Chapter 77: Kamishiro Souta (Duel)
"Alice, what the hell were you thinking?!"
Right after the delinquent group left, Souta immediately started yelling at me.
"Sorry, Souta..."
I apologized honestly for becoming a burden to him.
Because I was there, Aymock’s threats had gained real weight, and we ended up dancing to their tune. If I hadn't been a clear target, Souta might’ve been able to negotiate his way out of joining the delinquents' gathering.
"Then listen—don’t do anything stupid. Stay hidden somewhere safe on Christmas Eve… got it?"
"No. I’m not letting you go alone."
"Don’t be stupid... I’m not saying this just for your sake. If you're there, you’ll be my weakness. So don’t make this harder for me."
I understood what Souta was trying to say. From a normal perspective, my actions were nothing but a nuisance. I’m just a small girl—I couldn’t blame him for thinking I’d only slow him down.
"Then... if I can prove I won’t be a weakness, that’d be fine, right?"
But I can fight.
When my best friend Souta’s in danger, of course I want to help him.
I want to stand by his side and fight with him.
That’s why—I need to prove to Souta that I’m capable.
"Hey, Souta... duel me."
So I said it to him directly.
"...Even if you beat me at Whis, I’m still not planning on taking you along."
"I’m not talking about a card game!?"
Why did he automatically assume I meant a duel in the card game sense?
This duel-brain idiot...!
"Then what are you talking about? Don’t tell me you’re seriously suggesting we fight hand-to-hand?"
"Exactly that. If you see what I can do, you’ll feel a bit more at ease, right?"
"What do you mean, ‘what you can do’…? Have you even been in a fight before?"
"More or less."
I answered confidently, hands on my hips.
‘More or less’ was an understatement. I’d spent every day fighting for my life in another world. My experience couldn’t even be compared to Souta’s.
Sure, now that I’m in Alicia’s body, my shorter reach from the smaller physique was a disadvantage—but with the physical enhancements from magic, it more than made up for that.
I’d make sure to surprise Souta properly.
"Alright, let’s go then."
I urged Souta, who still looked skeptical.
"...Where exactly are we going?"
"Where else? If we’re gonna duel, it’s gotta be at your house, right?"
We walked together to Souta’s house, located within the grounds of the shrine. His home sat beside the main hall, doubling as the shrine’s administrative office. And behind it, the backyard—a place where no ordinary visitors came, completely out of sight.
Since we were little, we’d often trained here to become stronger.
I think it all started because we wanted to protect our younger sisters from bullies. But eventually, training itself became the goal. We pushed each other, competing to see who could get stronger.
We’d learned basic karate from Uncle Mitsuhiro, who held a dan rank, and mixed that with my father’s anything-goes fighting style—that combination had become the foundation of our own style.
I could still vividly recall the taste of the dirt in this backyard after so many times getting knocked down.
That wave of nostalgia made me narrow my eyes without thinking.
"...Who told you about this place?"
Souta asked, sounding confused. It was natural he’d be suspicious—this should’ve been my first time here, yet I acted like it was my own home.
"It’s not like that... though, it’s kind of related. Hey, about what I said earlier—the thing I wanted to confess—can I tell you now?"
I was tired of hiding the fact that I was Ikuto. If I told him, convincing Souta would probably get a lot easier.
"No... like I said in my message, I’m all mixed up right now. I can’t process anything..."
He looked away, his face slightly red as he said that.
Don’t. That’s gross. Stop misunderstanding.
"I-it’s not like that!? Whatever you’re thinking, it’s not that!"
"I know. But once all this is over, I’ll give you a proper answer, so... just wait."
...Hopeless. He thinks I’m embarrassed and trying to dodge the subject.
Damn it. This is annoying.
"Forget it... if I win this duel, you’ll have to listen."
I turned to face Souta, taking a stance.
I activated Physical Boost (Minor).
I was going to beat this misunderstanding idiot until he understood.
"...And if I win?"
Souta asked. Our duels always worked like this—each of us staking a reward for victory.
"Do whatever you want. I’ll listen to anything you say."
I declared flatly.
When neither of us had anything specific in mind, we'd just offer the right to make a request as a reward. Most of the time, those requests got canceled out in the middle of our endless back-and-forth matches.
"O-oh..."
But for some reason, Souta seemed oddly shaken.
"Alright, here I come!"
I didn’t know why, but now was my chance, while he was distracted.
I’d hit him fast and finish this before he recovered.
Using my magically enhanced body, I closed the distance in an instant, launching a surprise backfist aimed at his solar plexus.
“!?!?”
With speed impossible for any normal human, there should’ve been no way for a human's reflexes to keep up—
“!?... He blocked it!?”
But my strike was stopped—caught by Souta’s arm.
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