Chapter 54

Halfa brought Usato and his companions along .

While Kyou and I were in the middle of training, Usato waved his hand at me .

Kyou obviously didn’t wave back and I only waved back after making sure that the people around me wouldn’t notice . Why was he here? But just as I had this thought, I remembered Carla-sensei mentioning that we would receive some guests today . I immediately understood that those guests referred to Usato’s group .

As Carla-sensei was introducing Usato’s group to the students in this school, the situation quickly escalated… Their group got provoked and were now going to partake in today’s practical lessons . I could clearly see that they didn’t like how our class was underestimating them . It wasn’t really a surprise my class would think so considering how many extraordinary individuals there were .

I don’t know how strong the other two are but I have my doubts as to whether or not Usato could do this .

He had magic that was capable of healing any injuries . At the very least, his strength should be equal to mine or maybe even above since he stopped my punch . This was considering the fact that I used wind magic along with the natural strength I possessed as a beast kin . Other than a demon, there weren’t many opponents who could receive my attack unscathed .

However, one of the students brought up the topic of me attempting to attack Usato in the middle of town yesterday . As a result, more people were looking at Usato with looks of doubt… Carla-sensei also sent me a sharp glance . I was reaping what I sowed because of my mistakes yesterday, which was fine and all but… Because of me, the problem child from the junior’s class— Mina, got elated and caused this current situation .

She’s an ill-natured and high-class girl with a rotten personality .

She was the one responsible for ganging up on the sole healing magician in this school . She’s been tormenting them during these few years . Thanks to her family’s background that is close with the school, no punishment has been given out to her .

A girl like her with an excessive amount of pride was able to smile and easily state ‘Why don’t you show us what magic you can use?’ .

If it was just her who desired this, it wouldn’t have been a big deal . But no one stopped her . That was because everyone here wanted to see Usato’s true ability .

I… couldn’t stop her either .

Even if I tried to talk to my classmates, they probably wouldn’t listen . Halfa, the only person who might lend an ear to me didn’t stop the situation either .

However, the magic that Usato’s two friends displayed greatly exceeded my expectations .

The girl, who displayed destructive power never seen before with lightning magic .

The boy, who controlled the powerful and rare light magic .

—Completely dumbfounded . Those were accurate words to describe the people around me . But it should be expected since they were the heroes that were together with Usato and Amako .

If it only just ended here, that would have been great .

If… Everyone was convinced from the two heroes, and just remained silent .

“I’m a healing magician that belongs to the Rescue Squad in Lyngle Kingdom . ”

After those words were said, the atmosphere changed .

Of course, in a bad way . Kyou, who was next to me, had his hand over his forehead . Naturally, I was doing the same .

My classmates were basically a collection of magic idiots that focused on offensive power .

With the exception of one person, they all thought that magic was good as long as it was strong .

I’m not trying to say that healing magic is bad but for my classmates who didn’t know much about it, they have a poor impression of people who use healing magic .

“What the? It’s healing magic… Even I could win against him . ”

“Was he just running away in the war?”

“Stronger than me? That’s a lie . ”

Just as I had thought, the power-obsessed idiots in my class were already looking down on it .

And naturally, the ill-natured rich girl wouldn’t let go of such a perfect opportunity like this—

“Eh, healing magic? Are you really that strong? But I feel like even I can win against you . ”

She suddenly said so in a loud voice to break the silence .

When Usato received those words, he just smiled and said in a monotonous voice, “Ahaha, I’d be quite troubled . ”

But all of a sudden, the hero who used light magic was being held back . His arms seemed to be tightly bound behind his back .

Usato was beside him but because he didn’t have any change in his expression, I didn’t really understand what was going on .  Due to the sensitivity of our ears, Kyou and I could hear the almost inaudible conversation between Usato and the heroes .

“I understand how you feel but calm down . ”, said Usato .

“Kazuki-kun, you can punish them but don’t overdo it, okay? …Just enough so that they get scorched…”, said the lightning magic user .

“You can’t do that . ”, Usato rejected her statement .

…If Mina knew that the hero that used light magic couldn’t tolerate her statement just now, she would definitely feel troubled .

But since she was just an ignorant rich girl, she didn’t take note of his action . Mina raised her hand and took a step forward while saying,

“Carla-sensei . I want to have a mock battle with this gentleman, would that be okay?”

“… . A mock battle, you say?”

“Yes, if I have a mock battle with a healing magician that fought against the demons in the war, then I don’t have to worry about them being injured . Isn’t that right?”

… . Really, what a rotten little girl .

It sounded polite but she was basically calling Usato a ‘target’ .

Mina uses explosion magic which originates from fire magic . It may not possess that much power but it’s the perfect magic for inflicting pain on others . If you add her rotten personality in the equation, it’s the most suitable magic for her .

“I see, a mock battle… . Sure . Let’s do it . ” Carla-sensei replied .

“Eh?” Usato was surprised .

“Usato, it’s a mock battle where you use magic . Can you do it?”

“Y-yeah… Well, I can do it but…”

—But, you picked the wrong opponent this time .

The healing magicians she knew of were practically on a different dimension to what Usato was . Normally, a healing magician wouldn’t try to face me head-on in a fight… Additionally, they shouldn’t be able to contend with a beast kin’s strength either .

“Nee-chan, is that guy going to be okay?”

—As expected, my little brother had a gentle nature deep down inside him .

Seeing my little brother looking conflicted, I told him, “Usato will be fine . ” My wind magic shouldn’t fall much behind Mina’s explosion magic in terms of power . I doubt it’ll work on Usato .

Since Usato’s opponent is the simplistic Mina, I’m a little relieved .

Just as I thought I could see the outcome of this match… One of my classmates walked forward and headed to where Calra-sensei and Usato were .

“Excuse me, for the mock battle, do you mind changing the opponent to me?”

“Wha!?”

I couldn’t help but voice out my own surprise . It was understandable .

The person who went out was the ‘exception’ in my class, a man of manners that didn’t possess offensive magic— Halfa . He suddenly made his appearance and intervened between Usato and Mina’s mock battle .

*

Somehow, I was now participating in a mock battle . I could only gaze blankly in shock .

I really don’t know how I ended up in a situation like this .

After I told them that I use healing magic, it seemed to have flipped a switch on for the girl with twin tails? I wasn’t that worried about the mock battle itself but rather how much I should hold back .

Furthermore, Halfa-san suddenly requested to participate in the mock battle instead .

“U-umm… Halfa-san… when you said ‘change’, you mean…?”

“…Oh, don’t worry . I have no intention of fighting you . To begin with— You don’t stand a chance against me, after all . ”

The girl with twin tails was frightened as she asked that question to Halfa-san . After Halfa-san gave his reply, his light purple eyes were looking straight at me .

“Usato-san, you don’t mind, right?”

“…Yeah, well… Take it easy on me?”

My opponent has magic eyes that could see the flow of magic . He probably won’t use any strong magic attacks on me .

Even if he has some powerful magic, I could just run away to escape it . In the worst case scenario, I’ll use a Healing Punch and knock him unconscious .

“For the mock battle, where should we fight?”

“Just fight in middle of the training grounds, the targets might get in your way but… You’ll have to deal with it . ”

Carla-san didn’t look all that happy a moment ago but now she looked excited as if she would get to see something interesting soon . Was there a reason for this?

Once Halfa-san entered the stage, the other students evidently got nosier… I accepted this mock battle without much thought . Perhaps… I got myself into something bad?

… . I’ll know once I try fighting .

“Well then, the two of you, I’ll be participating in this mock battle for the time being . ”

“Go for it, Usato . ”

“Do your best, Usato-kun, for my sake . ”

“Thank you, Kazuki . ”

“Huh?”

Ignoring Senpai who looked confused, I rolled up the sleeves of my uniform and started doing some light warm-up exercises .

…Although it was pitiable to ignore Senpai like this, I couldn’t be bothered to react every time . Even I have times when I don’t know how to react to something .

While I was stretching my arms and legs, I could see that Halfa-san was picking a weapon to use for the mock battle .

I didn’t require a weapon even though I did use a spear that one time . It would be dangerous if I accidentally poked myself .

“Hey!”

“Nn? …Huh?”

From the group of students, Kyou was quickly making his way towards me . He was gathering a lot of attention from his classmates… Would he be okay?

“Is it okay to talk to me?”

“I really don’t want to but… I specifically came here to warn you!”

“… . Warn? You? Me?”

What brought on this sudden change? I thought he hated me . Behind Kyou, Kiriha also made her way through her class . She also displayed a serious expression similar to Kyou as she looked at me .

What were these two doing here?

“The person you’re about to fight, Halfa, that guy looks like a nice person on the outside but really he’s just an outrageous and insane bastard that doesn’t know how to hold back . ”

“Amako would be troubled if something were to happen to you, Usato… I’m telling this for your own good, you shouldn’t participate in this mock battle with Halfa . Having him as your opponent is far too dangerous . ”

“Even if you both tell me that…”

If I could stop it, I would do so . But since it’s come to this already, I probably can’t .

If word were to spread out that someone from the Rescue Squad decided to stop their participation in a mock battle with a student… The Rescue Squad’s reputation would fall and this was probably one of the obstacles I would face in my journey .

Most importantly, if Rose in Lyngle knew that I got cold feet and ran away from a mock battle… There’s no doubt I would receive a punishment worse than death . I definitely didn’t want that . Whether it was getting Rose angry, receiving punishment from her, or disappointing her… I didn’t want any of that .

“You two… Even though you both came here to warn me, I won’t stop my participation . As long as I’m wearing this uniform, I can’t afford to lose . ”

Although I meant that I can’t afford to lose or I would receive punishment…

“……… . That guy is in a different league on his own . He’s strong . He’s not someone a frail guy like you can handle . He won’t hold back . He drives his opponents so far into the corner until they completely collapse, you know? Don’t you get it?”

“Don’t worry, he’s not as bad as my Master . ”

Unless he can send people flying 10 or more metres with a punch, I won’t fall .

I also got a general understanding of Halfa-san just from what these two told me .

From when he snuck up on me to whisper in my ear and greeted me, to his attitude upon seeing my uniform, to his disappointment when I stated I wouldn’t participate in today’s training— He’s been observing me all this time . He judged me as someone worthy to observe .

“Then, Usato-san . Are you done your with your preparations?”

After I walked away from Kiriha and Kyou, I arrived at the center of the training grounds . Halfa-san was slowly making his way here as he spoke to me . In his hand was a wooden pole that was as tall as him… No, it was a quarterstaff . He started rapidly spinning it in his hand but his expression didn’t change . He was smiling .

“…I’m good, let’s start . ”

“Oh, is that so… Carla-sensei, please give us the signal to start . ”

Calra-san nodded . Halfa-san and I faced each other . Although there was still some distance between us, Halfa-san had already lowered his posture and was in some sort of fighting stance with his quarterstaff .

His light violet eyes started to shine brighter as it gathered more light as well as magic .

While getting a chilly sensation from his suspiciously glowing eyes, I coated my body with healing magic just like usual .

It would be good if I could perform well from the start since I didn’t have much experience with mock battles . For the time being, I’ll move just like I usually do in training . First of all, I should focus on evasion . I’ll avoid all the attacks that I can avoid . If I’m also given the chance, I want to test just how much my healing magic has grown during this time .

“Al-right~, I’m giving the signal~”

Aren’t you enjoying this situation a little too much?

Once we were informed that we would begin soon by Carla-san, Halfa-san and I faced each other once more in understanding . From there, Halfa-san took a step forward— Just as Carla-san’s hands lowered .

“BEGIN!!”

Upon hearing her voice in this tense atmosphere, I ran forward with all my power despite being a step behind .

At the same time I sprung out, Halfa-san’s quarterstaff was already in the position I was at just before the mock battle started .

“!? Even though I clearly stepped out first… . !”

“I have some confidence in my legs, after all!”

“In that case, I’ll have to catch you!”

From our initial positions, we were about 10 meters apart . Halfa-san had assumed his stance and used one thrust with his quarterstaff to cover that distance instantly .

Fast .

With the exception of demons and beast kin . . and also the heroes, Kazuki and Inukami-senpai, this might’ve been the first time I’ve seen someone this fast .

Rose and the scary group back at home? Those guys are beyond exceptions, so they weren’t good targets for comparison .

“Fuu!!”

“Oh, oops . ”

I slightly shifted my body and avoided the quarterstaff aimed at my neck .

To think you would mercilessly aim the quarterstaff at my deck… If it hit me in a vital spot, I might faint from the pain .

Halfa-san started to perform consecutive thrusts with his quarterstaff as I continuously dodged them by moving my head horizontally—

“I won’t let you!”

———It was annoying but it seemed like he knew exactly what I was going to do . He rotated his quarterstaff after his thrust towards my head and aimed it at my leg with the other end… Which caused me to trip .

At this rate, I would receive a severe hit…

Just as I was falling over, I placed both my hands on the ground . Pushing down, I used brute strength to instantly bring myself back up .

“You were a more troublesome opponent than I expected…”

“That’s what I’m thinking right now too… Hah!!”

It looked like he didn’t intend on giving me any time to rest as he continued his relentless thrusts .

I would dodge this again it if I avoided this way… Or so I thought, but for some reason he changed direction just as he was aiming for my face .

It was like he could foresee my moves . This was really difficult to deal with!

“!”

I dodged the incoming quarterstaff by bending over but in the next moment, Halfa-san’s knee was already making its way towards my face .

“To think you would aim for this, you’re really dirty!”

Just as his knee touched the tip of my nose, I twisted my body and avoided it .

No matter what, he kept aiming for the vitals . This was why Kiriha and Kyou tried to tell me to not participate . This really was too dangerous, I would have been forcefully incapacitated by Halfa-san already if I didn’t receive Rose’s training…!!

“Moreover—“

He has been able to foresee my movements for some time now . After his first attack, he feels awfully faster . Was it related somehow? Either way, this isn’t easy . I have Rose’s evasion training but it’s hard to dodge an attack only for it to lead to another attack…

After barely avoiding Halfa-san’s attack, I took this moment to think about why he could predict my movements .

But I couldn’t think of a reason at all .

“What a terrifying person you are… Really… To think you’re uninjured after all this…”

“We’re at a stalemate, this isn’t going anywhere…”

Even so, Halfa-san continued to attack .

I couldn’t carelessly get close to Halfa-san due to his quarterstaff but—

“Fuu—…”

I can’t just always rely on Rose’s words . I’m not someone who moves just because they’re told to . I have to adapt myself to the current situation!

After slowly taking a deep breath and exhaling, I concentrated my healing power into both of my arms . I formed a cross with my arms, stopping the quarterstaff that swung down at me .

There’s some pain but it isn’t a spear or a sword . I’m fine!

“…Magic in your arms…!?!!”

Halfa-san said this with surprise as he looked at my arms . At this moment, I released a kick but Halfa-san saw it coming and jumped backwards .

However, it was now my turn to receive his attacks again .

Halfa-san who had retreated backwards had already got into position and launched a flying kick towards me .

“Kuh . . …”

“You dodged it, huh!!”

Just as his kick was about to connect, I evaded it .

As expected, he had an advantage over me as he could read my moves . For some time now though, Halfa-san hasn’t taken his eyes off me for even a single moment… . .

Well, I’ll pray that he doesn’t have a cheat magic like Amako’s ability to see the future—

“I will be approaching you with more force now!”

But I achieved one of my objectives . I wasn’t in a position where I had to keep dodging now .

Halfa-san quickly recovered from his shock as he resumed his attack after speaking . I really wanted to reach a conclusion to this battle soon too so I won’t just dodge his next attack . Even if my movements are being predicted, I will still attack without concern…

As I coated one of my fists in healing magic, his attack came immediately and headed for my face once again . I lightly tilted my head to the side . However, due to how fast Halfa-san’s thrust was with his quarterstaff, my cheek was scratched and blood oozed out from it . I didn’t mind it as it wasn’t as injury I needed to worry about .

Ignoring the slight damage I just took, I proceeded to launch a fist at Halfa-san’s abdomen .

“Gah… . !?”

My fist felt something hard and solid, obstructing my punch from connecting . But I continued to increase the power in my fist without pause .

Due to the force from my punch, Halfa-san was sent back flying in the air… He wasn’t pushed all that far but it felt strange that I was now seeing what Rose normally sees— Wait… . . Ah… .

“This is bad… . ”

Am I an idiot!?

Why was I using Rose as a standard for comparison!?

It would have been fine to just knock him unconscious, why the hell did I send him flying!?

Even if I hit him with healing magic, this was bad . I just added another chapter to the tale of ‘Amako’s Avoidance to Usato . ’

I started to panic and ran up to help Halfa-san who was about to fall on the ground . However, contrary to my expectations, he was able to land safely on his feet while he was suspended in midair . Shortly after landing, he knelt down on one knee .

“Hahaha… This is the first time I thought I would die in a mock battle…”

“I’m sorry! I made a mistake, I didn’t hold back enough and ended up sending you flying…”

Huh? Just now, it seemed like the surrounding students including Kiriha and Kyou had expressions that said ‘You’re kidding, right . ’ Their faces also looked pale…

“It would have been dangerous if I didn’t have this…”

He showed me the quarterstaff that was now split right in half and in both of his hands .

… . I see, he guarded with his quarterstaff just before my fist reached his stomach . He sure had some fast reactions to be able to guard that in time . At the very least, he was stronger than a certain good-for-nothing demon .

As I admired Halfa-san’s strength in my mind, he took a stance once more while dual wielding the broken quarterstaff as swords .

“It’s not over yet . If possible, I don’t want it to end… You’re much stronger than I imagined and you exceeded my expectations . Moreover, you possess a strength that fascinates me— Fortunately, I didn’t receive much damage since you’re using healing magic . ”

It would be nice if it just ended here but it looked like Halfa-san was still eager to go . I already want to stop it here but… The fact that things won’t just go my way was what made this battle hard .

“Haah… . ”

I opened my fist and gathered healing magic in my palm . I healed the injury I received on my cheek . After confirming that the injury had completely disappeared, I took on a fighting stance . For some reason, that brought a smile to Halfa-san’s face .