Volume 4 Chapter 1 - To the End of the Peaceful Day Part 3
―However Kazuki immediately woke up. When he woke up, Kazuki was lying down on the road with his head sleeping on Mio’s lap. The assassin was not there anymore.
The moon in the sky hadn’t changed for even a little, the time hadn’t progressed much.
“Kazuki!? You awake!?”
“…You used Life Circulation FireAnti-Aging didn't you, thank you.”
Kazuki released a breath in relief towards Mio’s actions that were according to his expectations.
Mio, who was contracted with Phoenix, was a user of <Healing Magic> that was rare even among Summoning Magic.
The human race at this time, as long as they didn’t use up their magic power, the case where they bore a wound in their flesh was mostly none. Because of that, the chances where healing magic could serve its purpose rarely appeared, it became an unusual rare magic to that extent.
From how the assassin came challenging him in close-quarters combat with only the minimum magic power, Kazuki had seen through that the assassin owned some sort of method to pierce through defensive magic and destroy the body.
Because there was the same kind of technique in the Hayashizaki-style, that was not something to be surprised about.
Even if by some chance he had to bear direct damage to the flesh, he thought he would be healed anyway if there was Mio, so Kazuki purposely got hit by the enemy’s technique to obtain information about the enemy.
Though he had never even begun to imagine that he would be forced into [cardiac arrest].
…Kazuki was shivering in his back because of his own dangerous decision at this late hour.
Nevertheless since the opponent was bare-handed, the possibility that he would be wounded to the degree that it couldn’t be treated by [Anti-aging] was zero. Although he fell into cardiac arrest, it was just his heart that stopped functioning temporarily because of a strong impact. The degree of his injury could be said to be light.
Of course if his heart was halted for a while and the treatment was late, then the blood wouldn’t circulate to the brain and the brain cells would suffer necrosis, even with healing magic, if treatment became late then…
Although there was the possibility of side effects remaining because of brain damage…
As if to clear away his dread, Kazuki asked “What happened to that person?”
“[There is no worth in killing you] she escaped after leaving those words to me. That person appeared to be confident that Kazuki couldn’t be saved anymore, so after waiting until that person left I used [Anti-aging].”
Mio talked with a low tone of voice. That voice was as if she was concealing her own emotions.
…As I thought, the enemy seems to not expect that Mio was able to use healing magic.
The medical treatment for cardiac arrest was a fight against time, but with the benefit of defensive magic power, Japan’s emergency medical assistance system was conversely regressing. Even if they called an ambulance in this time of holiday, they wouldn’t make it in time.
Therefore the assassin judged that Kazuki was beyond saving and took flight to avoid a needless fight. Mio who waited for a moment before healing made the best decision. With that the enemy [wouldn’t know about Kazuki’s survival]. Kazuki recovered feeling in his body and stood up.
“Don’t tell me it’s just like what Beatrix said, an assassin really came here… That assassin’s technique was Chinese kenpo. So that means, this attack was instigated by China?”
“Kazuki? Don’t tell me…you got hit by that on purpose? Even though it’s Kazuki you should've been able to dodge it, I was wondering how that could happen instead.”
“But that’s because I thought that Mio would save me.”
What happened just now was horrifying but, the gain was considerable because they could find out the enemy’s technique and origin.
“IDIOT!”
Mio slapped Kazuki’s cheek weakly with a snap. Kazuki was staring in puzzlement.
“Why did you do something so dangerous? That was your heart that got stopped, what if something happens!”
“No, I never even thought that my heart would get stopped but…to be able to know the enemy’s technique with just that is good, isn’t it? If I get hit by that technique when Mio isn't there, it'd be more serious compared to now.”
“That's no good! I was worried! I was really, really worried!”
Mio’s eyes were wet with tears.
“…Are you maybe thinking, that just like in the past, [It’s fine whatever happens to someone like me]? Just like when our friends at the orphanage were made fun of, you just challenged the opponent even though they were an older delinquent…”
“Certainly, that kind of thing had happened before but. …That was a story of a long time ago right?”
“No, even now I still remembered. If the kindness of Kazuki who gave maximum priority to other people was probably rooted from your own uncaring of what would happen to you, I have that kind of feeling…”
That might be so. Even though he always repeated to Koyuki not to disparage herself, but a similar emotion might be ingrained deeply inside him as well.
“But I’m an orphan after all…, no one needs me anyhow…stop that kind of thinking already! Because I like Kazu-nii very much! Because it made me sad if you are just ignoring my feelings like that! Because it’s not just me, surely everyone else also thinks so too!”
Mio’s words pierced through Kazuki’s chest, as if his own heart was gouged out.
…The feeling was not only a one-way street, so not only the life of his important person but he also had to treasure his own life.
“It was my bad. That was too rash of me. …Thank you, Mio.”
Kazuki hugged Mio who was crying her heart out tightly. He felt that irreplaceable warmth from her.
{It was just like what Amasaki Mio said. You are the King, so Leme’ll be troubled if you treat your own life so lightly.}
Leme too conveyed her scolding through the Astrum into Kazuki’s mind.
“Gusu-. Kazu-nii, kiss me to remove this bad taste.”
“What are you saying, removing a bad taste?”
—————
At around that same time, an emergency staff meeting was conducted at the conference room of the Knight Academy.
The main objective of this meeting was to decide the various regulations of the [Chief Student Council President Election], but during this weekend there had been three incidents already where students were attacked by a suspicious person inside the school grounds. The talk about how to deal with these incidents took almost all of meeting's time.
The assaulted students were safe, but the suspicious person wore a veil and his figure was not caught by the security cameras. The penetration route also couldn’t be deduced. All of it happened in the blind spot of the security cameras.
For the time being they considered to add more security cameras, called for caution toward the students, and then a human support in outline―that means increasing the patrolling, nothing else could be done other than drawing such simple measures.
From thereon they finally began the centerpiece topic of discussion.
“I think an election decided by all the students of the Magic Division and the Sword Division is fine.”
The new Headmaster Amasaki proclaimed with a strong tone that didn’t allow any objection.
Headmaster Amasaki was thinking that the man his step-daughter fell in love with at first sight was suitable as the Chief Student Council President. For that, he was scheming to decide election rules that were advantageous for him.
Now that former headmaster Otonashi had lost his standing, there was no one left that would go against him. That was supposed to be the case at least.
However “I have an objection”, that man raised an objection.
―There was a [new Board Chairman] that was dispatched by the government.
His name was Takasugi Takayoshi, a thin man wearing glasses that seemed to be high strung.
“Until now there was no common ground between the Magic Division and the Sword Division, don’t you agree? The Magic Division doesn’t know about the Sword Division’s students. The Sword Division doesn’t know about the Magic Division’s students. Even if an election is to be held with that situation, I wonder if it wouldn’t be unproductive.”
He was an extremely common middle-aged man when seen at a glance, but a strong core could be felt from his tone.
“I don’t think it can be said as unproductive. For example, there is the student called Hayashizaki Kazuki that has popularity in both the Magic Division and the Sword Division. That kind of student also exists. If a student like him is chosen to be the Chief Student Council President, I think it would be suitable for the new Knight Academy.”
Liz Liza Westwood-sensei, who couldn’t be seen as anything but a child at first glance objected without a moment’s delay.
For the sake of appointing Hayashizaki Kazuki as the Chief Student Council President, Liz Liza was colluding with Headmaster Amasaki.
“He has popularity in both the Magic Division and the Sword Division due to his special background of enrolling at the Magic Division despite being a swordsman, right? I wonder if the rule is not too blatantly advantageous for a student like him. As a matter of fact, it’s something like the teachers are appointing the student council one sidedly.”
That was a really surprising sound argument that even made Liz Liza silent.
In the first place, the board chairman was a position for the sake of monitoring the headmaster. But Headmaster Amasaki was thinking something like, ‘there is no way that they would appoint someone that would go against the current me right from the front, that was not supposed to happen’, and the like and made light of his opposition.
A guy like this that ignored the faction with strong connections and cast a sound argument was beyond his expectation…
Who is this guy? What kind of backing does he have that he could be appointed to come into this academy…
In the previous discussion about the serial assaults, he didn’t make any proposals at all…
Board Chairman Takasugi made an intellectual gesture by pushing up the silver frame of his glasses.
“Certainly, Hayashizaki Kazuki might be a suitable person as the Chief Student Council President. From the story I had heard, he is one of the most prominent candidates. However there might be other students that are more qualified. I think a method like a unification election wouldn’t be able to find that undiscovered possibility.”
“Then what should we do? Say it clearly, clearly.”
Toward the skinny man who made the sound argument, Headmaster Amasaki grilled him with a question that revealed his irritation.
“The abilities that are demanded from someone who will stand on top of the knights, it goes without saying that the first is fighting strength, and next is his ability as the one to command his comrades depending on the battle's progression. For the sake of testing those abilities…how about performing a tournament battle with teams formed from a mix of the Sword Division and the Magic Division…by means of [Team Election], the students will decide the Chief Student Council President, is this idea fine?”
Board Chairman Takasugi stood up and wrote out <Battle Election> in large words at the whiteboard.
All the teachers made a commotion.
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