“...Stupid...”
They were sweet words from the normally moderate Ruth.
“What did you say, Ruth-sa―”
Just as Koutarou was replying to Ruth, he found he didn't have the time to speak.
An enemy!?
Something had jumped into his mind. That was a strong hostility and six intentions to attack. The moment Koutarou sensed that, he began moving.
A sniper!? There are six attacks, is the enemy above!?
Sensing hostility that Ruth wasn't able to muster, Koutarou's trained body sprung into action. The blood in his body boiled and spiritual energy began flowing. The spiritual energy circuits Sanae would use to strengthen Koutarou from time to time were still present and his hand began moving before commands from his nerves arrived. And his sword slashed out in front of Ruth.
The next moment, a bullet crashed into the flat of the sword.
“Kyaaa!?”
Ruth finally realized that they were being attacked upon hearing the sound of the bullet crashing into the sword. However, since she had completely dropped her guard, she was overwhelmed with surprise and she was unable to take any action. Ruth really wasn't suited to fight.
All that's left is...!
Meanwhile, Koutarou was continuing to move. He swung his sword with his right hand while making wide dodges.
The next moment, a bullet whizzed by where Koutarou's right shoulder had been and buried itself into the riverbed. Immediately after that, he swung his sword upwards and placed it in front of his face.
Then, two bullets hit the sword. One by the tip and the other near the handle. They had been aimed for his head and torso.
...Another two shots!!
There were still two intentions to attack, chasing after Koutarou. They were aimed at his right leg and body. That was when Koutarou planted his left foot down and jumped. With that, he was able to avoid the first shot that had been aimed at his leg. Since Koutarou moved, the second shot missed as well and only grazed his side.
“That's six shots!!”
After avoiding all six shots, Koutarou quickly looked up. There, he saw a lone girl. She was holding a large rifle in her hands and was floating in the sky without any support. That sight didn't surprise Koutarou and he called out to the girl.
“That's quite the rude morning greeting, Clan”
The name of the girl floating in the sky was Clariossa Daora Forthorthe, or Clan for short.
She was Forthorthe royalty, like Theia and had a rather deep connection to Koutarou.
“I'm quite surprised, Ber― whoops, Koutarou, so you can block bullets even without the armor”
Clan smiled wryly and lowered her rifle. The device she was using to float in the sky was her own invention. Its performance was excellent and the hem of the dress she was wearing wasn't moving at all.
“My strength didn't have much to do with it”
Koutarou would not have been able to block the shots without the power he had gotten from Sanae. He dropped his shoulders and sighed. At the same time, Ruth who was right next to Koutarou pointed her sword towards Clan who had just landed.
“Clan-sama!! Are you targeting Satomi-sama again!?”
Ruth had been unable to do so towards Koutarou, but she showed hostility towards Clan. They had been attacked several times now, and Ruth glared at Clan with a serious expression.
“...It's okay, Ruth-san”
Koutarou smiled at Ruth and lowered her sword with his hand.
“But Satomi-sama!”
“That was just a greeting... Of course, it was in pretty bad taste”
“I don't want to hear those words coming from you”
Having heard the words bad taste, Clan showed a discouraged expression as she adjusted her glasses and she gave orders to the bracelet on her right wrist.
“Cradle, recover the weapon”
“As you wish, my princess”
The next moment a black hole appeared next to Clan. The hole was connected to her spaceship, the Cradle, and after she inserted her weapon into the hole, it vanished.
The weapon she had used to snipe Koutarou and Ruth had vanished without a trace.
“Ruth-san, try attacking me like that in our future practice”
“S-Satomi-sama?”
Koutarou smiled at the puzzled Ruth and left her behind as he approached Clan. His appearance was completely defenseless as he casually walked towards her.
“I thought I could get you if you weren't wearing your armor, but it seems like that's not possible”
“If those had been actual bullets, you probably would have shot straight through the sword”
“You barefaced liar. You knew it was me from the start”
And Clan showed no signs of attacking Koutarou. She seemed a bit displeased, but that was just insinuation towards someone she had a friendly relation with.
“I just believed that her highness Clariossa who I hold in high esteem would use real bullets because she is so sly”
“Y-You little- next time I'll definitely greet you with real bullets!! I mean it!!”
“See? You would use actual bullets”
“Kuh, you also have some witty remark! You are so hate able!”
“It is an honor to receive praise directly from her highness”
“I'm not praising you!!”
Koutarou and Clan's lively conversation continued, and Ruth who was looking on couldn't hide her confusion.
Just... what is going on...?
She had heard that Koutarou and Clan had to work together to return after being thrown out of the universe. That said, the two of them were originally enemies, so once they had returned it would only be natural for them to become enemies again. However, it didn't look like that had happened at all. Koutarou and Clan's conversation was extremely similar to that of Koutarou and Theia's. Since the two of them had been trying to kill each other just a few days ago, that was a very confusing sight for Ruth.
And it feels like Satomi-sama's prowess with the sword is on a completely different level from before...
Another thing that confused Ruth was Koutarou's overwhelming capability with the sword.
He had received formal training from Theia for the play, he could see spiritual energy thanks to Sanae and he was good at fighting to begin with.