The Young Lady With the Most Powerful Specs Was Just Too Cute, so I Started Teasing Her—But Then She Tried to Trap Me With a Chain, so I Kept Running Away With All My Might - Chapter 10

The Second Game of Tag Begins

As soon as I got back to Oldie, I told her all about my conversation with Katary.

“A reincarnator? She… loves me?”

I decided to leave out the part about her being a “villainess.” I figured it was more important to let Oldie know what kind of person Katary really is.

“Yes. Katary said she’s a reincarnator. She also said you’re a character from a game she used to play. To be honest, I don’t really get what any of that means. Games? Characters? I’ve got no clue. I couldn’t figure it out on my own, so I thought I’d ask you about it.”

I’d decided there was no point in me sitting around trying to understand things that made no sense.

“I see.”

“Anyway, she said she was sad seeing her favorite young lady all shut away like this, and she really wants to be your friend.”

“……”

I didn’t mention anything about “villainesses” or “Chains of Ruin”—things I didn’t want Oldie to have to worry about.

But it’s a fact that Katary seriously wants to be Oldie’s friend, and I thought it was best not to get in the way of that.

Plus, right before Katary left…

“Oh, that’s right! I’m going to tell you the things I remembered, Nil! Now that I know what I’ve recalled, I’ll send you a letter!”

“Wait, what!?”

“I’m counting on you!”

She had just blurted out what she wanted and dashed off. I was a little stunned by how pushy she was.

Still, if she’s that entertaining, I’d like her to stay as the young lady’s friend.

“Nil, what did you think of Katary?”

“What did I think? Well, she’s pretty strange, and I thought she was funny. If she stays your friend, I think things will be pretty lively around here.”

“If she’s my friend?”

“Yeah, your friend. I mean, someone who loves talking that much and has such weird daydreams… isn’t that fun to watch?”

When I asked her that, Oldie looked like she was actually picturing it.

She usually looks expressionless, but her face is starting to change little by little.

When she’s mad, when she’s sulking, when she’s feeling sick.

I’ve seen a lot of her faces now, and then…

“Hee-hee.”

For the first time since I became her personal knight, the young lady actually laughed out loud.

Horn looked shocked, and I was pretty surprised too.

But that just made me want to tease her more.

“Your smile is cuter than anyone else’s, Oldie.”

“Wh-what!?”

“I think it’d be good to be friends with Katary, since she’s the one who made you laugh.”

“……I’ll think about it.”

Until now, no matter what Katary said, Oldie probably hadn’t really been listening and just gave empty replies.

But now, I feel like Oldie is trying to see something through me.

“Well then, Oldie. Shall we play tag?”

“Yes, let’s. I will definitely catch you today.”

“Okay, the place is the knight training grounds. It’ll be five senior knights plus me. You have to catch us all. You can use your chains. If you catch everyone, you win. Also—muscle pain is one thing, but please manage your mana so you don’t run out again.”

“I know!”

When I finished explaining the rules, Oldie looked a little huffy.

I couldn’t help but think she looked cute like that.

Well, since our family ranks don’t match up at all, I’m really just here to look after her.

Someday, she’ll probably marry some high-ranking noble.

I hope I can pass the knight exam at fifteen and find someone nice too.

—

The moment we reached the training ground field, the senior knights’ faces twitched a little.

The reason was simple.

Oldie was clearly fired up right from the start.

She had her usual blank face, but her eyes were different.

Those were the eyes of someone who had already picked out their prey.

“Alright, let’s go over the rules!”

I shouted from the middle of the field.

“The boundary is just this field! Hiding behind the buildings is forbidden! Going outside the fence is forbidden! If Oldie catches all six of us, including me, she wins! The Captain said that anyone who gets caught has to clean the training grounds and the barracks for a week!”

One of the senior knights laughed as he rested a wooden sword on his shoulder.

“Haha, taking on six people? You’ve got guts, young lady.”

“I heard you couldn’t even catch Nil by himself last time?”

“Are you going to be okay?”

The seniors had heard about her getting stuck with muscle pain.

Because of that, the Knight Captain told them not to let her overdo it, but since there was cleaning duty on the line, they definitely didn’t want to get caught.

“It will be over soon.”

“Whoa, someone’s confident.”

I gave a strained smile at Oldie’s quiet comment.

Actually, maybe I shouldn’t be laughing.

Oldie is seriously playing for keeps today.

“Also, you can use your chains. But please judge for yourself before you run out of mana. If we decide you’re pushing too hard, we’ll stop the game.”

“That won’t be necessary.”

“It’s a promise.”

“Hmph! Fine.”

I shrugged, and Oldie quietly took a step forward.

“May I start?”

“Yeah. Count to thirty after I give the signal. We’ll all scatter. The time limit is thirty minutes. And please, don’t overdo it.”

“Ten minutes is enough.”

“Okay then. Let’s begin!”

The seniors burst out laughing.

But Oldie kept a serious face.

I thought for a second and then nodded.

“Wait right there, Oldie. We’re going to spread out.”

“Yes.”

“Alright, start!”

We all scattered at once.

I went to the right.

The fast senior went to the back left.
The one with the shield stayed near the center.
The spear expert and the big guy headed toward the fence.

And then, the senior with the mean mouth followed right behind me.

“Hey, Nil, isn’t it dangerous behind you?”

“Are you trying to use me as a decoy?”

“Duh.”

It was mean, but it was a solid strategy.

At first, Oldie would probably go after me.

At least, that’s what I thought.

“Thirty!”

The moment I shouted that…

The air changed.

I felt a shiver down my spine.

A split second later, black chains crawling along the ground shot out in all directions at once.

“Whoa!?”

“So fast!?”

“Wait, Oldie, right at the start!?”

Before he could finish, the chains wrapped around the fast senior’s ankle.

He was pulled right down to the ground.

“Huh?”

“That’s one.”

So fast! Her control was way more accurate than last time. And Oldie didn’t stop for a second after getting the first one.

The next chain was already heading for the spear senior.

“Whoa, whoa, wait, wait, wait!”

“I won’t wait.”

“I figured as much!”

The spear senior dodged. But a second chain was waiting right where he moved. Then a third one came from above.

This time, there were no corners to turn or places to hide.

“Hey, don’t surround me!”

“That’s two.”

“Too fast!”

While I was shouting, the big senior already had a chain wrapped around his waist, stopping him in his tracks.

The senior with the shield tried to block head-on, but he got flipped over, shield and all.

The mean-mouthed senior just said “Huh!?” before his feet were swept out from under him and he hit the dirt.

She didn’t even need ten minutes. In ten seconds, five people were captured.

The five seniors were rolling around just outside the field.

Wait, what is this? Isn’t she way too strong?

“……What?”

The words just slipped out of my mouth.

“Wait, is it over already?”

Oldie looked at me quietly.

Her black chains slid smoothly across the ground.

“Nil is the only one left.”

“Man, you seniors are weak!”

“Gah!”

The mean-mouthed senior shouted while still on the ground.

“It’s because she’s way too out of our league!”

“The young lady is being super serious!”

“Nil! Run! You’re the only one left!”

Suddenly, they all started rooting for me.

Well, I guess that makes sense.

After seeing all that, now it was just a battle to see how far I could run.

I took a step back.

Oldie took a step forward.

In the middle of the field, it was just me and her left.

“Nil.”

“Yes.”

“I’m catching you this time.”

“……Go easy on me, okay?”

“No.”

The moment she said that flat-out, I bolted.