The days went on, a little busy and a lot depressing.
Weather has a way of turning miserable at times like that. The sky stayed cloudy almost every day, rain fell now and then, and at night it got colder than the inside of a refrigerator. Nobody said it out loud, but every day felt like a wake.
Ed Silas had started closing the bar more often, and Joe the <Salt> was doing things that could only be described as “prowling around” all over the place. If you asked him, he might have insisted it was “gathering information.” Marta still showed up sometimes and disappeared sometimes—who the hell knew with him.
As for me, I had something much clearer to do.
A capable man makes a plan and moves fast. What had Ishinoo the <Musician> been investigating? What kind of screwup had gotten him killed like that?
And the dragon emblem split in half.
There was no shortage of things to think about and look into.
Especially indispensable was showing my face at Ed Silas’s <The Goonies> on Monday evening.
It absolutely was not just some fleeting desire to drink beer and play games for a change of pace. Ed Silas, Joe the <Salt>, or maybe Marta might bring in some new information—that was the real reason. Truly.
Unfortunately, nobody was there that day, so I ended up drinking nothing but beer watered down with ice and water while watching a baseball broadcast with Ed Silas, both of us looking like idiots.
I did not know much about baseball, but Ed, the owner of the place, liked it, so I had no choice but to watch.
The Tokai Deers, the team Ed rooted for, were down by three runs in the bottom of the eighth, but they had just hit a double that looked like the start of a counterattack.
Just then, even stone-faced Ed let out a groan and emptied his beer mug.
“Hell yeah! You see that, Yashiro? Tsushima’s kid did it!”
“Nice hit. That went all the way to left, didn’t it?”
“Next one decides it. Batting order’s on Inohara, huh—now this is getting interesting.”
“Inohara’s been scraping by with cheap hits all day. He gonna be all right?”
“Shut your mouth, you know-nothing piece of shit. Inohara’s the kind of man who comes through when it counts.”
Ed glared at me with terrifying intensity.
That was exactly when they arrived.
“—Ah! Master!”
The moment I heard that voice, Ed’s face turned sour and he raised the volume on the baseball broadcast. “Sorry,” I apologized, but I doubted he heard me. Could not be helped. I turned toward the entrance and saw two girls in school uniforms come in as the dull bell clanged.
Aki Shirogamine and Yukine Indo.
Indo had the same vacant, expressionless look as ever, but Shirogamine seemed vaguely dissatisfied. Somehow, I had the feeling this was going to be a pain in the ass.
“Master! What is the meaning of this?”
As expected, Shirogamine came over with an opening line that already sounded annoying. As far as I could tell, Shirogamine completely lacked the concept of developing a point through logical language. What kind of brain cells had she grown in there? Her neural tissue was probably shaped in some fascinating way.
While I was observing her like that, she planted herself right in front of me and peered into my face.
“The examination was last Friday!”
“Huh?”
“The examination!”
“What examination?”
“...The practical examination for sword combat.”
Indo added that in a quiet voice and, at some point, had seated herself beside me. That made me understand.
“Oh.”
I had, in fact, served as these girls’ “special training” partner twice since then.
Of course, I had my reasons. There was information I wanted to draw out using them—the Academy. The two who had come to the gymnasium that night.
Especially the gold badge worn by the woman called Levi. It was the same as the one clenched in Ishinoo’s corpse.
There was plenty of room for questions there.
In other words, why? Why had a woman like that, practically a Hero herself, been at the Academy? What did that badge mean? Did it have some connection to the Academy? Things like that. These girls and I had ways we could use each other right now.
Find the bastards who killed Ishinoo and make them suffer a fate worse than death.
That was the only thing a “Hero,” the lowest kind of piece of shit like us, could do. No matter how I thought about it, there was nothing else.
People often say the dead do not want revenge. But this case was different. Ishinoo would definitely say this:
Absolutely get revenge.
Make them suffer worse than hell, and while you’re at it, record the sounds of their pain.
“—Therefore, Master.”
While I had been thinking, Shirogamine had kept talking.
“Why did you not come watch us bravely challenge the examination?”
“Why the hell would I go? It’s not a pro baseball game.”
“There is no need to be intimidated. Even someone dressed as shabbily as you, Master, is permitted to observe Academy examinations, as they are open to the public. More importantly!”
“Hey, who are you calling shabby—”
“Anyone who dared criticize your appearance, Master, would certainly have been pulverized by me! Please understand the depth of this disciple’s respect and adoration!”
“You get pulverized.”
Once Shirogamine entered speech mode, it seemed she basically stopped hearing anything anyone said. Ed Silas silently plugged headphones into the television and began concentrating on the baseball broadcast alone. Enjoying the story? Read on at novelping dot com.
I had no choice, so I decided to ask Indo instead.
“So? How were her grades? She at least passed, right? Or did she fail in glorious fashion?”
“She got a retest.”
Yukine stated it flatly.
“Better than being disqualified. The match was a draw.”
“My opponent was truly formidable.”
Shirogamine looked up at the ceiling as though recalling some profound history. The ceiling of Ed Silas’s filthy, grease-sticky bar.
“She fired and withdrew, withdrew and fired back. A hair’s-breadth offense and defense—sparks flew, nerves trembled. It would be fair to call it a fierce battle. I truly wish I could have shown it to you, Master.”
“That true, Indo?”
“Mm—”
A brief silence. Her pale eyes narrowed a little, and then Indo tilted her head.
“I think the opponent was... normal? Around that? It was mostly a mud fight—”
“No, wait, Yukine.”
Shirogamine immediately cut her off.
“We are in front of Master. I would like you to exaggerate my exploits a little.”
“Mm... really?”
She did not seem quite convinced, but Indo fell silent anyway. Shirogamine started chattering in her place.
“Elena Sakakibara, the one I fought, was a highly skilled opponent. She belongs to the elite A Class and, like you, Yukine, consistently ranks near the top in practical skill grades. To add supplemental information, she also ranks highly in written examinations.”
“That supplemental information is unnecessary.”
Indo grimaced hard. Shirogamine did not care. That was the kind of person she was.
“The ability of A Class and the fruits of daily training—there was much to learn. I found myself newly impressed.”
“So, in other words, what?”
I snorted.
“You want to say that makes you amazing too, since you fought her to a draw.”
“No, not that much.”
I had meant it as sarcasm, but Shirogamine seemed genuinely embarrassed. The area around her neck reddened slightly, and she bowed with solemn seriousness.
“My dormant talent may have played a part, but I believe most of it was thanks to your instruction, Master.”
“Sure.”
Making Shirogamine understand sarcasm was too much trouble. I abandoned the effort and nodded.
“If Indo says she was ‘normal,’ then I guess the opponent was decently useful.”
“The way you phrase that somehow makes me feel not only that my own statement has been given no consideration whatsoever, but also that your trust in Yukine alone is one-sidedly high.”
I did not say, That is exactly right. It would be even more trouble. I pointed at Shirogamine.
“You still haven’t improved the weakness I pointed out at all, have you? If it turned into a mud fight, that means you were still using that passive counter style to scrape up points.”
“Yes! However, I take pride in having made use of your teachings, Master.”
“That pride pisses me off.”
“The disarming technique you showed us before—in kendo terms, a strike to the wrist. I thought I would use that proactively! Your spirit of nonlethality was certainly conveyed to me.”
“That is not what that was...”
I wondered if she was an idiot. Sure, that night, I had proactively aimed for wrist strikes to neutralize Levi. But that was because the law protected my opponent. There were no cases where an armed Hero using <E3> could claim self-defense and win against an opponent who was not a Demon King.
Destroying the limbs of someone you could not kill was rational, but it was about as far from a spirit of nonlethality as it got. If anything, with an opponent that troublesome, I would rather kill her if killing her was an option.
“If you can read people’s hearts, then read mine once in a while. What do you mean, spirit of nonlethality? You’re giving me hives.”
“R-read your heart, Master—such a thing...”
At that moment, Shirogamine made a face like she had swallowed some unimaginable delicacy. Or like she had been clubbed over the head.
I had no idea what kind of psychological fluctuation had occurred in her, but she took a deep breath.
“—No. As a matter of feminine refinement, I do think such a thing must not be abused. It is still too soon! For that sort of relationship! It is improper!”
“Oh, wow, that reaction is way more annoying than I expected. Fine, whatever.”
I truly did not care anymore. There were rotten piles of things I needed to care about more. For instance, the third one who had not shown up today.
“So,”
I said, changing the subject a little forcefully.
“How did Sera do? Actually, what’s she doing today?”
“Yes. Thanks in part to your instruction, Master, Sera passed. Today she has cleaning duty at the Academy, so she said she would be a little late.”
“King Arthur’s daughter has cleaning duty?”
Apparently Sera’s position was still far from privileged. Using her to force an investigation into the Academy did not seem realistic.
“So, on her behalf as well,”
“We have come here to express our gratitude to you, Master.”
“Oh, yeah? Then your job’s done.”
“No! If possible, I hoped to flatter you as much as possible like this and ask for today’s lesson! My retest is coming up!”
“You’re so honest I bet you don’t have many friends. No. You piss me off.”
“How did you know!”
That much was obvious. Instead of Shirogamine, I looked at Indo. I had felt her silent gaze on me. She was staring at me with pleading eyes.
“You said you’d give me lessons too, Instructor. Last time.”
“Did I?”
“You did. You completely did.”
“I see.”
I thought for a moment. To be honest, I also wanted to use them to get some things done.
“Excuse me, but I feel there is a difference in how you treat Yukine and me.”
Shirogamine sounded dissatisfied, but I ignored her and kept thinking. The information gathering I had in mind required manpower. It would be more efficient than doing it alone, and safer too. It was still a slightly dangerous bridge to cross, but—
Well, whatever.
I decided I would work these girls to the bone.
“You two free tomorrow night? If you are—”
“Yes! Extremely free!”
Before I could state my business, Shirogamine cut in eagerly.
“Whether there is school or heaven and earth are overturned, I shall accompany you!”
“Got it, got it—and Indo, you coming?”
I ignored about eighty percent of Shirogamine and asked Yukine Indo. She blinked once.
“Where?”
“Uh... a social-studies field trip.”
It was not a lie. It might have been very far from the truth, though. Indo paid no attention to that subtle nuance and tilted her head.
“Can I get stronger from that?”
“It’ll be practical format. Depends on you girls.”
“I’m going.”
Yukine Indo answered immediately. Settled. I took out my cell phone.
“Then Ikebukuro at seven tomorrow night. Don’t eat before you come. You might throw up. I’ll contact Sera.”
When she heard that, Shirogamine’s eyes went round.
“Yes? Um, now?”
“If you eat beforehand, you might puke.”
“No, that is not what I meant. Contact Sera? How?”
“By email.”
“Email!”
It came out almost like a scream. Shirogamine nearly collapsed on the spot, only barely catching herself against the counter at the last second.
“Why do you know Sera’s email address?”
“Because we exchanged addresses.”
“Cruelty! You have not exchanged addresses with me!”
Of course I hadn’t, I thought, but before I could say it, Indo tugged hard on my coat sleeve.
“Instructor.”
“What?”
“I want to exchange addresses too.”
“Fine, but do you even have a phone?”
“...Sometimes.”
After a short silence, Indo nodded. I had my doubts about whether that was true, but the style of not carrying one around all the time did feel extremely Yukine Indo.
Even if she really did have one, there was something otherworldly about Indo that made me assume she probably had no idea how to use it properly.
Then, from the side, Shirogamine seized my shoulder.
“Master! Please exchange addresses with me as well.”
“Huh. With Shirogamine?”
I probably let an absurd amount of revulsion show on my face. Emails with Shirogamine clearly promised to become a level of trouble beyond imagining. Shirogamine looked like she was about to cry.
“I feel a discontinuous disparity between how you respond to Yukine and how you respond to me.”
Of course there is, I thought again.