Yuusha no Segare

Volume 2, Chapter 2 – What People Look For in a Hero Part 2

Yasuo received a score of 95 on his make-up test for English Reading, and successfully managed to clear the first hurdle. He was currently in the First Music Room of the old school building of Takeoka High School, which was illuminated by the light from the setting sun.

This room was supposed to be off-limits to him since the Choral Club had been shut down, but strangely enough, there was a key to this room that the school did not know about, which had been passed down from seniors to their juniors in the club for many generations.

Yasuo had also received the key from a senior one year older than him. He had copies of the key made at a locksmith’s shop and carried one of them on his keyring.

It was still a music room belonging to the school, and he was supposed to get permission from the teachers before using it. However, there was nothing of value in this room, so that rule was in name only.

On the other hand, Yasuo could not use the room when the Chamber Music Group or Light Music Group had their practice sessions here, but since their practice schedule had basically stayed the same since the times the Choral Club was active, Yasuo’s forays into the club room were hardly ever interrupted.

And so, Yasuo stood alone in the middle of the room as he had done several times before and took a deep breath. He put his palms together, focused on his breathing and the power that flowed through his body, and then passed the magical energy between his palms without moving his body.

A small point of light, the size of the tip of his little finger, illuminated his palms as it passed between his hands that were held apart at a distance the size of a rugby ball. Even doing only this much gradually caused Yasuo’s breathing to become ragged.

And soon, before even ten minutes had passed,

“Buuaaah!”

Yasuo was not able to endure it anymore and broke his stance. The light dispersed and Yasuo’s forehead was beaded with sweat.

“It’s no good. I only went without doing this for three or four days and I’ve already lost the knack.”

It may have just looked like he was moving a firefly-sized amount of light between his palms, but in reality, the stress on his body was equivalent to holding up a ten kilogram weight in each hand.

“Aah, my wrists.”

Even the fatigue he felt afterwards was exactly the same as working out with dumbbells.

It had been four days since Diana had heard about his make-up tests and put his sorcery training on hold. Today’s foundation-level practice was his first in four days, the first since the day Diana had moved into the Marigold Tokorozawa Apartment, and this was the result.

At this rate…

“That’s why I told you to focus on doing what you can do. Do not attempt things that you are incapable of.”

“Uwaaaaaah!?”

Yasuo jumped at hearing the voice of someone apart from himself in the room all of a sudden.

He quickly looked around to see where the voice came from, and saw that Khalija was looking into the room from outside the window, of all places. The problem was that this room was on the fourth floor, the uppermost floor of the old school building, and there was no balcony or any sort of place to stand outside the window.

“W-What do you think you’re doing? What if someone outside the building sees you!?”

“I could ask you the same question. Practising foundation-level sorcery in an enclosed space like this, what if you lose control? I sensed that you suddenly started raising the level of magical energy in your body and rushed over thinking that there was some sort of emergency. I’d appreciate it if you stopped doing things like that… there we go.”

What’s more, Khalija entered the room through the window and Yasuo was stunned upon seeing what she was wearing.

“Hey…”

Khalija was wearing a tracksuit that belonged to Takeoka High School.

Diana also often wore a tracksuit during their Magitech Knight training, was there something about tracksuits that caught their fancy?

At any rate, the school-provided tracksuit definitely looked odd on the silver-haired Khalija, and it wasn’t much of a disguise either.

At the very least, she should remove the circlet that she was wearing on her head. The tracksuits used by the students of Takeoka High School were a subdued blue, and it was the same color for students of all years. Khalija’s looks were already very striking, wearing a glittering, black circlet with an orange jewel embedded in it made Yasuo seriously question if she had any intention of disguising herself in the first place.

“…By the way, where did you get that tracksuit? Did you steal it from someone?”

Hearing that, Khalija replied without any trace of guilt on her face.

“I thought that the Magitech Knight uniform would stand out too much, so when I asked Nodoka, she let me borrow this saying that it was used by students of this school. I slept in Major Krone’s room last night, but I failed to consider the matter of clothing.”

“Wait, so that’s mine? That idiot Nodoka, doing whatever she wants! Why didn’t you just borrow some clothing from Diana!?”

“It couldn’t be helped. I can’t very well steal something from strangers who know nothing about our situation, and I can just wash these clothes and return them to you later. Also, Major Krone’s sizes are different from mine in many ways and I can’t use her clothing. My apologies.”

In spite of her apology, Yasuo could see from her expression that she didn’t particularly feel bad about it.

Even last night, she sounded like she was talking about serious things but ended up just teasing him. She acted like a perfect soldier in front of his father, so he had no idea what to make of her current attitude.

Was she putting on an act for Hideo the Hero? Or was she just taking Yasuo lightly because he was unskilled and younger than her? Judging from what Diana said about Khalija’s military experience yesterday, Yasuo couldn’t help but think that it was the latter.

After thinking about that, Yasuo suddenly remembered what she had done to his neck the previous night and he felt his cheeks grow warm. He hurriedly put some distance between them to get away from Khalija’s teasing face.

“E-Even so, please don’t use my school clothes! I might need them as well.”

“I will acquire some inconspicuous clothing when I have some free time. Please put up with it for the time being. I’ll make sure to wash them properly before returning them… Or maybe you’d prefer it if I didn’t wash them?”

Even Yasuo was capable of calmly dealing with someone who spoke so frankly.

“Please wash, dry, and iron them before returning them. Also, there’s no getting around the fact that you’re fairly conspicuous, Khalija-san, so please think over the guard plan a little more carefully.”

Seeing that Yasuo had calmed down, Khalija just said “Boring,” and finally dropped her teasing expression.

“If you’re saying that I should stop guarding you from a close distance, then that is rejected. There’s no assurance that the Shii that escaped yesterday won’t attack you again today. Major Krone should also be staying close to Nodoka today. You will be going to some place called a prep school after this without returning home, correct? According to the schedule that I received in advance, you are already thirty minutes late in leaving here. Please keep unexpected activities to a minimum.”

“U-Unexpected activities…”

Although her words were exaggerated, Khalija’s expression was serious.

“In the military, deviating from the schedule for no good reason is grounds for severe punishment. If you come to Resteria as the Hero, you will undoubtedly be assigned to the Knights Division. If that happens, you won’t get away with such a light rebuke.”

Saying that, Khalija looked at the clock that was mounted on a wall.

“It’s time to move. Madoka has asked me to use something called a taxi on the way back. Understood?”

“Yes, that’s fine… Say, Khalija-san, I have a question for you. Also, please don’t walk inside the school looking like that. At the very least, leave the way you came and try not to let anyone see you.”

“Hmm?”

Yasuo stopped Khalija who was about to calmly head into the school corridors while dressed in a tracksuit that made her stand out, and then asked her a question.

“The military rank of 『Major』… How hard is it to reach that?”

Khalija thought about the meaning of that question for a little while, and then suddenly gave him one of her inscrutable smiles and came closer to him.

“You’re not interested in knowing about 『Colonel』? If you’d like, we can go to some quiet place where nobody will disturb us and I can give you a detailed explanation.”

“No, I’m not interested, thank you.”

Khalija looked a little unhappy upon seeing Yasuo reject her idea while sighing deeply, as if he found her truly annoying.

“Despite being a naive kid, you’re no fun at all. I’ve heard that your father was also quite straight-laced in his youth despite looking frivolous, maybe that’s the only thing you’ve inherited from him?”

“That sounds very interesting, but for now, I would appreciate it if you answered my question.”

“Well, that’s fine. But you should know, I’m not saying things like that just to tease you. If you want to become a Hero, you should get used to things like that quickly.”

Yasuo felt astounded as Khalija had pretty much said that she liked to tease him, however Khalija obediently stopped trying to leave the room through the door and went towards the window instead.

“The title of 『Hero』 is unimaginably heavy, in more ways than one. I’ll tell you what that means, as well as many other things which Dianaze Krone, that pure girl who is even more naive than you, has probably not talked about. Let’s meet in front of the main gate in ten minutes. Don’t be late.”

“Y-Yes…”

Khalija’s mood now was a complete change from her teasing attitude earlier, and Yasuo agreed right away.

Yasuo carefully hurried out of the school while making sure that he didn’t catch the attention of his friends or classmates. By the time he reached the main gates, he saw that a taxi was already waiting outside the gate and Khalija was waiting next to it in an imposing pose.

“You’re late. It’s one minute over the agreed time.”

“I-I’m sorry. It took some time to make sure that I wasn’t seen leaving…”

“That’s well and good, but pointless because someone already saw you.”

“Eh?”

Yasuo looked back to see what Khalija was looking at.

“Ah, Yasu. Are you done with your make-up test? Leaving already? Want to go to the station together?”

“Ugh! Aoto!”

By some freak coincidence, Aioi Aoto was walking towards him while dragging a trunk packed full of Theatre Club props.

“Hmm? A taxi? …Who’s that?”

Of course, he saw the taxi, and Khalija wearing the tracksuit with the name “Kenzaki” stitched on it.

“Uh, this is…”

“Are you one of his classmates? I’m sorry, but he has a prior engagement with me today. Please ask him again from tomorrow onwards, if you have the time.”

Saying that, Khalija wrapped her arms around Yasuo’s arm, fully aware of the fact that Aoto was looking at them.

“Uwaaaah!?”

Yasuo panicked when he felt a sensation on his arm that must not be felt, and tried to pull away. However, he could not break Khalija’s grip even though she didn’t look like she was putting any strength into it.

Yasuo could not go against Khalija as the difference in his strength from a Magitech Knight was made apparent at even a time like this.

“Time to go, Yasuo.”

“Eh? Prior engagement? What? Eh?”

“Ah, sorry, Aoto. Today is…”

Even Yasuo didn’t know how to complete that sentence, but in any case, Yasuo was dragged into the taxi after only being able to say something vague to Aoto.

“Well then, we should be going…. Take us to the Western Exit of the Tokorozawa Station, please.”

After saying some unnecessary parting words to Aoto, Khalija spoke to the taxi driver as if she was used to it.

“…Please let go. I need to fasten my seatbelt.”

“What, are you embarrassed?”

Freed from Khalija’s grip, Yasuo turned around inside the moving taxi and saw the figure of Aoto getting smaller as they left him behind, looking towards them with a dumbfounded expression.

Yasuo hung his head while feeling a sense of despair, but he heard Khalija say something unexpected beside him.

“You’re probably blaming me for doing something so conspicuous.”

“Eh?”

“I did that on purpose. Right now, I need to be vigilant when you are approached by people, no matter who they may be. No, it’s not just you. The same holds true for Nodoka as well.”

“……What do you mean?”

Yasuo guardedly asked her that, and Khalija looked at the view outside her window after glancing at Yasuo once.

“This is also related to how difficult it was for Dianaze Krone to achieve the rank of Major.”

※

“Putting it this way might sound rude, but neither your parents nor the rest of your family live in a particularly special environment in this world, correct? ”

“Well, that’s true. To be frank, there must be a ton of similar families living all over Japan.”

The husband is a salaryman, and his wife is a housewife. Their son is in high school, and their daughter is in middle school.

Looking at their life in the past, they were a completely unremarkable family.

“But General Alexei and Her Excellency, Erijina, couldn’t live that kind of life. They were both from distinguished families, and were leaders of the country. What’s more, they were Heroes on par with Hideo, and their names were known throughout the world. Also, they had a single child, the beautiful Major Krone, no, Dianaze. What do you think? Can you imagine what kind of things she had to put up with, just because of this?”

Yasuo used his meager imagination to the fullest, and stated the answer that he arrived at.

“Jealousy, resentment… And maybe receiving marriage proposals for political reasons?”

“Exactly. I heard that it was quite terrible.”

Anyone who married the one and only daughter of the Heroes would become the center of gossip in the public eye.

“This is just a rumor, but I heard that she had nearly a hundred suitors as soon as she reached the age of twelve.”

“A hundred suitors at the age of twelve!?”

This statement caused Yasuo to doubt his hearing.

What kind of people would propose marriage to a girl who is only twelve years old?

“Of course, most of them were men she had never met before. As a woman, even thinking about that makes me feel disgusted.”

Khalija spat out those words while looking seriously disgusted.

“Of course, her parents threw such proposals straight into the fireplace, keeping only the name of the sender so that they could send a letter of rejection. From the perspective of their national interests, there would be major international problems if their only daughter ended up being married to nobility or royalty from a different country, so the applicants were selected very carefully. Even with that, there were still a hundred people. I feel like telling those people to at least try and hide their intentions a little.”

Receiving marriage proposals from people she had never seen, even as a child, Diana had been aware from the beginning that people had been only interested in her background and not herself.

“Unlike Japan, Resteria does not have an official age of majority that is determined by the law. However, by custom, the age is set to fifteen years.”

“I see.”

Fifteen years of age is still very early.

Yasuo had heard that the age of attaining manhood was around the same back when the Samurai were in control of the government. He remembered that the essay he had to write for Social Studies in place of taking a make-up test was on the topic of 『Reduction of the Age of Majority』, and he decided to pay close attention as he might be able to use this as a reference.

“By the time Dianaze reached the age of majority, it became nearly impossible to repel the pressure from the people surrounding them. There were many people within the country who came to General Alexei with proposals for a political marriage. And so, she enlisted into the Knights Division almost as if she was desperately running away. ”

“Running away?”

“That’s right. If she joined the Knights, she would be a soldier. As soldiers pledge allegiance to their country, for obvious reasons they cannot easily enter into marriage with nobles of foreign countries, at least on paper. By doing that, she made sure that the people who were after her were limited to only those within her own country. Once that was done, as long as her parents were vigilant, she could avoid receiving any more annoying marriage proposals, barring any from people who fell in love with her at first sight.”

“So when you said that Diana received preferential treatment to get promoted, was it to protect her from people like that?”

“No. This is an administrative matter, but in our country a person needs to be a field grade officer or higher in order to use the Gate Tower. Her special promotion was due to the decision to simplify matters by forcefully promoting her, even if it meant twisting the law. She was only a First Lieutenant until three months ago, after all. Her promotions up to that point were due to her own talent and hard work. The combat and magical abilities she inherited from her parents were on a different level compared to the others in her age group. Although she lacks experience, should you only look at her fighting ability she is even comparable to me.”

Khalija had explicitly declared that she was stronger than Diana, but that was not important right now.

“However, if she just wanted to avoid getting married, couldn’t she have just become a nun or something similar?”

“Are you talking about the Church of the Divine King?”

Even though she asked him that, Yasuo had never heard of the religion before. From the way she said it, he assumed it was one of the major religions on their world.

Khalija grimaced and shook her head.

“The Church is a den of wicked people that even makes the Knight Division looks attractive in comparison. The church’s borders are not as strong as that of the country, and if a child from a noble family joined them, it would be obvious to everyone that it’s only temporary measure. It would be like hiding in a cage full of flaws while trying to escape from wolves. There’s no point in doing that at all.”

After hearing that, Yasuo was forced to agree that it made sense.

Yasuo remembered that there were questions on his Classical Literature test about tales written by writers in the Heian Period, about women who had become nuns and yet sang songs of love about how they wanted to return to their lives someday. He remembered wondering if people really took holy vows so irresponsibly.

“The same thing applies to you, as well.”

“What?”

However, Yasuo was surprised because she suddenly shifted the topic of conversation to him.

“Let’s set aside your actual ability for now. Let’s assume you were taken to Resteria by Major Krone, and were accepted as a Hero by the people. What do you think would happen then?”

“What would….”

“You’re a healthy, eighteen-year-old young man. The son of a Hero who wielded overwhelming strength and saved the world in the past.”

“Eh, don’t tell me…”

“The number of people who would like to get closer to you are probably more numerous than the Shii. Depending on which faction you join, the country might be thrown into chaos. There will be people who will offer you their daughters’ hands in marriage. There might even be good-for-nothing daughters of nobility trying to woo you among that number. There will be rulers who bring you large tributes and petition you to give priority to saving their own populace. Do you think that you will be able to deal with people like that?”

“N-No, but still… Won’t Diana’s mother and the King do something about that?”

“Of course, they will protect you in the beginning. However, His Majesty, Borad IX is very old, and after the death of General Alexei, the workload of Her Excellency, Erijina, has increased greatly. Resteria is currently full of people who are looking askance at the influence of the Krone Family and the life of the King, and it is being wracked by power struggles between people who will resort to any means necessary. It’s basically a warzone. In such a situation, the country still needs to come up with countermeasures against the Shii. Of course, there will be a fair number of people who will be there to help you, but most likely it will be different from your father’s time when they went on a tour of several foreign countries and managed to save the world in the end. With things as they are right now, even if you manage to become as strong as your father, you will just be seen as a 『Weapon』 with the convenient label of 『Hero 』.”

In other words, he would be a tool, used at will and whim by those in power.

“But that’s not all I wanted to say. What I’m going to say now concerns the Shii that appeared the other day, and the reason why I went out of my way to show myself to your classmate.”

“Eh?”

“I just explained what would happen to you in Resteria if you went there as you are now. However, this is not restricted to only Resteria.”

“Not restricted to only Resteria…?”

“Don’t you understand? It’s not just Resteria that wants the power of 『The Hero』.”

“!!”

At that moment, Yasuo suddenly understood what she was trying to say.

Resteria was not the only country in the world of Ante Lande. There were places like the Grand Duchy of Torjesso, which was the first place to be destroyed by the Demon King Kaul, and even yesterday Khalija had mentioned some place called the Gaz Commonwealth.

“During the war with Demon King Kaul, the situation was so dire that Hideo the Hero was welcomed all over the world, and every country supported him during his travels. However, the situation right now is different. Nobody has come up with any permanent solution to the Shii problem yet, but the situation hasn’t deteriorated to the point that it affects the stability of countries. There are also other major world powers with access to their own Gate Towers.”

Yasuo finally understood why Khalija had purposely called attention to herself today.

“So there might be other countries who are targeting Dad, Nodoka, and me?”

“Almost certainly, if they have managed to catch wind of the fact that you intend to become a Hero. No, you should assume that they already know about that.”

Khalija moved her eyes alone and glanced at Yasuo.

“Hideo will certainly side with Resteria, and there are few people idiotic enough to try anything unlawful against such a legendary existence. However, you and Nodoka are different. If they manage to acquire the two of you, they might be able to win an advantageous position among all the nations in Ante Lande. You might be used as leverage against Resteria during negotiations on completely unrelated matters. As the two of you currently have no backing, you have such immense value that any country that manages to gain control of you will be able to completely overturn the current status of the world.”

“S-So you’re saying that other countries might make a move with the intention of kidnapping Nodoka and me?”

“It might not necessarily be kidnapping. There are many ways to bait you. Money, prestige, women, and especially the safety of your city and family, which is of value to you right now, might be used as material for negotiation. Even we are doing the same thing, after all.”

True, there were many areas in which the daily life of the Kenzaki Family was being greatly supported by the Resteria Kingdom.

Also, because of the attack by the Shii the other night, the Kenzaki family could not afford to reject the assistance of Diana and Khalija.

“I think that the man mentioned in Major Krone’s report, William Bareig, is one such person. That might also be the reason why he was after you and Nodoka.”

“You… You really think so?”

Sure, people might think that way if they found out about William’s words and the outcome of the battle from a second hand report.

However, because of his experience, Yasuo could not bring himself to believe that William was human.

It would be difficult to put into words if he was asked to explain why he felt that way. It might have just been the dormant wild genes present in humans since ancient times that made him feel that way, but Khalija would probably not understand it even if he explained that to her now.

It was something similar to the Shii; you would not understand it unless you actually encountered it yourself.

Besides, Yasuo had no basis to say that just because William was not human, he was not related to any nation or organization from Ante Lande.

Khalija continued to speak.

“Because of that, both Major Krone and I have to stand out. We, Resteria, have called dibs on Hideo the Hero and his family. We will not forgive anyone who ignores that and attempts to get close to you. Well, it’s something like that.”

“Eeh… Hey, what are—!”

Before he realized it, Khalija had once again nestled close to Yasuo, causing his blood pressure to rise rapidly, and he tried his best to escape to the corner of the seat.

However, as if to tease Yasuo for his lack of experience, Khalija put her lips close to Yasuo’s ear and breathed out on purpose.

“Even the driver of this taxi might be a person from Ante Lande, you know? Wouldn’t it be a problem if he’s a spy sent here to investigate the lives of you, Nodoka, and Major Krone? That’s why I’m here to protect you like this.”

“Ah, fine! I understand! I understand, so please move away! Aaaah!”

At this rate, he would fail to protect something else. If it was possible, he wanted to escape through the window.

He could feel an unfamiliar sensation against his arm, through the cloth of his own tracksuit.

Perhaps she was satisfied after seeing Yasuo who looked ready to burst into tears, Khalija let out a small laugh and moved away from him as if nothing had happened.

“Haa… Haa…”

Yasuo took a deep breath to calm his rapidly beating heart and glanced at the driver’s reflection in the rear-view mirror.

The elderly driver showed no signs of having heard any of their conversation, as if he was wearing earplugs, and was driving the car safely. Yasuo actually found it troubling that he did not appear to be paying attention to them at all.

“That’s right, I though of a good idea. There’s a way to minimize the stress caused by all the various problems I just explained to you. Do you want to know how?”

“…You’re going to tell me anyways, right? What is it?”

After silently rebuking her in his heart, Yasuo asked her that, and Khalija raised her finger, looking like she had completely reverted to her teasing mood.

“Things will become so much simpler if you and Major Krone get married. I mean, you’re both the children of Heroes, after all. The eyes of the entire world will be on you, and you will have the overwhelming support of the kingdom and the Krone family, so you won’t have to worry about being taken for a ride by any strange people…”

Yasuo truly wished that he hadn’t heard that.

It looked like even Khalija didn’t expect such a reaction from him, so she wrinkled her eyebrows as if she was dissatisfied.

“Major Krone is a beautiful girl even by the standards of this world, isn’t she? What are you so unhappy about?”

“I’m seriously starting to wonder if you’re really in the same age group as Diana. You completely sound like someone’s aunt! More importantly, please stop saying things like that!”

“How rude. It was a serious idea, you know? Also, what do you mean by ‘things like that?’ What exactly do you want me to stop doing? Hmm?”

Even though you know exactly what I mean!

Yasuo gritted his teeth out of anger and held back that scream.

“What part of that sounds like a serious idea? Why is everyone trying to pair up me and Diana?”

“Everyone?”

“Uh, it’s nothing, just something on my side… More importantly, what are you trying to do!? You’ve just been saying all these things that make me not want to go to Ante Lande. Aren’t you supposed to be Diana’s assistant, Khalija-san!?”

“As I said earlier, I am against the idea of summoning the Hero to Ante Lande.”

Khalija was enjoying herself seeing Yasuo argue with her with a red face, but she once again glanced out of the window and gave a somewhat lonely laugh.

“You have a point. I don’t want you to become disillusioned with how Ante Lande is right now. The same goes for Hideo the Hero as well.”

“…Become disillusioned?”

“The Ante Lande that your father travelled through and the current Ante Lande are completely different. I don’t see any reason why you should leave this bountiful and peaceful country behind and risk your life to come to our world, but if you do end up going there, I just want to do my best to make sure you don’t have any bad memories. Lately I’ve felt that…”

The view outside the window indicated that Tokorozawa Station was near, and Khalija for some reason whispered only the next words in a quiet voice.

“…the Shii are a punishment from the Gods for forgetting about the calamity caused by the Demon King Kaul and being consumed by fighting amongst ourselves.”

“Right then, it looks like we’ve arrived. Don’t worry, I won’t try to enter such a small building to keep an eye on you.”

“Please spare me.”

After getting down from the taxi, Yasuo looked back at Khalija, who was still sitting inside, and frowned.

“Hoever, like I said earlier, I plan to stay somewhere close. I might end up switching with Major Krone at some point, but you should just assume that one of us is nearby even if you can’t see us. I would also be thankful if you carefully think about those other matters as well.”

“Yes, yes.”

“Replying once is enough. Aah, one more thing. Wa… you.”

Khalija made a serious expression and lowered her voice.

“Excuse me?”

However, he wasn’t able to properly hear her over the noises outside and the sound of the engine.

“I said, watch… behind…”

“What is it? I can’t hear you.”

Yasuo furrowed his eyebrows and leaned closer her to her through the open door. Khalija gave a smug smile as if she had achieved something, and Yasuo had a bad premonition, but it was already too late.

Khalija once again brought her face close to his ear.

“Watch out behind you. There’s a girl glaring at you with an incredibly angry expression.”

And said that with a hint of sarcasm.

“!!! Ouch!”

Yasuo tried to turn around suddenly and banged his head hard against the roof of the taxi, and while he crouched down in pain, the taxi carrying Khalija sped away.

Yasuo didn’t even have the time to glare at the tail lamps before he timidly turned around, and…

“Hello, Kenzaki-kun.”

Shouko was glaring down at him with such intensity that he felt like she would shoot ice magic from her eyes.

She was obviously extremely angry with him, and Yasuo could only act flustered, as he didn’t know the reason.

“H-Hey there, Tatewaki-san.”

“I think there’s something I should apologize to you about.”

“Eh?”

“Remember the joke I made back then? It was back when you didn’t recognize me right away, Yasu-kun… no, Kenzaki-kun.”

From the way she changed the way she called him, he could guess the degree of Shouko’s inexplicable anger.

“I said that you were probably friends with a lot of girls, so it couldn’t be helped if you didn’t remember someone like me, right? I’m sorry.”

“S-Sorry for what…?”

“I just thought that you were actually quite popular. You’re with two different girls in a matter of a single day, and what’s more, both of them are foreigners. You even kissed her after getting out of the taxi, it’s so incredible that I can’t keep up at all. I guess people who go to a private school in the city are made of different stuff after all. Is this what they call making progress?”

“Ki…!? No, it wasn’t like that!!”

Yasuo wanted to deny it, but he was flustered upon hearing the word “kiss” and turned red after remembering what had happened the previous night in the backyard.

He knew that it would completely support what Shouko was thinking, but he couldn’t stop his emotions.

He had been on his guard, but he still got conned by Khalija in the end.

She had indeed planned things out so that people who saw him from afar would think of something like that.

Khalija had probably noticed Shouko the moment he stepped out of the taxi. She had purposely taken the kind of action that would ensure that Shouko would remember her.

However, no matter how important it was to be conspicuous, there were other ways to do it!! Though, even if he wanted to say that, Khalija was nowhere in sight, and it didn’t look like Shouko would believe him either.

Besides, what kind of place did she think private schools in a city were like?

If they were talking about cities, then the neighboring Higashimurayama Station that was in no way different from Tokorozawa was already part of the Tokyo Metropolitan Area.

Besides, the only places that students could go to that were near the train station closest to Takeoka High School were convenience stores, a MgRonalds, and unmanned stalls selling vegetables.

It was a student life completely devoid of any sort of city-like charm, so it was troubling when people just used the term “private school in the city” to draw their own conclusions!

“Something like this is on an entirely different level from going to buy manga, so you should consider the TPO, okay? Goodbye.”

“A-Ah, wait a minute, Tatewaki-san! It’s not what you think!”

“What? What exactly is different? I don’t particularly care about who you go out with, Kenzaki-kun.”

The expression on Shouko’s face when she turned around was not the expression that someone who didn’t care would have.

“Like I said, I’m not going out with her or anything…”

“Oh, so you were just playing around by kissing someone you’re not even going out with?”

“No, it’s just a misunderstanding!”

“Ah, sorry, I have a test during my lesson today. Goodbye.”

Shouko spoke quickly to shut out what Yasuo was trying to say, and quickly walked into a lecture booth. This must be what was meant by being unapproachable.

Not only was he unable to resolve the misunderstanding, he actually made it worse. Yasuo fell down on his knees while thinking about that, and,

“H-Hey, what’s wrong? You look really pale, are you okay?”

He felt like he was about to faint, but after hearing the voice of Kobayashi, the teacher in charge of him, he managed to regain his senses.

※