Chapter 2
Glug, glug glug… Phew! That really took the edge off! Thanks a bunch, Kanzaki-senpai.
Nay, ‘twas nothing. Luckily, I had already been preparing some tea.
I don’t know what happened here, but even so—Why would you go running through the halls?! How incorrigible!
The student council is known for cracking down on troublemakers, so to hear that someone came into the building running like that—It’s a disgrace to our very name!
M–my bad! I was kinda panicking the whole time!
…About what? What could possibly be so important that you rushed over here all out of breath?
Uh! It’s really bad! I wanted to get your advice on it—Oh, I’m glad you’re here too, Kanzaki-senpai!
It’s like, when I went to my club, I found Taishou there practicing already. But he was saying all sorts of crazy stuff to himself…
Like “I got no choice but to kill ‘em” and “It’s time to pay the piper” and stuff…
So it got me thinking, what if he has beef with someone… I don’t know what I’m supposed to do about this!
Are we talking about the same Kiryu? That’s ridiculous. There’s no reason he’d get into a mess like that.
Thou thinkest not? I would not find it odd for someone such as Kiryu-dono.
I do wonder what he hath prepared. He is a hearty warrior with an appreciation for food!1
Ngh? Food…?
…Kanzaki. You are technically correct about the true meaning of “beef,” but Nagumo is using the word differently here.
It’s also often used in the sense of getting in a fight with someone.
What?! A fight…? Kiryu-dono would never do such a thing! Dost thou intend to make a mockery of Kiryu-dono, Nagumo?!
N–no way! It’s not like I wanna think Taishou would ever do something like that!
But I heard what I heard… At first I doubted it, but when I checked again, he was still saying really scary stuff.
But…!
Calm down, you two. I’m also not convinced he would do something like this. …But at the same time, I don’t think Nagumo is the type to lie about this.
That may be true—However…
I swear I’m not lying! That’s not something a man among men would do. You gotta believe me, you guys!
I just, I’m so confused because I don’t know what I’m supposed to do here.
I thought it’d be a good idea to ask you, Hasumi-senpai, so I rushed over here to the student council room.
Hmm…
(I certainly don’t believe Kiryu would get himself into a mess like this…)
(But based on how Nagumo’s acting, I can’t imagine it’s a simple misunderstanding. He probably did hear what he claims he did…)
(What the hell is going on here? Could Kiryu really be…?)
We will not get anywhere if we continue to agonize over this! We ought hold an emergency strategy meeting in order to better understand this situation!
…What? An emergency strategy meeting…?
Sounds like what Ryuseitai is always doing… But okay, I’m all in! We need some kinda plan to figure it all out!
Yea. Well said, Nagumo! With that decided, I shall write the topic upon this white-board!
“What we must do… regarding Kiryu-dono’s inexplicable behavior”
H–hey. Don’t just rush into things so haphazardly…
I’m no good at using my head, but I’ll try to think ‘til my brain melts for Taishou’s sake~
Come, come, Hasumi-dono! Prithee, take up the mantle of advisor and lead the discussion! Help us refine our strategy!
……
In any case, I believe it imperative to sort out the details of this situation!
U~myu. Well, it’s just basically what I already said…
Uh, let’s see. When I got to the dojo, Taishou had already started practice, so I was gonna try and surprise him a little and peeked in to see what he was up to.
And that’s when Taishou said he was gonna kill someone…
I thought I had to have heard him wrong or something, so I looked back in—and then he said that the next time he meets them, it’ll be time to “pay the piper.”
And after that I just ran here in a blind panic…
Wait, huh?! I was in such a hurry I musta left my bag outside the dojo! At least there’s only textbooks in it…
Textbooks should be the most valuable thing you own. Just what do you think your role in society is?
Anyway. Hmm… Despite all this, I still can’t picture Kiryu doing anything like that. Things were a little different in the past, but nowadays it’s unthinkable.
But… Right. In times like these, it’s best to change your perspective.
Change thy perspective… Dost thou mean to say that we should think of a situation which would cause Kiryu-dono to act in such a manner…?
A situation like…? Oh! I got it! Taishou said something like, all his friends are gonna get hurt if this keeps up!
Could Taishou be trying to pick a fight in order to protect someone…?!
Why didn’t you say that earlier?!
Hehe, my bad. I was so shocked by all the threats he was spouting I just kinda forgot.
I guess that makes sense. Well in that case, I can easily understand why Kiryu is making a move. This is probably all his way of trying to protect us, or someone else in the school.
I’m sure he’s thinking it’d cause trouble for us, so he’s trying to deal with it by himself…
He ought to do something about that side of him. He really is so incorrigible.
(inhales) Okay. So the original word in question here is お礼参り (reimairi) which has two meanings: the traditional “visiting a shrine or temple to give thanks,” and the colloquial “settling scores.” Tetora is obviously using the second one, but Souma misunderstands it as the first. This causes a very complex misunderstanding. Anyway, this line in particular is the only one that heavily strays from the original Japanese, so here’s a translation of the original line: “I wonder what wish he made. He is a true warrior who would never forget to give thanks to the gods!”