17 5

Hweeeeaaaahhhh?!” Kimura let out a bizarre shriek, swinging upward with his mace. Had he been aiming for Yokoi’s crotch? Light on her feet, Yokoi stepped back, easily evading the mace.
“Blargh?!”
Something stabbed into Kimura’s head. A throwing knife? Haruhiro missed the exact moment it happened, but Yokoi had presumably thrown it.
“Kimura-san?!”
“M-M-M-My! My skull! Is like steel! Therefore, such a paltry attack!! Could never harm meee!”
“It’s stabbed in there pretty deep...”
“That’s peeerfectly okay! I-I-It’s stuck in place! My b-b-bones will protect me! I will be protected by my booones!”
It looked very much not okay, but if Kimura was going to insist he was fine, then so be it. It did matter, though. Despite being a wraith, Yokoi seemed bewildered. Haruhiro could understand how she felt.
Not that it was clear whether wraiths felt anything.
“This brings back memories, you know?” Blood spurted from the spot where the throwing knife was buried in Kimura’s head. “The memories are coming back, Yokoiiii! Our days of love and luuust! Oh, I can’t even speak of them without tears and blooood!”
“Ugh, I don’t even want to know...”
Haruhiro wanted to plug his ears. Actually, he wanted to shut that weirdo up. Maybe Yokoi’s wraith felt the same way? Assuming they could feel, that is. Regardless, she tossed another throwing knife at Kimura.
“Oof?!”
It wasn’t just one. They struck Kimura in the right and left breast, then the stomach. There were three.
“Sweeeet paiiiiin?!”
“Damn, that guy’s way too messed up...”
Haruhiro didn’t want to agree with Ranta, but this time he had no choice but to silently nod.
“L-Let me heal—”
Merry tried to call out to him, but Kimura wasn’t listening. He closed in and swung his mace up at Yokoi.
That’s not working, man. See? She dodged it again.
Yokoi pelted Kimura with throwing knives, as if to say “enough already.” Three more. One in the right arm, and one in each thigh.
“Owwie?!” Kimura finally went down.
“Yeah, I’ll bet that hurts!” Ranta jumped in, swinging at Yokoi. While Ranta moved a lot for every action he took, Yokoi was efficient. With a twist of the elbow or a flick of the wrist, she didn’t so much swing her longsword as smash Ranta’s katana with it. Ranta held his katana

in both hands, but Yokoi used a one-handed style. Despite that, Ranta seemed to be the one getting pushed back.
“Whoa?! What the...?!”
“Careful, Ranta!” Haruhiro called out despite himself. Yokoi’s left hand was empty. There was no telling what she might do with it.
“Shut up, Parupirorin...!” Ranta jumped to the right of Yokoi. He stopped in a crouching position. Then, a moment later, he was on her left. Had he been trying to move quickly from her right to left, cutting her down with one strike as he went? Well, Yokoi was unharmed.
“Exquisite technique, Peregrine Counter! Think you can block this too?! Oh, shit, she did!”
As Yokoi silently advanced toward Ranta, Kuzaku sprang in.
“Oorahhh!”
Yokoi neatly parried Kuzaku’s large katana with her longsword. It might be exaggerating to say it was child’s play for her, but when she booted Kuzaku in the chest and sent him reeling backward, he must have felt like the gap between their skill levels was that wide. He swung his large katana with brute force, making her back away until he could recover.
“Uh, she’s kind of amazing!”
“So stay back, you loser!” Ranta began trading blows with Yokoi again. Haruhiro wanted to join in too, but it wasn’t easy. Kimura had said this was nothing compared to how she was in life. Seriously? She had been even stronger than this?
“Ngh, guh...” Kimura was attempting to get up.
Stop it, man. You’re gonna die.
Merry rushed to his side. Setora and Yume did too.
“I can’t heal him with the knives still in!”
“You prepare the spell.” Setora yanked a throwing knife out of Kimura.
“Mew!” Yume helped, removing one knife after another.
“Urgh, urrrgh...” Kimura’s whole body was leaking blood. Merry made the sign of the hexagram in front of her forehead.
“O Light, may Lumiaris’s divine protection be upon you... Sacrament!”
“Ohhhh!” Kimura did a bridge, then leaped to his feet with his arms in the air. He was soaked with blood, but his wounds had closed up. It made him look so heroic, but wasn’t it more important to focus on the duel between Ranta and Yokoi right now? Haruhiro understood that, but for some reason, he kept looking at Kimura. Was this becoming a habit? He hated it.
“Incidentally, Ms. Merry, are you able to cast Circlet?”
“Yes... I can. Why?”
“I have a plan. You are to cooperate. Understood? You will do as I say. Do exactly as I tell you. Understood?”
Merry nodded. There was no saying no to that. All she could do was nod. It was beyond intense. The guy had clearly gone insane.
“It must be I who settles things with Yokoi!” Kimura swung his mace around as he charged toward her. “Out of my way, gentlemen!”
“Whoa, watch it!”
“Gentlemen?!”
After driving off Kuzaku and Ranta, Kimura stood in front of Yokoi.
“O Liiight! May Lumiaris’s divine protection be upon youuu!”
Before Kimura could finish his chant, Yokoi had thrown her knives. Three of them, at practically the same time. How did a wraith’s memories and thoughts work? There was no way to know, but Yokoi had it in for Kimura. The way she threw them seemed to say “stay away from me, you filthy man!” Kimura twisted his head to the side and avoided one, but took the others in his left shoulder and right thigh.
“Mmph! Circlet!” Kimura finished his spell as if to say “so what?” A shimmering ring of light appeared right where Kimura was standing.
“Ahhh!”
The throwing knives fell out of Kimura’s shoulder and thigh. His wounds healed. But Yokoi was right in front of him. Obviously, she wasn’t just going to sit there and watch. Yeah, go figure. She had no reason to. Instead she just stepped in and hit Kimura with her longsword.
“Gahhhhhh?!” Kimura cowered after the blow.
Yokoi’s longsword danced mercilessly. It was brutal. Kimura was slashed this way and that inside the circle of light. He was just barely defending his head and neck with his buckler and mace.
“Arrrrggh?!”
“Whew...” Yume’s eyes were like saucers.
“What is this?” Setora was dumbfounded.
“O Light, may Lumiaris’s divine protection be upon you... Circlet!”
Merry cast a spell. But wasn’t that the same one Kimura just cast? thought Haruhiro. He wasn’t wrong. Kimura was still in the center of the circle of light, getting slashed. Now the circle seemed to get stronger. No, it didn’t just seem to get stronger, it did. Had Kimura’s and Merry’s Circlets overlapped?
“Reeeee! I’m getting boosteeeed?!” Thanks to that, Kimura was getting healed as soon as Yokoi slashed him—or at least that’s how it looked. Was this the plan Kimura had mentioned?
Merry gripped her staff, and looked down. “I-I... I just did what he told me to...”
“Befwegofeozuhyah?! Pain, pain, pain, pain, this is paiiiin! Pain, pain, go awayyyy! It’s not going awayyyy?!”
“Uh, I think somebody’s got a fetish...” Kuzaku was alternately trying to avert his eyes, and staring with morbid curiosity.
Ranta sheathed his katana. “I’m not getting involved...”
“...?!” Yokoi experienced a moment of silent shock as she tried to draw a throwing knife with her left hand but found she was fresh out. Her response was to kick Kimura. Was she trying to drive him out of the circle of light?
“Nghhhhh...”
Kimura stood his ground. He was turtling. This was going nowhere.
Yokoi took her longsword in both hands. She swung down at Kimura. And then it happened.
“Nwa-hah!” There was a suspicious flash from Kimura’s glasses. Yokoi’s sword struck his buckler, and his mace whistled through the air. The crotch. Of course it was the crotch. The moment Kimura’s mace slammed into Yokoi’s crotch, there was a crack, and she was torn apart, returning to dirt and bones like all the rest.
“Urgh, ngh, guh...”
Kimura stood casually in the middle of the overlapping circles of light. The knives penetrating his entire body gradually turned to dirt, and the wounds healed as everyone watched.
“I feel it. Feeeel iiiit! Feel your loooove! But, no... This is the love lingering inside me...” Kimura ground his foot into the dirt. “You are not the Yokoi I loved. You are a vile being that soils that beautiful memory. Yokoi, you’re never coming back... Noooooo...”
“Now he’s wailing...” Ranta wasn’t the only one weirded out. They all were. Wait, no.
“You must’ve really loved her, huh?” Yume was tearing up a bit as she nodded to herself.
“Oh, how I loved her.” Kimura turned a face stained with blood, tears, and snot toward Yume. “She was my first, and my last. My greatest love. Yokoi forever...”
“Well...” Ranta chuckled. “If you loved her that much, I guess she was pretty fortunate, huh? Not that I’d know...”
“I was fortunate to be able to love Yokoi. And yet the past is the past.” Kimura knelt, laying his buckler and mace on the floor. Removing his glasses, he wiped his face with a handkerchief. Then, putting his glasses back on, he continued as if nothing had happened. “Now then, we have no time to dawdle. Let’s move along.”
Haruhiro had a lot he wanted to say, but he bit his tongue. He sent his comrades on ahead and was about to go himself, but Kimura didn’t move. Was he still feeling sentimental?
“Kimura-san...?”
“Mr. Haruhiro.” Kimura’s glasses flashed weakly as he beckoned Haruhiro closer.
“Hey, guys...” Ranta shifted his mask and looked at them dubiously.
What were Kimura’s still dully flashing glasses trying to convey?
Haruhiro signaled to Ranta with his eyes. Ranta got the message and returned his mask to its proper place. Turning to the also-stooped Kuzaku and booting him in the butt, the dread knight walked away.
“Don’t kick my butt...”
“Shut up!”
Haruhiro lowered his voice and asked, “So, what’s up?”
“You must excuse me for before.” Kimura lowered his head.
“No, it’s fine... You kinda surprised us there.”
“I truly am embarrassed. Even now, I still lose my composure every time I see her again. Though I understand it’s not really her, of course.”
“But that thing was identical to her, right? I can’t say I blame you.”
“We’ve lost a number of our comrades in the Graveyard, her and Shingen included.”
“Shingen-san... Was he the one with the goatee?”
“Yes. Orion has something of a connection to this place. Why do you think that is?”
“Uh, why?”
“Why, after losing so many of our number, does Orion continue trying to clear the Graveyard? Do you not find it strange?”
“Well... Sure.”
“One reason was that despite its proximity to Alterna, it was nearly untouched by other volunteer soldiers, a sort of unexplored land of adventure. If Orion could fully unravel the mysteries of the Graveyard, it would give us a legacy that would last forever. It’s the spirit of adventure.”
“Hmm. The spirit of adventure, huh? ...I think I get it.”
“Mr. Haruhiro. You are not the type to be moved by such things. I can tell. To tell you the truth, I’m the same way.”
“Huh?”
“Clearing the Graveyard is Shinohara-kun’s goal. If he is so passionate about it, then we in Orion have to do everything we can to accomplish it. There’s no other choice.”
“I get the feeling...” Haruhiro tapped his cheek, looking at Kimura with upturned eyes. Kimura’s gaze was cast down at his feet. “You weren’t that keen on the idea, Kimura-san? Just maybe?”
“No, that is not true. Not at all,” Kimura responded instantly, but his tone was not as strong as the words he’d chosen. “If not for Shinohara-kun, Orion would never have been born. Without his magnanimity, his keen observation, his decisiveness, his rare leadership, his unparalleled communication skills, and his almost terrifying ability to adapt, Orion could never have come to be. Orion is the house that Shinohara-kun built for the people he saved. For we who were cast into Grimgar, with no memories of our homeland, it was our sweeeet hoooome...!”
Was Kimura joking around? Or was he serious? It was hard to be sure.
“The thing about Shinohara-kun is, despite appearances to the contrary, he’s quite the romantic. No matter how many of our comrades fell, he never gave up on exploring the Graveyard. He may well be taking advantage of the operation to take Mount Grief to accomplish his true goal here.”
“His true goal?” Haruhiro furrowed his brow. “What goal would that be exactly?”
“Kuh-buh...” Kimura let out another one of his characteristic weird laughs, and then shook his head. What did that mean? Was he unable to say? Did he just not want to? Or did Kimura not know?
“For my part...Mr. Haruhiro, it may do no good to tell you this, but I am concerned for Shinohara-kun... As a friend, you see.”
“Uh... What has you worried about him?”
“As I’m sure you’re aware, Shinohara-kun is a very good person. I respect him. He’s the master of Orion, and a precious friend. However, there are times when he...”
Kimura’s face twisted with pain that he probably wasn’t faking. It felt like he was honestly troubled. That was the read Haruhiro got, at least.
“I hope I can be of assistance to him, but... I may not be good enough. Sometimes, even when I’m at his side, he feels so distant...”
“Kimura-san.”
Let’s try delving deeper.
Haruhiro made up his mind. Though Kimura was always next to Shinohara, it seemed possible he might still be on their side.
“You know the Forbidden Tower, right?”
“Yes,” Kimura said after a pause, adjusting the position of his glasses. His lenses didn’t flash, but his expression stiffened. He seemed guarded. “Of course. What about it?”
Is this a good idea or a bad idea? It isn’t too late to back off. But this is something Shinohara said. I’m going to check if Kimura knows. That’s all.
“Then how about the master of the Forbidden Tower?”
“Maaasteeer?” “No... Master.”
“Master...” Kimura cocked his head to the side in thought.
Was he playing stupid? Or did he really not know? Which was it? It was hard to say.
“Mr. Haruhiro.”
“Yes?”
“I hear that you woke up beneath the Forbidden Tower. With no memory outside of your own name.”
“Yeah, that’s right.”
“What if...” Suddenly Kimura brought his face close.
Whoa, that’s close.
Kimura’s nose touched Haruhiro’s.
Too close, man.
“Did you meet him, this master of the Forbidden Tower? If you did, then was he the person who stole your memories? Though, I suppose he’s not necessarily a person. Was he human? You lost your memory. Nine times out of ten, that sort of thing is the work of a relic. Could we not speculate that perhaps all of us once had our memories taken by the master of the tower, and then we were led to Alterna to become volunteer soldiers?”



7. Experience Points
Kimura most likely hadn’t known about the master of the Forbidden Tower until Haruhiro told him.
Of course, Haruhiro had never personally met the master either. It was just something Shinohara had said once. Hiyomu had a master she served, and that person, or whatever it was, had apparently stolen Haruhiro and the others’ memories. Based on Hiyomu’s actions, it was reasonable to infer that her master was in the Forbidden Tower. In other words, the master of the Forbidden Tower and Hiyomu’s master might be one and the same.
If Renji were here, Haruhiro could have gone to him to talk about it, but they were in separate groups right now. Haruhiro made the executive decision to explain this much to Kimura.
“...I see. If there is indeed some conspiracy at work, as much as it pains me to admit it, I cannot deny the possibility that Shinohara-kun is involved. To be honest, I had my doubts about the decision for Orion to join the Frontier Army. Shinohara-kun made the call without consulting anyone else... It wasn’t the first time something like that had happened, but this was bigger than any of those other times.”
According to Kimura, he wouldn’t be surprised to find out that Shinohara was in contact with Commander Jin Mogis of the Frontier Army.
When the need arose, Shinohara could shake an enemy’s hand with a smile. It wasn’t that he was everybody’s friend, it was just that he didn’t let his personal feelings get in the way of doing what he needed to. He smiled because it was generally better than scowling.
Really, how would anyone benefit by going around with a sour face? Shinohara was an incredibly pragmatic person, which, as far as Kimura was concerned, was what made him trustworthy.
“Not everyone is able to hold on to an unwavering love the way I can. The human heart is an inconstant thing. Shinohara-kun is a man who moves according to logic, and a sense of duty is part of that logic.”
Even Kimura, his close friend and confidant, didn’t just see Shinohara as a good guy. He could be a good guy when the need arose. Shinohara was the sort of man who could act as benevolently and kindly as he needed to.
“Regardless, I am concerned for Shinohara-kun. If there are things he hides even from me, then I am sure he must have a good reason. It’s possible that to deceive his enemies, he first has to trick his friends. But it’s not good that he’s made you suspicious of him, Mr. Haruhiro. I cannot simply ignore that.”
Kimura was in agreement that they needed to probe Shinohara’s true intentions. But he would always be Shinohara’s friend and comrade. If he was faced with the choice of siding with Shinohara or Haruhiro and Renji, he would no doubt choose Shinohara.
It was best not to assume Kimura was their ally. But if Shinohara was part of some conspiracy and Kimura felt he needed to be set back on the right path, he might still side with them. That meant they could work together. There was room to cooperate.
The exit was in the back of the chapel. Haruhiro pressed his hand into the depression in the door and it immediately began folding in, indicating that the synchronized unlocking had worked. The Tokkis must have made it through the kitchen and reached their door before Haruhiro and his party.
“Next up is the inner courtyard, huh?” the masked dread knight said with a snort, and Kimura’s glasses flashed.
“Yes, indeed it is.”
“All right, let’s do this thing!” Kuzaku said cheerfully.
Haruhiro paused and took a breath. “Let’s move along.”
Unlike the chapel, the corridor was unlit, though there was light coming from up ahead. In fact, they soon saw that the inner courtyard was so bright it made them question if they were not outside instead of underground. The ceiling was surprisingly high, and there was a second floor too. That second floor was U-shaped, however, and it did not cover the majority of the area.
What was up with that ceiling? It had a faint white glow. While it wasn’t as bright as a clear blue sky, it probably gave off as much light as the middle of a cloudy day.
“Oh?! Yoo-hoo! It’s Haruhiro and the gang! Here I am! I’ve arrived! And not just little old me! All the Tokkis are here! Yay!”
Maybe ten meters from where the party entered the inner courtyard, Kikkawa was waving to them with Mimori next to him. What was she trying to convey by standing there with both arms held aloft? Haruhiro wasn’t entirely sure, but she was clearly looking at him.
“I wasn’t worried, but I see you guys made it here safe!” Tokimune gave them the thumbs up. Anna-san puffed up her chest, acting even more full of herself than usual.
“It look like you worm poop manage to do good job, yeah!”
“Thanks!”
“Come on, Kuzaku! Don’t say thanks when she calls us worm poop, you turd!”
“...It pisses me off less being called worm poop by her than it does being called a turd by you, Ranta-kun. It’s not malicious when she does it.”
“And you think it is when I do?!”
“Huh? Of course it is.”
“Okay, yeah, I’m not gonna deny that.”
“Heh...” At some point Inui had walked up behind Setora again, and now had a spear pointed at his throat.
“...You’re incorrigible.” Setora seemed exasperated. How could she not be?
“If ever there comes a time when I learn my lesson...!” The eye not covered by Inui’s eyepatch opened wide. It was disturbingly bloodshot. “It will be once the seal is broken, I awaken as the demon lord, am slain, and am then reincarnated as the demon lord once more, but even still I shall not reform my ways!”
“...So you’re not gonna reform then, huh?” Yume muttered. Immediately, Kimura’s glasses flashed.
“Bo-hweh! I respect that!”
Merry and Haruhiro sighed in unison. Then, noticing they had, each looked at the other apologetically. It was nothing to feel sorry about, simply that they were both feeling embarrassed, but the moment was interrupted by a loud crash. They looked over to see Tada had slammed his prized warhammer into the floor.
“You people have rested enough. Let’s do this.”
“Tada’s right!” Tokimune smiled brightly and held up his shield, drawing his longsword with his usual flourish. Kikkawa banged on his shield with his sword. Mimorin drew her longsword with both hands.
Meanwhile, Anna-san didn’t do anything in particular, keeping her chest puffed out and her head held high like always. Behind her, giving off a malignant aura, was Inui. When had he moved from behind Setora? Inui had changed jobs from thief, to warrior, to hunter, so there was presumably more to him than just being a nutcase.
“Whew.” Kuzaku exhaled, grasping the hilt of his large katana. He adjusted his grip. “That’s it, huh? The enemy for this stage.”
That much was clear, and didn’t really require comment. They had spotted the enemy the moment they entered the area.
It had two arms, two legs, and a head sticking out from its torso. Despite the humanoid shape, it was considerably bigger than any human. It was hard to say exactly how big, crouched as it was, but it was likely more than five meters tall when standing upright. The inner courtyard had two floors. Even in its current posture, its head reached the second one.
“In Orion, we call that a golem,” Kimura said with a flash of his glasses. “They vary in size, but that’s a large golem. Think of it as a big, humanoid hunk of moving rock. Very hard. We’ve defeated them by destroying their heads.”
“The head, huh? Got it.” Kuzaku nodded. “But, uh, it’s less of a head and more of a roundish knob...”
“Mew! It just flashed!” Yume was right. There was a red light in the center of the golem’s head.
“It’s gonna move.” Ranta lowered his hips.
The golem shuddered as it rose.
“Delm, hel, en, balk, zel, arve...!” Mimorin drew elemental sigils with the tip of her longsword, casting Blast. Not just a single shot. Two in sequence. They left the golem’s head wreathed in smoke, but it kept moving. Its upper body rose and its bent knees straightened. It was almost on its feet.
“That not working, yeah?!” Anna-san shouted. The fact was that, while slightly singed, the golem’s head was not cracked, and showed no sign of shattering. The one eye-like red light hadn’t faded either. “Come to think of it, Haruhiro, we did something like this before!”
Tokimune was smiling and looked like he was having a riot. Weird. If Ranta took that attitude, it would have pissed Haruhiro off, but it didn’t with Tokimune. Was it because he was more likable?
“Well, even if we did, I don’t remember it.”
“Oh, yeah? Okay, front-liners, scatter!” Tokimune said loudly then took off running. Tada, Kikkawa, and Mimorin followed suit. She was technically a mage, but she still counted as a front-liner, huh? Inui was gone. Who knew where he’d disappeared to.
“Haruhiro?!” Ranta urged him to act, and he couldn’t help but think, Oh, shut up. I know. Were they a poor match? Or was it because of Ranta’s rotten personality? Was Ranta just completely unlikable? Maybe all of those things were true.
“We’ll follow Tokimune-san’s orders! Kuzaku, Ranta, and Yume, take the front line!” “Aw, yeah!”
“Let’s do this!”
“Hee-hee!”
“Merry, stay with Anna-san and be ready for anything! Kimura-san, you too! Setora, I’m counting on you to cover them!”
“Okay!”
“Leave it to me.”
“Understood.”
The golem was fully on its feet now, but Tokimune, Tada, Kikkawa, and Mimorin, as well as Kuzaku, Ranta, and Yume surrounded it in a flash. Anna-san, Kimura, Merry, and Setora kept their distance.
They’d be safe as long as the golem didn’t start firing projectiles.
But where had Inui gone? Did it matter? Haruhiro decided to forget him for now.
“Somersault Bomb...!” Tada launched a preemptive attack. He ran up and did a forward flip. Then he slammed the golem. His warhammer struck it in the right knee. It didn’t so much as flinch. Instead it swung its massive arms to swat Tada away.
“Focus your attacks while keeping it in check!” Tokimune sprang at the golem, smacking its left leg with his longsword and shield. The golem took a swing at him, forcing him to rapidly back away.
“Hahhhhh...!” Next was Kuzaku, making it look like he would slash the golem with his large katana, then kicking it in the shin instead. The golem tried to turn and face him.
“And mew!” Yume immediately jumped up, stabbing the golem in the butt with a big knife.
“Whew...!” Mimorin gave the golem’s thigh a taste of her twin longswords.
“Heh, heh, heh! Golem-chan! I’m over heeere!” Kikkawa was banging on his shield with his sword. What was that about?
“Hunnngh!” While Kikkawa was clowning around, Ranta raced up the golem. He reached its head in no time. “Personal skill, High-Tide Waterfall Climbing! Ga ha ha!”
What did he think he was doing?
Well, riding on its head got the golem’s attention, and it tried to catch Ranta with both hands. The golem’s movements were sluggish, though. It lacked flexibility.
“It’s futile, futile, futile!” Ranta hopped from the golem’s head to its shoulders, then to its back, avoiding its less than dexterous hands. He slipped right through them.
“Zwahhhhhh...!”
Tada moved in. You might think he was a one-trick pony, but no, clearly not. Tada took careful aim, and with an ever longer run-up than his first attack, he made an incredible leap.
“Nghhhhahhhh...!”
He did a forward flip, but not just one. It was a double flip.
“Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh...!”
If you’d asked Haruhiro to do the same, he couldn’t have. It was difficult physically and scary to boot. If Tada messed up, he’d be slamming his head or back into the golem, a massive hunk of rock. That wouldn’t just lead to serious injury, it could also mean instant death. Was Tada fearless? Could he do something like that if he wasn’t?
“Somersault Bomb!” Tada’s warhammer struck the golem’s right knee. In roughly the same spot as his first attack. Maybe it was exactly the same.
The golem lost its balance. Tada’s unbelievably brassy Somersault Bomb attack had demolished a good third of the golem’s knee.
“Yay! That’s our Tadacchi! Whee!” Kikkawa was cheering. This wasn’t a party, though.
“Good job, yeah!” Anna-san was excited too. She was breathing heavily through her nose.
“Yaaaay.” Mimorin raised both her hands. She didn’t seem to be acting that excited, but maybe she was, in her own way.
“Whuh...?!” With the golem forced to one knee, Ranta had to jump down, but that was a small matter.
“It’s pile-on time, people! Raheeeeee...!”
What kind of battle cry was “rahee”? Haruhiro had no idea. Still, while Tada and Mimorin were impressive, it really was Tokimune who made the Tokkis what they were.
He didn’t have Ranta’s speed or moves. He wasn’t especially small and wasn’t wearing light equipment. But despite that, Tokimune kicked off the ground, and boosted off the golem’s knee, bounding up and up.
The Tokimune theater was now in session.
Tokimune shield-bashed the golem on the side of its face.
His longsword twirled around, stabbing the shining red eye.
Then he used his shield to whale on its head.
His longsword twirled and sliced.
Tokimune used the golem’s body for footing and went wild.
Absolutely wild. He danced like a leopard and stung like an elephant.
He looked like he was moving at random, without thought to what he was doing, but that probably wasn’t true. Well, no, maybe he wasn’t thinking all that much, but Tokimune’s actions followed some kind of logic, ridiculous as they were. It didn’t feel like he was walking a tightrope. In fact, he didn’t seem to be in danger at all. He made it look easy.
“Tch!” Tada shouldered his warhammer. “There he goes, dancing like wild. What am I, the opening act?”
“Ha ha! Don’t sulk!” Tokimune kicked off of the golem’s head, flying high, high into the air.

Chapter end