart was completely elated.