NOVEL NEXT Chapter 68
Chapter 68. Premonition
After the preliminaries ended and I returned to the hallway, Hattori-san was there, waving with a big smile on his face.
“Good job! You’re really strong! Lyle-san is supposed to be pretty strong too.”
“This victory was the result of his overconfidence. It should have been a tougher fight.”
His skill in using the terrain to outmaneuver his opponent, and his courage to quickly move to the next action without screaming even when his arm was torn off, were commendable. If it weren’t for me and the two Absolute Ones, he would have been the top contender for the championship.
“Well, it’s Lyle-san’s own fault. In real combat, there’s no room for excuses, so let’s celebrate!”
“Uh, right…”
…It was several times harsher than I imagined.
Well, she’s not wrong. I thought Hattori-san, being kind, would sugarcoat her words… Maybe she’s angry about something? Women can be terrifying when they’re angry, so I should give her a gift later to avoid any backlash.
“Come on, let’s go to our seats! Let’s have lunch together!”
“Got it. I’ll go to the restroom first, so could you go ahead and wait for me?”
“Sure!”
Hattori-san dashed off like the wind.
After making sure she was completely out of sight, I turned my head to look behind me.
“Can I help you?”
“Huh? I thought I had hidden my presence pretty well.”
A man leaning against the wall, his red hair flowing—Abel Leon.
I hope you don’t think you can easily step into my perception range unnoticed multiple times.
“This is the third time. I’ve gotten used to it.”
“Haha! Most people wouldn’t notice even if they spent their whole lives trying.”
“So, what do you want?”
I don’t have time for this.
I have a hungry speed princess waiting for me. She’s probably getting angrier by the minute, her stomach growling. I need to get to everyone before the situation escalates beyond what a gift can fix.
“Hey, don’t look at me like that. I just came to tell you who you’re fighting next.”
“Huh? Is the information for the semifinals already out?”
“No, I just asked a nearby official, and they gladly told me.”
“…”
You didn’t ask, you threatened them.
There’s no way an official would refuse the words of an Absolute One…
As I stared at him in disbelief, Leon scratched his cheek, trying to brush it off. Then, with a smirk, he tapped his chest with his left hand and spoke.
“Your next opponent is—me.”
“…I see.”
I had a feeling.
It was obvious that the organizers wanted to pit the Absolute Ones against each other in the finals, so I was prepared to face one of them in the semifinals, but it’s Leon, huh…
“You don’t seem surprised. Did you expect it?”
“Well, I thought I’d face either you or Jack in the semifinals.”
“That’s boring. I wanted to see a more surprised face.”
What are you talking about? The face you want to see isn’t a surprised one.
“But I’m glad. I’m finally halfway to my goal.”
“Halfway?”
I smile, arrogantly and proudly in front of an Absolute One, but without a hint of overconfidence.
How about it? This is the expression you wanted to see, right?
“—Because there are two of you.”
You came to this tournament because you were hungry for a fight. So what you want is a challenger who isn’t afraid of you Absolute Ones.
“…Yeah, I’m convinced now. My choice wasn’t wrong… Anything more would be tasteless, but one last thing—….—Don’t disappoint me, rookie.”
The pressure of the Absolute One filled the space.
The probing eyes from before were gone, replaced by the sharp gaze of a predator piercing through me.
“I’ll take you on, King of Destroyer.”
After a few seconds of facing each other, we both lightly laughed and turned away, leaving the scene.
◇
“You’re really a hopeless son. How long do you think you can keep people waiting? Suzuna-chan is over there, about to collapse from hunger.”
“Sorry…”
Because I was talking to Leon, I kept everyone waiting, and now I’m being held up by Mom’s Iron Claw.
We were moving to a large space in the venue to have lunch, but thanks to Mother, we’re standing out a lot. By tomorrow, I might be famous on the internet. The title would probably be something like ~A Boy Tortured by a Witch, Is He About to Be Crushed?!~.
Squee~
From a short distance away, a cute sound came from Hattori’s stomach.
“…I’m hungry…”
The situation has changed so much in the few minutes I was talking that it’s hard to believe. Even the masters of Before and After would be surprised.
After being released from Mother’s Iron Claw, I took one of the rice balls and brought it to Hattori-san.
“Sorry, Hattori-san! Here, eat this rice ball first!”
“…Mmm…”
I couldn’t quite make out what she was saying.
Why is her green side tail spinning?
“Sorry, I couldn’t hear you. Could you say that again?”
“Ah…”
Then, to my surprise, Hattori-san’s face turned red.
A collapsed girl and a mature-looking me standing next to her. Oh no! If this continues, I’ll be labeled a criminal!
“Ah… I want you to… feed me…”
Hattori looked up at me with pleading eyes.
Her pupils were shaking, and her face turned even redder.
Oh, what a situation…
She’s so weak she can’t even eat by herself!
“Here, Senpai! Eat quickly!”
“Huh? Oh, okay.”
I fed Hattori-san directly, taking care of her. It felt a bit wrong, but since she said so, this must be the right thing to do.
“…It’s not what I imagined…”
Hattori seemed slightly dejected.
I was about to bring more food, but Aoi stopped me with a glare.
“What are you doing, Aoi?! There’s no time to waste!”
“Onii-chan, that’s enough.”
“I-I’m fine now! See, I’m full of energy!”
Hattori hopped around.
Good… It seems that care was the right thing to do.
“By the way, did you know there’s betting starting from the semifinals?”
“Betting?”
“Yeah, as soon as the semifinal matchups are announced, betting starts online, and it’s crazy right now. Look.”
Ao showed me her smartphone.
From the other side, Hattori peeked in and immediately coughed.
“Cough, cough! Your next opponent is an Absolute One?!”
I already knew that, so I wasn’t surprised, but the betting information caught my attention.
[No one bet on Hayato Yanagi, so the betting on the outcome was canceled.]
Right below that, it had switched to a new bet on how many seconds I could last.
The most common bet was two minutes, with zero people betting on five minutes or more.
“…I thought I showed overwhelming power in the preliminaries.”
“Well, your opponent took out everyone by himself… It can’t be helped.”
Maybe I should just withdraw now…