Chapter 238 - Toratsuna's Mighty Sword and a Reunion with Shizuka
Toratsuna's sword danced. The greatsword, nearly as tall as he was, swung with terrifying speed. I deflected its slashes with my katana, but the cumulative impact of the blows was taking its toll. My movements grew sluggish, and I focused on retreating to create distance.
"Toratsuna, stop this!"
"Shut up!"
He was completely seeing red. With his eyebrows raised in fury, he glared at me with the face of a demon. He lifted the greatsword above his head, bending his back leg slightly and shifting his weight onto it. He was planning to leap in and bring it down in one go. It was a big motion, but he was probably confident I couldn't dodge it. I tried to back away to gain some distance, but my heel hit the wall. There was no escape.
"Hey, stop..."
A single drop of sweat trickled down my temple. He intended to end this with a single, all-out strike. Wordlessly, he slid his front foot forward, closing the gap. In response, I raised my katana in a formal stance, putting strength into the ring and pinky fingers of my left hand. I tried to knead the mana in my body to block his sword, but I realized my reserves were perilously low. The mana I'd exhausted using Goddess Summoning hadn't fully recovered yet. A sense of panic set in. But it seemed the only way to convince him now was to beat him down.
"Kuh..."
As I glanced left and right searching for an escape route, Toratsuna kicked off the ground and brought his sword down with all his might. I moved in sync with him, using my left pinky as a pivot to twist my right wrist, moving the tip of my blade counter-clockwise to slide his sword upward. A harsh clang of metal rang out as the slash was deflected. However, I couldn't negate all of its momentum. Pressing down on his blade, I slipped to the left. Our positions were reversed. He was now facing the wall, and I was behind him.
"Whew..."
"Tch!"
A sigh of relief from me was met with a click of the tongue from him. Toratsuna swung his sword at me as he turned, but I backed away to avoid it. The strike whistled like a gale, cleaving through the empty air. He must not have expected me to dodge, as his eyes widened in surprise. In contrast to his panic, I was able to regain my composure. With a clear mind, I could see that his movements had large openings. His physical abilities were high, and the slashes delivered by his steel-like muscles held the power to kill in a single blow. However, his rage made him too tense; his movements lacked extension, and he left many openings.
From the corner of my eye, I checked on Fam and the others. It seemed they had been about to step in to help me, but now they had relaxed their stances and were observing the situation. They probably figured it was better for me to talk him down than for all of us to try and stop him.
"Don't underestimate me!"
He stepped forward to deliver another blow. I moved to meet him, timing his swing, and this time, I moved my sword tip clockwise, catching his blade and lifting it up. It worked perfectly. Toratsuna's sword flew from his hand and spun through the air. At the same moment I pressed my sword to his throat, the greatsword hit the ground with a metallic clang.
"Toratsuna... it's true. I haven't slept with Shizuka yet."
"'Yet'?"
"N-No, that's not what I meant! Please, just meet with Shizuka once. She was looking for you. She's really worried."
Hearing my words, Toratsuna let out a long sigh. His shoulders slumped as if the strength had gone out of him. After seeing this, I returned the katana I had pressed against his throat to its sheath.
"Besides, if you get this angry, why did you abandon her in the first place?"
Hearing that, Toratsuna clenched his fists and ground his teeth.
"You traveled with her, so you should know, right? Shizuka sleeps with anyone and everyone. And then she tells me about it afterward with a happy smile on her face. And then she has the nerve to say she loves me!"
"Maybe she thinks you're into that kind of thing..."
"Shut up! I don't want to see her!"
Toratsuna turned his back and picked up his greatsword. Despite its apparent weight, he lifted it effortlessly with one hand and returned to the center of the arena. He sheathed the sword in the scabbard he'd dropped there and sat down, just as he had been when we first found him. The members of Levante gathered around me. Only Sam remained at a distance. We all looked at each other.
"What should we do...?"
I looked to Mizuki, who seemed the most dependable member of our group.
"Don't ask me..."
She just spread her hands in front of her chest, looking equally troubled.
"He's so unmanly. That's why Shizuka ended up like that," Maira muttered. I see, so that type of man wasn't to her taste.
"No, Shizuka might have been different at first, but she must have been like that ever since she met Toratsuna."
"Then what difference does it make for him to act so unmanly now?"
"Don't ask me about it..."
Watching her glare at me with slightly narrowed eyes, I decided that if anything happened in the future, I would rush to her side immediately to avoid any trouble.
"...Just sitting here accomplishes nothing. I can't comprehend what he's trying to do at all."
Marmie was equally scathing. But upon reflection, Mizuki, Maira, and Marmie were all so beautiful that they never had to worry about men. They probably couldn't understand the feelings of a man agonizing over a woman like this. Thinking about it that way, I started to feel sorry for Toratsuna. Shizuka was all he had.
"I agree with my sister. I think we should just leave him," Fam said, nodding deeply in agreement with Maira.
"Toratsuna pointed his blade at Master. I cannot forgive him!"
I suspected Fam and Maira didn't quite share the same opinion, but I decided to keep my mouth shut.
"But he's a hero summoned by the Five Goddesses, and he can use the special skill 'Yasakani no Magatama.'"
"We should just leave him. I don't know how he's surviving in a place like this, but as long as he's here, he's safe. If we need him, we can just come back here again."
Maira said that, but considering the trouble it took to get here, I hoped we wouldn't have to.
I sighed and walked back to Toratsuna.
"We were transferred here by Racshell of the Five Goddesses. You were transferred by the goddess Renren, weren't you? You were told to defeat the Demon Lord, right? I'd like for us to cooperate."
"..."
Toratsuna sat clutching his greatsword, his eyes half-closed in meditation, showing no reaction.
"Come on, please. Just meet with Shizuka once."
"..."
"She was crying, thinking you might have been killed by Yuuki and the others."
I thought his body flinched slightly, but he still wouldn't speak to me.
"Fine. I'll tell her you're safe. And, I know this sounds bad, but I'm claiming Shizuka for myself. You can't have her."
I turned my back to him and glanced at the members of Levante to signal our departure. Since we couldn't get his cooperation, we'd have to rely on Racshell's power again to go to the dungeon in the Leafclout family's territory and return to Migul. The thought of spending two days in a dungeon until Goddess Summoning was available again was depressing.
"Wait."
A voice called out to our backs as we were about to leave.
"Did you really not sleep with Shizuka?"
His sharp gaze from before seemed to have softened. He was looking up, not at me, but at Mizuki and the others.
"They're not in that kind of relationship, but if you just leave them alone..."
Mizuki trailed off, hesitating, and then looked at me. It was clear that while she was talking to Toratsuna, her complaint was directed at me.
"Are you... um, this man's..."
Toratsuna blushed and averted his gaze, stammering something.
"No, she isn't! Mizuki is not the Master's girlfriend!"
"Why not?!"
Fam and Mizuki glared at each other.
"...Somehow, this feels very nostalgic."
Marmie took a deep breath as if to savor the moment. We left the Crystal Palace with Toratsuna and visited the Starunion family mansion where Shizuka was staying. Cecily and Aira had apparently moved into the magic academy's dormitory and were no longer at the mansion. Unlike the comfort Marmie felt, I felt a great sense of loneliness. But then again, as long as I was in this city, I could see them anytime. We were led by a guard to Shizuka's room. It seemed Shizuka had been spending time with Lini. When she saw Toratsuna among us, her eyes widened as she stared at him. Toratsuna looked away uncomfortably and scratched the tip of his nose.
"Ko-kun..."
She stood up from her chair and unsteadily drifted toward Toratsuna.
"Ko-kun..."
She repeated his name, and tears began to stream down her face.
"Should we head back home...?"
Mizuki said with a smile, watching the two of them.
"Yes. I'd like to go to the church as well," Maira agreed, her words accompanied by a gentle, indescribable smile. She looked almost like a Madonna.
"...I'll meet with Mother before I head back. I have to ask her why she gave that teleporter to Mash."
I wondered what Marmie hoped to achieve by asking that, but it was a matter between parent and child. I kept quiet.
"Just as you said, Master, it seems Shizuka really was in love with Toratsuna."
Fam murmured softly.
"Hmm? Did I say something like that? Well, it's annoying, but I guess it's for the best."
I placed a hand on her head. She didn't resist. It felt like the distance that had grown between us in Richelle was closing again.
"No, Master, you believed that Shizuka loved Toratsuna."
It seemed her sharp intuition had returned as well.
"It wasn't that I believed it... it was more that I hoped it was true."
"Wouldn't it have been better for you if Toratsuna hadn't been found, Master?"
"H-Hush, you!"
I ruffled her hair, pressing down on her head. She shrank back, her eyes narrowing.
"Anyway, I have Fam, Mizuki, Maira, and Marmie. I don't care about her!"
"...Master. Even though Shizuka was... with so many men... she still loved Toratsuna after all. What does it mean to love someone?"
"Who knows. I don't get it either. But I guess it's different for everyone."
She wrapped her arms around my waist in a hug.
"I never knew I had such feelings within me. But you brought them out, Master. It's truly, truly..."
Fam's arms tightened around me. Suddenly, I noticed Sam staring intently at us. Fam noticed too and quickly let go.
"Master, I want to eat your cooking tonight."
We decided to leave Marmie's mansion.