I was waiting for the day of Komachi's guidance, so we had arranged to meet.
Sitting on a bench, I reminisced about the events of the past few days.
Firstly, Yamamoto's demonic beasts. With the disappearance of Yamamoto, the summoner, the demon army was unable to materialize and disappeared all at once. In short, the mission was successful.
Moridori... well, for now, let's leave that be. A new source of worry has emerged, but thinking about it would make my brain overload.
Let's get back on track. Secondly, our class D won the championship. Maria and Kazane, who survived until the end, were named the MVPs of the class tournament. Chiaki also had an overwhelmingly high individual point acquisition rate. These three were invited to the Student Council's social gathering. I, on the other hand, achieved a score that was somewhat average, but not low enough to be expelled.
"According to plan???" Well, let's just leave it at that. As a mob, I stand out with my grades. The route to expulsion seems to have been barely avoided, so let's leave it at that. Also, I made a killing at the casino and joined the ranks of the wealthy.
"Oh, they're doing it. They're doing it." I noticed three guys who looked like a gang of thugs in the distance. There was a man wearing a flashy aloha shirt, a guy who looked like a host, and a trio of men with masks. They surrounded a male student and the man in the aloha shirt wrapped his arm around his shoulder, intimidating him.
They were the DROTS loan shark gang. Our loan shark businesses were rampant all over the place.
"It seems they're collecting money. Let's encourage them," I smiled slightly, observing the harsh realities of society with a calm mind.
"Amachi-senpai! Sorry to keep you waiting!" Komachi called out to me as she ran towards us.
I stood up from the bench.
"Oh. Wait... isn't today the guidance day?"
"That's right."
"It's kind of casual, isn't it?"
"It's better to wear something comfortable."
I was dressed in simple rock fashion: a double rider jacket and skinny denim.
"Right..."
Komachi was also dressed casually, like Maria.
Is she underestimating this situation? Based on what I saw from her recent combat scenes in the dungeon, she's weak.
She can't use long-range magic and is probably weaker than Maria, so today we plan to do sword training with wooden swords instead of going to the dungeon.
"Speaking of which, senpai, don't you think there are a lot of shady people around?"
Komachi looked around nervously.
Then, a bald man with sunglasses wrapped around his arm with precious metals passed by.
"Look...that person. Was he at this school?"
She whispered to me.
"He was here. Maybe he just had a new look?"
The sound of a metal chair being thrown on the ground echoed.
Komachi looked fearfully in the direction of the noise.
"There are people here with post-apocalyptic fashion, and people with mohawks! There's even a person with a nose piercing! I saw graffiti sprayed everywhere earlier! It's kind of scary...I feel like the public safety is getting worse and worse."
"It's okay... Wait, graffiti??"
They are my fellow members of the loan shark circle.
Hey, that's too much. I don't know about it.
Graffiti is a crime. You guys are going too far.
"Yeah. The old club building that's no longer used has become a gathering place for delinquents. I saw some rough-looking male students wearing button-up shirts and school uniforms from old Yankee manga playing mahjong for money. The windows were broken and graffiti was everywhere. There was a flag hanging at the top of the old club building that said 'DROTS.' Is that the name of a gang?"
"...I don't know."
It seems that the world of Yankee manga has been summoned. "It's not my fault. What are you doing!?" shouted with a cool pose!! (Note: Yankee manga is a gang genre manga)
When starting the loan shark business, I gave the DROTS outcasts some manga for reference, including loan shark, Yankee, and anti-social themes. Was that a mistake!?
I broke out in a cold sweat and said, "It's not my fault."
Komachi looked puzzled and said, "Huh? Is it not your fault, senpai?"
"There's no way it's my fault," I replied in a strained voice.
"Right, you couldn't be associated with those shady people," she said.
"Exactly," I agreed, rolling my eyes.
My head was starting to hurt. As I walked around campus, it was beginning to look like the end of the world. Smoke signals were rising everywhere, signaling rebellion.
Mohican gangs were racing around on mopeds. A gang of delinquents in black school uniforms had formed a gang and were triumphant. I even saw a guy in clown makeup dancing wildly on a platform.
There were also tough-looking groups in expensive suits shouting, "Let's keep our honor and integrity!"
The common thread among these anti-social guys was that they all wore something with the DROTS mark.
While Mahoro Academy was quite lenient with its dress code and regulations, some aspects of discipline had completely broken down. Ochi Echi El , who was in charge of beautification and discipline in the student council, was chasing after them while yelling.
"I'm not at fault. I'm not at fault. I'm not at fault..." I muttered quietly.
"What are you muttering about? You're sweating like crazy," she asked with a concerned tone.
" It's a bit muggy, you know."
Let's erase what we saw today from our memories. After all, I didn't do anything. As they watched DROTS's actions without pretending to see, the two of them walked towards their destination.
Komachi was in her first class battle. She apparently came in second place out of six classes.
"She was bragging to me about how she did quite well even though you, senpai, only taught her simple swing movements. Her movements have improved remarkably, and I was surprised!"
"How many people did she defeat?"
"She defeated seven people! Isn't that amazing?"
She made the number seven with both hands and smiled brightly.
"Wow, that's pretty good for a first time."
"I know, right! You could praise me more, you know?"
"Ah, yes. Amazing, amazing."
And then she made an appeal like a puppy, "Please praise me more with feeling, senpai!"
He thought that if she were a dog, she might be wagging her tail.
At the practice grounds where he fought with Chiaki, they held wooden swords in the secluded combat training area.
"I know you're strong, senpai. I could never beat you."
"... You don't have to be so modest."
"No, it's true. But I've also become a little stronger. I defeated seven people, so I'll show you my strength, master."
Komachi seemed to have gained confidence as she held her wooden sword in front of her chest.
"Ah, okay. Please do."
I have never studied either Kenjutsu , Kendo and silat. My style is completely self-taught, based on references from games and youtube from my old world.
I swung my wooden sword randomly in front of me, slightly lowered my knees and waist, leaned my body to the side, and pointed the tip of the wooden sword in my right hand towards Komachi.
"That's a strange style... I've never seen it before."
"I don't have a specific style. If I had to name it, my combat technique would be called Shiki and Silat."
"Shiki, Silat?"
Komachi raised her eyebrows and lowered her shoulders, looking puzzled.
---Consciousness---
--- mental-spritual---
"There's no point in discussing it, let's get started."
"...Yes, you're right. Let's begin!"
The sound of dry wood colliding echoed between the two as they began to fight.
.
.
.
"Do you want to take a break?"
"No. Not yet."
Komachi breathed heavily and pushed back her disheveled hair.
"I see... Well, I think I've got a pretty good idea of your strength."
Closing the distance between us, I deflected Komachi's all-out strike with the handle of my wooden sword and landed a spinning kick to her chin.
"Kyu~!"
Dizzy, she took a few steps in a drunken stupor before collapsing on the spot.
Exhausted and unable to fight back, Komachi lay limply beside me. After using up all her energy and being struck by my spinning kick, she had covered her eyes with a damp towel and was taking a short break to cool off.
"May I ask you something?"
"What?"
"Well...um... Do you have any plans for after you graduate from this school, Senpai?"
She asked me such a question.
"That's out of the blue."
"Yes. I'm sorry. It's just that I don't have any plans right now, so I was wondering what you're planning to do."
"I don't think it matters even if I tell you."
"It's okay. I just want to hear about other people's dreams."
I replied with a noncommittal "Oh."
"Well, if I were alive, I think I would open a small farm in the countryside and live a quiet life."
"Isn't that a bit of a dramatic way of saying it's like dying?"
Komachi seemed to think it was a joke and laughed a little.
"But it's surprising. I thought you would say something like becoming a bureaucrat or going to a big company or becoming really rich."
"I'm interested in money, but not at all in the former...those kinds of things don't interest me."
"Senpai, I think you could become an even more amazing person. Really!"
"I can't. I don't even have the desire to become one. It doesn't suit my nature."
"What? I thought someone like Tsukasa, who brags a lot, would be perfect for that."
"What kind of image is that?" After a moment of silence, Komachi cleared her throat and brought up the main topic.
"Senpai, if everything goes well, you'll graduate before me, won't you?"
"Well, if things go smoothly, then yes."
"After that, I'll still be here, won't I?"
"You're my junior, so of course you will be."
"If, when I graduate, I'm still unsure about my future, can I follow you, Senpai?"
"No!"
"An immediate response!?" Komachi sat up abruptly, her eyes widening.
"You should find what you want to do on your own"
"When that time comes, you can just think about coming along with me, can't you?"
"No, you shouldn't. You should struggle and challenge yourself, even if you're lost or make mistakes."
"Even if I want to learn by your side, Senpai?"
"You're overestimating me too much. Don't worry, you'll find your own path."
"I see..."
Small Komachi made a face of dissatisfaction and puffed up her cheeks.
"Well then, since you seem to have recovered, shall we have a second round?"
"I'm ready. Let's save the talk from earlier for another time!"
Small Komachi gathered her long black hair and stood up with a wooden sword in hand.
"There won't be another time!"
I played with the wooden sword with both hands and looked at Small Komachi.