episode_0064

1.

A day at the academy that goes round and round in a chaotic, bewildering, and confusing way.

On the way to the cabin with Taina.

Because there are no classes in the afternoon on midterm days.

“Me, oppa.”

“Let’s talk once we get to the cabin.”

“Yes, yes.”

…

We arrived at the cabin in silence.

I had to go into the cabin and greet Taina, but first I stood tall in front of the door and opened my mouth.

“Excuse me, Tyana. The room is a little dirty, would you mind cleaning it up a bit?”

“Yes, do whatever you want.”

Came into the room.

And he held up Yuli in his right hand.

Oh, of course it’s in broom condition.

-Shoot!

I heard a sound like a balloon inflating and a small Yuli appeared next to me.

“Okay. Now call Taina,”

“Kai. I’ll just stay in broom mode.”

“…Yeah. That would be better.”

As Yuli said, this is a story about Taina’s secret, so it would be easier if Yuli wasn’t there.

My idea was to create a situation where Yuli was staying in the cabin.

It would be enough to say that I was away for a while.

“Taina? It’s okay to come in now.”

“Yes. Excuse me.”

Taina folded her hands politely and stepped carefully into the cabin.

I said hello to Taina briefly and got into the car.

The basics of hospitality is offering tea.

“Sit here.”

-Drunk.

He carefully pulled out a chair, guided us to our seats, and served tea on a tray.

And I sat down and got ready to talk.

-Just a little bit…

In the silence where the sound of pouring tea echoed, I blurted out words to break the silence.

First, a greeting.

“Did you do well on your midterm exam?”

“…No. I think I messed up.”

Taina looked at the teacup she had accepted and replied bitterly.

He continued, sniffing the rising scent of tea.

“I practiced a lot with my friends after school, and I studied nonstop during club time. If I did well, I would win, but maybe it didn’t work out because of Kariel.”

He snorts and makes a self-deprecating laugh.

I feel like the expression of emotions is more honest than when we last met.

“No matter what, I thought we’d make it to the semifinals. Oh, and it was only natural that we’d make it to the round of 16 and join the ranks of the strong.”

“You must have prepared hard.”

“But… I guess I was unlucky. I got eliminated in the round of 32. Sigh.”

“You prepared so much?”

“The friend I met in the round of 32 was too strong. I’m upset, but… luck is also a skill.”

‘Tyna’s opponent was definitely Ban.’

As the main character of Akama-Ou, it is only natural that he is strong.

He asked a question that was a bit out of the blue, but it really got to the heart of the matter.

“Do you remember what you were thinking at the end of the round of 32?”

“I don’t remember very well. It’s a bit hazy. The only thing I remember is my brother’s appearance, right?”

“I think you got into beast mode during that sparring.”

“Yes…!? Beast transformation?”

Taina tilted her head and furrowed her eyebrows in question.

It would be difficult to understand from Taina’s perspective.

Beast transformation is like berserk transformation.

So, if you push yourself to your limits to the point of becoming a state of no-mind, and eventually reach a state where you crave more fox blood, you will reach a state of increasing your strength.

Just as water that reaches 100 degrees turns into steam, it is the death of a human being and the transformation into a beast.

But to the person involved, all they feel is a boiling feeling.

Without realizing that they have progressed beyond their limits, they eventually turn into a beast.

“Huh, huh? But I’m fine right now? If I were to fall into beast mode, it wouldn’t end like this… Could it be Oppa…?”

“Uh…um…”

I just told Ban that I fell.

But I should be honest with Taina since I told her the truth about the beast transformation.

Of course, it may not be 100% true.

“Actually, when the symptoms of beast transformation appeared, I was so shocked that I thought I had to stop him. I just got my body involved.”

“It would be dangerous, but… Just a moment.”

Taina frowns and clutches her hair, seeming to wring out memories.

“Didn’t I pull out the sword at the end? Are you hurt anywhere?”

Then he raised his voice in surprise.

At the same time, he reached out his hand to touch the edge of my clothes, where the black aura had almost touched, no, in fact, where the claw had brushed against my clothes.

“No, I already got treatment.”

Although his clothes were damaged due to the blind attack he was given while rushing in, the wounds were shallow.

Thanks to Uni’s emergency treatment, it disappeared cleanly, without a scar.

“I’m sorry… You got hurt for no reason because of me…”

Taina folded her ears and expressed her apology.

‘…Should I consider this an instinct?’

And yet, his fingers were still embedded in my heart.

He lightly grabbed Taina’s wrist and pulled it away from his chest.

I really don’t know why he’s so interested in my chest in the first place.

-chin.

“Don’t say sorry, say thank you.”

Because it’s nicer to hear ‘thank you’ than ‘sorry’.

Besides, I personally don’t have good memories of saying sorry.

“It wasn’t a random accident, I saved you from the wild beast.”

Taina kept nodding and saying thank you.

When you are receiving thanks and nodding with pride.

“…But by the way. How did you bring me back from the beast transformation? It’s not like it’s a disease that can be cured so easily…”

It’s a question that hits the nail on the head, as expected from Taina.

Hmm…

I have nothing to say about this part because I didn’t think about it in advance.

‘[Shielding] I used the Holy Spirit to block the emission of the Black Energy.’

It’s similar to putting a lid on boiling water, as in the analogy described previously.

It feels like the water vapor blocked by the lid is condensing again and the temperature is temporarily lowered.

It was more of a coincidence than an intention, but the performance was solid.

While I was struggling to come up with something to say, Taina’s eyes lit up and she came up with a plausible reasoning.

“That, that… Isn’t it because you hugged me?”

Very noisy.

Then I continued to provide evidence to support my argument.

“When I was in a beast state, or rather, a semi-beast state, you combed me and hugged me, right? Every time you did that, I seemed to stabilize… So I guess this beast state got better thanks to that, right? Right?”

“Hmm.”

Did something happen?

Actually, it doesn’t matter as long as Taina is convinced.

“That’s right. That’s not wrong.”

I guess it won’t be a problem.

If everyone is happy, it’s okay.

In fact, the nature of semi-beastification and beastification are completely opposite, so the interpretation is a little different, but there is no need to point it out.

“You really helped me solve the beast problem… Thank you again.”

“I guess that’s how it turned out.”

After that, we had some tea and chatted briefly.

…

“That’s strange. I heard that if you fall into beast mode, you can’t use sword skills. Because all human reasoning is gone… How did I use sword skills?”

But there were some topics of conversation that weren’t simple at all.

It seemed like a mystery, but I knew the answer, so I had to pretend to come up with a concise deduction.

“You said you usually imitated Altina, right? The way you trained and the way you acted.”

“Yes, I told you before.”

“Isn’t that why? Even as he becomes a beast and loses his sanity, he still has the strength to maintain his sanity better than others. Altina was like that too.”

“Altina, you’re not my brother’s friend, so why are you speaking informally to me?”

“Oops.”

‘We are friends, after all.’

Anyway, I realized I had misspoke and covered my mouth.

Taina looked at me coldly, as if she was looking at a heretic who had blasphemed the divine.

It seems that Altina has a stronger influence on Taina than expected.

No matter how I look at it, it seems close to being fanaticism.

I ignored the slightly chilly feeling and tried to continue the conversation.

…

After somehow finishing a simple tea time, I decided to send Taina off.

The conversation was simpler and more comfortable than I thought, but what happened during the midterm exam was never easy to get over.

Because beastification is a disease.

“Thank you for helping me today. I feel like I owe you my life. I will repay this favor somedayㅡ”

“Can’t you pay it back now instead of later?”

“Huh?”

Taina perked up her ears, startled by the sudden words.

I smiled with satisfaction at Taina’s willingness to listen and placed my hand on her head.

I had the simple thought that it wouldn’t matter since I was an adult leaving words of wisdom for the child.

“…!!!”

“Take care of yourself. Don’t overdo it. You don’t have to work so hard that you get sick.”

-Tsdam

He patted Taina’s head with some words of encouragement.

I hope my words sink into this round head.

“Yes, yes… I’ll take care of my own body… I won’t make you worry.”

Taina said, touching her head where my hand had been removed.

I guess that means you understand to some extent.

I smiled brightly at that sight of Tina.

It was a comfortable smile that brought relief at receiving a definitive answer.

Rather than Taina becoming stronger, it would be better for the future development if she uses her head like Altina to help.

There is no need to take the high risk of becoming a beast and aim for the low return of increasing power.

Of course, in the original, Taina would have had to become stronger just before she was transformed into a beast.

Because confronting the Demon King would be the end of the story and the goal.

But things have changed a little since I got involved in this story.

In the game where he searches for the Demon King and decides the outcome with his full power, he disappears after deciding the outcome with his full power.

Because if you just find the Demon King, there is an adult who will decide the outcome with all his might.

It’s also a good thing that the adult is a warrior who has defeated the Demon King.

“I have to work hard.”

He clenched his fist as he watched Taina walk away.

And when I looked at Taina again, Altina’s appearance overlapped.

‘Altina. What’s that technique? A secret technique that induces beast transformation and uses strong and sword energy… you say? It’s cool. It’s like an awakening technique.’

‘What, what! Altina…? Why are you looking like a fox…’

‘Promise me first? If Altina acts like a fox, Caesar will do this. First, capture her. Second, comb her hair. Third, hug her. Fourth, stroke her… What is this?’

A tangled web of memories, with another memory filling in between the blurred memories.

Kai finished his brief reminiscence, as if unraveling the thread.