"...Yuuji"

"What is it, Shouko?

"Until when will the special supplementary lesson continue?"

"I think end of this week to the utmost. Really, even though the first semester finally ended too, to still have to go to school everyday, does that hag not understand the meaning of summer holiday?"

"....But, it can't be helped for Yuuji and everyone in F cla.s.s. Since you usually skip cla.s.ses a lot."

"Well, you have a point there.... Rather than that, why are you going to school everyday? A cla.s.s doesn't have supplementary lessons right?"

"...There's no supplementary lessons, but we have a summer short course."[1]

"Summer short course? If I'm not wrong, that's preparation for the college entrance exam right?"

"...Un"

"Yare yare. To go to school even during holidays, you're really enthusiastic aren't you? As expected of A cla.s.s-sama."

"....It has nothing to do with A cla.s.s. Yuuji is there, so I go to school."

"You're still spouting that...."

"....If Yuuji's not going to school, then I'm also not going. Whether there's a summer short course or not."

"Aaah. Got it, got it."

"...If Yuuji's not going to the wedding place, then I will bring you there. Whether there's any intention to marry or not."

"It sounds like a cool line, but remember that it's a splendid human rights violation! Or rather, if it becomes like that, I will make sure to resist with all my power!"

"....Resistance is futile. Because I will do my best."

"Why are you doing your best on something like that! Don't waste your effort!"

"...Before"

"Aan?"

"....Before, Yoshii said this."

"What? What did that idiot say?"

"....[I can do my best for the people that I like]"

"That's not it, okay!? The implication of what he said wasn't that at all okay!?"

"...Lately, I also think like that."

"What do you mean by also! Even if you look for it, you're the only one in the world who would think like that!"

"....With Yuuji, I will fight without any petty trick straightly with my arm strength for a marriage."

"What does marriage have to do with arm strengyaaaa! My skull! My skull lets out a creaking voice!"

"...Will you, marry me?"

"I won't! Or rather, I can't! It's too soon you know!"

"...Ah...is that so..."

"Ze...ze... Do you understand now...."

"...Un. I was too hasty...."

"That's right. I'm still 17 years old you know? Even if I wanted to marry - "

"...At this hour, the wedding place and the civil office haven't opened yet."

"That's not the problem you know!?"

"...Un. I know. Just joking..."

".......How do I say this, you, you're steadily getting stupid aren't you...."

"...So mean."

"It's the truth."

"....So mean."

"Keh."

"....But, Yuuji"

"Haa?"

"...That remark earlier, does that mean you will marry me when you turn 18?"

"Geho geho! What are you spouting about!"

"...I'm looking forward to it."

"You know.... Until when do you plan to keep spouting those words.... It's time for you to return to reality."

"...It's alright."

"Alright? What's alright?"

"....Because no matter what, I will always like Yuuji."

"Geho geho!"

First question

Please change the following words into English

"スペイン語"

Himeji Mizuki's answer

"Spanish"

Teacher's comment

One of the basic English words, isn't it. Sometimes there are people who forget to write the first letter, S, as a capital letter. Please remain vigilant against those kinds of careless mistakes.

Tsuchiya Kouta's answer

"Speines-"

Teacher's comment

I wonder if you wanted to write "Speinese", just like the form in "j.a.panese". Too bad, but it's wrong.

Yoshii Akihisa's answer

"Spaget-"

Teacher's comment

No matter how I try to interpret this otherwise, I can't see this as anything other than, you were going to write "Spaghetti" as the answer.

The finals were over, it's a period where we're covered by an indescribable sense of freedom. The number of days left until July ends became just a few more. The loud voice of the cicada and the c.u.molonimbus that covered the surrounding skies, the signs that signaled that true summer had come were being painted all around us.

The season where the burning rays of sun rain on us - something that a girl who's mindful about getting sunburned might hate.

Not only sunburn. The season called summer is hot, noisy, and even insects come out.

But, even so, for me, this season is the one I like the most in going through the whole year.

Pa.s.sing through the cold winter, the season where life starts to bud, spring.

The color of the mountain change from green into red, the season where preparations against the visiting cold wave start, autumn.

The air is clear, the season where you can feel the shine of the stars closer than usual, winter.

Even each of the other seasons have their own mountains of good things.

But, inspite of all that, I feel that compared to the other season, the season called summer always has something special.

The boiling heat, the bug's self-a.s.sertion that breaks your eardrums, even the clamor of the baseball club that you can hear from the campus, all of them are the spices to enjoy this special season.

Going outside, I wanted to feel the heat that can only be felt during this period. Frowning a little toward the bustling clamor, I wanted to bask in the burning sun rays. Wiping the unstoppable sweat, I wanted to move my body as much as I can. That's the right way to enjoy the season called summer, the period of time called broad daylight wasn't it.

That's right. Now is the special season called summer which can make your heart dance. That's why -

(Yuuji, let's run. From this h.e.l.l's jail of the soul.)

(Nicely said Akihisa. I'm already fed up with this iron-fist-supplementary-lesson full course.)

-That's why, we decided to run away from Tetsujin's supplementary lesson.

(In the first place, to still have lessons even on summer holiday is a mistake, isn't it? Moreover, most of the people in this cla.s.s are males. Let alone study, it's hard enough to breath inside here isn't it.)

My bad company, Sakamoto Yuuji, who sat right beside me frowned his full-of-roughness face.

(And additionally, the one doing the supplementary lesson is Ironman too.... He's so sultry even in the winter, in this circ.u.mstances, looking at Ironman is just like a torture.)

At the platform, the well muscled hot-blooded teacher, Nishimura-sensei a.k.a Ironman was continuing the supplementary lesson without even showing a drop of sweat. The reason he didn't even slightly show any form of being worn-out was because of his trained physical strength through his hobby of triathlon.

(For Himeji to still be able to take notes seriously in this situation.... Is she a monster?)

(Just as expected of someone who has the capability of A-cla.s.s's valedictorian - is what I wanted to say, but Himeji-san's body is weak isn't it. I wonder if she will be okay.... Lately it seems she's in a good condition, but I'm still worried.)

For the time being, at least she got the window-seat position where the ventilation is good, but the best position under the shadow of the pillar was already given to someone else. As long as she didn't forget to keep hydrated, I didn't think anything bad will happen suddenly....

(Ironman is pretty considerate about that thinking so it should be alright shouldn't it. Even if he looks like that, depending on who the other party is, he's pretty considerate of them)

(Un..... he does look well at who the other party is doesn't he....)

That's why we're placed at the furthest ridge from the window where the heat from the sun is strongest and the ventilation is the worse. This is extreme discrimination.

(So, Yuuji, how do you plan to slip out? The opponent is that Ironman so if we're caught it will be h.e.l.l.)

(Akihisa, you invite others to run away but didn't think about any plan at all?)

(If I already had a plan I would have executed it alone at once.)

(Well, you're right about that. Now, what should we do....)

While discussing with Yuuji in small voices, we're looking for Ironman's weakness. Of course, we didn't have the luxury of being suspected of talking with each other. We suppressed our voices to the lowest volume and moved our mouth like a ventriloquist when we talked. An indispensable technique for the boys in this cla.s.s that Ironman sets his eyes on.

[-a.s.sume the height of the object before is h, when all of the potential energy in the object is converted into kinetic energy, the formula of the speed of the object in this state, v, is heavily reliant on the gravitational acceleration g and the height h which-]

Ironman was facing us while reading the text book out loud.

It's not a good idea to move now. If we made the slightest stupid move, we would be caught immediately, wouldn't we? I wonder what we should do.....

(Oi, Yoshii, Sakamoto. Are you two going to run away?)

(If you're going to run, we're coming too. We can't stand staying in this h.e.l.l any longer.)

(Me too. If I stay like this, I will certainly die from dehydration.)

While being troubled thinking about the way to escape, our cla.s.smates that sat nearby start to talk to us. Of course, their faces remained facing the blackboard, and their mouths moved so slightly that you wouldn't think they were currently talking. The only ones that Ironman hadn't set his eyes on are Himeji-san and Minami. The other cla.s.smates had already learnt this special skill.

(Then Yuuji, how does the plan where we simultaneously run away with this high number of men sound?)

(Human-wave tactic huh? It's a simple yet reliable tactic... OK, I'm in.)

Yuuji, with his farsightedness that I almost don't understand at all, slightly nodded.

The demon was only Ironman himself. If we all scattered simultaneously in different directions to run away, even Ironman wouldn't be able to catch us all would he.

(Everyone agrees to it right? No resentment for whoever gets caught. If there're no more problems, everyone who wants to do it please nod slightly.)

After saying that, everyone in the cla.s.s besides Himeji-san, Minami, and Hideyoshi simultaneously nodded. For 47 people out of 50 running away.... even though I'm the one who made the suggestion, but this cla.s.s really is odd isn't it.

However, the joining of more people means the probability of me getting caught is lower. How convenient.

All that's left is looking for the chance.

[ - That means, the speed of a falling object is independent of the weight of the object itself. But, unlike the ideal condition in this theory, in reality there's also the resistance of the air. The reason a feather and an iron ball doesn't fall with the same speed is largely because of this air resistance. When it's inserted into the equation - ]

Since the explanation finally reached its climax, Ironman turned to face the blackboard and started to write on it.

There's no way we're going to miss this timing when he finally faces away from us!

When we raised our hips to escape,

"n.o.body move!"

"""----!!"""

In that instant, Ironman got a start on us. Impossible! We're found out!?

"You punks.... you've got quite some guts to try to escape don't you. Is my lesson that boring?"

Ironman slowly turned this way and glared at us. Ku...! Just as expected of an inhuman creature. To be able to read our escape from just our presence...!

While we're being afraid of becoming the first victim of the iron fist,

"...Is that so. I didn't realize you were that bored with my lesson. This is my fault for giving a boring lesson."

Unexpectedly Ironman said something like that. Huh? You're not going to hit us?

"As an apology, I will tell you an interesting story in return. ....Himeji, Shimada, Kinos.h.i.ta, you three close your ears."

Interesting story? That's always welcomed, but I wonder why Himeji-san and the others have to close their ears. If it's something interesting, isn't it better to let everyone hear it?

"That's right. That was a summer more than 10 years ago - "

As if ignoring our questions, Ironman started to weave his words.

"-This was when I was wrestling with an exchange student from Brazil."

"""Gyaaa"""

d.a.m.n it! It seems the guys with low resistance are done in by Ironman's sweltering words!

Ironman's wrestling lecture in this scorching condition is just like a death penalty....!

"The opponent was a giant with a height of 195 cm and weight of 120 kg named Gino Grachero. He was a man whose arm was as thick as a female's waist. Even so, I wasn't going to lose. With my 188 cm tall trained body with a 97 kg weight, we clashed from the front..."

"Stop it! Please stop it!"

"My brain! My brain hurts!"

"Mamaaa!"

The sounds of the mind breaking could be heard like a clattering sound.

This is bad! My head is starting to feel strange too! Have to think of a counter-measure soon!

" - But, he mistook wrestling with judo. He did an Ude-hishigi move on me. But, there's no way he could win against this prided biceps of mine. Covered with sweat and with my blood vessels popping out, I continued to resist by not letting my arm get stretched. Then, the other party started to go around my head without delay, and while pressing that bulky chest muscle of his to my face he started to do Kame-shiho-gatame - "

"Guaaaaa! No more! I don't want to close my eyes! The worst image is clinging to the back of my eyelids and it won't come off!"

"He's not waking up! f.u.k.u.mura's not waking up! Oi, get a hold of yourself!"

"Air! I need cool and fresh air!"

In this Abikyoukan h.e.l.l-like situation, to bear the mental attack, I was continuously looking at our cla.s.s' 3 girls.

First was the girl who didn't understand what's going on and kept her ears closed while staring blankly at us, Himeji Mizuki-san. That gentle hair, that fluffy atmosphere, she's a girl that looks as if her whole body is formed of healing aura. Brilliant mind, satisfactory physical growth, killer cooking, she's far above the normal level in all those categories. Just looking at her is enough to escape from this mental attack, and just remembering the taste of her cooking is enough to send you to the other world.

Next was the girl who's looking at us with a shocked expression while plugging her ears, Shimada Minami-san. A girl whose characteristics are her ponytail, pretty legs, and slender body. A precious girl in the cla.s.s who we can talk to without worry, but just remembering her high attack power that she displays in her joint-lock technique is enough to make cold sweat run down my back. Well, even that would be refreshment in this situation so I couldn't say that it's something not to be grateful for I guess.

The last one was the cla.s.smate who understood everything and sympathized with us while pushing his ears, Kinos.h.i.ta Hideyoshi. There's a little sweat at Hideyoshi's eyebrows because of this heat. If it's hot, it would have been better if he would just wear the more breezy girl's uniform too. No, rather than uniform, how about wearing a one piece dress. Wearing a white one piece dress fluttering in the wind and standing on a plateau Hideyoshi. Un. It sure feels refreshing imagining that.

" - and then, up till the time limit, we continued to attack and defend using Newaza[2] - N? What's wrong you guys? Already downed?"

When I noticed it, almost every one of my cla.s.smates were already prostrating on the tea table while losing consciousness.

"Really, no choice then. Let's have a 10 minute break. Reflect on your actions for trying something stupid like escaping."

After giving a gesture to the three people who were closing their ears that they could remove their hands, Ironman instructed them to rest and then sat at the teacher's chair. It looked like even though we got some break time, he didn't have any intention of going out of the cla.s.sroom. I wonder if it's because he's still wary about us escaping?

In this cla.s.s that's filled with dead bodies everywhere, the few survivors approach us.

"Uhm, Akihisa-san. What happened here? Everyone looks like they're suffering...."

Himeji-san worriedly looked at the cla.s.smates who had fallen flat on their faces at their tea table. Just as expected, she really is kind.

"Uuumm, how do I explain this, it's some kind of verbal punishment, or rather you could say that it's some kind of mental attack...."

If I wanted to explain this, I had to re-tell Ironman's story. Please spare me from that.

"Really, in any case it must have been something stupid again isn't it? It's because you think about something like escaping, of course sensei's going to be mad."

At Himeji-san's side, Minami's looking at me with a chaperoning expression while letting out a sigh.

"Don't say that, Shimada. Akihisa and my seat's positions are bad enough that it can't be helped that we think about escaping. It's around all-the-water-in-our-body-will-evaporate level of bad."

Just like Yuuji said, it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that Yuuji and my seat's exposure to the sun were already far past the satisfactory level. The absence of curtains wasn't a problem up until now, but it's because of this kind of period that made me realize the importance of that for the first time. So that thing wasn't just to prevent people outside to see inside huh....

"Is that so? My seat wasn't that hot so I can't understand that."

"The wind pa.s.ses through mine too so it's still okay."

"It's because our seats are positioned in the place where the sun's exposure is the strongest and the ventilation in the worst. It's really awful."

"How awful is it?"

"Around Akihisa's test mark level."

"On the level that can't be endured by humans then."

What a thing to say.

"But, this seat is really around Yuuji's personality level of awful. Just now when I touched the aluminum part of my pen, I got a light burn."

If a steel plate was laid out, we could make something like a sunny-side egg on it.

"You got a burn? Where?"

"Ah, no. It's not something that bad."

Minami spontaneously took my hand. It seemed she's worried about my burn. Lately, the difference between Minami in attacking mode and when she's in kind mode is large. I wonder what happened. I really can't understand a girl's way of thinking.

"What's this Shimada. Aren't you quite kind to Akihisa?"

"That's right. Minami-chan is too close to Akihisa-kun."

Seeing us like that, Himeji-san and Hideyoshi started to say those words.

"I, it's not like I'm being kind to Aki...! I, it's just that if he's hurt I have to hold back when hitting him...!"

So you're still going to hit me even if I'm injured....

"Even so, I also think that Minami is kind."

"Eh...? Even Aki too, what are you saying."

"You're helpful, notice about sensitive things, care about your little sister too. And also, you can put your love into animals too - as an opposite s.e.x."

"You're still misunderstanding that!?"

The last part was Minami's big secret that only I know of so I turned down my volume when saying that. A person who loves animal is kind, so Minami is no doubt a kind person.

"Listen well, Aki! It seems you misunderstood, but I don't have any interest in orangutans, the one that I actually like is - "

"""Is?"""

Talking about such an important topic such as the person she likes, everyone in the cla.s.s, including all the cla.s.smates who collapsed earlier, focused their attention on Minami.

".........Chimpanzee!"

Minami boldly confessed in front of everyone's attention.

"I, is that so...... That's.... sorry, for misunderstanding."

"U.... T, that's right.... it's not like I like orangutan you know...."

Furthermore, seeing me shocked by the new truth that just came out, Minami slowly murmured "I can no longer be a bride...." with a crying-like face.

What is it I wonder. Just now I feel like somehow I can understand something coming from Minami.

"Shimada. It's hard to be you too isn't it?"

"Sakamoto.... If you're feeling sorry about my situation, please fix Aki's misunderstanding...."

Misunderstanding? If it's about Minami liking chimpanzees instead of orangutans then I think I already get it though.

"Well, this seat is indeed hot. I guess it's just normal for you guys to plan an escape."

Hideyoshi put his hand on my tea table.

"Now that you mention it, Hideyoshi kept sitting properly, didn't he? You didn't hear our talk about escaping?"

"No, I did hear it....but my seat is a lot more cooler than yours. I dozed off because of that and missed the timing to partic.i.p.ate in the plan."

Even if he says his seat is cooler than ours, to be able to doze off in this heat - Hideyoshi sure is something else. Furthermore, there's also the matter of him not getting found out by Ironman while sleeping. I wonder if his ability to sleep while still looking as if he's awake is also part of his acting ability.

"What's the matter? Did the escape plan become ugly because I didn't partic.i.p.ate?"

"No, that's not it. It's just that, as a part of the stupid friends group, it feels lonely when one of us is missing."

It feels hard to invite Himeji-san and Minami for things like this. It's different for good friends and stupid friends though.

"Is that so...."

"? Hideyoshi, why do you look so happy?"

Is it just my imagination I wonder. I can somehow see a smile on Hideyoshi's face.

"Umu. Truth to be told, I'm a little happy to be called a stupid friend. It's because lately you think of me as a girl. I'm a little worried about how you don't care about the part of my appearance that's different from my sister."

The sister Hideyoshi's talking about was his twin older sister Kinos.h.i.ta Yuuko.

Well, both of them really do look alike, they're both very cute too...

"Hideyoshi also worries too much about weird things don't you?"

"No, taking into account how you treat me lately, I don't think it's weird at all though..."

Seeing me laughing it away, Hideyoshi said this sourly as if he's still not convinced at all.

Why is he worrying about weird things like that I wonder.

"Because, to not care about things other than appearance, there's no way that could happen right?"

"But, I—"

"Indeed, I do think Hideyoshi is cute, but if it's only that, there's no way we'll be together like this right? To study together, play together, it's because I know a lot about how good Hideyoshi is inside that we're together like this you know."

To choose your friends based just on the appearance, I think that's a very weird thing to do.

"......!?"

"N? What's wrong, Hideyoshi?"

"D, don't look this way"

Saying that, I didn't know why but Hideyoshi turned his back this way as if wanting to hide something.

"Mizuki..... Kinos.h.i.ta is really cunning, isn't he..... even though he's treated like a woman usually, only at times like this he isn't thought as an opposite s.e.x and gets those kind of words..."

"He really is, isn't he..... My hard work's in vain...."

"Mizuki's still better. My hard work only results in me becoming a high-school girl who loves chimpanzees..."

Himeji-san and Minami seemed to grumble about something with some sighs mixed in while doing that.

"Nmu....? By the way Akihisa, I get the feeling you didn't refute the part about thinking of me as a girl though?"

"Ahaha. Hideyoshi really worries about strange things don't you. It's not like that kind of thing needs to be answered clearly."

"Why are you avoiding making a statement!? Eei, do you think of me as an opposite s.e.x? Answer clearly with a "yes" or "no"!"

"Youi."[3]

"Mu.... the two answers are mixed in so it becomes unclear - or not!? You, on top of that, you mixed "yes" and "oui", didn't you!? You really think of me as a girl, don't you?!"

"By the way Yuuji. Mutsullini seems to be in a really dangerous situation though."

"You're letting the fact that you just said it doesn't need to be answered slide!?"

Our friend who usually plays with everyone together or with his camera during break time for some reason didn't move even the slightest bit and was only blankly staring today.

"It's because his imagining power can't be compared to normal people. The picture of Ironman and the Brazilian sultrily wrestling must have been freshly burned in his brain from hearing that story mustn't it."

"....That happened without difficulty huh?"

I see. So he became unable to move even an inch because of that.

"Even so, it sure is hot isn't it.... my sweat wouldn't stop since earlier."

"It is.... In this condition there's no way we can put our spirit into studying can we..."

The tatami and tea table equipment looked like something that further added to the sultriness. To be hot during summer is a natural thing, but just as expected this is a little too much....

"What's the matter, Aki. You were quite spirited in studying during the final exam last time, but now you return back to being just like usual?"

"That time was an exception for repelling my sister. In the first place, I don't really like studying."

The result of the test, in the end I was in a fix of my sister returning to j.a.pan. Right now, in order to prepare to move here, she returned for a while to my parents' place, but my freedom was in a precarious situation now.

That's why, I want to fully enjoy my summer break even more, but of all things to have supplementary lesson is really.....

"Besides, there's also another reason in the last test."

Yuuji, who also showed his low study motivation like me, said that.

"Another reason? Was it about the summoned beast's equipment being reset?"

"Un. It's because mine and Yuuji's equipment are extremely weak. We thought we might get a stronger equipment if we get a new one, but...."

"You of all things missed putting the important name field at the test. It will be a Gakuran and Bokutou again won't it."

"Uuu... I wished for at least a metal weapon...."

I don't want a bokutou because I feel like it will be worn out just from clashing with others' weapons....

"Well, with that result Akihisa's weapon might not be changed, but what about Yuuji? Didn't your score go up quite a bit since the last cla.s.s division test?"

"N? Now that you mention it. I wasn't paying attention to my score or my equipment since I was too caught up in other peoples' scores."

"It's because Yuuji is in the position of giving command right? You a.s.sumed that there wouldn't be many instances where you have to fight directly with your enemy didn't you?"

"Aa. Instead of upgrading my equipment, having the others' equipment strengthened will make the battle easier."

That kind of thought just naturally comes to me, so this guy really must have a commander's disposition by nature.

"My final exam's result was quite good too. Perhaps my equipment will become better too."

"Compared to the cla.s.s division test, I could read the questions better too on the final exam, so mine might get a little stronger too."

It seemed Hideyoshi's and Minami's test results became higher. I'm so jealous.

"I'm sorry.... It seems mine doesn't change that much."

"No no. If Himeji-san's result became even higher it would be too amazing, you know."

Even if there's no limit to the test's score, to get a higher score than that is extremely difficult, isn't it?

"Ah. If that's so let's all summon our summoned beasts once. I'm curious about what everyone's equipment became too."

Perhaps my equipment was also improved. Since the equipment before was the worst, there's no way it would become worse than before, I think.

"You're right. To grasp our fighting potential is an essential need for the test summoning war. Fortunately we also have Ironman here, let's get permission for summoning and check the new equipment right away."

"Right. Excuse me, Nishimura-senseeei."

I called Ironman who's sitting on a pipe chair near the blackboard to look at the cla.s.s' situation. When I did that, Ironman looked this way with a dubious expression on his face.

"What is it Yoshii? How rare of you to call for me."

Of course it is. I'm not as stupid as to voluntarily talk to someone when it'll add bruises to me proportional to the number of conversations we have.

"Excuse me. I have a request for sensei."

"Request? It's not a strange request, right?"

"No, it's not. We just want to get permission to summon our summoned beasts."

When I said that, Ironman clearly showed an expression that said "troublesome things occurred". I wonder why. Is there some problem or something?

"Aaah... Listen here, Yoshii. You're the Kansatsu s...o...b..nsha. Your summoned beast has more power than most people, and furthermore, it can touch things and people. To recklessly summon that kind of thing is not something good. Don't think about useless things like that - "

N? His condition is really strange. Even though he'll usually talk about everything clearly, he's really awfully ambiguous now. Is there something he feels guilty about, I wonder.

"Nishimura-kyouyu[4]. It's not like we're planning something bad. We're just purely curious about what our summoned beast's equipment has become."

Hideyoshi interrupted to help. Ironman wouldn't believe me or Yuuji no matter what we say, but he wouldn't be able to ignore if it's Hideyoshi or Himeji-san or Minami who said this.

"No, even so, Kinos.h.i.ta, to call out a summoned beast besides using it for a summoning war is not something very good, you know."

He said that as if there's something caught in his molar. Just as expected there's really something wrong going on.

"Ironman. What are you hiding to that extent? Is there something inconvenient with our summoned beasts?"

"No, there's nothing going on, Sakamoto. Rather than that, the break will soon end. Return to your seats and prepare for the next cla.s.s."

To not complain even a word when being called Ironman, this is really a rare sight.

Seeing this situation, not only Yuuji who realized this from the start, even Minami and Himeji-san started to realize there's something wrong with Ironman.

"Nishimura-sensei. Did something happen to our summoned beasts?"

"Our summoned beasts can't touch things so it's okay to summon it right?"

"...Now then. Let's start the lesson."

Ironman ignored both of them and returned to the teaching platform.

"Wait a minute."

Yuuji grabbed his hand.

"What is it Sakamoto?"

"It looks like there really is something going on. I'm not going to ask to give us permission to summon our summoned beast any more then. But, I want an explanation of what's going on - Awaken!"

Reacting to Yuuji's voice, the silver bracelet was activated. This guy's silver bracelet's ability is to create a summoning field. In other words, we could summon our summoned beasts even without permission from the teacher.

"Well then, without further ado - Summon!"

Letting that familiar keyword out from my mouth, a magical array like geometrical patterns appeared in front of my feet. And then, from the center of that, some kind of figure came out gradually. If there's no change in equipment, the one coming out there should be a deformed version of me in a Gakuran and Bokutou, but -

"Huh? My summoned beast somehow looks....?"

"Oi oi.... What extravagant equipment for someone like Akihisa. Is that armour?"

"It even brought a sword. It's completely different from before isn't it?"

"And also, isn't it kinda tall?"

The one appearing was a knight carrying a big sword with body covered in silver armour.

"A, amazing! It somehow looks quite strong!"

"Oh dear.... This thing really looks amazing doesn't it. The summoned beast war is gonna look like a real war isn't it?"

"That's right isn't it. If it's like this, it wouldn't look that much different from real people would it?"

The summoned beast is usually the deformed version of myself, but looks like this time it's different. It's almost as big as my real body.

"The face also looks completely similar to Akihisa-kun doesn't it. Unlike the cuteness up to now, this time it looks quite gallant."

"Eh? I, is that so?"

It's somehow feels a little embarra.s.sing to be called gallant.

"Himeji's quite whimsical aren't you? What's good about this ugly thing?"

"Ouch."

Pakon! Yuuji nudged my summoned beast's head. And then, that nudged head separated from the neck and slowly fell to the tatami due to its weight.

""".........."""

In front of us who became speechless, the summoned beast's head that was separated from the body rolled quietly. That freshly severed head rotated on the tatami many times over and stopped after hitting one of the tea table's feet in a condition with its eyes looking at us.

""Kyaaaaa!?"

"Eeeeh!? W, what is this!? Why did my summoned beast become unable to be showed in the living-room!?"

The body was still standing in a Niou, only the head was moving on the floor. How do I say this, it looks even more grotesque due to it not being in a deformed form.

"N? Aaah, sorry. I didn't mean to hit it that hard, but I didn't think that it would get detached like that... Wait a moment. I'm going to bring a stapler."

"Yuuji, what are you talking about!? You should be using glue if you want to stick something together!? Because you will make holes and it hurts if you use a stapler!"

"I think that's not the problem though"

Geez.... Did he forget about the fact that I'm a Kansatsu s...o...b..nsha?

"By the way, even if Akihisa's test result is close to zero, it doesn't have to become unable to battle as soon as it appears does it."

"Eh? Is it because of that?"

During the last final exam, my test score did indeed become zero because I misplaced my name on the test paper, but I wonder if that was really the reason it became like this. Up until now, if the score was zero, we would be unable to summon our summoned beast no matter how much we call it.....

F Cla.s.s Yoshii Akihisa, Combined Subjects 1503 points

As usual, the score number was displayed a little later after the summon.

Un. It's not too high but there's definitely some score left, so looks like Yuuji's explanation is wrong.

"Akihisa. It looks like your summoned beast's neck getting detached doesn't mean that it becomes unable to battle."

"Un. It sure looks that way."

Just as Hideyoshi said, even if its head has fallen off, my summoned beast was still calmly standing, and when I tried to move its hand, it moved without any problem at all. That means it became a summoned beast with an attachable head right? Looks like a very vanguard-ish ability..... but if possible, I would prefer a more normal one.

"Himeji-san, Minami. It's okay to open your eyes now. Looks like this isn't a dead body."

I called out to the two girls who firmly closed their eyes. To be frightened by that, just as expected, they really are girls, aren't they?

"Hau.... Even if it's not a dead body, it's still scary...."

"I, I was just surprised you know. It's not like I get frightened by something like th..."

Those two awkwardly averted their gazes away from my summoned beast. The frightened Himeji-san and the pretending Minami brought a smile to my face.

"Now then Ironman. What is this about? You know about this, don't you?"

Yuuji unnaturally turned his gaze away to inquire of Ironman.

Ironman let out a big sigh, and as if giving up, started to explain while clicking his tongue.

"....I also don't know about it much, it seems the summoned beast that you summon now will become a monster of some sort."

"A monster?"

If we're talking about a monster with a detached neck, furthermore with a knight figure to boot....it should be something like a Dullahan, right? But, why did such a thing get summoned?

"Just like you know, the summoned beast system doesn't consist of only scientific technology. There's many coincidences and occult-like elements surrounding it."

"??? That means, what exactly?"

"Ahh...in a word...."

"They failed in adjusting the system."

"Don't say it blankly like that."

Ironman responded with a sour look toward Yuuji's answer. Is that so. I indeed heard that the summoning system's condition wasn't good before, so this is the result of that.

"Looking at Akihisa's summoned beast, it seems the adjustment made the occult part stronger. This is also interesting though."

"I see. It's because if we're talking about occult, we can't help but think about monsters, can we?"

If I see things like this on a road during the night I wouldn't be able to remain standing.

"Even so, why is it Dullahan? If it has to be a monster, there should a lot of j.a.panese monsters that can be used too, right?"

I wonder if there's any reason to use monsters that are not that familiar in j.a.pan.

"From what I heard from the headmaster, it seems the selected monster is chosen based on the summoner's characteristic and true nature."

Ironman explained while folding his hand.

"Characteristic and true nature? If that's so then the reason Dullahan was chosen for me is because my knightly spirit affected my summoned beast, isn't it?"

"Akihisa, don't turn your eyes away from reality."

"Eh? That's not it? If that's so, the only other reason I can think of is a manly person who looks good in an armour, or maybe a person with the strength to swing around a broadsword?"

"It's probably 'No head = Stupid', isn't it?"

"It came out! The reality that I tried desperately to turn my eyes away from was said bluntly by Hideyoshi!"

Uuuu... So that's really the reason.... To think that even the test summoning system defines me as stupid....

"Even so, if it's just from looking at it like this, it seems stronger than the summoned beast from before, doesn't it? The weapon is made from metal, and it's wearing armour too."

"T, that's right, isn't it? It looks stronger than before, isn't that right?"

Leaving aside the characteristic and true nature part, getting stronger is something to be happy about.

"I don't think it's stronger though."

Even so, Yuuji said something that dampened the festive mood.

"What is it Yuuji? Is there something unsatisfying about it?"

"That detachable neck is a big problem, isn't it? What do you think will happen if it comes off in the midst of a battle?"

Yuuji pointed at the summoned beast's fallen head.

Ummm, if the neck falls off to the ground during a match,

"....it will get targeted, for sure."

"I think so too."

The head is the weak point when you want to beat up someone. If that weak point falls off and is not protected by the body, of course it will become a target.

"Uuu... So it's like that...."

When you say it like that, indeed you can't say that the summoned beast is stronger now even if the equipment got more or less upgraded. On the contrary, the summoned beast from before was stronger because it could use both of its hands freely.

While we're making a fuss like that, several of our cla.s.smates who finally woke up from the nightmare that they got from Ironman approached us.

"Yoshii, seems like you've been doing something interesting for a while, haven't you?"

"Is this a summoned beast? You said something regarding characteristic and true nature, right?"

"I see. So that's why Yoshii's summoned beast doesn't have any head."

I don't want to hear about that from these guys.

"If you want to talk like that then call yours too. Worse summoned beasts than mine will surely come out."

When I said that, the three of them stood in line, the top of their lips distorted, and unpleasant smiles surfaced on their faces.

"Oi oi Yoshii. Are you sure you want to say something like that?"

"There's no way our summoned beast will lose to the one belonging to the number one idiot in j.a.pan such as you, right?"

"It's because no matter how you see it, our characteristics are gentlemanly. There's no way a terrible summoned beast would come out, you know? Watch this-"

"""Summon"""

Reacting to those three's summoning voice, their summoned beasts' figure started to appear one by one.

......Zuzuzuzu

......Zuzuzuzu

......Zuzuzuzu

I see. I guess it's because they're rotten to the core?

"I, it's scary, Akihisa-kun..."

"Y, you lot! Quickly put something filthy like that away!"

Those three guys who got told that their true nature was filthy embraced each other's shoulder and started to cry.

"Even so, this is interesting in its own way, isn't it? What about Hideyoshi's summoned beast?"

"Nmu? Mine? That's right.... When you said about my characteristic, it's acting I guess. Instead of a demon, a mysterious person who's famous on the stage is more appropriate, isn't it? ...Let's see. Summon."

....Pon

"Heee~. A cat monster? It sure is cute. It really suits Hideyoshi well."

"It seems that Hideyoshi's characteristic is [cuteness], isn't it?"

"E, in the end even the summoning system treats me like this...."

It seems not everything is scary even if it's a monster. How do I say this, it's soothing...

"Kinos.h.i.ta lured Aki like that again...!"

"I, I also won't lose"

Minami and Himeji-san made scary faces in proportion to how not scary Hideyoshi's summoned beast was.

"Akihisa-kun, please watch me. I'm going to show you a cute summoned beast too."

"Ah, un. I'm looking forward to it."

"Yes. I'll do my best."

It's the kind Himeji-san. I'm sure it will be something like an angel or a G.o.ddess that's going to come out.

"I'm going to do this. Summon..."

....Bon

"Kyaaaa!? A, Akihisa-kun!? Don't look at it!"

"Kupe!?"

The instant I laid my eyes on the summoned beast, my neck was turned 180 degrees by Himeji-san. This is bad. Looks like my real body's neck is going to come off too.

"W, what an amazing summoned beast..... ....... Especially the chest."

"Even though the exposure level isn't that big, but the largeness is extremely emphasized, isn't it...."

"A, anyway, some outer clothing.....au! it went through......!"

I was only able to look for an instant because my head got twisted, but I somehow got the feeling that Himeji-san's summoned beast was quite s.e.xy.

"........Akihisa...! This isn't the time to go down....!"

And then, I didn't know since when, Tsuchiya Kouta, who's known as Mutsulini, was desperately taking pictures although his face was dyed with fresh blood, while handing me one spare piece of each photo. No matter how many times you press the shutter b.u.t.ton, I think it's useless when the lens is covered by blood though.....

"Himeji. If you want to hide your summoned beast then get away from me. It should naturally disappear if you move away from the field's effective range."

"Ah.... O, okay. I'm going to do that."

Himeji-san nodded her head in response to Yuuji's words, hurriedly moved away from him, and after making sure that her summoned beast had disappeared, she returned right away.

"Uuu.... So awful.... That kind of outfit, that's just so embara.s.sing...."

Himeji-san, who turned red right down to her neck, made a crying-like expression.

"But, even if you say that, that is Himeji's true nature, you know. There's no other way around it, right?"

"M, my true nature.....?"

Himeji-san's face was clouded with uneasiness while looking at us. U..... It's hard to answer that....

"U, ummmmm..... that's.... How do I say this...."

"T, that's right..... It's hard to say, but....."

"It's the big chest, isn't it?"

"Uwaaaannn!"

Just as expected of Yuuji. He calmly said the thing that we had trouble saying.

"T, that's not the case at all! I indeed grew a little fatter, but it's not as major as it would become my characteristic at all!"

"Stop right there, Himeji-san! If you say about that matter further a certain someone will get huh? Suddenly my field of vision seems to have darkened?"

"Aki. If you have something to say let's hear it now."

Minami smilingly pushed my carotid artery.

E, even though I went out of my way to stop the topic out of consideration...

"Leaving aside the outer appearance characteristic, the other characteristic I can think of is [Boldness], I think? After all, it's a succubus."

"B, boldness?"

"Aa. Now that I think about it, I can occasionally see that characteristic in Himeji. When you went home with Akihisa before you also said something like [I'll control myself so that I won't attack Akihisa-kun]."

"Now that you mention it, before, during the opening of school festival, she also pushed down Akihisa, didn't she?"

"Y, you're wrong. T, that was, umm, a desperation measure, or rather, a spur of the moment, anyway, that wasn't it..."

Himeji-san hung her head with a bright red face as if she's really embarra.s.sed. I don't think she should mind about it too much though since there were a lot of circ.u.mstances going on at that time like the course of the conversation, or the effect of sake.

Looking at Himeji's situation, a triumphant smile surfaced on Minami's face.

"Fufu. Poor Mizuki. It's because you have that kind of chest that that kind of summoned beast appeared."

"Uuu.... This is too much..."

"But, on that point, there's nothing for me to worry about. Surely instead of an indecent thing like that, a fairy, a G.o.ddess, a war maiden, or something cute like that will come out. Just see - Summon!"

Gogogogo...

Not good. If I laugh now I'll be killed!

"...Hey, Aki."

"W, what is it Minami?"

The Minami who spoke while keeping her back facing this way was bizarrely scary. Around the level of the-likes-of-Zombie-and-Dullahan-mean-nothing scary.

"This summoned beast, I wonder if there is something you want to say to me?"

"I, I wonder what?"

While making my words ambiguous, I tried to look around for hel - it's no use! Yuuji and Hideyoshi already averted their gaze away while making a pitying expression.

If it's like this I have to evade the topic to some other characteristic than the perfectly flat part of her body! The only thing I can count on right now is my own brain! Ummm, Nurikabe's characteristic other than perfectly flat is -

"That's right! I'm sure Minami is hard just like a Nurikab... ouch...."

After saying that, I realized something myself.

So that's it.... This question, in the first place, there's no right answer that will enable me to survive with my life.

"Hee..... So I'm hard. At which part I wonder?"

If that's so, at least let's live till the end with dignity....

"Un... Surely,.... your chest is har... agaa! That's right! Your fist! Your fist is also hard gyaaaa!"

"What do you mean by also! Even though you've never even touched it! Stupid Aki!"

I do touch your fist in real time though!

"Mutsullini, what kind of summoned beast did you get? You haven't checked it yet, right?"

Hideyoshi, it could be to save me, started to talk to Mutsullini who had finished applying treatment to stop the bleeding. It's a little late, but nice follow.

"....Summon"

With a murmur from Mutsullini, nearby, a boy wearing a tuxedo with a bad complexion appeared. It somehow looks cool, but this is...

"I see. Somehow the image of always wanting some blood fits really well, doesn't it."

"There's also a resemblance in the liking-young-women part too."

It really is a vampire, isn't it? It really fits Mutsullini in a sense.

"Since we've come this far, I'm curious about Yuuji's too. How about you summon yours too?"

"N? You're right.... Well then, since I can't call my summoned beast this way, I guess I'll turn off the field and ask for permission from Ironman. Even Ironman won't complain about it now, right?"

Hearing Yuuji's words, Ironman murmured a "yare-yare" and nodded his head.

"Unlike us, Yuuji's personality is aggressive. The one coming out might be a combat-oriented demon."

"Indeed, you have a point there. An ogre who brings a large crowbar, or Jason with a big st.u.r.dy chainsaw, or maybe even a G.o.d of death possessing a dreadful scythe will come out."

The only image of Yuuji that I have is exactly like an ogre.

"Well then, here I go. .....Summon!"

While listening to our prediction on the equipment, his summoned beast appeared in response to his call.

That thing's equipment was - a trained body, a tightened body, and a body surrounded by muscle.

"It's empty-handed again, isn't it!"

Yuuji's summoned beast appeared confidently bare-fisted. This guy, doesn't he know any other attacking method besides using his fist!?

"Rather than that, didn't Yuuji's summoned beast regress instead!? It's just equipped with a pair of trousers, isn't it!?"

"Furthermore, there's no special characteristic at all. The one that's coming out looks like Yuuji himself, doesn't it. Besides the difference in clothing, it's perfectly similar to Yuuji."

"I, it's a little embarra.s.sing to see, isn't it...."

Himeji-san turned her sight to outside the window. Yuuji's summoned beast only wore trousers on the bottom half while the upper half was stark-naked.

"Yuuji....first of all, quickly call that summoned beast that makes everyone who looks at it become unlucky back."

To say this bluntly, this is nothing other than an opposite of service-shot.

"I got it. This kind of thing, even I don't want to look at it."

"Even so, in the end, what kind of demon is Yuuji's summoned beast? I really can't figure out even the slightest bit from looking at it."

".....Doppelganger maybe?"

Hideyoshi and Mutsullini tilted their head a little. Hm? I wonder if those two don't know what kind of demon this is?

"What are you two talking about? Isn't this a new variety of demon found recently in j.a.pan called [Sakamoto Yuuji]? In the story, it deceives it's pretty childhood friend with it's ugly figure and dirty personality."

"Akihisa. Call out your summon beast."

"N? Well, I have no problem doing that. Summon"

"Aim towards the World Cup! (Gako)"

"Agaa! Yuuji!? You kicked it didn't you!? You treated my summoned beast's head as a soccer ball and kicked it into the trash bin!? What a cruel thing to do!?"

"Don't be so mad, Akihisa. They say it a lot, right? [Your friend is the ball]"

"It's [The ball is your friend]!? It's just bullying when you switch the order like that you know!?"

If the ball has its own will, it will surely cry after being swarmed and kicked by many friends.

"In the first place, I never recognized you as my friend."

"Then don't kick it!"

Even I don't think of this kind of idiot as my friend!

When I was just about to think "Anyway, let's first take the freshly severed head from the trash bin",

"Nmu? Yuuji, your summoned beast's condition is strange, isn't it?"

"O? It really is. What happened to it?"

When we thought that Yuuji's summoned beast's body was starting to tremble, its mouth started to split and hair started to grow on the body with a huge force.

""Kyaaaa!!""

"......A werewolf."

"I see. So that's it."

One of Yuuji's characteristic, that spiky hair, stood up even more, and that face that was full with an air of wildness, turned into the very definition of wildness itself. Is that so. So Yuuji's characteristic is wildness.

"B, but, isn't it strange that it transformed even though there's no full moon right now?"

Maybe because she's afraid of Yuuji's werewolf form, Himeji-san held on my sleeve while asking that.

"Beats me. Maybe it somehow saw some kind of round thing? It's because the legend itself was quite vague in the first place. Something close to that should be reasonable, shouldn't it?"

If you say a round thing......could it be the head of my summoned beast that was kicked before? The appearance while it spun after getting kicked did indeed resemble something round, but is that really it? It was indeed the result of an adjustment failure, but they really were extremely halfhearted when making it, weren't they?

"By the way, will this summoned beast really be fixed by the time we can do the summoned beast war again? If it's like this, it will become a big demon war when we have an inter-cla.s.s match, won't it?"

"T, that will be troubling.... The scariness will be troubling, and my summoned beast is really embarra.s.sing too...."

Himeji-san's hand that had been grabbing my sleeves was grabbing it even stronger. To be afraid even in a bright place like this and with this many people around, I feel a little guilty to the person herself for thinking this, but I somehow think she's a little cute like this.

"I also don't know that much about the summoning system adjustment. The headmistress might know about something regarding this."

Ironman narrowed the gap between his eyebrows. It seems that this situation is something that even the teachers' side dislikes.

"It seems that it will indeed be better to ask the headmistress rather than Ironman regarding this matter, doesn't it? After all, she's the summoning system developer herself."

"That's right, isn't it? Let's ask the headmistress about this."

I stood up together with Yuuji, and headed to the headmistress's room. The summoned beast war is a really important subject for us. There's no way we can leave it alone like this. We really need to confirm it as soon as possible.

[YOU TWO! YOU'RE RUNNING AWAY AMIDST THE CONFUSION AREN'T YOU! ]

"d.a.m.n it, Yuuji! We've been found out!"

"Run, Akihisa! If we manage to run to the headmistress's room it's our win!"

"Got it!"

"Well, what's going on, headm - hag."

"Please tell us, headm - hag."

"...I wonder why you can't just obediently call me headmistress...."

When we were pressing her for an answer, the headmistress sighed as if she's tired of us.

d.a.m.n it. Lately, whether it's Ironman, hag, or Mutsullini, I somehow got used to calling them by their nicknames.

"I'm sorry. Headmistress."

"Han? Do you think I'll tell you if you change your remark, you stinky brats."

"No way!? That's just cruel, head-hag."

"That way of calling is the cruelest one you've ever called me by, you know!?"

Not good. It's strangely mixed in because of the spur of the moment.

"Oi Akihisa. Don't speak rudely to the headmistress who has a reputation as a young person in public (lol)."

"You're also plenty rude yourself, stinky runt."

It looks like the headmistress' mood got even worse than before. This is bad.

"Well, hag. What's the situation actually? Is it getting restored well?"

"Haa? Restored? What are you talking about, you little baldy. You said it as if there's a defect in the summoning system."

The headmistress looked at us as if she's looking at some stupid people. Leaving aside Yuuji, to look at me like that was just unthinkable.

"But, even if you say as if, the adjustment failure can be seen in plain sight, can't it?"

"No, that isn't a failure."

The headmistress shook her head just like a foreigner in a mail order channel. What does she mean by not a failure?

"That's just a little playfulness."

"Playfulness? What are you talking about?"

I can't see this as anything other than failure no matter where I look at this though.

"It's because it's summer now. Isn't this a season that somehow screams to bring a test of courage on?"

"Ha?"

What is this old woman suddenly talking about?

"In other words, you want to say that you tried to match with the season of test of courage and customized our summoned beast into a monster form specification?"

"That's right. This is a modest present to my cute students who still come to school even though it's summer holiday."

"A present, that's ridiculous..."

Even if that's true, there should be some kind of announcement beforehand. It's really suspicious.

"Nn... is that so? Well, if the hag said that then let's leave it at that."

"E? We're not going to ask what's really going on?"

I'm surprised at Yuuji's unexpected words. I was certain that with his personality he would press further questions toward the headmistress after grasping her weakness.

&quo