Episode 26: Going Out to Play After School
The Ability Test was over, and Kazuma returned to the classroom with Kosuke. In the classroom, Akatsuki and Taichi, who had already finished changing, were waiting for the two of them. Akatsuki and Taichi asked the two, who had returned late, why they were so late.
“Kosuke, Kazuma. You’re late, did something happen?”
“Ah, well, about that…”
Kazuma thought it would be a long story if he told them about Megumi and Kaori, so he tried to gloss over it, but before Kazuma could speak, Kosuke explained the reason they were late.
“Listen up, you two! Kazuma, without telling us, exchanged contact info with cute girls from the Combat Course! And with two of them, no less!”
“W-What did you say?!”
“Is that true? You’re not mistaken, Kosuke?”
Akatsuki cried out in shock at the revelation, while Taichi, with an incredulous look, tried to confirm the facts with Kosuke. To prove he wasn’t lying, Kosuke approached Kazuma and ordered him to hand over his phone.
“Kazuma! Hand over your phone!”
“Huh? Why should I?”
“To show them I’m not lying, of course!”
“…Haaah, fine. But just so you know, I’m not giving you their contact info, okay?”
Kazuma, realizing it was useless to argue now, showed his phone’s contact list to the three of them on the condition that he wouldn’t share the girls’ actual contact information.
Akatsuki and Taichi were stunned to learn that what Kosuke said was true. They never imagined that Kazuma, who had started school three months late, would be the first to exchange contact info with girls.
Moreover, they were girls from the Combat Course. Kazuma, who had skipped over their own classmates and gotten contact info from Combat Course girls, was becoming someone worthy of respect in their eyes.
“Whoa, amazing…”
“It wasn’t a lie…”
“Damn it… No matter how many times I see it, I’m so jealous!”
Seeing their varied reactions, Kazuma didn’t bask in superiority and simply put his phone back in his pocket. Then, Kazuma made a proposal to the three of them.
“So, I think you understand why we were late, but the important part starts now. Taichi, you mentioned having a study group, right?”
Hearing Kazuma’s words, the three nodded and waited for him to continue, wondering what he was getting at.
“I was thinking of inviting those two girls from earlier and their friends to that study group.”
The next moment, Kosuke threw his arms around Kazuma.
“Thank you, my bosom buddy!”
“You’re quite the opportunistic guy, aren’t you? Just so you know, I haven’t completely forgiven you for earlier, okay?”
Kazuma, who surprisingly held a grudge, gave the quick-to-change Kosuke a cold look.
“I’m really, truly sorry about that!”
“Alright, maybe I’ll just make it Akatsuki and Taichi participating.”
“Yeah! As expected of Kazuma-sama!”
“Well, I’ll be the one teaching, so it’s only natural, I guess.”
“Eh, what about me? What about me?”
“I know nothing of such a person.”
“Hey, come on, seriously! I’ll really apologize!”
Ignoring Kosuke, who was tearfully clinging to him, Kazuma continued.
“Well, as for the schedule, we’re waiting to hear back from them, so please wait. I’ll let you know once it’s decided.”
“Roger.”
“Got it.”
“Hey, Kazuma-sama! Please show some mercy to me too!”
“Hmm, what should I do~?”
“Really, please! I’m seriously begging you!”
As Kosuke pleaded with Kazuma, on his knees as if about to perform a dogeza, the other two looked at him with pity. He himself was so desperate for female companionship that he’d announced he was looking for a girlfriend during his self-introduction, so it was only natural he’d be this frantic.
“Haaah, can’t be helped, Kosuke-kun is~”
“Huh? You’ll forgive me?”
“I’ll invite you if there’s a next time.”
“No wayyy!!!”
Seeing Kosuke scream, Kazuma laughed as if his frustration had been relieved. Then, thinking it was too pitiful to continue any further, he decided to forgive him and patted Kosuke’s shoulder.
“Well, I’ll let you off the hook this time. But next time, I’ll seriously hit back, okay?”
“Eh? What do you mean by that?”
“I forgive you. That’s what I mean.”
“Oh, oh! I’m sorry, thank you, Kazuma!”
Shedding tears, Kosuke offered words of apology and gratitude to Kazuma. The other two didn’t know why Kazuma had been so strict only with Kosuke, but seeing him forgiven, they clapped, saying “Good, good.” Kosuke, receiving their applause, smiled and said, “Thank you.”
The classmates watching the four of them wore expressions full of bewilderment, wondering just what on earth they were trying to do.
◇◇◇◇
Then, after school, Kazuma and the others went out to play in the city. They had recently been caught up in a terrorist attack, but the four of them optimistically thought it wasn’t something that would happen often.
In fact, it wasn’t just the four of them; many people thought the same way. Getting caught in a terrorist attack wasn’t something that happened frequently.
Kazuma and his friends arrived at Grand One, a standard hangout spot for students. Instead of karaoke, they decided to play fighting games at the Game Center.
Heading to the arcade corner, Kazuma and the others played a famous fighting game. Since there were exactly four of them, they decided to play two-on-two tag matches, and each began selecting their characters.
“Hey, Kazuma. Why a kangaroo?! You should pick this older sister-type character here!”
“Shut up! I believe the kangaroo is the strongest!”
“But with that, you won’t see any panties when they’re knocked down!”
“I’m not picking characters just to see panties! If we lose, we’re paying for the Game Center fees!”
“I know that! I’ll show you it’s not just about looks!”
They were split into pairs: Kazuma and Kosuke, who lived in the dorms, and Akatsuki and Taichi, who lived at home. Kazuma had chosen an animal character, a kangaroo, from among dozens of options, and was getting flak from Kosuke for it.
In contrast, Kosuke had chosen a gyaru in a miniskirt; just as he’d told Kazuma, he wanted to see panties and had simply picked her based on his preference. Kazuma pointed this out, but Kosuke intended to prove himself with skill.
“Taichi, you’re quite the closet pervert, aren’t you?”
“Why do you say that? Isn’t this pretty normal?”
“No, I mean, that character has a super-sadistic personality, right? And she uses a whip as a weapon.”
“Huh? What’s not normal about a whip? I think you’re the weird one. Why’d you pick a character that looks like an elementary school girl?”
“Eh? Because she’s strong, obviously.”
“You said that last time too, and used the same character. Could it be… you’re a lolicon?”
“No, I’m not a lolicon! What are you saying? I’ll knock you out!”
Over here, another squabble was breaking out. They had each chosen characters that seemed to blatantly reflect their fetishes and were now slinging insults at each other. What a truly pathetic fight.
After finishing their pointless exchange, the four of them finally started the game and composed themselves.
The game, where they fought purely with their own skills without any Gifts, surprisingly got them fired up, and the four engaged in heated battles.
And so, after the fifth battle ended, the winners were Taichi and Akatsuki’s pair.
“Hey, Kazuma.”
“…My kangaroo is the strongest and invincible.”
“What’s with your four losses and one draw! At least get one win! You were complaining to me about panty shots, but you’re even worse!”
“Ugh… I have no excuse.”
Kosuke had shown his skill as declared, but unfortunately, Kazuma dragged him down. Even when Kosuke scored a win, Kazuma would turn it into a loss, rendering all of Kosuke’s efforts futile.
Thanks to that, they lost the match, and today’s Game Center fees had to come out of their two wallets. That’s why Kosuke was blaming Kazuma.
“You remember the promise, right~?”
“Since we won, you know what to do.”
“Damn iiiit~!”
“Maybe I’ll go with a koala next time.”
“First, polish your player skills, Kazuma!”
“Ah, yes.”
Leaving the frustrated Kosuke aside, Kazuma decided to fight with a koala instead of a kangaroo. However, it seemed he’d said it out loud, and Kosuke got angry at him.
Afterwards, they played around with racing games, shooting games, and the like, and the four of them thoroughly enjoyed the Game Center.