CK 43

Chapter 43…

For Those Who Cannot Fight

I Want to Be Like You Two

“I can’t anymore… I can’t move…”

Yui muttered that as she collapsed right in the entrance of the dojo, not even bothering to take off her shoes.

I wanted to say, “At least try to keep up appearances,” but since her feet—with the shoes still on—were resting on the earthen part of the entryway, I decided to let it go.

Still, I had to admire her. After that battle, she managed to walk all the way back to the Hirahara Dojo. I’d like to praise her, but honestly, I was at my own limit too.

Without saying a word, I slumped against the wall and let my body sink down.

Seeing our state, Hirahara Shirō’s mother came out from the back, looking worried. She offered us something to drink, which we gratefully accepted.

Maybe because I was so tired, the water soaked through my whole body more deeply than usual.

Finally, my head started to clear.

Though not as bad as before, the fatigue from using too much magic today was intense. Truthfully, I just wanted to go home and sleep.

But there was no time to rest.

The cleanup at the battle site could be handled by the Supernatural Incident Investigation Team, but what I had to do now—this was something only I could handle.

Forcing away my exhaustion, I stood up.

Taking off my shoes, I stepped up into the dojo and called out to Hirahara Shirō, who had gone in before me.

“Hm? What is it?”
“Show me the back of your left hand.”
“Huh? Oh—what the hell is this!?”

Shirō shouted in shock as he looked at the back of his hand.

There, on his skin, was a mark that no normal human would have—a constellation crest.

And when I saw the pattern engraved there, the strange feeling I’d had during the fight finally made sense.

“This shape… so that’s what it was…” I muttered without thinking.

Then Yui came over, curious.

“What is it? What’s going on?”
“Oh! Shirō-kun’s been chosen too!”
“Wait—what? What do you mean?”

Yui struggled to explain, though “struggling” might be putting it lightly.

…Actually, isn’t she recovering a bit too quickly?
No, that’s fine—it works out.

I motioned to her, and together we showed Shirō the marks on the backs of our own left hands.

“They’re… the same?”
“Right! …So, Maa-kun, which constellation is his?”

The two tilted their heads in confusion.

…Yui, after all I’ve taught you, you should at least recognize the twelve zodiac constellations by now.

Suppressing a sigh, I answered, “That’s Leo.”

“Huh? Wasn’t Leo supposed to be Shōji-san?”
“Apparently not. Before that fallen star—Ophiuchus—disappeared, he called him ‘Little Lion.’ So it’s probably Leo Minor. That would explain the speed… and how he resisted the spell.”

The fire magic I’d used—amplified through an incantation—should’ve overwhelmed any normal target.

But the fallen star hadn’t gone down.

Even though I had narrowed my spell to a specific constellation, it still endured—that had bothered me.

Now I understood: he wasn’t Leo, but Leo Minor.

That speed—it must’ve been his innate ability.

Leo Minor isn’t one of the twelve zodiac constellations, nor one of Ptolemy’s original forty-eight, so its raw power shouldn’t be that high.

But when combined with his personal strength and karate skills, he became a formidable opponent nonetheless.

While I was piecing together this new information, Shirō mumbled, “Wait, what does all that mean?”

…Didn’t I just explain this?

“It means you’ve been chosen—same as us.”
“So that means…”
“Exactly!” Yui jumped in, grinning. “Shirō-kun, you can fight with us now! Isn’t that great?”

…Was it really “great,” though?

Well, that’s not for me to decide.

Still, I couldn’t ignore one thing: focusing magic on a single target weakens it against everything else. That’s a flaw I’ll have to fix somehow.

“So, Shirō,” came a voice—it was Taiga-san, who had apparently been waiting for our return.

Shirō faced him and spoke.

“…It was true. Big brother Shōji… was that monster.”
“I figured as much. And?”
“And… I’ve been chosen to fight, too. So I’m going to fight—just like them. I’ll stop him myself.”
“…I see.”

Taiga-san said nothing more.

Shirō turned toward us, determination burning in his eyes.

“So please—let me fight him! Please!”
“Don’t bow your head like that!”

Yui rushed over, trying to get him to raise his head, but Shirō stayed where he was, still bowing deeply toward me.

…Maybe he still felt guilty about how I’d scolded him on the rooftop before.

But honestly, I’d already decided what to say back when I heard him shout earlier.

I walked up and placed my right hand on his left shoulder.

“We don’t know when the next battle will be, so we’ll have to get you ready fast. No time to rest, Shirō.”
“Masato…! Yeah! I’m counting on you!”
“Awesome! Now Shirō-kun can fight alongside us for real!”

Finally, Shirō lifted his head and exchanged a high-five with Yui.

…Why is she this happy, though?

Then Taiga-san spoke again.

“Shirō.”
“What is it?”
“If you’re going to do this, do it properly.”
“…Yeah, I know.”
“And don’t you dare use this as an excuse to slack off on your studies.”
“Ughhhh! I know, okay!?”

At that, everyone except Shirō burst out laughing.

He probably didn’t find it funny—but even I couldn’t help but chuckle.

Yui tried to comfort him, saying, “I’m bad at studying too, but let’s do our best together, okay?”

Coming from someone giggling mid-sentence, it wasn’t exactly persuasive.

As I watched the two of them bicker, Taiga-san stepped up to me.

“Masato-kun. Please take care of my son.”
“Yes, sir. Leave him to me.”
“And remember—you’re still a student yourself. Don’t overdo it.”

I appreciated the concern but didn’t quite know how to respond.

After a moment, I managed, “…I’ll just do what I can.”

Then the energetic pair barged back into the conversation.

“What are you two talking about?”
“Wait, Maa-kun! We’ve got a big problem!”
“What now?”
“Well, you have to teach Shirō-kun all kinds of stuff, right? And we still need to learn karate, and we’ve got school—and the sports festival training starts soon! That means we’re gonna be super busy!”

For some reason, the two of them seemed panicked. Personally, I didn’t see the problem.

And so—just like that—the number of Divine Inheritors chosen by the stars had grown to three.