Chapter 135: Gratitude​

[At that instant, such exquisite control of soft swordsmanship! The match was an embodiment of that! Right at the start of the match, Gran Chario’s special sword was unleashed! Something like, 【Star’s Death Omen】 bang, 【Judgment of the Constellations. The Twinkling Star that became the Meteor, the Guidance of the Heavens Once Again―――】 well he was trying to do something with some long-winded speech, but in an instant, he was grabbed by one of his arms and thrown, hitting his back and unable to move. And so, Gran Chario is defeated! The star did not shine, it was knocked to the ground!]

The live commentary from the host was as passionate as ever. Hearing that, I thought, “Hmm?”.

As I recall, the guy who had challenged me earlier was…

“The winner of this match, ‘Jawara, The Soldier of Devastation’! He advances to the second round with flying colors!!”

Gran Chario…… tte?!

“tte, he was defeated just like thaaaaaaaat!!?? Eeeehhh? No, no, no way, to be that full of confidence only to lose… isn’t he José level?”

“”””That metaphor is too much!!??””””

“Ha~…… well, that’s fine… no matter who comes next, it doesn’t change what I will do. No matter who it is.”

No way, the match to decide my next opponent was over.

What’s more, the guy I expected to be my next opponent was defeated without difficulty.

I was a little surprised, but I decided to switch my stance if I didn’t mind.

“Hahaha, w, well, putting that aside… however, that match just now. It was amazing, Earth!”

“Right. Got me thinking we can’t just stay depressed, and only talk about overthrowing José! Ora, I’m gonna do it!”

“Yes. It’s not about José, I’m going to work hard to become stronger.”

“You’ll have lunch with us all afterwards!”

Putting aside the current match for the moment, and not mentioning my boisterous behavior, just celebrating my victory of the first round for now, the Mortriage crew raised their hands with laughter.

“Oh! I’ll do it again next time! Just watch.”

I nodded and gave everyone a high five with a smile.

“So quick, Earth. Surely, you were a little too strong!”

“Inya~ I feel sorry for the other guy! Well, my assistance gotcha real motivated.”

And Elder Sis Tsukshi and Karui nodded with a smile and words of gratitude.

Speaking of which……

“Hehe, thank you.”

Come to think of it, it may be the first time I’ve ever won and been praised in this way.

Up until now, if I win, I would be the “Son of the Hero”. That was it.

Besides, I ran away in the middle of the Graduation Match.

For some reason I was so happy that my heart and eyes were a little warm.

“…… Yo…”

“Congratulations”

And Sadiz bows her head in a reserved manner.

“How was it? My fight.”

“Y, yes…very…it was splendid. I shudder to think that you haven’t gotten serious yet.”

“Is that so?”

From her… for the longest time…… I wanted this. Well, what a cowardly thing I did…

“…ro…er!”

“Hmm?”

Hmm? What?

At that time, someone muttered something in a very quiet voice.

A very young voice… isn’t there only one person?

“U~…… ol…… ther”

Somehow her face was bright red and she was so fidgety.

“Funi ~yu~…”

“Ah? What is it, Amae.”

“U~…”

How about that!

Unlike those insensitive bastards, I have a good sense for various things, but I can’t figure this out.

“Hey, Amae, let’s do our best~.”

“Right? Amae”

“Fufufufu”

Huh? But does Elder Sis Tsukshi know what Amae is trying to say?

She was pushing Amae’s back and giggling.

“Un~?”

I didn’t know what was going on, so I tilted my head.

And then……

“Yes, everyone, please get out of the way~ coming through~”

“Ehho, Ehho”

Then, from across the corridor, a couple of men walked past us carrying something.

They were carrying a man on a stretcher.

“Ah~ hi~, on my head~, stars are spinning around~”

The man, who had been so fearless, was being carried away with a really pathetic look on his face, as if stars were spinning around his head.

“Ah… in the end, what’s with being one-shotted?”

It was Gran Chario, who had declared war on me in the second round.

Apparently, he’s become a star…. he’s not dead though.

“Ah… haha. Earth’s next opponent is Jawara.”

“Old Man Jawara’s a miss~”

In the current match, which seems to have been a very counteroffensive, Elder Sis Tsukshi was laughing in spite of themselves.

And apparently she knew who my next opponent was.

You know him? Well, even though it is a branch, it’s the same Arcane True Zenith School…

“Uo~~~~~mumumumu~!!”

“Ah…”

And, I forgot.

In front of me, Amae was in a foul mood with her cheeks puffed to the limit.

“Oh, I’m sorry, Amae. So, what were you saying?”

“U~, Ng! Un! Un!”

Ha?

The next moment, for some reason, an angry Amae ran up to me and banged on my stomach with her little hand.

“Eh, eeeeh?”

“Un! Un! Un! Un~da!”

It doesn’t hurt, but… and, Elder Sis Tsukshi had a bitter smile.

Erm, I don’t know.

But after hitting me for a while, Amae suddenly stopped her hands and instead leaned her body against my belly.

“…….. gyu~tsu…”

“Amae?”

Her face was pressed against my belly, and her voice was muffled, but still…

“……older brother……”

“…… What was that?”

I could hear it clearly.

And the moment she uttered those words, Amae suddenly separated her body from me, and instead held her pompoms in both hands, with her face blushed red…

“O….. ol…… U~~…… older brother, next time, fight on!”

Moving her body as much as such a little body could, waving and thrusting out her pompoms, and jumping.

The moment I saw that, it was like thunder was echoing in the sky.

“U~, uh!”

And, perhaps the limit of embarrassment has already been exceeded, Amae just ran away.

I was stunned for a while as I stared at the little back running away.

“Aha, ahahaha, I guess she worked just as hard.”

“Inya, I’m sorry, Big brother. Amae, really wanted to call you ‘older brother’.”

Elder Sis Tsukshi and other sisters were also smiling at Amae’s appearance.

But I still couldn’t move an inch.

“If possible, could you forgive her?”

“Yes. she’s been fidgeting for the past few weeks or so, getting all excited and eager to say something.”

But it’s not about forgiveness or not, just one thing became clear to me.

“Bring on the second round now! If you want, all the contestants together, come at me!!!!”

“””””No, no, no, no, it’s surprisingly straightforward!!??”””””

I could probably do anything and beat anyone.

That’s how I felt.

However, that shouldn’t be the case, so I decided to sit back and watch the next match from the spectator seat for the time being.

When watching a match, I’ll put Amae on my lap.

Yes, that’s good.

Author’s Note

Yesterday I had more drills and impacts than I expected, so I went through the day with a surplus of energy that I didn’t use up this morning. For the time being, José-related things have settled down, so the author is now comfortable.