A hero who wants to help others wants to live a normal life - Chapter 71

Chapter 71   Kujou vs Seiji

“…Well, since it’s been decided as training, I’ll fight, but I have no intention of changing my mind.”

The reason she’s trying to fight me in this situation is probably to bring me under her control by defeating me. But I’m not planning on changing my affiliation or my future just because of some training. I need to make that clear.

“Yes, I’m not here for that reason. I simply wanted to test my strength against yours. You, who achieved what I couldn’t during that time.”

“That time… you mean the exam? You were probably exhausted at that time too. I, on the other hand, was hiding my abilities and laying low. It wasn’t really a situation where we should compare who did what.”

“Even so, don’t you think that the results speak for themselves? No matter how much you try, if you can’t defeat your enemies, you’ll only die and let the people you should protect die as well. Back then, I couldn’t save everyone. That’s the bottom line.”

Well, I guess if you judge purely by results, she’s not wrong… but still…

That said, her thinking comes from the blessing she received. She’s bound by the “wish” she made when she obtained it, which is why she thinks this way. Even if I try to argue with her about it, nothing will change, so it’s probably pointless to keep talking about it.

“…That’s your personal way of thinking, so I want to tell you to do as you please. But why do you want to fight me, of all people?”

“Rather than wanting to fight, this training is part of the program from the Kamiarizuki family. This isn’t my decision.”

“Well, I guess that’s… true.”

The words themselves are correct, but still… It feels like she’s not fighting me just because it’s training. It feels like she’s using this opportunity as an excuse, that she has some personal reason for wanting to fight me.

“Besides, even though I’m a ‘Blessed One,’ I’ve already fought Inori-san. We didn’t go all out, and it was an unfortunate situation, but we fought. So, isn’t it normal to want to fight someone new, like you, Sahara-kun, in order to gain new experience?”

“…Yeah, that’s true.”

I guess that’s not wrong, but it still feels like she’s making excuses.

“…But, since the opportunity has come, it’s true that there’s a bit of personal desire mixed in.”

Maybe she sensed my gaze. After staring at me for a moment, Kujou spoke and started explaining.

“I want to become stronger. I have to become stronger. That’s why, please, I ask that you take care of me today.”

With those words, I understood why Kujou wanted to fight me so badly.

It’s the same as before. Kujou regrets not being able to defeat the enemy during the exam, and that regret stems from her “wish” granted by the blessing.

And her desire to fight me is also a result of that “wish.”

By fighting me, she wants to get stronger, or maybe, by defeating me, she wants to convince herself that if she were at full strength back then, she could have saved everyone.

It could be for other reasons too, but in any case, “Blessed Ones” who have their own will twisted by these “wishes” aren’t exactly trustworthy.

“…I knew it, blessings aren’t anything good, are they?”

“Yes, I understand that. Far too well.”

Before, even if I said that, no one would agree with me, but now it seems like Kujou somewhat understands. She gave a small wry smile, and I couldn’t help but mirror it with my own.

“Anyway, I understand that we’re going to fight, but are those four your team members? I see Toudou is in your team, as expected.”

Kujou’s team consists of herself, naturally, and then Toudou, who is serving as a guard. The rest are people I’ve only spoken to a few times. I don’t know what kind of abilities they have, but I know a bit about the more noticeable ones from our interactions, so if I don’t know them, they probably aren’t much of a threat.

I don’t understand why she chose such people… or, to put it harshly, weaklings. If she wants to defeat me, she should gather the strongest members possible. The reason she didn’t might be to maintain the balance of the team, or perhaps she thinks she can win against me with this composition. In that case, she might have intentionally chosen weaker, ordinary members because they wouldn’t be much of a help. But, in the end, I don’t really know for sure.

“As for me, I would have preferred a different team for the sake of experience…”

“You wouldn’t do that, right? Unless the situation really required it, there’s no reason to change. We’re together now, after all. Besides, we’re usually together, so it makes sense to improve our coordination in an opportunity like this, doesn’t it? If something happens, we’ll probably be together anyway.”

“That’s true.”

“You’re like a little sister who can’t separate from her older sister.”

You might not be blood-related, but having grown up together since childhood, they really do seem to have that kind of sibling-like bond.

“Who’s the little sister? …Anyway, are you ready?”

“Yeah. I’m good to go anytime.”

There’s nothing to prepare, really. The blessing will only come into play once the match starts, and there’s nothing I can do at this point.

“Then, we’ll begin the mock battle now! The rest of you, step back!”

With that, Kujou’s team and mine—faced each other, waiting for the match to start.

“Start whenever you want. I won’t be signaling the start.”

Is it because there’s no signal to start, just like in a real battle?

Well, if that’s the case, it’s actually pretty relaxed. The lack of a signal means the battle has already begun, so the thing I should focus on is…

“‘Opening Again’”

“‘Reenact!’”

At nearly the same moment, both Kujou and I activated our blessings. A moment later, her teammates began chanting to activate their skills.

“Just as I thought, it’s going to be a battle of mutual deterrence at first.”

The chant won’t take long to finish. But I won’t let it end that easily.

Blessings and skills differ greatly in their effects, but there’s something else that’s different. Even if the chant isn’t completed, the ability can still be used.

Naturally, the power is weaker than if the chant were completed, but it should still be roughly on par with a skill’s effect. I’ve proven that through experience. After all, I’ve always been using my abilities without bothering with chants.

“I won’t let you do that!”

Perhaps to support her teammates, Kujou used a shortened chant, launching an arrow at me.

However, compared to the last time I saw her attack, it was nothing but a weak attempt. I easily dodged the arrow and stretched my ‘hands’ toward Kujou’s teammates, who were still leisurely chanting.

The two ‘hands’ extended toward them were shot through by Kujou’s arrows, freezing their movement. I felt a pain in my own arm as well from the arrows that had pierced it. But…

“Kyah!”

“What!?”

Unfortunately, it’s not just two “hands.”

The number of arms I can use without chanting properly is four. Two of them were intentionally directed toward the enemy, while the remaining two crawled along the ground, hidden among the weeds. Though they were originally semi-transparent, these “hands” could change their color slightly, making them difficult to notice if one wasn’t paying attention. In fact, Kujou only guarded against the two that were directed above.

And in the confusion I created for her teammates with this opening…

“‘I don’t want anyone to be sad.’”

As I manipulated the hands, interrupting the enemy’s chants and drawing Kujou’s attention to that, I continued my own chant.

“‘I don’t want anyone to cry. I want them to smile.’”

At first, there were only four arms, but with each word I spoke, more and more arms appeared—six, eight, ten.

I didn’t want to chant these words. It’s embarrassing, after all. Not just saying the chant, but the very act of spreading this “wish” around—it’s something I could never feel comfortable doing. If it were a true wish that came from deep inside me, maybe it wouldn’t feel so bad. But this is just an accident. A temporary thing that only came about that one time.

I have to keep pretending like this is the core of who I am, as if it’s my true nature. And that’s why, being forced to confront it again and broadcast this “wish” is really a pain, and I absolutely hate it.

“‘I will help you out of that darkness. So let’s smile together again. –––This hand is for holding someone else’s hand.’”

And with the chant completed, countless arms grew from my body, signaling that I was ready.

But at the same time…

“‘I won’t forgive the demonic forces that infest this world. My pain, my life, everything is for the sake of protecting people. –––I must defeat the demons.’”

It seems that her preparation is complete as well.