V1 Ch-4 part 3【Key】 - ◆Part３【The Deadliest Soldier Appears!】

Translator: AJ1703

Editor: Matsu

◆３【The Deadliest Soldier Appears!】

The next morning.

I arrived at school and put my hand into my desk to get ready for class.

I felt an unfamiliar touch.

Suspiciously, I pulled it out and found that it was a folded piece of paper, and when I opened it, there was something like this written on it.

[Dear Nagumo-kun. I have something to tell you. You can come to the family restaurant “Sombra” after school. Come alone, and consider your life forfeit when you talk to Yua-chi.]

At the end of the threatening letter was the name of the sender.

Rumi Ousaki.

…Yua’s best friend and the deadliest soldier.

She is famous for her idol-like cute and adorable looks, but her attitude towards boys, including me, is extremely harsh.

I couldn’t help but turn my gaze towards Ousaki.

Ousaki, who was happily talking with Yua on the balcony, looked at me for a moment.

[You’ve read it.]

I couldn’t help but be horrified when she gave me an ostensibly smiling, but evil-looking smile.

Perhaps it was because she was the only one in the classroom who knew that Yua and I weren’t just classmates, and she’d been giving me a hard time for a while, but I didn’t think she’d hate me enough to threaten me.

I might not be able to get home safely today.

With such pathetic determination, I decided to go to the designated place as requested.

We were classmates, after all. We see each other every day, and there’s no way I could just back out. I would definitely be sanctioned somewhere. There was no option to refuse.

★

I’ve fantasized about dropping by a diner after school with a cute girl, chatting about trivial things, having a study session, and other such adolescent high school scenes.

But I’ve never once fantasized about being confronted by a cute girl with a murderous aura.

“I’m glad you didn’t run away, Nagumo-kun.”

“…There was no way I could have run away.”

This family restaurant is located near the school, and there are a few students here and there wearing the same uniform, but none of them have the same bleak aura as us.

Ousaki opened the menu without hesitation.

“What are you going to have, Nagumo-kun?”

“I don’t want any. Water will do.”

I was dragged into this deadly space, how could I eat without a care in the world? Besides, I’m supposed to have dinner with Tsumugi when I get home.

“Fuun~. Rumi already decided, though.”

Ousaki put the menu down on the table.

“Give up on Yua-chi. That’s Rumi’s order.”

“Why is Takarai-san mentioned there?”

I asked back, but at this point my bad feeling had reached its peak.

“Can you please stop being such a jerk?”

Ousaki’s slurred voice was laced with a hint of spitefulness.

“The other Sunday, I hung out with Yua-chi.”

Ousaki suddenly leaned toward me, grabbed my head and started sniffing.

It was too sudden for me to do anything about it.

“I knew it… I can smell the same shampoo that Yua-chi smelled that day… I thought it was strange because it was different that day.”

Ousaki seemed to have a heavy love for her.

By the way, on Sunday, Yua said that she had plans to hang out with her friends after she left our house.

So it was Ousaki.

“…It’s just a coincidence. You know, there are plenty of shampoos that smell like that.”

I couldn’t admit it.

If Ousaki found out that I had spent the night with Yua, she would definitely have a huge misunderstanding.

I could feel that kind of seriousness from Ousaki.

“Rumi asked Yua-chi which shampoo she usually used, and bought the same one, and enjoyed smelling it every day, saying, ‘So this is Yua-chi’s smell.'”

This raises the suspicion of crazy psycho lesbianism.

“And if you have nothing to do with Yua-chi, why is the wallpaper on her phone the one with Nagumo-kun?”

I was more disgusted with Yua than scared.

Yua… I told her to be careful, so why does it have to be the most annoying one of all…?

“Takarai-san and I are together? Are you sure it’s just the two of us?”

No matter how scared I was, I had to ask this.

“No, there was some girl between you two. I thought she was an illegitimate child, but she looked like a middle school student.”

Thank goodness. No, the situation didn’t get any better, but I wondered what I would do if Yua had trimmed off Tsumugi. If that happened, I’d have to reconsider my relationship with Yua.

“Or rather, you two were sneaking around together during lunch break today, weren’t you? I secretly chased after Yua-chi, and when I checked on her, she was giving you a lap pillow. I was so surprised.”

It seems that I had reached the point of no return.

So, there was a noise at the door, but there was someone there. And it was Ousaki…

“…Also, Yua-chi has been talking about Nagumo-kun a lot lately, and I wish she’d stop…”

Ousaki, who up until then had been closing in on me with an overwhelming advantage, looked dejected and dead-eyed.

I should stop trying to fake it at this point. It’s pointless.

She’s not even hiding it…

Well, maybe it’s because Ousaki is her best friend so she trusted her.

“I don’t know how you managed to deceive Yua-chi, Nagumo-kun, but Rumi doesn’t approve of you, so don’t get involved with Yua-chi anymore!”

Ousaki stood up and leaned forward, propping her hands on the table.

“I feel sorry for Yua-chi that you’re going out with her and yet you act like you don’t know her when you’re in class, because that’s what Nagumo-kun’s ‘love’ is.”

It was painful to hear.

Ousaki had a good point, and I couldn’t argue with her.

It was all due to my weakness, not wanting to be slandered by anyone who knew I was in contact with Yua.

“See, you can’t say anything now, can you?”

Even in a situation of complete victory, she looked at me as if she was somewhat disappointed.

“Rumi has to be the one to support Yua-chi, because she has so many gaps.”

Ousaki’s eyes shone with a sense of mission.

I didn’t become classmates with both Yua and Ousaki until our second year, so I have no idea what kind of history they had before that. Maybe there is a stronger connection between them than I thought.

“Nagumo-kun, please don’t get along with Yua-chi anymore. If you’re with Yua-chi at recess tomorrow, I’ll secretly tell the class that you two are dating.”

“…So you want me to break up with Takarai-san?”

“I think Nagumo-kun knows best what will happen then.”

Ousaki said so. She’s right. Ousaki was forcing me to do what I had been afraid of all this time.

Ousaki is also a pretty girl, but not as pretty as Yua. She’s high up in the caste and has a lot of power, and I’m sure everyone will listen to her.

“But Rumi really doesn’t want any trouble, so if you promise that you won’t have anything to do with Yua-chi anymore, I won’t do anything.”

Ousaki pointed her phone at me as if she wanted to take a video.

“It’s not like I’m going to post it on social media. As long as I get the evidence, that’s all that matters.”

However, it was uncomfortable to have her pointing her phone at me in such a situation.

If it had been me before, I would have done as Ousaki said right away.

My first priority was Tsumugi. I would have taken Tsumugi without hesitation.

However, Yua was no longer a complete stranger. She’s an important friend to the Nagumo family, and to me.

I prepared myself to say this.

[Yua is my precious friend. She’s my friend. I can’t just cut her off. If you want to tell others, go ahead. I don’t care what Yua thinks of you as a result of you spreading the word.]

I’d much rather be slandered and defamed by my classmates than be a complete stranger to Yua.

All I needed was for Yua to be on my side in the classroom. That was enough for me.

I took a sip from my glass of water and was ready to say something.

Just as I was about to say something, I heard the sound of talking coming from the seat next to me, separated by a partition.

I knew I shouldn’t be paying attention to the chatter of the people next to me, but it still reached my ears, probably because I knew they were talking about my family.

“Did you see the fight card for the next Budokan? Nagumo shouldn’t be in the main event anymore.”

There were two customers on the other side of the divider, both much older than me, so when they said Nagumo, they weren’t talking about me.

Whenever a stranger mentions the surname “Nagumo” as if talking about an acquaintance, it’s a given. They’re talking about my father.

“Nagumo, is he really no good anymore? He’s the Rising Sun Tournament champion, so he can challenge for the world heavyweight title, right?”

The man’s companion, who seemed to be Dad’s opposer, seemed to be a neutral person and chided the other man.

“Even if he won the title, he’s already past his prime and it just hurts. It’s already over when he sealed off his ‘High Fly Press’. He should’ve been a front-row buzzkill by now, or he should’ve gone indie and played it small.”

The anti-dad guy said.

The special move that decides a match is the very symbol of who a professional wrestler is, and it is not uncommon for wrestlers to use the same move as their deciding move from their younger days until the end of their career.

This is because the accumulation of victories over opponents with the same move becomes the glorious history of the wrestler. When a legendary wrestler, who is far from his prime, performs a lariat, dragon screw, or powerbomb like a medley of hits from the past in just a few appearances in a six-man or eight-man tag team, it is enough to excite and satisfy the audience. This is because the technique has such a long history. The moment you unleash a technique, the fierce battles you’ve fought up to that point flash back to you.

Therefore, sealing such a special technique is a serious decision that could change your future career and even your fighting style.

It would have been a bad idea to argue with a stranger, but I was on my feet.

I wanted to protect my father’s honor at all costs, especially since I knew the circumstances under which he sealed that technique.

“─Nagumo was in his prime after he sealed the ‘High Fly Press!'”

Before I could even say anything else, the words I wanted to say came flying at me.

From right in front of me.

It was from Ousaki.

“Don’t you know that when you were young, Nagumo had a great sense of style, high physical ability, and could do anything, so he had a lot of flair but no unique personality, but after he sealed the High Fly Press and limited his fighting style, he was able to clarify what he wanted to do and became a top-notch professional wrestler?”

The audience, who seemed to be wrestling nerds, could only stare blankly at Ousaki’s big speech.

I must have had the same look on my face.

No way, could it be that Ousaki… is a PuJoushi? I thought it was just an urban legend. [TLN: PuJoushi is just a female pro-wrestling fan, not Fujoshi.]

“You’re afraid of losing to Nagumo in a packed Budokan, aren’t you? He’s the challenger this time, but he’ll show you the difference in his career.”

“K-Kojima wouldn’t lose! He’s the best wrestler in the world, you know!?”

“Fufu~, don’t get so upset, that’s exactly what Tranquilo is.”

Ousaki made a gesture of holding him down with both hands to stir him up.

After that, the PuOta and Ousaki seemed to be both going to watch the match at the Budokan, and they were fighting over who had the better seats, but the PuOta’s companion chided him and the fight did not intensify. [TLN: PuOta is probably a short term for “Pro-Wrestling Otaku”.]

★

I was in a strange mood.

Ousaki and I left the diner without ordering anything to avoid any trouble with the PuOta customers, and walked towards the station in silence.

Ousaki’s aggression had died down, probably because she was able to get rid of it by dealing with the PuOta customers, and I even had time to walk her to the station.

The sky was still orange, and instead of worrying about Ousaki’s safety, I had something I really wanted to say.

“Thank you, Ousaki-san.”

I had to say this, even if she was my worst enemy.

“Huh? Gross, what’s with the sudden thank you? Or rather, I failed to hear your reply, but from tomorrow onwards, stop associating with Yua-chi─”

“I’m talking about Nagumo’s knee.”

“What do you mean, your knee?”

“No, it’s about Hiroiki Nagumo.”

Ousaki seemed to have not forgotten to question me about Yua and was still aggressive, but she changed her attitude as soon as she heard Dad’s name.

“A fake gave up the name of the real one…?”

Ousaki was upset for some reason, but it seemed that the fake one was me.

I think I’ve been treated like an impostor before, but could it be that they meant that I’m a shady guy with the same “Nagumo” name, but with the same last name as a famous wrestler?

“No way…Nagumo-kun is also a Nagumo fan?”

Nagumo-Nagumo, it’s rather complicated.

It was strange that I, whom she supposedly disliked, was addressed as “kimi” while my father, who was supposed to be her favorite player, was addressed as “nakai”.

“I see… So your parents named you ‘Nagumo’ because they’re Nagumo fans.”

“If my name was ‘Nagumo Nagumo,’ I would’ve told you that you’re right.”

Unfortunately, it’s not my real name, like the official name of a gorilla.

“Did you know? Nagumo sealed the ‘High Fly Press’ for the sake of his own children.”

It was a big gamble for me to tell her about my father’s intricate story.

“Eh, what’s with that information? Rumi doesn’t know about it. No, I knew that Nagumo had a child, but…”

Ousaki took the bait.

The press technique, which involves throwing the body from the top rope towards the opponent lying in the ring, places a heavy burden on the knees of the person throwing the technique due to the landing. It may look glamorous, but excessive use of pressing techniques can seriously shorten the life of your knees.

“…He had to stop doing them because if his knees got any worse and it became too hard for him to even stand, he wouldn’t be able to wait for his turn at Disneyland.”

Dad once told me this in a funny sort of way.

I was still in the early grades of elementary school, not long after my parents’ divorce.

I think it was the first time that my father, who had always been preoccupied with getting ahead as a wrestler, put family before work. Instead of sealing off his most important special moves, he started to care about me more and took care of me to the point of being annoying.

“So, does this mean that Nagumo is putting his children before his career?”

“I guess so.”

After that, Dad would always say to me, “I threw away my special moves for you, you know? I’m the world’s best wrestler and father, and I’m the world’s best double crown champion.”. I was proud and annoyed of him at the same time. It was not just a beautiful story from my point of view.

“It’s not even on the wiki, and I’ve never read anything like it in an interview… So that’s why Nagumo-kun did so…”

The reason why I have the same surname as Hiroki Nagumo, Ousaki might find out who I am now.

I was in the mood to thank Ousaki, even if she found out.

Somewhere in the back of my mind, I always wondered if I had robbed my father of his career as a professional wrestler.

If I hadn’t been there, he might have become an even more amazing wrestler.

Even so, Ousaki told me that his prime was after he lost the high fly press.

Knowing that there were fans who saw him in that light made me feel better about my feelings toward my father.

“Well, Nagumo-kun, you’re even more of a Nagumo fan than Rumi thought!”

Ousaki didn’t seem to suspect that I was Hiroki Nagumo’s son at all.

Well, I guess she didn’t think that the son of a large father would be me, a man of average height.

“But Rumi knows a lot more about Nagumo than you do.”

Her geek/otaku pride flared, “You know that game? What about this episode?”, Ousaki started a trivia battle with me. Eventually, the topic of conversation expanded to include not only my father, but also pro wrestling in general. I’m not a pro-wrestling fan, but as a quasi-participant, I can talk about a lot of things.

We had already arrived at the station, but Ousaki didn’t show any sign of going through the ticket gates, so we ended up talking all the way to the entrance.

I noticed that Ousaki’s eyes were moist and her voice was a little shaky.

“W-What’s wrong with you?”

Was there anything that made her cry? I thought we were having a rather nice conversation…

“…Because it’s my first time.”

Ousaki said so, her face downcast.

“I’ve been able to talk about famous things like Nagumo and wrestling with my classmates without any reservation.”

“How about Takarai-san?”

“…I’ve never talked to Yua-chi about it.”

“Why not?”

“If you’re a PuOta, you know the risks of talking to someone who doesn’t care about wrestling at all.”

“…Oh, I guess so.”

“If Yua-chi says to me, ‘Pro-wrestling is a game with 8 or 100 players, right?’ or the sorts, Rumi wouldn’t be able to recover from that…”

Ousaki said with a guilty look in her eyes.

Ousaki probably doesn’t believe that her dearest friend is a person who would say something insensitive. She could say something like that without any offense. Still, there is always the possibility that something might happen, and she feels guilty that she doesn’t fully trust Yua.

I don’t think Yua would ever make such a negative comment, either.

Yua is the kind of person who respects the people and things that other people care about.

“Don’t worry, Takarai-san won’t say such frivolous things.”

“Fun~, What do you know about Yua-chi? Don’t get carried away─”

“Takarai-san doesn’t want to hang out with a popular, good-looking guy, right? She’s an oddity. There’s no way she’s going to say such a silly, ordinary thing.”

Yua Takarai is a wicked person.

She seems to have something more than “normal,” but she doesn’t have “normal.”

This is why you can’t just sweep it under the rug.

“Y-Yeah… you’re right… that might be the case.”

Ousaki was taken aback by the look on her face as if she had said that herself.

“…I still haven’t heard anything from you about breaking up with Yua-chi.”

I guess she still hadn’t forgotten.

“But you were a good guy today, so I’ll let you off the hook for a little while longer.”

It sounded like a throwaway line.

“If I bully you, Rumi will have nowhere to put her wrestling needs.”

“But I’m still here to talk wrestling with you, no matter what Ousaki-san says.”

“It’s no good trying to flatter me like that.”

Ousaki began to glance at her phone.

“If it’s today’s K-Rakuen Hall event, the live feed will start in thirty minutes.”

I said. It’s a match that my father is going to attend.

“Huh? I don’t care about the broadcast! I’m going to the venue right now!”

“I see… it might be tough to make it to the front now, but I’m sorry to interrupt.”

She seemed to be a much more devoted fan than I thought.

“You’re not interrupting anything! I don’t like Nagumo-kun, but I had a great time as a PuOta!”

Just as the announcement of the train’s arrival sounded, Ousaki hurried through the ticket gate.

When I got home and checked the live feed, I immediately found the pink-haired twin-tailed high school girl who stood out when the camera showed the audience seats.

A high school girl fully equipped with my dad’s goods, including a T-shirt, towel, and a hand-held size mascot, is certainly, well, not very common.