Translator: imperfectluck Editor: Kurisu
The entire equipment set was black and silver. It seemed rather subtly mystical, seeming like something out of The Matrix.
There were faint white runes inlaid on the jacket that seemed chaotic yet were somehow orderly. The long sleeves felt rather sturdy and had silver runes with scaly shapes. Taking a closer look revealed that each "scale" was actually a miniature spell formation! The pants also had silver runes in the same style.
Apart from the clothes, there was also a pair of shoes and a pair of gloves. They all seemed quite high level.
Seiji tried putting on all the equipment. Apart from the jacket being slightly too small and the shoes being a mismatch by one shoe size, everything else was fine.
Someone knocked on his door.
Seiji opened the door to see that it was Natsuya.
"How is it?"
"It mostly fits…" He explained what it felt like to wear this equipment set.
"Let's try testing it out in the practice field," Natsuya told him.
Seiji was truly able to feel how high quality the equipment set truly was after testing out its strength. It was far better than the combat equipment he had during his previous duel!
In comparison, this equipment set had much better defensive capabilities, mainly because of that jacket.
"This jacket is called the 'Scale Rune Armor Jacket'. It's the work of the Haruta Family's secret spiritual artifact crafting techniques, and is considered first-rate. This is the highest defense armor jacket available for its price range," Natsuya explained.
The equipment set also came with two spiritual weapons: a longsword and a handgun, as well as a shield. All of these were top-notch spiritual artifacts.
Natsuya recorded all the data from the tests they did in the practice field as well as what Seiji thought of the equipment.
Seiji then removed his equipment and gave it over to Natsuya so that she could make appropriate modifications. After that, he went back to his room to take a rest.
Seiji took out his black cell phone filled with the Haruta Family's secret technique manuals, found the information regarding Mana usage, and began reading.
He read, learned, practiced, and understood…
It was already midnight by the time that Seiji finished practicing and regained his senses.
He wanted to work his hardest and learn [Dragon Counterattack] by the end of today! So, he called Shika and told her that he wouldn't be returning home tonight. Instead, he would practice cultivation here at the student council president's residence.
After eating dinner and resting for a while, Seiji was about to continue practicing when his cell phone rang.
The call was from Mika.
"Seiji… are you busy right now?"
"I'm currently cultivating my spiritual abilities. What's the matter?"
Mika fell silent for a moment.
"It's nothing. I just wanted to see you… since you're busy, just forget it," Mika whispered in a soft voice.
Three conversation options in front of Seiji:
A: [I'm not that busy. It's alright to meet up.]
B: [Have a good night, then.]
C: [I'm really busy. Don't call me unless it's important.]
Conversation options appearing meant that this was quite an important decision.
Seiji could guess at what Mika probably wanted him to say to her. He considered for only one second before choosing option A.
"I'm not that busy. It's alright to meet up."
"…Really?"
"Of course. Wait for me at your place. I'll come over right away."
"No, I'll go over to find you instead," Mika hurriedly offered. "I'll wait for you near the president's residence…"
"No need, I'll return instead. All you have to do is wait for me at home," Seiji told her. He then hung up on her before giving her a chance to respond.
He then put on his jacket and walked back to the Uehara apartments from the president's residence.
Meanwhile, Mika stared at her cell phone, feeling guilty.
"Honestly, even though I know that his time is precious right now…" The double pigtailed girl lay on her bed and muttered to herself, feeling guilty.
Although she felt guilty, she also felt happy as well, since he obviously valued her so much.
Mika hugged her pillow, imagining his gentle and handsome face, which gave her a warm feeling inside.
She had something important to discuss with him, but it didn't seem that important anymore—as long as she got to see him…
Mika thought that to herself, causing her face to flush red. She then buried her face in her pillow.
Some minutes later, Seiji arrived in front of the Uehara apartments, so he dialed Mika's number.
Mika soon came out to greet him.
Seiji smiled in greeting and went for a walk together with her.
They walked side by side, with neither saying anything for a while.
It was nice to walk like this in silence as well. However, now wasn't the time to be relaxing.
"What is it that you'd like to talk to me about?" Seiji spoke up first.
"Mmm…" Mika felt that it didn't matter as much anymore. Still, she figured she should say what she wanted to say.
"After the last time we spoke, I thought about things by myself. I also spoke to Kinssensei about things," Mika spoke up. "Sensei told me many things: about what Spiritual Ability users believe in, about the laws of Spiritual Ability users' society, about the truth of mystical incidents in the world… and so on. After that, I thought about things for a long time by myself, and felt that I didn't understand things completely. Yet, there was one part where I was quite clear on…"
Something flashed in Mika's eyes as she looked at the boy beside her.
"What part is that?" Seiji looked directly at her.
Mika stopped walking.
At this moment, a car passed by. Its headlights clearly illuminated the heavy expression on her face.
"Seiji… you're willing to kill for my sake, is that correct?" Mika asked in an abnormally calm manner.
Seiji widened his eyes slightly upon hearing this question.
"Yes… I will if it's necessary," Seiji answered calmly as well after a moment of surprise.
"Will you do so even if I don't wish it?" Mika asked another question.
Seiji fell silent.
Mika smiled after observing him for a while.
"It seems that I'm correct."
Her smile seemed quite pure yet simultaneously complex. This appeared to enhance the deep meaning of her words.
Seiji had never seen Mika with such an expression before. He could only focus his gaze on her.
Mika stepped closer to him and reached out to hug him. She placed her face against his sturdy chest.
"I like you, Seiji. Even though I'm slightly stupid and can't understand things very quickly, I understand that I have feelings for you. Killing people isn't a good thing. But, you accept having to kill people, and you're willing to kill people for my sake. In that case, I can accept it as well, and do the same for you.
"I'm not such a kind girl. I'm simply a girl who likes you… that's the conclusion I came to."
Seiji could feel Mika's deep feelings and was rather moved.
"Mika, you don't actually have to…"
"I know, but this is just how I am."
The double pigtailed girl hugged him tightly as if she was trying to feel his very essence.
Seiji fell silent for a moment before he reached out to hug her as well.
The two of them hugged each other in silence on the dark night street.
Seiji returned to the president's residence and continued to cultivate.
However, he couldn't take his mind off of Mika's smile and her love confession towards him filled with her sincere feelings.
Seiji was unable to concentrate due to the indescribable feelings within him.
So, he decided to stop cultivating and began working on writing the dating sim's storyline instead.
The fourth female lead would be a seemingly ordinary girl who didn't have any special relationship to the male lead. They would get acquainted with each other due to sitting next to each other in class. She didn't have any particular traits about her personality or any specialties.
The male lead coincidentally helped her out when she was in a pinch, causing her to become enamored with the male lead. She slowly approached him…
After writing about this for a while, Seiji started getting the feeling of 'Just what am I writing?' He stopped writing and went over what he just wrote.
'Such a story… seems like it'll be no good.'
Seiji came to this conclusion as he moved this computer document to the recycle bin.
'I'll discuss things properly with Mika after the duel against Akatsuki. Then, I'll work on this fourth female lead again.'
Seiji leaned back against his chair and looked at the ceiling.