Chapter 141: So You've Reached That Age Too!
"What happened just now...?"
Although the smoke had blocked her view at the end, Stella keenly noticed that Touka had clearly known Shizuku's location before launching her final strike.
Since [Raikiri] was an iai technique, Touka had to sheath her sword again before attacking a second time.
There was no way she would use it carelessly without knowing where Shizuku was.
Just what ability had allowed her to find Shizuku inside such dense mist...?
"That was one of Touka's Noble Arts, [Reverse Sight]."
Just as Stella was struggling to understand, Shiro spoke.
"The human body is like a precision machine. Every movement is controlled by electrical signals sent from the brain."
"As a lightning-type Blazer, Touka can detect those currents to locate others and predict their next movements."
Interestingly, both girls had managed to wound the other by countering a technique similar to invisibility during this match.
"She even has an ability like that...? That's practically cheating..."
Wasn't that basically a miniature radar?
It could even predict movements. It was practically an ability created specifically for combat.
"I'll leave visiting Shizuku to you. I'm stepping away for a while."
With that, Shiro left the audience seats and headed toward the contestants' lounge.
"Eh? Where are you going?"
"To see my kouhai, whom I haven't met in a long time."
...
Inside the contestants' lounge, Touka had already lost the sharp aura she had maintained throughout the match.
Her brown hair was tied into twin tails that rested on either side of her body. A pair of huge round glasses covered nearly half her face above eyes as clear as morning dew.
Right now, she looked somewhat absentminded.
Touka stared at her white stockings, which had become faintly transparent after getting wet, and quietly complained.
"Uu... My stockings are torn. How am I supposed to go outside like this...?"
During the match, no one had noticed because she was fully focused and the arena had been covered by steam.
But now that she looked properly, it was far too embarrassing.
Hagun Academy's black-and-white uniform clung tightly to her wet skin, outlining her perfect curves.
Through the translucent stockings, one could even see the smooth lines of her long, shapely legs.
"I should call Kanata and ask her to bring me another set of clothes..."
She could use lightning to evaporate the water, but that would practically destroy the uniform.
Touka, who was always careful with money, chose to call for help instead.
"Why are you still in the contestants' lounge?"
"Eek?!!"
After she ended the call, a male voice suddenly came from the doorway, frightening a small-animal-like cry out of her.
"Uu... It's Shiro. You scared me..."
After recognizing him, Touka sighed in relief and lightly patted a certain overly full part of her body.
Shiro wanted to tell her that the movement looked rather dangerous with her current outfit.
However, knowing she would definitely become angry, he instead changed the topic to the match.
"Today's fight was excellent. Your swordsmanship especially has improved a great deal over these past two years."
"Don't mention it. That was really close. I nearly lost. Luckily, Kurogane-san approached me at the end."
Touka was indeed stronger than Shizuku.
However, since both were B-Rank knights, the match normally should not have been such a nearly one-sided suppression.
Unfortunately, their compatibility was terrible.
If Shizuku was a long-range mage, Touka was a close-range assassin.
The moment Shizuku allowed Touka to close the distance, her defeat was almost guaranteed.
"When Kurogane-san opened the distance earlier, I was terrified. I was already wondering what I'd do if she avoided my next [Raikiri]."
Had Shizuku known Touka could detect her through the mist, she would never have entered [Raikiri]'s attack range so easily.
Once she avoided that strike and opened the distance, the winner would have become difficult to predict.
"Stop pretending. Even if she avoided that [Raikiri], you still had a second strike."
"Ehehe. As expected of Shiro. You even noticed that."
Touka scratched her head and laughed innocently.
She had intended to surprise Shiro with that move if they ever fought, but he had seen through it before she could even use it.
[Raikiri: Second Strike].
It was a technique Touka created to compensate for [Raikiri]'s weakness.
Once [Raikiri] was drawn, the strike had to continue to the end.
After using it, Touka would be left completely defenseless.
To prevent herself from becoming helpless afterward, she used the unmatched propulsion of [Raikiri] to spin her body at extreme speed and launch a second slash.
So even if Shizuku had noticed and avoided the first [Raikiri], she could not have escaped [Raikiri: Second Strike] in her condition at the time.
"I watched your matches whenever I had time too. You've become incredibly strong after only two years."
Touka remembered Shiro knocking out one opponent after another with a single punch.
She had never expected two short years to bring someone such immense growth.
She was genuinely happy about the progress of her childhood friend.
"Hmph. After watching my matches, you finally understand fear, don't you?"
Shiro deliberately adopted an arrogant pose, placed both hands on his hips, and looked down at Touka, who was sitting in a chair.
"If you meet me later, say a few nice things and I might hold back just a tiny bit."
Touka held a different meaning to Shiro than everyone else.
She was the first true friend he had made after coming to this world, as well as his childhood companion.
Only around her would Shiro rarely reveal such a childish side.
"Oh, is that so? You've even started looking down on me now. Take this—Raikiri!"
Touka played along and pretended to become angry before reaching toward Shiro's ticklish spots.
The two quickly began wrestling around just as they had when they were children.
"Touka, I brought the clothes you asked for..."
At that moment, the lounge door opened again.
Kibahara Kanata stood there holding a bag, staring blankly at the two tangled together.
From her perspective, her roommate Touka was soaked from head to toe, wearing torn white stockings, and pressing a boy beneath her.
"So, Touka... you've reached that age too..."
Kanata spoke with a complicated expression.
…
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