Evil Avalon

Chapter 135 Special Guest

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

- - Kaworu Hayase's Perspective - -

Dungeon first floor. A group is moving through the dimly lit, rugged passage of rock.

Leading the way are Omiya and Nitta. Each carries a huge staff and a large sword on their backs, giving off an aura of strength from behind. Until recently, they weren't particularly noticeable students, but now they hold positions leading Class E.

I knew of Omiya's strength from the class competition, but Nitta, like Tsukishima, possesses the "power of the gods" and is so skilled that one cannot measure his strength even in actual swordplay. It's nothing short of fortunate that such individuals are holding training sessions and guiding us.

Following closely behind them are my party members, Yuuma Akagi and Naoto Tachiki, chatting as they go. When under pressure from higher classes or the second swordsmanship department, they used to become quiet as if weighed down by their thoughts, but since the recent duel, the pressure has vanished, and smiles have gradually increased.

Conversely, Sakura Mitsurugi walking beside them seems to be lost in thought more often. Her magical combat and healing abilities are becoming increasingly polished, and she serves as the lubricant for our easily tense party, always attentive. Her presence is unexpectedly significant. I'm worried, but for now, she probably needs time to think. As a best friend, I want to be prepared to listen whenever she needs to talk.

And the participants in the training sessions led by Omiya and Nitta always include the four of us, but today there are others participating besides us.

"Nitta and Omiya are so strong. They could easily crush Class D in the next class competition."

"The guys in Class D were drooling over Omiya's strength, weren't they? If Mashima catches up to Omiya's group, it's not a dream for us to be promoted to Class C next year."

"Mashima-kun, we'll do our best to keep up, so let's work together in the future, okay?"

"Hah, I don't mind you guys keeping up, but don't hold us back."

Surrounding Mashima-kun is a party. It's already certain they'll be promoted to Class D, and with one more year, they're excited about potentially advancing to Class C in one go. They're the elite group of Class E, actively involved in class operations. I was worried because they, like Yuuma, had lost confidence and were in a dark mood, but I'm really glad they've overcome it. I want to believe that with this, the atmosphere in the classroom will improve. And—

(You're keeping up quite well.)

At the end of the line, I see a male student walking alone, distancing himself even further from Mashima-kun and the others, with his back hunched over. Mashima-kun only directs a discontented glance in that direction.

"But seriously, why is he coming to this training session?"

"Huh? Oh, you mean Butao? I wonder why."

"It's clearly out of place for him to be here with just the elite of the class. He's useless."

"If he's bothering you, I'll give him a piece of my mind."

The members of Mashima-kun's party speak loudly enough to be heard deliberately, not in whispers. Even though Omiya and Nitta directly invited him, why are they questioning whether his participation is appropriate?

Souta is deeply favored by Omiya and Nitta. You can easily tell from their expressions and glances toward him if you pay careful attention, but so far, no one has noticed.

Why he's so favored, even I don't know. However, I have a hypothesis.

Naoto has suspected that Souta Narumi might possess frightening potential. He's asked me about Souta's past and background many times, but no matter how hard I try to remember, I can't recall anything like that. The only thing that comes to mind is Souta's persistence from middle school, which sometimes makes me feel a bit melancholic.

Is Souta truly strong—denying it is impossible.

Physically, he's only slimmed down slightly since enrollment, with no major changes. But upon closer inspection, you can see that his muscles, shoulders, arms, neck, etc., have all gained strength, and despite his slouch—his walking posture and core are firm. There have been times, like after the class competition, when he lost a lot of weight, and he's undoubtedly doing something I can't even imagine. 

His personality has also changed significantly. His strong self-assertion and obsession with me have disappeared. His test scores are surprisingly good, and he's always calm and patient, developing what could be described as a mature personality. These are all things I couldn't have imagined from the Souta of middle school. But if you look into his eyes, deep within, I can see the Souta I've known for years. I'm sure of it because I've watched him as a childhood friend for so long. That's Souta.

But that's not the only thing that's changed. Souta's aunt has begun to sparkle as if she's rejuvenated, and his somewhat tired uncle now exudes confidence, while Hanano-chan has been seen walking with a radiant smile several times. Something is happening in the Narumi household. However, none of these are things to worry about... but I'm really curious.

(Who are you?)

Thinking that way, as I look back now—

"Hey, Butao, hold this. We have important training ahead, and we'll be using up energy."

"Huh... me?"

"Of course. You're not going to be of much help anyway, so carry the baggage—don't you have any common sense?"

Some members of the Mashima party were trying to get Souta to carry their baggage. They seem to believe that only those selected can participate in this training session, but it's their own fault for tagging along without being invited. I'll tell Sakura, who looks troubled, to go on ahead.

"Hey... hold on. You should carry your own baggage."

"What are you saying, Hayase? Butao isn't useful for much anyway."

"He was personally invited by Omiya and Nitta. Do you understand what that means?"

The notion of looking down on others because their level is lower is equivalent to acknowledging the unfair treatment we've received from higher classes. We, who have felt that pain, shouldn't do such things.

So, even if it turns into an argument—

"No, it's fine. I wanted a bit of exercise anyway."

Saying that, Souta starts carrying bags and weapons for several people. Seeing this, Mashima and the others also take advantage and hand over their baggage, making the total weight easily exceed 50 kilograms. Souta's level is "3" according to the database. Even if lifting it isn't too hard, walking with such a load should be tough. Yet Mashima and the others ignore it and move ahead.

"Souta, you shouldn't accept unfair treatment. Even now—"

"I don't mind this. It's not a lie that this will be good exercise."

Despite carrying heavy bags, he walks with a calm expression without losing his balance... He certainly doesn't seem to be struggling. Maybe his level is around 5. Still, it feels uncomfortable to burden Souta alone with everything, so I try to offer help, but he refuses, saying it's good exercise.

Later, I'll make sure to firmly admonish Mashima and the others, but why doesn't Souta argue back? He used to have a strong personality and would stand up even in a weak position. "Becoming mentally mature" doesn't seem like enough of an explanation.

But if we add the reason "because he's incredibly strong and simply not bothering with Mashima and the others," it becomes somewhat understandable.

(This is a good opportunity to find out.)

I've been trying to test Souta's strength and even pair up with him in swordsmanship classes, but he always ends up pairing with Omiya-san or Kuga and never accepts my invitations for hunting.

But today, I should have plenty of opportunity to test him. And since Souta might know about the "Masked Swordsman," I want to subtly guide the conversation and find out.

Walking alongside Souta, who's carrying heavy bags, I naturally start a conversation so as not to reveal my true intentions.

"Souta. It seems we'll be practicing in pairs today... how about partnering with me? I think it's a good opportunity for both of us to see how much effort we've put in since entering high school."

"...Sorry. I already have someone to partner with."

"Huh?"

Surprisingly, it seems he already has a partner. Since Omiya-san and Nitta are acting as coaches, they shouldn't be partnering with anyone, and Kuga isn't participating. So who could it be? Just as I was thinking that, the front became noisy.

Not exactly noisy, more like they were gathered around something, watching. As I was about to step forward to see what was happening, I noticed several men in black suits scattered around. They looked more like butlers with their tuxedos and white gloves, but...

"Hey, thanks for inviting me today. It's my first time joining a training session from another class."

"I'm glad you came. Over there—"

Omiya bows politely and talks to a person dressed in full plate armor. That's Akira Tenma, a famous figure known to all students of the adventurer school, from Class A. She's a nobleman and one of the most talented among the freshmen. Why would such a person participate in our training session?

Next to her is a black-haired woman in a maid outfit, bowing humbly. She's slim and very beautiful, but there's also a sharpness about her, giving off a discordant feeling. They wouldn't bring just an ordinary maid into the dungeon, so she could be an adventurer or a noblewoman.

While everyone is astonished by the unexpected appearance of a big shot, it's only natural. We, Class E, are the bottom students, and we never directly interact with nobles, so we're unsure how to respond.

In the midst of this, there was one person who moved first.

"Akira Tenma-sama. We're extremely honored to have you join our training session."

"Hmm, who are you?"

"Please forgive my rudeness. I am Katsuyuki Mashima, the eldest son of the Mashima family, serving as a vassal to the semi-noble family. It's a pleasure to meet you. And I have long been aware of the esteemed name of Yurika Kurosaki-sama who is here with you."

Katsuyuki Mashima begins introducing himself loudly, kneeling before Akira Tenma and bowing his head. As expected of someone from aide family of a noble family, he's accustomed to dealing with nobles. The maid next to him seems to be someone famous as well. It's not uncommon for top-tier nobles to also be top-tier adventurers, so it's probably that pattern.

Mashima continues with what seems like a polite greeting, but Tenma doesn't seem particularly interested and starts looking around—then, to my surprise, she starts walking straight toward us. I quickly step back and straighten my posture.

『Hey there, Narumi-kun! Let's practice together... Huh? Wow, that's quite a load... Could it be...』

"Um, hey, Tenma-san. There's a bit of a situation with this."

Just as I hesitated, unsure whether I should kneel down and greet her like with Mashima earlier, Tenma-san bypassed me and cheerfully addressed Souta with a voice reminiscent of a phone call. Come to think of it, I remembered he used to talk quite often.

I wondered what they were discussing, observing their interaction, when Tenma-san tilted her glossy helm and moved around Souta, starting to take the burden off his shoulders. What was she planning to do...

『Oh no, you've been roped into carrying stuff again, huh? Let's just toss these away... toss! toss!』

Saying so, she grabbed the bags containing weapons and one by one tossed them aside. Since Mashima and his group preferred large weapons, those bags should weigh close to 10 kilograms each, yet she effortlessly flung them away as if they were scraps of paper. She had incredible strength.

Knowing their weapons were thrown in unintended directions, the owners couldn't get angry at Tenma-san, so they hurriedly picked them up with puzzled expressions... They had no choice but to bear with the consequences of their own actions.

"Alright then, let's use this area. Leave your belongings here."

With a large mat laid out, Omiya-san briskly gave instructions, and the participants of the training session took out their protectors from their bags and silently started preparing... except for her, who just declared her participation, and Tenma-san was looking at her.

"Miss, it seems you'll be using these foam swords. They lack durability, so please be careful with your strength."

"Can we even practice with these toy-like things?"

Tenma-san, drawing everyone's attention, was looking at the foam sword in her hand while a maid carefully wiped it with a large cloth. Her main weapon was a massive double-edged axe weighing over 100 kilograms, famous even among our class. Rumor had it, it was made by Tenma Corporation, using the finest mithril. So it was understandable that she found a 1-kilogram foam sword unsatisfactory.

Nearby, Souta, wearing smaller protectors, could also be seen... Could it be, he was talking about partnering with Tenma-san? The maid occasionally glanced at Souta with a sharp gaze, which was also concerning.

Observing this while sidelong glances, I joined Yuuma and the others.

"Huh... Nitta, so the 'special guest' who's coming today is the second-ranked in our year. I wish you'd told me about this beforehand."

"You must've been surprised~? Be nice now Akagi-kun~♪"

"Haha, she seems like an interesting girl. I felt a connection with her. I don't know why, but I feel like we'll get along well."

As Naoto, pushing his glasses up, incredulously questioned, Nitta casually replied to be friendly with her. Considering that our group was composed mostly of commoners, welcoming a noble into the fold could potentially lead to trouble... I wondered if there was a reason behind this decision.

Meanwhile, Yuuma was watching Tenma-san with keen interest. With his fearless and surprisingly optimistic personality, he might just approach her without any hesitation, even though she's a noble. Maybe I should warn him beforehand.

As I hastily put on my protector and took a foam sword I've swung thousands of times before, intending to practice alone, I was approached from behind by a calm voice full of authority.

"If you don't have a partner for the exercises, may I offer myself?"

Turning around, I saw the maid standing there, exuding an overwhelming presence despite her calm smile.

TL Note- So basically author is trying to make us like Kowaru while steadily pushing for Akira and and Kuga.....a different approach from the author for a harem end?

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