Evil Avalon

Chapter 132 A skilled swordsman

(TL:By Rafael,valhallatls.blogspot.com)

"It's about time."

Swallowing his bread, he slipped his thick arms through his uniform sleeves and hurried to prepare for school. Lately, he had been going to school alone, but today he was supposed to go with Kaworu after a long time. This was because Kaworu's morning practice had been canceled due to the recent arena explosion incident—caused by Arthur's magic.

As he tightened his belt, trying to hide his bulging belly reflected prominently in the full-length mirror, a cheerful chime rang out. Grabbing his bag, filled with textbooks, he quickly descended the creaky stairs. There stood a girl with a dignified posture.

"Madam isn't... here. The shop's closed too."

"Yeah. Dad went out to buy merchandise, so the store is closed only in the morning."

"...Speaking of which, I heard the new products are popular. Maybe that's what he's buying?"

The new products. In the ground floor of the Narumi household, they ran a shop called "Miscellaneous Goods Shop Narumi," where they sold recovery potions and weapons found in dungeons, which had become quite popular items. Especially the potions, if placed on the shelves, would sell out completely the same day.

Also, recently they had acquired a large amount of mithril alloy, which Kaworu's father processed at the "Hayase Metal Fittings Shop." They were selling well beyond expectations, with high profit margins, and were even being traded at high prices among enthusiasts. With gradually increasing new customers, a second shop was no longer just a dream.

"Dad's been grateful for the increase in work... Well, let's get going then."

"Yeah."

As he replied, he glanced softly at Kaworu's expression. He had been worried because of the severe injuries she had suffered a few days ago in the duel, but she didn't seem to have changed significantly. It was safe to say he was somewhat relieved.

Moreover, it was a good sign that she was engaging in such trivial conversations more often these days. Until recently, she wouldn't even initiate any conversation and would head straight to school without a word. But now, her gaze toward me had softened just a little.

Although I felt an urge to deepen our relationship a little further in this manner, it would be a burden on Kaworu. Right now, I should focus on gradually regaining his trust.

Locking the door and looking at the  girl walking a little ahead of me, I tried to take a position slightly behind.

Despite it being summer and early in the morning, the sun was strong, and there was no breeze, causing sweat to seep out. If I were alone, I would easily feel depressed, but today I was going to school with a beautiful childhood friend. Rather, it felt refreshing.

Feeling good and walking behind the girl, suddenly, she slowed down her pace and walked beside me. Maybe she had something to ask.

"Have you heard about the arena being destroyed from Nitta-san?"

"...No. Is there something happened?"

Why would she bring up that topic to me? Since I couldn't grasp her true intentions, I decided to play dumb for now. After a moment of thought, Kaworu continued.

"I often see you with Nitta-san in class... and it seems like you go dungeon diving together, so I thought you were forming a party."

"...I'm just being taken along out of pity. But I've gotten a bit stronger too."

Since her enrollment, Kaworu had been concerned about whether I was leveling up. It was probably not so much out of worry but rather a sense of responsibility or obligation as childhood friends. Still, it troubled me that she was concerned about me. I wanted to tell her that my level had gone up to some extent and that I could hunt now.

Previously, if it were the Kaworu from a little while ago, she would have looked at me with a suspicious gaze at my words—

"I think Nitta-san and Omiya-san are helping you because they see potential in you. They give you appropriate advice after properly assessing your abilities... I guess you

are really working hard now?"

The way she lightly praises me with a faint smile is somewhat embarrassing. Well, I'm doing my best, but lately, because of Tsukishima, I've been spending so much time on preparations that I haven't had time to level up. Once summer vacation starts, I'll be able to go dungeon diving for a few days, and there are plenty of things I want to do. I should start thinking about some plans now.

"How about you? I know you've been working hard."

"...Not so great. I thought I could handle it at the Adventurer's School, but... it's like being a frog in a well."

With a somewhat gloomy expression, Kaworu finishes speaking and lets out a sigh. She has experience winning national competitions in kendo during middle school. Even after enrolling in the Adventurer's School, she had enough confidence to keep going, but she realized that without leveling up first, she couldn't compete with the upper class adventurers, and even her skills seemed like nothing compared to real adventurers.

(But she has plenty of skill.)

Kaworu's sword is more than enough to handle tough opponents. Right now, steady training and accumulating experience are the best options—I, as a player, understand this, but she might still feel uncertain.

"If it's about leveling up, Satsuki can help you. And as for skills and knowledge, Lisa is quite—"

"Speaking of which, about that Nitta-san. Do you know a slim... yeah, about the same height as Souta, a man who's an amazing swordsman?"

Kaworu interrupts and asks a question. She's usually not very assertive, more of a type to quietly listen, so it's even clearer that there's something more going on. Maybe that's why she's walking beside me now, probably because she wanted to ask that.

(Now, what should I say?)

She's probably asking about a swordsman, likely me, but come to think of it, Lisa mentioned of Kaworu  wanting to learn swordsmanship from me. I wonder why she became interested in my sword. Let's dig a little deeper into that.

"Well, what was he like as a swordsman?"

"I only saw him once... It's hard to explain. He didn't have any 'form.' It was a stunning display of swordsmanship, completely free and unrestricted."

Trying to recall the swordsman's demeanor, Kaworu stops and places both hands on her chest, looking into the distance. Her expression seems somewhat excited.

(No form... That must have looked strange to Kaworu.)

Most adventurer swordsmanship has a 'form.' It's based on existing swordsmanship styles like traditional Japanese kendo or Western fencing, adapted for use in monster battles or PvP. Conversely, by observing stances, sword techniques, and tactics, you can usually infer the original swordsmanship style.

On the other hand, my sword has no form. That's because I didn't refer to any existing swordsmanship styles, but rather learned my swordsmanship by trial and error, often leading to death.

Still, through countless deaths, examining the habits and tendencies of numerous players, and optimizing against all jobs and skills, it has become a specialized PvP sword. I'm confident it can be used extremely effectively in battles with PvP clans.

"Um... about that. I'd like to learn his swordsmanship... But it seems like Nitta-san is hesitant to introduce us. If Souta knew him, I'd go ask him directly... Do you really not know?"

Kaworu cautiously asks, wary of my jealousy or tantrums, but my inner turmoil also seems complex. Thanks to her, I can't calm down either. I'll tell this to my inner Buta-o, but you and I are one and the same. There's no reason to be jealous.

—Leaving that aside, there are several major issues for Kaworu to learn my swordsmanship.

First of all, my sword is based on the knowledge of Dungeon Explorer and the countless players on top of that.

Having battled players of various jobs and experienced countless deaths to learn, it's unclear whether Kaworu can understand why I move the way I do. Even if I explain, saying, "I use this tactic against this type of job often, so if you fight like this, your win rate will increase," would Kaworu, who lacks Dungeon Explorer knowledge and experience, nod in agreement?

Even if she did nod, it's questionable whether her previous experience in kendo would be useful. She seems to lack confidence now, but as Kaworu levels up and gains experience, her sword will be more than enough to handle strong opponents. I know that future. Yet, if I, who learned a messy style of swordsmanship, were to interfere and cause trouble...

So, for Kaworu's sake, it's probably best to oppose this.

"But Lisa is also knowledgeable about Japanese swordsmanship, and she's quite skilled with the sword, too. Rather than learning from a swordsman without form, wouldn't it be better for Kaworu to learn from someone who can make use of her kendo experience?"

"...Of course, I intend to learn from her too. Nitta-san seems to still be hiding some skills... But—"

—That free-spirited swordsman's image keeps coming back. Saying that, Kaworu takes a step forward, mimicking a slashing motion with her palm while imagining a swordfight. Maybe she's trying to recreate my battle with Valkyria Skuld. She twists and turns, revealing glimpses of her skirt in between, making my inner Buta-o and I both feel uneasy and excited.

Kaworu finishes with a sideways swipe, then stops her movements, turns around, and stares into my eyes as if asking if I really have no clue about this sword. While being stared at by the beautiful childhood friend up close, I start feeling uneasy again, and as if to cover it up, I point at the arena that still looks wrecked.

"Cough, I don't know about that swordsman. But look at that. It's pretty broken."

"...Yeah. I wonder who those people investigating over there are."

Kaworu sighed lightly, as if disappointed on forcing the conversation to change, then shifted her gaze to the broken arena. The surrounding walls were scattered, and ropes were set up to prohibit entry, with a crowd of students gathered around.

She walked slowly, approaching to observe the situation.

The debris inside had not yet been removed, and the crater on the ground remained untouched. In the center, several people in suits were standing, holding long, thin devices—likely magical density meters—while discussing something. They seemed to be inspecting what had happened.

Who were they? How much did they understand? There were many questions, and I wanted to gather information by discreetly mingling in the crowd, but Kaworu seemed to be in a hurry to leave.

"Souta, let's hurry. We don't have much time left since we walked slowly."

Indeed, there wasn't much time left until the bell, and Kaworu was one of the duel participants, so it was better not to linger here. Taking a final look at the wreckage of the arena, I also decided to leave.

Entering the E-classroom and sitting in my seat at the back, I took a breath. Recently, there had been violent incidents by the Second Swordsmanship Club and preparations against Tsukishima, so even being at school was tense. When was the last time I could rest my mind like this?

However, I was the only one leaning back and leisurely looking around, while my classmates gathered by the window, deep in conversation. Or rather, the whole classroom was buzzing.

"I heard a big bomb exploded, didn't you know?"

"I heard it was fought by a conquering clan. It seems like quite powerful people were involved."

"Why would they bother using the school's arena? I heard a dangerous monster appeared."

"Huh, a monster?"

Returning to school after the weekend, The students found that the building built by the country's prestige was smashed to pieces. Moreover, the cause was unknown. It was suspicious if someone didn't jump on such a hot topic. However, even if I listened closely, I couldn't hear any rumors about me and Tsukishima fighting and breaking it.

On the opposite side of the corridor, Akagi, Tachiki, and Mashima were gathered. Lisa was also called over and seemed to be talking seriously with Tachiki, which caught my attention, but as the bottom of the class hierarchy, it was definitely impossible for me to join that group. So, I watched them discreetly, and then a girl with a swaying ponytail and a bright smile approached. Yes, as always, she was lovely today.

"Good morning, Souta. It's quite a hot topic, isn't it? But it seems far from the truth."

"Good morning, Satsuki. Well, the president must have worked hard."

Satsuki seemed to be interested and collecting information, but according to her, there were no people spreading rumors about the truth of me and Tsukishima fighting and breaking it—likely because Sagara worked hard to silence them. He even made me sign a contract for that.

However, if something was destroyed so spectacularly, it was natural for government officials or school management investigators to come—probably those people in suits—and it's unlikely that everyone who was in the arena at that time could escape their scrutiny. It would be wise to think that Tsukishima would also be investigated soon. It seemed that another troublesome situation was brewing.

Discussing with Satsuki in a low voice about what to do, a couple who were arm in arm entered the E-classroom, and the classroom instantly fell silent. The lethargic-looking Tsukishima and...Seria-san, with her shining silver hair, were there.

"You're clinging too much. Move away a little more."

"Well, don't be shy, darling♪"

Seria-san was the top of the year and the legitimate daughter of a great noble family, and she was also called the next generation's saint for her exceptional talent. Even in middle school, she had created numerous legends, so even if they are students in the E class who  have not entered from lower grades to high school, her outstanding fame was enough to make everyone hear about her.

Ignoring the piercing glances of her classmates, she said what she came to say without concern and then turned with a flower-like smile, floated away, leaving the classroom.

After that, the classmates bombarded Tsukishima with questions. How did he know Seria-san? How did they become so close? What was the consultation about the student council? While the classmates were excited, Tsukishima was answering questions with a really annoyed attitude.

Watching him with such composure, I felt like screaming with jealousy and running around the classroom. I finally understood how my inner Buta-o felt jealous for Kaworu, but I couldn't let go of my reason here. I had to calm down somehow...hehehe.

"Hey, Souta. Your eyes look bloodshot and scary."

This game story was seriously getting messed up. Even Akagi-kun was never called  "darling♪" until the end of the story. What a mess. If only I had completely stopped them at that time...no, isn't it too late even now?

Ignoring Satsuki, who was a little withdrawn, I spent the day with a gloomy feeling.

TL Note- Time for Satsuki arc?

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