Soft and Squishy

"And behold! The challenger, the transfer student who has been involved in more matters than you realize! His first two days of school were spent in the principal's office!

"Recently, he soloed a group of five people, resulting in the suspension of the other party. Let us welcome the new student, Ritake Hanashiba!"

The announcer has been loud since the event started. I was walking towards the hallway ending to a window of light as I hear the crowds' cheer.

"Are we all set?" Miss Chiho asked through telepathy.

"What? Who are you guys?" Majiro asked.

"You have five seconds to be serious if you don't want to end up floating again, Majiro," Miss Hirari snapped.

"Again?" I asked.

"Miss Hirari, I'm sorry," Majiro said in a sweet tone. "I'm taking on the right half."

"And you, Ms. Hashimoto?" Miss Chiho asked.

"I… I'm ready now… overviewing the left half."

"Won't I be distracted by your loud voice? It's the top 3 I'm fighting with," I asked.

But everyone gave the same reply to me.

"Good luck, Ritake."

"Uhm… Good luck, Ritake-kun…"

I hissed. "Damn it!" I shouldn't have accepted this plan.

As I reached the end of the hallway, I became surrounded by blinding lights and a crowd that looks like ants to me.

And far in front of me is the dragon whose breath is supposed to burn me to ashes. She glares at me with a hunger for victory.

Duels are a common occurrence in the demon realm. It is the most efficient way to determine power rankings and individual assessments.

But it isn't just duels, tournaments are also practiced by universities. The school conducts local tournaments to create a team that will participate in university tournaments.

At the secondary level, universities conduct tournaments against themselves. This tournament is being held to boost the morale of the university.

The tertiary level consists of elimination against the top contenders for the demon king ranking. The one who wins it will have the chance to challenge the current demon lord in a one-time battle.

The final step to becoming a demon lord is a huge gamble. It's either become a demon lord or be prohibited from turning into one for a lifetime. For some, it's a dream crusher.

While I am not aiming for such a painful experience as that, I can feel the buried desire in Nazuno's eyes. It's the look of someone who shouldn't be lost.

The stadium has been surrounded by Scutum for audience safety. It is up to us whether we go all out or limit ourselves.

"Since we waited for this moment after some schedule readjustments, we won't make it longer," the shout caster announced. "In 3… 2… 1… Let's start the battle!"

I wish I wouldn't end up barbecued after this.

The first thing I did was observe. She points her palm at me and mumbles her spell, which I can't hear.

"Miss Chiho, the first spell might be dangerous."

"Don't worry. I told her she should take you lightly since you're a newcomer. She's the most submissive girl I've ever known."

Miss Chiho's words reassured me that I shouldn't worry about her spells. Still, there are thorns that prevent my heart from believing that.

Suddenly, a ring of fire like the Radial Downfall appeared in front of her. I can see it directly ahead of me. Its speed is the speed of my laser beam, too rapid to be dodged.

That single spell worthy of killing a file of troops nearly broke the first level of the stadium's Scutum. It's a very powerful spell that should suspend her if not used in duels.

It's like a huge flamethrower bathing me in the fire for ten seconds. After the aftermath of the fires and smoke, everyone realized I was not hurt.

"What is this!? Ritake didn't even get a single wound after all that firepower shot by Nazuno!" the shout caster announced.

Nazuno was determined to finish the match quickly, but her miscalculations made her step back with stiffened muscles.

"Idiot! Why are you unharmed?" Miss Chiho shouted in my mind.

"What!? Did I do something wrong? You said she would take me lightly!"

"You're the one serious here! Didn't Honji constrain you about your abilities? Your idealism and flexing will ruin the plan!"

"But I made a bet against her! If I didn't win this, then I failed my word against Nazuno!"

"Alright. If your pride is more important than the safety of Yruiburg, then you can do what you want!" Miss Hirari thudded, perhaps like a tsundere. "Expect your name to be called in class every time."

"I'm sorry, ma'am!"

Miss Chiho adds. "Moreover, have some restraint. If Honji knows you are power creeping, he'll personally come to whip you."

"What? Whipped cheese?" Miss Hirari asked with excitement I can't even imagine.

"Uhm… Miss Hirari, you're out of character. Can you sometimes be sober? Anyway, Ritake, make the battle as realistic as possible."

"Right, ma'am!" Easy for you to say. If she weren't among the top 3, I'd open-world roam this. If I was a normal person, I would've said hello to the nurses.

This fight is the second generation duel between my Sensei and Miss Chiho. Sensei's pride cannot be hurt just because of this.

I'm too proud to remember my real objective.

Nazuno didn't waste time thinking about why her attack failed. She continues to buff herself with magic as she runs around the arena. I'm just running so that they can say that I'm doing something.

After every buff she cast herself, she threw random crap at me.

The ground deforms and some parts become muddy. Fireballs scatter on my side as icicles rain down in every direction.

Despite my face painting a foolish expression, I'm serious about evading spells. Everyone should know that what I did was pure luck.

My body ached to evade the death that was chasing me. Having seen all those homing missiles fly around me in ten minutes, Miss Hirari sent us a signal.

"Ninth column, second row, fifth file, left half, check and proceed with caution."

"Understood…" Rimi replied.

Looks like they've found some leads already, but because of that intrusion, I lost focus on my match. A fireball caught me and sent me flying toward the Scutum.

It doesn't hurt, but I need to pretend it does. Since I applied layers of protection to myself, I can't use them again. I should tank the pain for the subsequent attacks.

Suddenly, we heard some minor conversation from Rimi's Line.

(Look, girls! Isn't this Rimi the Loner?)

"Shinju… What… do you want?" Rimi stuttered.

"Miss Hashimoto! Is there something wrong? Did you have contact with the suspect? Flee away if they see you!" Miss Chiho shouted.

"Rimi, what's wrong?" I asked.

(Nothing, I'm just saying hello to an old friend of mine, an OLD friend. Look how I emphasized old there.)

"W… we are never… friends…" Rimi stuttered.

(I am not asking for your opinion. In fact, I'm asking for your cooperation.)

After that, we didn't hear what happened next. The line must have been cut from Miss Chiho.

"Rimi!" I shouted.

"I'm en route to the suspicious location," Miss Hirari suggested. "You have to check on Rimi."

"That's my plan!" Miss Chiho exclaimed. "Majiro, accompany Hirari to the anomaly spot."

"Yes, ma'am!" Majiro said.

"I'm sorry, Ritake. I need to cut the lines for now. If not, it will drain me. Miss Hashimoto must be in some serious situation. I might only reach you after the battle ends."

"Don't worry about me, Miss Chiho. I can still handle things here."

After that, our network was cut. No longer can I feel any invisible strings pulling me. I hope Rimi is doing fine.

Since I have no restraints anymore, I can take the offensive. Because I can only fight her through physical means, I summoned a sword that can deflect basic elemental magic.

"Look, everyone! We might have witnessed a BRAND NEW META! Hanashiba is going to fight a master magician with a sword! Will he win? Or Nazuno will continue to hold the champion title?"

I call this 'Annoying Sword'. This sword can nullify fireballs, icicles, and all that annoying bullshit. When things turn horribly wrong, this sword is pretty useless.

But since Nazuno only uses amplified but basic elemental spells, I can rush toward her. Since I summoned the sword, every attack she launched was either deflected or nullified.

I'm quite confident that I can take her on, causing me to rush toward her as I flex my sword skills. I slice every bit of fireball and icicle that passes through me.

I can tell whether a floor is muddy or not using my Spatial Sense. Due to the distance between her and the only floor that isn't muddy, I have to jump.

I can't evade. All I can do is slash through her magic attacks. However, there's something she did that I didn't consider.

From the start, she enticed me into jumping. She wasn't randomly throwing spells. She used it to set up the terrain. Now that I'm about to be checkmated, my only choice was to slash through her.

It should be as if I am a meteor shower that no one can counter unless one thing happens. She opens her hand towards me. On that same palm, a violent black hole started to appear.

My sword was pointing toward her hand as I fell down directly at her, but the black hole she made at the sword as a whole. That's when I realized it was my loss…

There's a sudden interference in my mind. I lost my sense of reality and it feels like I'd been watching someone's life.

It's a young girl nine years old who is being beaten up by her older brother as the rain falls. From her face down to her toes, she's full of wounds and bruises.

Afterward, an army of guards stepped on her dead-looking body as she lay in the middle of the road. I didn't see the face of the girl after the vision ended.

And as I snapped back into reality, my hand was already at Nazuno's melons. Redness fills her as she breathes heavily. Both of us are frozen in place, both in shame and shock.

Suddenly, my body fell to the ground as blood gushed from my nose. I cannot escape the unconscious paralysis that has affected me.

My mind repeatedly repeats how soft and squishy an average breast is.