kscans

Chapter 588 - After the Stage

—I'd say the split was about 90/10.

The former being amazement, the latter being understanding. We'd crossed blades countless times, but this was the first time we had truly gone all out... which is why.

Irori's 'full power' was a weight that far surpassed my expectations. I was surprised and flustered throughout the entire fight.

That said, that '10' was just a part of it. The total breakdown of my feelings was 90:10.

And the 90, of course, was pure, unadulterated, 'I'm so damn frustrated,' needless to say.

So—

"If you don't move your hand in five seconds, I'm throwing you."

"Your voice is so low. How scary... By the way, what do you mean by 'throwing'?"

"Into the sky."

"You're not throwing something at me, you're throwing me?!"

I don't have the composure right now to play the saint in response to this teasing that's somewhere between consolation and mockery. So, when I let out a low threat, the little hand that had been poking the back of the loser's head—who was currently playing dead on the Round Table—instantly shot back.

"What's your problem? Your cute, kind, and cute senior is trying to comfort you."

"Hah, look who's talking, the designated ball of energy."

"Hey, mister. Don't you think you've been a little too blunt with me lately?"

But if she were to be deterred by something like that, I wouldn't be grabbing this red-head's face twice a week. Far from just poking, her fingertips began a rapid-fire assault on the side of my head. I bared my teeth in a half-serious threat, and Mi-na let out an exaggerated scream and fled.

And,

"...Ri-na-san, that tickles."

To the designated cute one (self-proclaimed) who has been endlessly stroking my other side, I'd like you to stop soon. This one simply and honestly conveys her concern, but as always, her mysterious soft touch is so light it's just plain ticklish.

"You both looked so cool."

"Ah, yeah. Thanks."

Unlike a certain red-head, I know she has no ill intentions, which frankly makes it harder to react or deal with her.

Her usual listless eyes stared at me, and that, combined with her unadorned praise, made me feel genuinely embarrassed, so I flopped back down onto the table. A strategic retreat.

"...Look, you don't need to worry or be concerned. I'm frustrated, sure, but I'll win next time. I'm not really depressed, my avatar is just dead on its feet and I can't move."

"You'll win next time?"

"Hm? Of course I'll win. Yeah, I'll definitely win. I've got a good grasp of his skills and his hand now, so next time I'll counter him and beat him to a pulp. No doubt about it."

"You sore loser from another planet. Take this, and this!"

"I'm throwing you."

"Eek! He's attacking me!"

I reached out for Mi-na, who had shamelessly returned, but my movements were so heavy that even a magic-specialized pipsqueak could easily dodge me... I had no choice but to show off my moves out of sheer stubbornness, but as I thought, it's still not at a level where I can use it in a real fight.

If anything, that's what's getting me down.

It's a technical proficiency issue, not something I can solve immediately, but now that it has a name, I need to polish it up so it looks respectable as soon as possible—just then.

"Hm?"

"Ah."

"Oh?"

The familiar sound effect of a teleport. Leaving my heavy body as it was, I turned my head toward the source of the sound... and there appeared a familiar, all-black figure.

"Oh, you're finished too? Good work, senpai."

"Hey, Tetra, you too. How'd it go?"

"I got torched."

"Haha, guess the matchup was just that bad, huh?"

My match with Irori had been the sixth in the latter half of the round, and so was '【Scorching Heat Gaze】 vs. 【Undying】'. As most had predicted, the ranker-on-ranker duel ended with Hinayo-san's—or rather, Hina-san's—victory.

Well, that was to be expected. No matter how skilled Tetra was at stealth, his opponent could casually incinerate the entire stage, making it a terrible matchup.

If even his Terror Armament, [True Theory: Shadow Cloth Looking Up at Black Wings (Per-fe Grim)], couldn't land a decisive blow, there was no way he could turn the tables. It couldn't be helped.

"I struggled a bit, for what it's worth. What about you, senpai? The rematch—"

"I LOST! ! ! ! !"

"Whoa, you're loud. And totally desperate... Well, that's a shame. Win next time."

He gave a casual response with casual words. He lightly tapped my shoulder with a whim, and my junior (who is also my senior), who had for some reason moved his seat quite far away, plopped down into the eighth seat.

Tetra is also on the smaller side, so like the other pipsqueaks already here, the Round Table's lavish chairs look especially huge. The visual calming effect is subtly powerful.

"So that means the first semi-final match in the afternoon will be Hina-chan and Irorin, huh?"

"We're going to get complaints again that 'the stage isn't visible because of the fire, ice, and steam.'"

"What's that? Sounds fun. Let's go watch."

"..."

Giving up on swatting away the pestering, I nonchalantly joined Mi-na and Ri-na's conversation while still collapsed on the table. I felt a gaze on me.

He was probably thinking something like, "He's not as down as I thought." I pretended not to notice the gaze of the considerate tsundere boy.

"Oh, sounds good. We'll go watch that one together, then...—"

"...Honestly, I didn't really understand 'what was happening' in your match."

"And until then, let's kill some time with..."

"I'd like an explanation from the source, if possible."

Just as I was trying to act carefree, an unexpected request came my way.

Hmm, an explanation. I don't mind that, but...

"...Weren't the non-participants in the selection matches supposed to be helping the committee with administrative work?"

"My share is already done."

"Alright, let's go! Teto-kun, you come too! ! ! ! !"

"Hey, you energetic slacker!"

"Eh... I don't really—ah, okay, okay, I get it, so stop pulling."

As I was pulled up from my chair by a good kid and a bad kid, respectively.

The two of us guys, who naturally met each other's eyes, probably had the same expression on our faces. Namely... 'It's a waste of energy to argue,' so let's just go along with it.

---

Hinayo-san, a mid- to long-range fire-power specialist, is participating in the front-line selection match for two reasons: half because she, being poor at PvP, volunteered to gain experience, and half because general players, seeking 'glamour,' were clamoring for her participation.

Tetra-kun was made to participate because Goldow threw him in, wanting to avoid a situation where the boy, who has little desire to fight, would become a 'Yurayura Mk. II' and refuse to participate in the Four Pillar War altogether. Being a tsundere with a decent sense of responsibility, he isn't doing it completely against his will.