4-42: Blue and Red’s Declaration of War I (1/6)

4-42: Blue and Red’s Declaration of War I (1/6)

What is this?

Not one person who saw that did not think that.

After all, even she made that remark despite her unique position and despite being one of the most talented people out there.

But it didnt take long before she realized how pathetic it was to think so.

Because the existence before her was on a completely different level.

Not only did he easily fight an exoskeleton unarmored, the person inside was none other than the sword saint, a power that could be counted within the top 10 of all of Garesto.

And yet, he defeated her unarmored so easily, and the only price paid he was a little exhaustion.

Indeed, just what was this?

And yet despite her shock, somewhere deep inside, she felt like this only made sense.

As for why, she herself didnt actually understand.

What was more curious was the fact that the boy knew that she was here yet still continued to show off his power.

And then, while they were taking a break, the conversation suddenly took an outrageous turn, she understood everything through their lips, and for a moment, her thoughts stopped



In a place sparse of people was a door that opened gently from inside.

It was not the sort that would slide on its own, but the sort that had to be manually opened, so the girl had to turn the knob gently.

She hid her skyblue hair under her beret and wore a pair of glasses to cover her face.

Taking care not to make any sound, she quietly stepped out, and then just as quietly, closed the door.

When the door successfully closed without making a sound, the girl made a small guts pose to herself.

Mission complete, the expression on her seemed to say.

Which is why the boy couldnt help himself, and

Going out somewhere, young lady?

Hiyauuu!?

When a voice suddenly called out to her from an unexpected direction, the girl jumped in surprise.

Not only was her reaction exactly as the boy had expected, she even cried out in an adorable manner.

When the boy stepped out of the shade of the tree to reveal himself, he was barely able to keep himself from laughing.

Ah, my bad, my bad, I didnt think you would come out from there.

Despite saying that, his face was clearly laughing, making it difficult for anyone to take his words sincerely.

Yet the girl was more concerned about him being there than anything else.

Shin Ah, I mean, Nakamura-san, why are you here!?

That should be my question to you.

This was the back of the general hospital in the school district.

Unlike the front door that faced the main street, the back door was rarely frequented by anyone.

To make the girl even more suspicious, the door the girl had used was meant for employees, moreover, she herself was in civilian clothes.

But of course, if her being here was a topic to be questioned, then him being here was just as questionable, but Shinichi intentionally forgot about that.

Regardless, the girl herself hadnt actually registered his mumblings.

C-Could it be youre here to visit me

Some people were hospitalized because of the recent incident, so I was thinking of checking up on them. Of course, Im not exactly in a position to visit them openly.

The girl was half-hopeful and half-speculating when she spoke, but the boy mischievously interjected before she could finish.

He may have been emotionally unstable at the time, but the achievement of fooling him even once wasnt something to be taken lightly.

Looks-wise, the only thing she shared with her undisguised self was the color of her hair, but the beret she wore hid that, and unless one looked at her from an odd perspective, it wasnt something that could be picked up on easily.

The glasses she wore also seemed to have some kind of trick to it, as they completely hid the golden color of her eyes.

On top of that, the aura that enveloped her when undisguised was also much thinner.

The atmosphere about her was so different it actually troubled him, a person who tended to differentiate people by the aura of their souls.

Which was real, which was false? But then again, perhaps both were real?

It doesnt really matter, but you do realize that doesnt answer my question at all, right?

I-Im so sorry! Actually, I!

I told you, keep it down. Ah, it cant be helped, lets go somewhere else, I can more or less guess why anyway.

Huh?

The moment he saw her about to make a commotion again, Shinichi interjected and took her hand.

Before the girl knew it, she had already been pulled along and was walking after him, and then while taking care not to be caught by anyone related to the hospital, they left for downtown.

Theres a place I was thinking of going to anyway.

Where are you!

Where are you taking me? She was about to ask, but she didnt, perhaps realizing what would happen if she did.

And as she realized whose hand it was that was holding hers, her face dyed itself in a deeper shade of red.

Shinichi glanced behind to enjoy that expression for a moment before continuing to pull her along.

At the same time, he examined her health through the feel of her hand.

He had gone through her diagnosis and knew that shed strained her arm a lot when fighting.

Fortunately, there were no wounds or side-effects, and after making sure that she was fine, he was able to heave a sigh of relief.

! Ah

Thats why he didnt notice it at all when the expression on her changed.

As her eyes turned to that of shock, all of her consciousness turned to his hand.

After all, it was this sensation, this very thing that she had been pining for her whole life.

He had lent her his hand before, but she didnt have the time then to immerse herself in it, but now that she could, she knew that she was all too familiar with this sensation. This was the hand of someone who has been fighting for a long time, a beautiful, magnificent hand.

It wasnt that much different than hers in terms of size, still very much that of a childs, but this particular sensation was a war medal that belonged to someone who has been hurt many times.

She could well imagine the countless battles and wounds that he incurred to protect something.

As I thought, it really is wonderful.

When those words naturally left her lips, it was not just because of her admiration for him as a warrior.

Theyd started with him leading her, but when she realized it, they were already walking next to each other.

The boy had only pulled her at the start, but after that he matched her pace.

She was glad that her newfound feelings were directed to him, and she grasped his hand tightly.

Rather than the embarrassment of holding a boys hand, she was proud to be able to hold the hand of someone like him.

Hmm?

From his perspective, shed suddenly squeezed back his hand, so he glanced at her curiously.

But she just looked at him as though nothing could be more right and smiled cheerfully.

She knew that he wanted to hide it, so she didnt say anything, and he too didnt ask her why.