Chapter 6: Worthy Rival

It was finally time for martial arts cla.s.s.

Normally I didn’t mind this cla.s.s—it allowed me to have matches from time to time and gave me a chance to reinforce the most basic of basics of the s.h.i.+jima style.

On top of that, I get to see Alma. Even if it was bothersome in some ways, I liked martial arts a good degree more than the normal day to day school activities.

However, things were different today.

“The little miss has gotten good enough to teach others, huh. Life is really worth living.”

“I am still inexperienced. I couldn’t let Master’s—s.h.i.+jima’s—torch go out. Although I have wanted to find a successor for some time, it was only just recently that I was able to actually find him.”

In addition to Alma, who was also instructing the students, watching my every move, there was now another person who thoroughly knew my moves: my good rival, Chester Prime.

…d.a.m.n s.h.i.+tty old man. What is a person from the underside of society doing here at the Academy with such a crafty face?

There is a martial arts circle much deeper and darker than the stage where Alma lives. What the h.e.l.l is their boss doing here in this peaceful academy?

In my previous life, Chester took every opportunity to pick a fight under the pretense of a “match”. Not only was he strong, but he probably knew my techniques even better than Alma did.

I had a feeling this wouldn’t be easy.

It was hard enough to deal with Alma, but with that battle obsessed idiot Chester around, I had no confidence in being able to keep my ident.i.ty a secret. I broke out in cold sweat.

“Your face is super green. Is that old man scary?”

Sid stood next to me, teasing me while looking at my green face.

This really wasn’t funny. As much as I hated the notion of it, I honestly feared Chester’s existence at the moment.

“Everyone please pay attention. Today, my master’s rival, Mr. Chester Prime, has come for a visit. I doubt that there are any that know him, but he is stronger than me. Especially in battle prowess, I could not even compare to him. He has come here today especially to teach you all. Rest at ease and learn from him.”

There was a commotion—though that was to be expected. Of course, there was no way that any of the students would know Chester Prime.

…Well, I know him, but let’s put that aside for now—how would a person that has never stood in the underside of society know people obsessed with defeating each other?

If Alma introduces an unknown man as being stronger than her—the person whom the elves regard as the strongest—it could only be taken as a joke.

Even if everything she just said was serious.

Even I in my previous life suffered to those killer fists. For Alma, who has yet to reach my previous peak, I wouldn’t say there was no contest, but it would be as hard as catching snow.

“Now then, today let’s first practice the basic movements. After learning the basic movements, let’s have some practice matches.”

Regardless of my apprehension, today’s martial arts cla.s.s begun.

Obviously she had no way of knowing how I felt, but… for her to call Chester of all of people…

Without voicing a single complaint against Alma, I did as I was told. I purposefully took an incorrect stance.

A ‘stance’ was much deeper than it appeared to be on the surface. Even if different peoples’ stances appeared the same at first glance, after many years of refinement, one’s own idiosyncrasies would inevitably appear.

I was no exception. The person seeing it firsthand was Chester Prime. Alma notwithstanding, the moment I took a proper stance, I was certain that Chester would see right through me.

It could even be called trust, in a sense. Unless that old man had gone senile, there was no way he would forget our fights. It was that kind of self-serving trust.

Not as a feint, but rather to purposefully ruin my stance, was like blasphemy towards martial arts. It hurt my heart.

It felt awkward, like purposefully adding the wrong amount of salt to a dish.

However, if I didn’t do at least that much, there was no way I could fool Chester’s eyes. In accordance to Alma’s instructions, I would show off something lacking somewhere… something that may not even be fit to be called a technique.

Ah, this was annoying. Go home already, old man!

I cursed my evil friend 600 years older than me in my heart. There was no way he would notice, but the fact that I thought so in my haste was proof that I still had a long ways to go.

–However, I would come to realized how naïve I was.

“Oi, Boy…Slava was it?”

“Hmm…? Yes, that’s right…?”

Chester, who was looking over the students with Alma, stopped walking in front of me.

That mustache warped into a perverted, truly hateful smile. There was no way he should have known it was me since I was holding back, but as I was panicking silently, Chester drew his face closer.

After I stopped my movements, Chester whispered quietly enough so that I only I could hear it.

“…You are really taking it easy aren’t you, boy?”

My face stiffened at the sound of his terribly happy voice.

There was no guarantee that he had figured out my true ident.i.ty. He had only seen through the fact that I was holding back.

I fixed my unsightly expression and turned to Chester as I regained my composure.

“…What are you talking about?”

“Don’t get me wrong, it’s not like I am criticizing you. Your stance is perfect. Even so, to deliberately hold back on only the important parts… you thought you were being clever, didn’t you?”

I gnashed my teeth thinking that it wasn’t baseless trust. This man was my worthy rival. I had forgotten that he may be the man with the most experience against that s.h.i.+jima style.

The movements may have been perfect but there was no reason behind them. Are you saying that he saw through my empty movements?

At this point excuses were worthless. If I said any half-baked lies, I may only make my situation worse. I understood the circ.u.mstances in which I found myself.

“You are–”

“I will not say anything in front of everyone. I can even keep quiet to the little miss. Let’s see… Come to the princ.i.p.al’s office once school is over. If you do that, everything will stay the same, kid.”

I didn’t know what Chester was thinking, but he said to come to a place where we could talk.

This was a fate I could not avoid. What he essentially meant was “I could tell Alma if you would prefer.” That crooked nature of his hadn’t changed in the slightest, that s.h.i.+tty old fox.

“I understand. Let‘s do it that way.”

In the end I didn’t have a choice but to jump straight into the fire.

Chester didn’t give me the option not to come. He looked extremely satisfied.

After finally pulling his face away he showed his aggressive fangs and said,

“I look forward to it, Slava.”

…What did he just say? He had been calling me ‘boy’ until just now. I stopped from having my name called so suddenly. The way he called me, it’s almost as if…

“b.a.s.t.a.r.d, how much do you…?”

“Look forward to it. Kakaka, I will be waiting for you.”

He must have been satisfied after laughing for a while. He stepped away from me and corrected the some other students’ techniques.

I broke out into a cold sweat, but at that moment, all I could do was feign composure.

Alma instructed the next technique, but my mind was somewhere else entirely.

I was extremely reluctant, but after finis.h.i.+ng school, I headed for the princ.i.p.al’s office.

I stood before the door, which was somewhat more elaborate than those in other rooms.

Normally, students had little business with the princ.i.p.al, so it was rare for there to be someone at the door. In actuality, I had not business with the princ.i.p.al.

The person I had business with was… the person that said he would be waiting at this place, Chester Prime, that s.h.i.+tty old man.

…He called me here by grabbing at my weakness: threatening to reveal that I was holding back.

I was really depressed thinking about what he would say. I should have done a better job of it. But if I had held back any more this time, it would have been more unusual and I would have become subject to Alma’s scrutiny.

Fruitless answers kept popping into my head one after another as I knocked on the princ.i.p.al’s door.

“Pardon the intrusion, it is Slava Marshall.”

“Oh, Slava-kun. Enter.”

When I named myself, the princ.i.p.al’s gentle voice responded.

After gaining permission, I placed my hand on the door and pushed it open.

…The door should have been light, but combined with my current mood, it seemed extremely heavy.

“Hey. I was tired of waiting, Slava.”

This man is the very reason I felt this way.

I wanted to complain about this, but if I had, he would have likely figured out my ident.i.ty.

Instead, I heaved a sigh and walked into the princ.i.p.al’s office.

“If I made you wait, I apologize. Now, how may I help you?”

“There’s no need to be so stiff. I just wanted to talk about old times with you.”

…In my heart, I clicked my tongue. So much for ‘what if he figures out my ident.i.ty?’ He figured it out a long time ago, didn’t he?

Looking at his detestable smile, I did not even bother to conceal my hostility as I glared at him. I had even forgotten that the princ.i.p.al was there.

“I see. Chester-dono and Slava-kun are acquainted. However, you can’t look at your superiors like that, Slava-kun.”

“I don’t mind. I’ve known him for a long time, so I don’t mind this much. More importantly, you’re fine with what we just talked about, right?”

Chester stopped the princ.i.p.al from questioning my att.i.tude. Even as I showed remorse to the princ.i.p.al, I cursed in my heart.

But—what did he mean ‘what we just talked about’?

I was sure it was nothing good, but I couldn’t do anything at the moment. I had no choice but to wait in silence.

“If it is a request from none other than Chester-dono, I do not mind. However, please refrain from anything too violent…”

“I cannot guarantee anything. However, I will do my utmost. Slava, a moment?”

–I see. I understood the real meaning behind Chester’s words.

My conviction hadn’t changed, but I was vexed at the fact that I was dancing in the palm of his hand.

Dammit. Alma really did something unnecessary.

“Alright, I do not mind.”

“It is decided then. Well, we are going to step outside, princ.i.p.al. You are not a spring chicken anymore, get some rest.”

“Ho ho. I am still active, you know. Slava, come to cla.s.s tomorrow, ok?”

Now that I had given up on resisting, things proceeded smoothly.

She really did something unnecessary. But… Truth be told, my blood was boiling.

After getting out of the princ.i.p.al’s office, without a word regarding our destination, we both started walking down the hallway.

Walking while holding back my overflowing magic power was tough. I couldn’t help getting worked up.

After slowly walking out of the school building, we left through the school gate in the same manner.

Since the dormitory was inside school grounds, once you ventured outside the school there was no one around. It was calm.

“Oi, Slava.”

“What is it?”

“Stop with that creepy way of speaking. It’s really conspicuous.”

“…Tch. Pointlessly sharp old man. Just go senile already.”

“KaKaKa! I can’t very well go senile while you’re still alive.”

After confirming that there were no people around, I returned to my old way of speaking.

…To my vexation, it came as naturally as I had expected. Speaking like some know-it-all little brat really didn’t suit my nature.

“And? Where are we doing this? This was spur-of-the-moment, right? So what are we doing about the location?”

“I never thought I would meet the person himself when I was introduced to some ‘like him’. Don’t you have a good spot?”

“…Hmm. In that case, there is the place I am using. Let’s go there.”

We looked like grandson and grandfather as we silently headed into the forest together.

There was no one to hear it, but if there had been, they would have heard a disturbing conversation as we decided on a destination and headed off.

“You haven’t gotten rusty, have you?”

“Don’t look down on me, I’m still in my prime.”

Hearing my old rival’s happy voice, I broke into a run.

We transformed into a pair of shadows as we headed to Alback Mountain at a speed that, for a kid and an old man, was unbelievable.

At some point I wondered what would happen—but at that point, I didn’t care anymore.

I couldn’t hold back my smile as I headed to my first real battle in a long time.