"Whoa! Lightning! Seiya! Chest!"
Souma kept hunting monsters relentlessly. He ran around the area, rampaging.
"Osaka-san, is it okay if you don't fight?"
After defeating his hundredth enemy, Souma turned around.
Mai hadn't fought even once up to that point. She had simply been following behind Souma.
"…It's fine. I'm just not feeling well today."
Mai averted her eyes and bit her lip involuntarily.
(His strength is insane. It's not normal, this is ridiculous!)
Souma just said "I see" and resumed fighting without concern.
(To me, the Tokyo Fourth Adventurer School is just a stepping stone. I can't be trailing behind someone in a place like this…!)
Mai's confidence crumbled audibly. She felt as if all her blood, sweat, and tears had been wasted. It was a despair similar to what Souma had once experienced.
"Hey, Kamishiro."
"Hmm?"
Souma finished fighting and looked at Mai.
"Want to talk a little?"
"Small talk, huh."
Souma glanced at the nearby monsters.
"Keeee…!"
The monsters fled in fear of Souma.
"Sure. The enemies here seem scared of me, so we should be able to talk safely even in the dungeon."
"Then let's talk over there."
Mai pointed to some stumps near the lake. Conveniently, there were two, and just as conveniently, they were the right size for sitting.
"Okay."
The two moved to the stumps.
"So, what do you want to talk about?"
Souma sat down on a stump.
"About your strength, of course."
Mai also sat on a stump and crossed her legs. Her skirt was short enough that her underwear was almost visible. Her black thigh-highs heightened her sexual appeal.
"My strength, huh."
He answered, but Souma was staring intently at Mai's thighs. The way the thigh-highs dug in was attractive, and for a boy his age, it was too stimulating.
"That's right… but could you look at my face? Not my thighs."
"Sorry."
"So in those vulgar ways, you're just like any other boy."
"I'm a healthy eighteen-year-old."
Mai snorted, "Hmph."
"How did this healthy eighteen-year-old get so strong in such a short time?"
"I'd rather not talk about that, honestly."
Souma scratched his head with a wry smile.
"Why? Are you doing something illegal?"
"No, nothing like that. It's just that the police asked me the same thing, and when I told them the truth, they yelled at me."
"They yelled at you!?"
"They thought I was lying. You'll probably react the same way, Osaka-san."
"I won't yell. I genuinely want to get stronger. That's why I'm swallowing my pride and asking you."
Mai was keenly aware of the clear difference between Souma and herself. An absolute gap so vast that even trying to compete seemed presumptuous. That's why she decided to ask him honestly.
"Well, if that's the case, I'll tell you. But promise you won't yell 'Stop messing around!' at me, okay?"
"Of course! Fufu, Kamishima-kun, you're surprisingly generous."
(She switched to '-kun' so naturally…)
Thinking that, Souma coolly brushed it off with "It's nothing."
"So, about the method—"
Since they had time, Souma explained the truth carefully. The story that Elena had believed and the policeman had yelled at him for.
"—That's how it is."
When he finished, Mai stood up and said:
"Stop messing around!"
Exactly the same reaction as the policeman.
◇
The activity period ended, and Souma and Mai returned to school.
They left the transfer room and went to the first-year floor. The other students had already gone home, and Saito was waiting with a bored look on his face.
"Good, you made it back safely."
"We're safe, but… did we get the return time wrong?"
Souma asked, and Saito shook his head, "No, no."
"It's not wrong. The start time was late, so the end time shifted accordingly. This is the correct time. It's just that it's a level 5 dungeon, so I was worried."
"Regarding the results, our party defeated several hundred monsters."
Mai reported.
"Several hundred!?"
"We might have even exceeded a thousand. But I stopped counting after two hundred, since only up to a hundred count toward evaluation."
Mai spoke calmly.
(She says 'we', but I'm the one who beat all of them.)
As Souma felt conflicted, as if sensing that, Mai said:
"As a supplement, Kamishima-kun defeated all the monsters himself."
"All of them!? He alone defeated several hundred monsters!? That's an extraordinary number even if two of you had done it together!"
Mai replied with a blank expression, "Yes."
(I thought she might try to take credit, but I guess she doesn't do that.)
Souma reassessed Mai and decided to cover for her.
"Teacher, it was my own decision to fight alone. Also, Osaka-san said she wasn't feeling well. When evaluating her, please take that into account, not just the numbers."
"Osaka's evaluation is already top-notch without question, so it won't go down… but what do you mean she wasn't feeling well? When you were waiting for Kamishiro, who was late, you proudly told me, 'I'm in the best shape of my life today.'"
Saito tilted his head.
"Th-that's, well… I suddenly started feeling unwell!"
Mai quickly covered it up.
"Well, whatever. You made it back safely, that's all that matters. Good work, both of you."
"Thank you very much!"
Souma and Mai bowed to Saito.
"We're done for today, but Kamishiro, stay. I have something to talk to you about."
Saito said with a serious expression.
"Something to talk about? What is it?"
"Sorry, before that, could I talk with Kamishima-kun for a moment?"
Mai raised her hand.
"That's fine, but keep it short."
Saito moved to the edge of the spacious floor, putting some distance between himself and the two. He was being considerate so he wouldn't overhear.
"A lot of people want to talk to me today."
Souma smiled wryly.
"So, Osaka-san, what do you want to talk about?"
"It's something I didn't get to say in the dungeon…"
She prefaced and then said:
"I'm sorry for treating your training ground score like it was a fluke. Your strength is real."
"That's what it was about? Don't worry about it. If I were in your shoes, I'd probably act the same way."
"Thank you. I think I was a bit full of myself. Like, there's no one in this school, or in my generation, stronger than me."
"There's always someone better."
"Now that I know that, I feel motivated. Thanks for knocking me down a peg at the end."
Mai offered a handshake. Souma responded, but tilted his head.
"'At the end'?"
"Today is my last day at this school."
"Eh? You're quitting?"
"Not quitting, more like transferring. So I think the next time we meet will be after we've become adventurers."
"I see."
"Next time we meet, I'll be the one to surprise you. Be ready for that, Souma."
Mai said, "See you later," and headed toward the exit of the classroom.
"Thanks for forming a party with me, Osaka-san. I had fun today."
Souma said to Mai's back. She turned around and glared at him.
"Could you stop calling me 'Osaka-san'? I call you by your first name."
"Uh, well then… Mai?"
"Why is that a question! It's right, so stick with it! And fix that slightly airheaded personality of yours by the time we meet again, okay? Got it, Souma?"
"Got it, Mai."
Mai nodded in satisfaction, "Good," and left.
"Well, well, you two have gotten awfully close."
Saito approached Souma as Mai left. Souma didn't engage in small talk.
"Forget that. Please get to the main point."