High School Hack and Slash Chapter 132 Part 1
Battle Carnival
Waiting room: Adept Orders
「Congratulations on making it through the first round~」
「Thank you very much. But they were small fry!」
Mikan-senpai and Saki are going kyakya.
An instant kill not unlike my expectation.
Five heads flew at the same time as the signal for the beginning of the match.
As usual, Saki’s unwavering sense is tremendous.
She harbors no instinctive confusion that many ordinary people would feel when committing violence against a human opponent, not in the slightest.
There is no such momentary time lag.
I think that is the source of the speed that seems to slip through the back side of Saki’s consciousness, which rivals my Raijin-style acceleration technique.
With neither hesitation, excitement, fear, nor guilt, she mows down necks like she does straw.
Saki’s family seems to be the head of a school of swordsmanship, and if that is their spiritual oral tradition, then it’s one terrifying practical school.
Well, I guess part of the reason is that the opposing club was looking down on us too much.
As expected, our opponent in the second round should be on guard.
Or rather, I hope they’d be on guard.
Since I think there’s no one who can beat Saki in a ready, go katana-drawing competition.
If we’re to do a ready, go from within Saki’s killing zone, even me and Seiichi won’t be able to match her.
I guess the match wasn’t even worth cheering for.
I have a hunch that unless they can arrange pieces that can stand up against Saki, the instant killing play will end up continuing.
「There’s nothing wrong with having it easy, right?」
「No, but…」
Having been re-transferred to the waiting room, we’re in the middle of break time, even though no one is tired.
The holes I opened in the walls are nowhere to be seen, so it appears to be a different room from the first.
It’s become a little bigger, furnished with more magnificent tables, chairs, and monitor-like equipment that projects the match venue.
It seems that the further you win and advance, the more luxurious the waiting room becomes.
Talk about a needlessly elaborate gimmick.
「In any case, there is no point in fighting an opponent who can be killed instantly by Saki, don’t you think?」
「True enough… Oh my, these senbei-like things are delicious.」
Otoha-senpai is crunching on the snacks on the table, but I wonder if these, too, are some kind of gimmick put up by the arena.
After staring fixedly at the scene, Shizuka brews tea in a pot that similarly comes out of nowhere.
In an all-natural manner, it seems that she’s having Otoha-senpai act as a poison-taster.
「But, you see. Saki-chan Musou (mowing down the opponents; or peerless warrior; or special move-type game) is fine and all, but I hope you could give us a turn as well, I suppose.」
「So you say, but won’t you make one grand blunder again, Oto-chan-senpai?」
Mai, sitting in a chair with her legs crossed, takes a bite on the fishy senbei.
「W, well, such a thing might happen from time to time. But this is a tournament battle after all, so it’s not a good idea if we don’t get our tension up for the battle; that’s what I want to say.」
「That may be a thing. The so-called warming-up exercise, was it?」
Seiichi, nodding his head, takes a sip of the fishy tea.
True enough, if we continue to win with Saki Musou as we are, sooner or later, we will run into a team against which her instant-killing is ineffective.
At that time, there’s no way for the members who are in a spectator’s mood to be able to fight at their best immediately.
The way you spend these waiting times between matches should also have an impact on the match.
「That, and there’s something else that’s been bothering me, you see….」
「What might it be?」
Shizuka, having checked the state of Otoha-senpai and Seiichi, pours me a cup of tea as well.
Otoha-senpai, crisply biting into the fishy senbei, turns her gaze toward me.
「Touma-kun. You seem to be acting strangely calm, don’t you think? You’re supposed to be more like… It’s time for battle, time for war, give me some sacrifice too, as you go wild, but for some reason you don’t.」
「Just what do you take me for?」
I hope they’d stop treating others as some kind of battle freak.
「… Now that you mention it. Touma-san, did you pick up something strange and eat it?」
「I thought there was something that didn’t feel quite right, so that’s it, huh.」
「Ah, sure enough. For Touma-kun to be calm, that’s simply impossible, after all.」
「Touma-kun. Do you have a tummy ache? Did you eat something that fell own?」
I don’t have a tummy ache, and I didn’t eat any fallen food, either.
What am I, a kid before a field trip?
With this group of people, I get the feeling that there’s simply a lack of stoppers, or rather, straight man roles.
For the time being, I calm down Mikan-senpai, who seems to be seriously worried.
I think I’m plenty fired up, but by any chance, I wonder if I look like a coward.
「— such a thing is, not possible. Danna-sama is preparing for a fight.」
Saki, who has left the table and is watching the monitor projecting the venue, looks back at me.
「I knew it, Danna-sama is amazing. You know who we’re going to fight against, don’t you?」
「Huh, wait a mute. You’re holding in that much killing intent? Isn’t that bad?」
「A bomb on the verge of exploding, huh.」
「Touma-kun. The penalty for killing your opponent is pretty heavy, you know?」
「No, that’s….」
What to do now, I wonder?
Certainly, I’m fired up.
There’s a part of me that’s going wild, telling me to be prepared for a battle.
It’s just that, it’s not the same as a rampaging wildness.
There is this unquenchable heat lingering in the pit of my stomach, smoldering vigorously in the depths of the furnace.
「But it’s all right. The time will come in just a little while longer. That’s why, please calm down. Danna-sama.」
Saki, speaking in a peculiar phrasing, holds my hand.
I’m sure it’s not only me, but everyone else is also showing a confused look on their faces.
However, I feel that the raging emotion that has been boiling to the limit deep inside me has suddenly cooled down.
「I see.」
「Yes. I mean it’s a festival and all. So for now, let’s enjoy it, Danna-sama!」
「A festival, well, I guess it’s certainly a festival for Saki-chan and Touma-kun, but…」
「Yes, yes. Besides, since Sacchin ended up killing them instantly, we didn’t get a turn to play, after all~.」
Everyone smiles wryly as Otoha-senpai and Mai throw in a retort.
「Uu~… It’s not in my nature to cut corners in mortal kombat (shiai=match), but… I understand! It’s not good to hoard everything for yourself, right?」
Saki seems to have learned what consideration is.
Shizuka sports a surprised look on her face, but I, too, am surprised.
I think Mikan-senpai, whose eyes are getting wet, is a little too moved.
Like a mother, she’s patting Saki on the head, saying: good girl, good girl.
「Well, in that case, looks like the next match is going to be a bit more like a battle.」
Seiichi, shrugging his shoulders, turns his gaze at the mysterious monitor.
「It looks like our next opponent has been decided.」
「Where is our opponent? If we win our next match, we’ll become B rank and will be able to participate in tomorrow’s tournament, right?」
「It’s pretty much a done deal, I guess. Though, since the slots are fixed, some clubs will end up dropping in their evaluation.」
On the stage in the monitor, the winner who has beaten the opposing team is projected.
It’s just that, for some reason, they aren’t showing looks of joy.
Rather, they’re showing looks of distraught and enlightenment.
So our opponent is the『Hero Group (Bravers)』, huh.
Hmm, it’s a club I feel like I’ve heard somewhere before.
◇ ◇ ◇
Waiting room: Hero Group (Bravers)
「… We got a victory, didn’t we?」
「… Yeah. We went and won, huh.」
In the waiting room of the arena, the club team that had just secured victory in their match was reflecting upon their victory.
Having won through the qualifying round with a club in which first years students were serving as core members, them winning in the main tournament, even though it was only their first match, was an accomplishment worthy of taking pride in.
Even in this inter-club tournament, which had turned into inferiors overthrowing the superiors due to the irregular rules, it could be said that the team exhibited prowess that spoke volume that it was no fluke.
It was only natural for them to express joy.
The vice presidents of the club『Hero Group (Bravers)』, Kotarou and Takeshi, were sitting on the bench with their faces downcast.
「W, we did it, didn’t we? We beat a B-ranked club, you know? Is, isn’t that’s amazing?!」
「Y, yeah. We, freshmen, beat a higher-ranked team. That’s a huge upset.」
「Th, that’s right! We’re awesome, after all!」
The ones who were sharing their joy together were the female members slash classmates from the same first-year third group.
The one carrying an unusual magic shooting item, similar to a trumpet gun, on her hip, Sena.
The one carrying a pair of rapiers on her back, Yayoi.
The one holding a toy-like magic staff decorated with star-shaped ornaments, Mii.
「Th, that’s right. If we win the next match, we will, you know, become… B-rank….」
The one who, although not suited for combat, had been chosen as a reserve member to gather information and provide support, Shiho.
And then, the president of Hero Group as well as the holder a class of Hero branching that could be said to be the symbol of Over-irregular class, Kazuto the『Saint』.
In addition to their seven-member team, there were other dainty girls registered with the club.
Fundamentally, there were many cases where clubs with a high percentage of female members were of the Enjoy type.
However, these girls were, so to speak, battle-ready harem members, who were adequately trained be it in their class, level, or equipment.
As if pulled by their powerful leader, Kazuto, they had even set foot into the realm known as the dungeon group.
That reliable leader was currently sitting on a chair absentmindedly, as if his soul had been drained out of him.
White ectoplasm-like something sprouting from his mouth was probably a unique skill of a Hero.
NEXT CHAPTER
RELEASE RATE
High School Hack and Slash
Speed up schedule by 10 hours
Current schedule: Every 70 hours
Tftc