#611 Friendship with Angels

Think about it!

How is it possible for a fresh and blooming girl in high school to prefer natto?!

No matter how healthy they say it is, girls love parfaits and pancakes more!

Natto is, like, the furthest thing from that!

I thought one of the few good things about coming to another world was that I could say goodbye to natto.

So why did it stubbornly follow me all the way here?! 

It really is as sticky and persistent as they say!

“Natto is rich in protein because it is made from soybeans, nicknamed “the meat of the fields.” In addition to being an excellent source of nutrients, it is also a fermented food that has the ability to correct various abnormalities in the body. It is no exaggeration to say that it is a complete nutritional food that regulates the stomach, cleans the blood, and even makes all HP, MP, and all status conditions disappear...!”

“I don’t need your explanation!” 

I’m from another world, so I know all about that stuff!

Well, the second half was presumably fictional and nothing but a foolish rumor...

Anyway!

Health is still not a concern for us lively teenage girls!

We high school girls just want to eat desserts! Delicious! Aesthetic! That’s all we want in food!

Natto is neither sweet nor aesthetic! Understand?!

“Come on, don’t be afraid to try it, just take a bite. If you do, maybe you too will be a captive of natto...!”

Noooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!

She encourages me to try it like she’s offering drugs! No, no, NO!

It reminds me of breakfast at my grandma’s houseeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!

“Hyaah!”

“Guoh!”

In this desperate situation where I was about to have natto shoved into my mouth, I was saved by a roundhouse kick that hit the mature angel from behind!

Who did that kick?

My partner, Selena?

No!

It was Songokufon, the other angelllll!

“Songokufon?! Why are you attacking me? We’re supposed to be allies!” 

“Shut! S’exactly cuz we’re allies that I can’t stand by and watch this crappp! Ion care how good it tastes, but if ya force people to eat it, was the pointtt?!”

Yes, you’re absolutely right! Well said, Songokufon! 

Food tastes good only when you really want to eat it!

“As a fellow angel, am ashamed! Swift is Heaven’s vengeance!”

The angel team’s falling out has turned the tide!

Now! I’ll make a daring run for it!

I’ll cling to the back of the defenseless Horkosfon that’s been distracted by Songokufon!

“Ah!”

“Ya left yourself open! Take this!!!”

Songokufon’s entire body springs into action, and her dropkick directly hits Horkosfon!

The physical force of the dropkick sends Horkosfon flying backward, so I took advantage of that momentum to give her a belly-to-back suplex!

Unexpectedly, a two-platoon between friend and foe was decided!

I fall with Horkosfon while still maintaining a suplex position!

The referee comes out and counts to three!

We won! We got an unexpected rescue from our opponents’ tag team!

“We did it! We won!”

“This calls fer a victory songgg!”

Songokufon and I hug each other in joy!

Our hearts are one!

“Thank you, Songokufon! Thanks to you, I escaped from the fear of natto! You’re a good angel, after all!”

I used to hate you for showing up at the worst time possible, but I was mistaken! 

You’re my guardian angel!

“Wahaha! This woman’s so slow!”

“Best friends!”

“Best friends!!!”

We shake hands firmly.

It’s a golden pattern in battle arcs where you form bonds through that battle!

It’s a little irregular, though!

“It appears my ineptitude got the best of me this time.”

Oh?

Natto Angel Horkosfon got up just fine!

Our two-platoon attack didn’t seem to be that effective!

“I have learned that too much zeal can spoil things. Forcing people is rather blasphemous toward natto...!”

Seriously, why is this angel so devoted to natto?

“I’m going to look at myself with more serenity from now on and cunningly recommend natto so as not to cause trouble for other people. I hope you will try natto the next time you have a chance.”

“You’re still not giving up on making people eat natto, huh...”

Well, I guess it is okay to eat natto once in a while.

They do say eating it makes your skin glow!

“Yes, natto is indeed good.”

“Selena?!”

I thought I didn’t notice Selena around.

It turns out she’s been gobbling natto with all her might!

Was she just eating natto during the match?!

“I tried it after the angel recommended it, and it is highly nourishing. I’m going to ask the higher-ups if we can introduce this food to the entire army.”  

Stop it!

Don’t let natto infiltrate another world!

I don’t want such a fantasy worlddddddddddddddd!

“Hehehe, I think of y’all differently now. Y’all surprisingly have guts. I’ll take that into consideration n’ go easy on y’all the next time ya visit the dungeon.”

“There’s no point in clearing the dungeon if you go easy on us! We will clear the dungeon by our ability sooner or later, so you can keep doing the usual.”

“Ohh, confident, are we?”

Songokufon, who until now had been nothing more than an obstacle in the dungeon, seemed to have changed in this match.

This is how the world of sports and martial arts should be!

We compete and clash to recognize and train each other!

“The spring onion gives it a different texture.”

“I see! Natto is a food with endless potential!”

Selena is also being changed through her interactions with others!

Don’t go too far away, please...!

* * *

Thus, we, Lovely Pair, successfully (?) made it through the second round! 

We’re making steady progress in this tournament!

“We are getting closer and closer to the championship! How many more games do we have to win?”

“It’s the finals next.”

“What?!

That anticlimactic response almost made me fall off my chair. 

It’s the finals next?

You mean the third round is the final?

It’s already ending so soon, despite how exciting it has been. I thought it was going to be more grandiose.

“It’s a day-long event, after all. We don’t want to make it drag on for too long. The number of matches we can play is limited.”

Yeah, they did bear that in mind.

Our opponent for the final match is, of course, the S-class adventurer Pink Tonton!

The name of the tag team she has set up with her old comrade is Romantic Animals!

I’m not dissatisfied one bit to have them as our next opponent.

We will surely win and challenge that masked woman head-on!

And the title of champion will be ours!

Now, we’re ready to enter the ring!

The Lifeless King is working his recovery magic on us again, so we’re back to full strength!

Recovery magic really does come in handy! I wonder if the Lifeless King will join us in the dungeon.

“Sorry to dampen your excitement, Momoko, but...”

“Huh? What’s wrong, Selena?”

“The management is calling for us to come to the conference room ASAP.”

Whaaa?

What is it this time? Just when the excitement is about to hit its peak...

The match is not happening in the conference room, but in the ring, you know!

But, well, we can’t ignore it, so let’s go.

And so, we did, but...

There, the atmosphere was even more bizarre than in the ring.