kscans

Chapter 789 - That Innocent Person

—And so, after the endless commotion, the party reached its peak.

After receiving words of encouragement from the General Commander, who had managed to pull himself together—or at least pretend to—for the closing remarks, and from our comrades who were staying behind, not chosen for the raid.

"So, you need something?"

We moved from the Eastern Round Table to a familiar, pure white training room. An instance field set up inside our faction's base, the [Otherworldly Underground Castle - Ruvalest].

I'd been suddenly hit with a 'let's talk for a bit' and, figuring it was no big deal, obediently followed and now stood beside my 'senior.'

It was obvious who I was addressing.

"It's not that I need anything in particular."

It was one of the two people who had just caused such a stir at our gathering.

And so, Irori, who was, as usual, spreading his annoyingly refreshing handsome face to the world... had an appearance that was slightly different from usual, something I'd noticed for a while now.

"I just need a partner to get used to this. So... again, just humor me for a bit."

"I don't mind, but..."

At his left hip. Next to the scabbard holding his familiar blue blade, was an unfamiliar sword with a crimson hilt wrap.

...It might sound weird to say this, but I could tell without him even drawing it. I knew who had gifted it to him, and by whose hands it was forged.

And so, as the samurai started walking away to create some distance, the words I sent to his back were,

"Finally looking like a proper dual-wielder, huh?"

"...Hah, you're not wrong."

Friendly smiles and lighthearted banter. That was more than enough—now then,

Alright, time for a Recall.

"Just a light spar?"

"Yeah."

As I drew my [Samidorizuki], Irori, with impressive skill, drew both of his swords in a single breath... one a deep blue, the other a fiery crimson, their blades glinting with contrasting colors.

Ahh, it's definitely her work.

As if to hide the smile that had unintentionally formed on my lips—a beat after confirming, I took a single step, not even a full run, and playfully lunged at him.

The one that met my jade blade was the crimson sword in his left hand.

The sound that echoed was the crystal-clear ring of steel.

"What's its name?"

"[Crimson Moon]."

"I see, so they're sister swords."

"Shouldn't it be brother swords?"

"Do people even use that kind of phrasing for swords in the first place?"

"You're the one who started it."

At this point, it was just swordplay we were all too familiar with. It would be a different story if we were serious, but in a light spar like this, we knew each other's moves inside and out.

Even if his weapon changed, his honed technique wouldn't change so easily. Thus, there was no tension, and if anything at all was different, it was...

"...What's with that look?"

"Nothing?"

Every time our blades clashed. A small, unconcealable emotion was transmitted through the crimson sword.

Well, don't glare at me like that. I'm not going to tease you about this—well, let's set that aside for now.

"A bit late, but congrats, man."

"...Well, I'll accept it."

When I offered the congratulations I hadn't been able to give earlier because I was tied up with Ri-na, something strange happened. I thought, 'Huh?' The man who had maintained an invincible poker face in front of everyone else now suddenly looked uncomfortable.

What was this? Should I tease him about it?

As our swords clashed in an almost unconscious flow, I tilted my head at the choice before me—

"And, I should thank you as well."

"Huh?"

As if to stop me, Irori spoke, still looking uncomfortable.

"I won't go into the details. But if I hadn't met you, Haru, things wouldn't have turned out this way... At the very least, I'm sure of that."

"Hmm."

"Don't think about it. You don't need to understand. Just accept it."

He opened up and, just like that, rattled off his words. They didn't quite click with me, but... well, if that's what he was saying.

"Alright, in that case—who confessed first?"

"What do you mean, 'in that case'? Don't get cocky. It was me."

"Wait, you're actually telling me? Huh??? It was you????"

I let it slide, at my senior's request. Then, when I steered the conversation to some random small talk, I was met with an honest, straightforward, and this time, completely shameless manly reply that left me bewildered.

"How are things on your end? Any progress with that... pyramid relationship?"

"—Huh? Ah..."

It was a completely unexpected counter from Irori, and I was so thoroughly caught off guard that my reaction was delayed. The blade of the [Crimson Moon] slipped past my [Samidorizuki] and sliced my avatar in two.

"You fool."

"Could you stop being so sharp? In more ways than one."

"My apologies, that wasn't the right word—you oaf."

"That's basically the same thing...!"

Since damage was nullified in the training room, there was no effect other than a crimson line appearing where the sword hit and a shower of phosphorescent light instead of blood.

But the words, mainly, had an immense impact on my psyche.

...Maybe 'immense' is an overstatement. Let's just say it was extremely strong.

"Come on, don't just stand there daydreaming."

"Yeah, yeah, I—"

"Well, it's not like I'm one to talk about love and romance either, but."

"Are we continuing this topic...!?"

And so, while he toyed with me with his two swords as I struggled with just one, my mind in disarray.

"Your situation is too unique for anyone to call you a fool or a coward. I have no intention of doing something so ridiculous myself."

"I-I, see..."

I wonder what he was trying to say. As a slightly awkward atmosphere built up again... I could feel that Irori's dual blades were also starting to falter.

""............—""

Finally, a clash. It didn't take long for our jade and crimson blades to lock and come to a halt.

"...Haru. I'm about to ask you something strange."

"Yeah...?"

I had never seen it before. This expression on his face... one that showed a complete lack of confidence in his own heart, in the words he was about to say, in so many ways.

"You don't have to answer. And no matter what you say, I won't say anything. You'll have to trust me on that, but I promise to refrain from thinking anything of it either."

"..."

I didn't have to think hard to understand. He was about to ask something that wasn't simple. Seriously. Sincerely. To the point of being uncharacteristically considerate of me.

In that case,

"Okay."

All I could do was listen.

That level of trust was, at this point, a given. I conveyed this unspokenly with a light expression and a nod, and... Irori looked at me intently before speaking.

"Hypothetically. Let's say... that Ui-san developed feelings for you."

"..., ..."

"And let's say she confessed those feelings to you."

"..."

"...What would the you right now do?"

He spoke, he asked, and silence fell.

To be honest, it was a completely unexpected question. My brain had frozen about halfway through, and a resounding "Huh???" was taking up most of my mental capacity.

"............................................................"

But, I understood. I understood that Irori was seriously, earnestly thinking about something, worrying about it, and that's why he had asked.

And so, I took my time, and I thought.

And thought.

And thought—

And at the end of it all.

"—...It's impossible, I guess."

My answer was just a few words.

Across our two swords, his blue-green eyes, staring at me, did not waver.

"I know that Ui-san cares for me in a special way."

"...I suppose so."

"I can't imagine it, but I won't say the possibility of her seeing me as a man is zero."

"Right."

"But anything beyond that is 'impossible.'"

"..."

I'm ashamed to admit it, but the me right now has his hands completely full.

I'm in the middle of a desperate sprint towards an 'answer,' holding more feelings than I can carry in both hands, sacrificing my vitality and mental state every day.

That's why the 'her' that we know would absolutely, positively...

Never choose an option that would become a burden to me, her 'disciple.'

"The 'Ui-san' we know is like that, right?"

"...You're right."

I'm well aware that this answer is based on presumption and my own dependence on her. But as her 'disciple,' as long as I look up to her as my 'master,' I can't give any other answer.

Any words that betray that trust would, without exception, be an insult to my master.

"...And it's just a gut feeling, but I don't think there's anything like that right now... probably."

"Is that your feeling as her disciple?"

"Pretty much. ...Since you were the one who brought it up, I'd like you to take what I'm about to say to the grave without getting emotional."

"That depends. Let's hear it."

"Seriously..."

The solemn atmosphere had already dissipated by more than half. That must have meant that Irori had come to his own terms with my answer.

In that case, a little extra.

"Seriously, please listen to this on the premise that there's no nuance of looking down on her or making fun of her, okay? I'm just going to state a near-certain fact, alright?"

"Go on."

"Okay, uhm... —Ui-san, probably, is on the level of an elementary schooler."

"....................................................—Huh?"

Wait, don't move your sword. Stop. I'm not done talking.

"No, listen, that woman, she's popular, right...? There's no way she's not popular...!? A person that charming in every way, there's no way she's not popular with men, right...!?"

"That's a given, but."

"What's your deal, anyway?"

Setting aside the ever-present [Sword Saint] fanboy.

"But you know, that woman, she probably, almost certainly, no, definitely, doesn't get it."

That alone should have conveyed my meaning. The proof was in Irori's immediate skeptical expression, as if to say, 'That can't be true.'

However, I know.

As her disciple, I've spent a long time with her, and in doing so, I've naturally come to learn of numerous ditzy episodes.

"I thought so too at first. I thought, 'Ah, this person is the man-killer type who's fully aware of her own charm.' In fact, I still haven't completely abandoned that perception. But you know, she doesn't get it. Seriously, for real, she just doesn't get it...!!!"

"........................Seriously?"

After I insisted that much, Irori must have realized I wasn't joking. He let out a bewildered sound, the likes of which I'd never heard from him before, and the strength left his sword.

Very well, time for the finishing blow.

"For the sake of my master's honor, I'll omit the details, but I've been told stories that make me go 'Huh???' With that in mind, let me state this with certainty."

That person... Ui-san, she certainly understands her own charm. But that fact is, in a subtle way, not connected to the realm of 'romance.'

—She has stopped at the understanding of being 'liked by people.'

"Ui-san has definitely never been in a romantic relationship."

"........."

"Probably hasn't even had a first love, I'd bet? It's a mystery if she even perceives the opposite sex in the same way we normal people do."

"........................"

"Her awareness in that area is incredibly thin."

"...................................."

"Don't you have one too? An episode where you thought, 'Ma'am, is your sense of distance with men okay?' I can say with conviction that you definitely have one."

"............................................................I do..."

See?

I told you so.

"...Is it because of her environment?"

"Probably...?"

From a young age, she was immersed in the dojo, raised surrounded by older men like her grandfather and his disciples. On top of that, her own nature is solely focused on the 'sword,' having spent her time single-mindedly pursuing the path that captivated her... the 'modern-day samurai,' as the little one calls her.

Well, it's nothing new that she's not a normal person, but—

"................I had thought."

"Yeah?"

"That she was very, incredibly... an adult, far beyond my reach, and so................"

"Yeah."

"That she was enlightened..."

"I get it."

"...A manifestation of the composure befitting the name [Sword Saint], I thought..."

"I know what you mean."

Well, that's what you'd think.

Anyone would be swallowed by that mysterious and overwhelming aura and think that.

And you'd never imagine. That her 'composure' towards the opposite sex was—

"................An elementary schooler, huh..."

That it was, by some miracle or grand accident of her upbringing, preserved as it was. That it was due to the pure, girlish 'innocence' she still possessed to this day.

"Irori."

"........."

And so, at some point, his sword was lowered.

As I nodded endlessly at my senior, who was now staring into space with a dazed expression and a half-smile, I patted his shoulder encouragingly, as a predecessor who had once walked this path unknowingly.

"I totally get it."

I could only offer my heartfelt agreement.

---

I told you before, didn't I? Your read on the Master is a critical fumble. What I'm trying to say is that the Sword Saint is just that innocent.

By the way, the 'ditzy episodes' that were omitted to protect the master's honor are confirmed to be released in a massive info-dump somewhere down the line, so wait for it.