Chapter 74

< 073. Ready to KaBOOM! >

And the next day.

That guy came.

The noisy guy came in without any tact, bursting through the door.

“Oh! Senpai! How are you?”

“Nephty.”

“Yes! Are you buying something to eat! I came to eat something! Oh, snacks are good, but meat is also good?”

“There’s no meat.”

I served Nephty a roughly made dish. Since my skill level in cooking became 10, I can make something decent enough to eat, assuming I know the recipe.

Nephty, holding the roughly made cream pasta and a smoothie, started eating right away, exclaiming, “Oh, ohh!”

While those three colorful chicks are constantly chattering, Nephty is the type who eats quickly, efficiently, and mercilessly.

From the perspective of someone who makes the food, she’s the kind of person who eats it all without complaint, looking satisfied.

“Oh! It was delicious! Thank you!”

After finishing, she bowed her head and took the dishes to wash them herself.

After the meal, we had a light tea time. By that, I mean Nephty drank the smoothie prepared for her, and I leisurely enjoyed a cup of beans tea.

“By the way, haven’t you been busy lately?”

“Hmm? Yes, it’s spring, so the construction sites are quite busy. There’s a lot of work in the construction field.”

“But do you have time to come here? The 8th district is quite far.”

“It’s thanks to the black one. It’s incredibly convenient.”

“The black one? No, it’s a combination of the spirit wolf and the magic carriage, called the Wolf Carriage.”

“···Ah. Wolf Carriage. What a cool name! So it’s magic, not a horse!”

Nephty took a sip of the smoothie and smiled.

The Wolf Carriage driven by Partarush is highly praised by regular customers, but even Nephty, who used to visit the convenience store only occasionally due to being busy with on-site work, now comes regularly thanks to the regular service.

Ah, Partarush went back to the public department to pick up some items.

I promised to give her an extra hour of leave, and she dashed off.

“Am I alone today?”

“No, Aila is giving a lecture to Milmayou.”

“···A lecture? Is Milmayou-kohai planning to apply for the Magic Department next year?”

Nephty tilted her head.

Milmayou’s status, which has already been revealed, is more suitable for the Knight Department than the Magic Department, and she doesn’t even have the ability to apply for the Magic Department in the first place, so it’s natural for her to be curious.

“No, she’s learning combat techniques from Aila.”

“······Huh?”

Her head tilted even more. She must be wondering what that means.

“Didn’t you know? No···. I see. It’s natural that you wouldn’t know.”

“······?? Aila-senpai is teaching combat techniques?”

“Hmm. You’ll see. She’ll be back soon, so you can ask her then.”

I pointed to the convenience store door, and there, Aila was walking gracefully, while Milmayou, looking a bit tired, was trudging along.

“I’m back. Wolfaram!”

“I, I’m back···.”

“Hmm. Come in quickly.”

***

After hearing the whole story, Nephty nodded a couple of times.

“Ah, so that’s what happened. So, you’re practicing?”

“Yes. It’s been a while. Nephty.”

“Ah, you can call me Nephty, Tairystar-senpai.”

“Then I’ll call you Aila too. Nephty.”

“···Hehe. Yes. Aila-senpai. But I have a question.”

“What is it?”

“Aila-senpai, can you use combat techniques? You’re in the Magic Department, right?”

“···Hmm. I can use them to some extent for self-defense.”

Aila said this casually, and Nephty exclaimed, “Oh···.” Then, Milmayou.

“···Is, is that just for self-defense? Then, what exactly···. The combat techniques I know···.”

Milmayou looked at Aila as if she had seen something terrifying, trembling.

What exactly happened?

“···From Milmayou-kohai’s reaction, it doesn’t seem like ordinary self-defense techniques?”

“Oh, it’s not that impressive.”

“I’m curious. Hmm. Hmm···.”

Nephty looked at Aila with a somewhat itchy feeling.

Hmm.

Ah, this kid, could she be···.

“Nephty, you seem to be curious about Aila’s combat techniques.”

“Oh, is that so?”

“Yes, ahaha···. I try to learn all the skills in my department if possible.”

“That’s right.”

This kid, who learned the 【Guard Formation】 skill in an era when no one goes outside, is just the type who likes to learn and is attracted to shiny things.

“···But self-defense techniques, and from the top student of the Magic Department!”

Nephty’s eyes sparkled.

Is it really that interesting?

For Wolfaram, with a Strength of 2, one hit would send him flying, so he doesn’t really know.

But in response to Nephty’s words, Aila reacted.

“Say that again.”

“Huh? Aila-senpai’s self-defense techniques!”

“No, what did I say before that? What did I say about the Magic Department?”

“Top student of the Magic Department?”

“Hmm, hmm. Yes. I’m the top student of the Magic Department. I defeated Regina Siella, whom no one could beat, and rose to the top!”

“Yes, yes? Yes. That’s right.”

“Then there’s no choice. Since you’re curious about my self-defense techniques, I’ll teach you!”

Oh, a self-defense technique showdown between Aila and Nephty.

If Aila uses magic, she would win a thousand times. But if it’s just combat techniques···. Who would win?

“Then let’s start with a demonstration···.”

“Ah···. That’s it.”

Nephty seemed a bit disappointed, so I intervened this time.

“Instead of just showing the form, how about a sparring match? Without using battle skills, purely with technique.”

“Oh, that’s a good idea.”

“···Oh, oh! But, Aila-senpai, won’t it be dangerous? Even without battle skills, there’s a difference in status.”

“Well, I can hold back.”

I said that, and although Nephty seemed a bit hesitant, the two of them ended up sparring in the open space in front of the convenience store.

And the result was···.

“I won, didn’t I? Hehe.”

“···Eh, eh? ······Huh?”

It was a light, easy victory for Aila.

***

Even with the premise that no battle skills would be used, Aila’s overwhelming victory was an unexpected result.

She tripped Nephty’s legs, bent her arm, and threw her down, then pinned her limbs and put her hand on Nephty’s neck.

That was it.

Aila, after winning so easily, smiled and looked at me.

“Hehe. Nephty. Did you see well?”

“Yes, yes! Wow···. Aila-senpai’s victory···!”

“What about Wolfaram?”

“···It was a great move. You’re really impressive.”

“Hehe, you can praise me a bit more, you know?”

“You’re impressive. You’re rebellious.”

“Hehe. Hehehe.”

As she said this, Aila smiled, and I shrugged.

On the other hand, looking at Nephty···.

“I’m a millipede···. I’m a millipede···.”

She was somewhere broken, sitting in a corner of the open space, staring blankly at the sky.

I didn’t expect her to be this damaged.

“By the way, ···Wolfaram-senpai, did you expect this?”

“Hmm? I thought it would be a close match.”

In response to Milmayou’s question, I nodded.

This is due to Aila’s status.

Aila Tairystar’s magic power is 19.

It’s a far cry from Eve’s 22.

Compared to Regina Siella’s 21, it’s lacking.

However, the real scary thing about Aila Tairystar is that her other stats compensate for her lack of magic power.

Her stats, excluding magic power, are generally above 15 to 16.

Specifically, her Strength is 16, her Constitution is 14.

What’s surprising is that Aila’s Dexterity is 17.

In other words, if things go wrong, she can stand at the front, wrap her fists in black crystals, and quickly hit people, evolving into a battle mage.

It was the same in the game.

When fighting Aila in Act 3, if you drain her magic power, she starts hitting with close-range attacks, and it’s incredibly painful. She hits with black crystals wrapped around her fists.

With her high Dexterity, trying to attack Aila physically results in a huge evasion boost.

She was a really dirty boss.

On the other hand, Nephty has a Strength of 17, a Constitution of 16, and a Dexterity of 14.

Of course, her Strength is higher than Aila’s, but this is because Nephty was caught off guard and hit once.

However, I couldn’t just explain it like that, so I decided to persuade the chick with another reason.

Should I say it’s an explanation fitting today’s purpose? Something like that.

“The duration of skill acquisition is different.”

“Duration?”

“Hmm. Aila, when did you start learning self-defense techniques?”

“I started at three years old. The acquisition period is quite long. In contrast, Nephty, ···well, it might sound like this, but you started learning in Jefrin, right?”

“······Millipede···. Ah. Yes. That’s right.”

“The difference in proficiency in the field of combat techniques is over ten years. And the Tairystar-style self-defense techniques, when mastered to the extreme, can even aim for Tier 4.”

I’m still at Tier 7.

After saying this, Aila laughed, looking a bit embarrassed.

No ···Tier 4?

And she’s at Tier 7 now?

······It’s higher than I thought. I shouldn’t mess with her.

“I see. There’s a duration of acquisition···. Oh! I really learned a lot! I’ll practice more! ···Ahaha. I really learned a lot.”

Seemingly brushing off the injury, Nephty smiled and saluted.

If it’s Nephty, she would show the positive side even in a situation where she seems to have been hurt.

However, there was a strange shadow in her smile, as if the injury wasn’t completely gone.

“Hehe. Hehe···. I’m a millipede···.”

Hmm.

Hmm.

Since I set up the sparring match, that smile stabs my heart a bit.

“Nephty, don’t worry too much.”

“Yes? Are you comforting the millipede?”

“Who’s a millipede? If you had led this sparring match into a dirty fight using all the methods available, you would have won. Your combat techniques are at least Tier 7, right?”

“That’s true.”

“Your mistake was underestimating a Magic Department student and going in lightly. Use your own style of fighting.”

“······Ah. I see. Thank you, senpai!”

Only then did Nephty smile.

I turned my head to look at the pink chick.

“Milmayou, what are you thinking?”

“···Ah. Well.”

The pink chick was quite serious, her expression stiff and lost in thought.

“Tell me what you’ve realized.”

“·········Gail Strike must have been practicing the Strike family’s greatsword techniques since he was young, just like Aila-senpai, so his proficiency must be high.”

“That’s right.”

“In contrast, my training is very shallow. So, the difference in learning is absolute. But the opponent might be so focused on the form···.”

This kid is really smart.

It’s amazing how she caught the intention right away.

But the real point of her being smart is not just that.

“I have to win using all the means at my disposal.”

“That’s right. You caught it well.”

She grasps the essence of what she needs to learn right there.

This might be the real talent of this kid.

“Yes. Thank you, senpai!”

“Then let’s start thinking of all the means you can use. Just in time···.”

In the distance, the wolf carriage was coming this way, rumbling.

“Senpaiiiii! I brought the items you ordered! Give me a donut, pleaseee!!”

A yellow chick was waving at us from inside.

“Sure. Just in time, one of the means you can use has arrived.”

In the carriage’s cargo area, there was a gauntlet made by the yellow chick with all her might, for her friend.

***

A few days later.

Milmayou, who had internalized all the “means” Wolfaram told her, was quietly sitting in her seat during break time.

Usually, her friends Vanilla and Yogurt would be with her, but today, they “intentionally” left their seats.

As a result, the pink chick was left alone and, of course, was targeted by a carnivore.

“Milmayou. Milmayou von Sabre.”

Gail Strike.

The arrogant and condescending son of a noble family approached Milmayou with a swagger.

“What is it, Strike?”

“Huh? What do you mean? It’s getting annoying to talk like this, so why don’t you join my faction? Huh? Let’s stop looking at each other like this.”

“······.”

“I told you, if you join my faction, it’ll be quite convenient, right? After graduation, you can seize the opportunity to advance to the capital, not return to your hometown that smells like cow dung! In exchange, you just need to lose to me once. How about it?”

“······.”

“Didn’t I say it would be advantageous in the top student review if the top student Milmayou von Sabre was completely defeated by me, the second-in-command? Let’s make a contract. I’m a man who keeps his word.”

Saying this, Gail chuckled.

Milmayou took a deep breath.

Her heart was pounding. What she was about to do was something the usual Milmayou would never even think of saying.

‘Can you do it? Don’t betray me.’

But a cold voice echoed in her head.

Usually, she seems cold and emotionless, but she’s the senpai who cares about others more than anyone.

And her first···.

At that moment, Milmayou’s mind became completely clear.

She knew what to say, and her heart, which had been pounding, calmed down.

“Gail Strike.”

“What is it?”

“I challenge you to a duel.”

“······Huh?”

“In two days. At 1 PM. In the public department’s sparring room, I will fight you fairly.”

“What, what are you talking about, you···.”

“In a first-year sparring match, the presence of two or more upperclassmen as witnesses is required. I have obtained the witness of the second-year Knight Department top student, Nephthys-senpai, the third-year Magic Department top student, Aila Tairystar-senpai, and the third-year Magic Department student, Wolfaram von Loewenkrug-senpai.”

The names she mentioned were all big shots.

Only then did Gail Strike’s face pale.

Just a noble son with no particular characteristics couldn’t even imagine such real monsters.

“Eh, eh···. Eh······.”

“Didn’t you say you wanted to defeat me and gain an advantage in the top student review? I’m challenging you first.”

“Duel···. Oh, I see, a duel···.”

Only then did a smile return to Gail Strike’s lips.

Even if those monsters come as witnesses, they can’t interfere in the duel.

On the contrary, it’s a good opportunity to show my good side to the upperclassmen and join the rising Wolfaram faction!

“Alright. In two days! I accept the duel. In the name of Gail Strike!”

“Yes. I will challenge you in the name of Milmayou von Sabre.”

Milmayou took off the glove on her right hand and threw it at Gail Strike’s face, and it hit and fell with a slap.

“···See you in two days.”

The murmurs of the surrounding students grew louder at the sudden duel, but Milmayou’s expression remained unchanged.

To be precise,

In her mind,

There was only one,

A single voice that echoed strongly,

Blocking out all other sounds.

【Milmayou von Sabre. KaBOOM. Are you ready?】

“···Yes. Senpai. I’m ready for KaBOOM.”