Vol 1 Chapter 21: The True Intent of Rurei (Vol 1: The Delinquent High School Girl’s Servant Survived and Advanced to the Second Year)

“A lift with that kind of size difference? No way!”

Kei, a mixed martial arts practitioner, couldn’t hide her astonishment.

A lift is a technique where one hoists the opponent’s body, generally used as a follow-up move after a tackle.

In wrestling, the typical sequence is lift, then takedown, and finally a pin. Though the ground here wasn’t concrete, it was still hard-packed dirt. Being slammed onto it could easily result in a knockout.

“So, like Kei said, isn’t she a mixed martial arts fighter after all?”

Miyayuri spoke to Rurei, but instead of replying, Rurei turned to Kamiko and shouted, “Shoot!”

“Ah! Could it be shoot boxing? I thought her stance looked more like Muay Thai, though.”

Shoot boxing is a sport that allows throws and standing joint locks in addition to the strikes commonly seen in kickboxing.

In other words, it’s like mixed martial arts without any ground fighting.

“Exactly. My main focus is shoot boxing. Like I mentioned earlier, Kamiko originally did MMA and full-contact karate, then started learning shoot boxing.”

“Even so, it looked a lot more like MMA to me. I don’t know much about shoot boxing, but I always heard it was closer to Muay Thai.”

Kei tilted her head in confusion, and Kamiko, who had been listening, answered.

“Sure, MMA is good and all, but in a street fight, you hardly ever get to use ground techniques, right? That’s why I decided to pick up shoot boxing—it’s almost anything-goes in stand-up.”

“A street-fight mindset, huh… That’s unusual.”

Well, Miyayuri didn’t really have the right to call anyone else unusual…

“Still, it’s troublesome if a skilled MMA fighter catches you, so this time I went with a safer, more MMA-like strategy. I can adapt to my opponent—MMA style, Muay Thai style, or even karate. I can fight however I want.”

Adapting to an opponent’s style isn’t as easy as it sounds.

Being able to fight in any style means she can even mimic those she’s not naturally suited for, which demands extremely high physical ability.

“That’s awesome… I’d love to have you in our group if we could, but more importantly, why do you all call yourselves ‘Rei’?”

Miyayuri narrowed her eyes and asked, and Rurei answered:

“Not ‘Rei,’ but ‘NEO Rei.’ It’s a hassle, so lately, even when delinquent punks ask, ‘Are you guys Rei?’ I haven’t denied it.”

“You little—”

Ignoring Miyayuri’s exasperation, Rurei continued explaining:

“I know about the exploits of you and the others in ‘Rei,’ and I can pretty much guess why you’re taking down biker gangs.”

So, do you know that Miyayuri’s younger brother, Takeru-kun, was in an accident caused by a biker gang, left in a vegetative state, and that you’re taking them down for revenge?

“You’re taking down biker gangs to avenge Takeru-kun, right?”

It seems like you hit the nail on the head.

Before long, Rurei’s deliberately exaggerated gyaru tone had vanished, replaced by a serious manner as she asked Miyayuri:

“Ah, that’s right. You got it.”

Miyayuri admitted without reservation.

“You didn’t tell aah-shi because you didn’t want to get me involved, did you? The aah-shi I am now is much stronger than the Rurei you know, Miyayuri-chan.”

“…You still haven’t answered my question. Why are you calling yourself ‘NEO Rei’ and doing something this dangerous?”

“Because I’m just like you, Miyayuri-chan.”

“What?”

“I also want to avenge Takeru-kun. That’s why I formed ‘NEO Rei’ in imitation of you, Miyayuri-chan.”