After Isak and I went around the city to just mess around, we decided to head back to the meeting place. There, we found Hilda and Julia waiting with the others.
“Hilda, Julia, what’s up?” I called out to them.
Julia inflated her cheeks for some unknown reason, crossed her arms and huffed, “Hmpf!”
…Seriously? What did I do now…?
“Pfts… hahaha,” and Isak, who was standing beside me, laughed….
I gave him a quick strick with my elbow, but he caught my arm and linked them instead.
“Supp girls! I had a pleasant date with Aska just now. Sorry bout that!”
““.....””
Isak! Why are you aggravating them!? Also, how good aren’t your reflexes?
“What are you saying?” Julia frowned, “Let go of bro—Aska or I’ll give you a good beating or two!”
“Isak… there are more femboys in the world… so… unless you want to see bloodshed, I suggest you let go of him~,” Hilda said with a smile on her face.
HOLY CRAP! SHE’S SCARY!
Wait! Who are you calling a femboy!?
‘...You’ve picked some terrifying girls to fall for, my friend….’ Isak whispered.
‘Gulp…’
Wait a sec… how did he know I like them both!?
‘Wait! How do—’
‘Man, it’s totally obvious, though… really, your step-sis?’ he replied before I finished saying anything.
And it was then Julia and Hilda us apart.
…Help me….
— :::: —
Later that night, I went to visit brother Al, and knocking on the door, I heard him say, “Enter,” so I entered.
“Hm? Aska, did you need something?” He inquired as he put down the book he was reading.
“Ah… well, I was wondering… you’re good at water magic, so… could you teach me some of the spells?” I hesitantly asked.
Usually, in this world, if one has an affinity for certain magic, they’ll be able to use it like they’re moving a muscle, but… I feel like I’m not improving, so… here I am, asking to learn how to imitate him better.
“I see no issues with that, although… what do you want to learn?”
“...I’m not quite sure….” I replied. “But… I want to learn!”
Healing my response, brother Al seemed to consider something as he then said, “Alright… how about a mock battle tomorrow? If you can find someone to spar with, I’ll closely watch and consider what spells might be useful for your arsenal. How about it?”
!!!!!
“Thanks, brother Al!” I replied in excitement and rushed out to find a sparring partner.
Who else other than Isak?
So… I went to bang on his door.
“Ahh! Stop it! I’m trying to slee—Aska?” he asked, looking confused, “What are you doing here this late?”
“Spar with me!”
“....” Isak tilted his head, and in confusion, he asked, “What…?”
— :::: —
Creating a blade out of mana and propelling myself, using a water vapour explosion as I enhanced my strength, I launched myself at Isak for the 3rd time.
“Tch…”
“Ha! Too bad, Aska!” Isak shouted while blocking my attack with his black steeled blade.
Damn… what happened to the dude who would only make quicksand at the time?
As I thought that, Isak's left hand came straight for my stomach, however… I evaded the incoming attack after seeing his actions in slow motion with the help of [Eye of Concept].
And because of my unique skill, I had the advantage of perspective, and with no blind spot and a 3-D view, I had prepared a condensed water droplet behind me.
This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.
“...Shit…..” Isak cursed as he realised my incoming sneak attack.
However… he grinned as if he’d anticipated this moment and dashed toward me.
“Huh…!?” I exclaimed
He’d stomped the ground, making the earth uneven, as he then coated his sword with flames. But because of the uneven ground and the unpredictability of it, I had a hard time trying to evade his incoming attack.
Mind you… all of this happened almost instantly as my water droplet travelled toward him and kept accelerating.
As Isak closed in on me, my water droplet was reaching him and…
His hands were covered in some sort of heated glove made out of some earth. He grabbed my droplet, tossing it to the side.
Making me cry, “What the hell, dude!?”
“What’s wrong, Aska!!?” Isak replied with a crazy-looking grin as his sword was about to connect.
But as his sword was about to slice me, I crystalised mana in my hand. I had already prepared some water vapours as they were ready to explode.
And as his sword connected with my hand, I activated the spell, ruining his momentum, and I used that to spin myself in the opposite direction.
As Isak was losing balance and speed from the sudden deflect, and I had spun myself in the other direction, I had the perfect momentum, and with that, I crystallised mana and froze my leg, landing a perfect kick in the stomach, sending him away.
“Keeh!” Isak groaned as he perfectly landed on his feet.
Well… I expected as much….
So I had prepared some droplets in advance and sent them his way, but the bastard just cut through them like it was nothing.
Rather… he had an even more battle-crazed look on his face!
Is this bestie of mine a battle junkie!?
The ground below him had melted, and as he began to raggedly breathe, he formed some cones, and as they instantly hardened, he smashed them my way!
“Hey! Would you look at this! Being ranged is so much fun!” Isak excitedly shouts while throwing these magma cones.
“Hey, you damned battle maniac! I'll get back at you. Just wait and see!”
“Who’s a battle maniac!? You asked for it!” he retorts while… you guessed it, tossing cones at me….
Hey, these things are sharp as hell!? Wait… is it obsidian!?
“You bloody ape! I meant to spar! Not an all-out assault on each otter!”
“Yeah!? What about you!? Fish face!? Using all sorts of dirty tricks and blowing hot vapours at my face!?”
“Yeah! Screw that handsome face of yours!”
“Oooh~ pretty please, Princess!”
— :::: —
Alum was watching the spar between the two friends. The concerned Julia and Hilda walked up to him.
“Mister Alum… isn’t this enough?” Julia asked. She was very concerned about her brother and didn’t care less about the redhead.
And Hilda did a follow-up, saying, “Yes… it looks very dangerous….”
Her heart was aching, and… she didn’t want to see Aska being hurt again. However… Alum just glanced at them as he closed his book.
“They seem to have fun, though?” he said, tilting his head, “Besides, they have strong protective barriers, so… it’s highly unlikely either would suffer severely, maybe concussion at most, but it’s not like that isn’t fixable.”
Julia and Hilda blankly stared at the guy. He was a little younger than Hilda and only two years older than Julia, yet… he was so casual about these things… was his previous world really that harsh?
| | This guy definitely has some screws loose…. | | The two girls thought….
‘Boom!’
“Aska, come here!”
“Aahaha, c’mon, slowpoke, catch me if you can!”
Julia covered her face due to embarrassment. She didn’t know her beloved brother was like this! | Gosh, I want to die! | she exclaimed in her mind.
Hilda, on the other hand, seemed more concerned as she clenched her chest tightly, hoping for it to be over soon. | I-if I learn supportive magic, he won’t get hurt! | she thought, now that something sparked inside of her, she swore to improve and protect the frail-looking boy she’d fallen for!
Hilos then came out in an apron, “Brat, I brought some… what’s with these two girls?” He inquired.
“Not sure,” Alum replied, as he then asked, “Did Luna make these?”
To which Hilos shook his head, “No, she’s as terrible as you, so I made them.”
“....” Alum quietly averted his eyes. Luna came out as well, she looked messy, and there were traces of char on her apron….
Hilos handed Alum the tray, “…Here,” he said, scratching his head, | Dammit… I really am a babysitter, ain’t I? |
“...Thanks,” Alum said, as he took a bite, his eyes sparkled, and Hilos had a bad, bad, bad, VERY BAD feeling about this.
But then, a girly boy with teal-coloured hair crashed into him. Hilos coughed the boy in his arms, looking down, “Ya okay?” he asked.
The boy gave a weak thumbs up, saying, “I-I’m fine,” in a very hoarse voice before passing out.
…..
…
“...Okay, time to stop now,” Alum declared.
Everyone was looking at him. Their expression screamed, “Duh! He’s passed out!”