General 11

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Chapter 11.1. Instant Kill

After school the next day,

Mina and I were in the waiting room of the dueling arena.

"Dueling is supposed to be prohibited by modern law, isn't it?"

Japan these days is pretty messed up, but this school seems to have an even weaker adherence to the law.

"It seems like they couldn't settle things through discussion in this school because there are too many things that we couldn't decide that way. In other words, they call it a showdown in school!"

"Yeah... but, Mina, our relationship has already been exposed, hasn't it?"

"Well... that's..."

As I spoke, I fluttered the paper document containing what the opponent had proposed regarding what to wager for this duel.

[The 2nd year chief of the Kohou-san has an inappropriate relationship with 1st year student Kamiya-san. Judging that it severely lacks the qualities of a chief. The position of the chief is being wagered in this match.]

"An inappropriate relationship? Oh, come on♪ M-m-my relationship with Yuu-kun is still pure♪ But, even if we keep it hidden, it seems like it's already obvious♪ What a bother♪"

As I read out Suo-senpai's demands, Mina squirmed.

That's right. It's refreshing because there's only a little time at home where I lose my ability to speak human language. Yeah.

"Well then, let's get this over with quickly."

Leaving Mina, who was still squirming and mumbling to herself, I headed to the main venue of the duel.

"Are you sure it's okay for me to leave it to you, Yuu-kun?"

"Yeah, thanks for giving in, Mina."

At first, Mina opposed me going out to the duel, but after casually saying things like "letting a boy show off" or something, she reluctantly agreed.

"To be honest, in this one-on-one situation, considering the compatibility of Suo-kun's and my Soul Armor abilities, he has the advantage..."

"Suo-senpai's Soul Armor ability is of the speed type, so if Mina's ranged attack-type ability misses the first strike, it's game over, right?"

With a speed type and equipped with a blade, if you allow close combat, it's game over.

"Do you have a plan, Yuu-kun?"

"Just watch."

Saying that, I stepped into the main venue of the duel.

"Wow! Do it, Suo-san!!"

"Teach that arrogant 1st-year brat a lesson!"

There are spectator seats in the dueling arena, mainly second-year students cheering and jeering.

It seems like there are 1st-years in the spectator seats, but there's no support for me.

I haven't had any attachment to my classmates who I've only been in school for 2 days, and above all, I'm afraid of attracting the attention of upperclassmen.

"Suo-senpai is popular. Only guys are cheering though."

I call out to Suo-senpai, who is facing me on the battlefield.

"I'll give you credit for having the guts to joke around in this situation and for coming here as a representative of the Tiger Roar."

"The real target of this duel is me, right? And as a bonus, Suo-senpai, you're aiming for Mina's position as chief. You're killing two birds with one stone."

"It was unexpected that you would come out to the duel. There's no bragging rights in defeating a first-year brat so soon after enrolling. Did you foresee this and come out here?"

"Well, who knows? And besides, if you're already thinking about what you'll do after winning before the fight, you'll be caught off guard."

"Forget it. Apart from that surprise attack earlier, there's no way I'll lose to you, a first-year brat, in a fair fight."

At this point, the referee stood between the two of us, so the conversation ended.

A fair fight, huh?

Suo-senpai is quite off-kilter too.

Bringing a sense of fair play to the real battlefield is nothing but a nuisance.

Sure, there are some minimum rules, but boasting and pride in a life-and-death situation only serve as materials for death flags.

Not only ordinary soldiers, but even officers and generals, don't want to die if they can help it.

"Both of you, don your Soul Armors!"

The referee gives the command.

Suo-senpai draws his sword and takes an upper stance.

It seems that Suo-senpai can clad his sword and his entire body in the power of Soul Armor.

I generate a Garand rifle in my hand.

"A Garand rifle? Do you intend to do ceremonial performances with such an antique?"

"Oh, if you call it an antique, he'll get angry, so it's better not to say it."

I place the butt of the Garand rifle on the ground, making a clinking sound, and assume a posture like waiting for a ceremonial performance before it starts.

"Angry? Who, me?"

"Who else? My Soul Armor's soul, you know."

"Haha! Can you talk to souls even though you're a guy? You're the mysterious type for a guy."

It's true that I can have conversations internally with Kon, but...

[Low-level souls cannot understand human speech.]

[Even I, when I first became a Soul Armor user, was often regarded as strange by those around me.]

I've met various Soul Armor users on the battlefield and talked about Soul Armor's abilities, but I've never met anyone who can talk to souls like Kon.

"It's a handicap. I'll give you the first move."

He says it's a handicap, but Suou-senpai's strategy seems to be to dodge my attacks and aim for a counterattack.

Since he's dealing with a junior, he probably wants to maintain his outward appearance. It's quite troublesome.

[You're analyzing it well.]

[Yes, Master. The threat level is 2.]

"Begin!"

(Bang!)

At the same time as the referee's starting command, a gunshot resounds.

My Garand rifle remains with the butt on the ground, and my posture remains in the pre-start standby state.

Suddenly, as if thunder had struck from the heavens, Suo-senpai collapsed on his knees, unconscious.

In this duel, they set a special field up for the duelists that nullifies one fatal attack. 

So we fighters won't die, but the shock of the attack gets transmitted to the person, so Suo-senpai is unconscious from the impact on his head.

Before the start, the crowd that had been so noisy fell silent.

"Not noticing a gun turret generated above oneself, you're still quite green."

The Garand rifle I had poised in front of me was just a decoy.

My Soul Armor ability is not simply shooting ability.

My Soul Armor ability overwhelms the opponent with saturation bombing attacks and changes its appearance according to the opponent's threat level.

If the opponent is formidable, I generate and execute overwhelming firepower to defeat them.

The Garand rifle in my hand and the gun turret generated in the sky.

These two were Kon's evaluation of my soul armor against Suo-senpai.

"Yuu-kun is strong~♪"

Mina welcomed me back to the player waiting room with a radiant smile.

"My experience in combat is more extensive, so winning was natural."

"Do you also do combat at the laboratory?"

"Hmm...? Uh, well, it's more like simulated battles."

I plopped down on the sofa in the waiting room, wiped the sweat with the towel Mina handed me, and brushed it off casually.

"Now, Suo-kun will quiet down. Thank you so much, Yuu-kun. Let me do something to show my gratitude."

Before I knew it, Mina sat down right next to me.

Our arms were so close they touched.

There are other chairs besides the sofa, you know...

"S-sure..."

I answered while feeling flustered by Mina's warm gaze with her emerald eyes that seemed to suck me in...

"Ahem!"

""Eek!""

We both let out a startled cry at the sudden clearing of the throat.

"Hayami-sensei..."

"Wha...why?! I double-locked the door to the waiting room for the post-meeting session..."

"Kohou-san. This is a school facility, so even if you're the chief of the year, you will be disciplined for engaging in dubious activities."

As Mina looked flustered, Hayami-sensei threw her a cold glance.

This person used the dimensional shift Soul Armor ability to infiltrate the waiting room.

"What's going on? There's absolutely nothing dubious between me and Yuu-kun."

Mina protested against Hayami-sensei with clear eyes.

But, playing cat and mouse is hardly a wholesome activity, isn't it?

"Whether it is impure or not will be judged by me, the instructor."

Sensei Hayami, the stern female instructor, looked down at Mina with a cold gaze.

Sensei Hayami's tastes are by far the most impure in my opinion, but this person is completely oblivious to it and puts herself on a high pedestal.

"Moreover, entering a room without permission is presumptuous, even for a sensei."

"I judged it to be a crisis of the chastity of the homeroom student."

As they exchanged unyielding arguments, and feeling completely left out, I suddenly glanced at my smartphone and saw a summoning message.

Leaving the 2 who were bickering behind, I hurriedly left the dueling arena.

◇◇◇◆◇◇◇

"Acting swiftly, as expected."

In the headmaster's office, Headmaster Takami frowned deeply as he sipped his green tea.

"It seems the duel used to be a form of entertainment for the common people. With such a swift victory, the audience must have been disappointed. I apologize."

I nodded along with Headmaster Takami while munching on the rice crackers in the headmaster's office.

"No need to apologize for that. You should've stood out so suddenly."

"With such an instant victory, you couldn't really grasp the true power of my Soul Armor, right?" 

I said while sipping my green tea.

The duel with Suo-senpai just now would likely be evaluated as a victory by catching him off guard.

"You seem to have forgotten the purpose of coming to this academy."

"Enjoying a peaceful school life, aren't we? Oh, by the way, what's the idea behind assigning Hayami-san as my class teacher?" 

I took the opportunity to complain.

"Hayami Madoka is your buddy, right? Making her the class teacher would prevent any suspicions about your contact."

"I feel like I'm getting targeted by her."

"Targeted? For your life?"

"For my dignity as a person."

Being forced into baby play, and what's worse, if I were to get hooked on it, there would be no turning back.

It seems that one's fetishes can be greatly twisted by experiences in their youth.

In that sense, Hayami-san is already beyond saving, and Mina can be said to be in a situation where she has one foot in wet cement.

"I can't quite follow your train of thought."

"If Hayami-san causes trouble, please take responsibility, Headmaster Takami."

Headmaster Takami looked puzzled, but revealing Hayami-san's fetish would be too cruel, so I decided to keep it to myself.