Chapter 31. Youthful Days! (Unique To Nao Academy)

 

“Hey, Yuu-chan, eat up this grilled meat!”

 

“Thank you very much.”

 

I received a paper plate piled high with freshly grilled meat from Soshi-san, Mina’s father.

 

It was a clear day on the first day of Golden Week.

 

Today, we’re having a barbecue in the Torabou family’s garden.

 

Soshi-san seemed excited since the day before, preparing various things.

 

“Here, Yuu-kun. Is the sauce medium spicy okay?”

 

“Yeah, thanks, Mina.”

 

“Yuu-sama, here’s your juice.”

 

“Hayami-sensei… I haven’t revealed my identity to Mina’s parents, so please act like a teacher and student around them.”

 

“Yuu, here’s a hand towel. You must wipe your hands before eating.”

 

“Thanks, Kotomi. But you three don’t have to treat me like a boss. Also, you’re too close.”

 

The three fussing around me, diligently taking care of everything, are sitting beside and in front of me. Honestly, it’s a bit suffocating.

 

“Yuu, you’re quite popular.”

 

“Suo-senpai, instead of casually eating, can you help me?”

 

“Both Yuu-chan and Suo-kun are typical boys. They eat a lot, so it’s worth grilling for them. Eat plenty!”

 

“Got it. Let’s dig in.”

 

With tongs in one hand, Mina’s mother, Milia-san, also looks happy and busy.

 

Why is it that adults look so pleased when kids eat a lot? It’s puzzling.

 

“Why are you here at our barbecue?”

 

Mina glares at him, but Suo-senpai continues eating meat nonchalantly.

 

“I got invited to spar with Kamiya this afternoon, so I came since I had time.”

 

“What?! Yuu-kun is sparring with Suo-kun? I, your childhood friend, haven’t sparred with you yet! Why is he going first?!”

 

An excited Mina grabs Suo-senpai.

 

Come to think of it, I talked about sparring with Mina before. With all the duels lately, I completely forgot about it.

 

“You can’t eat while someone’s grabbing your collar, Kohou.”

 

“Suo-senpai, what’s with you? It’s not like you, full of pride, to seek advice from a junior like Yuu. Is something wrong?”

 

As Mina rants, Kotomi questions Suo-senpai in disbelief.

 

“It’s nothing… I just felt the need to get stronger after our recent field trip.”

 

“Suo-senpai, since you’ve been abandoned by your faction, getting stronger is your only choice.”

 

“Don’t mock me, Kamiya… But looking back now, escaping from factional constraints was actually for the better.”

 

As Suo-senpai murmurs with a distant look, Mina, feeling deflated, releases her grip on his collar, looking embarrassed.

 

“Really, Suo-senpai has become much calmer than when he was mentoring me. Now he’s like a handsome gorilla at the zoo.”

 

“I miss the Suo-senpai who used to come at me like the boss of the monkey mountain, dragging his underlings along.”

 

“Are you all trying to provoke me?”

 

During the recent field trip, the students also seemed to be contemplating various things.

 

His genuine desire to become stronger than they are now made me accept Suo-senpai’s challenge for a spar.

 

“By the way, there’s a surprising Suo-kun here, and we’ve been ignoring it, but why are Hayami-sensei and Hinoura-san casually mingling?”

 

“I need to stay close to Kamiya-kun as much as possible due to military duties.”

 

“The inviting smell of barbecue drew me in.”

 

Despite Mina’s glare, the two act as if nothing’s wrong.

 

Although Hayami-sensei has no obligation to be with me on weekends, it’s just an effort to be close as part of training. Hayami-sensei has completely misunderstood this, so I should clarify later.

 

Also, Kotomi seems to have a keen sense of smell, probably due to her Soul Armor ability to manipulate poison airflow. But how did she distinguish between the barbecue restaurants and pinpoint Mina’s house? It’s puzzling.

 

“Ugh! I accidentally drank a strong alcoholic drink instead of juice and planned to attack Yuu-kun with a drunk plan!”

 

“Kohou, it’s really not a joke nowadays for minors to do that thing. Please stop.”

 

Despite sending children to battlefields, this country is truly twisted when it comes to complying with laws in matters that aren’t clear.

 

“Ah, I’m so full.”

 

Having eaten my fill of meat, I lie down on the wooden deck of the Kohou family house and look up at the sky. It’s blue.

 

“Kamiya, it’s time to leave.”

 

“Aww, I want to nap a little longer…”

 

“We have a reserved time slot in the training area, so we have to leave now.”

 

“I guess you’re right.”

 

Suo-senpai nudges me, and I reluctantly get up from the wooden deck.

 

“Eh? Are you all leaving already? I want to go too! Ugh…”

 

Mina hurriedly tries to swallow meat, choking a bit and patting her chest in distress.

 

“Kohou, the training area is reserved for two people, so adding more on the day is dangerous and can’t be changed.”

 

“T-That’s…”

 

“Suo-senpai… You should have let her absorb some poison from the class that tends to end up in the hospital for a month when they get involved…”

 

Mina looks hopeless at Suo-senpai’s remark, and Kotomi mutters something ominous.

 

“Hehehe. You don’t need to worry about that. With me as the instructor, we can change the number of participants.”

 

“…So Hayami-sensei is also coming.”

 

“It’s the rule♪”

 

“We can’t switch positions easily. Let’s follow along, Kohou-senpai.”

 

Kotomi advises a troubled Mina.

 

“I haven’t agreed to use the training area together yet…”

 

“Well, it’s fine, Suo-senpai. It seems more fun if we’re all together. Let’s start cleaning up before heading to school!”

 

We don’t have much time, so we quickly start cleaning up after the barbecue.

 

Washing the grill, and handling the charcoal, it’s quite a task.

 

Soshi-san and Milia-san, who had been taking care of us, finally started grilling their own meat on a small charcoal grill.

 

Their meat looks better than what we were eating earlier, so I think adults are surprisingly savvy.

 

◇◇◇◆◇◇◇

 

“Haa… huff… haa…”

 

In the exercise area with impeccable soundproofing and no windows, only rough breathing could be heard.

 

“Alright, let’s call it a day for now.”

 

I stepped out of the exercise area first and returned to everyone, carrying a sports towel and a bottle of sports drink placed on the bench, handing them out to each person.

 

“T-Thanks, Yuu-kun…”

 

“Darn it… Even with three against one, it’s no good… You look so relaxed.”

 

“In the final stretch, the number of attacks suddenly increased, and I couldn’t handle it…”

 

Mina, Suo-senpai, and Kotomi looked exhausted, sitting there with drooping heads, showing signs of using up all their strength.

 

We had just finished a mock battle, three against one.

 

“Towards the end, you were coordinating well.”

 

Preferring salt candy over sports drinks, I rolled salt candy in my mouth as I shared my thoughts on the mock battle.

 

“Reluctantly, I realized early in the mock battle that without coordination, even three against one wouldn’t win.”

 

“Yeah, Mina’s sound bomb attacks and Kotomi’s poison mist created a solid defense for mid-range combat, and Suo-senpai, being a close combat type, covered weak spots well.”

 

“Even so, when Yuu-kun kept his distance and increased the number of gun turrets, we couldn’t handle it in time.”

 

“Also, without long-range attack abilities among us three, we needed coordination with soldiers carrying guns.”

 

That’s just because they’re Soul Armor users doesn’t mean everyone has to be a jack-of-all-trades.

 

In fact, having strong individual abilities allows for various strategies and surprising opponents.

 

In that sense, coordination with others is crucial.

 

“I see. If Yuu can generate guns, he should be vulnerable at close range.”

 

“While Kotomi defends allies with poison and stuns gas, limiting my movement range, Suo-senpai can apply pressure effectively.”

 

“The key is me. But thinking about the last battle, leaving Kohou and Hinoura to attack is quite a timing challenge.”

 

“With one more shield bearer, we can trust Mina and Kotomi’s defense, making it easier for Suo-senpai to move.”

 

“A shield bearer, huh…”

 

Mina, Kotomi, and Suo-senpai, upon hearing shield bearer, probably envisioned a specific… namely, the vice president of the student council.

 

They all wore bitter expressions.

 

“After a break, should we have another round?”

 

“I still can’t…”

 

“Me neither…”

 

Mina and Kotomi, who had continuously used sound bombs and stun gas during the mock battle, seemed to still recover from exhaustion.

 

Amidst this,

 

“I’ll do it.”

 

“Are you sure? Suo-senpai, pushing too hard isn’t good.”

 

“In the last mock battle, I couldn’t even get close to you. I still have energy.”

 

“Then, it’s a one-on-one. Shall we, Suo-senpai?”

 

“That’s what I’m hoping for.”

 

“Hayami-sensei, please set the stage to the normal field where Suo-senpai got instantly defeated by me in a duel.”

 

“Alright, alright. Boys are always so lively.”

 

Hayami-sensei operated the terminal in the exercise area to change the settings.

 

“Why do you always poke at people’s old wounds like that?”

 

“Psychological attacks are fundamental in combat, Senpai.”

 

“I’m serious this time.”

 

“It’s quite exciting to fight against a serious Suo-senpai.”

 

Those were words that came from my heart, not just flattery.

 

This kind of mutual growth feels like true youth.