We Just Beat It Down and That's the End of It, Right? (9)

“Taka...ko?”

The moment Rex saw her, his face filled with astonishment. To him, having left town two years ago, Takako seemed to radiate such an overwhelming presence that he couldn't help wondering what on earth had happened to her in that time. He even found himself breaking into a cold sweat and backing away.

A thought flashed through Rex's mind: “...Is she really a woman?”

“Sorry, Kururu-chan. This... is mine.”

Like a tyrant extorting the common folk, Takako pinched the ticket Kururu had received between her fingers and snatched it away. As soon as Kenta-Uros saw her, he silently shuffled over and sat down on the floor. Takako promptly plopped down on top of him.

The moment she sat down, Kenta-Uros let out a disgusting “Ngh-hoii!” But everyone was too stunned to care, staring blankly at Takako, who radiated the sudden, overwhelming presence of an emperor.

“Takako-dono... What on earth has gotten into you? Do you want to follow Kagami-dono so badly that you'd steal a ticket from Kururu-dono? Don't tell me... that's why you left the shop in my care and went on a journey...”

“I'm afraid it is.”

That quiet admission sent a shiver through everyone there.

“I realized something over these past three years... I need Kagami-chan.”

At this shocking revelation, Kururu and Alice both paled. “No way... That can't be...” Faced with such an uncanny opponent, they couldn't imagine either winning or losing, and a bead of sweat trickled down each of their cheeks.

That's right. Takako had finally realized that without Kagami, her love life wasn't going anywhere at all.

For the past three years, Takako had kept trying to win David over, but nothing had come of it. Worse, she was starting to feel panicked as he treated her less and less like a woman.

It hadn't been like that when Kagami was around. Kagami's ideas had outmaneuvered David, letting Takako stay one step ahead and come at him full force. But now, things were different. Takako was a sensible person, and she couldn't think of ideas to outwit sensible David. Day after day, nothing she tried worked at all.

One day, Takako finally fell into despair. If all she had to look forward to was an ordinary life alone, she might as well train, follow Kagami, bring him back, and make him help her get together with David.

That was why Takako had also set off on a journey of training.

“I won't take no for an answer, okay? The strong are the ones who should go, right?”

With that, Takako opened her status window and showed it to them. It clearly displayed Level 245—the highest level of anyone there.

Rex finally understood. The intimidating presence he'd sensed came simply from Takako's strength. She'd gained not only an imposing appearance but inner strength as well. Takako had no weaknesses left.

“245... Takako-san, what kind of training did you do? You're a martial artist, so you were already good at fighting barehanded. And wouldn't it be hard to gain experience with the method Kagami-san taught us?”

“I strapped weights all over my body, tied my hands together, and kept fighting on one leg the whole time.”

Hearing about such an incredibly brutal and unimaginable training regimen for a woman, Tina pictured what it must have looked like and blurted out, “I wish I hadn't asked!”

“I-I can't believe you got that strong without dying. I mean, you were already training before, but...!”

“Love... made me strong.”

Those words gave rise to yet another misunderstanding, and Alice and Kururu turned even paler with shock. They looked around anxiously, desperately searching for some opening they could exploit.

Meanwhile, Rex began to panic as he imagined being alone with her: ‘Do I really have to go with someone this terrifying? Seriously...?’ Tina gave up and slumped face-first onto the table. David, faced with the shocking appearance of such a monster, was terrified without changing his expression. Menou was struck by a different thought: “So I'm stuck doing chores here for the sake of love?” Parna sighed at everyone's commotion.

“Wouldn't it be better to have at least one person who's good at magic? Rex, Kagami, and Takako-san would make for a pretty unbalanced team. If you're going, you should take someone good at close combat and someone good at fighting from a distance.”

Perhaps unable to bear watching Kururu and Alice fret, Parna offered them a lifeline. The two immediately crowded around Takako as if to say, “That's it!” and began arguing that each of them should get the ticket.

Watching them plead so desperately, Parna sighed again. ‘What are they even fighting about among themselves?’

“Then Rex-chan can stay behind. I'm higher level than you, after all.”

At Takako's suggestion, Rex stared in shock and joined the circle of protestors, crying, “Wait a second!” Takako was indeed higher level than Rex, and might even be stronger in close combat. But her suggestion was so completely backward that he couldn't accept it.

“Then wouldn't it be better to have a healer? With Takako-san around, combat should be no problem, so we should bring someone who's good at healing injuries! Someone like me!”

“You're right... Then Tina-chan, let's go together!”

“W-wait a second!”

Kururu and Alice began insisting they could handle healing, too, and the bar erupted into a noisy argument over who was the most suitable person to go to the next stage.

“...I have a suggestion.”

After a while, Menou seemed to lose patience with their never-ending dispute. With a weary sigh, Menou stepped between them, her expression serious.

“It may be possible for all of us to go... if we head to the Holy Forest.”

Then Menou voiced one possible solution, something Menou would have preferred to keep to themself.