Translator: Haruto.
“Amane! Run!!”
At the exact time Shuu-kun’s words reach me, I see the rank-five appear before me.
This calamity is in a completely different league than the ones we were facing a moment ago.
A chill runs down my spine.
My instincts scream at me to run.
But my body just won’t listen no matter how hard I try to move.
My legs are shaking.
I turn to look at Shuu-kun and I see a serious expression on his face. He’s running toward me.
I feel safe for some reason.
Having calmed down, I look back at the calamity.
A smile is plastered on its horrendous face.
I know Shuu-kun will probably save me whether I fight it or not.
However, I feel that’d be wrong.
I’ll never be able to stand by his side if he keeps saving me forever.
I have some sort of strength within me.
That’s what my mother told me…
I’ve also experienced what it is to be powerless…
Back then, I didn’t have the courage to put myself in danger for him.
I was told not to worry. I was told I was simply too little…
But, how come Shuu-kun could?
Isn’t it about time I begin walking down the path that’ll lead me to him?
Otherwise, will I ever be able to stand by his side?
In terms of life energy control alone, it seems I’m more adept than him.
And yet, he still stands dozens of steps ahead of me—his own efforts and struggles have taken him there.
He possesses unparalleled combat intelligence.
That’s his real talent, even though he seems to be unaware of it.
He has the ability required to make his skills his own, but he hasn’t figured out how to properly utilize his divine arms yet.
I think so anyway.
Take the skill he’s about to unleash now; it’s obvious he’s already begun to modify it.
If he could only make use of that small variation, he could refine the skill further.
I even tried to tell him about it, but my master stopped me for some reason.
…Shuu-kun smiles when he’s fighting.
Whenever he’s engaged in a mock battle against our master, he smiles fearlessly.
And the harder things are for him, the wider his smile gets.
Every time I used to see him smile, however, I feared he’d eventually break.
He might become the strongest one day, but I fear that he’ll be left alone at the top.
And if he keeps overexerting himself…
I’m sure he’ll cease to be the person I know now.
I’m aware that this is nothing more than a hunch. The thing is, Shuu-kun is always putting others before himself, so it’s not hard to imagine him running ahead of us, all by himself, until one day he just breaks.
That’s why I want to support him.
I want to stand beside him and shoulder half, if not more, of his pain.
…In order to do that…
I can’t let a mere rank-five best me!
“Long Sword Original Skill: Light Snowfall.”
Resembling fleeting snowflakes melting to the touch…
Light Snowfall is a counter skill that allows you to evade your enemy’s line of sight by redirecting their attack away from you with the lightest touch of your long sword, twisting their bodies to awkward positions, and hiding you all at the same time.
You’re basically using their force against them.
It’s a variation of the so-called instant-movement technique.
My first encounter with Shuu-kun inspired me to come up with this skill.
I swing my sword toward the enemy.
The calamity avoids being beheaded by a hair’s breadth, but I at least manage to sever its arm.
Out of the corner of my eye, I catch a glimpse of Shuu-kun rushing to me, so I yell…
“I’m okay!! I’ll take care of this thing! You two go check on Asuka-chan!!”
After a moment of hesitation, Shuu-kun and Kaito-kun start sprinting to where Asuka-chan is.
Now it’s just this thing and me.
With that disgusting smile still on its face, it stares right at me.
I feel my hand shaking but I bring it under control.
Truth be told, I wanted to ask him to save me.
But I know that I must overcome this hurdle by myself.
Even if most adults might think that I’m too young or that it’s too soon…
I must do this so that I can one day catch up to him.
I break into a sprint.
I change my speed constantly to confuse the enemy.
The arm I severed has regenerated already.
The calamity looks like a giant pig.
It’s probably around three meters tall.
I decide to target its legs.
“Long Sword Battle Skill: Flash Sword.”
I cut the tendons of its feet.
This calamity has a material form which means that it has strong muscles and its attacks are obviously quite heavy. With that being said, I can also take advantage of its material body to immobilize it, considering how, unlike spirit-type calamities, this one takes longer to regenerate.
That’s how I’ll take it down.
After wounding its legs, I position myself behind it and use the momentum to add force to my swing, which I’ve directed to its back.
But the wound is not deep enough!
The moment I realize my mistake, I’m launched away with extreme force and crash into a tree.
—From the Protagonist’s Perspective—
We check Asuka’s condition.
She’s hurt here and there but her life is not in danger.
I can see the gold medal still firmly held in her hand. She doesn’t change, huh.
Alright, she’s just unconscious from the calamity’s attack. That’s all.
All of a sudden, I hear a loud bam. I turn around and I see Amane, blasted into a nearby tree.
“Ghaa…!”
She lets out a wail.
“Amane!”
“I-I’m… okay… I… got this…”
She stares at her opponent.
I think somewhere in my heart I always saw Amane as a fragile jewel that needed to be protected.
And yet, here she is; regardless of the tears trickling down her eyes and the wounds all over her body, she doesn’t avert her eyes from her opponent.
Even skilled fighters have trouble handling rank-five calamities.
A large life-energy reserve isn’t enough to defeat them.
I can’t help but be amazed at what a shrine maiden can do.
Although, I know it’s not just that. Amane has gotten this far through her own efforts.
She uses an original skill.
It appears to be a derivation of her LV1 long sword counter skill.
I’d be lying if I said I don’t feel a little jealous seeing her easily pull off something that’s been giving me so much trouble.
I tried hard to gain an advantage, but she’s rapidly catching up to me.
Of course, I want her to get stronger.
But I also can’t help feeling frustrated.
Without a doubt, this battle is important to her.
Sure, I could jump in and save her at any time, even without my divine arms that seem to have been sealed by a certain someone…
I’m gonna kill that old fart.
Ah, shoot, I got distracted.
Anyhow, I could probably win using Divine-Blood Strengthening at 100%.
Even my life-energy reserve is completely full.
However, something tells me I shouldn’t intervene.
I don’t want to become an obstacle to her growth.
I continue watching over her.
She’s hurled away, over and over again. And each time, she stands back up.
It takes everything in me to stop myself from rushing to her.
And at long last…
Amane’s long sword cuts the enemy in half.
Her body sways with exhaustion.
I catch her before she touches the ground.
“Well done.”
Relieved and calm, Amane lets herself fall asleep.
Quick Announcement.
I started two new projects. Here they are if you want to check them out:
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