allendalepharm #145 - Swimsuit Back
#145 - Swimsuit Back
Deep within the school grounds was a forest.
Zunzun and the others were training in the plaza there.
To be precise, Kurogane Ikki and Stella were engaged in swordsmanship training, while Zunzun, in addition to that, had to train his magic control with Kurogane Shizuku and Arisouin Nagi using special clay.
Of course, sometimes they would also practice treading water.
Whenever the group trained together, it was always like this. But a week ago, a new person was added to this scene.
Without a doubt, it was Ayatsuji Ayase.
“Haa! Haa!”
Zunzun was currently sparring with her.
Accompanied by spirited shouts, her inherent Device, a katana with a crimson blade like a flame, was drawing beautiful arcs.
Unlike her usual timid and hesitant self in the preparation room, her expression when wielding the sword was completely different.
Her lips were tightly sealed, the corners of her eyes were raised, and her expression was serious.
After all, she was still a swordsman. Even if she was afraid of men, once she gripped the hilt of a sword, all traces of shyness vanished.
Unfortunately, her goal was to go further in the Ayatsuji Itto-ryu style, and Zunzun didn't understand it, so he couldn't teach her anything.
However, Kurogane Ikki, the master of imitation, could make up for this. Zunzun, on the other hand, corrected her posture and taught her even more powerful techniques.
The two were currently sparring.
Ayatsuji Ayase spotted an opportunity. She took a small step forward with her foot, but her figure disappeared from Zunzun's sight, and in the blink of an eye, she appeared behind him.
Clang—
The sound of bamboo swords colliding.
Just as he was about to be ambushed from behind, Zunzun preemptively blocked the attack.
“That's right, that's right, just like that.”
Zunzun nodded in satisfaction and said, “Because Ayatsuji-senpai, you're very sensitive to lines of sight, so you're particularly suited for this line-of-sight-based feint. And most importantly, you can integrate this move into the Ayatsuji Itto-ryu style without changing its essence. You have more talent than those other guys.”
“R-Really!? Thank you, thank you, Master!”
After being praised, Ayatsuji Ayase became so excited that her cheeks flushed red, and she kept bowing to Zunzun.
She had learned a lot this week.
First, Zunzun helped her correct her posture. Because she was blindly imitating her father, she had forgotten the differences between men and women, which was why she couldn't keep up with her father's perceived speed.
After being corrected, she completely changed.
Although she still couldn't catch up, she had a new direction to move forward in, and she understood that she had been going down the wrong path.
Secondly, there was the method of line-of-sight feints.
It wasn't just about dodging the enemy's line of sight in every move; the most important thing was that it perfectly matched the Ayatsuji Itto-ryu style, pushing the family's inherited swordsmanship to a higher level.
She didn't know what to do anymore.
Such great kindness, it seemed that she could only repay it by marrying him, but his age… Ugh!
“What's wrong, Ayatsuji-senpai? Your swordsmanship is off.”
“N-Nothing! I just think Zunzun-kun is too young.”
“What's wrong with being young! Damn it!”
Zunzun felt that he was being looked down upon. He struck upwards with the bamboo sword in his hand, hitting Ayatsuji Ayase's wrist, causing her to wince in pain as the bamboo sword fell to the ground.
“The intent scatters, but the form doesn't. The hand you're holding the bamboo sword with is too relaxed. See? Even if I'm young, I can still teach you.”
“Ugh…”
Zunzun really wasn't one to let things go easily.
Not only Ayatsuji Ayase, but even Kurogane Ikki and the others felt that there was something wrong with Zunzun.
“Alright, Ayatsuji-senpai didn't mean it.”
The good-natured Kurogane Ikki walked over and said to the two of them, “By the way, we've been working so hard these past few days. How about we go swimming tomorrow to relax?”
It wasn't just for fun.
Ayatsuji Ayase herself might not have noticed, but her body had indeed accumulated fatigue after training with everyone for several days.
Especially after Zunzun corrected her posture, she had to use muscles that she didn't usually use, which meant parts of her body that she had never trained before, making the fatigue even worse.
Zunzun saw Kurogane Ikki winking at him and immediately understood the reason.
As expected, he didn't have the talent to teach people.
Someone as attentive as Kurogane Ikki was more suitable to be a teacher.
So, the next day.
Zunzun and Ayatsuji Ayase agreed to meet at the academy's swimming pool, but when they arrived, they found that Kurogane Ikki and Stella were also there.
“What are you two doing here?”
“Well…”
“It's Ikki. He was worried about Ayatsuji-senpai's condition, so he wanted to come along.” Stella complained slightly, but then said in a low voice, “Although I also had the thought of wanting Ikki to see me in my swimsuit.”
“What did you say, Stella?”
“Nothing, hmph~”
Kurogane Ikki scratched his head awkwardly, choked by her words.
The three of them had already changed into their swimsuits.
Zunzun was wearing black swim trunks and a red top, which was very eye-catching despite being quite covered up. Kurogane Ikki, on the other hand, was wearing ordinary brown swim trunks, which weren't very noticeable.
The most eye-catching was Stella.
Her bikini tied with black strings was daring and fiery, with much less fabric than a normal bikini. Every step she took, her pectoral muscles swayed, causing the tourists in the pool to drink the water in the pool like crazy.
Zunzun rubbed his forehead.
This was definitely to cause trouble.
“Alright, you two, go over there and be lovey-dovey.”
“That's just what I wanted! Let's go, Ikki.”
“W-Wait, Stella!?”
Kurogane Ikki was taken away by Stella without any explanation.
After the two of them left, Zunzun turned his head to look at the bushes by the side of the pool and called out, “Ayatsuji-senpai, you can come out now.”
“Y-Yes…”
Ayatsuji Ayase, wearing a two-piece swimsuit that could be directly used as sportswear, jumped out of the bushes.
“You're still the same as ever.”
“S-Sorry.”
Perhaps it was because Stella was too dazzling to be around, making her afraid to come out?
But in fact, Ayatsuji Ayase wasn't bad either. Although she lacked a bit of alluring aura overall, the body she had built up from practicing swordsmanship since childhood exuded a healthy and refreshing charm.
It was just that she was too timid, which greatly diminished this charm.
“Let's go, we'll go to the other side.”
The two of them came to a corner one after the other. This swimming pool was only 2 meters long and wide, and the depth only reached the waist, seemingly prepared for children.
Ayatsuji Ayase looked at Zunzun, who was a head shorter than her.
He really was a child.
“Did you say something?”
“N-No… nothing!”
Zunzun's intuition was too terrifying, scaring her into shaking her head repeatedly.
Then they soaked in the pool.
Zunzun squatted inside with his arms around his knees, and Ayatsuji Ayase imitated him in a similar way. After a while, it seemed a little awkward to just sit there, so she couldn't help but ask.
“Are we just going to sit here like this?”
“I thought you could hold back from asking.”
Zunzun smiled and said, “This time, we're not just here to relax, but also to train.”
“Train?”
A question mark seemed to appear on Ayatsuji Ayase's head as she tilted her head slightly, looking a little cute.
“Do you know about magic control?”
“Y-Yes… My magic control is D, which is very subpar.”
After saying that, she lowered her head in shame.
Zunzun clearly didn't mean to blame her, but she still had an apologetic expression that made people feel disappointed.
“Most people's magic control is very rough, but in fact, it can be trained.”
“Training!?”
Ayatsuji Ayase suddenly raised her head.
“That's right.” Zunzun nodded and said, “Of course, magic control is also quite useful, you shouldn't deny that, right?”
“Y-Yes! Zunzun-kun and Kurogane Shizuku-kun's battle, the contest of magic control, is widely circulated in the academy!”
Ayatsuji Ayase nodded seriously.
It was said that later, that battle was evaluated as a battle for the title of number one in magic control, and the result was naturally that Zunzun took the victory.
“Magic control is the ability to accurately grasp the enemy's weaknesses and control one's own strengths in battle, to be able to use and not waste magic more skillfully. And my training method is treading water.”
“Treading water?”
“That's right, just like this.”
Zunzun stood up from the pool, and then raised one leg, as if stepping on a step, steadily standing on the surface of the water.
“H-How amazing…!”
Ayatsuji Ayase couldn't help but exclaim.
The academy had clay for magic training, but a practical skill like Zunzun's had never appeared before… at least she had never seen it.
“Want to learn? I'll teach you.”
“Really? Thank you!”
After that, the two began to practice treading water.
“Girls are naturally more careful, so they have a great talent in this area. Even if you can't do it for a while, don't worry.”
“Y-Yes! Um… I wanted to ask, have Kurogane-kun and the others learned this move?”
“Ah. Ikki took about a month to barely learn it, Alice (Arisouin Nagi) took two and a half weeks, and Shizuku only took an hour… Of course, that's because she could already use her Device ability to forcibly stand on the water surface, and had already grasped the feeling.”
“Hah, hah ah… Everyone, as expected, is very talented.”
Ayatsuji Ayase sighed slightly.
Due to her lack of self-confidence, she didn't think she could learn it in the same amount of time, which was why she was so depressed. But soon, she noticed something was wrong.
“What about Stella-kun?”
“Didn't learn it.”
“Eh?”
“It's been a month and a half, and she can't even step on the water.”
“You're kidding, right?”
“I'm not kidding.”
Although Stella's magic control level was B, she was used to crushing her opponents with violent output.
After all, training magic control was for the purpose of using magic more effectively, but she had an unfathomable amount of magic power. Was it even necessary to train her control?
“So that's how it is…”
“How is it? Do you have confidence now?”
“Yes!”
Ayatsuji Ayase nodded and trained even harder and more seriously. Soon, she found the feeling.
“I know! I know what to do!”
“I knew I wasn't wrong, you really do have a talent for this.”
Just as Ayatsuji Ayase was smiling, Zunzun suddenly asked, “Ayatsuji-senpai, what is your purpose in wanting to become stronger?”
“…Eh?”
“Indeed, your initial goal was to improve the Ayatsuji Itto-ryu style, but you didn't reject the other techniques I taught you. I suppose even if I taught you other swordsmanship, you wouldn't refuse, right? What is the reason for your urgent desire for power?”
Being stared at by those red eyes that seemed to see through her swimsuit and into her very being, Ayatsuji Ayase was stunned.
With a splash, she fell into the water.
—
Tsk, can't release the princess's swimsuit.