Chapter 72 – ７２ – The Spectator's Analysis

Debut Match Arc

“Lord Midorikawa. Um, who exactly is Ms. Minasono?”

This was after Suzu’s debut match.

Ms. Morikuni approached me, her expression somewhat tense.

“Who she is… I can only tell you she’s my childhood friend. Anything beyond that would be personal information, so I can’t just go around talking about it.”

“I see. You’re right.”

Presumably, Suzu’s duel in her debut match had been unexpected for Ms. Morikuni. That was likely why she had come to me, hoping to gather even a small amount of information.

However, if it came down to Ms. Morikuni versus Suzu, I would side with Suzu. Therefore, I couldn’t give away any information.

That being said…

“Hmm~, from what Moe has gathered~, Ms. Minasono isn’t the type to be particularly blessed with Magic Capacity~. Around 500 as a third-year in middle school~. She should be on the lower end even among the B-Rank Group~. I haven’t heard of her using any special Skills either~. In other words~, in the recent duel, she was utilizing the functions of her Masked Form~.”

“Is that so.”

“…”

“I see.”

“You have researched her well, yes?”

“Well~, among this year’s A-Rank girls~, Moe is the best at gathering information~.”

It was impossible that not a single person among those supporting Ms. Morikuni possessed information-gathering capabilities. In fact, Ms. Hitsujiuta seemed to have collected a considerable amount of data on Suzu.

Still, it was unlikely they had obtained anything more than this.

“Well~. Even so~, I don’t actually know~ specifically what Ms. Minasono’s Masked Form can do~.”

“That is only natural. Ichi handled the counter-intelligence thoroughly.”

“Marie and the others have not spoken a word either,” Marie added.

“…”

Ichi and Marie were wearing smug expressions, perhaps as a strategic move for future counter-intelligence activities.

However, the reason there was no information on Suzu’s Masked Form ability wasn’t because the two of them had guarded it so strictly. Even Ichi, Marie, and I—while we knew that the function of Suzu’s Masked Form could be described as “compounding”—only knew a fraction of the phenomena she could trigger as a result of that compounding.

Furthermore, Suzu herself likely understood the general tendencies, but had yet to fully grasp the detailed combinations of her compounding. That was how profound the depth of Suzu’s compounding function was.

“Explosions, enhancement, smoke screens…”

I began to naturally consider what Suzu had actually done in the previous duel.

The first explosion… well, we can set that aside. It was just an explosion.

The medicine she took next was likely enhancement. Considering she reacted after seeing Sweed’s attack, and that the power of her subsequent counterattack remained unchanged, I believe she enhanced something like her reaction speed.

Then, the final smoke screen… I don’t think that was just a smoke screen. If it were a simple smoke screen, Suzu wouldn’t have needed to use a Skill to protect herself. But if the smoke had been special from the start, Sweed’s reaction would have been different.

However, it is difficult to perform another compounding or apply a chemical to Sweed while inside the smoke. Considering Sweed’s reaction… did the properties of the deployed smoke change midway?

From something harmless to something accompanied by heat and corrosiveness.

“Could I handle her?”

If the smoke was as I suspected, it was a terrifyingly vicious tool. There is no escape; moreover, the very thing you breathe in and bring into your own body transforms into an attack. If one were destroyed from the inside out, even I would have to consume a significant amount of magical power.

Even if I tried to find and defeat the caster, Suzu, it would be difficult to locate her in a space where vision is obscured and she is making no sound. Unless I had a means of attack that could capture the entire stage—at least a quarter-section—all at once, catching her would be grim.

But I have no such means.

Hmm. I’m starting to feel that my compatibility against Suzu is far worse than that of Ms. Morikuni, Fuchibeni, or any other member of the A-Rank Group. Moreover, even if I had a way to deal with the smoke screen, I feel like Suzu would just generate another method of attack through her compounding.

It’s not just a “one-in-a-million chance”; it feels like there’s a genuine possibility I could lose.

“…Do you think Ms. Morikuni could handle Suzu?”

“…I can think of a few ways. However, once Ms. Minasono is able to make the first move, there is no way to ‘absolutely’ deal with her. Therefore, a blitz strategy would be the most stable approach.”

“But even that blitz might not be guaranteed to succeed.”

“If one knows the opponent is going to launch a blitz, one simply needs to prepare a counter-strategy in advance. I cannot imagine Ms. Minasono being unable to do that.”

In other words, even Ms. Morikuni, who possesses the means to break through my shield, would not have a guaranteed victory.

I’m the one saying this, but isn’t Suzu too strong? At this rate, it seems Suzu has a “one-in-a-million chance” against anyone in this year’s A-Rank Group.

“Hmph.”

“It’s a common Duelist habit to wonder what one would do if they had to fight an ally,” Marie noted.

“True. It’s not a bad thing. Oh, Mr. Naru. Ms. Suzu should be coming this way soon, so please wait until she arrives before returning to the dorms.”

“Got it.”

Until Suzu returned, I couldn’t stop thinking about how I would fight her.

“Phew. Somehow managed to win my debut match, yes?”

✧

Meanwhile, Suzu, having deactivated her Masquerade, sighed in relief upon arriving in the waiting room.

A message arrived from Ichi. It contained two points: that Morikuni and the others had come by, and that Naru was currently thinking about how he would handle a fight against Suzu.

“…Hehe, I see. So Naru is thinking about me.”

Suzu beamed at the content of the message, her body swaying with joy.

“Hehehe. I’m so happy Naru is growing as a Duelist. That’s right. Even Naru, who could beat someone like Ms. Morikuni, couldn’t help but be cautious after seeing my Thermal Acidic Toxic Smoke. After all, Naru is such a serious person, despite how he looks.”

Taking advantage of the fact that no one else was in the room, Suzu murmured to herself.

“Now, now. Let’s see… based on this, it seems Ms. Morikuni has recognized me as a Duelist with strength worth being wary of. Yes, otherwise, I wouldn’t have enough value to be given the position of Naru’s primary wife, so this is only natural.”

Suzu fiddled with her smartphone, checking her upcoming schedule.

“Naru dislikes it, but the power of the Morikuni Family is certain. While we need someone who can properly control them, they are sufficient as a backing to ensure that the nameless masses cannot get close to Naru. Ms. Morikuni herself is on the ‘good’ side of things. Once it became clear Naru was A-Rank, it became impossible for me alone to monopolize him. This was the route I chose because of that, and so far, it’s feeling good. At this rate… I should be able to completely secure him by graduation.”

Suzu’s fingers moved rapidly, stopping and starting.

“Actually… I really want to just monopolize him… I want him to be my Naru and mine alone…”

“If that’s how you feel, why not just do it?”

“Impossible. It’s not realistic. Even if it worked, Naru would just lose affection for me. Such a method is too ridiculous to even consider. Honestly, stop whispering to me as if you’re my own random whim. Oh, but…”

“…”

Suzu’s finger stopped. She turned her face toward the direction where the whispering seemed to come from and murmured.

“You’re right. Just once, even if only temporarily, it might not be bad to have Naru use all of his thoughts solely for me. Legally, wholesomely, without causing trouble for anyone… in fact, in a way that would earn praise from everyone, I can bring about such a situation on this stage. Hehe, hehehe, hehehehe. Yes, yes, that’s it. It assumes I don’t make any mistakes, but the odds of successfully creating that situation are ninety-nine point nine percent. The only thing left is how much I can dance with Naru on stage, hehehehe… I can’t wait. Wait for me, Naru. On the next big stage, I should be able to make you and me the leads. Surely on that stage, Naru… will think only of me as he overcomes the challenge. Hehehehe… wait for me! Naru!!”

Suzu’s smartphone displayed the schedule for the Sports Festival to be held at the Duel Academy.

Terrifyingly, what she was plotting was completely wholesome and completely legal.