SWNOVELXO Chapter 16 - Why are you with a beautiful girl?
In the wrestling ring, as I faced off against Aoshima, he grinned with a wicked expression.
“That pretty girl was worried about you, huh? Too bad, I’ll make you faint in disgrace, and that girl will be mine, right?”
“Quit it, unless you want your rear end exposed?!”
Ding!
“Exhales sharply!”
With the sound of the bell, Aoshima immediately threw a jab.
Anticipating this at the opening, I guarded with both hands and dodged it with a backward step.
“Exhales sharply!”
Aoshima followed up with a series of jabs.
(It’s easy to avoid when you know only punches are coming and there are no bullets flying around you like in my previous line of work.)
I twisted my body just before Aoshima threw the punch to dodge it.
Aoshima was shirtless, so the muscle movement before he punched made the timing of his punches very predictable.
At this level, even if my movements were slower than before, it was more than enough to keep up.
And above all else…
(Fushimi Jinta. This guy really has a better eye for following movements than I did as a mercenary.)
His ability to track the opponent’s movements, dynamic visual acuity.
And the ability to accurately recognize the distance for punches to land, deep vision.
This is difficult to train; it can only be described as Fushimi Jinta’s talent.
Or perhaps, it could be the result of getting punched too many times.
And stamina.
Of course, it was lower compared to when I was a mercenary, but it wasn’t non-existent.
I followed Fushimi’s memories and found out that this guy was not only doing errands but also working part-time and getting beat up by Dohjima’s group for no apparent reason.
He had the stamina of a club member in an indoor sports club.
“Huff! Huff! Damn, you’re quick on your feet!”
I continued to dodge his punches, dodging with the smallest of movements. However, as I avoided Aoshima’s punches, I felt my stamina draining.
Of course, Aoshima was feeling the same way.
Throwing punches was an anaerobic exercise, so it drained energy, but Aoshima, who trained regularly, probably had more stamina left.
(Well, I’m getting a bit out of breath too. Should I finish this?)
However, there was a significant difference between Aoshima and me.
The battlefield where life and death were always close, where everything could end in a moment’s lapse of attention.
The tension, willpower, and observational skills that came with my experience as a mercenary overwhelmed Aoshima.
I continued to evade without throwing a single punch.
My breathing followed a pattern of two inhales and two exhales.
I had been using the same aerobic exercise breathing technique as long-distance running from the start.
Aoshima, visibly frustrated that his punches weren’t landing on me, once again lowered his right guard.
This was the fifth time he had done that.
“Whoosh!”
–Pow!
My left hook connected with Aoshima’s chin as he threw a straight punch.
His brain rattled, and his eyes lost focus.
He probably had no idea what was happening right now.
I continued to calmly jab his face—no, more precisely, his eyes, several times.
The punches lacked power, but that didn’t matter.
Aoshima lost his field of vision, and the continuous jabs kept shaking his brain.
There’s nothing easier to handle than a panicked person.
“Exhales sharply!”
While exhaling gently, I kept jabbing Aoshima’s eyes.
Aoshima swung wildly with big punches, but there was no way they would land.
This applied not only to boxing but to any sport.
Losing your cool meant losing.
Aoshima’s brain had been rattled too much; he had completely lost his sense of balance and didn’t even know which way he was facing. I finished him off with a right straight to his chin.
Aoshima’s eyeballs rotated upwards, and he fell forward.
It would be a while before he woke up.
I removed my gloves without waiting for the count.
“I’m borrowing the shower.”
“…Huh?”
Walking nonchalantly past the bewildered students in the boxing gym, I washed away my sweat.
“Well, they were nice enough to give me a change of shirt.
“Of course they were paying us to keep quiet. You fought against a civilian without permission, and it ended up being such a disgrace.”
As we exited the boxing gym, Charlotte and I continued our conversation.
“Why didn’t you take him down right away? I was on edge, you know.”
Charlotte said, glaring at me.
She was worried, despite what she said earlier.
“I told you, it was just a test run. There’s no point in taking him down right away. Thanks to that, I learned a lot.”
As we had this conversation, Charlotte and I headed towards my house.
On the way, Charlotte suddenly clapped her hands.
“Oh no, I forgot! We’re going to meet Ryuji’s family. We should bring them a gift!”
“Can I even call them my family?… I mean, is it really necessary?”
“No, it’s essential! It’s our first introduction!”
Was she always this polite?
With that in mind, Charlotte pulled me along to a department store.
“Look! How about this one? Oh, this one’s nice too!”
Charlotte said, picking up several elegant clothes.
“Hey, are you checking the price tags? These are in Won, not Yen!”
“Wouldn’t it be better to give something more expensive if you’re going to give it?”
“Even if it’s too expensive, the recipient might be troubled… You try on the clothes. I’ll choose the gift.”
And so, I was dragged into Charlotte’s shopping spree…
By late afternoon, I finally returned home.
“I’m back~”
For now, I asked Charlotte to wait right outside the house.
As soon as I opened the door, someone came running towards me.
It was Ami Fushimi, my little sister, with short hair that suited her.
We were meeting for the first time, but due to Fushimi’s memories, I had the illusion that I really had a sister like her.
Ami looked at me and chuckled.
“What’s up with you? Did you cut your hair? It’s a bit more bearable to look at now. Has your ‘introverted aura’ lessened a bit?”
However, she soon grabbed my collar and glared at me.
“More importantly, what’s with that message? You didn’t bring some weirdo, did you!?”
“…So it’s a no?”
“Of course! Anyone you bring home can’t be a decent person! I absolutely won’t let them in!”
Hearing her shouting, Sakura Fushimi, Fushimi’s mother, came from the kitchen.
According to Fushimi’s memories, she was a young, long-haired, carefree woman, but today she was wearing an apron and had an unusually stern expression.
“Hey! Ami-chan, that’s not nice! Jin-ta-kun brought a friend over!”
“That’s why I said no! Mom, please kick out this friend of his!”
I sighed as I watched Ami’s reaction.
Then, I spoke loudly enough for Charlotte, who was waiting outside the door, to hear.
“But, you see, Charlotte. Sorry, but our place is a no-go. I’ll give you a cardboard box, so you can sleep in the park tonight.”
“…Charlotte ?”
When I opened the door, a beautiful French girl appeared with tears in her eyes.
“That’s right… I suppose it’s not suitable for me to stay at your home. I understand. If I could have some newspaper as well, it would be helpful.”
My sister and mother were left speechless with their mouths hanging open.
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