Grimgal of Ashes and Illusion - Volume 14.2 - Chapter 3.03

3. The Boston Crab

The blacksmith Riyosuke at Workshop Masukaze had been pushy, and his price of 40 silver to repair the massive sword was not that expensive, so Moguzo let him do it. Or rather, he couldn’t refuse. “He got pushed into it” might have been the more accurate way to put it.

In the time it took for Moguzo’s weapon to be ready, everyone decided to take the opportunity to learn new skills.

Moguzo picked the heavy-armor fighting technique Steel Guard. It made use of his armor to knock back enemy attacks. Learning to use his armor even though he had a new weapon on the way was a very Moguzo thing to do.

Ranta chose Dread Aura. It was some sort of dread magic that powered up a dread knight with the power of Skullhell, or something like that. His last skill, Dread Teller, had been a flop, or at least Ranta hadn’t been able to get any practical use out of it in battle. But from what he’d said, Dread Aura was a simple enhancement spell, so it seemed like it should be fine.

Yume apparently intended to learn Weasel Somersault. It was classified as a machete technique, but the skill involved a quick somersault to avoid enemy attacks, or gain some distance from them. While Yume was a hunter, she actually fought in close quarters more than she used a bow. It would definitely be of use.

Shihoru was picking up the distraction spell, Shadow Complex. It was Darsh magic that confused the target. It wasn’t meant to deal damage, but to interfere.

Merry had said she meant to learn Protection. Its effect was to boost the performance of up to six people at once using the blessings of Lumiaris. Why six? The symbol of Lumiaris was a hexagram, and the number was viewed as holy, so that might have something to do with it. There were even some theories that this spell was the reason volunteer soldier parties only went up to six members. It was sure to make the party stronger. I want to empower my comrades. That might be what Merry was thinking.

Now, as for Haruhiro...

“Ow, ow, ow, ow, ow, ow, ow, ow...?!”

“You’re sloppy, Old Cat.”

“No, but it hurts!”

“Well, obviously. Of course it’s going to hurt. I’m applying severe torque to your wrist and elbow.”

“Augh, that hurts! Wai—Barbara-sensei! Y-You’re breaking it...!”

“No, I’m not. No, I’m not. To break it, I’d have to do—this!”

“Gwaoh...!”

Did it make a sound? Just now? Pop. It did, right? His right elbow bone.

“Aghhhhhhhhhhhhhhh?! Owwwwwwww...?!”

“Just kidding. I lied. I didn’t break it, okay? Just dislocated it. Pop it back in, and you’ll be all better. Like this.”

“Gah...!”

“See?”

Keeping a firm lock on Haruhiro’s right wrist and elbow, she brought her face so close their cheeks were almost touching.

“It doesn’t hurt anymore, right?”

“...I-It hurts, okay...? Pretty badly, too...”

“You’re so gutless. I’m gonna break it for real this time. There!”

“Agyagh?!”

This time, it broke for real. —Or so he thought, but she let him go, for some reason.

Barbara-sensei was a short distance away, chuckling.

When he relaxed, she closed in quickly. Haruhiro tried to dodge. Seriously, too. Desperately even. It didn’t work at all. In no time flat, Barbara-sensei had Haruhiro by the right arm, and had his wrist and elbow in a lock, bent to their furthest extremity.

“This is Arrest. How many times will I have to show you before you learn, hmm, Old Cat? You’re not old enough to be going senile yet.”

“...D-Do it a little slower...”

“Slower? What’s that? Do you want me to snuff the life out of you? Slowly?”

“N-No, that’s not it. I want you to demonstrate it more slowly...”

“Oh. I see. There’s some sense to that, huh?”

Barbara-sensei quickly let go of him.

“Huh...?”

This was suspicious. Too suspicious. Knowing Barbara-sensei, she might pull another trick on him. Of course she would.

As he watched tensely, Barbara-sensei gently seized Haruhiro’s right arm.

“First, like this.”

“Uh... Right.”

“Then, like this—”

No, it wasn’t so much that she was seizing his right arm.

Barbara-sensei drew close to Haruhiro, and because of her light dress—with not much material actually covering her skin—her bare flesh was pressed against his.

This is...

“Hm?”

Barbara-sensei cocked her head to the side.

“What’s wrong, Old Cat? Is there some part you don’t understand?”

“...No. Th-There’s not really anything I don’t understand...”

“Hmm? Then you’re perfect, huh?”

Barbara-sensei pushed Haruhiro away, then put her right arm out without real concern.

“In that case, you try it.”

“I-I’m going to try it?”

“That’s right. This training is so you can learn to do it, isn’t it?”

“...Point taken.”

Haruhiro looked down and gulped. In this situation, if he said, “I can’t,” there was no telling what she might do to him. Knowing Barbara-sensei, he wouldn’t get off lightly. He’d be left wandering on the edge of death, and that was no joke.

Naturally, if he tried and failed, he’d be punished.

If he didn’t try, he’d be half-killed.

Hell in front of him. Hell behind, too.

A tiger at the front gate, wolves at the back.

Huh? Wasn’t he screwed either way...?

No, no, if he thought about which was worse, the answer was obvious.

“I-I’ll do it.”

When Haruhiro declared his pathetic decision, Barbara-sensei smiled and swayed her arm back and forth.

She’s pretty sexy, huh? Haruhiro thought despite himself. He suppressed a smile, and kept up a serious expression. Though, Barbara-sensei probably saw right through him. Barbara-sensei closely watched for any momentary thoughts, any wavering of the emotions.

“All right, come get me.”

Her beckoning gesture and her tone of voice were both more suggestive than necessary. Even more so than usual. It was like she was inviting him to do something else entirely. What was that something else? Well, setting that aside for now, this was part of his training, too.

A level head. Keep a level head.

He had to resist Barbara-sensei’s attempts to shake him up. Train his spirit, and keep his cool. If he didn’t, he couldn’t use the skill he was learning in an actual battle.

“...Here I come.”

Haruhiro grabbed Barbara-sensei’s right arm with both hands.

It feels kinda...

It was quite muscular, or looked it at least, but it was surprisingly soft.

So what?

Uh-oh. Haruhiro shook his head. He was doing exactly what Barbara-sensei expected. No, maybe not, but if he let himself be shocked by her feminine softness, he wasn’t going to get off with a simple, “Oh, my, Old Cat, feeling a little randy, are we?” She’d be pissed. And hurt him. That was no good.

Barbara-sensei had used Arrest on him a number of times, more than ten, at this point. He knew how it was done. Vaguely. At the very least, his body knew how it felt to be on the receiving end.

I can do this. I should be able to. Let’s do this. I’m gonna do it.

“Th-There...!”

I take Barbara-sensei’s hand like this, then flex her elbow as far as it will go, and—

“Ahn!”

Suddenly, Barbara-sensei cried out, which made Haruhiro’s heart skip a beat, and he couldn’t focus on the Arrest.

“You! Idiot...!”

Obviously, Barbara-sensei wouldn’t let that slide.

“Uwah?! Oh...?!”

But what in the world did she do to him?

He was probably spun around, then flipped. He lost his sense of balance, and a moment later slammed into the ground. He was upside down. He felt a weight on his back. This had to be Barbara-sensei’s butt. She was pulling on both his legs.

“Whoa! Ah! Barbara-sensei! Ouch! That hurts! This is painful...!”

“I’m hurting you, so of course it does! You let your guard down too much, Old Cat! This is punishment!”

This was that thing. Barbara-sensei was sitting on Haruhiro’s back, with one of his legs under each of her armpits. What was it called? Oh, yeah.

The Boston Crab.

That was the name of it. He didn’t know what kind of technique it was, but it was a dangerous one.

“Owwwww...! Barbara-sensei! This isn’t it! This isn’t Arrest! My waist! You’re breaking my back...! S-Spare me...!”

“If you want me to stop, well, squeal for me some more...!”

“Uwahahhahahahah...!”

“More! Give me more...!”

“Giiiiaghhhhahahhahahahhhahhhhahhahhhahhhhh....!”