Episode 3: Declaration of War
[Characters]
- Kai (Toudou Toudou Kai)
Protagonist. Black hair, black eyes. Reincarnated as the eldest son of a poor noble family in this world where beauty and ugliness are reversed, with memories from his previous life.
I enrolled in a military academy where titles are granted for "marriage rights."
- Erika (Jōgasaki Erika)
The heir to the Jōgasaki family, one of the three noble families. A beautiful girl with blonde hair, emerald eyes, and O-cup breasts, she is the same age as Kai.
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It seems you haven't quite settled into military school...
After the incident at the training ground the other day.
I had started accompanying Erika in her magic practice during less crowded times, like holidays and early mornings.
Within just a few days of receiving direct instruction from Mayoko, Erika has been rapidly improving her skills in constructing magical formulas, as if her previous clumsiness had been a lie.
When it comes to basic attack magic and constructing defensive barriers, I think she's already at a level comparable to mine.
Thanks to her ability to perceive techniques, I can immediately point out the flaws in her technique deployment, but honestly, I didn't expect her to improve this much in such a short period of time just from my amateur guidance.
(If it's a great noble family like the Jōgasaki family, they should have had a personal tutor for magic instruction since birth... Maybe they just didn't get along with the teachers they had, or perhaps they weren't very interested in magic.)
"Alright, then today let's activate the
"Ah, uh. Please take care of it."
She still gets a bit stuttery when talking to me, probably because she's nervous, but she's definitely improved a lot compared to the beginning.
(A beauty like Jougasaki looks good even in a tracksuit, doesn't she?)
Seeing Erika in her usual navy blue gym clothes instead of her brown officer training uniform, I was thinking about such things.
The perfectly fitted sportswear accentuates her body lines, emphasizing her good style even more.
If I let my guard down, I immediately get captivated by her taut chest and her plump, large butt.
(Sigh, if only I had such a cute girl as my girlfriend. If someone like Erika were my arranged marriage partner, I would gladly marry her and live a wild, indulgent life every day.)
Just thinking about it makes me feel blood rushing down there.
"Tōdō? Why are you crouching down?"
"Ahem, Uh, well, it's just a bit of adjustment with the magic stone..."
While forcing a strained smile at Erika, who looked puzzled, I began channeling the magical formula into the particularly large control magic stone placed in the center of the training room.
As the brilliance of the magic stone increases, the size of the training room expands.
And then, the room that had just been empty and desolate gradually transformed into a virtual battlefield resembling a lush forested area.
The
In actual magical training matches, the competition is held on a "virtual battlefield" created by the instructor acting as the referee.
Considering that, it would be necessary to get accustomed not only to basic practice but also to the environment of this field from now on.
After that, taking breaks, we decided to spend about two hours practicing high-speed incantation of magic while running through the forest using the "Body Enhancement Magic."
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After finishing the training, the two of them lined up to proceed with the exit procedures for the training room with the manager.
I was both flustered by Erika's slightly sweaty, alluring face standing right next to me... and at the same time, I felt awkward.
(Oh right, I haven't been asked by Erika to team up for the magic practice battle yet...)
As soon as she saw her classmates, she started making team requests one after another.
That girl, even though it's the perfect opportunity with Komazawa not around, why doesn't she talk to me...?
(Maybe she doesn't expect that much from me...)
Since enrolling, I've seen Erika struggle in lectures and get scolded by Komazawa, among other things.
However, until this magical practice, which started by chance, began, I had never helped her even once.
(I want to live a life at military school without being glared at by high-ranking nobles like Komazawa and without causing any waves. To do that, I shouldn't get involved with Erika even if she's in trouble...)
She might have noticed my selfish side, the one that thinks like that.
In reality, even now, if Erika were to ask me to team up for a practice match... I would probably decline indirectly.
(...but it can't be helped)
Yeah, it can't be helped.
Given Erika's current abilities, I don't think she will drag anyone down even if she can't shine in the magical training battle.
However, considering the Komazawa situation, to be honest, it's difficult to team up with Erika.
He declared, "I won't show any mercy to anyone who teams up with Erika."
From Komazawa's perspective, "Erika is using her family's power as bait to negotiate with others to let her join the training battle team." Therefore, naturally, teaming up with Erika would be seen as being a worthless person who flatters the Jōgasaki family's power.
(After much effort, I finally managed to get into military school and, although it's the lowest rank, I obtained a title. I absolutely cannot take the risk of throwing that away...)
Even if I were to curry favor with Erika here and somehow establish a connection with the Jougasaki family, it would be pointless if the Komazawa family, who boast the same or greater power, were to take notice.
Someone like me, without any backing and still inexperienced as a magician, getting involved in the disputes of high-ranking nobles would only lead to bad outcomes.
In the first place, Erika is the legitimate child of the Jōgasaki family, one of the three great noble families of the Empire.
Until just recently, I didn't even have the "right to choose a marriage partner," but compared to me, who was in such a disadvantaged position, they are in a much more fortunate situation.
For someone like her, there's no need for someone like me to lend a hand...
"Haha. But seriously, that's funny."
"Yeah, yeah, she is really pathetic."
The voices of men with a strangely aggressive, shrill tone pierced my ears, which were already filled with my own restless thoughts.
(Is that the male students from the nursing department?)
When I glanced back, it seemed that the nursing course students were chatting in the cafeteria attached to the training ground.
"By the way, Jougasaki! I heard from my fiancée in the officer course. It seems that she is still shamelessly asking other students, 'Please, let's me join the same team!'"
"Wow. If someone with that creepy face hit on me, even if they were the same sex, it would be tough... but it's just that I have no skills, so no one wants to team up with me."
The sharp laughter of the men, who are indulging in their chatter with a teasing tone, follows.
I feel an unsettling sensation around my chest, as if something uncomfortable is entangling itself.
Is raw human malice capable of riling the heart to this extent?
Are they not aware of us? Their voices keep getting louder and louder.
"Well, if that's the case, then Jougasaki is done for."
"Huh, what do you mean?"
"Don't you know? The magic combat training class in the officer course is a mandatory subject. And once you can't form a team, it's guaranteed you'll get a failing grade. So, that repeating a year is unavoidable."
In the center of the male students, a man with thick glasses and a mushroom haircut speaks with a smug expression.
"But that guy. His face is like that, but he's from a marquis family, right? So, there might be someone who would team up with him just to curry favor..."
"Hehe. That won't happen. After all, my fiancée, Haruka-san, declared, 'If anyone tries to team up with the Jougasaki family to curry favor, I'll crush them.' No one would dare pick a fight with the Komazawa family for the sake of such a loser."That mushroom head seems to be Komazawa's fiancé.
"Haha. So, finally, I won't have to run into that creepy face in school anymore... Wait, that's bad! She's over there..."
"Uh... did she hear that?"
It seems those guys have finally noticed our presence.
To be honest, I clearly heard them talking behind her back.
However, since Erika standing next to me maintains a mask-like expressionless face, it would be better for me to remain equally unresponsive.
I had decided not to look back until I couldn't hear their voices anymore.
"Jōgasaki-san. It's been a while, hasn't it? You heard our conversation, didn't you?"
When I turned around, I saw the mushroom-haired man who had been the center of the earlier conversation approaching us with a malicious expression.
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"You're the one who entered through the special admission, right? Tōdō-san, was it? Nice to meet you. I'm Usui Seiji. I'm also the betrothed of Komazawa Haruka."
The man named Usui, with a faint smile on his lips, introduced himself.
Earlier, I saw someone calling out to Erika, saying "It's been a while, hasn't it?" It seems they are acquaintances.
However, judging by his manner of speaking and attitude, it is clear that he harbors some negative feelings towards Erika.
"Jōgasaki-san, are you still making unreasonable requests to your classmates, asking them to let you join the magic training battle team?"
Usui turned to face Erika and said with a sneer.
"N-no. H-he, Toudou Toudou, is different..."
"Why don't you just give up and quit the military academy already? Your family is quite business-minded, after all... You don't need magic or military studies to handle finances, do you? Relying on men to form a team for you... how ridiculous..."
"I'm just asking Jougasaki to join me for magic training exercises. I haven't asked her to form a team or anything."
Seeing Erika in a flustered state, I couldn't help but interject.
"Todo, you should think carefully about your choice of partner."
"I thought about it in my own way and made my own choices."
"Hmm..."
With a look that seemed to appraise me, Usui made me flinch for a moment.
In terms of magical power and physique, the opponent in front of me should be overwhelmingly inferior to me. Why am I so afraid?
To hide my own cowardice, I stared straight into his face.
"Haah, seriously. Toudou-san, I'm saying this for your own good."
"What do you mean?"
"Hmph, you're quite dense, aren't you? If you stay with her, you'll be misunderstood too. They'll think you're a despicable person who got involved in under-the-table dealings because of the Jōgasaki family's power. Well, in your case, it might just be that you couldn't refuse her insistence..."
"I've never been offered such a deal by Jōgasaki, nor have I ever been forced into anything."
After hearing my rebuttal, Usui revealed a faintly cold irritation in his narrow eyes.
"Oh, so why are you even with someone like this? I mean... right? With a look like this. And besides, I've heard you can't even use magic properly, right? Isn't it only natural for Komazawa-san to suspect you of doing some shady dealings?"
"No, Jougasaki has already mastered the basic attack spells. If I tell Komazawa about it, she should understand..."
"Will Komazawa-san really believe that?"
Usui interrupts my statement with a mocking tone.
It's as if he is convinced that nothing she says will matter to his fiancé, Komazawa.
What does this guy base his thoughts on?
As if to answer my question, Usui turned to Erika and, with a triumphant air, revealed the secret.
"I told Komazawa-san, 'Jougasaki-san is trying to use her family's power as bait to form a team for the magic training battle.' And then, heh. Komazawa-san immediately trusted my words as her fiancé. She said, 'I won't show any mercy to anyone who teams up with Jougasaki in the training battle!'"
"Why, would you tell such a lie...?"
While Erika squeezed out a voice with an expression that was neither panic nor anger, she showed his first raw expression of hatred.
"Do you not understand, Jōgasaki-san? I absolutely detest you. Just being near you right now makes me feel nauseous. ...The engagement talks with your family that were happening alongside the engagement talks with the Komazawa family. For the first time in my life, I resented being born as a man who couldn't choose his partner for marriage..."
"I'd rather commit suicide than marry a woman with a face like yours. That's what I thought."
Usui continued to speak words like a curse, driven by a frenzied heart.
"The fact that you, who have instilled such trauma in me, are still on the same campus is unbearably painful for me. So... I want you to just disappear. Just give up and voluntarily withdraw. For the three years that Komazawa-san is enrolled, you won't be able to team up with anyone for practice battles."
Seeing Erika, who was silent as if struck dumb, so pitiful, I retorted in anger, "It's just a baseless grudge," but Usui smiled as if he could see right through me.
"Tohdo-kun, you shouldn't misjudge who to curry favor with. You should cut ties with Jougasaki-san here. You wouldn't want to ruin your standing at the military academy, would you? Or are you saying you'd stand by her even if it means being glared at by the Komazawa family?"
I felt my heart skip a beat.
I felt as if I had been accurately described as a selfish person who only pretends to be virtuous within a range that doesn't harm me.
"Usui, please... I'll try my best not to run into you on campus. So, could you please tell Komazawa that the Jōgasaki incident was a misunderstanding...? If I can't even graduate from military school, I won't be able to face the Jōgasaki family or my mother... So, please..."
Abandoning her pride, Erika pleaded with a thin voice, and Usui wore a cruel smile like a hyena in front of its prey.
"No good, Jougasaki-san. No good. Doing something like that won't benefit me at all, right?"
...Ahaha, you're making a face like it's 'unreasonable'... But well, it can't be helped. If you hadn't made such an ugly face, I wouldn't have gone this far either. So just give up.
The face of a strong person who takes pleasure in tormenting the weak.
When I see that guy's face, I can't help but remember.
The unjust, terrible, and utterly frustrating memory I saw at the end of my previous life.
That street thug who was about to swing a blade at the children passing by.
Right now, Usui had a predator's expression that was eerily similar to that bastard from back then.
(Unreasonable... Ah, there's no such unreasonable thing, right?)
Amidst his nonsense and smirks, a burning anger was rising within my chest.
At the end of my previous life, while watching that survival knife that had pierced my abdomen while protecting the child, I must have sworn.
I will absolutely continue to resist this ridiculous and unreasonable reality that keeps pushing me around.
"W-wait?! What the hell are you doing all of a sudden, Toudou?!"
Before I knew it, I had grabbed him by the collar with all my might.
Rationally, I knew I shouldn't be doing something like this.
Even though Erika is a high-ranking noble, Usui is able to take such a haughty attitude towards her because he has a strong trust from his fiancée, Komazawa, and is confident that she will protect him.
But that doesn't matter anymore.
"Jougasaki will team up with me for the magic training battle. It doesn't matter what Komazawa says."
"H-Huh?! What are you saying... If you team up with Jougasaki, they'll definitely think you made a backdoor deal, and Komazawa will crush you! The Komazawa family, known for their martial prowess, will be watching you! You might even get kicked out of military school..."
"I'll take down the Komazawa team fairly and squarely with my skills. That way, even that boar-headed woman will understand. That I teamed up with Jougasaki based on skill."
"I-I-I don't understand the meaning... Winning against a team led by Komazawa, who has the highest magical power, with just the two of us, the underachiever Jōgasaki and me, is impossible. And what benefit would there be in doing something so foolish...?"
Pushing away the collar I was holding, I declare war once again to Usui, who has fallen on his backside.
"It doesn't matter if it's a gain or a loss. It's infuriating when you guys act all high and mighty, imposing your unreasonable demands on others. Tell Komazawa too. In the practice battle, Jōgasaki and I will defeat your team!!"