kscans

Chapter 727 - The Champion (Pint-Sized)

"――――…Don't you look even more refreshed than you did after the lunch break?"

"Well, yes. I managed to get a quick nap in."

And so, the time was just before 5:00 PM. The long, yet short, Triangle Duo had now reached its third program, starting with the first match of the semi-finals… and from here, another truly long journey packed with content was about to begin.

To be honest, I was probably lucky to have gotten that hour of sleep. While I wouldn't say I was fully recovered, my head felt significantly lighter than it had before the break.

My… pillow… was another matter. Still, I sent a silent prayer of thanks to my wonderful alarm clock for fulfilling its duty exactly as promised.

Of course, I couldn't possibly confess any of that, so I gave a vague reply. Hinayo-san, for her part, just let it slide with a simple, "Oh, is that so?" which was a relief.

Just like after the lunch break, logging back into the venue for the third time led me to a waiting room. Naturally, that meant our opponents for the next match would be in the same room…

"――――Curse you, mister, you've gotten annoyingly good at this…!"

"…Why me, too?"

There, on the opposite sofa, were two little figures restrained by thread to prevent the easily predictable chaos. Haha, you can't move now. I have my master's techniques on my side.

It went without saying that the red one was wrapped up tightly, but I'd also gently stitched the blue one to the sofa just in case, earning me a barrage of complaints and disgruntled looks, but I'd have to ask for their forgiveness.

Normally, I wouldn't mind it that much, but… well, you know.

With the memory—or rather, the feeling—of our recent contact still so fresh on my skin, I had a feeling a wave of guilt would wash over me if they came at me with their usual pouncing-and-petting routine—

"Well, let's put the minor details aside."

"That's not something the person committing the outrage gets to say!"

"Let's put the minor details aside."

"I refuse to be treated the same as Mi-na."

"Ri-na-chaaan???"

"Let's put all the miscellaneous things aside."

"…You've gotten stronger, Haru-kun."

Of course I have, Hinayo-neesan. In our faction, if you don't completely ignore the senior-junior hierarchy and take the helm sometimes, you'll find yourself unable to move forward.

"Anyway, the real question is what should we do? We both have a pretty good grasp of each other's hands, but we've never fought you two, directly or indirectly."

"Is that right?"

"Mister and Mi-na fight on a daily basis, though."

"A life of battle. How very Istia-like! I approve!"

"Yeah, I'm not really in the mood for that right now."

"So cold!!!"

"Maybe I should just wrap your mouth shut, too, without worrying about appearances…?"

"Hah! Just try it! I'll tell Sora-chan you're harassing me!"

"…We're not getting anywhere. Is this my fault?"

"Hmm… I think it's the fault of those two for getting so worked up over a single joke."

The listless voice of a fed-up Ri-na and the amused voice of a guardian-like Hinayo-san. If I could, I'd want to be on their side, but thanks to a certain troublesome senior who'd sulk if I didn't give her at least a little attention, that just wasn't possible.

And in situations like this, the turning point was always the same.

"――――Well, whatever, who cares?"

That is, when the red one, satisfied with her horseplay, switched into serious mode.

And so, despite still being wrapped up in shadow thread, she was completely at ease. Tapping her feet, she spoke as if the outcome of the stage was already a foregone conclusion.

"Putting Hinayo-chan aside, you're the challenger here, mister—this great senior will play with you without holding back, so come at me with everything you've got!"

She declared with a grin, all traces of jest gone from her voice.

On her cheeks was a smile not of teasing, but of confidence. Considering her usual behavior, it was a display that should have been irritating, but the problem was…

"Well, yeah…"

"Fufu… Let's do our best, as if we're borrowing their strength?"

Neither Hinayo-san nor I could do anything but agree without objection. The truth was, the Eastern Wings possessed the power to back up such a bold declaration, and to be honest, I couldn't really see a path to victory.

Their only weakness is their lack of mobility, but they have no other openings to exploit…

The common knowledge that high-mobility warriors who can close the distance instantly are the natural enemies of casters doesn't apply to these two. Short range, mid-range, long range—as long as you're within their line of sight, they're invincible. That is the strongest artillery cannon in Arcadia.

The fact that even Alicia would only try to approach them during a chaotic brawl involving a hundred people is a very clear indicator of their absurd threat level.

In short, in a two-on-two match within a limited area, the difficulty of beating them is demonic.

In the first Triangle Duo two years ago, they participated as a non-special entry and were eliminated in the first round by the indescribably wicked pair of the [Sword Queen] & [Castle Lord]. However, in last year's second tournament, they tore through the competition and magnificently snatched the championship. Their game face is different.

Well, their actual faces are still those of little kids, but…

"…Isn't having a fixed tag team like this kinda unfair? Shouldn't things be more equitable?"

Putting that aside, they're just plain dangerous. The second round of D-block. The hellscape they created, crushing the [Long Legs & Full Auto] tag team—who should have boasted an overwhelming number of attacks that no one else could match—with even more catastrophic firepower is still fresh and terrifying in my memory.

So when I let out a half-joking, half-serious grumble, two reactions came at once.

"We're two halves of a whole!"

"I don't really care either way."

One with a smug look, the other with a listless one. Though contradictory, their timing was perfect, a display of telepathy. Or perhaps, the fact that this happens from time to time is part of their charm.

An astounded "Eh???" from the red one as she looked at her partner, who proceeded to give her a dead-serious silent treatment while starting to munch on pretzels she'd grabbed from the party table.

How laid-back, I thought. As I was relaxing, my head feeling good after all that had happened… a screen lit up in the empty air. In other words, the time had come.

"Thank you for waiting, it's the semi-finals!!! Let's get fired up and get this show on the rooooad!!!!!"

With the announcer's voice as boisterous as ever, four figures appeared on the stage.