Translator: Reflet

  Editor: ryunakama

  He tied the shoelace, and untied the shoelace.

  He tied the shoelace, and untied the shoelace.

  He tied the shoelace, and untied the shoelace.

  Taiyou was all alone in the afternoon living terrace of Taiyou Castle.

  As Taiyou was silently raising his level, the Level Fairy Hera had warped before him.

  Hera spun around in the air, posing with her fist thrust in the air.

  Taiyou secretly called that “The Levelup Dance”.

  「Tereretettettehhh?　Taiyou-chan has leveled up!」


  「You finally came. Is it 17 now?」


  「Yes indeed. Let’s do an ability cheeeck」」


  「Yeah, bring it」


  Taiyou punched the palm of his hand.

  This was by now a familiar, intimate exchange

  He felt the kind of relief that one might feel with marriage after having been together for many years, as if to say「Hey, go ahead and take this」.

  As he did that, he chased――after the numbers drifting in『the area between the eyes and the back teeth』, aka the back of his mind.

  His points were essentially what he had predicted.

  His power especially had been preserved in a high area, which made him feel like he could even go to a bonus stage and do time attack with breaking cars with his bare hands.

  He was thinking it was best to somehow use it against Shirokiyami.

  「Taiyou-chan Taiyou-chan」


  Hera’s voice broke through his thoughts.

  As he looked at her wondering what was up, he saw her face gazing worriedly at him.

  「What’s wrong?」


  「Taiyou-chan, your bandages are red. I think blood is coming out」


  「Huh? Oh, you’re right」


  Once Hera had said that, he looked at his body.

  There was a slight amount of blood staining the bandages wrapped around his upper body.

  After treatment, the blood should have stopped, but his wound had apparently opened up again unnoticed.

  「Still hadn’t stopped completely, eh」


  「Will you be okay?」


  「Well, I won’t die at least」


  Taiyou said, tracing the “sliced wound” from above his bandages with his fingers.

  It was in a soft manner of touching, yet not touching, like when he slept with his wives the first time.

  Nevertheless, the kind of intense pain that made him feel his face was being pulled apart coursed throughout his entire body.

  「Ow ow ow……」


  「……Taiyou-chan? Could you actually……be a masochist?」


  「The hell did that come from!」


  He lashed back at the sudden comment with a quip, but that ended up bringing further pain.

  Taiyou held down the area around the wound, glaring at Hera.

  「The hell are you saying?」


  「Cause you are grinning while touching your wound. That has to be a masochistic tendency」


  「No, but well, it’s true that I’m happy」


  「So you really are a maso――」


  「I am NOT!」


  Further pain raced through his wound for talking so loudly.

  However, he was somehow happy as of now.

  He was even aware that there was a smile on his lips……

  「Hmmm, then why are you so happy?」


  「I’m sure you get it, but this is the biggest wound I’ve had since I first met Shirokiyami」


  「Yes indeed. It is indeed the biggest wound since meeting her」


  「Ah man, ever since then……we stopped being enemies, so she held back against me a lot. Honestly, she probably didn’t have to even go that far」


  「She is the strongest in the world after all」


  「Yep, that she is」


  Taiyou and Hera nodded together.

  They would know, having fought numerous times, even with the fairy Hera’s assistance.

  Shirokiyami’s power was worlds away from his.

  「Plus she can cut steel and leave behind afterimages」


  「Yes indeed」


  「Anyhow, leaving that as it is…」


  Taiyou said, returning back to his main point.

  「I told her earlier that I’d rather have her not hold back even if I end up getting badly injured」


  「I see indeed. Which is why you’re like this」


  「Yeah. This attack……is proof that I cornered her to a degree」


  Taiyou said, nodding.

  He could tell that the corner of his mouth was rising more and more.

  At that moment, Taiyou had definitely put pressure on Shirokiyami.

  Since he couldn’t even scratch her normally, he used a dirty trick to where she let her guard down, putting his everything into one attack.

  Shirokiyami didn’t look to have much resistance. The fight should have been won with one galaxy-sized punch.

  She had in fact made a very stiff face.

  If that attack had hit, by now――


  Even so, he couldn’t defeat Shirokiyami. Not even his fist could reach her.

  She had immediately gone into attack mode and sliced him.

  And he had suffered a great wound and lost.

  However, he had been able to make her change expression.

  He had been able to draw out a full-fledged counterattack.

  Albeit for an instant, he had certainly put pressure on her.

  Taiyou was madly in love with Shirokiyami. To him, even that one moment made him happy enough to jump for joy.

  Hera saw that, making an unusual tranquil smile. She spoke to him.

  「Taiyou-chan, you really do like Yami-chan」


  「No duh」


  「Then you’d best defeat her quickly. Defeat Yami-chan and have nice flirty moments」


  「Right. And for that, I gotta get stronger and stronger. I don’t think such an ambush will be possible again……feels like the path I was on just got more thorns in it」


  Taiyou felt a bit of regret as a result.

  「Maybe I should’ve stepped on the brakes」


  「Why is that?」


  「I used my last resort after all. I can’t use it more than once, so I might have succeeded if I had tried it after further raising my level」


  「I see indeed」


  Hera understood. Right afterward, she made her usual carefree smile.

  「Then I must also become stronger and stronger」


  「Huh?」


  「I will get strong and be of aid to Taiyou-chan. I will become the anti-Yami-chan trump caaard」


  「I’m counting on ya, Joker」


  「Yes indeed!」


  Taiyou and Hera high-fived each other.