Chapter 275 – Tantrum

“Big brother eh!!??”

“H, hey, blood!”

“It’s not just a scuffle, what’s going on!?”

“And, that man, he’s Koujiro… of the Seven Heroes!?”

The moment I swung my right smash, the feeling I felt in my fist was that of blowing off the straw mask that Koujiro was wearing.

At the same time, there was a slight heat in my right arm… he left a small cut on my skin… no problem!

“Yo, nice to meet you!”

“Eh, oh, oh…”

Koujiro’s true face emerged from under a shattered straw mask.

His long black hair was pulled back from the front, giving him an astringent feeling.

Both his eyes were closed, and his cheek was slightly cut by my fist.

“One more…”

“Eh!?”

“Now fly!!”

A follow-up left hook. Hit——

“【Datto(Fleeing Hare)】!!”

“…… Oh…”

The next moment, just before my left fist was released, Koujiro showed his back and ran away… as a result, my left hand swung at empty air…

“Hold it, h, hey hey…”

With no regard for his reputation or appearance… how do I put this…

“W, why are you running away!? You’re one of the Seven Heroes!, right?”

I never thought that one of the Seven Heroes would turn his back on me and run away so brazenly.

Then Koujiro had a smile on his face…

“Hero? To this one, it’s a word that people attach on their own… how do you think I could have survived so many years of war?”

“Wh, ha…?”

“Because this one is blind, I can perceive danger better than most other people… after all, when you run away, you don’t have to worry about other people’s opinions, and even if it’s shameful, I prioritize my life ♪.”

It was a far cry from the image of a warrior that I had imagined since I was a kid, that “a warrior fights while holding dear to his life” …

“I found that not dying is this one’s Bushido.”

That’s why, when he was about to launch his next attack, I couldn’t say anything and was at a loss for words…

“【Great Demon Flicker】!”

“Oh, hey hey, we’re not in the middle of a face-off yet!”

I won’t let him get a fresh start.

I’m going to attack before he’s ready.

“Damn, I wish you’d give this one a break!”

“Oh, I told you, I won’t let you get away…!”

“Ku~…… there’s no time to prepare my Battoujutsu stance…”

But, Koujiro ran away again.

When he saw that he couldn’t counter me with his sword, he used his sensing ability to run away…

“Wait! Ra! Ora! Uraa!

“I cannot match your speed, but with my anticipation skills, I can still manage to flee!”

“This guy…”

So aloof… but, it’s also true that I can’t actually catch him.

I’m faster in the Breakthrough state. Maybe I have more power too.

But, he can read my movements… I see…… he’s reached the limits of perception… huh…

“Hmm? Tch…”

Because I was running around, the Breakthrough was interrupted … but……

“Su~… Haa~…”

Instantly restore magic power with Magical Breathing.

“….. Huh? Now that was… Magic power… huh!? The magic has been restored…!?”

Then, Koujiro seemed to sense it properly and looked surprised at the same time.

“…… Body Strengthening with magic… However, the magic power consumption seemed to be intense, so when I ran around and tried to aim for the moment when the magic power was interrupted… you recovered… is such a thing possible? This is unheard of… seriously, who are you?”

“Ora, what are you mumbling about!”

“Instantaneous magic recovery is too much of a threat… no….. however, the timing of the magic recovery just now… he was clearly defenseless when concentrating on it at the moment of recovery… next time, if he shows that opening…”

If Koujiro holds his sword in a state of tense concentration like before, I will be slashed at the counter.

Before that, I will land a hit.

He seemed to be muttering something, but it didn’t matter.

“You cut Big brother… Koujiro…… you cut Big brother!”

…… Hmm? What?!

“Nuoh!?”

“Whoa!?”

That’s when it happened.

Something flew between me and Koujiro, …… or rather, towards Koujiro.

It was a large barrel, with its contents.

It floated and flew towards Koujiro.

“Th, that’s dangerous!”

Although it was a sudden surprise, Koujiro managed to avoid it.

But beyond his line of sight…

“Big brother… cut…… cut cut cutcutcutcut…”

The barrel seemed to be placed in front of the restaurant… by the dozen or so.

She glared at Koujiro as she made them all float…

“E, Espie?”

“Whoa, isn’t this also very dangerous!?”

Espie looked furious… somehow, the air crackled with so much static electricity that it hurt, and the pressure spread as if to destroy everything, and everyone, including the onlookers, turned pale.

“YOU CUT BIG BROTHER! I WON’T FORGIVE YOU! KOUJIRO, DIE !!!!”

“E, Espie-jou!?”

Because she was so young, and with everything she had endured so far, as soon as her shackles came off, Espie snapped with all her emotions.

This is bad!

“F, first of all! Ojou, look, I surrender! I, for one, surrender to your brother! Look, I have put aside the samurai’s sword, the pride of a warrior, right? See, I am no longer a threat to you!”

Koujiro appealed by throwing away his sword with a wry smile. Hey, is that okay for a swordsman?

But it didn’t reach Espie’s ears.

“DIE…… KOUJIRO, DIE!!”

“Ah, arararara~?”

Up until now, it was “blow away”, but “die” is something completely different.

But……

“Espie!”

“Huh… Ah…”

“Here… good girl… good girl…”

“Ah… ah…”

Before Espie could use her power, I hugged her from the front and stroked her head many times.

Then, Espie was stunned, and her overflowing power began to calm down.

“…… Big brother…”

“Espie, you’re a good girl, so just stop, I’m fine.”

“…… But…… that man, Big brother…”

“It’s all right. Hey? That’s enough, okay?”

“…… Ugh…”

He was able to stop her tantrum, but Espie still seemed frustrated because she still hasn’t gotten over it.

But, I want the battle between the Seven Heroes to end here, so I tried desperately to dissuade her.

“Also, don’t say ‘die’ or anything like that… absolutely not…”

“…… I can’t?”

“That’s right. If you want to stay with me… don’t say things like ‘die’ so carelessly, okay?”

“…… Ugh…”

“Then, you don’t want to come along with me?”

“Huh!? Okay! I won’t say it! I won’t say it anymore! I won’t say it!”

“Oshi!”

Has she finally calmed down? Hah~…… it’s hard to deal with kids… Kron, Shinobu, and Sadiz will have them one day… I mean, hey, what’s wrong with me, I can’t have more than one at a time…

“Phuh… Kukuku”

“Hmm?”

“Da~hahaha, I give up, I give up! I truly say, this one is defeated!

At that moment, Koujiro laughed wildly and sat on the ground, and clapped his hands.

“Alright, no chance no chance! I give up already!”

“…… Huh?”

“No~, I didn’t expect it to be this bad. This level of opponent would put anything and everything on the line… even if in victory, this one won’t walk away unscathed, and Espie-jou will cry and send me flying.”

“Wh, eh…”

“And most importantly… unlike us, who could do nothing for the sullen-faced little girl who was always crying in her heart, Onii-san saved her heart… as a fellow man, I can no longer point my sword at such a man.”

Saying that, Koujiro sheathed the sword he had thrown away, smiled at me and Espie, and gave me a thumbs up.

“So, Espie-jou, leave the rest to this one and go have fun with your brother or wherever you want!”

“Koujiro…”

“I don’t know who he is, but I can trust this Onii-san… that’s what I believe.”