Chapter 194 – 14.1 Shinobu’s Growth

Shinozaki Shinobu. 22 years old.
A third year at Rune Academy, he is the captain of President Mizuki’s bodyguard.

Shinobu is very popular with both men and women in the academy for his outstanding appearance and dignified demeanor. In particular, among some female students, she was idolized as being cooler than men.

Combining talent with the transfer of literature and martial arts. Although she is such a respected Shinobu, she herself has been feeling like she has hit a wall lately.
It was also to Knives Windsor, the worst problem child in the academy and the man who is regarded as a bully.

‘Have I really become stronger?’

Shinozaki Shinobu became stronger.
Grip strength, jumping power, main power, stamina, endurance, etc.
Every measurable record of her was proving that she had grown stronger.

‘Can I protect the president?’

Still, she wasn’t sure.
It was none other than the existence of Knives Windsor.

She usually behaves in a pitiful way to anyone’s eyes, but when she’s in trouble, she shows incredible abilities.

Shinobu couldn’t see the man’s limits.
Like a mountain peak so high that you can’t see the top, like a horizon so far away that you can’t see the end.

‘I…… Can you beat that man…… ?’

A week of probation.
However, during that period, Shinobu did not just sit idle. She was constantly pushing herself and pushing herself. In order for her to reach out to the guy even a little.

Now even Shinobu acknowledged it. The strength of Knives Windsor.
He was clearly stronger than Shinobu, and it was impossible for him to measure his strength. The more he realized he had grown stronger, the more he realized, on the contrary, how dangerous the existence of Knives was.

“Whoa…….”

What on earth can I do to surpass that man? How much more effort do I have to make to beat that man?
Shinobu felt as if she was climbing an endless staircase.

“…… Calm down.”

Shinobu comforts herself who is about to become weak.
Now he just wanted to be comfortable. He wanted to stop chasing invisible shadows.

But that’s how it ends up being weeded out. He had to be the right person to stand next to Chairman Mizuki. So he had to keep the chairman.

The seat next to Chairman Mizuki is taken away by that man.

At some point, Shinobu was thinking only of that man the whole time.
From when you wake up in the morning until you go to sleep. When I eat, when I wash, when I take classes, when I stay by the chairman’s side.

Shinobu was always thinking of that man, except when she was sleeping. He even came out of his dreams of her.

「Guhehehe! I will take the president’s maiden!”
“Ah! Shino! Save me!”

Even now, what comes to mind is the scene I saw in my dream last night.
It looked like Knives Windsor humiliating the president he respected.

“…… No, it’s not like that anyway.”

Even so, he is a man with at least some common sense.
…… Shinobu, at least, he wanted to believe that.

He was a man who was outrageous in what he did, but narrowly kept his line.
He has nothing to do with sexual harassment or molestation. Reporting such things one by one would only tarnish the president’s honor. There were also his own liability issues of his. He couldn’t go out of his way to that extent.

I wouldn’t know if it was rape, but consenting to each other’s physical contact was an unavoidable part.

Although the man made physical contact, he did not do anything to hurt the chairman. He made a clear distinction between what he could be responsible for and what he couldn’t.

“Nice….”

Even today, Shinobu grits his teeth and sweats.
To reach the man. To get over the guy.

“──Shinozaki. Aren’t you working too hard these days?”
“Master.”

Yesterday and today, Shinobu trained alone in the dojo.
Shinobu nodded and greeted the person who suddenly started talking to him.

Master Kanzaki. She was Shinobu’s role model.

He is now retired due to childbirth and childcare, but at one time he was a specialist in guarding key figures.
His specialty is judo. As far as Shinobu knew, Master Kanzaki had never lost a match. She was the strongest woman Shinobu knew.

Rune holders cannot compete in the Olympics. But she said, if she went out, Master Kanzaki would have won the gold medal without a doubt. Shinobu sincerely thought so.

“What are you up to these days?”
“…….”

Shinobu closed her mouth at the question lightly.
But maybe she can get an answer from this person. Thinking so, Shinobu decided to bring up the story of “Him.”

“…… There are people who want to win.”
“Hmm. The one who wants to win. Is that a man?”
“Yes.”

Even though she’s a woman, she’s probably almost no opponent Shinobu can’t win.

This child is also going down a very difficult path, Kanzaki thought. If she it’s like Shinobu, then she it’s like Shinobu. She felt like she was seeing herself in the prime of her life, so she felt a sense of longing.

“Men and women are different. It’s not like you can win by being stubborn. Just as a man cannot beat a gorilla in arm wrestling.”
“Yes…… I know. But I…… You have to win.”
“Hmm.”

Words didn’t seem to move. Shinobu had already hardened her heart.

Because once these kids start being stubborn, they won’t break.
Seeing Shinobu like that, a pleasant wind blow in Kanzaki’s heart for the first time in a long time.

“Then——would you like to compete with me after a long time?”

She was also a person whose hands preceded her mouth. She was a human being who enjoyed talking with her body more than talking with words.
Kanzaki immediately started preparing for sparring.

“Let me check. How strong Shinozaki has become.”
“I… Are you talking about Master Kanzaki?”
“Why, don’t you want to hang out with this trash?”
“Oh no! It is an honor!”

For Shinobu, if Knives was the mountain he had to climb, Kanzaki was the top of the mountain Shinobu had to reach someday. He had no reason to turn down the opportunity to learn from his mentor his at heart.

“Take good care of me!”
“Yes.”

The two immediately stance on the spot.
Kanzaki also hated ostentation. He wasn’t even in an official match, so he wasn’t bound by the rules.
Because this is purely a sparring to see the opponent’s skill.

“After——”

The two faced each other, staring at each other and turning slowly in a circle.

A tense battle of nerves that is no different from the real battle.
Fighting doesn’t take away your strength. Because that’s courtesy to the other person.

The players were from Shinobu.

Shinobu reaches out and grabs Kanzaki’s left sleeve.
However, Kanzaki lightly dusted off his sleeve and took a step forward. Shinobu felt the thrill of a grizzly bear burrowing into her arms.

‘Caught.’

Kanzaki had a premonition of victory.
Super close combat was his specialty her. The reach is short, but once attached, he was confident that he could easily overwhelm even an opponent bigger than himself.

“Ah.”

But.

-Tung.

The next moment, it was Kanzaki himself who was lying on his back on the floor.

A raindrop that flows like water.
Shinobu defeated Kanzaki with a technique that escaped Kanzaki’s consciousness.

“Ah.”

Shinobu, who knocked Kanzaki down, was looking down at Kanzaki with the same surprised expression.
As if he had no idea that his technique his would work so well.

It’s only been one round, but I won against Master Kanzaki.
Even after receiving such a result, Shinobu couldn’t believe it.

“…… Haha.”

Kanzaki smiled rejectedly.

“What. You are already strong.”

Then he stood up shyly and patted Shinobu on the shoulder.

“Don’t be nervous, Shinozaki. You are already strong.”

I didn’t mean to watch it in the first place.
Even after winning several times, he had the thought of losing at least once if he continued to challenge. It is the role of adults to encourage young people.

However, Shinobu was stronger than expected. To the point where he felt ashamed of himself that he thought he would look at. Or maybe he doesn’t even know he’s that weak.

“Perhaps there are few people who can beat Shinozaki, including men? I don’t know if a male player is my opponent.”

If this is enough, even if it’s a male opponent, he won’t be able to lose. Kanzaki, who had dealt with men many times, could understand. That Shinobu is already at the top of the male level.

Shinobu looked down at her hand his with a bewildered expression. Uncharacteristically for a woman, she had calluses on her hands.

No matter how much other students praised it, I thought it was an empty word. No matter how good the record was, it didn’t touch me well. No matter how hard I tried, it seemed to be in place.

It was because Shinobu’s standard was knives.

Knives always treated Shinobu as an underdog. He was treated as an object to be protected together with the chairman, not a person who stood by the chairman. It was no different from dealing with a ‘normal girl’.

In fact, Shinobu was weak compared to Knives. So he couldn’t help it even if he was treated like that. Because he is weak.

However, after winning a round against Kanzaki, her usual target her, Shinobu’s eyes were opened to the fact that she was objectively strong for the first time.

“So don’t push yourself too hard. Wouldn’t it be a shame if it broke down by overdoing it? Resting and recovering is also training.”

He also wondered if he had seen it at first.
However, Shinobu could sense an air of self-respect in Kanzaki’s attitude in her. It did n’t mean that he was overlooked, it meant that Kanzaki lost purely through his ability to her.

“…… Thank you!”

Even so, Shinobu bowed her head in emotion at Kanzaki leaving her sincere advice to her juniors.

Tomorrow, challenge that man.
Shinobu clenched his fists and vowed victory.

“And, I’m saying this because it’s between women. When dealing with a man——”

…… Kanzaki’s advice that followed didn’t touch Shinobu that much, but he could understand what Kanzaki was trying to say.