Chapter 47: Days on Earth
“Senpai? Leas-senpai’s?”
On a holiday afternoon, Reiko, Leas and I were having a meal at a family restaurant in front of the station.
From the side it probably looks like flowers in both hands, but honestly it isn’t that kind of romantic situation. Because Leas’s hand-chop smashed my smartphone, I just made them buy me a new one.
Incidentally, not only Leas but Reiko also properly put out money.
This girl also seems to think she was in the wrong at that time — she occasionally presses her butt and takes distance from this side, but well that area is because of my unreserved way of speaking. I don’t feel bad about it, and conversely I feel sorry — and even though she’s wearing spats, the gesture of bashfully pressing down her skirt is erotic, I think.
——Leaving that aside.
I returned the thoughts that were about to digress in a double sense back to Reiko’s words.
Leas nodded “Ah” in a somehow buoyant voice.
“She’s someone who took care of me a lot in my hometown, and it seems she’ll come as early as around summer.”
“The person you sent a letter to the other day, right! But it’s unexpected. Leas-senpai, you have a few airheaded places, but basically aren’t you someone who can do anything? Somehow the image of ’being taken care of’ doesn’t float up.”
“I want to be that way, but — not only now, even long ago I was full of shortcomings. I often came crying, and each time she would raise a high laugh of ’It is best to leave everything to this me.’”
“Both the tone and the high laugh, your senpai has a thick character…”
While saying it in an exasperated way and sipping coffee from the drink bar, of course I know about Leas’s senpai from previous-life knowledge.
——Grace Wayne.
——Also known as Sacred Knight.
The highest rank of the Sacred who are warriors fighting using sacred power.
Of course, the “top of the other world Calmate” is Sacred Princess Altina… but the “top of the group called Sacred” is Grace. The former is like the king, and the latter should be called the knight-order commander.
Her strength is — frankly, nothing but a monster.
The reason Leas who is Sacred Saber was able to defeat her and take the seat of the strongest Sacred has a strong aspect of overwhelming compatibility difference due to the contracted spirits.
In addition, Saber also surpasses her in sword skill — but originally that level cannot defeat Sacred Knight. Or rather, normally you lose before even entering the sword’s range.
——Sacred Knight is by no means the strongest of the Sacred.
In truth Knight’s status is inferior to Saber in everything except HP, MP, and defense. Especially her agility is so sluggish it can be called dull; while Knight acts once, Saber can attack twice.
But if fighting as an enemy, she was a more troublesome opponent than Saber.
(…Even in the original, I thought it would be easy because I defeated the strongest Sacred Saber and had a terrible time…)
I remember scouting, looking at the status, and thinking “Yosh, easy.”
But there is no way an opponent of that level can stand at the top of the Sacred.
Frankly — if I currently antagonize Sacred Knight it is a complete checkmate.
If it means being unable to win, it is the same for Saber, Knuckle, and the other Sacred.
But if the opponent is them, in the worst case I might be able to run. It will probably become a disadvantageous gamble, but the possibility of surviving is by no means zero.
——But Sacred Knight is different.
If she challenges me intending to kill me — I will be sealed without being able to resist or run.
Even in the original game she was a stronger enemy than the Sabers, and if you challenge her with only the resolve of facing the first two you will get a game over at high speed. Even I on the first play thought “Isn’t the difficulty suddenly rising too much!?”
Even Alter who is far stronger than the likes of me becomes that way while leading numerous combatants and Monster Villains. There is no way a single tentacle Monster Villain can do anything.
——However, precisely because she is a strong enemy the participation period is late.
If Saber and Knuckle are safe she will not appear until around winter of this year.
The flags for her early appearance stand when “Sacred Saber’s training is completed and she becomes an ally unit,” or “her heart breaks and she becomes a shut-in,” or “Sacred Saber dies” — in short, when Leas’s crisis or death report reaches her ears.
Thinking that way the possibility of Knight coming to Earth in the current situation is almost zero. Of course, since I who am an irregular exist, believing the original too much is also something to think about — but since she is lively both physically and mentally, even if there is some error I think she will come in winter, or at earliest around autumn.
“Thick character, huh — well, I won’t deny it. Always full of confidence, sparkling, more reliable than anyone — she is a precious person. I want to introduce her someday.”
“Somehow she has a super ojou-sama feel~. To get along should I practice enjoying black tea in the meantime, is that so?”
“If you don’t understand ojou-speak I think it’s better to just talk normally.”
Eeh, I tried hard though~, Reiko pouted her lips dissatisfied, and Leas was chuckling.
Lately, the number of times she naturally lets a smile slip like this has also increased.
Long ago rather than cool it felt like she was desperately freezing her facial muscles, but that frozen thing seems to be slowly melting.
That fact is happy, and I end up looking only toward Leas. I have no intention of denying her aiming for the ideal champion of justice, but that doesn’t mean there is any reason she must keep tensing even on holidays.
“Ooh? What’s with that passionate gaze, Senpai Shusawa. Have you fallen in love with Leas-senpai’s smile?”
“Your vocabulary is exquisitely old-fashioned… Well, I think the cool figure is cool, but I also think the smiling figure is cute and good.”
I think transforming oneself while aiming for an ideal is itself a good thing — but that doesn’t mean there’s any logic that you mustn’t enjoy yourself.
Then, smiling enjoyably like this is by no means a sin—
“…What, you don’t have to stop the moment I say it.”
—I was thinking something like that, yet Leas stiffened and stared back at this side.
Beside her who slightly flushed her white skin, Reiko started sipping cola with a half-smile.
“Senpai Shusawa, that’s a straight ball~. Am I in the way? Unwanted? Then excuse me…”
“What era is that joke from. Or rather, this is general theory. Try doing a hearing survey of the boys at school; I think many will say the same as me.”
The desire for a beautiful girl’s face to be cloudy is something that holds because it’s a story; in reality it’s decided that smiling is more enjoyable to look at.
“Nn… It sounds interesting, but if I do that I’ll have to interview the guys who were chasing Leas-senpai around too, so pass.”
While smiling, yet slightly stiffening her expression.
As the owner of the mentality chosen as a champion of justice Sacred, she probably cannot forgive those types. Because they put on vulgar smiles without showing any feeling of guilt.
However, the ones who dislike boys like those are by no means only Reiko and the others.
Leas’s mentality stabilizing, the Sacred not being defeated and accumulating trust, and Niekawa and Harukaze surviving.
Those factors piled up, and the school’s public morals have improved considerably compared to the original.
Of course, as summarized on the “Sacred Images That Make You Cum Blog,” there are those who upload the Sacred’s shameful states to the net — but in the modern age where everyone has a smartphone, completely cracking down on them is impossible.
“Nn!”
“Oh, rebooted.”
“Even though you’re the one who froze her, what are you saying like it’s someone else’s business, this senpai. …Or rather, if I’m really in the way I’ll leave, you know?”
The last part was said in a small voice by Reiko, but I shook my head saying don’t overthink it.
“If I were seriously hitting on her I’d do it at a different timing. Besides, it doesn’t match — me and Leas.”
Whether as the student Shusawa Senjumaru or as the Vigilante Atel Octo, that does not change.
A champion of justice who is serious about saving someone, and a man who produced tentacles according to desire. Which is above and which is the bottom, there is no need to think.
Therefore surely, just casually chatting like now itself is unexpected happiness, and wishing for more is surely a mistake.
“Shusawa, I think saying that kind of thing many times toward a woman is not good.”
“No, I think Leas taking my nonsense seriously is the one that’s questionable. Don’t you have too little male experience?”
“…Certainly, almost everyone I was with in my hometown was the same sex — hey, is this my fault? Is it because I have no common sense?”
Well how about it? I cackled and escaped to the drink bar under the pretext of getting additional coffee.
Leas muu put her mouth in an inverted V and directed a dissatisfied gaze this way.
“…Well, is it also tactless for me to poke at this and that?”
Looking at us like that, Reiko was watching with a sigh as if saying she was exasperated.