Seryu Military Company Outing
Lunch was a simple brunch-style spread. Because it was a buffet, we could pile our plates with whatever we wanted. If they had served us one bowl each, it probably would have left us still hungry.
“Ryuta, say ‘ah~.’”
Alick, who was sitting beside me and munching happily, stabbed a piece of Italian frittata with her fork and held it to my mouth. Hmm, I hadn’t taken any yet while focusing on everything else. Might as well give it a try.
I opened my mouth as instructed and accepted the frittata. Mm, it was delicious. The aroma of butter and bacon came through clearly, and the spinach made it feel nicely balanced and healthy.
When I ate what she offered, Alick’s face lit up with a small, pleased smile before she returned to her own plate.
“I-I’ll feed you too, Benefactor!”
Konoe Akina, who had been watching from across the table, brought half a bagel sandwich to my lips. Having already accepted Alick’s offering, I couldn’t refuse hers. Even though I still had frittata in my mouth, I took the bagel sandwich as well.
Mm, the bagel sandwich was quite good too. The smoked salmon and cream cheese in the middle gave it a rich, satisfying balance.
When I smiled with my eyes and nodded to show my approval, Konoe Akina smiled back in satisfaction. Since I had been planning to eat two more plates anyway, the extra bites weren’t a problem.
But the real issue came after that. The moment I accepted Konoe Akina’s food, Alick jumped up with her plate, rushed over with more, and pressed it to my lips. This time it was bacon-wrapped asparagus.
“Ryuta, ah~.”
“Benefactor, I have some for you too~!”
With food arriving from both sides, I couldn’t even touch what I had put on my own plate.
Flustered, I shot Mimata Chieri a pleading look, but she simply watched the three of us with a warm, contented expression. Hey, senior, this isn’t exactly a heartwarming scene.
“Investor, you should try this too!”
“Honey, this is tasty. Have some~!”
With no one stepping in to stop them, I eventually gave up on feeding myself. Before long, even Sawayanagi Azuma and Lianna Holden joined in, taking turns feeding me by hand. In the end I finished lunch without lifting a single finger.
“I’m full now, so I’ll stop here.”
The fact that those words came from a mouth that could easily handle three grown men’s worth of food said everything about how much I had eaten. After lunch, we were shown to our assigned rooms.
Sawayanagi Azuma, who had booked the pension, had grouped everyone into threes and fours per room. Using my status as an investor as an excuse, she gave me a room all to myself. Even my master was sharing with three others, so I wondered if it was really okay, but when they offered, there was no reason to refuse.
Their intentions were obvious, but I kept quiet. Having a room to myself was convenient and comfortable. They clearly planned to visit me later tonight, and that was perfectly fine with me.
After dropping off my luggage, we moved on to the company-outing tradition of a sports competition. The men would play 4-on-4 futsal on the field in front of the pension, while the women would play 5-on-5 volleyball on the neighboring court.
For some reason, both Fujigasaki Rinka and I were banned from participating. They claimed it would be cheating if either of us joined. I wasn’t even that good at soccer, for crying out loud.
“To the winning futsal team… Advisor Mimata Chieri of Seryu Military Company, currently warming up over there, has arranged a meeting with the female employees of East Weapon~!”
Instead, I was handed the microphone and told to act as emcee. I had never done it before, but all I really needed to do was announce the prizes before the games started. A meeting with the East Weapon women was actually a pretty solid reward. Especially for Iduyoung, Choi Jin-ha, and Kim Young-chan, who had only recently shed their trainee status. They threw their hands up with excited shouts of “Whoa!”
After being held by slavers for so long and doing nothing but training since arriving in Japan, they probably hadn’t met any normal women in ages. As hot-blooded young men, it was only natural they were starving for female company.
Alick, who had trained alongside them, somehow gave off an unapproachable aura that made people hesitate to get close. Jeong Da-rim was a total plant otaku who only cared about vegetation. The senior members had been merciless during training, so meeting new women sounded like an excellent prize.
Two of the non-trainee men from Seryu-tai already had girlfriends, so they looked somewhat indifferent to the victory reward.
“You may also choose a cash prize of 100,000 yen instead of the group meeting.”
I sweetened the pot a little to raise the excitement. Even if all four winning members chose cash, it would only cost me 400,000 yen, which wasn’t much of a burden. Only then did Sawayanagi Shigero and Kitayama Junichi, the ones with girlfriends, finally cheer with genuine enthusiasm.
“Kahahaha! Give it everything you’ve got! If you perform well, I’ll give you a separate prize too~!”
Fujigasaki Rinka laughed heartily, clearly enjoying the lively atmosphere, and added her own reward. I didn’t know how much it would be, but everyone seemed eager to receive anything from a world champion fighter like her.
“I’ll announce the women’s reward. Let’s see…”
Fujigasaki Rinka snatched the card listing the prizes from my hand, glanced at it, and nodded.
“The winning women’s volleyball team receives a full cosmetics set~! And the MVP will be granted a one-day date ticket with my disciple, Ryuta.”
Master. What the hell are you saying? A cosmetics set would have been plenty. Why suddenly throw in a date ticket with me?
Despite my dumbfounded reaction, the date ticket with me turned out to be surprisingly popular. The women didn’t cheer as loudly as the men, but I could clearly feel those who already had relationships with me burning with renewed determination.
Even Alick and Konoe Akina, who had not yet been physically intimate with me, were clenching their fists and radiating strong resolve. It felt pretty good as a man. It meant my date ticket held that much appeal.
The futsal and volleyball matches began, and everyone played with fierce passion. Fujigasaki Rinka had been shouting cheers at the top of her lungs in the beginning, but she eventually grew bored and turned to me.
“Kiyohara told me your disciple’s nickname is ‘Rag Man,’ right?”
“Kiyohira?”
Just how much had that guy said? No matter how big a fan of Fujigasaki Rinka he was, did he really have to tell her that?
“Kiyohira has been staying in America the whole time. How would he know anything about my private life?”
When I feigned ignorance, Fujigasaki Rinka gave me a look that said she saw right through me.
“Lying to your master? That won’t do. Follow me.”
“What about the emceeing?”
“Those kids will play hard whether we’re watching or not, so just come with me.”
She was right. Whether because of the prizes or the heat of competition, both the futsal and volleyball games were being played with intense focus. No one was paying any attention to us.
With no other choice, I followed Fujigasaki Rinka behind the pension. A narrow walking trail ran through the woods there, and she stopped in the middle of the path, waiting for me.
“It’s time for sparring, my disciple.”
“You want to spar because of a little white lie?”
“No, it’s simply sparring. For martial artists like us, we don’t need some grand justification. When there’s an opponent worth exchanging fists with, it’s only natural to want to fight.”
I’m not a martial artist, Master, so I wouldn’t know. It seemed Fujigasaki Rinka simply wanted to test her disciple’s growth after a long time apart.
We had fought something like a spar back in America, but that had been closer to checking whether I was possessed by the Abyss. This time, it felt like she genuinely wanted to see my pure martial arts.
“Let’s agree not to use the Abyss.”
Fujigasaki Rinka spread her stance and assumed a natural combat posture, waiting for me to make the first move. If she was yielding the initiative, I would take it. I leaped forward and thrust a fist toward her.
It was pure physical speed without any Abyss enhancement, yet my fist still shot forward like a cannonball with terrifying velocity.
Whoosh!
The sound of my punch slicing through the air seemed meaningless as Fujigasaki Rinka easily caught it and spoke.
“Too honest! That approach might work against opponents you can overwhelm with raw speed and power, but against a skilled technician it only creates an opening for a counter!”
Even while speaking, she gracefully pulled on my captured fist, breaking my balance, then drove her shoulder into my solar plexus using an Iron Mountain technique.
“Ugh!”
I groaned but endured the pain and threw an uppercut from inside her range.
“Your reactions are quick. That’s promising!”
Fujigasaki Rinka dodged my fist by the width of a leaf, then spun and struck my temple with a back knuckle. The impact made stars explode across my vision.
The gap in skill was clear. No helping it. If I wanted to land even a single hit, I would have to grab her so she couldn’t dodge.
I ignored the blow to my temple and seized her wrist. But she slipped out of my grip like an eel. All I felt was the brief brush of her sleeve against my palm.
“Damn it!”
Not landing a single hit while taking every strike was starting to make my blood boil. Like an enraged bear, I charged in recklessly and began unleashing every technique of Shinkaiyatsude I could muster. She dodged dozens of strikes, but one finally connected.
Shinkaiyatsude (Deep Sea Eight Hands)
Shin'en Kyūban (Abyssal Suction Cup: Abyss Sucker)
Thanks to the powerful suction of the Abyssal Suction Cup, even though Fujigasaki Rinka twisted her body away, the hem of her clothing still ended up caught in my hand.
I finally caught her! I gripped the fabric tightly and yanked. My plan was to pull both the clothes and her along with them.
Riiip!
But the situation did not unfold as I expected. I had grabbed too forcefully. Instead of pulling her toward me, the front of her top tore wide open.
“M-Master!”
Panicked, I froze awkwardly in place, unable to approach Fujigasaki Rinka as her torn shirt revealed her bra.