Chapter 27: Eh? Is the Sports Festival Already Over?
The sudden appearance of two celebrities (big names) threw everyone on the Second Ground into an uproar. It was enough of a commotion to temporarily halt the Sports Festival. Though, it wasn’t exactly an atmosphere where it could continue anyway.
“(I guess the Sports Festival is over now, huh~)”
Kazuma, who had been in the middle of the scavenger hunt, slumped his shoulders in disappointment. The Witch, watching him nearby, tilted her head.
“(Why does he look so disappointed~?)”
Despite having helped him, the Witch found it incredibly strange that Kazuma was slumping his shoulders and looking disappointed, so she descended to the ground and spoke to him.
“Hellooo~”
“Hm, ah?”
“Ah, you’re alive?”
“Yeah, I’m alive. More importantly, why can you speak Japanese?”
“That’s your concern? Well, whatever.”
The Witch was speaking to him frankly, but normally, one would have a different reaction. One would usually be trembling in fear and on guard, yet Kazuma was completely natural. He didn’t seem nervous, nor was he putting on a brave front.
He was truly in a perfectly natural state. His attitude, as if he were meeting an acquaintance, piqued the Witch’s interest a little.
“It’s less that I can speak Japanese, and more that this thing automatically translates and conveys it for me~”
Saying that, the Witch took out a necklace. No matter how he looked at it, it just seemed like an ordinary necklace, but Kazuma stared intently at it, wondering by what principle it translated into Japanese.
“There’s a small translator attached to this. So, without needing to set anything, it scans the other person and automatically translates into the appropriate language for them.”
“Huh. So that’s why it looked like you were communicating even though you were speaking Chinese and English.”
“Exactly. It’s a must-have when you go abroad, you know?”
“I don’t go abroad.”
“Oh my, what a waste! If you come to The States, big sis here will give you a tour, you know?”
“Really?! Will you pay for travel expenses too?”
“Sure, sure~. That’s a piece of cake~!”
Everyone gaped at this scene. The person Kazuma was currently talking to was the Witch, one of the world’s foremost Gifted. Normally, one would be too intimidated to even speak to her.
And yet, Kazuma was treating her as if she were a friend. It was only natural for them to doubt their eyes.
“You bastards, you’ve been chattering away for a while now…! Stop ignoring me, damn it!!!”
The Great Sage Equaling Heaven, who had been completely ignored, exploded in anger. Letting out a roar, The Great Sage Equaling Heaven extended his staff and swung it upwards. Moreover, upon closer inspection, the staff had increased in thickness, becoming like a giant tree. If that thing came down, there’d be no way to withstand it.
“Honestly~~~! You’re so annoying!”
“Bitch! I’ll mince you first! The brat comes after!”
“I~ told~ you~, I’m a Witch! This is why low-IQ monkeys are…”
Shrugging her shoulders as if to say ‘good grief,’ the Witch pointed her hand at the staff coming down from above and caught it with her Telekinesis. Then, she flicked her hand, sending The Great Sage Equaling Heaven’s weapon, the staff, flying with her Telekinesis.
“Uooooooooooh!”
His weapon was thrown away, but The Great Sage Equaling Heaven used his Gift of expansion and contraction to shrink the staff to its limit and caught it in his palm.
“Well, I guess you can do that much~”
“Hah, of course! Don’t lump me in with some small fry.”
“Ahahaha! In that case, maybe I’ll get a little serious too—”
Neither of them had the option to retreat, and they both shifted into combat stances. While an immense pressure and tension filled the air, Kazuma was quickly scurrying away.
“(I’m not getting caught up in this. You guys can go at it.)”
Having evacuated, Kazuma had returned to his class’s tent. Just as a fierce battle was about to begin in the center of the Second Ground, an intruder appeared.
“Both of you, that’s enough!!!”
The one who stepped between The Great Sage Equaling Heaven and the Witch was Sanada Nobuyasu, known as Hinomoto’s strongest warrior. He stood between the two with his beloved sword in one hand.
“Tch… A Samurai.”
“Wow, Nobuyasu!”
“I will not permit any further violence. If you still haven’t had enough of a rampage, then I will be your opponent!”
“…This is a buzzkill. I’m leaving.”
The Great Sage Equaling Heaven seemed to have completely lost his motivation. He put away his weapon, turned his back on Nobuyasu, and left the Second Ground. Seeing this, the Witch raised both hands, signaling she had no intention to fight.
“…Haaah, honestly. What in the world is going on?”
“Ahahaha, sorry, Nobuyasu~”
“If you truly feel bad, I’d like you to show some sincerity, though?”
“Should I kowtow? Or maybe seppuku?”
“You don’t need to do that. I mean you should bow your head to those you’ve troubled, not to me.”
Saying that, Nobuyasu pointed towards the teachers and students who were running the Support Course’s Sports Festival. The Witch, seeing this, clapped her hands as if in understanding and approached them.
“I’m sorry!”
The Witch bowed her head forthrightly. How many more times were they supposed to be surprised today? The teachers felt as if they were watching some kind of bad dream. Unfortunately, it was reality. It was truly a case of truth being stranger than fiction.
“By the way, why are you here?”
“Ah, that’s right!”
The Witch remembered Kazuma and craned her neck, looking around, but since he was currently hiding behind Momoko’s back, he couldn’t be found so easily.
“Hey! Why are you hiding behind my back?!”
“Just for a little while, please!”
The two spoke in hushed voices. Naturally, their classmates were nearby. The classmates wondered why Kazuma was hiding. They felt frustrated, thinking he should just go out since he had been talking so amicably with her earlier.
“(I need to get out of here and rendezvous with headquarters, and yet!)”
“(Don’t say that, just be my hiding spot!)”
“(Kuh! Why is this conversation even happening?!)”
“(I won’t let you escape! If we die, we die together!!!)”
“(My head hurts…! And more importantly, please don’t use me as a shield!)”
“(Still, Momoko… you smell a little.)”
“(Don’t use the confusion to sniff me! And I don’t smell!)”
“(Should I go borrow some deodorant spray?)”
“(You show such strange consideration, yet why are you using me as a shield?!)”
“(We’re neighbors! Us!)”
“(We just sit next to each other! And please stop connecting the conversation so deliberately! It’s confusing!)”
Kazuma seized the opportunity to tease Momoko. Kazuma had figured out that Momoko was with the National Defense Force, so he was harassing her. Kazuma guessed that her job was probably to rendezvous with her comrades and work with the National Defense Force to expose the Witch’s objective.
Therefore, he was obstructing Momoko, the mind-reader, to prevent her from going. He was a petty man, hardly befitting a Hero who had saved another world.
“(I won’t let you go! I won’t let you gooo~!)”
“(Should I scream sexual harassment!?)”
“(Mmph! If I do any more than this, I might get sued for sexual harassment!)”
“(Th-this guy! What’s with him always knowing exactly when to back off?!)”
Just as Momoko was needlessly exhausting her stamina and nerves, rather than a savior, a certain troublemaker appeared.
“Ah~! Found you!”
“Geh!”
“Isn’t that reaction a bit harsh? I may not look it, but I’m a super famous person, you know?”
“Shinonome-san! Drive her away!”
“Huh!?”
“Hm? And who might you be?”
“Eh, ah, no, I’m… um…”
“Hmm~?”
Frowning dubiously, the Witch peered at Momoko’s face. The two hadn’t met before, but Momoko was with the National Defense Force, and the Witch was one of The States’ top Gifted. It was possible they might have seen each other’s faces somewhere.
Because of this, the Witch was staring intently at Momoko’s face, not Kazuma’s. She tilted her head, as if she’d seen her somewhere before, but also as if she hadn’t.
“(Maybe they know each other?)”
“(We’re not acquaintances! But we might have seen each other’s faces somewhere…)”
“(Hmm~? It’s a face I feel like I’ve seen somewhere, but where was it~?)”
“(Please don’t remember! Don’t remember!)”
Knowing it would only lead to trouble, Momoko desperately prayed that she wouldn’t remember. Would her prayers be answered, or not?