Dungeon Streaming in a Chastity-Reversed World with 1:99 Male-to-Female Ratio! I Might Be a Rare Man, But I’ll Risk My Life to Find a Wife! - 72

Chapter 72: The Man Who Defeats and the Women Who Are Defeated

ーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーー

Only Shinobu and Ittou remained in the private training room.

The quiet that followed was born from the absence of Maru’s loud voice that had been echoing just moments before. The walls of the private room were unified in white, which made the silence stand out even more. At the same time, Ittou fully recognized the situation. He was alone in a private room with Shinobu, who had skin more beautiful than the walls’ white and shining black hair. She was also one of the top-class beauties in the entire academy. Now that this fact had dawned on him, he began to grow increasingly fidgety.

“Uh, u-um… What a lovely weather we have today…”

“Fufu… Don’t be so stiff. By the way, Tatsumi-senpai was last year’s graduate who acted like Maru’s overseer. She’s a police officer now, but as you saw, Maru can’t go against her at all. I think she’ll stay pretty quiet for a whole week.”

In Ittou’s mind appeared Maru, drooping sadly, making her already small body even smaller and curling up. He couldn’t help but chuckle at the thought, but then he noticed Shinobu’s large eyes right in front of him. Maybe because the usual cherry-blossom scent tickled his nose, the sight of his own flared nostrils reflected in those eyes made him feel embarrassed.

“Alright, looks like you relaxed a little. Then, let’s get to the main topic. …Though it seems Maru’s words solved your problem already.”

“Y-yes! Also, um…When the teachers caught, y-you know, President Mamonaka… That part was actually really helpful!”

“Huh? That formation they used against Maru? Ahaha! Hahaha! I see, I see… I’m glad it helped.”

Ittou found himself unintentionally captivated by Shinobu’s wide, open laugh.

Until now, Shinobu had always hidden her mouth with her hand or smiled in a refined, cool way that made Ittou jealous. But he had never seen her laugh innocently like she did just now. Shocked by this new side of Shinobu he didn’t know, he looked away and touched his neck.

“Hm? What’s wrong, Itsukushima-kun?”

“N-no, it’s just… Shinonome-senpai was laughing so much and… Uum… I-I thought you were cute!”

“Cu—…!”

Unable to control his emotions out of embarrassment, Ittou spoke louder than he intended. And Shinobu, who rarely ever heard the word “cute”—and who hadn’t heard it since her outing with Ittou the other day—felt joy and embarrassment at the same time. And the memory of those emotions welled up, making her choke on her words. Then came a brief silence. They both fidgeted, but Shinobu, as expected, was the first to move. She cleared her throat and brushed her hair as she spoke.

“Good grief… You really are just… Good grief. But… I see… ‘Laugh a lot,’ huh… Yeah. Alright…!”

Shinobu stopped playing with her hair and clenched her fist tightly, nodding as if confirming something, then lifted her face and looked toward Ittou.

“Itsukushima-kun, I’m going to show you the first 【Original】 I ever created. I want you to see this as… A negative example, I guess.”

Shinobu muttered that softly, then opened the hand she had been clenching and spread her palm toward Ittou. Ittou focused on the palm facing him, but sensing a gaze, he looked past her hand at Shinobu herself.

“…!”

“Come forth…【Hyougaki】.”

As Shinobu whispered coldly and quietly, tiny snowflake-like crystals began forming on her palm… Then rapidly multiplied, spreading from her hand to her arm, from her arm to her entire body in an instant. With cracking sounds, countless icy blades sprouted, forming armor and the figure of Shinobu clad like an ice-knight appeared before Ittou.

The cold she released now was different from the jealousy-tinged chill she had directed at Maru earlier. It was a different cold altogether. This cold was one that felt as if it rejected everything. Ittou felt overwhelmed by a sense that Shinobu was pulling away from him.

“This is… the first 【Original】  I created. My situation was different from Kujuukuri-san’s, but because of my family, I studied Original at home. And this is what I created… Back then, I wanted strength that allowed me to fight alone. I wanted to be alone. That’s all I thought about. That’s why this magic was born.”

As Shinobu raised her arm, a cold wind blew, and the fluorescent lights reflected off the icy blades, giving them a sharp, cold shine.

“A complete defense using armor of ice blades. Because the ice itself is infused with plenty of magic power, it has high resistance not only to physical attacks but also to magic. Naturally, even against recovery-type spells.”

Up until this point, Ittou didn’t think this magic had any real problem. After all, he was someone who dived into dungeons solo and fought alone. But after hearing Shinobu’s last words, and now that he understood the importance and potential of teamwork, he realized something.

Shinobu’s current form was strong, but the potential for new strength was narrow. And more than anything… He thought, this was a lonely power. Perhaps she saw that freezing emotion in his eyes, because Shinobu looked at him and gave a sad smile.

“Yeah… Exactly. This is a magic meant only for myself. A magic that expresses the lonely intention of not needing anyone. Originals reflect the heart. This magic hurt and exhausted not only those around me but me myself. It consumed magic too quickly… I guess deep down, I knew it. This magic was one of self-deception.”

Shinobu stared at her reflection in the gauntlet of ice. Many blades jutted out, making even her reflected face appear as though it were shredded. She smiled. The smile was distorted… but Shinobu didn’t dislike it.

“But, well… A lot happened, and I was able to realize my own weakness. And I changed.”

Softly, the ice armor scattered like falling snow. The cold passing through Ittou didn’t shake his body. It felt more like something refreshing was washing over him. Emerging from the cotton-like snow, Shinobu smiled with genuine happiness.

“And… I met you.”

If a snow spirit really existed, Ittou thought, she must look like this kind of beauty. Ittou sincerely believed that.

“That’s why I wanted to tell you. I felt I could tell you. I thought it would reach you.”

“Yes… I’ll never waste what you taught me, Senpai. I’ll definitely, definitely turn it into something that will make my future better. Thank you for showing me.”

“Fufu, you’re welcome.”

Maru’s heat. Shinobu’s wind. Ittou firmly savored the hot and cold sensations flowing within him. To cherish what was given and connect it to the future. To carry forward what he received—from Grandma, from his teachers, from his senpai, from his comrades.

It’s like the power of Strengthening Magic…

To take what one receives, turn it into one’s own power, and release it—that was Strengthening Magic, and Ittou believed that was who he was now. If that was true, then there must be much, much more he could do. Ittou became certain that far more possibilities lay within him.

His body shivered, and bubbling laughter rose. A sharp electric-like stimulus ran through his brain, and his heart pounded so strongly it felt like his chest might expand. Joy overflowed throughout his entire body. He wanted to share this sensation with someone. Shinobu was right in front of him, smiling gently.

It happened without thinking. Ittou rushed toward Shinobu and hugged her tightly.

“…Huh?”

“Thank you… Shinobu-senpai. I’ll become much, much stronger…!”

For some, such a sudden action might have turned into an incident. If Ittou were Chuma, the police might have been called. But Shinobu’s feelings toward Ittou were the complete opposite of what she felt toward Chuma.

“I-I-I-I-Ittou…-kun? Huh? I-I-I-I’m being hu-hu-hugged? M-me…?”

Shinobu’s voice, slurred from her own excitement, didn’t reach the excited Ittou. After a few seconds of being held, Shinobu abandoned all thought and drifted into a newlywed-life hug-fantasy. Ittou, on the other hand, wore a face full of determination and whispered into the beautiful white ear right beside him.

“I’ll do my best. I absolutely won’t lose.”

“Mm… Do your best…Don’t lose to someone like Kondou-sensei…My dear…”

“Yes… huh? ‘My dear’…? W-wait, Shinonome-senpaaaaai!?”

Snapped out of his trance by Shinobu’s words from her fantasy, Ittou released her and saw her faint with a blissful smile. As a result, an ambulance had to be called, and Fujisaki, who had been mentally checked out in the faculty room, screamed once again.

“Dangerous individuaaaaaaaaal!!”

Time passed, the midterm dungeon test was held, and the day of the results arrived. Kondou was smiling.

（Hehe… I’m so looking forward to this. From what I heard from ‘that girl,’ his dungeon-clearing speed was apparently really slow, so a bottom rank is practically guaranteed.）

Her steps down the academy hallway were light, and she even hummed. Despite being the one teaching, she couldn’t concentrate on class today. She simply told everyone to solve their problems on their own and stared out the window, smiling.

（What should I make Ittou-kun do~? Boys that age have such high pride and get provoked so easily. After this…Llittle by little I’ll guide him, and in the end… Hehehe! And ‘that thing’ will be finished soon too. Good… Very good.）

When she opened the faculty room door, the room was filled with that unique atmosphere that followed midterm evaluations. Fujisaki, Ittou’s homeroom teacher, still wore a troubled expression, which Kondou found incredibly amusing.

“Hellooo everyone. The midterms are over and the results are out, so we all need to work even harder as teachers now, right, right? Fujisaki-sensei?”

“Huh… Ah, ahaha… yes. I-I’ll do my best…”

“By the way, Fujisaki-sensei. That popular Ittou-kun took on the dungeon training responsibility in Team H, right? How was it~?”

Kondou leaned in, and Fujisaki twitched. Seeing that expression, Kondou felt certain she had won and grinned. Fujisaki’s brows furrowed even as her lips lifted. Her trembling lips finally spoke.

“Um… Fourth… in the entire year.”

“………… Whaaat?”

“A-and alsoooo…Apparently his fighting style got evaluated or got attention or whatever, and like… Someone super important from the Adventurers’ Association is coming to hear his team’s storyyy. Not the first or second place team, but specifically Ittou-kun’s team and now he’s getting attention agaaaain… Wh-what do we dooooo!?”

“Ho-Ho-How should I knowwwww!?”

Kondou tore Fujisaki off her and rushed to her desk to check the grades on her computer.

（No, no, no! That can’t be! Did ‘that girl’ lie!? Impossible…! Impossible, impossible! Ittou is supposed to become mine! So fourth place—）

With bloodshot eyes, Kondo checked the screen again and again. But of course, the number didn’t change. Fourth place.

“I-I-I impossibleeeee!! Whyyyyyyyyyyyy!?”

Kondou’s shrill scream and Fujisaki’s wailing overlapped in a chaotic duet that echoed through the faculty room.

Midterm Dungeon Training:

4th place.

The H-Team that Ittou had joined earned a top-class rank for their year with certainty. And this triggered a new wave of chaos. It was the beginning of a major incident that would shake the entire academy.

ーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーー