Chereads / Parallel Trials of a Somewhat Hero / Chapter 17 - Chapter 17: Quest

Chapter 17 - Chapter 17: Quest

"Eh? What did I do?..", Seijurou said, as he once more looked up like searching for an answer. "You mean when I polished it in the Underforge?"

The vibe of the cloudless sky revealing the stars seemed to have contradicted the mood with tension growing between Jax and Seijurou, as they glared at each other. Even a headstrong Chizuru was quite feeling it with the way her expression turned into worry. As the faint and cool summer breeze howled to announce the short night's arrival, she anticipated that an encounter between these two was never going to be pretty, at least basing it on previous events.

"Did you purposely sabotage my game plan by making it lighter?..", asked Jax of Seijurou after a few moments of tense silence.

"Oi, Baka-Xi! That's going a little too far!..", Chizuru immediately came to Seijurou's defense.

However, Seijurou stopped her by raising an arm slightly in front of her. "Oh, that would probably be one of its effects."

Jax sneered while clenching his fists. "So, you really did something to make me look like a fool?"

"Like I said, I was merely doing my best with my work in the Underforge..", Seijurou did not flinch and shot back. He even took a step forward which caused Chizuru to pull him back after. "Your axe was blunt as hell. I made it as sharp as possible. It might've lost weight with all the ebony being scraped off."

Jax snorted in disbelief, as he looked away. "So, you didn't do anything funny with it?"

"And what would I gain from that?..", Seijurou argued while also looking away. "And geez.. how can you even fight with something that can't even cut onions?"

With him almost snapping out, Jax stared Seijurou down but immediately cooling down into a sigh. "Enough with that otaku stuff. I just didn't know how to maintain weapons, okay?"

For about half of a minute, the two stood in silence while keeping their faces away from each other. Only the chirps of crickets were heard for a while with Chizuru slightly trying to cover her uncontainable but stifled giggle. To her, it was priceless to see Seijurou and Jax desperately try to have a conversation without hostility.

"My sensei said I looked lighter on my feet and was able to defend well..", grumbled Jax while still looking away. After that, he walked away. "Don't get this wrong. I'm not thanking you."

Seijurou sneered, as he too, about faced and walked away. "Good. I'm not in a welcoming mood either."

After moving a short distance forward, Jax stopped and turned his head slightly towards Seijurou and Chizuru's direction. "Oi, otaku! If ever we don't get to draw a fight with you in autumn, don't you lose, you hear me? I still want to kill you!"

With Jax's remark, a faint smirk formed on Seijurou's face, as he proceeded to walk with Chizuru. "Right back at you, saru-san."

While shaking her head as if witnessing a miracle, Chizuru let out a giggle she had been trying to hold in. "You both really are pathetic at making up. For a second, I thought you were going to make out."

Seijurou grimaced while thinking of what Chizuru just said. "No, nothing had been made up. Weren't you listening? We just issued a challenge."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever, Baka-jurou..", grumbled Chizuru right after. "Good job though. And I should probably say the same to that hentai tomorrow."

The stars were shining unusually bright. It was as if an omen had come upon them but never knowing if great or horrible things were going to happen. The last of the horse carriages arrived in town, as the owls of the nearby jungle began their nightly calls. Man sized bats started their search for decaying fruit around surrounding gardens, while cicadas continued to lament at the return of their unlikely winged predators. A different life revealed itself to the locals of Fujiishima, as the day drew to a close.

Later that night, while Seijurou was playing a tune with his six stringed instrument, a sort of a beep resounded throughout his room. It was a familiar but somewhat irritating sound that he had not heard for a while. His "console command" had received a "notification" from someone he knew very well.

"I should seriously start muting notifications from my public account..", mumbled Seijurou while reluctantly setting his guitar aside. "Even if I have just two friends."

Opening his "console command" revealed an image to Seijurou of two strawberry chocolate flavored crepes held by two very familiar looking hands. It was just a repost of an old photo with a caption, "finally getting my hands on these again tomorrow..".

"So, the first thing she thinks about after being confined is food..", irritated at first, Seijurou found himself smiling after, however. "Typical.. Kinjou."

Seijurou grabbed his instrument again and played a different but happier tune this time. It was a classic from the period before the "Blank Century". The playful tunes echoed throughout his home, as he sang with it. Being good in creating things also encompasses how great he is in making music. He was so brilliant at it that those who heard knew exactly what he was feeling. Dark and lonely were the usual things his music projected. However, tonight was a joyful one.

As unusually cheery as Seijurou was, little did he and all of his classmates knew that something important was going on right at that very moment. Within the dark hallways of the octagonal building of FSG, there were murmurs whispering through a single lit room leading to an even lower level of the structure. At the very basement of the school lies the true establishment and the very true purpose the academy was built for, the military headquarters of Jihon.

"Done with the sophomores..", a middle aged man with a bun and a long pointed beard said, as he sat at the helm of a round table in a conference room. "Now, let's get through the performances of your class, Hayama-sensei."

Hayama took a deep and tired breath, as he took out some paperwork from his pouch. "Here's my report detailing my students' performance in the preliminaries, Furusawa-taishou."

When he is not the first years' homeroom teacher, Hayama Akira is known as Colonel Hayama, the commander of Fujiishima Sentai itself (Fujiishima Squadron). Being the head of the city's armed forces, one would probably assume that he was also the academy's head. However, when it comes to teaching experience, he was still lacking. At thirty three years of age, he might be considered a prodigy for attaining such a high position while still young. But as he currently distributed his report, the five men seated around the table made him look like just another pawn.

"Hayama-sensei, we're having a meeting as educators now..", said General Furusawa, as he chuckled to himself. "I appreciate the gesture, but please address me as a sensei too while we're at it."

"You're really getting into it, Shi. kou-chou (Mr. Principal)..", a thick browed man with a long bow said while reading the report.

Furusawa laughed, as he too read Hayama's report. "You should try it too, Nobunaga-sensei. Being professional as a teacher is such a welcoming relief from being a soldier."

"Tsk. It's actually quite a drag..", a silver haired voluptuous woman in skin tight leather overalls reacted while just staring at the paperwork placed in front of her. "I already have a lot of things in my mind."

"Oh, come on Mizuki-chan. It can't be that hard..", said Furusawa playfully, while hearts began to appear on his eyes.

"That's Yoshiki-taishou for you, baka!..", exclaimed General Yoshiki, as her face crumpled to a frown. "How come you call everyone 'sensei' except for me?"

"Don't ask questions you already know the answer to, Yoshiki..", stoically said by a man in his early forties, while Yoshiki threw knives at Furusawa. "He's just been waiting for your 'yes' all these years."

"Oh my, it has become rather festive once more..", Shirohige commented, while Furusawa desperately blocked all of Yoshiki's knife throws. "I am already retired. I do not know why you keep inviting an aged man. Can't my seat just become like the other three?"

"Senpai, you're still alive and well. The two seats are awaiting the deceased's successors..", said the stoic man while spinning his enormous claymore by the tip. Mentioning the dead also brought a dark shadow upon the room, which wrecked everyone's mood.

"Also, your seat cannot be like the 'Dragon's Perch' opposite me, Shirohige-senpai, since it's a seat reserved for our god, 'Ryuujin'. I don't mean disrespect, but we're going to need a hell of a lot of help to make one of us god..", replied Furusawa cheerfully while referring to the empty seat across him with the uniquely sculpted dragon head. "And let's please focus on the living, Suzumiya-sensei, shall we?"

"The Chosen Seven of the Jihonian Round Table..", thought Hayama, as he watched his superiors exchange some ridiculous banter causing a droplet of sweat to roll down his head. It was strange for him to see the five most powerful military personnel act like actual human beings. However, at the back of his head, even as they currently acted like hilarious little children, he strongly believed that they should absolutely not be trifled with.

"My fellow teachers, with all due respect, this must be the first time in the history of FSG..", said Hayama confidently, which grabbed everyone's attention in the room shortly after. "That I recommend all the first years for intermediate level quests."

For the military men present during the meeting regarding the preliminaries, it was going to be a longer night than it already was. Having discussed about the quest giving of the second years and third years, everyone had been busy since the afternoon. But since Hayama Akira presented something that got the "Jihonian Round Table" dumbfounded and curious, everybody assumed that the discussions might probably go on until morning.

Fortunately, the occasional gathering of the "chosen seven" did not last until the following day but almost however. Among all the results of the preliminaries of the different year levels, it was still the first years that took quite a while to finish. Hayama anticipated that it was going to be difficult to defend his recommendation, but the reason the deliberation took longer than expected was because of something else.

While the strongest "Player Characters" of Jihon went towards their ways out, Hayama started to wrap things up by picking up the individual reports per student he distributed earlier. As he got his hands on two specific information sheets about two of his students, he realized that he found himself burdened with an incredible responsibility. After having a long discussion with his superiors, he finally confirmed something he had been contemplating about since the beginning of the term. He was left in charge of an exceptional group of future heroes.

"Shirohige-taishou..", Hayama stopped Shirohige before leaving the room. "Is it really fine to let these two come along in such a dangerous quest?"

Shirohige frowned to the way Hayama addressed him, as he turned to face Hayama. "Hayama-shounen, I'm already retired. I'm just an educator now. Please refrain from calling me out with such things."

Hayama bowed but immediately went to the point. "Forgive me, sensei, but I think that I need to seek more counsel about designating this quest to my students."

"Oh?..", Shirohige reacted, as he paid more attention to his former student. "It is either you are underestimating the capabilities of your younglings or you are just worried about them, are you not?"

"It comes natural, of course, that I worry..", answered Hayama while having a look of reluctance on his face. "One of them is just turning sixteen this year. I don't want to send them to an early grave."

"I understand as I was once put in a similar situation with an exceptional student before. And that was you..", Shirohige smiled endearingly while patting Hayama's shoulder. "However, being able to deduct your students' abilities results in knowing the heights their potential can achieve. And as a sensei, after teaching them what they needed to begin with, you will just have to trust them in the end."

The dawn of the next morning marked the finalization of FSG's students' quest designations for the eight week long summer break. It was the last weekend of the month of June indicating the official start of the summer harvest. Carriages pulled by Ostremu, horses, and ox breeder bulls were making their way earlier than usual to get the most of the load of fresh goods. Even humanoid "Non Player Characters", like Orcs and forest Nymphs, went into the city to trade in their unique crafts. And the Erida family's armory workshop was no exception in opening in advanced.

"Ohayou gozaimasu..", Seijurou yawned, as the first customer of the day entered the display section of the forge. "The blacksmith is just getting ready and will be down in a whi-.."

Seijurou stopped his sentence abruptly, as he realized who just entered their shop. Already in her school uniform and looking intently towards the shop's products, the petite auburn haired girl made rounds around the blades' section. She ignored Seijurou, as if she was seriously going to buy something. Looking a little disappointed while glancing at Seijurou quickly, she picked up a 'wakizashi' to pay close inspection on it.

"Kinjou, what are you doing here so early?..", asked Seijurou with a little bit of some early morning confusion.

"Impressive craftsmanship..", said Satsuki, completely ignoring Seijurou, as she continued to pay close attention towards the short sword. "But there seems to be some lack of sharpness."

While adjusting his glasses with his finger, Seijurou squinted at Satsuki. "Eh? Kinjou? What do you need this early? Is your katana due for maintenance?"

Without looking at Seijurou, Satsuki proceeded to inspect another blade but finally spoke to him. "Oh, Erida-kun. You were there. I didn't see you at all.. just like someone who completely ignored me since Tuesday."

"Eh?..", lost for words, all Seijurou could think of was Satsuki being a little pissed off at him. He may be socially awkward, but at least he was not that insensitive. It might be an extremely rare occurrence, but he knew very well that Satsuki did have her days. And Seijurou thought that an angry Kinjou Satsuki could be a real pain as much as a toddler's tantrum could be.

"Oh, what a pleasant surprise, Satsu-ojou-chan!..", a deep voice suddenly boomed in the workshop, which caused Satsuki to transform into her cheerful self again. "How can we be of service?"

Satsuki perked up while returning the blade on the shelf. "Ohayou, Erida-oji-san! I was just looking for a new short sword."

Kajiya blushed a little, as he laughed. "Oh, please you can just call me 'nii-chan'."

"That's sounds so wrong!..", exclaimed Seijurou immediately.

"What do you need the weapon for?..", asked Kajiya while placing his hand on Seijurou's head to his son's fury.

"Nothing really..", Satsuki turned her attention to Seijurou, as she pouted and mumbled. "Chizu-chan and Xi-kun gave me a 'congratulatory' gift for being discharged from the 'healing ward' yesterday, but someone forgot, so I was going to make up for it by buying one myself."

Kajiya nudged his son with his arm causing the boy to clumsily flail sideward.

"Fine! I'll make something..", mumbled Seijurou begrudgingly while walking towards the smelter. "Seriously, Kinjou, what a drag.. I'll just be at the forge."

An ear reaching smile replaced Satsuki's expression. "Yay! Thank you, Erida-kun. You're the best!"

After a few moments, Seijurou went out of the forge room and presented Satsuki a red bladed wakizashi. An even bigger smile engulfed Satsuki's face as soon as receiving the item.

"No congratulatory message on a card?..", joked Satsuki while unsheathing the blade. "Just kidding! It's so beautiful, Erida-kun!"

"Tsk. I'll just say it out loud. No need to write something lame..", said Seijurou stoically before sighing. "Congratulations for healing. Glad you're alright."

Even if Seijurou's remark was as blank as ever, Satsuki still flashed her dear friend with an eye closing smile. "This will be my secondary weapon from now on. I'll call it 'Enen' because its fiery color reminds me of you and your blazing flame."

Seijurou blushed and looked away, as Satsuki continued to admire his work. "Uh.. anyway, Kinjou, why are you in your uniform? It's Saturday."

"Oh, that! Didn't you know?..", slightly confused, Satsuki sheathed her new weapon and informed Seijurou about the recent turn of events. "I guess Hayama-sensei only messaged the team leaders.. he called for a homeroom meeting today."

"That's odd. Why? Did he tell you?"

"Since next week will be the start of the summer break, it's quest giving day today."

Wide-eyed, Seijurou fumbled from his position and hurriedly went up to his room to prepare. "Why didn't you tell me earlier?! We're late!"

As usual, Satsuki just giggled sheepishly. The current banging of objects upstairs gave her an idea that Seijurou was panicking, which only made her laugh even more. And while waiting for her battle partner, she glanced at her new wakizashi, "Enen", once more and smiled at it endearingly.

However pleasant Satsuki's mood was, it was a complete contradiction to Seijurou's. Even if Satsuki continuously stifled her laughter as she fell behind to Seijurou's brisk walking, his stiff attitude made him panic with the thought of being late. There was no conversation between the teammates the whole time they walked to school. The only exchange they had was mostly Satsuki telling Sejurou to wait up and relax, and her giggling all the time.

"Alright, before starting, Takenori Shizune, can you define what a beginner's level quest is?..", Hayama asked, as Seijurou and Satsuki made it just on time. "Good to know you can make it, you two. Now, have a seat and listen, this will just be short."

"It's a quest with no life threatening consequences and no necessary dangers, sensei..", Shizune, Eimi's twin sister, recited, as she stood up. "Examples are helping in constructions, capturing a lost pet, or courier services."

"Correct, have a seat..", Hayama said while turning his attention to another student. "What about intermediate quests, Sendou Kaguya?"

Kaguya stood up reluctantly while putting her pointer finger on her lip, which caused most of the boys to blush. "Uhm, sensei, it's the one that has some life threatening situations like 'youkai' extermination quests, or bandit repulsion."

"Very good, sit down..", said Hayama before gesturing towards another student. "Finally, you have expert level quests. What are they, Igaraki Keigo?"

Keigo stood up straight like a soldier immediately. "Quests with imminent life threatening situations, sensei! It's like some enemy camp infiltrations or participating in all out battles."

"I appreciate the enthusiasm, but save that for your quests..", replied Hayama right after. "That's also correct. Take your seat. Now, let's proceed with quest giving."

A nervous kind of silence suddenly engulfed the room. At the very least, most of the class were excited for the summer vacation this year. It was after all, their first time to be given a quest, except for Satsuki. But to those who were not eager with this, the anticipation still got the better of them by dreading future dangerous predicaments.

"First up..", announced Hayama, which caused a slight gasp from the class after. "Takenori, Morisaki, and Midorima, basing with your builds and your performance during the preliminaries, you're assigned to Hanagawa-sensei's quest in defending the townspeople from bandit raids in Nerima."

The class gasped in unison, once gain. The degree of the quest's difficulty could not even keep Mizunoto Gin from commenting. "Whoa! An intermediate quest right off he bat!"

"Since you said it..", Hayama called out while looking at Mizunoto. "Igarashi and Mizunoto, go to your sensei, Vignar, to plan on how to exterminate rogue goblins plaguing the nearby Orcish harvest."

Gin and Keigo stood up to give each other high fives after learning about their quest. Then, Gin approached Jax. "Looks like we won't be seeing you for a while, Jax-sama. We got ourselves an intermediate quest too."

Jax snorted while just being seated and cross armed. "Sure. Good luck with that."

"Looks like we're not running out of quests that're quite a handful..", said Hayama while catching everyone's full attention. "Aoikishi, Ayuzawa, you're assigned to Nagaoka-sensei's 'rare beasts tagging'."

"Eh?..", Ayuzawa Musashiro reacted in disappointment while reluctantly going to his partner. "Why do I have to get stuck with that old geezer?"

Aokishi Nagato laughed at his partner's misfortune while consoling him with a pat. "Come on, it can't be that bad with your coach. It's still an intermediate level quest."

"Bakudou, Takenori, Terumi..", Hayama called for the ninja trio, as he gave out quest order sheets to the ones previously called. "Ota-sensei needs you to assist in highway robbery sabotage. Your builds are perfect for this job with you disguised as travelers."

Eimi sneered at her sister upon claiming the order. "Let's see who will do better in our own intermediate quests, onee-chan."

Shizune rolled her eyes in response almost automatically. "Looking forward to it, Eimi."

"Lastly, the students with the highest marks in the preliminaries..", with almost everyone getting their assignments, the class slowly became rowdy, but that was until Hayama called the strongest group of the bunch. "Taneda, Xi, Toho, you will be reporting directly under me. We go straight to the battlefront against the rebellion."

The rest were slow to react. It was as if something unidentifiable had hit them. Only the sound of the last of the cicadas were heard, as the silence continued to linger in the first years' classroom. And just like being in the same mind, everybody just simply responded at the same time.

"Eh?!..", a sort of miniscule hysteria possessed the class after a few moments.

"Hah?!..", reacted Kanae in disbelief, while the class continued to chatter non stop. "An expert level quest?"

"I know, right?..", Kazuma teased sarcastically while approaching his teammates. "Oh well.. such a pain."

"I'm not done yet. Keep quiet!..", Hayama commanded resulting in everyone's abrupt silence after. "Fukuoka, Sendou, Shinazugawa, you are to infiltrate a town of 'youkai' cultists with Yoshiki-sensei herself, by posing as the idol group, '3K'. Be at your best behavior. It is ill advised to upset a member of the 'chosen seven'."

Again, the class erupted into muttering. Another expert level quest had been given to the first years, which caused some degree of disbelief. What was more was the mission given to '3K' was under the direct order of one of the most powerful personalities of all of Jihon. Also known as "Nekokunoichi", and one of the world's most renowned assassin builds, General Yoshiki Mizuki was their commanding officer for this quest.

"Oh, my. I'm suddenly so nervous. Can I really do this?..", Kasumi said while putting her arms around herself as if protecting her body from something inexplicable.

"Tsk. Get a hold of yourself, will you?..", replied Kanae, as she shook Kasumi with her arms from left to right. "Of course, you can do it!"

"She'll be fine as long as you don't break her apart, Kanae..", commented Kaguya blankly while taking the quest order from Hayama.

"For those who weren't called, please approach me..", Hayama said making three students approach him afterwards. "Due to unavoidable circumstances, Kinjou, Erida, Baba, your quest is under some special conditions."

Like being played with their emotions, their classmates slowly muffled their conversations to a silence again. There was one last surprise Hayama-sensei had prepared for them.

"What the? Special conditions?..", Jax thought while eagerly anticipating the three's strange fate.

"Since you two, Erida Seijurou and Baba Himiko, were supposed to be alchemists during the preliminaries but had to go to battle due to circumstances..", Hayama began his final assignment for the day with informing the last group of their quest. "You will have to join Kinjou Satsuki's quest with two other seniors namely, the former right hand, Kuronuma Haguro, and the current helm of FSG's round table, Yanagi Shinsuke."

"Eh?..", Seijurou seemed to have shared with his classmates' dumbfounded reaction, as he was lost for words. "A full party of five? No commander from the faculty?"

"No, there is no need..", Hayama replied while handing the quest order sheet out to Satsuki. "Yanagi-san is already a 'captain' in the military ranks. He will be more than capable of leading your party."

Seijurou sighed in relief along with the rest of the class. A fellow student leading the group was somehow giving off a vibe that the quest was a simple one.

"So, it seems that we get the short end of the stick by getting something easier than an intermediate quest..", Seijurou said, as he started reviewing the quest order. "At least, we get to keep our lives safely."

"Erida Seijurou..", Hayama called blankly, which got Seijuou's full attention suddenly. "Why do you think that way if you're in the same team with the Swordmaiden's Heiress?"

Seijurou's eyes widened in a combination of fear and shock, as soon as he read the part of the quest's debriefing.

Satsuki giggled while facing Hayama. "Erida-kun still doesn't know the nature of the quest yet, sensei."

"Baba Himiko, you are to provide mobile apothecary services to this party..", said Hayama, to the other member, a witch build, as he turned his attention to Seijurou. "While you, Erida-san, will use your intellectual value for the nature of the quest, and if it gets ugly, will provide defensive support since you haven't really identified your build yet."

Cold sweat dripped from Seijurou's head, as he continued to read the quest order. "This is no beginner's quest at all."

"Of course not..", replied Satsuki, while she too, read the order. "Both Kuronuma-senpai and Yanagi-senpai are arguably stronger than most experienced soldiers.. especially Yanagi-senpai. He's the Heir of the Battlemage, you know. Like me, after graduation, he becomes a hero called the Battlemage. But unlike me, he's so much stronger."

"Two Heirs in one party..", a grimaced Seijurou looked at Satsuki while pocketing the quest order clumsily. "What have you got me into, Kinjou?"

"Oh. It's called a 'Main Quest'."

Translation Notes:

Dragon's Perch - an empty seat reserved for the Dragon God. It is customary for all forms of the "round table of seven" in Jihon to leave a seat just in case the Dragon arrives. It is another way of reminding Jihonians to prepare for the world's end since the Dragon signifies both the beginning and the end.

The Chosen Seven of the Jihonian Round Table - believed to be the most powerful men and women of Jihon. Their seats, along with the "Dragon's Perch", are arranged in such a way that they form the corners of the symbolic octagon.

Enen - literally means, blazing, or flaming.

Nekokunoichi - literally means "cat ninja woman".

Honorifics Guide:

-taishou - general, admiral, boss.

-shi. kouchou - Mr./Ms./Mrs. school principal.

-shounen - young man.

-ojou-chan - cute/little young lady.

-oji-san - uncle.

nii-chan - the short and informal way of addressing of "onii-san", which means elder brother.

onee-chan - a childish way of addressing an elder sister.

Monogatari Concepts:

Ryuujin - his name literally means "dragon god". He is the eldest of the "Revered Seven" and the only one born of the marriage of two "Elders". He is the god of the cyclic nature of creation and destruction making him the wielder of the eternal fire also known as the "flame of time", which also coincides to him being the god of time itself. Without him, the Almighty would never be able to create or destroy the world, thus making him also earn the title, "forgemaster of the world". He is not only the patron of the blacksmiths, but the entirety of Jihon and the Orient itself, for they believe that somewhere in the East the world was forged. His sigil is a serpentine dragon that constantly eats its tail making a circular formation of itself.

Character Description:

Xi Jaejin AKA "Jax" - I started with the protagonist last time, so I guess it's best to know about the story's first antagonist. I mean, at this point, he isn't an established villain yet, but he's the one who constantly antagonizes the protagonist anyway.

As far as anyone can see, Jax doesn't have a "Jihonian" name. It is primarily because he is a son of an "Oriental" politician and a "Peninsular Oriental" concubine. He was sent to Jihon to be a foreign exchange student with the purpose of hiding him due to political reasons.

He stands at 184cm and weighs about 77kg. The top of his jet black hair is combed to the side while the sides are shaved. He has sharp narrow eyes curving upward with prominent cheek and jaw bones. Already a very muscular man, he is already deemed to be very big in size for his age. But he's still proportionally human.

To match his enormous size, Jax has superhuman strength even for a "Two-handed Berserker" build. His technicalities in fighting is also above average. And even with a large and heavy axe, his footwork allows him to move quickly.

Generally extremely irritating especially with the way he treats Seijurou, he does have a funny side with regards to the opposite sex. In fact, his feud with our protagonist stemmed from him taking a liking towards one of the female leads, Satsuki. Although some would call him a pervert, he is just simply acting in accordance to being a gentleman. But chivalry aside, Jax loves fighting above all else.