Kays Translations
Just another Isekai Lover~
Chapter 44: The True Strongest
“Oh! Now that’s a fiery young man! That stubbornness—must be from his father!”
Colonel Star stood up, shouting in excitement.
The boy had no chance of winning against Jin, yet he still challenged him without hesitation. The sheer spirit of it all thrilled the Colonel, reminding him of his former student, Sieg.
“You’re challenging me? Not the seniors standing right over there? You should really know your place. You’re still just an apprentice, aren’t you?”
“Well, technically, I’m her older brother. I can’t just hand my little sister over to someone unless I know how strong they are.”
“Strength, huh…? Ha, I have been holding back so far. You really think you can bring out my full power?”
“My brother is strong. Much stronger than me.”
Reina said firmly.
The room fell silent.
The three flashy guys beside her looked at Kenya with disbelief, their faces screaming No way.
“Stronger than Reina? And he’s been unknown all this time? You’re joking.”
Even Colonel Star was taken aback. He had assumed Reina was the stronger one.
Jin, too, reacted—his eyebrows twitching slightly as he scrutinized Kenya.
“Well now… I hope that’s not just family favoritism talking. Fine, let’s fight. Reina, I’m sorry, but you’ll have to wait for a bit.”
And so, the two stood face to face.
Jin looking down at Kenya.
Kenya looking up at Jin.
“If I win, there’s no date. I can’t entrust Reina to a weak man.”
“Hah. Me, weak? That’s the first time anyone’s ever said that. Seriously.”
Jin chuckled—then his voice suddenly dropped into a lower, more menacing tone.
Internally, he was irritated.
“Tell me… You actually think you can win? Against me? Do you even understand what a Holy Knight Commander is? The strongest force of the strongest nation in this world?”
“Well, who knows? But I do want to find out where I stand.”
Jin frowned at Kenya’s words.
Still, he couldn’t be too dismissive. This boy was Reina’s brother, after all.
“…Fine. You’ll understand soon enough. Let’s do this.”
They stepped into the simulator.
The screen booted up, and the countdown began.
“Reina’s brother sure talks tough, huh? Even though he’s facing Jin, a literal monster.”
“Pfft. Jin is the strongest of our generation. That kid will be forced to apologize in no time.”
“Ahh, Sword-kun… this is suicide…! I’ll apologize with you when it’s over, okay?”
“Well, let’s see what Sieg’s son can do. At the very least, I hope he puts up a fight. Gahaha!”
The whole room watched as the numbers flashed on the screen.
A battle between the strongest student of this world—and the strongest student of another world.
Jin Halbert vs. Kenya Mitsurugi.
3… 2… 1… Fight!
“So, what’s his opening move going to be… Hm? He’s not moving?”
“Neither of them are. Are they just sizing each other up? Jin was provoked so much—I thought he’d take him down instantly.”
Colonel Star and the flashy trio watched, confused.
Everyone knew Jin’s personality.
He was the type to cut down an opponent like Kenya in a single slash to put them in their place.
Yet now, nothing was happening.
…This is nice.
Kenya sat in the cockpit, hands gripping the controls.
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Being here calmed him.
It sharpened his mind.
He felt like he could react to anything.
It was his switch—his ritual for entering a state of absolute focus.
And Jin?
What… is this?
Why can’t I move?
Why can’t I think of a single strategy?
The answer was simple:
Jin always knew how to win.
His instincts had always provided him with a clear vision of victory.
No matter the opponent, he always had a sense of how to strike, how to overwhelm them.
But against this enemy…
Nothing.
His instincts were silent.
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No strategy, no opening—nothing.
And worse, the only feeling rising inside him was a deafening alarm:
Do not engage.
His own body was warning him—screaming at him to stay away.
Kenya smirked inside his cockpit.
“I haven’t piloted a KOG since that day… but I’m glad the feeling is still there. Right now, I feel like I can handle anything.”
Kenya had survived a deathmatch against a hundred machines.
That battle had pushed him beyond his limits.
He had awakened.
And now, as he sat in his KOG once more—he could see it again.
The door.
The door that once required everything in him to push open…
Now, it felt as natural as stepping outside his house.
Effortlessly, Kenya could access the ultimate level of concentration.
His strength had no visible ceiling—even he didn’t know how far he could go.
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But one thing was certain—
The strongest recluse in his world had now awakened in this one—
And he was still climbing higher.
Jin clenched his teeth.
Why… why can’t I move?!
That space around Kenya’s machine… Could it be…?
A combat range?
Is his entire field of vision… his striking distance?!
What Jin saw was a circle around Kenya’s machine.
It shimmered like a mirage.
An invisible territory.
Jin was a monster.
A natural-born warrior.
Because of that, he could see it—
If he stepped into that territory, he would be cut down instantly.
It was the Absolute Zone Kenya had once created with his sword.
Later, it would be called the White Domain—
A space where Kenya could react to everything within it.
It wasn’t as large as during his battle against Takemikazuchi, but—
Anyone with talent could feel it.
The instant you entered that space—
You died.
“…Are you not coming, Jin-san?”
“S-Shut up!”
In the open chat, Kenya calls out to Jin, who is unable to move.
Jin, shaken, breaks out in an incredible sweat.
Just standing in front of Kenya drains him, overwhelmed by the pressure.
Kenya, on the other hand, is the complete opposite.
(My mind is unbelievably clear. That sense of omnipotence from that time is coming back. Right now…)
“D-Damn it!!”
Unable to endure it any longer, Jin abandons his sword and takes aim at Kenya with a gun.
His instincts scream that close-quarters combat is unfavorable.
The bullet—fired by none other than Jin, the Holy Knight Commander—was flawless.
Its trajectory would have undoubtedly pierced Kenya right between the eyes.
However, that bullet—
(Right now… even a bullet, I can cut it down.)
With a single sweeping motion of his massive blade, Kenya deflects it.
Of course, he didn’t cut it down by sight.
He merely predicted the bullet’s trajectory from the muzzle and timed his swing accordingly.
It looked simple, but it was a feat of extreme skill, worthy of being called an art.
Had he been in Takeru Raijin, he might have truly sliced it in two.
“W-What!?”
Jin is frozen in shock at Kenya’s seemingly impossible move.
Kenya doesn’t waste that opening.
He closes in—right into Jin’s space.
That is, right into Kenya’s invincible domain.
“D-Don’t underestimate me!! I am… the Holy Knight Commander!!!”
Jin swiftly switches back to his sword.
His movements are honed to the point where his body acts on its own.
Trained to perfection, his reflexes are among the fastest.
But Kenya moves even faster.
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KOG—physically, or rather electronically in this case—moves with absolute optimization to reach its highest speed.
Then—one flash, one slash.
Jin’s KOG’s head and body separate and fall.
In that instant, the winner is decided.
“N-No way… impossible. I lost? What is this strength…?”
Sword—WIN!
The screen displays the victory message.
Jin, unable to believe it, lowers his head, gripping the controls tightly and murmuring to himself.
Today, the true strongest student has been decided.