I walk around the city with Aria-san, enjoying window shopping and chatting with her about various things. Remembering the sound-related abilities that she used a while ago, I asked her about it.
[Aria-san, can you do basically anything related to sound?]
[Yes, I suppose it wouldn’t be wrong to say that.]
[For example, moving at the sound speed?]
[……Yes, well, I can.][I see, that sounds pretty powerful. Sound attacks unleashed at sound speed……]
[…………………]
Sound Speed Movement is often considered a strong ability in battle-oriented media. Attacks with a speed of approximately 340 m/sec are quite tremendous, so I thought Aria-san might be pretty strong…… but she was looking at me with a complicated expression on her face.
As I tilted my head in wonder, Aria-san explained with a wry smile.
[No, sound speed certainly is tremendous at an ordinary level…… but for Peerage holders, that speed is so slow that there are only a few Baron-ranks who can’t reach sound speed, and those who can’t reach sound speed often excel in other abilities instead…… and for those who excel in speed, even when they’re at Baron-rank, they can move dozens of times faster than sound speed.]
[Ahh, I see. Come to think of it, I did hear something about how even low Count-ranks are able to handle light speed.]
I remember hearing about it from Alice when we were talking about Lilia-san’s reaction speed. If I recall correctly, at that time, Lilia-san hadn’t reached the same level as Count-ranks yet, but Alice said Lilia-san’s observable speed was on the level of 1/200 millionth of a second, and her reaction time was 1/100 millionth of a second. Of course, this includes enhancement by magic, but I heard that was at a level slightly lower than light speed.Now that she has already reached the level of Count-ranks, she must be much faster than that…… Peak Count-ranks, Duke-ranks and the Six Kings must be on a whole different level then.
Even with the glasses that can allow me to see at speeds ten times faster than light, capturing Isis-san, who moves relatively slowly, in my view is still at a challenging level…… The Six Kings really are just astounding.
[Yes, so sound attacks are actually quite slow. However, although the can be sensed to some extent with magic, since sound can’t be visually observed, there are many situations where it can be effectively used. One can set them up as a trap, manipulate the sound in space to eliminate blind spots, disrupt the opponent’s sense of balance, the range of applications is wide…… But well, in direct combat, the reality is that they’re slow. It may not seem like it, but I’m also a Peerage-holder, so I can move much faster than sound……]
[You can reach light speed?]
[……Ahh, no, I’m a little bit far from reaching light speed…… but I can manage about ten times sound speed, but beyond that would be a little tough.]
[I see. But from my point of view, even 10 times sound speed is more than enough.]
[Fufu, thank you. Since there are many formidable individuals around Kaito-sama, I was a bit worried you might be disappointed.]
With a mischievous glint in her eyes, Aria-san smiled, and watching her looking amused, I couldn’t help but smile too.
Well, from someone like me, whose combat prowess is compared to that of a slime, both Baron-ranks and Count-ranks seem incomprehensibly impressive, and they’re just beyond amazing for me.
[There’s no way I’d be disappointed. I mean, just being a Peerage-holder qualifies you as being among the world’s handful of geniuses, so Aria-san truly is amazing.]
[Please don’t flatter me so much. I might get carried aw——— K- Kaito-sama!? Please excuse me!]
[Eh? Whoa!]
In the middle of our conversation, Aria-san looked as if she had noticed something, and at a tremendous speed, she ran into a nearby alleyway with me in her arms.
Without understanding what was happening all of a sudden, I was confused, but Aria-san, still holding my head, gestured for me to hide myself. Maybe I shouldn’t be thinking about this at a time like this, but my face is being firmly pressed against her chest just now…… She smells quite elegant, strangely making my heart beat fast.
[……Umm, Aria-san?]
[Shhh! Please wait a moment. I- I just spotted someone I know…… I apologize for making you feel cramped, but please wait a little longer.]
[……Ah, yes.]
With those words, I could somewhat sense the situation. Aria-san was definitely here incognito, and she probably wanted to avoid being seen by acquaintances.
I understood that, but being held like this until that acquaintance of hers passes by, the embarrassment I’m feeling is just…… No, but it certainly would have been bad if I moved here and they noticed us…… Ahh, come to think, can that acquaintance be seen from here?
While being embraced by Aria-san, I couldn’t move my face much, but I managed to shift my gaze slightly to see the direction Aria-san was looking.
No, rather, isn’t that…… Beatrice-san? Unn? Arehh? That means Aria-san…… really is Alexandra-san…….
<Afterword>
Serious-senpai : [W- What a guy. To go for a tight hug on the first day they met…… Are they speed-running here or what……]
