Ch.323October’s End, and Breaking the Seal (3)

“Okay. You’re giving me the black sword, right? Then let’s do it. Make sure you keep your promise.”

I said firmly.

“O-Of course.”

Fiora nodded.

“You’re… really going to help?”

Only then did Sayaka show a relieved expression.

“Ah. Yes. I’ve had my eye on that sword.”

I nodded as I spoke.

“Thank goodness… I had no way to help Fiora. I’m glad at least you can help.”

Sayaka seemed genuinely relieved.

“But… why are you helping Fiora, Sayaka-senpai?”

I was curious about that. Even if they’re friends, would someone go so far as to find someone to help? I don’t think I would.

“Well… because Fiora is my best friend.”

Sayaka said with a smile.

“Best friend…”

“Yes! Best friend! I just want Fiora to be happy if possible.”

Sayaka said with a smile.

“This person… is incredibly kind!!!”

She might be a bit rigid, but fundamentally, she’s a good person.

“Sigh. I’m not sure that sword is worth all this trouble… anyway, how are we supposed to ruin the wedding?”

Kana asked. Getting straight to business was very like her.

“Wait!! I’ve predicted what’s about to happen!!”

At that moment, Mika shouted.

“D-Don’t tell me you’re going to ask Shota to pretend to be her boyfriend?!! Right?!!”

Mika immediately activated her otaku intuition.

“Ah…..”

Sayaka looked flustered at those words. As expected of Mika. She was an expert when it came to otaku-like developments.

“Absolutely not!!!”

Umi immediately shouted firmly.

“That’s right!! This woman could also fall for Shota!!”

Taiga shouted.

“True… before I knew it, I had fallen for him too.”

Tina seemed to belatedly realize the seriousness of the situation.

“Aliens from some planet have developed hypnosis app technology to make women their own at will… this matches Shota’s story.”

Kirtan looked at me with suspicion, just in case.

“No!! What hypnosis app?!”

I shook my head.

“Anyway, that won’t work, Fiora-senpai. While pretending to be your boyfriend would certainly be optimal for ruining an engagement… my position isn’t great right now.”

I said.

“I recently added Aiko-san and Aki to my harem. It’s hard for me to make any claims.”

I explained.

Yes. No one had expected me to go as far as the mother-daughter combo. If I added a fake girlfriend on top of that, they would all revolt. I’d become the n-way divided groom.

“Isn’t there… another way?”

Kana asked, looking at the two of them.

“Well… the engagement ceremony is being held nearby.”

Fiora said.

I thought it would be in France, but this is unexpected.

“Her prospective groom is coming to Japan to meet Fiora, who’s studying abroad here. After that, they’ll go straight to France for the ceremony.”

Sayaka explained.

“So if we’re going to crash it, it has to be in Japan. There’s no other time. We can’t follow them to France.”

Sayaka said.

“They’re rushing the marriage quite a bit.”

The fact that they’d get married immediately upon arriving in France was horrifying. Are all powerful families like this?

“The groom’s side seems to have taken a liking to Fiora. That’s why they’re rushing.”

Sayaka explained.

“Don’t call him the groom!! I haven’t accepted him!”

Fiora immediately got angry.

She said the engagement ceremony would be held at a famous hotel on the outskirts of Emoshita. But… the name of the hotel sounded familiar.

“Ah… that’s where our platform’s writer meeting was held last time.”

Mika said. Right. We went there together and got involved in an incident. I had a fierce battle with someone called Victoryman. And there, our homeroom teacher met her destined match. It was a meaningful time in many ways.

“So it’s there…”

“There… they plan to do a day trip sightseeing around Japan with both families and then go straight to France… I really don’t want to get married.”

Fiora said, bursting into tears.

“If the fake boyfriend plan won’t work… how about a fake girlfriend plan?”

At that moment, I thought of a brilliant move.

“Shota… has your brain gone weird again?”

Eri asked.

“Don’t be prejudiced. Haven’t you heard of yuri? Yuri? Fiora-senpai, lonely in a foreign country during her study abroad… there she met a goddess who treated her kindly! That’s Sayaka-senpai!!”

I immediately crafted a scenario.

“Me? I’m a goddess?!”

Sayaka was flustered.

“Yes!! The two of you discovered a new emotion beyond friendship and opened your eyes to love! Love that transcends gender!! Let’s go with this scenario!! From now on, you two are lesbians!”

I shouted loudly. What’s wrong with that!

“Ah… certainly. A technique that delivers two shocks at once.”

Kana immediately understood.

“First, the shock that she has a lover despite having a fiancé, and second, the shock that their daughter actually likes women—a peculiar taste. It’s the perfect setup for causing a scene.”

I explained.

“Ooh… that’s not bad.”

Kana nodded.

“Wait!! I’ll be misunderstood in a strange way!”

Sayaka-senpai got angry.

“I also feel a bit…”

Fiora also expressed reluctance.

“But this will definitely blow the engagement away.”

I said.

“Forget the engagement, my life in the family would be over!! They’d just drag me to a convent!!”

Fiora shouted.

Convent… I imagined Fiora-senpai dressed as a nun. This is kind of sexy… I mean, it suits her? Anyway.

“Let’s focus on avoiding the arranged marriage first. It’s just like the way of the sword. Cut down the enemy in front of you. If you focus only on that, you can win the war.”

I said firmly.

“Right. I’m fine as long as Shota doesn’t pretend to be her boyfriend.”

Mika said.

“It’s so predictable. The fake boyfriend act leads to the girl actually falling in love. So cliché. So cliché.”

Mika waved her hand as she spoke.

Anyway, our discussion was settled.

“Hmm… so that’s your plan. They say Japanese people are full of tricks, and it seems to be true. Ho ho ho.”

Just then, an alien voice was heard.

Standing where we were, there was a short old man. He was the very image of a blue-eyed Westerner. He seemed to have been quite handsome in his youth, but perhaps due to age, he had shriveled up like a pickled plum.

Without making any presence known, he had naturally joined us with a sword at his side.

Fwaaash-!!

And without any preliminary motion, the old man swung his sword. That sword was aimed at the girlfriends who were arguing.

“Shi…!!”

My body reacted before my mind. I immediately jumped out of my seat. Kana also reacted and grabbed her sword. Perhaps due to her swordsman’s occupational habit, she always kept her sword within reach. Eri had objected to this, saying it was dangerous… but it turned out to be necessary after all.

Claaaaaang-!!

Kana and I blocked the old man’s sword strike in a cross.

“There are some useful ones among the Japanese. To think you could react. You there with the pointy hair… you have the eyes of a drunkard, but you’re observant. Ho ho ho.”

The old man laughed.

Even his “ho ho ho” laugh was so elderly!!! It was identical to the fantasy novel laughs from the old rental bookstore days. Old men always went “ho ho ho!!” and women “ohoho” as an unwritten rule! I don’t know who started it! But anyway, that’s how it was!!! Just hearing that laugh made me feel outmatched in terms of experience. I could feel my strength draining just from his laughter!!!

“Ho ho ho!!!”

I couldn’t lose in terms of experience!! I immediately laughed like an old man too.

“Clap clap clap!! Ho-clap!!”

The old man immediately countered with an even more experienced laugh. That terrible sense of humor… that was also elderly!! It was exactly the kind of comedy code that old geezers would like.

“Ho ho ho ho!!!!! Hooo!!!”

I also burst into laughter while our swords remained crossed.

“What are you competing over?!”

Kana belatedly objected.

“Grandfather…”

Fiora’s expression hardened.

“I knew you’d try something because you don’t want to get married. But to think… you’d do something like this.”

The old man said with a grin.

“Grandfather… I don’t want to get married!!”

Fiora shouted.

“I’m sorry, but… I didn’t ask for your opinion. You’ve enjoyed the rights given by the family all this time, but now you refuse the duties?”

Right after that, the old man’s expression quickly hardened.

Clang-! Shwiiing-!

At that moment, my sword cut through the air. It felt like the old man’s sword had disappeared before my eyes. No, it hadn’t disappeared. The old man had flowed out of the sword’s encirclement like water. Right after that, the old man immediately rushed toward Fiora.

“Tina!!!”

I called out to Tina, who was relatively close.

Tina immediately took a combat stance and blocked the old man.

“Hyaaaah!!”

Tina threw a straight punch without hesitation.

Whoooosh-!!

However, the old man immediately dodged the attack.

“…….?!!”

Even Tina hadn’t expected him to dodge, it seemed.

“That fighting style… a Neverdreaming fellow, eh.”

The old man smirked, then lightly tapped Tina’s solar plexus with the hilt of his sword.

It wasn’t a strong blow. However, that strike immediately subdued Tina.

Thud-!

Tina immediately retired.

“My body… can’t… move!!”

Tina seemed to be trying to get up somehow, but her body wasn’t moving as she wanted.

“Well then… I’ll take my rebellious granddaughter.”

The old man immediately approached behind Fiora like flowing water and struck her neck.

Crack-!

With that, Fiora collapsed like a princess.

“Ufufut. I’ll be going now.”

The old man immediately dragged Fiora out like a sack and left the house.

At that moment, the old man stopped at the entrance.

“Ah. I could take my granddaughter like this and force the engagement… but that wouldn’t be fun. If you want to ruin the engagement ceremony… come to where it’s being held. I’ll accept your challenge there. If you win against our people, we’ll forget about the marriage.”

The old man continued with a smile.

“Oh, and that ancient sword you’re after? I’ll give you that too. How about it? Do you have the loyalty to go that far for our granddaughter?”

The old man suddenly issued a duel challenge to us.

And then he tried to coolly exit through the front door.

Hop-! Hop-!

However, the old man was too short. He couldn’t reach the doorknob.

Being from the land of courtesy, I immediately opened the front door for him.

“Thank you, young man.”

The old man said that, then dragged Fiora out.

Anyway, we had received a duel challenge. So be it!!