Chapter 48: You Put That in Charms, Right?
Kazuma, having finished the task of inscribing the magic circle at Ivy Children’s Home, was having dinner with Honoka-san and the others, along with the Ivy staff and children.
From the mountain of fried chicken piled high, Kazuma, not wanting to lose out to the children, took some for his plate. Naturally, Honoka brought her fist down on the childish Kazuma.
“Alright? Grow up to be kind children who can share even their favorite things with others. If you don’t want to end up like this big brother, that is.”
Seeing Kazuma, who had sprouted a bump on his head and was slumped over the table in silence, the children vigorously nodded their heads up and down. It was truly a wonderful sight. With such a fine example right before their eyes, the children deeply etched it into their hearts.
After finishing dinner, Kazuma was at the entrance of Ivy. The bump on his head had already completely healed; he had demonstrated his astonishing recovery speed to the children, earning their respect.
“Well then, Mom. I’m heading home. If anything comes up, call me.”
“Alright. Be careful on your way back.”
“See you then.”
Raising one hand, Kazuma departed from Ivy. Honoka-san watched his retreating figure for a long time. She continued to look in the direction Kazuma had disappeared until he was out of sight.
On his way back, Kazuma stopped by a 100-yen shop and bought a sewing kit. He had inscribed a magic circle at Ivy, but he decided that his friends and acquaintances needed something different.
Back in his dorm, Kazuma started making charms, unconcerned by the surveillance cameras watching him.
The three people checking Kazuma’s movements via the surveillance cameras tilted their heads curiously as they watched him diligently making misangas and charms.
“Handmade charms? Could it be for good luck in the Academy Battle Tournament?”
“Hmm… He’s quite skilled.”
“Ehh… The fact that he can sew is kinda nice, isn’t it? It really, like, gets to me.”
Without resting, Kazuma continued to make a stock of charms. He had wanted to make enough for all his classmates, but since he wasn’t that close to them, Kazuma made about four charms: for his usual group and one for Kureha-san.
“…Hmm, maybe I should make some for Miyazono-san and the others too.”
He pondered what to do, but since he was closer to them than his other classmates, Kazuma started making charms for his Combat Course friends, including Alice and Kaede.
The charms Kazuma was making were designed to deploy a simple protective barrier. They were items that could not be broken by any half-baked Gift.
“Maybe I’ll make one for Momoko-chan too!”
“………He hasn’t noticed, has he?”
“Is he aware of the surveillance cameras?”
“Are they surprisingly close? But I haven’t heard any reports about it…?”
As he said this, Kazuma put away his sewing tools and stretched widely.
“Uuugh! Yeah, never mind!”
“………If you were going to, just make it already!”
“Shinonome…”
“Momoko-chan…”
Pitiful. That’s what the two of them thought. It was clear from the number of charms that Kazuma was probably making them for his friends and acquaintances. In other words, that was it. Kazuma didn’t consider Momoko a friend or even an acquaintance. Realizing this, the two of them muttered Momoko’s name with pity.
In the end, Kazuma really didn’t make a charm for Momoko.
“Eh? It wasn’t a bluff, you’re really not making one!?”
Momoko felt like punching the surveillance monitor, but getting angry would only be futile.
◇◇◇◇
The next day, Kazuma distributed the handmade charms to his friends. His friends tilted their heads, wondering why he was giving them charms, and looked at Kazuma.
“For victory prayers, ya know.”
“No, no, if that’s the case, you or the participating athletes should have them!”
“Ibuki-kun is right. These kinds of things should be held by the participating athletes, shouldn’t they?”
“No, this is the type that becomes effective when everyone who’s cheerin’ has one. So, please.”
“Why the Kansai dialect? And didn’t your mother tell you to stop using it?”
“Sorry. Keep it a secret from Mom.”
By somehow managing to persuade them, Kazuma succeeded in giving the charms to Kosuke and the others. However, now that it was pointed out, he realized that charms for victory prayers should indeed be held by himself or the participating athletes. Kazuma, who hadn’t thought that far, cursed his own shortsightedness.
After finishing distributing charms to his Support Course friends, Kazuma contacted his Combat Course friends on his mobile terminal. Alice answered on the first ring. Kazuma couldn’t help but let out a surprised voice.
“Wah!”
“Huh? What are you surprised about! You’re the one who called!”
“Well, I just didn’t expect you to pick up on the first ring.”
“I just happened to be fiddling with my phone. So, what do you need?”
“Yeah. I made some charms, so would you accept one?”
“Charms? For the upcoming Academy Battle Tournament?”
“That’s right.”
“Why’d you make them yourself? And if that’s the case, you should give them to the athletes, not us.”
“A sound argument…!”
What Alice said was quite reasonable. Giving them to the participating athletes was, after all, the normal thing to do.
“I made a lot and have extras, so I want you to have them…!”
“Haaah… Alright. I’ll come get them later.”
“No, that’s too much trouble for you, so I’ll go over there.”
“Got it. Contact me before you come. A Support Course guy… well, you’re an exception. You’re treated like you’re in a separate category.”
“Like some kind of rare beast?”
“Exactly! You get it!”
Alice’s cheerful laughter could be heard over the phone. Moreover, there were probably others listening in on her call. Hearing multiple voices laughing, Kazuma asked if anyone else was there.
“Is anyone else there?”
“Hm? Oh, Makimura and Nikaido are nearby.”
“I see… Anyway, I’ll bring them over around lunchtime.”
“Alright. I’ll be waiting.”
Hanging up the phone, Kazuma put his mobile terminal in his pocket. Then, he glanced once at Momoko. As usual, she was pretending to read a book while using her Mind Reading on Kazuma.
“(Sorry, Momoko. There’s none for ya.)”
“(I know.)”
“(You’re in the Nobi〇a slot… Go cry to Dora〇mon or somethin’.)”
“(Wha-!? Don’t tell me that’s the only reason you didn’t make one for me!?)”
“(We’re not really friends in the first place, are we?)”
“(Guh… Now that you mention it, I have been keeping my distance since our initial approach…)”
Soon after starting her surveillance mission on Kazuma, Momoko had tried to make contact, but she was thrown off by his dirty jokes and his inner voice that seemed to see right through her, so she had been keeping her distance.
There were also times when she strongly disliked him, and she often blurted out complaints during training. Thanks to that, the distance between her and Kazuma hadn’t shortened.
“(Well, it’s fine. I’m not being blatantly avoided, so there’s no problem.)”
“(I’m goin’ to the Academy Battle Tournament, but you’re stayin’ home! Gahahahahaha!)”
“(Yes, yes. That’s right~)”
“(…Momoko isn’t flustered?)”
Slowly turning the pages, flip, flip, Momoko wasn’t flustered at all. As usual, Kazuma had been teasing her by taking advantage of her Mind Reading, but there was no sign of her being upset.
“(I… lost…)”
Feeling a mysterious sense of defeat, Kazuma mentally dropped to his knees.
◇◇◇◇
When lunchtime arrived, Kazuma, having told Alice and the others in the morning that he would go deliver the charms, quickly finished his lunch and headed to the Combat Course classroom.
The Support Course and Combat Course classrooms were far apart, so it was a hassle to go meet them. Kazuma grumbled about whether it couldn’t have been arranged better, but there was a reason for this.
It was to prevent Combat Course students from harming Support Course students. The effect was subtle, but considering the trouble of going to a distant classroom, some students would reconsider, so it wasn’t entirely ineffective.
“Chiwassu! Mikawaya here!”
Spouting a super classic gag, Kazuma stepped into the Combat Course classroom. Naturally, he became the center of attention. Some knew Kazuma, while others didn’t. They all stared wide-eyed at the suddenly appearing Kazuma.
“Hey, Kazuma. Your jokes are sometimes cringey, so you should probably stop.”
Saying that, Alice, Kaede, and Marin approached. Marin had a dubious expression, and Kaede was completely straight-faced. Having bombed spectacularly, Kazuma blushed and hid his face with both hands.
“No way…”
“Honestly… So, did you bring the charms?”
“Ah, yeah. Here.”
Kazuma took the charms he had in his pocket and showed them to Alice and the others.
“Heh… Is this, by any chance, handmade?”
“Correct! It’s handmade by yours truly!”
“What did you put inside?”
“Pubes.”
It was a joke, but Kazuma’s words were, as expected, crude. Hearing such a vile word, Alice grabbed Kazuma’s face and lifted him.
“Agaaaaaaaah!”
“Kazuma. You’re certainly an amazing guy, but you’re also an amazing idiot. I thought it was amazing when I heard the charms were handmade, but… what the hell did you put in them, you utter fool!!!”
“Pubes from a virgin sound like they’d bring bad luck.”
“Hauah!!!”
While suffering an iron claw, Kazuma was completely sunk by Kaede’s merciless comment.
“Hey, Kaede! Girls shouldn’t say things like that!”
“Why?”
“W-Why, you ask? Because… it’s vulgar!”
“Pubic hair grows on everyone, so it’s not vulgar or anything, you know.”
“That’s not what I’m talking about…”
While Kazuma was being subjected to an Iron Claw followed by a Cobra Twist, Kaede and Marin were chatting carefreely. No one tried to help Kazuma. Of course, Kazuma wasn’t taking any damage.
“Wouldn’t a virgin’s pubic hair be more effective?”
“Kaede!!!”
It was true that such a custom had once existed. However, one would hardly see it nowadays. Kazuma only knew of it as a bit of trivia and was completely ignorant of the details. Still, it was certain he had made a poor choice of words.
“Alice-chan! When I said ‘pubic hair,’ I was just kidding!”
“Who are you calling Alice-chan!”
“Ughghghghgh!”
Kazuma was now caught in Alice’s by-now-familiar Argentine Backbreaker. Even while taking the move, Kazuma was relatively unfazed, so he tried to clear up the misunderstanding, but he blurted out something else ill-advised and was squeezed even tighter.
Finally released, Kazuma undid the seal on the omamori he had brought and took out what was inside.
“This is what’s inside…”
“What’s this?”
“It’s a kind of good luck charm. This emblem is a prayer for certain victory.”
“Hmm…”
What was inside the omamori was a Magic Circle Kazuma had drawn on a piece of memo paper. Of course, since they didn’t know, Kazuma made up a suitable lie to gloss things over.
“Well, I’ll take it for now, I guess… but you haven’t done anything to this, have you?”
“I told you, I haven’t done anything. What I said earlier was really just a joke.”
“If that’s the case, then fine…”
Given his earlier remark, they looked at Kazuma with suspicion. Kazuma swore that, of course, he hadn’t done anything of the sort, and so they decided to believe him and accepted the omamori.