Breakthrough with the Forbidden Master Chapter 445: It Doesn’t Add Up

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Previously on Breakthrough with the Forbidden Master...

EarthLagann successfully completes his intense training, astonishing Hiro, Mamu, and Hakuki with his newfound mastery of magic. He reunites with his friends, displaying newfound confidence and a vibrant spirit, while his former companions Phianse, Fu, and Rebal grapple with envy and regret. As the tournament begins, Earth confronts José and his entourage, boldly asserting his strength. The chapter culminates with an eager world anticipating the first-round match between Earth and José.

〔Whoa, that’s all there is to say! Yes, from here on out, only their strength will do the talking! So, let the first match of the first round, BEGIIIIIINNNNN!!!!〕

“”””””UUUOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOHHH!!!!”””””

Ignoring Earth, who was too embarrassed to do anything and was sulking, the elves in the settlement joined the cheers of the arena spectators at the fighting tournament projected in the sky.

“Go, Big brother!”

“Brother, fight on!”

“To behold elder sister and brother so filled with childlike glee…… and yet, I do understand. For Sir Earth is so wondrous… Even Lady Shinobu and dear Norja, see how their eyes sparkle with delight.”

“That’s right. And it’s not just that it’s cool… something about Honey’s fights… stirs something, you know? It makes you want to move your body…”

“Yeah, totally! I wanna get in bed and go , with my body so bad!”

“Um, General…… I believe that has a different meaning entirely…….”

The fateful showdown between Earth and José.

Moreover, everyone’s cheers are growing fervent, fueled by the pent-up frustration from their past dealings with José.

And ……

〔【Bit Fire!!】 …… Everyone’s making a fuss about my magic… is my spell too weak?〕

A massive inferno erupts from José’s hand, engulfing Earth in an instant.

José’s spell was more than enough to prove to those watching that he wasn’t “just all talk”.

〔Ah! He’s so weak that I’m hesitant about knocking him down, pitiful!!〕

However, Earth extinguished the flames with just the pressure of his fist.

And ……

〔You told me this was all there was to the guy, didn’t you? Anyway…… here’s what I’ve got!!〕

〔Pyuh!?〕

In an instant, he lunged into José’s bosom and slammed a powerful left fist into his unprotected body.

It was such a powerful body blow that his spine bent, causing him to writhe in agony and vomit stomach acid and everything else in an instant.

José collapsed to the ground, writhing and thrashing about, covered in vomit, struggling in agony.

“BIG BROTHER, THERE IT IIIIIIIIIIIS!!”

“Serves him right! He never stood a chance against Brother in the first place. He’s the very definition of overestimating oneself! And I don’t feel sorry for him one bit!”

“To think, at a time like this, all that pent-up stuff from before… Ah, having him flaunt all that pent-up stuff right in front of me… Honey, I’m knocked out too……”

“H, he is so valiant…… so gallant…… ah, Sir Earth~, Uh~~~!”

“Nuhohoho~~, Hubbyyy~ ♪ I mean, like, if even I got totally owned by Hubby, there’s no way some random little punk like him could ever win, duh.”

Everyone jumped up and down, cheering wildly.

To be honest, for those who know Earth’s true strength, or those who can roughly gauge José’s ability just by looking, this outcome was to be expected.

However, what matters most to them is

“””””Big (Brother) (Honey) (Sir Earth) (Hubby) is so cool~!!”””””

Anyway, as huge fans of Earth, just seeing him do anything is enough to make them jump for joy.

〔Yes, fine! I’ll show you! My seriousness! The magic theory I’ve come up with! From here, this world is on my time!〕

However, José was unwilling to let it end there. Even as his form became grotesque, he went berserk and rose to his feet once more.

He swallowed a suspicious-looking drug and raged anew.

But……

〔Well, won’t say it’s cowardly. I know how you feel. That’s why…〕

〔Shut up! What do you know about me! …… Fu… Fufu…… so far…… I didn’t think I’d be so ridiculed. You know nothing about me. The life I’ve lived… my resolve!〕

〔Ah?〕

〔Fine, I’ll tell you if you insist. My past. What happened to me? When I met the High Priestess and why I chose this path? My life that I haven’t told my friends about yet. After hearing this story, you won’t be able to say such cocky things anymore.〕

〔I don’t caaaaaaaaaare !!!!〕

〔Bugoboo!?〕

Everyone knows it.

That he’s no match for Earth.

Without mercy, Earth beats José to a pulp with a single left, overwhelms him, and finally knocks him out with a hook.

〔Do that in the church. I hate people who keep dwelling on the past.〕

〔Truly, completely settled, a perfect victory! Earth Lagann! He advances to the second round with dignity!!〕

“”””””UUUOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOHHH!!!!”””””

At that moment, another great cheer erupted in the Elf Settlement.

Even though everyone knew the outcome from the start, they were still jumping up and down with excitement, their eyes shining.

“Wow, this is just the best! I had my doubts about a few things, but Paripi really pulled it off!”

“That’s true. It’s amazing that he even managed to record what happened in Cacretale, a place we couldn’t visit even if we wanted to, and where we couldn’t even gather any information about!”

“I want to cut out scenes of Big brother’s signature lines so I can watch them anytime~”

“Yeah, that’s it. I was thinking the same thing. Maybe we could do something with the technology from the Shiznautmy ruins.”

Espie and Slayer were especially thrilled.

Given their age, they should have been more composed, but the story of Earth’s growth during a period they hadn’t been able to observe—a time they hadn’t even been aware of—really struck a chord with the two of them.

On the other hand, however……

“Hmm…… his sharpness is on a completely different level… He’s not even using half his strength….”

“What’s the big deal? It’s obvious. Even My Lord is personally aware of Onii-san’s level, aren’t you?”

“…… Hmm.”

Mikado spoke quietly, his expression serious. Koujiro tilted his head at the sudden change in the atmosphere.

Then……

“Earth-kun’s strength… about two or three months before this tournament, he participated in that Imperial Tournament… he displayed remarkable abilities even then, and this one also met Earth-kun once in a city called Cantidan, within the Empire’s territory, shortly after he ran away from home.”

“Ah… and right after that, he was abducted by Jamdi’el, wasn’t he?”

“Hmm……”

“So, you’re curious about that, aren’t you?”

“From that point on…… his growth has been far too ideal…”

“?”

“The image I had of Earth Lagann from what I’d heard about his Academy days was that of a brilliant student who just couldn’t break out of his shell and kept hitting a wall. Well, it’s rare, but sometimes a young person like that has an awakening that breaks through their shell and dramatically improves their level. Take Hiro, for example; he’s the type who, ‘when about to lose, would suddenly experience an awakening of a dormant power’—it’s quite absurd~.”

“Haha, well…… that’s certainly true of Hiro, isn’t it? The type who’d get beaten to a pulp, get back up, and then boom—superpowers would just kick in, right?”

“However, in his case, judging from his life at Cacretale, it wasn’t a matter of dormant powers awakening or such; rather, it’s due to effort… he’d developed a habit of diligent training on a daily basis, and has leveled up through ingenuity and acquiring the necessary skills….”

Mikado’s assessment of Earth.

Earth didn’t become strong because “his dormant talent suddenly blossomed and he leveled up”; rather, he became strong through consistent, diligent training and acquiring the necessary skills that suited him.

But is that a problem?

Just as Koujiro was thinking that, Mikado glanced at Earth, who was curled up in a corner with his back turned, hugging his knees……

“From what I can tell, Jamdi’el had no involvement in Earth-kun’s training… In that case, how did Earth-kun develop the training methods, plans, and ideas for mastering those techniques…?”

“…… Ah…Yes, you’re right.”

“If Jamdi’el had secretly been teaching Earth-kun…… then the events of the Imperial Tournament would make sense—if it were the case that ‘actually, Jamdi’el and Earth-kun were connected before anyone else knew’… but that’s not the case.”

“…… I mean, it’s a bit much to think he taught himself….”

“It’s impossible. Power, speed, physical abilities—the way all those various parameters have developed so evenly… a teenager couldn’t have done that alone… let alone come up with the training methods to master them, even if he could ‘conceive’ of the Breakthrough or the Magical Breathing… impossible.”

Even Mikado wasn’t suspecting Earth of anything malicious.

However, this is a genuine query.

The way Earth had grown. The training that led to that growth.

Mikado wasn’t questioning the fact that Earth had become strong, the process by which Earth conceived of how to become strong didn’t add up.

“What do you think, Koujiro? How do you see it through the eyes of your heart?”

In response to Mikado’s question, Koujiro thought back on Earth once more.

On what the blind Koujiro had sensed about Earth up until now.

“Come to think of it, when I first met this Onii-san……”

And then, he remembered something.

From Koujiro’s perspective, that was over a decade ago.

At that moment, he recalled having the same question Mikado had now, and that that question had never been resolved.

And above all, back then……

“If we hadn’t learned of the Magical Breathing technique back then… in the final battle, we would have…….”

“Hmm?”

“…… Magical Breathing…… huh…… and the Breakthrough.”

Come to think of it, Koujiro found himself revisiting the question he’d had over a decade ago: just how did it really happen?

“Onii-san is a really good man…… it would be tacky to fuss over the small details, but… I can’t tell whether it’s a question I shouldn’t worry about or not.”

“Hmm……”

“Espie-jou might know something about it…… and, you know, I’d like Norja to be just a little more curious about it too.”

While Koujiro acknowledged Earth and considered him a trustworthy and reliable man, the question “Why?” still began to take root in his mind.

Earth himself was unlikely to reveal anything, but what do Espie and the others think?

“”…… Hmm?””

Curious, Mikado glanced at Espie, and saw that both Espie and Slayer had serious expressions on their faces.

Was it because they had the same questions as Mikado and Koujiro?

〔…….. gyu~tsu…〕

〔Amae?〕

〔……older brother……〕

〔…… What was that?〕

No, that wasn’t the case.

〔O….. ol…… U~~…… older brother, next time, fight on!〕

〔U~, uh!?〕

Or rather, the two of them had bigger things on their minds.

〔Inya, I’m sorry, Big brother. Amae, really wanted to call you ‘Older brother’.〕

〔Bring on the second round now! If you want, all the contestants together, come at me!!!!〕

The scene shows Earth’s friends congratulating him on his victory, and Amae calling Earth “Older brother” for the first time.

“Huh?”

“What?”

While the whole world was thinking, “Amae is so cute~”, only Espie and Slayer, who had been watching with sparkling, excited eyes up until then, furrowed their brows for an instant.

Their eyes twitched at the sight of the little girl jumping into the arms of the brother she loved most in her world, calling him “Older brother” and clinging to him affectionately—and at the sight of their brother, looking not at all displeased by it.

And this was not the end of their jealous reactions.

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