Shinka no Mi (Shiranai Uchi ni Kachigumi Jinsei)

After stopping by the infirmary to check on Leon, we went outside the academy as planned. Away from the academy, the students can live with a very small risk of getting attacked by monsters. However, there have also been times where the students have been attacked. Well, this time round, Beatrice-san and I are around, so the dangers of a monster attack are practically nil.

「Well then, without further delay, let us begin. …was what I want to say, but I don’t know specifically what you guys should do.」

「Big bro! How ‘bout you fight against us?」

「Fighting against you guys?」

「Yeah! Thanks to you, Big bro, we can use magic. However, it’s still doubtful whether we can use them effectively in a battle. So I thought I’d learn how to use magic in a real battle!」

「In other words, muscle-brain mindset, to fight and memorize.」

I didn’t know why Blood bothers to rephrase Agnos’ words, but I did understand the reason.

「If you say so, I’ll gladly be your opponent. But I don’t quite know the details of this In-School Tournament. So what is the format like ??」

「The format of the match will be that the boys and girls are separated into two teams of fives, and the team that secures 3 wins first will be the victor.」

When I voiced my question, Beatrice-san kindly answered me.

「Team of five….is it? Wouldn’t that mean the boys will lack a member?」

「If there are at least three participants, we can partake in the match itself. On the other hand, if one person loses, then the whole class will lose at that point….」

「Leon can’t join after all. Ergo, there’ll be no problem if we win all the matches!」

I have no idea what kind of conversation they had in the infirmary, but unfortunately, Leon it seems like he won’t be able to join the tournament.

「I see….Then, I guess I’ll only have to face against you guys one by one….So, girls…rather, Saria and Rurune, what would you do? If Helen and the rest are going to participate, then there will be only one slot left …」

「Uun … Rurune-chan, what do we do?」

「Saria-sama. Would you please leave it to me?」

「Eh?」

Wearing an atmosphere different than usual, Rurune said so with a frigid expression.

「If I were to participate in this In-School Tournament thing, I could blast those fellows who made fool of milord. I am Milord’s knight. In order to keep Milord’s honour, would you please let me handle it?」

「Rurune….」

Who the heck are you?

You’re not the Rurune I know of. What’s with that Knight-ish attitude. Aren’t you nothing but a glutton?

Even Olga-chan was surprised by Rurune’s remark.

「And after I win, I’ll go and have a meal with milord!」

「Thought so.」

In the end, nothing’s changed. That’s a relief…No, the fact that it’s weird for her to wish something other than meal itself proved that she’s beyond saving.

「For that reason, would you please let me fight?」

「Okay~! Rurune-chan, do your best!」

「Yes! In order to have meals with milord…Ah, and for his honour too!」

「So my honour is subsequent!」

I knew it though!

◆◇◆

After that, we continued fighting mock battles until it was the time for the In-school Tournament. Should I say that it was as expected? In a battle where they were using magic that they were not used to, it seems as if to me that they got weaker ever since they were able to use it.

Apart from directly applying magic onto their weapons, like wrapping their weapons in flame, their footwork deteriorates once they use magic.… .

Also, everyone had good compatibility with physical reinforcement, to the extent that I thought they could move several times better than without it. Wouldn’t that alone do well enough? I pondered, but apparently this Magic thing was more powerful than I thought before, so evidently, it would be hard to win with only that. Meanwhile, it might be only my misunderstanding, but the air surrounding Agnos and the rest felt off. I could feel their burning spirit to pay those people back for they could use magic. But for some reason, their faces were clouded right now. I didn’t know what was the cause, and when I asked them, they insisted 『Please do not worry』 to me.

Were they lacking the confidence to wield magic? I wondered, but apparently, that wasn’t the case, the real reason remained unknown.

In the end, I couldn’t understand Agnos’ and the rest’s feelings until the appointed day for In-School Tournament approached.

◆◇◆

It was a while after I began the special training for Agnos and the rest. On my way to the class F’s classroom just, as usual, I saw a group of male students in the hallway and the figure of Rurune standing and protecting Saria. As I was closing in with a head tilted in wonder, the appearance of those male students became clear for me.

「!」

And then, I spontaneously stopped walking. The reason was due to the male students who stood before Saria and Rurune was Aoyama who rejected me from joining their group when we were about to be transported into this world as well as Ouki who announced to the whole class about how low my ability was, and the people who made me their gofer and hit me as their sandbag——In other words, the heroes.

The moment I recognised them, even though my head kept telling me it’s all right, the fear of being bullied increased instead of being dispelled, which caused me to stop in my tracks

「C’mon, it’s fine, isn’t it. We’re heroes, you hear? You know that?」

「Yeah, yeah. We know it, unno? You’re girls from that class F, aren’t you? Then, isn’t it better for your future if you get along with promising company like us?」

「With that regard, let’s have fun together.」

The man who was in the same boxing club as Kenji and gleefully punched me everyday——Kobayashi showed a filthy smile while extended his hands toward Saria and Rurune. Thereupon, Rurune embraced Saria backed off and took some distance from him.

「Don’t get closer, trash. With just your breath, you are polluting the world. No, your very being is a great disgrace for this world. Go back to your mother’s womb.」

「Haah? Isn’t that a little bit too cruel? It’s not like we’ll hurt—」

「Like hell I care how you trash feel.」

With a firm attitude, Rurune kept asserting harsh words while covering for Saria. Saria who was being protected, showed a puzzled look.

「Just how long will you hold that attitude, hm? Thinking about that face melting in our own hands sure gets me aroused.」

Exposing his lowlife nature, he licked Rurune and Saria all over with his gaze, and his smile widened even further. However, Rurune, who was facing such unpleasant gaze, instead showed a look similar to Saria for a moment, before turned her own eyes over the boys.

「…Bastards, don’t tell me, you’re thinking of copulating with us?」

Quite the blatant one aren’t you, Rurune-san! As I reflexively retorted her in my mind, Aoyama and his gang burst into laughter.

「Copulate!? GYAHAHA!! I like it! Dat’s right, that’d be so if you say it frankly! That’s why let’s just obediently follow what we say.」

Intimidating them, Aoyama and his gang encircled them so they couldn’t escape. For some reason, in that situation, Rurune looked at Aoyama and his gang pitifully then started talking to Saria.

「Saria-sama. It seems like they’re desiring us as females.」

「Eh? Is that so?」

「Yes… Most probably it’s their defensive instinct as a species. As a male, they’re very inferior. It might not be exceedingly hard, but it may prove very difficult for them to leave offsprings.」

「Uun … You’re right.」

Saria admitted it too!?

「First of all, they can’t make children right? Their fertility is too low.」

「That’s true. Also, they might simply can’t satisfy females, however … as expected, ignorance could be a bliss, could also be a sin.」

They’re utterly being dissed about! Isn’t this, like, they’re completely being denied as a man!? Aoyama and the gang, who were absurdly being jawed at, popped a vein on their brow and opened their mouths.

「You sure are babbling as much as you want when we idled here…what’s your basis for talking like that!?」

「「Wild instinct.」」

You said it nicely harmoniously! But they whoever didn’t know the circumstances would be stupefied you know?!

「We can roughly tell if a male is excellent or not in a single glance you know~! Right, Rurune-chan? In that regard too, Seiichi is awesome! I purely love Seiichi more than that though!」

「That’s right. If I think about it carefully, I may not have thought of Milord in that way… . Regarding Milord, it’s not just about him being an outstanding male, or due to my instinct as a female, how do I say it … maybe it’s more correct to say it as a feeling called love? This is the first time I’ve felt it, so I don’t know much, however … I feel refreshed just by being with Milord … somehow, there’s something very important in my heart.」

「Un un!」

「However, apart from that, we also have the good eyes for males in order to leave descendants. Otherwise, we wouldn’t last in the wild. Well, at this point, it’s already more than obvious that milord is a superior male. …Rather, how long are you planning to stand there? Don’t bring more shame to this world any longer than this. Go back to the past and stop your mother from giving birth to you.」

Maybe because they think I’m not here, but Saria and Rurune’s words make me both happy and very embarrassed at the same time! But, I see … Saria and Rurune certainly lived in a harsh environment, so it’s necessary for them to leave descendants and so on. And even by leaving that aside, they said they loved me … I myself don’t think that I’m an excellent man, though. That being said, it’s the first time I’ve ever seen someone got trashed so bad to this extent… .

As I involuntary broke into a strained smile, maybe because his patience finally run out, Aoyama howled.

「I have no more shit to give! Since you have gone to that extent, I’ll teach you straight with your body, and see if we really are no good!」

When I saw Aoyama and his gang reached their hands out to Saria and Rurune all at once and tried to touch their body, I got chilled in an instant.

……Oi, what are you doing?

My legs that were paralyzed till then due to the trauma of getting bullied started moving naturally. When Aoyama and his gang tried to reach out on Saria, maybe because she judged she couldn’t evade it, Rurune positioned herself to kick them, at that moment, I jumped into the gap between Aoyama’s group and Saria and Rurune, embraced both of them in my arm and slapped the approaching hands away from them, all in a single moment.

In order to save Saria and Rurune, I jumped into the fray and my hood went off. However, at that juncture, I no longer cared about that. No, maybe I should, but rather than letting them touch Saria and Rurune, I’d be more than glad to deal with any annoying matter ahead.

「Eh!? Seiichi!?」

「Ah, Milord!?」

Both Saria and Rurune expressed their surprise at me appearing suddenly.

「Sorry, I’m late.」

I was about to make Saria and Rurune face an unpleasant experience just because of my own cowardice. …Looking at their attitude, far from having an unpleasant experience, it’s doubtful if they even regarded them as their opponent though. Either way, I can’t forgive myself for being unable to take immediate action.

But, I don’t have to worry about that anymore. Trauma can eat shit for all it wants.

Aoyama and his gang who suddenly lost Saria and Rurune, looking for their whereabouts, and found me instead opened his mouth in half anguish and half confusion.

「Cunt… who the fuck are you.」

「I’m class F’s homeroom teacher?」

「I could tell that back from the stadium! I’m asking, did you do that while knowing that we are heroes!?」

「I know, but so what?」

Aoyama and his gang momentarily showed a befuddled look to my reply, but soon floated a nasty smile.

「Then, would you hand your women before you tasted some pain?」

「Pukkuku. It’s fine to show off a little, but getting full of yourself will bring you disaster you know? That’s why just obediently give us those girls.」

Kobayashi and Ouki said so with an agitating tone, but I showed a smile, then——.

「I refuse.」

「Wha!? You bitch, you seriously asking for some pain aren’t you!?」

「Eeh… I don’t want to feel pain. But——」

Why I acted like this now, I couldn’t make the head nor tails of it, but I hugged Saria and Rurune, showing it to Aoyama and his gang, then declared it.

「——They are my women.」

Wait, me!? Where did that sweet voice come from!?

「Se, Seiichi… 」

「Mi, milord… 」

Ah, look, now Saria and Rurune got their faces all red! I’m sorry! It’s embarrassing, isn’t it! But I’m also got embarrassed, so please forgive me! You’re not forgiven though, my body!

First of all, what the heck!? This line! Somehow, I feel like I’ve encountered something like this before… yeah, it also happened when I confessed to Al didn’t it!? At that time too, lines that seemed like they were coming out from shoujo manga and otome games smoothly came out from my mouth didn’t they!?

… Ah, don’t tell me, it’s all 『The King of Males』 ‘s fault!? … Now I think that is the case!

Come on, why!? Just when I thought my body has finally starting to listen to me!?

Perhaps, don’t tell me, body-wise, I considered it as the best course of action? If not, then doesn’t that mean I have to act more cautiously in my everyday life!? Like hell I could bear spewing such dialogues so unreservedly! As I was agonizing it inwardly, Aoyama whose face was somehow as red as Saria prepared to hit me.

「Do, DON’T KID WITH MEE!! MAKING FOOL OF US HEROEEEESSSSS!!!」

Back on Earth, I had been repeatedly exposed to that sharp punch, but the current me could only see it at a snail’s walk, and most of all, for this body who had tasted Saria’s and those clever monkeys’ 『Instantaneous Arm』 back in the 【Forest of Endless Sorrow 】, it packed no threat at all.

Besides, since I couldn’t predict what kind of lines that would come out from my mouth if I kept dealing with Aoyama and his gang, and, above all, because the class had started as well, I jumped out while still embracing Saria and Rurune in order to ignore them and move out to the classroom, but because apparently, my own remark had hurt myself more than I thought, I misadjusted the force I used to jump, and ended up with inadvertently stomping on Kobayashi’s face who was about to hit me.

「BUGEH?!」

「Ah, sorry.」

It really was not intentional, but the apology that came out wasn’t really sincere that even I was surprised of it, and because it would be painful to get involved with them again, while still holding Saria and Rurune, I moved to the classroom with the skill 『Moment』.

When we arrive at the front of the classroom, they both still blushed and dazed.

「Ano … you two? We’ve arrived at the classroom… 」

「「 … My women …」」

「NNNNOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!」

Thus, thanks to Saria and Rurune, I had able to conquer my trauma, but the cost was another mental damage that made me suffered in anguish for a while.