I was Reincarnated as the Scum Older Brother of the Protagonist in a Romance Battle Game, But I don't want to Die, so I'll do my Best - Episode 16

On the second day of Golden Week, I took trains and buses from early morning, heading deep into the mountains near the prefectural border.

“Hey, Mashiro… are you sure this place really exists?”

Walking along the mountain path were two people—me, Kitano Jōji, and my best friend, Amamiya Mashiro.

“Mhm, no worries! [V-V]!”

Mashiro grinned and flashed a peace sign at me with her right hand.

“Is that… your way of telling me to point out that the map in your left hand is upside down?”

“Nwooooh?!”

She feigned exaggerated surprise. Mashiro, who had no friends at school besides me, used to eat lunch alone on the rooftop—earning her the nickname “Ariel of the Rooftop.”

But now, she’s turned into a comedy monster, somehow picking up joke material from who-knows-where and making it her life’s mission to get reactions out of me.

Earlier, Mashiro had told me to come prepared for hiking gear since she’d arranged a training ground further up the mountain.

Both of us wore thick fabric caps, tight black long-sleeved shirts, orange life jackets, brown jeans, thick-soled trekking shoes, and practical backpacks.

Even the colors matched… but this wasn’t a coincidence. On the first day of Golden Week, Mashiro and I had gone shopping together at the mall near the station, and she picked out the outfits.

But for some reason, Mashiro’s backpack looked noticeably bigger.

“Hey, Mashiro… I don’t think our backpacks match, do they?”

When we went shopping, Mashiro had said, “I already have one like this, so I don’t need it.” But now…

“Also, you’ve got way more stuff than me, right?”

The moment I said that, Mashiro flusteredly denied it.

“Don’t tell me… you brought stuff that has nothing to do with training or survival, right? Like… toys or something?”

“W-W-W-What?! N-No way~!”

Her eyes darted away unnaturally—Mashiro was terrible at lying. (Well, that’s part of her charm, though.)

Along the way, we took a lunch break to enjoy the mountain scenery, filling our stomachs with convenience store bento.

“I’ve been meaning to ask… you really love melon bread, huh?”

As if it were dessert, Mashiro was now chomping into a melon bread almost as big as her face.

“Mhm? Yeah, you said it was tasty once, so I tried it and got hooked.”

Like a hamster, she nibbled away with tiny bites, looking utterly delighted.

…But now, about two-thirds of the melon bread was in my hands.

“Hey… don’t offer what you can’t finish.”

Rubbing her stomach, Mashiro gulped down the milk tea she’d been drinking since morning.

“Mhm? Best friends share food—I read it in a manga yesterday. It’s common sense! [V-V]!”

“Well, this melon bread is delicious, so fine… Wait, that [V-V] peace sign is from Blade of the Immortal’s comedy duo, right? The one I lent you? You’re way too into it, hahaha!”

When I laughed, Mashiro got even more excited and started poking me with both hands, going [V-V][V-V].

“Hyahaha! Stooop! I can’t eat my melon bread! Hahaha! My sides are weak! Stahp!”

Fooling around like that, while completely ignoring Mashiro’s unreliable navigation, we finally arrived at our destination.

Amamiya Family Training Ground – The Rain-Soaked Rock Field of Genbu

Near the mountaintop, a long stone staircase branched off to the side, with a signboard standing beside it.

“Amamiya Family Training Ground… The Rain-Soaked Rock Field of Genbu?”

“Yep. This is one of the Amamiya family’s leyline training grounds, named after the Black Tortoise (Genbu), the sacred guardian of the southern gate.”

“Right, the Amamiya’s guardian spirit is Genbu, associated with rain, wasn’t it?”

Mashiro silently nodded at my question.

“I got permission from my family, so let’s head in.”

……………………

……………………

“Hah… hah… How many steps are there?! Hah… hah…”

On my knees, gasping for air, I glanced at Mashiro, who looked completely unfazed.

“Hah… hah… How are you so calm?!”

“Mhm? This is normal. You’re just too weak, Jōji.”

I wanted to snap back, but I was too out of breath. Meanwhile, Mashiro walked up to the talisman paper on the gate and placed her hand on it.

GOGOGOGOGO—

With a heavy, grinding sound, the large wooden gate slowly opened.

“We’ve been expecting you, Lady Mashiro.”

From inside, a woman in a purple hydrangea-patterned kimono bowed deeply to Mashiro.

“Mhm, long time no see, Ume-nee.”

At Mashiro’s voice, the woman—Ume-nee—raised her head and glanced at me for a split second, narrowing her eyes slightly.

(Yeah… I’m not exactly welcome here. Well, Jōji is kinda infamous in a bad way…)

And so, the joint training session with Mashiro began with a turbulent opening.