CH 116

“Now, A-Class continues to make rapid progress. Can someone stop them now!”

“Please do your best, everyone♪. There’s always a way to win, so please don’t give up.”

Whoaaaaaaaa ……!

The audience is as excited as ever about the actual situation.

It’s mainly the cheers of the fans who have formed for Verna-sensei, but to be honest, Tigre-sensei’s eyes are getting worse and worse, and I wish he would stop.

“Well, I’m off!”

“Good luck! Don’t worry if you lose!”

“Stop assuming I’m going to lose, Ryuuze!?”

“I trust you, you’ve done well against the undead, after all.”

“Yeah, yeah, Lars knows what he’s talking about! See you later!”

Jack walks inside the white line. Makina mutters as she watches his back.

“I’m sure he’ll be fine, but Jack has a strong image of being a support person, doesn’t he?”

“[Collaboration] is not a skill for combat, after all. I think his strength will be tested?”

“Oh, it’s starting!”

“Kukku, let’s see what you can do!”

“Who are you imitating, Ryuuze ……”

I’ve said a lot of things, but I don’t think any of us expect Jack to lose. The opponent also comes out and confronts him. But the opponent is smirking and says to Jack.

“Hey, Jack, have you gotten over your crying problem?”

Oh, so he knows Jack? The freckled, squinty-eyed boy asks, to which Jack laughs and points a finger in his direction.

“Have you gotten over your bedwetting yourself, Nemigo?”

“Kuh ……! You’re still a jerk.”

“Well, that’s my line.”

“Yes, it seems the battle has already begun, but why are A-Class’ Jack-kun and C-Class’ Nemigo-kun on edge?”

“…… Jack-kun is a fisherman and Nemigo-kun is a butcher. It seems like they’ve been fighting over which is the better store since they were kids, you know? It seems that since they entered the academy, they’ve made more friends and have grown apart! I like both of them very much. The vegetables are delicious too.”

“Thank you, Verna-sensei! Even so, where did you get all this information from!?”

“Ufufu♪.”

“Oh-ho~ …… N-Now that the chill runs down your spine, it seems to be the signal to begin, and the first to strike was Jack-kun! How sharp!”

“I’ll go all at once!”

As Basleigh-sensei said, Jack’s sword swung out at Nemigo’s stomach. Nemigo back-stepped to avoid it, and tried to counterattack with his sword as well, but Jack attacked even more. A rivalry, perhaps? I could feel his determination not to be defeated by the butcher’s son.

“I haven’t seen you since the started school, but you’re good ……!”

“I can’t let you beat me, after all! Take that!”

“Fuh~! Hah~! Don’t get carried away.”

Nemigo, who had been evading, stopped and started to fight back. But Jack’s sword is sharp, and Nemigo is on the defensive.

“You’re fast ……!”

“Ohhhhhhhhh! Nice work, Jack!”

“Take it easy, Nemigo!”

There were cheers from both camps. It’s true that Jack is on the offensive, but Nemigo’s counterattacks are few and far between. He’s sharp, but if he concentrates on evasion and defense, he can take it. He’s able to give some damage because I’ve been targeting the arms and thighs where there’s no armor, but I’m not sure it’s effective because he’s holding on. 

“Urryaaaaaaaa”

“Haaaaaaa!”

Immediately afterward, there was a dull thud as they engaged in a fierce battle.

“Kuh ……”

“What happened to your previous momentum, Jack ……!”

Jack doesn’t want to get into a tight fight, but Nemigo doesn’t want to let him get away with it, so he presses his sword against him. And then Nemigo laughs and said.

“I’m relieved to see that you’re as weak as ever. A little more time and you’ll slow down.”

“Damn! Even though I was going to scare him off with a quick fight!”

“Uh-oh! It seems that Nemigo-kun’s defensive maneuver was an act! It looks like he was trying to run out his strength!”

“I think It’s a good move, because it’s one way to fight, isn’t it? Is Jack-kun panicking? Or does he have a plan?”

Jack shouts, breaking out in a cold sweat. It’s true that Jack’s stamina is a little low among the A-Class. In the boys’ group, it’s Me, Ryuuze, Urka, and then Yogus or Jack.

(T/N: I think he’s talking about the rank of their physical strength.)

I don’t know if I can call him my childhood friend, but I guess that means I know Jack pretty well.

“Guh ……”

“There’s no way to fight back from here, right? It’s time to end this, I’m going to use my [Strength boost] to push through.”

“Jack, get some distance!”

When I shouted, Jack glanced at me for a moment, then quickly turned to Nemigo.

“Ku-Kukku ……”

“…… Nn? What’s so funny?”

Jack chuckles and opens his mouth.

“So you used it, your skill. I’m quite familiar with your skill.”

“So what? I know your skills, too, it’s something I don’t understand called collaboration. Whatever, let’s get this over with.”

“I can’t do that, you know ……! I’ll use [Collaboration] on you!”

Jack’s eyes widened and he grabbed Nemigo’s hand. At that moment, Jack threw down his sword and punched him in the face! So that’s what this is about!

“Guh …… you ……!”

“My [Collaboration] is able to collaborate with myself. That’s why your [Strength Boost] will also flow into me!”

“Ow!? If I distance myself–“

“There’s no way I’m letting you go, right? It’s your fault for holding onto the sword for so long! The secret technique, “Hairtail”!”

“Oooooooooooooooohhhhhhh!?”

He grabbed his arm and beat him to a pulp with one hand, finishing with a blow to the top of his nose with a hand knife. The nosebleeds flew, and when Jack let go of his hand, he fell back. He couldn’t seem to get up, so Tigre-sensei crossed his arms and the fight was over.

“It’s decided! A-Class wins twice in a row! Jack-kun has beaten his rival with his brain play!”

“Collaboration is interesting depending on how you use it. He can use my magic too, you know?”

“What?”

“Your menu for today is decided to be yellowtail. You’re too early for Amberjack.”

“Damn, damn, ……! My plan to get the fishmonger to buy me some fancy Luitzar beef ……!”

Nemigo is, dang! He punched the ground and looked at the audience. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Jack’s parents and another family looking at each other and laughing. Isn’t that Nemigo’s family, by any chance ……? Aren’t they’re good friends ……

“I’m not going to lose next time! I’ve learned the secret of [Collaboration] now, after all!”

“Yes”

Jack laughs and makes a proper gesture and comes back to us, and Makina asks Jack with a quizzical look on her face.

“What, friend?”

“Well, yeah. I used to play with him more than you before I joined the academy, playing duel and stuff. My suggestive behavior is not so bad, is it? Uhihi.”

“It was a good game, I think. I’ll have to be careful with Jack’s collaborations.”

“Yeah, and your magic works once it’s activated! …… If your magic power is that much, though …… When the undead happened, I grabbed Verna-sensei and fought with magic, but I got out of breath quickly, so I need to practice to increase my strength and magic power. I’m not very good at it, though.”

“If we work together, we can have fun and become stronger! Then, I’ll go next, I’m off!”

A very motivated Kudelica stood up, grasping her axe.

But…

“Hm, I wonder what happened? The next player in the C class is talking with Tigre-sensei?”

“…… Hmmm, so it came to this.”

When we heard Verna-sensei’s interesting words, we listened.

“Huh? Abstain?I don’t mind, but you still have a chance to win, you know?”

“No, we’ll pass on that. We’ll take second place, okay?”

“Yeah, that’s fine, but…”

The next kid abstained, and we grabbed first place.

“With C-Class abstaining, A-Class took first place! And so we continue with the battle for third, fourth and fifth place.”

“Ugh, I wanted to fight ……”

“Isn’t it good, because you can have it easy! What’s next, throwing competition? Let’s hope on Luciel and Urka will do.”

“Yeah.”

We finished with A, C, B, E, and D in the standings, ending the first year’s combat competition without magic. I’d like to attack just like this, but I wonder.

◆ 　 ◇ 　 ◆

“I wonder if this is okay?”

The male student who had withdrawn from the class shrugged his shoulders and called out to the male student with black-rimmed glasses.

“It’s okay, it’s not worth getting injured or using up your energy. Let’s earn points in other competitions.”

“Nevertheless, A-Class is tricky, though. Their combat strength is outstanding.”

“There are ways to do it. Every class has its own strengths and weaknesses.”

“Well, let’s just take it easy. Four points for second place, I guess that’s enough. If it’s a competitor, I wonder if it’s allowed to join forces with another class ……?”

The boy with the black-rimmed glasses laughed, patted everyone on the shoulder, and prepared for the next event, the throwing competition.

This time, the fishmonger wins!

Thank you for reading!

[Afterword Theater]

“Collaboration is quite interesting.”

I think it’s pretty useful in every conceivable way.