For the next while, I enjoyed myself among the several beautiful girls, including the beautiful mature woman Shirley. Shinonono Houki, since opening her heart that night, gradually got used to being my woman, though she was still a little tsundere in front of others. Cecilia and Charlotte also noticed the affair between Houki and me, which meant I had to properly comfort (and bang) them for a good while.
Soon, the final exams arrived. This term's exam included a class vs. class competition, and I seized the opportunity to issue a challenge to Orimura Chifuyu. During this period, I hadn't let up on my pursuit of Chifuyu. Although the competent, mature woman always found excuses to evade my advances, over time, we had become much more familiar with each other.
Chifuyu wasn't surprised by my challenge. The excuse she had previously used to reject me was that she liked men stronger than her. Although I still shamelessly clung to her, I knew how to draw the line, which left Chifuyu feeling somewhat helpless. So, she accepted my challenge, hoping to finally end my persistent longing.
"Teacher Ken, I'm warning you, I won't hold back." For this match, Chifuyu even wore her IS armor for the first time in a long time. She had to coax Tatenashi into getting it for her because my previous display of strength forced her to take the match seriously.
"Of course. Please, come at me with everything you've got." I stood at the other end of the arena, stretching while talking to Chifuyu.
"Alright, the match is about to begin. 3, 2, 1... Start!" Yamada Maya's voice boomed from the speaker, signaling the official start of the match.
Right away, Chifuyu dashed forward. Her astonishing physique allowed her to withstand greater acceleration, so the acceleration of her IS armor was much stronger than the specialized IS units. In an instant, she arrived right in front of me.
"Houki, who do you think will win?" In the stands, the trio of girls sat together, anxiously watching the match. Although they all knew I was strong, Orimura-sensei was the world's number one IS pilot. Cecilia and the others couldn't help but worry a little.
"That... that should be Teacher Ken," Houki said, a little unsure. Although I had fought Cecilia before and showed high combat experience during lessons and training, Chifuyu's previous track record was no joke. Taking on a hundred enemies alone was no problem for her.
"Houki, your bias toward the teacher is getting more obvious," Cecilia teased. In fact, Cecilia was quite confident in me, after all, I was her man, though a little bit of worry was unavoidable. Still, Cecilia couldn't resist poking fun at Houki. Both she and Charlotte had long figured out the relationship between Houki and me, and even some classmates had noticed the clues, but Houki's thin skin made her try to cover it up, which only gave them more opportunities to joke.
"T-That's... that's because... because Teacher Ken instructs me more often, so I'm naturally more supportive of him!" Being teased by Cecilia instantly made Houki's face flush red. Gone was her usual cold demeanor.
"Hehe, Cecilia, don't bully little Houki. Look, her face is so red you could boil an egg on it." Charlotte, smiling, put her arm around Houki's shoulder and stroked her crimson cheek, joining in the teasing.
"Moo~ Charlotte, you too!" Houki knew the two were ganging up to tease her, so she reached out to tickle both of their stomachs. Immediately, the three burst into laughter. At the same time, Houki felt even more grateful to me. Since meeting the teacher, she had truly changed so much.
Meanwhile, the battle in the arena reached a fever pitch. The students could only see afterimages of the fight between Chifuyu and me. If it weren't for the multi-speed slow-motion display on the big screen, they wouldn't know what was happening. They only knew the battle was intense. Every collision caused significant damage, and the reinforced arena floor was already riddled with craters.
"Tsk, this guy really is strong," Chifuyu thought, growing a little impatient after failing to break through my defense. She knew the consequences of losing, but no matter how she attacked, Teacher Ken always deflected it, which left her frustrated.
"Hey, Chifuyu, are you giving up?" Sensing a slight increase in the urgency of Chifuyu's movements, I didn't miss the opportunity. I instantly switched from defense to offense. My black sword quickly sliced and attacked the openings in Chifuyu's defense, forcing her into a desperate defense. Only her strong battle intuition and rich experience helped her stabilize.
"Clang! Clang! Clang!" The sounds of the two swords clashing became increasingly fierce. After Chifuyu blocked one of my cleaving attacks with her sword, she quickly retreated. The intense battle had drained a lot of her stamina, but I obviously wouldn't give her a chance to catch her breath and immediately pressed the attack.
"No, if this continues, I'll lose. Limit Mode: ON." Following the command, Chifuyu's IS armor deployed. Red lines appeared on her weapons and armor, greatly boosting their performance, but this was limited to five minutes. She had to end the fight within these five minutes.
She charged at a speed even faster than before. The powerful impact and the force of her swinging weapon collided with my black sword, generating a powerful shockwave. Fortunately, I adjusted the power I was using in time; otherwise, I might have been knocked away by the previous force.
Failing in one strike, Chifuyu didn't dwell on it. She had adjusted her mindset. No matter what, it was down to these five minutes. Win or lose, she just needed to give her all. With her mind clear, Chifuyu's attacks became even more ferocious.
Her repeated attacks had crisscrossed the ground. If it weren't for the neutralizing effect of each strike, the arena's energy shield would have long been destroyed. Both her high-output IS armor and weapon began to struggle under the strain, and the system flashed a warning about reaching the critical point.
"This is the final blow." Seeing the countdown start, Chifuyu maximized the thrusters on her IS armor, using the extreme acceleration to launch her final strike. The air friction generated heat, making the air feel scorching, and the blade turned red from the intense friction. This was her full-power strike.
"BOOM..." Chifuyu's attack was truly formidable. She was rightly called a human strategic weapon. That one strike could easily cleave a small island in two. In the IS world, she probably had no rivals—but unfortunately, she met me.
"Chifuyu, were you trying to kill me?" When the arena dust cleared, I stood unscathed in the arena. The area around me had been carved into a deep pit, while Chifuyu was kneeling before me, her sword shattered on the ground.
"You're perfectly fine! I lost. I couldn't even manage to wound you," Chifuyu said. She then lay flat on the ground. It was a good thing I was the only man there; otherwise, her damaged IS armor and tight suit wouldn't be able to hide her cleavage. Right now, I was certainly enjoying the view.
"Don't say that. You are already strong enough in this world."
"Hmph, then can you just forget about what I said before?" Chifuyu pouted with an uncaring expression. Of course, it wasn't that Chifuyu didn't care about winning or strength; it was just that her chastity was more important. After all, she was still a woman.
"I can't do that. That would mean I fought for nothing, wouldn't it? You're not going to renege, are you?" Although she hadn't explicitly promised to be my girlfriend if I beat her—it was obviously a flimsy excuse—I wasn't going to let that stop me. I'd solidify the agreement first.
"I'm not that kind of person. Come to my dorm after school." Chifuyu rolled her eyes at me, then got up and left the training area to change clothes in the locker room. What a decisive woman. I like it.
"Teacher, you were truly amazing!" Afterward, the students flooded onto the arena. Despite the wrecked condition of the ground, it didn't dampen their enthusiasm. Charlotte immediately flung herself into my arms like a swallow returning to the forest. Cecilia, Houki, and the other students also came over to celebrate my victory. For a time, the chorus of beautiful voices made it feel like I was in paradise on Earth.
Soon, it was time for school to end. I hastily rushed to Chifuyu's teacher's dorm. The single-occupancy teacher's dorm was very convenient. I arrived at the door and rang the doorbell. Footsteps sounded a moment later. It seemed Chifuyu had gone straight back to her dorm after the match.