Chapter 165 - Tenth Seat, 1/2
Five of the Eastern Faction's rankers. By the standards of the general public, this was probably an incredible sight.
Putting me aside, as my face wasn't well-known yet, the other four were undoubtedly famous... so much so that it wouldn't be an exaggeration to call them world-renowned stars. And yet—
"Haru-kun, how are you feeling?"
"Ahaha... sorry, just a little more—"
"Hah."
"Nope, I'm totally fine! No problem at all! Let's start again!!"
"So easy to read."
"Having motivation is a good thing."
And,
"Anyway, do you guys have time to just come and watch?"
"The selection matches are over. We never had that much admin work to begin with."
"We have our own office staff, too."
"There are people whose job is to be office staff in a game...?"
"They're properly paid, I hear."
"Seriously...?"
And,
"And, and, aaaand? I hear you were on a date, big bro???"
"I was just adventuring with my partner."
"Hah! We've got the scoop, so you might as well fess up! C'mon, c'mon!"
"She's my partner."
"...I heard she's cute."
"You're getting in on this too...?"
"Are you talking about Sora-chan? She was indeed a very lovely girl."
"Sora-chan, huh?"
"Sora-chan, is that so?"
"Sora-chan?"
"Gah, stop ganging up on me! I'm not saying anything!!"
And,
"If you're being all suspicious with your partner, then what's the deal with you and Milmarinus, the Azure Fairy?"
"You...! At a time like this...!"
"Mil—what? Haaah!? Why's Nia-chan coming up now!?"
"You know her too...?! There's nothing going on! We just worked together for a bit—"
"It looked like you were getting along and playing around, though."
"Hey! We were not 'playing around'!!"
"So it was... one-sided?"
"Hah!? Big bro, haaah!!??"
"Aargh, so noisy!! I said it's not some deep relationship!!"
And,
"Haru-kun?"
"Y-yes...?"
"Just don't be insincere, okay?"
"—Please wait a moment, I am about to make a serious appeal, may I have your full attention?"
"Hey, isn't your attitude a little too different between Ui-chan and the rest of us?"
"Of course it is."
"It's appropriate."
"Ri-na-chan? Why did you look directly at me when you muttered that?"
"Because the order is Teacher > Others > You."
"Haaah!!??"
And so on, and so on.
It was, well... what is this? There was no otherworldly atmosphere, no tension, just a feeling of everyday life, as if nothing special was happening at all.
The casual chat that started around my collapsed form continued endlessly—
"You better introduce her properly sometime, okay?"
"Yeah, yeah, I get it... We'll probably have plenty of chances to meet anyway."
I roughly pushed away the persistent red-head and shoved her back towards Ri-na, only to receive a look of annoyance from the girl who was supposed to be her partner.
I get that you're the relatively sane one here, so please, for the sake of everyone's happiness, keep her on a leash.
"—Hey, who do you think I'm doing this for? Pay attention."
"Is this my fault???"
I turned at the exasperated voice to see Irori looking down at me from the raised platform. Ui-san was standing opposite him—
"I'll be sure to watch carefully, even if you didn't tell me to."
The conversation had eventually led to a proposal from Ui-san—in short, the Sword Protector, who had a track record of being able to catch her, would be showing me a demonstration.
Being taught something by Irori was irritating—but even I wasn't that hung up on my pride. I understood that he was clearly my superior right now, so I was willing to learn from him honestly.
"Are you ready?"
"OK."
"Whenever you're ready."
Ui-san addressed both me and Irori, and we answered in turn. I propped my foot on the edge of the stage to watch, while Irori—without any particular stance—simply stood naturally.
There was no hint of tension on Ui-san's face, nor on Irori's.
"Offense or defense?"
"Let's do one of each. Irori-kun, you may go first."
"Understood. Well then—"
Irori went first. Facing the calmly standing Sword Saint, the Sword Protector finally narrowed his eyes in concentration—
"Alright. Then—begin."
The first step was taken by both simultaneously, with their right feet.
They strode forward from opposite ends of the stage, closing the distance to a point where another step would put them within easy reach, and—
"...Huh?"
As both of them froze, a sound escaped my lips.
...No, on closer inspection, there was movement. From the knees up—in a range that didn't affect their limited step count—the two continued to make extremely subtle movements.
The bend of a knee, the twitch of a finger, the tilt of a shoulder, the direction of a gaze... It was as if they were engaged in a fierce exchange of tactics using nothing but these minute preliminary motions.
"—...Tch!"
After nearly ten seconds, Irori took his second and third steps.
Not forward, but backward. A second step with his right foot that chased for half a pace, and a third step backward that negated his first. In contrast, the Sword Saint, who had moved a split second earlier, took her second step... forward.
As a result, they maintained roughly the same distance, but with their roles reversed. Irori kept his sharp gaze fixed on Ui-san, while she lowered her eyebrows slightly and—looking somewhat pleased—smiled.
"—...Four moves ahead, seven steps."
"—Yes, that's right. Well done."
"............Ah, what?"
And just like that, it was over. While I was left confused, the two of them, having decided the outcome with words, accepted it as a matter of course and returned to their starting positions.
"Uh, excuse me...?"
You said you were going to show me an example, but isn't that a bit much?
I get it, okay? It's that classic master-level thing, the 'we don't even need to fight,' right?
It's cool and all!? So cool that I instinctively want to do it myself!?
"'Four moves ahead, seven steps,' pfft—how cool! Hahaha, he's just too scared to touch Ui-chan!"
"Be quiet, peanut gallery...!—You too, what are you staring blankly for? I'm not trying to be mean."
Irori, who had returned to the starting position close to where I was clinging to the fence, shot a glare at the red-head who had chimed in, then turned to me with a serious expression.
"Just watch carefully and memorize everything. This is the purpose of this training."
Even if you don't understand now—he said just that, then turned his gaze forward to begin the second round with their roles reversed.
Ui-san, who had been waiting for our exchange, immediately called the start of the second match. This time, both of them moved actively from the start, a complete change from before.
Their first step was forward, just like before. From there, it became a chase, with Ui-san pursuing Irori as he moved in a circle to escape.
As for who had the upper hand,
"—...Tch, kuh."
The pained expression on the face of the one fleeing told the story.
And then, at the end. The Sword Saint, who hadn't even moved her hand as they passed at close range, raised one hand—and Irori, likely by reflex, took a step back despite having several steps left, and let out a regretful sigh.
"...I concede."
"No, that was splendid. It was very well played."
Once again, the match was decided with the chaser's victory, without a single touch—
"...................."
I had carefully counted their steps. Ui-san had taken nine, and Irori fifteen... In other words, with her having only one step left, Irori, who could still escape for five more steps, had conceded defeat himself.
It wasn't as if he was cornered or in a checkmate situation, but...
............N-no... I... I really don't get it...
"Well... your face is about what I expected."
Seeing my face, which must have been a mask of confusion, Irori, who had finished his 'demonstration,' snorted without a hint of apology.
"Did you watch carefully and memorize it?"
"Well, that part... yeah."
"Then that's good. Don't forget it, and keep at it, junior."
He repeated that it was fine if I didn't understand now, then bowed to Ui-san and stepped off the stage.
Next, my eyes met with Ui-san's as she watched him leave with a pleased expression.
"And that's that—so let's get back to it, shall we, Haru-kun?"
"Ah... yes."
As I was told to resume my training, I tilted my head in confusion and climbed over the fence.