General 17

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Chapter 17. Introduction of First-Year Student Council Members

"Kotocchi~ I've been waiting~"

"Vice President Nase. My name is Hinoura Konomi. Also, you're quite close."

As Nase-san, the vice president, leaned in closer, a girl who introduced herself as Hinoura entered the student council room, feeling annoyed.

"This kid is the opponent for the duel~"

"Seriously?"

With her petite frame, chestnut-colored short hair, and blunt bangs, she exuded a youthful aura. 

Though seemingly in the same grade as me, with a change in attire, she could easily pass for an elementary school student.

"About the other day..."

By "the other day", she must mean when I was being harassed by Suo-senpai and his gang behind the school building.

"It's fine, it was just a thank you."

"For meddling unnecessarily."

"Huh?"

Unexpectedly cold words came at me, causing me to freeze up involuntarily.

"At that time, I was investigating excessive intimidation towards underclassmen. As per our annual routine. You meddled in that."

Hinoura-san, concise in her delivery, though small in stature, exuded an oddly intimidating presence.

"Oh, you were in the middle of an investigation. But why Suo-senpai?"

"The vice president advised he would be the first to cause trouble. He was about to be caught red-handed for using Soul Armor abilities without permission."

"Either way, Suo-senpai, at that time, would have faced public humiliation. Poor thing."

As I glanced at the pitiful expression of my unfortunate senior, I couldn't help but feel sorry for him.

"Oh, that was on orders from the factions...! And besides, if it weren't for the sneak attack..."

"No, you were swiftly defeated by me in the duel as well, right?"

"That was just me being careless!"

While watching Suo-senpai getting worked up, the vice president, Nase, was holding her stomach as she laughed.

"Anyway, Hinoura-san, you were scouted by the student council right after entering school, huh?"

"Yes. Since I was at the top of the class, I had been acquainted with the student council members during the pre-entrance ceremony speech practice."

"Wow, that's impressive."

Since I hadn't paid attention to the entrance ceremony speeches, I pretended not to remember anything.

"What place did you come in?"

"Me? Well, I didn't check."

In reality, I hadn't taken the entrance exam; I had managed to get into school through military connections, so I brushed it off casually.

"Your name wasn't even on the list of top performers in the cram school. Doesn't seem like a big deal."

"Oh, there's a cram school for entering this school, huh."

"So, the duel will take place at the arena after school today. It's sudden, so only the supervisors will be present, no audience. Is that okay?"

Under Namese's command, the duel for the clubroom was decided.

With only ten minutes left for a lunch break, I hurried back to the classroom to grab my lunchbox.

◇◇◇◆◇◇◇

"Huh? Mi... why are you here, Chief Kohou?"

When heading towards the arena after school, Mina was waiting in front of the waiting room.

"Because I'm the supervisor for this duel."

"I see. I get it now."

"By the way, Suo-kun, stay out of this; I've ordered it with the authority of the second-year leader."

"Well, technically, Suo-senpai is involved, you know."

At first, he came off as a strong presence, but now he's just a prize for the duel.

His value has plummeted dramatically.

"But still, picking a fight with the student council this time..."

"I have my reasons; I wanted my own clubroom."

"...You're not planning on using it for shady activities, are you?"

Mina's gaze turned sharp.

Although Mina had figured out that I was a Major General, revealing the fact that our strategy involved long-range remote saturation bombardment with Hayami-san and me as the center.

I wanted a break room simply because our actions would be based in the school's basement and couldn't be disclosed for various reasons.

"What do you mean by 'shady activities'? Fill me in, Chief Kohou."

"Huh?"

Teasing Mina while playing around, I changed into my combat gear and headed out to the arena.

"For this arena, we'll use an urban-type field. The decision authority for duel conditions lies with the student council, so it's set up to be advantageous for us."

While vice president Nase casually mentioned the necessary details, it seemed like they chose a field with a lot of cover based on the duel with Suo-senpai last time, where he recognized me as having shooting-type abilities.

"Kotocchi's ability is unstoppable indoors. If you think it's dangerous, better give up immediately; otherwise, you'll regret it later."

Beside the grinning vice president Namese, Hinoura-san stood calmly.

"The judge will get determined by machine judgment, and whoever gets judged to have suffered a fatal injury will lose. Both of you, step onto the teleportation magic circle. As soon as you land at your chosen location, you may don your soul armor and begin combat. Additionally, the field is restricted to within the building; stepping out will result in disqualification."

"Understood."

"Understood."

Following Domon, the president's instructions, Hinoura-san and I stepped into the magic circle.

"Well then, let's begin!"

The magic circle at our feet glowed pale blue, and our figures vanished suddenly.

◇◇◇◆◇◇◇

Once the dazzling glare of the pale blue light subsided, I opened my eyes.

I quickly scanned my surroundings by moving my head. It seems like we're inside an abandoned building.

Judging from the view through the broken windows, this must be the first floor.

"So, Hinoura-san must be on the upper floors. Pretty easy to understand."

Since I was alone, I ended up muttering to myself with a wry smile.

While it was just speculation earlier, with this positional relationship, my speculation has turned into certainty.

Since the student council arbitrarily chose the stage, they must have chosen the advantageous position.

That's from the arbitrary stage selection, the current positional relationship, and vice president Nase's behavior.

"Even though she was acting all high and mighty, she's still a kid, so there are plenty of weaknesses."

[But aren't they older than Master?]

[Ah, you've been listening to the conversation. It means they're cute for their age.]

[Only you would say that, Kon. So, shall we proceed as planned?]

[Yes, Master.]

-Hinoura Konomi's Perspective-

This dim field is where I shine the most.

Despite the surname Hinoura, many associate me with flame-based soul armor abilities, but they're mistaken.

"Soul Armor Activate: Toxic Rose."

A purple mist emanated from around me, rapidly filling the room and spreading throughout the entire building via corridors and stairs that were visible through the broken windows.

While the arena suppresses soul armor abilities, anyone who inhaled my genuine poison would be sent to the afterlife instantly.

In this building, I can fill the space with my poison in just thirty seconds.

And then it's over.

Boom!

"Huh?"

Suddenly, a heat beam pierced through from below.

"Piercing through the concrete floor... This power is from a particle cannon! Even with the suppression, this power..."

Boom!

Boom!

Boom!

"While continuously firing this powerful particle cannon is impressive... he's just recklessly shooting."

It seems like he doesn't know my position, so he's blindly firing particle cannons relying on luck.

With my control over the mist's airflow, I directed it towards the hole created by the concrete floor.

"This won't take thirty seconds..."

Zugan!

I suddenly got hit by an intense impact on my head.

It felt like I got shot in the head with a bullet.

Despite being alleviated by the system, I couldn't help but fall to the ground due to the excruciating phantom pain in my head.

[Attack to the head resulting in a death verdict. Winner: Godai Yusuke.]

The emotionless announcement of the AI referee resounded, signaling the end of the duel.