24. For Mars
24. For Mars
"Don't go down too easily, alright?"
"...Please spare me."
"Haha! You look weak anyway, so I'll just tap you lightly, don't be too scared!"
"..........."
Her first impression of him was something like a scrawny little anchovy.
"Where do you think you're running!"
"Ee! Eeek!"
She hadn't felt the fighting spirit like Papa's.
Nor the killing intent like Mama's.
Just an endlessly weak, pathetic bastard.
"Caught you!"
"Ee, eeeeeek!!!"
That was exactly the extent of the image she'd had.
Kaaaang!!
"What...?!"
"Fuck?!"
But for this guy to get past that?
Even after being assigned a dormitory, that scene kept replaying in her head every time.
"....Ridiculous, isn't it?"
I lost to that kind of chump bastard?
She couldn't accept it. No, she wouldn't accept it.
The day they met again, she'd definitely smash that bastard's head in.
She made that promise to the greatsword resting in her two hands.
[Bond Rank──1(New)]
[Condition: Win in a 1-on-1 sparring match]
...
..
.
"Weapon techniques, stamina training...."
"Oh."
After enrolling, she had a gut feeling that luck was on her side.
I mean, how perfectly did she end up in the exact same class as that bastard?
This was a sign from Ares to immediately trample the pride of that bastard who was deluded into thinking he'd beaten her.
"I wanna die....."
"If you wanna die so badly, then die after sparring with me first."
".....Mars?"
She went and said it right away.
"Let's spar. Today after school, 6 PM, you know the 2nd Stamina Training Room, right? There's a separate sparring ground there, so come."
Probably, he wouldn't be able to refuse.
Receiving a sparring request in front of this many people and refusing it?
Cowardly small-timers, pathetic chump bastards could do that──but he'd beaten her, hadn't he?
Common sense dictated that accepting the spar was the obvious move here.
"No."
"Right, as expected of a warrior, it's only natural.... No?"
"Yeah."
"............"
But what was with this bastard?
"Why. Why don't you wanna fight?"
"Because I don't wannaaa....."
"No, give me a reason!"
"Euh. Euh. Euh. Euh."
It was incomprehensible.
She couldn't understand it.
What the hell was this bastard?
"We'll spar, right?"
"....Crazy sparring-addict bastard."
"Wow....."
Such blunt, colorful insults.
It felt just like being around the people of the Ares Guild.
In a weird way, she kinda liked this bastard. Aside from him being a skilless weakling.
[Bond Rank─2(Up)]
[Condition: Talk back to Mars during a story event]
"Ha, forget it. We'll end up sparring for sure during class anyway, so we can just do it then."
".............."
She decided to bide her time.
As if they wouldn't spar during class.
"Ranged Combat Lecture, Chrono here."
"Hey!!!"
But the guy covered for it by avoiding the class entirely?
What the hell was this bastard?
What. He even changed his major just to avoid her alone?
'....Just you wait, let your grades come out like absolute dogshit.'
At that moment, it really was going to turn into a life-or-death match.
...
..
.
"...So, this bastard got the top score, you say?"
"Yeah. The only S Rank in destructive power, and as of right now, the only A-rank."
"............"
Chrono had gone to take the ranged combat class.
Score: A, Destructive Power: S-rank. Meaning, his best skill wasn't close combat, but ranged combat.
And I──lost to this bastard in close combat?
".....Ha."
By this point, all she could do was marvel.
What the hell was this guy?
[Bond Rank─3(Up)]
[Condition: Surpass Mars's stats in a specific field.]
And this bastard's eccentricities didn't even end there.
"Oh gods. I am a weak being."
'...He's something else.'
Praying to his main god the moment he fainted?
He was a far better man than most of her peers.
So, therefore, and because of that.
"You. Become my comrade."
".......?"
"Of course, your refusal is refused."
"No."
She had become interested in this bastard.
She found herself wanting to be his friend, his comrade.
[Bond Rank Reward]
[Party Join Available]
...
..
.
During the Dungeon Experience, it was satisfying in the truest sense of the word.
"Let's split these, one each."
Whether obtaining the loot box or during the combat process, she hadn't felt a single thing lacking.
Seemed his A-rank in ranged combat wasn't just for show, as he precisely scratched where she itched, making her want to bring him to the Ares Guild immediately.
Well, with Papa around, it'd be a little tough, but putting that aside.
"The potion... you take it."
"Huh?"
"You're on the vanguard."
".........."
He didn't show greed.
He acknowledged things readily.
Her. Her strength. He acknowledged her worth.
[Bond Rank─4(Up)]
"Kill kill kill kill kill kill kill kill kill kill──"
"──Hey, you fucking bastarddddd!!!"
When she'd lost herself in the frenzy of battle and her reason wavered.
He snapped her mind awake again.
[Bond Rank─5(Up)]
A victory finally seized after enduring and enduring until both arms were smashed to pieces.
After being carried to the infirmary and chatting about this and that.
Name: Chrono (Class B)
Rank: ---
Strength: 14
Stamina: 17
Agility: 20
Intelligence: 35
Divinity: 20
"This is... your, status....?"
"Pathetic, right? I told you before. I'm incredibly weak."
Information obtained by chance.
Chrono's Status.
Name: Mars (Class B)
Rank: ---
Strength: 66
Stamina: 48
Agility: 32
Intelligence: 18
Divinity: 57
'He's a total... piece of trash.'
His highest stat was barely on par with her lowest stat, 'Agility.'
Intelligence... let's not go there. What did she need intelligence for when swinging a sword?
Anyway, it was that pathetic. A status so bad that the very fact he'd entered the Academy was incomprehensible.
"With stats like this.... a mere graze would be a fatal wound."
"Yep."
Pathetic.
"Even for me right now, I could kill you with a single punch."
"You know it well."
Weak, and unimpressive.
Even before considering growth potential, the most important thing, 'talent' itself, was nowhere to be seen.
"But still, you're... how were you able to stand in front of me, in front of the Champion?"
"....Are you maybe misunderstanding something?"
"Answer me properly."
".......Ngghh."
Yet still, he spoke.
"Rather than dying without being able to do anything, it's better to at least do something."
".......Is that so."
He didn't bend.
No, he did bend. There were times he bent.
But something at his very core, something that would never break, could be felt.
[Bond Rank─6(Up)]
[Condition: Share your own weakness]
[Bond Rank Reward]
[Can become 'Lovers' if you 'Confess' to Mars]
'...As expected.'
She kept wanting to be with him, to stay by his side.
Seeing this, Papa had once said.
"Mm! Sure enough, you're my friend! I've decided so!"
"No, why?"
Comrade. True friend.
That was the kind of relationship she wanted with Chrono.
"This is... a rabbit."
"If you really hate it, tell the staff outside and sell it. They'll probably exchange it for money."
"What? Why would I sell this!"
"Glad you like it."
"....It's not like, I like it or anything."
After that, she went to karaoke with Chrono, hung out, and even received a gift.
[Master Song Clear Reward]
[Bond Rank─7(Up)]
"Haa... That was fun."
So this is what a 'friend' was.
So this is what a 'comrade' was.
Mars quietly felt her heart filling with warmth.
[Bond Rank Reward]
[During 'Berserk' activation, reason loss probability down]
...
..
.
During the Reassignment Exam.
"..............."
It had been truly, hard.
So hard she wished she was dead.
It made her want to give up right then and there.
──But giving up, at least that, she hated more than dying.
"Cadet Mars, you are disqualified."
"Piss off."
"........."
"I'm still full of energy, so I said piss off."
She stoked her fighting spirit. She honed her killing intent.
She brought forth everything learned from Papa and Mama with her whole body, sharpening her mind to a razor's edge.
And what she reached at the end of that was──something familiar, warm, something she was unconsciously drawn to.
"Chro...no....?"
"Huh?"
A familiar face.
A familiar figure.
"Chrono.... it is you."
"....Mars?"
She didn't know the reason.
She didn't know the reason, but....
"Thank, goodness......"
"......Huh?"
She was just, so relieved.
That she collapsed right there.
What she remembered next was──
"....There's no benefit at all for you in this."
"Why is there no benefit?"
When her eyes suddenly opened.
Amidst intense heat and a hazy consciousness.
"A friend, remains right here."
"....Do as you please."
His figure standing up for her in front of the teacher.
[Bond Rank─8(Up)]
"....I don't get it."
"Urp.... Mm.... Gulp....."
His figure feeding medicine to her who couldn't eat on her own, feeding her porridge, nursing her tirelessly while her body was unwell.
"Cleared another one with this. Ur will probably like it if I show her later."
"................"
The sound of his performance, pleasantly calming her heart.
[Bond Rank─9(Up)]
[Bond Rank Reward]
[Berserk Buff 300%]
[If in the same party as Chrono, Berserk penalty nullified]
[H Event Unlocked]
And.
And then...
"Mars, we still have things to settle with us, right?"
"....Yeah. A whole lot."
She who had repaid kindness with enmity.
She should have gotten up the moment she came to her senses.
Shouldn't have let herself sink into the warmth and comfort, should have bolted out immediately.
'Sorry... I, because of me, I...!'
She had shaken off Yuno's hand.
So why couldn't she shake off Chrono's hand?
Bewildered by herself and blaming herself, she blocked Chrono's path and gnashed her teeth at her 'enemy.'
"Leave, the kid alone."
".....You.."
What if, what if she couldn't do it?
'At that time....'
She would save him.
She would save him no matter what.
Because at the very least, she couldn't leave this bastard, who went through all this suffering to save her, to die.
Resolved to save Chrono somehow, she summoned every ounce of fight from her entire body.
'Urgh...!'
A body still lingering with poison and fatigue.
Thanks to the buffs Chrono had been continuously providing, she was in much better shape than before, but still, she hadn't fully returned to normal condition.
Probably, taking down all those guys would be impossible.
Still... she could at least buy enough time for one person to escape.
So.
"...What are you doing? Not running away?"
"What're you talking about?"
Don't come.
Why are you coming?
Do you want to die? I'm telling you, you'll really die?
Because of me, you're about to die alongside me?
"You... are you stupid? A pushover? Even a dumbass bastard wouldn't pull this kind of shit!"
She yelled at Chrono as he approached her side.
She showed as much hostility as possible. So those bastards wouldn't target Chrono.
Glaring fiercely, she rejected him as much as she could.
Rejected.
Resisted.
Even by her own judgment, she was being a colossal bitch with no equal under heaven──yet.
"I was prepared for this from the moment I started treating you."
"What...?"
"You got chased here covered in wounds all over your body, wasn't it obvious to predict?"
"....Chrono, you...!"
Chrono didn't care.
Rather, he stood by her side, ready to fight.
For her sake.
Purely for her sake alone.
He raised his blade and stood against that crowd of cadets.
"Th... this...!!"
Stupid bastard.
Pushover bastard.
A one-of-a-kind, truly, really, really, really...!
Her heart throbbed.
The corners of her eyes trembled subtly.
Calm down. Why am I suddenly acting like this?
Something greater even than the fighting spirit of battle seemed to ride her heartbeat and spread throughout her whole body.
A feeling as if she was becoming not herself.
And at the end of it──Chrono spoke.
"Mars, you don't know how to kiss, do you?"
"...Why are you suddenly asking that?"
"No. Just."
Because he was going to teach her.
"Mmph.....?!!"
A kiss.
A meeting of lips.
A tongue entering her mouth.
"Chuup.... Hnng?! Eut.... Haaup.... tsuup, uuuuht...?!!"
Hotly, heating up.
As if steam was surging and blazing through her whole body.
And and and and....
"You.... you, you, yooouuu!!"
Why were the corners of her mouth lifting?
Why was she trying to grin like an idiot?
Why was she suddenly feeling so good, so glad, so happy?
We're about to die right now, you hear? And heart, why the hell are you acting up toooo...!
"This is, a 'trigger,' so I had no choice but to do it."
".....Huh...?"
An endless chain of confusion.
And at the end of it, something swelled up full from within.
[Encore Kiss]
".....This is..."
Her condition, returned.
No. It surpassed returning──a sensation as if it had more than doubled.
Vitality coursing through her whole body, an omnipotent feeling as if the world existed beneath her feet.
"How is it? A bit better now?"
"......Chrono."
Looking at Chrono grinning at her.
[Both Mars and Chrono are idiots idiots idiots!]
Only then, could she understand.
'I... was a huge idiot, huh.'
The heat blazing hotly throughout her whole body.
[Bond Rank 10─(Max)]
[Bond Rank Reward]
[Awakening Skill Unlocked]
"Mars, you know?"
"....Yeah."
This wasn't the madness of war.
This pleasant thing, warming her whole body, must surely be──
"Run──"
"Let's fight, you bastards!"
"──Hey, you bit?!!"
─An undeniable, genuine 'love.'
[Awakening Skill Activated]
[Advent─Apostle of Ares]