Chapter 1~Template~
On that day, the lives of those in Year 2 Class 2 changed.
Our calm and peaceful days suddenly turned extraordinary.
An enormous magic circle had appeared in the middle of the classroom.
「Everyone, get out of the classroom!!!」
Somebody shouted this, but it was already too late.
The magic circle had already started its invocation, and a noticeably stronger light flooded my vision.
Unable to take it, I closed my eyes.
I felt my body float a little.
The girls nearby were screaming.
And in the next moment, we were back down on the ground again.
And then, our ordinary days were forcibly taken away from us.
Because we were summoned to another world.
I, Oda Akira, do not believe in any ghosts, aliens, or occult phenomenons.
I’ve read about different world summonings in novels, and although I sympathized, envied, and was deeply moved by them, there was a clear boundary between that and reality.
「I beseech you, defeat the demon lord and save us.」
However, this situation where a person who seems to be the king of a whole country bowing his head in front of us was, without a doubt, reality, and as one would expect, my mind still could not compute what was happening.
No, anyone would be confused when faced with something like this.
There’s no doubt that my face that had always been expressionless was also shaken.
TN: (無表情すぎてこれまで何度もヤがつくお方かと思われた俺の顔も呆けているに違いない。) I had so much trouble with this one, so if I translated it wrong, please let me know. EDIT: I fixed it somewhat, thanks to Lyndai’s suggestions.
A few minutes ago, when we could see again, we were in an extremely spacious hall where we couldn’t even see the other party, and there were thirteen knights surrounding us and a young girl who seemed to be a princess breathing heavily while peeking at us.
No, she looked like a knight, but she’s holding a staff, so was she a magician?
My mind was a mess, but a part of me was calm and continued to observe the room that I’ve never seen before.
On the floor was a soft carpet, and although the color was a bright red, it went well with this pointlessly gorgeous room.
The ceiling was also pointlessly high, and I saw that it was delicately designed, but the ceiling was too high so it couldn’t be seen clearly.
As I was observing, before I knew it, those besides the young girl and the magicians were standing near us.
「Welcome, thank you for coming, hero candidates. Please come this way. His Majesty the King will explain everything.」
An old man who was like a butler respectfully thanked us, and pointed at a door that was just as pointlessly elegant.
There was not a single person who asked any questions, we were silenced under the old man’s gaze.
For now, we followed him and walked towards the door, and then the ojisan who seemed to be His Majesty the King giving us an explanation was, a common development in different world fantasy novels.
Firstly, information regarding this world.
It seems that this world was called ‘Morigan’ and was a globe-shaped planet like Earth.
There were four continents on Morigan.
Each continent was inhabited by humans, demons, elves, and beastmen respectively.
The place that we were summoned to was the biggest country within the human continent, “Retice’.
And the reason why we were summoned was, by decree of the king.
The demons have invaded human territory.
I want you to defeat the demon king. …was what he said.
In my mind, I shouted, ‘There it is, the templateeeee!!’
Of course, it was shout for joy.
It could be said that this was the situation that all young people around this age long for.
It was unusual for there to be someone in our class who didn’t shout for joy.
Maa, there were some girls who were looking around uneasily, but even so, a lot of the male students who were delighted.
Similarly, I was also one of those people who shouted for joy.
We, were foolishly delighted, unaware of the suffering and the adversity that awaited us.
—
Chapter 2~Status~
The king may have been busy as he left after saying that much, and the old man holding a crystal who also suddenly appeared continued and explained the status.
He was extremely skilled in erasing his presence.
This old man was pretty good….
「Everyone, please chant “Open Status’ in your mind.」
The old man said this, and smiled meaningfully.
We immediately chanted ‘Open Status’.
Not betraying our expectations, a glowing board that gave off a fantasy feel appeared before us.
ーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーー
・Akira Oda
・Race / Human
・Occupation / Assassin Lv.1
・HP 1800/1800
・Attack 1200
・Defence 800
・MP 700/700
ーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーー
Skills
・Arithmetic Lv.5
・Negotiation Lv.4
・Hidden Weapon Lv.1
・Assassination Lv.1
・Curved Blade Lv.1
・Dagger Lv.1
・Stealth Lv.MAX
・Perception Lv.1
・Threat Detection Lv.1
ーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーー
Special Skills
・Language Comprehension
・Eye of the World Lv.1
・Shadow Magic Lv.1
ーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーー
Oooooh….
If you looked at it another way, they were skills that leaned toward assassinations.
Was it because my occupation was an assassin?
Also, the skill 『Stealth』that thinned out one’s presence was at max level.
「Akira, did you see your status?」
I nodded at my classmate’s question.
My classmate was a little…no, pretty excited.
I too, could not hide my excitement at the novel-like development.
I even thought that I was so lucky to have lived until now.
However, it was also true that we were exposed to danger because we had almost no idea what was happening.
That was what the calm part of my brain pointed out.
I may have been a little too excited, so let’s calm down a little.
「Your occupation, what is it?」
「I am a wind magician. What about Akira?」
「Assassin.」
「As expected, even in the classroom, even though you should’ve been nearby, you would suddenly appear and disappear. I was certain that you were a ninja or something.」
「Shut up. I don’t disappear because I want to. Maa, I do it on purpose most of the time.」
That’s right.
If I were to seriously conceal myself, nobody can find me.
What’s particularly sad was that nobody ever found me whenever we were playing hide-and-seek when I was younger.
Even if it was ‘kick the can’, even if I was terrible at it, until the can was kicked, even if it was an ally, they wouldn’t know where I was.
There was nothing wrong with, my status.
Or was it, the norm in this world?
It seems that the skills were based on the experiences from back when we were on Earth, as 『Arithmetic』 and 『Negotiation』 were also high-leveled.
Well, 『Arithmetic』 was what I learned in school, and was probably due to the influence of those numeric formulas that I have no idea as to when they would be used.
『Negotiation』might have been from haggling with the greengrocer’s ojisan every day.
In a situation like this where we had no idea what’s happening, even if I didn’t have any combat skills, I’d be happy that my skills’ levels were high.
「…now, I wonder who the hero is.」
「Aah, well, it’s not hard to imagine who it is.」
When I said this and glanced in that direction, a certain young man who was surrounded by a crowd of girls broke into a smile.
No, he was apathetically expressionless, but the corners of his mouth tend to rise a little.
This was our class’s ikemen, Satou Tsukasa.
Good-looking face, excellent grades, exceptional athletic abilities.
He was completely like a righteous hero, our school’s student council president-sama.
His flaws were that he wanted a harem and that he can’t keep a poker face.
If he wasn’t the hero, rather, if you’re going to ask who would be the hero, it should be a guy who’s competent and wouldn’t doubt whether he was the hero or not.
And, it seems that he’s actually the hero.
If you looked at his facial expression, it was obvious.
Perhaps the girls also understood this, there was a lot more of them than usual surrounding him.
And the guys that didn’t have girlfriends were grinding their teeth in anger as they looked on.
It was a scene that didn’t change no matter where we were.
It seems that everyone had finally settled down.
「Well then, heroes, please put your hand over this crystal. This crystal is a magic tool that will read your status, and display it. By all means, please show me the power of the heroes.」
The old man said this, and held up the crystal that he was holding.
I frowned.
As expected, it seems that we have to display our status publically.
Was it possible to somehow avoid that?
In this kind of situation where we had no information, displaying our status publically was extremely dangerous.
Even in the novels that I read, there were cases where the protagonist who was the hero was used as part of the military in the country that he was summoned in.
It may not be like that here, but you can never be too careful.
At any rate, we still did not know much about this world.
I looked around as I thought of a solution.
「Well then, let us start with the person over there.」
There were suits of armor lined up along the walls of the room that didn’t move no matter what.
They’re far away, so I don’t know, but when I take into consideration that every one of, or, some of the soldiers were disappearing among them, I couldn’t make any unnecessary movements.
What should I do?
—
Chapter 3~Difference~
The one who was being encouraged by the old man to be the first to touch the crystal was the class mascot Sano Miko-san.
When Sano-san nervously put her hand against the crystal that the old man was holding, the crystal shined brightly, and her own status that she saw just now was displayed and enlarged overhead.
This, even if you were to stand along the wall, you would still be able to clearly see the details.
「「「Ooooh…」」」
My classmates who didn’t even think about things like the risks that came with displaying their status in public were unable to move their eyes away from the unrealistic scene of light bursting out from the crystal and displaying letters.
While my classmates who were dreaming of the technology that didn’t exist in Japan gave shouts of joy, I had casually took a look at the status, and was overcome with surprise.
ーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーー
・Miko Sano
・Race / Human
・Occupation / Barrier Master Lv.1
・HP 180/180
・Attack 150
・Defence 130
・MP 130/130
ーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーー
Skills
・Arithmetic Lv.5
・Sewing Lv.7
・Cooking Lv.5
・Barrier Magic Lv.1
・Barrier Restoration Lv.1
ーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーー
Special Skills
・Language Comprehension
ーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーー
「…so weak…. What is this?」
Though we were just summoned to another world, my mind that was already quite confused became more and more confused.
In the novels that I read, besides the hero, the number of skills and the Attack of the mobs should be approximately the same.
Also, it was normal for the hero to be many times more powerful.
However, there was an unbelievable difference between my status and Sano-san’s.
Sano-san had more higher level skills than I do, but no matter how you look at it, the difference in the overall status was too much.
Was it because she did not have an attack-oriented occupation?
Following Sano-san, the class clown Watabe Katsumi proudly put his hand on the crystal.
ーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーー
・Katsumi Watabe
・Race / Human
・Occupation / Martial Artist Lv.1
・HP 180/180
・Attack 200
・Defence 200
・MP 300/300
ーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーー
Skills
・Arithmetic Lv.3
・Kenjutsu Lv.3
・Taijutsu Lv.2
ーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーー
Special Skills
・Language Comprehension
ーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーー
There were shouts of joy once again.
「…what’s going on, this.」
「Really, I wonder what’s going on, with this crystal.」
I did not continue the conversation with the classmate next to me.
However, he didn’t mind something like that.
「…ok, let’s go into stealth.」
Several people displayed their status, and because their status were all lower than mine, I used my the skill that I excel in, 『Stealth』and concealed myself.
If it was the same as in the other world, my presence should’ve disappeared with this and no one can see me.
This skill. It’s pretty inconvenient to not know if people really can’t see me.
However, if my status was to be exposed, it wouldn’t be good.
For now, I’ll take a look at Satou’s status as a hero, and if he was stronger than me, I’ll cancel my skill and it would be fine to touch the crystal, was what I was thinking.
However, I was sorely mistaken.
ーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーー
・Tsukasa Satou
・Race / Human
・Occupation / Hero Lv.1
・HP 200/200
・Attack 800
・Defence 500
・MP 350/350
ーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーー
Skills
・Arithmetic Lv.7
・Charm Lv.5
・Taijutsu Lv.2
・Sword Lv.2
・Four Attribute Magic Lv.1
ーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーー
Special Skills
・Language Comprehension
・Holy Sword Lv.1
ーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーー
His skills certainly were high, and his 『Four Attribute Magic』was fascinating, but the numeric values on his status were lower than mine.
The girls were screaming kyaa kyaa, but I don’t think that it’s that amazing.
Seriously, what’s going on?
As expected, it’s just my status that’s abnormally high.
Was it a bug?
「As expected of the hero-sama. What wonderful levels and skills. In this world, the limit of the average person’s attack power, is 100. Even for someone with a battle-oriented occupation, the limit is 500. Hero-sama’s initial status is beyond that. In that case, you would be able to defeat the demon king without any problems.」
At the old man’s suspicious smile, I shuddered a little.
I just met him, so I’m not entirely sure, but I did feel that it was suspicious.
I felt a little uncomfortable.
That is, the king that we saw just now and, that pretty young lady who was most likely the princess waiting in the back–this young girl was probably the one who was looking over here together with the knights when we were summoned–I had a feeling that those smiles were, the same as this old man’s.
It was as if they pasted the smiles, onto their faces.
As I was concealing my presence, I looked up unintentionally, and muttered, ‘Was I right?’
I saw something that gave off a flash of light high up in the ceiling.
It was most likely a magic tool that recorded things like a camera or something.
I wasn’t able to see if it was actually a camera or not, but when I saw that, I was extremely annoyed.
It was similar to the feeling that I got when I saw surveillance cameras in the other world.
Sensing that the situation was making a turn for the worse, I frowned.
My bad premonition may have been spot on.
—
Chapter 4~Eavesdropping~
I threw myself onto the bed of my room and looked up at the ceiling.
When the bed caught me, it sank a little and then bounced back up.
It was not for certain that I would stay in this room, but it was as spacious as the ones at those hotels that cost over ten thousand a night, and at first glance, it was pretty and everything was put in order.
The shower and the bathroom were quite spacious as well.
Actually, everyone was assigned their own room, so one can guess just how big this castle was.
The completely white room as well, even if It’s unused, perhaps they clean and ventilate it, because it’s not dusty at all.
「Something like an assassin, if I properly act as the hero’s spy, then after the hero defeats the demon king, I’ll be a free man. I thought that it would be on easy mode though.
I don’t know if I’m right or not, most likely, I was.
What an awful scam.
Wasn’t this on hard mode?
I was even talking to myself a lot more than usual.
For now, I should find out what the scheming king and the others were planning.
Was it because I had the 『Negotiation』skill?
I could somewhat, understand what the other party was thinking.
There was also the matter of the camera-like thing as well, so I needed to move carefully.
I suddenly thought of it just now, but in the other world, if I turned into a delinquent, wouldn’t I be a pro at stealing things?
I would erase my presence and sneak inside, figure out where all the security cameras were, and move to to the blind spots….
I could even be a bank robber.
Maa, I won’t do that though.
Now then, speaking of things that assassins can do,
「…the only thing I can do is sneak inside. How annoying. Why is it me.」
Although I was muttering my complaints, I changed into black clothing.
Within the closet, there should be a change of clothing based on each occupation.
Of course, my status was not seen, so I had to get my own clothes.
I erased my presence and snuck into the castle’s armory.
There was a guard, so I was nervous, but I was able to get what I needed without any problems.
If it were possible to go back to the other world, as I thought, why don’t I become a bank robber or something?
My room too, sorry, but I’m going to use a vacant private room.
There were forty people in my class, and during lunch, twelve of them weren’t in the classroom. In other words, the twenty-eight people here were the ones who were summoned to another world.
With just this many people, the maids who seem nice on the surface probably wouldn’t fully understand that.
Their work even looked perfect, and the trash was piling up in the corner.
I concluded that even if an occupied room increased by one, they probably wouldn’t notice.
「…now then, why don’t we go–」
When I changed into the black clothes, I went out through the window so that people wouldn’t discover me, moving upwards for the time being.
I jumped onto one of the castle’s towers and looked around.
I’ve always liked high places since I was little.
「Ooh…. As expected, how big. This is the royal capital, huh.」
I could see the entire royal capital from there, and although it can’t beat the industrial district at night, it was a gorgeous night view.
It could be seen that there were several street lights installed.
Any other lights couldn’t be seen from here.
Maa, it was a world with magic, so there should be light magic or something.
Their civilization was at about the same level as Japan post-westernization.
There were still not a lot of street lights, and their usage was clumsy as well.
There were too many lights in the place that appeared to be the town center.
Like that, you wouldn’t know if something happened in the back alley, and crimes would probably be committed continuously.
Moreover, it might have been because it’s night time, but there was no pedestrian traffic.
No, was I wrong to compare it to the cities in Japan?
I pushed it to the back of my mind, and searched for signs of people.
「…ok.」
There wasn’t anyone nearby.
I headed towards the tower with the heaviest security, probably because the king was there, looked for an open window while in stealth and snuck in.
「Now theen, where is the king, I wonderrr.」
Walking stealthily, I pressed my ear against the doors one by one.
Although I had heard the king’s voice only once, that ominous and slimy voice was instead something that I couldn’t get out of my head.
I didn’t think anything of it in the beginning, but now, I even got goosebumps.
When I arrived in front of the door of a certain room, I finally got a hit.
This door looked quite heavy.
Was it his study?
I immediately pressed my ear against the door.
「…Maria, how’s the situation with those damn brats?」
「The situation is favorable, otousama. Nobody has noticed it yet. After all, they are children who came from a world without magic. Not even knowing how we will use them, they are in high spirits and are sleeping right now.」
「Is that so. In that case, let’s continue with the plan. They are prohibited from entering the library. Starting tomorrow, have Saran train them.」
「Yes, certainly. Everything is as otousama, Your Majesty the King. wishes.」
…although I had expected this, how scary.
The people who were smiling at us up just a little while ago, were making plans to deceive us.
There were low-lives even on Earth, but because Japan was a gentle country, I had even thought in my heart that this was impossible.
However, even that ended at just that.
I concealed my presence and entered the study as the princess came out of the room.
Even so, having seen her just now, the princess’ face was unseemingly distorted, how dreadful.
There was no trace of her gentle smile.
I wonder if all girls were like that.
A guy like me wouldn’t be able to understand something like being two-faced.
I was wandering around the spacious study, looking for the king.
I liked reading, so I was interested in the books that were lined up, but I needed to control myself here.
I, took out a silver dagger from within my black clothing.
It looked sharp, so I took it along with me when I snuck into the armory.
Within the innermost part of the study, was the king.
He sat at his desk and was intently writing something.
I stood behind him.
I suddenly thought of something.
I could kill this guy right now without anyone noticing.
However, I still didn’t know what this guy’s intentions were.
Why did he summon us?
And, what kind of country was this?
And above all, I still didn’t have the resolution to kill someone.
No, to begin with, I don’t have such a savage personality as to kill here, but even if I had to do that for the time being, I couldn’t kill.
On that day, I returned to my room.
It was not until a month later, when I regretted not killing him at that time.
—
Chapter 5~The Idiotic Hero~
Such a rare experience like being summoned to another world, even when I lived on Earth, I’ve always wanted to do something like that.
Certainly, I too was enjoying myself at first, but what’s so great about it?
Now that it’s turned out like this, I miss Earth’s peace and harmony.
We were summoned, but why was it that my status exceeded that of the hero’s, and because of that, I had to conceal my very existence, and the king and princess was scheming something, and my classmates were happy-go-lucky and the hero was a narcissistic idiot….
Aah, I want to go back.
Because I was playing at being a spy in the middle of the night, I didn’t sleep much, and on top of that, because I had a weird dream, I, who was extremely bad-tempered, stuffed the lightly-seasoned breakfast into my mouth with a sour look on my face.
Incidentally, the dream that I had was: the demon king of the kitchen, G, had turned into a giant and was chasing me no matter where I went.
TN: this is referring to cockroaches, which is gokiburi in Japanese. Thank you to PotatoZero and Fossil for pointing that out to me. I actually forgot about this fact.
I woke up and was relieved from the bottom of my heart.
「……」
I felt a tiny urge to kill my classmates who, not knowing that even their lives were currently being threatened, were chatting while eating breakfast.
Why was it that these guys could stay this calm?
I had unintentionally thought of it, but I could always just ignore the king and the others’ scheme and sneak out of the castle by myself.
However, if I did not know my classmates, most likely, I would’ve escaped from this place last night.
The reason why I didn’t do that was, merely because I still had some lingering feelings towards the people who were from the same town as me.
It was also hard for me to just watch as my classmates, who don’t know anything, get entangled in the king and the others’ scheme.
I wonder if I could throw a wrench in their plans somehow.
「Everyone, hear me out.」
The hero, raised his voice when everyone finished eating.
The meal time that was noisy until just now fell completely silent.
It appears that the entire class recognized the hero as the leader.
Well, except for me.
「We experienced a shocking phenomenon yesterday, being summoned to another world, and couldn’t really think straight, but I think that we should come to an agreement and be on the same page.」
Oh, the idiotic hero was saying something important.
How unusual.
I didn’t expect that the guy who was usually only interested in how long a girl’s gaze was on him, unexpectedly treating them as his classmates and not as girls and assertively taking the leadership of the class.
Was the title of hero that important?
Also, I had a bit of a bad premonition.
「We are strong. Most likely, the people of this world would not be able to retaliate against us. If we wanted to, we could even use this power for world domination.」
What was this idiotic hero saying.
The facial expressions of the smiling maid-sans who were serving us were hardening.
They were probably also uneasy that the hero who was supposed to save them was saying something like that, even as a joke.
Right now, we do not have the necessary information for us to make a move.
My classmates were making light of this matter too much.
Even though I was shouting this in my mind, I was curious about the continuation of the idiotic hero’s speech,so I did not make a single sound as I entered stealth.
「…however, we shouldn’t forget the dignity of Japan!! I think that helping strangers without asking for anything in return is the virtue of the Japanese. I want to use this power to help the people of this world. …won’t you help me defeat the demon king?」
As I thought, these guys don’t know anything.
What would you do if, from the very beginning, the information regarding the demon king invading human territory was a lie?
Why were you arbitrarily deciding that, the king and the princess were allies we could trust?
To begin with, just by looking at the lifestyle of the king and princess, it didn’t seem like they were that worried about it.
Today’s breakfast too, the flavor was weak, but besides of the staple food of bread, there were four side dishes.
Even though there were only two side dishes in my house.
「I, I will follow Tsukasa’s lead!!」
「Me too! Please let me join you!!!」
「Me too, me too!」
「M, me too!」
Aah, the victims of the hero’s reckless behavior was steadly increasing.
In the end, except for me, my classmates all agreed with the idiotic hero.
The clever me knew that it was going to turn out like this, and entered stealth a little while ago.
Don’t involve me in this.
「…everyone…. Then, let’s do our best to save the people in this world!!!」
「「「Oooooooh!!!!」」」
It had turned into something extremely troublesome.
I leaned my elbow onto the desk and gave a deep sigh.
Really, I couldn’t get used to this atmosphere full of youthfulness no matter what, and I didn’t want to.
I wanted to abandon these guys, and have my own happily ever after, but was that ok?
Being driven out by my classmates like in the novels would be the best scenario though.
It would be the best justification to leave the castle.
However, even though I wanted to start running away, I didn’t go.
—
Chapter 6~Knight Commander~
A few hours after these idiots decided to save this world, we gathered, with our weapons that suited each of our occupations in hand, at the training ground that was not at all like a sports ground as it seemed big enough to fit a school inside.
I canceled my stealth at the perfect timing as well.
At that training ground, swordsmanship, archery, spearmanship, magic, as well as any other training was done there.
What was that…a Morning Star?
TN: A Morning Star is a weapon that has spikes all over it, making it look like a ‘star’
「Nice to meet you, hero-samas. My name is Saran Misray. I am the knight commander of Retice, the “last line of defense”. This, it’s embarrassing to say this myself.」
The man with delicate features who introduced himself as the knight commander, said that and then smiled foolishly.
Will it be ok with this kind of knight commander?
Or rather, ikemen, go die.
「Commander, you’ll be underestimated if you continue like that.」
Perhaps he read my mind, a serious looking guy who appeared to be the vice commander was secretly saying this from behind him, but Commander Saran was smiling the entire time.
When I recalled the smiles of the king and the others, I felt that the commander-san’s smile was much warmer.
Perhaps that’s the case, but were these people ok?
However, I should be careful just in case.
「It’s fine, it’s fine. Now then, we’ll have you heroes go to a nearby dungeon a month from now. For that reason, we’ll be training you at this hour, every day, starting today…this is the direct order from the king.」
After grinning broadly, Commander Saran suddenly started getting serious.
I just met him, but this person was someone who was hard to understand.
The mood took a turn for the worse.
Training huh.
I want to do it at my own pace though.
Ok, let’s skip.
When I accidentally looked over to the side, the faces of the heroes were filled with panic.
What was this, weren’t you guys going to save the world?
The commander-san and the others looked on at these heroes, and were looking shocked.
「A, a month from now?」
「Is there a problem?」
「Can we get stronger in just one month?」
「Rather, if you don’t get stronger even after we train you, then you guys are the problem.」
The useless hero frowned at the commander-san who said that without hesitation.
Come to think of it, this guy, seemed to really hate being looked down on by other people.
「To put it bluntly, We knights take pride in being this country’s ‘last line of defence’. There’s no way we will defeated by you who came from a world without magic and moreover, you are merely children.」
The hero and the others had veins popping up on their foreheads at the commander who was once again grinning with a cunning look on his face.
They were too easily provoked.
Incidentally, our eyes met.
Let’s just smile for now.
I was a little irritated at these guys who were, somehow or another, underestimating even me.
…no matter what I said, I was the most childish one.
The commander-san who was on the receiving end of my smile widened his eyes a little, and gave a gentle smile this time.
Sh*t, the ikemen was smiling, wasn’t he?
Just because of that, the girls were all unable to take their eyes off of Commander Saran.
It seems that the talk with Commander Saran ended at that.
The heroes began to disperse, following the knights, in accordance with the weapons that they handled.
Ok, why don’t we pass on this one?
Do your best–, hero-samas.
I going to go the library for a little while–.
Eh, it’s prohibited?
I don’t care.
After hearing last night’s conversation, I’m going to defy all of the king’s orders.
—
Chapter 7~Commander Saran~
I was steadily watching as he went somewhere, that black-clothed young man who had met my eyes and was concealing his presence.
It seems that even his friends had not noticed him, and they don’t see him even if he walked right past them.
For me, I could only see him out of one eye .
It was just by chance that our eyes met, but he seems to be an interesting young man.
「Zeal-kun, I’ll leave this place to you. It should be fine for their training to be half of ours.」
「Eh, wait, commander!?」
I threw everything onto the vice-commander Zeal-kun, and followed the young man.
Sooner or later, Zeal-kun may become bald due to the stress.
Maa, if he does become bald, why don’t I give him the day off?
Now then, if my intuition was correct, then it should be that only the level of his stealth skill was high and the level of his perception skill was not as high.
The level of his stealth skill was too high, he was invincible with just that, but….
「Hey, where do you plan on going?」
When I appeared in front of him, the young man was surprised and stopped walking.
Extreme caution could be seen in his eyes.
I see, perhaps this was what was different about this child compared to the others.
「…This is surprising. You, can see me?」
I could see that he was completely surprised, which was the appropriate reaction for someone his age, and I felt a little relieved.
It was only this young man who was extremely mature, so if I were to be ignored, what should I do, was what I was thinking.
「Perhaps I’m the only one who can see you. I have an eye that is somewhat special.」
Tap, I pointed to my right eye.
My right eye, had captured his figure clearly.
The young man raised both hands as if in resignation.
「I see. That just means that there are those who possess the evil eye in this world. …let’s see, Commander Saran was it? Boil me or grill me, do whatever you want.」
I was a bit surprised.
Because I didn’t think there was anyone who knew about the evil eye.
No, I had heard that there was no magic in their world.
Then how did he know about the evil eye?
My evil eye was something that was evolved from my wounded right eye when I fought the demon king a long time ago, and now, the things that weren’t reflected in the eyes of ordinary people or in my left eye, was being reflected.
That was, what made me realize that I could see the change in body temperatures of living creatures as colors was when the colors of the knights having been quite different before and after training.
The knights had a bluish color before training, and when training started, as their body temperatures rose, so too did the colors as it changed into a reddish color.
Those who were born with the evil eye can see them even from far away, and there were others who could determine the value of items by their glow and color.
My evil eye was quite modest.
Maa, even with this, I can see through shadow type skills that concealed one’s body.
The evil eye was treated as a special skill, and it would’ve been fine even if it were one of my normal skills.
For example, for an assassin, it was normal to have a skill that allowed them to conceal themselves, and it seems that it was the same for him.
「Boiling and grilling, how disturbing. Why don’t we talk about something that’s a little more peaceful?」
This young man was very interesting.
The irregularity that was my evil eye was, generally speaking, undetected by trained knights, and it seems that he was amazed at the extremely natural activation of the skill.
Even though he came from a world without magic, and didn’t learn about it from someone.
In any case, it seems that our destinies will be tied together from now on.
There was no harm in getting along with him.
「Where do you plan on going? I won’t tell you to go back to the training, so won’t you tell me?」
In accordance to his behavior, perhaps he gave up completely, as the young man answered me honestly.
It seems that he wanted to go to the library.
If I’m not mistaken, weren’t the heroes prohibited from entering there?
The king was being cruel as well.
Even though the most important thing to these children right now was information.
「What do you want to know?」
It seems that he wanted to know about this world.
My smile deepened.
I see, certainly, they were open-minded people who had been brought over from another world.
It wasn’t wrong in saying that they were completely ignorant of this world.
It was natural for him to want to know.
Rather, it would be strange for him to obediently accept the library ban.
As I thought, this child was somehow different from the other children.
「Hm…. You, what is the level of your stealth skill?」
「MAX. I don’t know what the maximum level is, but it said ‘MAX’ on my status.」
MAX, huh.
The upper limit of a skill’s level was Lv.10.
Anything above that, and ‘MAX’ would be shown, I did not know how much it had risen, actually, I did not know if it was still improving either.
Even myself, my combat-oriented skill, kenjutsu, was at its highest at Lv.9.
Among the people who I know hat had reached MAX level, he was the second.
「What about the other skills?」
「…they are mostly at Lv.1. I haven’t had the chance to use the other skills in the other world.」
I wanted to hear about the other world by all means, but before that, there was something that I needed to confirm first.
「You, your occupation is an assassin, right? Don’t you have the assassination skill?」
「I guess, but I don’t know how to level it up.」
「…if you’re fine with it, I can teach you.」
The young man made an extremely reluctant face at my good intentions.
He had good judgement.
In a foreign place, there was nothing more expensive than something that was free.
…was, what merchant that I know said.
「It seems that you want to enter the library, but that room doesn’t have a lot of books. The books about this world, magic, and skills, they are all in the king’s study.」
「…That place, huh. If that’s the case, then it’s not a problem at all. It’s fine if I sneak inside.」
「While we’re talking about that, there aren’t any books on this world’s common sense there either.」
When I said this, the young man didn’t seem too disappointed as he said, ‘I see.’
There were no books written about common sense in the first place.
Common sense was taught little by little starting from when one was a baby, it was not something that was understood by reading about it.
「…haa. What do you want?」
「You’re fast on the uptake. What I want, is for you to to tell me about your world. Even though I look like this, I thirst for knowledge. A long time ago, I read all of the books there were in my house.」
「I understand.」
Coming to an agreement, I shook hands with the young man.
Like this, I shook my hand up and down.
As I thought, the young man had an extremely reluctant look on his face, but he did not let go of my hand.
For now, I took my time shaking his hand, but the young man seemed like he was going to get angry, so I stopped.
I’m pretty good at reading people’s faces.
「Come to think of it, how do you raise the level of the assassination skill?」
「Regulate your body temperature so that even I can’t detect it, not just your presence, but the sound of your footsteps and footprints, right now, you seem to be able to erase all traces of yourself.」
「Hee, then I’ll do my best to quickly raise it so that you wouldn’t be able to sense me, even if it’s a minute earlier.」
I smiled at the young man who was absent-mindedly muttering.
Actually, an assassin was much frightening than a swordsman or a magician.
People wouldn’t know when they were going to be killed, and when you become a professional, you would be able to do it in a way in which the other party doesn’t even realize that they have died.
In a sense, they were the strongest.
One wouldn’t encounter the hero and company, but one would an assassin.
If, if he knew about the true nature of that king and princess, perhaps I could leave it to him.
I have always been thinking of a way to, make this country better.
—
Chapter 8~The Legend~
We sat down in chairs made of stone that we found in a courtyard that barely anyone visited and looked at the flowers.
I found a butterfly that existed even in the other world flying around the flowers, and an indescribable feeling welled up.
Commander Saran seems to be talking about a legend.
Perhaps it was something similar to Earth’s Greek mythology.
Let’s hope that it won’t be too lively.
Greek mythologies had too many complicated messes due to being struck mad by love and reading them made me give up hope.
「For now, why don’t we talk about this world’s god?」
In this world, Morigan, there was one god.
The name was “Creation God Aitel’.
It seems that he was in charge of the centralized management of statuses and the blessings of the people.
Come to think of it, there were many gods in Japan.
Something like one person, working for the entire population seemed terrible.
Not knowing that I was thinking something like that, Commander Saran continued the story.
Aitel first created the sky, and then the earth.
And then, he created the downgraded version of himself, humans.
He created the humans, elves, demons, and beastmen, and they were given emotions, it seems.
He let them inhabit the earth, assigned them occupations, and bestowed their statuses.
Having had enough of the gods’ disputes, Aitel observed his creations, trying to calm his own emotions.
As expected, even gods had disputes.
What were the other gods doing?
Aitel was doing all the work by himself, you know.
Help him!
However, for humans to be the downgraded version of god, you should stop trying to search for comfort in humans….
However, they fought over land, goods, women, and men.
And so, each tribe started living separately.
Angry, Aitel created the monsters, and split the continent in four.
The demons who were able to control the monsters were driven away to the volcanic continent, ‘Volcano’
The elves who were loved by nature went to the continent ‘Forest’ where the sacred tree resided.
The humans and beastmen who remained fought until the end, and the victorious humans settled in the abundant and enormous continent ‘Continent’.
The beastmen settled down in the continent of beasts, ‘Brute’.
Didn’t they just use the English name of the continents’ respective characteristics?
Or rather, ‘Morigan’, I seem to have heard it somewhere before….
TN: Many thanks to Yuin for pointing this out to me. So apparently, Morigan is a figure that originates from Irish mythology and her name translates to ‘phantom queen’. She is also associated with war and fate.
Maa, Morigan was created like this.
「Humans are petty.」
「…maa, you can also look at it that way? Normally, people don’t see it that way though.」
I had thought this before, but that was fast.
Let’s just go to the library.
I thought that and stood up.
「Oya, where are you going? You haven’t told me anything.」
He quickly grabbed onto my arm.
Perhaps there was strength in that otherwise slender arm, but even if he pulls on me, I’m not going to yield.
Commander Saran’s eyes turned gloomy.
—
Chapter 9~Same~
After that, by the time I was released from Commander Saran, it was already almost dusk.
The Vice-Commander-san came calling for him.
It seems that, he had been looking for the Commander-san the entire time after training ended.
It’s been hard on you.
Commander Saran literally had to be dragged back to work.
At that time, he was smiling more than usual, but was Commander Saran an M?
The Vice-Commander was unreservedly venting his anger in the corner.
How frightening.
No, was he more frightening than the Commander?
Let’s make sure to not cross him.
「You, sorry about this. It seems like our Commander’s bad habit kicked in again.」
「…no, I was also told some interesting things. Next time, I may visit the knights barrack, so please treat me well.」
As I left, my conversation with the Vice-Commander came to mind.
That’s right, the talk with Commander Saran, was not just about things that could be found in a book.
With the Legend of Creation, I could easily imagine what the other legends would be about, but comparatively, we had serious conversations as well.
Because of this, if the person talking didn’t give a proper explanation, it would become extremely hard to understand.
To some extent, I want a Commander Saran in each household.
Though if that happens, it would be great if his personality could be turned off.
「Of course, you can come when the Commander has finished organizing the documents. That is to say, the Commander should be free around this time of day, so please come whenever you want.」
「I understand. Thank you very much.」
「You keep deciding things for me whenever I’m not around….」
The Vice-Commander-san and I both pretended not to have heard the Commander who was looking into the distance, and then we headed towards our respective rooms.
It seems that Commander Saran was fine with being treated this way.
I have understood it well.
Not bothering to eat dinner, and not even heading to the dining room, I threw myself onto my bed.
The talk with Commander-san kept on reverberating in my ears.
『For the past few decades, the demons have been our common enemy. Of course, by ‘our’, I’m talking about the races besides the demons, the humans, beastmen, and the elves. They persecuted the demons who didn’t do anything just because they can control the monsters, and drove them away to the ends of the continents.』
Just harassing them was letting them off too easily.
If it were me, I would watch over them while harassing them until they lose their minds, the person who exiled the demons to Volcano was probably an extremely naive person.
They were persecuting them just because they could control the monsters?
How sickening.
I looked up at the ceiling that was spotless.
「Even so, what goes on inside Commander Saran’s head?」
He had an extraordinary memory that was inconceivable for humans.
Perhaps, he remembered everything word for word?
Rather than saying that he was good with words, it was as if he remembered everything.
You wouldn’t think that they were the same person.
If he knew that I said something like this, he would probably sulk though.
—
Chapter 10~Another World~
「…how unusual.」
Zeal-kun said that, and let go of my nape.
He brushed the dust off of his clothes while looking quite provokingly at me who stood up unruffled.
If you’re going to brush me off, then please don’t drag me with you in the first place…
Was what I thought but I didn’t say that out loud.
I’m so smart.
「Stop thinking about useless things; won’t you give me an explanation?」
Sometimes, I suspect that he was psychic.
Please don’t read my mind.
「What, I was doing on my own?」
「There’s that as well, but it’s been a while since I last saw you having such a happy look on your face.」
「…that’s true.」
Certainly, it may be true that it’s been a long time since I last smiled.
The facial muscles on my face that usually had a forced smile on was hurting a little because I haven’t genuinely smiled in a while.
That was just how, interesting both he and his stories were.
「What were you two talking about?」
「Stories about their world. In exchange, I told him about this world.」
Akira-kun’s stories were, like a single ray of light breaking through the dark clouds.
Don’t tell anyone else, but I’m a little suspicious of him.
He knew about the secret art of summoning heroes that was passed down from one generation to the next within the royal family, as well as heroes having been summoned from another world in the past and them defeating the demon king.
However, perhaps I’m the type of person to see something for myself before I believe it, but even when I received news that the princess and a few court magicians had succeeded in summoning the hero, I did not believe it.
Even if I saw it with my own eyes, I wouldn’t wholeheartedly believe in it.
How stubborn it was, my heart.
When I heard his stories, I felt like the breath that I had been holding onto was released.
「Was it that interesting?」
「Yes. They were strange stories that I, who was known as a ‘sage’ in those days, had never heard of.」
「Stories that Saran-sama doesn’t know…」
It seems that he was so shocked that he switched back to what he used to call me.
「Incidentally, what were the stories about?」
「Let’s see, …they were stories about a world that prospered not because of magic, but because of something called science.」
And so, I told Zeal-kun word for word what Akira-kun had said.
When I finally finished telling him everything, we had arrived at our office that was within the royal castle.
「That’s hard to believe. …an iron box that moves and an iron mass that flies in the sky. Information being circulated throughout the world in an instant, and a thin sheet of metal that transmits your voice in real time even when one is somewhere far away.」
「I was thinking that as well.」
I sat down on a chair within the office, and massaged my forehead.
I gratefully gulped down the water that Zeal-kun thoughtfully handed to me in one go.
「Thank you. …however, Akira-kun’s eyes did not look like those of a liar’s.」
This is something that I’m proud of, but I know when someone’s lying.
I’m not someone who showed off.
「If you say so, then that’s how it is. …so, how do you plan on dealing with him?」
「Him, huh, he is hiding his true strength. Perhaps he’s even stronger than the hero. And it seems that his stealth is MAX level.」
「Lv. MAX…was it? However, wasn’t that something that only the legendary hero-sama had achieved…」
That’s right, the highest level for the residents of this world was Lv.9.
To begin with, even a person who raised it above Lv.7 was rare.
However, someone who came from another world could smoothly cross that barrier.
The decisive difference between Moriganians and otherworlders was just that.
TN: the author put ‘モルガン人’ here when it should’ve been ‘モリガン人’, but I put the correct name in the translation.
「I don’t have an ‘observation’ type special skill, so I’m not completely certain, but this isn’t a lie either.」
「But, why didn’t the king move to intervene…I see.」
「That’s right. He used ‘stealth’ and did not go through with the crystal ceremony. Not only does he know how to use his skills, but he is also clever.」
If he was here, he would most likely shake his head vehemently.
「Are you planning on having him, join our camp?」
「Yeah. That, and I will train him. Although I call it training, I will, naturally, get rid of the pointless parts of the assigned menu, and will have him do just the necessary parts though.」
He, more or less, heard what the menu contained, but he doesn’t believe in it at all.
He’s quite the stoic child.
Zeal-kun did not give any objections to my decision, bowed his head, and then withdrew.
Now then, it will be busy tomorrow as well.
—
Chapter 11~The Fruitless Efforts of the Hero~
I, hate Oda Akira.
Akira, I don’t know how, but somehow, he had not changed ever since kindergarten, and we were always in the same class.
I had even thought that this wasn’t just us being inseparable, but some kind of curse.
Especially for high school, even though I had gone to a fairly high-leveled school that the students from my hometown were not accepted into, he was, for some reason, there, and we were once again in the same class.
However, that person completely didn’t remember, and he talked to me that one time in middle school as if I was a stranger,
『Nice to meet you, I’m Oda Akira. What’s your name?』
Akira and I were in the same room for about ten years, you know?
During that time, we passed by each other many times, and there were even times when we were deskmates.
I’m not bragging, but because I was fairly well-featured, I stood out more than Akira.
That guy, didn’t remember any of that.
The reason why I hated Oda Akira, that was because, he’s always aloof, and always looking down on people. Also, he would completely forget about things that he had no interest in, I hated that about him too.
It was the same even when we came to Morigan and I had become the hero.
TN: again with the ‘モルガン’…
It seems that Akira who excelled in erasing his presence had become an assassin, and he would occasionally disappear and aimlessly go somewhere.
Why doesn’t he understand that it’s important to stay together when in a foreign place!?
Why, doesn’t he look at me?
I’m the hero.
I don’t have the spare time to bother with a single person.
However, whenever I think about Akira, I would be seething in anger, and I simply cannot keep calm.
Because I’m the hero, it wouldn’t do if I do not keep calm at all times, like the legendary hero.
As the hero, even when I raised the morale, Akira didn’t care, and on the contrary, he looked over towards me, visibly shocked, as if looking down on me.
On top of that, even when I was going to scold him for leaving the training as he pleased, nobody knew where that guy’s room was.
I wanted to yell, ‘Don’t joke with me.’
If he doesn’t cooperate, we won’t be able to defeat the demon king.
Someone who destroyed the harmony of the class shouldn’t be in the class.
That guy is always by himself anyways.
There’s no one who would be that guy’s ally.
Even though that’s what I thought.
「Akira-kun, how are you doing?」
「Not bad. However, it’s only my training menu that is too spartan.」
「Ahaha. But, aren’t you doing fine? Though even Zeal-kun gave up on this menu.」
「Maa, I had trained my body.」
Before I knew it, he had become friends with the knight commander.
Moreover, I had a feeling that he’s gotten better at concealing his presence than before.
Even though the status of I, the hero, had not grown as much as expected, that guy, in a place that I didn’t know, had improved his ability.
It wasn’t likely that he would be stronger than me, the hero, but it would be inexcusable for an assassin to catch up to the hero.
For the upcoming capture of the dungeon, I will become powerful enough to frighten Akira and the knight commander.
I’ll make you realize that my status as the hero, was different from yours from the very beginning.
「Just you wait, A–ki–ra—-!!」
—
Chapter 12~In Front of the Dungeon~
And so, the agreed upon day one month later had arrived.
Earth’s calendar was the same as Morigan’s, and in the first place, the one who imparted the concept of a calendar to the inhabitants of Morigan, was the hero who was the first to be summoned to this world.
It seems that the previous heroes imparted more than just that, and thanks to them, the food culture was quite advanced.
Next time, let’s go to the castle town.
Perhaps they have curry.
…I want to eat kaasan’s curry.
I want to go back.
「Now then, are you all here? Then we will get going, to the dungeon.」
As expected of another world, each person was provided with five bottles of HP and MP potions by the royal castle.
An HP potion was an item that would immediately heal minor injuries if you poured it onto your injury.
Commander Saran used his sword to casually cut his arm right in front of us and demonstrated its use.
The class of heroes turned pale with just that much though.
Are they going to be ok, these guys.
Even though we’re about to go chop up monsters….
The group had departed as if they were going out on an outing, but the dungeon was surprisingly right at the forest’s clearing.
Was it ok for it to be this close to the royal castle?
If by any chance, the monsters overflow from the dungeon, then we’ll be done for.
「Ah, there is a powerful barrier around the royal castle, so even if there was a flood of monsters, it’ll be safe.」
Commander Saran looked over here as he said this, as if reading my mind.
With a huge smile on his face.
Damn you, psychic Saran.
As I was thinking that, the forest had suddenly opened up, and there was a crowd of people waiting at an enormous entrance to what seemed to be the dungeon.
We squinted as if we were blinded by the sudden light coming in.
There were also some guys who were flinching at the crowd of people.
They all simultaneously gathered around us who had come out of the forest.
It was just like, the war between the okaasans at the supermarket at night.
We were surprised by this, and stopped walking.
The knights had more or less put an end to it, but it’s gotten to the point where it wouldn’t be funny if they came over.
「Don’t stop. You are the heroes. Stand proudly before the people.」
Commander Saran scolded us in a strict voice, unlike his usual frivolous way of talking.
Even though he said this in a small voice, it resounded, for some reason.
Before we knew it, we straightened our backs.
It’s probably some kind of skill.
「「「Commander Saran—!!!」」」
「「「Zeal-sama—!!!」」」
「「「Hero-sama!!!」」
There was loud cheering.
Commander Saran and Vice-Commander Zeal were tremendously popular.
Incidentally, they called out to us as well.
The useless hero at the front had already put on a friendly smile.
Maa, that guy, it’s because he has a nice face.
I had concealed my presence and walked to the back of the line.
When I casually looked over, there was a person wearing a hood sharply looking over here.
Based on the height, it was probably a woman.
They were glaring at us as if we were the enemies of their parents.
I don’t know why they harbored a grudge against us who had not left the royal castle before and today being the first time we did so, but the strong bloodthirst that they emitted as they looked over here was uncomfortable, so I would like it if you stopped.
I stealthily left the procession and approached the hooded person.
Glancing sideways, Commander Saran saw me, so it’s ok.
No, rather, if you think about the lecture after this, isn’t that bad?
「Hey you, why are you glaring at them so much?」
I called out to them as refreshingly as I could.
The hooded person looked over with an extremely surprised look on their face.
「…」
「Ah, I’m not going to hand you over to the knights or anything. I was just wondering why you were emitting that much bloodthirst. I’m just a curious bystander.」
When I asked them why one more time, the hooded person reluctantly answered me.
「…do you know, just how much was sacrificed to summon them?」
That voice was a clear bell-like voice of a lovely girl.
Perhaps she was around the same age as us.
「…no, sorry, but I’ve never heard of that.」
「I see. Then, let’s meet again when you find the answer.」
She said this and then disappeared into the crowd of people.
I was still standing there, thinking things over.
The sacrifice for the summoning….
In the popular revenge novels, the family of those who were summoned as well as those who were discriminated against were killed.
I don’t really want to think about the former.
The latter too, was cruel as I took into consideration the future of this world.
If, my hypothesis was correct, just what was the king thinking.
I had been standing there until Commander Saran came calling for me while erasing his presence.
—
Chapter 13~Trap~
「Oi! It’s over here!!!」
「Kyaaaaa!!」
「Heal! Heal me!」
Within the room filled with the agonizing cries of my classmates, I sighed.
For now, I casually swung my right hand, and killed the enormous rat-like monster that was attacking a girl nearby.
If I’m not mistaken, I feel like the girl that I just saved had, more or less, a combat-oriented occupation.
「Aren’t these guys, just burdens?」
「…based on today, I can’t deny that.」
When I muttered this when we were surrounded by a group of monsters, Vice-Commander Zeal who was next to me who had rescued my classmates agreed with me as well.
When I thought about what happened before we were surrounded, I gave a deep sigh once again.
That was, we entered the dungeon and fought a few times, and we had just started to get a feel of what the dungeon was like.
We smoothly advanced from the first floor to the thirtieth floor.
Maa, it was a matter of course.
This was a group of cheats who were summoned from another world with enhanced statuses.
If we couldn’t do this much, that would be embarrassing.
And so, they could at least fight one-on-one with the monsters, and it was when their weariness had gradually faded away.
No matter how many times the knights protect them, there were too many of my classmates.
Naturally, when they took their eyes off them, the hero group lead us to the present situation.
It was explained previously, but I wasn’t referring to every one of my classmates when I was talking about the hero group.
Including me, those summoned totaled twenty-eight people, and seven people in one group, making a total of four groups.
Among them, the hero group was, the elite team, excluding me, that Commander Saran picked.
I consulted with Commander Saran and he left me out of it, and I entered a mediocre team.
My reasons were that the training was tiresome, it was painful to deal with the idiotic hero, and I was afraid of revealing my status.
It was by no means because of the first two.
Anyways, it was an idiot that wasn’t part of the hero group that made the blunder.
It was dangerous to fool around in the dungeon just because you’re not nervous anymore.
And yet, that guy didn’t listen to Commander Saran when he told them to stop, going off on their own and pressed down on the wall when there was obviously something there.
It appeared to be a kind of trap that was set within the dungeon, and I could tell that it was dangerous with my perception skill, but I didn’t think that there would be a guy who would unexpectedly go and proactively raise a death flag without even listening to the warnings, and we could not stop it in time.
「Tsk! Get into your groups!!!」
At the exact moment that Commander Saran had drawn his sword and readied it, the light within the lamp that hung on the wall turned crimson.
And then, we were flooded with monsters that had come out from within the walls one-by-one.
All of them had already came out, and they were elementary level monsters, but unfortunately, there were too many of them.
There were approximately ten thousand of them.
「Oi oi, kill on sight is also a good thing.」
The Vice-Commander and I immediately entered our battle positions, unlike the idiotic heroes, my classmates who had readied their weapons, were visibly shrinking back.
There were even those, especially girls, who immediately sank down onto the floor
And so, we returned to the present.
「…Commander Saran, do we retreat?」
「Let’s, see. I did not think, that there would be, this many people losing their will to fight, but maa, just coming this far is already excellent.
Commander-san was the one who was speaking in between each attack, killing ten monsters with each swing, but he’s going to get tired soon.
…of course, he was going easy on them though.
「Heroes, I will create a path for us to retreat with my trump card. Run away until you get to the surface. Those who had just fallen down, help those who are injured.」
As soon as he said that, Commander Saran raised his sword to the sky.
「Oh Lord, please bestow onto me power…『Heaven’s Sword』.」
When the shining sword swung downwards, it was as if a shining carpet was being laid out and the monsters within the room suddenly disappeared.
My classmates were scrambling to escape from the monsters’ enclosure, and rushed toward the stairs that lead to the upper floors.
I killed the monsters that were chasing after my classmates with my hidden weapon.
「Let’s retreat as well, Akira-kun, you’re too disadvantaged when facing multiple opponents. We’re pulling back. 」
「Aah, I know.」
Assassins were practically invincible when it was one vs. one, but as soon as we go up against multiple opponents, we would be disadvantaged.
There was a solution, but I’m still testing things out.
「Oh Flames, burn everything to ashes…『Flames of War』.」
「Oh Wind, strengthen the flames…『Wind Blade』.」
The knights conjured flames over a wide area, and Vice-Commander Zeal’s wind magic killed monsters while strengthening the flames.
The wind will strengthen the fire.
Perhaps it was a hero after the first generation that taught them this.
Only, it’s hard to control, so it was a powerful coordinated technique that couldn’t be used if my classmates were here.
No matter what others said, Vice-Commander Zeal’s control of the wind was wonderful.
The flames were not extinguished, it just got stronger.
It was impossible to do something like that with just ordinary training.
While the agonizing cries of the monsters reverberated, urged by Commander Saran, I withdrew as well.
At that time, I did not know that something hellish was going to happen once again.
—
Chapter 14~A Formidable Enemy Appears~
※AN: It will change from Akira to the hero (Satou Tsukasa) in the middle.
We were able to safely withdraw from the fight, but of course, the monsters chased after us.
「Oh Lord, please protect us…『Sanctuary』.」
When Commander Saran put his hands in front of himself, a shining barrier appeared, blocking off the dungeon’s passageway, and when the monsters touch the barrier, they disintegrated.
It seems that just the existence of an advanced barrier magic that was part of the light magic system, also known as holy magic, can disintegrate low-leveled monsters.
Or rather, wasn’t the hero unneeded?
I feel like the chivalric order…no, just this person can defeat the demon king.
Perhaps he noticed what I wanted to say when he saw the look in my eyes, because Commander Saran gave a bitter smile.
「Including what you want to ask, I will properly explain later.」
As I thought, Commander Saran was psychic.
After walking for a while, there was a loud scream coming from in front of us.
If I remember correctly, this voice belonged to the class mascot Sano-san.
She was like a cute animal, I’m bad with that kind of person.
…if I think about it, there may not be anyone who I’m not bad with within the class.
「I’m going to go take a look at the situation.」
Vice-Commander Zeal said this and ran on the wall.
Commander Saran was Commander Saran, but this person also did whatever he wanted.
No normal person would be able to run on the wall while wearing armor.
That was the result of Vice-Commander Zeal making full use of his speed, agility, and balance.
Normally, that kind of agile movement would fall under the assassin’s skill set though….
Similarly, I too, if I wanted to run on the wall, I could.
It’s just that, if you asked whether I could do it while wearing armor, then I’m not sure.
That’s why, Vice-Commander Zeal who could do that so effortlessly was amazing.
「Kya—————–!!!!」
A high-pitched scream once again reverberated within the dungeon.
Maybe it’s because we were running faster, but the scream was closer than the one before.
This time, it wasn’t Sano-san’s voice.
It was the voice of another girl’s.
We put in more power and sprinted with all our strength, and we finally arrived at the source of the scream.
「…what is that.」
「…that is….」
The Commander, the knights, and I were all at a loss for words.
『Guooooooooooooooooooooo!!!』
「…kuu!」
「Barrier master, continue putting up barriers just like this! People who can heal, cast the most powerful healing spell you can on him!」
It was an enormous monster that shouldn’t have been here in the upper floors of the dungeon.
A bull’s head with a human body…it was a Minotaur.
「Impossible! That’s a monster that should be at the fiftieth floor, at the very least, and below!!!」
「…che.」
Glancing back at the knights who were grumbling, I clicked my tongue, and started running towards the Minotaur’s feet.
Commander Saran had already started running towards Vice-Commander Zeal’s position.
I caught a glimpse of it.
In front of my classmate who was running away trying to escape, was the hero who was bitterly readying his sword.
Sano-san had only just put up a barrier, and Vice-Commander Zeal had attracted the Minotaur’s attention, but it wouldn’t be strange if he turned towards my classmate at any time.
He was an idiot and a hindrance, but if he was killed, I wouldn’t be able to sleep at night.
Was I a tsundere?
…nevermind.
「…hurry!」
Running on the wall like Vice-Commander Zeal and arriving at the front, I firstly dealt him a blow, driving a silver dagger into the Minotaur’s throat.
「Tsk! Haa??」
Because the Minotaur was extremely thick-skinned, my dagger shattered.
How strange.
That toughness was obviously defying the laws of nature.
I threw the handle away, and landed near the hero.
「…Akira, huh?」
「Ou…what’s the situation?」
While holding up the sword that had broken in half, with the pale healing light wrapping around the hero, he started talking little by little.
────
After our group member, the martial artist Watabe Katsumi, activated the trap, we left the monsters to the knights and Akira, and withdrew from the front lines.
There’s no way that the knights would have trouble dealing with those elementary level monsters, but it’s Akira that I’m worried about.
When I glanced over at him, I understood that he was, somehow or another, much more outstanding and stronger than us, but I had no idea just how much stronger he was.
Also, since he’s an assassin, he should be disadvantaged when going up against multiple opponents.
If, something happened to Akira, it would be because of me who was the group leader and Watabe Kastumi.
Of course, it was the same for my other classmates.
While it was true that we were still on the upper floors, we shouldn’t relax our attention.
I properly understood that because of the trap just now.
Even when we were running away, the dungeon’s monsters would, naturally, attack us.
It was one or two of them, but for us who were in a hurry, just them being there was trouble.
Quickly, quickly, while we were hurrying, a certain classmate muttered something.
「Come to think of it, didn’t we receive smoke bombs that repelled monsters?」
I heard that, and I suddenly remembered it.
Now that I think about it, before we left for the dungeon, the princess had personally given those smoke bombs to me.
If I recall, at that time, because the knights and Akira were not there, I had completely forgotten about it.
‘I’ll give you these just in case. Please be careful,’ the princess gave me twenty-seven smoke bombs.
She said this and smiled sweetly.
It was a pretty smile.
I was almost bewitched as well.
「Alright, well, I don’t know what the how effective these are, so let’s use them one group at a time.」
Sano-san’s group started off and threw the smoke bombs onto the ground.
A few seconds later, the effects were apparent, as none of the monsters came closer.
They would occasionally come over here, but after looking over here, they would be extremely panicked and ran away.
I don’t know what the effects on people and the ground were, but a few minutes later, Akira’s group threw the smoke bombs this time.
A short while later, when it came time for the last group to throw them, we finally discovered the stairs that led to the upper floors.
Perhaps the effectiveness of the smoke bombs had faded right then, but dozens of small monsters attacked us.
「Now!」
In order to drive them away, my group also threw the last of the smoke bombs.
…I felt like, the color of just my smoke bombs were different from the others’, but it’s probably just my imagination.
Just as planned, the small monsters were driven away.
However,
「Kyaaaaa!!」
The first one to notice it was Sano-san.
She pointed at the wall in front of us and screamed.
Looking over there, I was speechless.
An enormous monster had come out from within the wall.
It was obvious that this monster was not supposed to be on this floor.
However, I knew about it, this monster from Greek mythology.
「…Minotaur….」
When I muttered this, it raised the club that he was holding in his hand over his head.
And, before he swung it down, Sano-san was.
I moved without thinking.
I pushed Sano-san away, and using the edge of my sword, I parried the enormous club that rained down toward the ground.
This was, a technique that I learned from the knight commander during training.
I heard that there were also opponents that had techniques that canceled skills, so I wanted to see just how far I could go with just kenjutsu.
At that time, the Commander had said this.
‘When you fight with someone whose true strength is above yours, you can not think about how to stop it. Think about how to parry it.’
Compared to someone who used brute strength, even if our strengths were on equal footing, the outcome was clear.
Nevertheless, we could only go on the defensive, we’re not able to counterattack it.
That’s why, I parried it.
In actuality, the sword that was swung down with brute strength took a hit and shattered, pieces flying everywhere.
I had a go at the obviously mighty Minotaur despite being unrefined, but the result was terrible.
「…kuuu!」
「Tsukasa-kun!!!」
My hands were numb.
Both of my arms were broken.
The sword was barely holding on, but on top of it having been broken in two, I’ll die if it attacked again.
When I thought that, the Minotaur pulled the club that had sunk into the ground out and once again, raised it so that it could end my life once and for all this time.
Behind me, someone, not Sano-san, screamed.
If you have the time to scream, it would be good if you could heal me even if it’s just once.
And so, just as it swung down on me, something hit the club.
「…I barely made it in time.」
Breathing heavily as he said this was the knights’ Vice-Commander Zeal as he stood next to me.
「Commander Saran will be here shortly. Until then, I will attract its attention, so move back.」
「Yes. Thank you very much.」
「…you did well.」
I, whose arms were both broken, was a hindrance.
To me who hung my head, Vice-Commander Zeal said this and patted my head.
Although I almost cried, I held onto my sword as I moved toward where my classmates were.
「Tsukasa-kun, your arms….」
「Oh Holy Shield, protect us and save us. In exchange for my magic power, a barrier that protects us…『Shield』.」
「…this is.」
「Perhaps it wouldn’t hold up to even one attack, but it’s better than nothing?」
A thin barrier was erected before me.
Of course, it was the barrier master Sano-san.
It’s probably the strongest barrier that she can make right now, but compared to Commander Saran’s barrier just a while ago, it was like the difference between an adult and a baby.
I replaced the expression on my face that was distorted by the pain with a smile, and thanked Sano-san.
When I looked at Vice-Commander Zeal, he freely switched between magic and his sword and fought the Minotaur with much difficulty, but none of his attacks connected.
「Barrier master, continue putting up barriers just like this! People who can heal, cast the most powerful healing spell you can on him!」
Glancing over here, Vice-Commander Zeal, instructed this when he saw the pale-faced me.
I was gently enveloped in a soft light, and the pain finally subsided.
If it was a little later, I might have lost consciousness.
「Commander!」
At last, Commander Saran seems to be heading towards Vice-Commander Zeal to support him.
It’s great that he made it in time.
After that, immediately right after, a presence that I’m no longer even surprised about suddenly appeared next to me.
「…Akira, huh?」
Honestly, I was relieved that Akira came up next to me.
Though I definitely won’t say that to the person himself.
—
Chapter 15~Curse~
After listening to the circumstances, I glanced at the hero’s injuries, they were fairly severe.
There were various injuries both big and small all over his body, and the places where his arms had been broken were swelling up with purple bruises.
「…you, didn’t lose consciousness.」
「Aah, I was also surprised, but if I don’t protect our classmates, no one will.」
I laughed scornfully, at the hero who said something like that.
It was obvious to see that he was offended.
He thought that I would continue to, purposely say something that didn’t take him into consideration.
Most likely, if I didn’t say it, this guy, and my classmates would never realize it.
「Then, who will protect you?」
「…that is.」
The look in the hero’s eyes changed when he saw the Commander and Minotaur’s fight.
I feel like this was the first time in a while that he’s really opened his eyes.
「Doesn’t the hero exist to protect everyone? You should use your power to defeat the demon king.」
Behind us, my classmates were quietly listening to what I was saying.
They were getting a little noisy because of my blunt words, but afterwards, it seems that they were waiting to see what I was going to say next
「You need to take better care of yourself.」
「…then, who should protect everyone?」
The hero sullenly said this, to me who didn’t say anything.
I sneered.
「They should protect themselves. 」
It was extremely obvious.
In the first place, I wouldn’t use a skill for anyone but myself.
Even if, I used a skill to save my classmate, that was only because I wanted to save them.
The hero’s eyes widened as if he had just realized it.
In the first place, why would you go as far as to even protect those who have combat-oriented occupations?
I was playing hooky, but everyone properly received training, right?
This guy, as expected, he’s an idiot.
「For my sake? …no, but, I’m the hero…. I, the hero, is supposed to save everyone….」
The hero suddenly turned strange.
He was holding his head and groaning.
I felt extremely uneasy.
Something’s wrong.
No, his head had always been weird though.
「…oi, is there a cleric or an exorcist?」
One thing came to mind, and when I called out, two girls from my class timidly stepped forward.
「I’m a cleric.」
「Ahma exorcist but…what happened ta Tsukasa-kun? 」
「We will find out right now.」
If I remember correctly, the cleric was the class representative, Hosoyama Shiori-san.
The spell breaker with a Kansai accent was the, always full of energy…I think, Ueno Yuuki-san.
…even though I don’t remember anything about that person, I matched her name with her face, I’m amazing.
Although I said that, I only remembered these classmates because of their occupations though….
「First of all, can you heal the bone fracture on his arms?」
「Ye, yeah, it’ll take some time though.」
I nodded, and told her to start right away.
Immediately, a pale light enveloped his arms.
As if he were someone who was afraid of thunder, he crouched down and covered his head, but it shouldn’t be painful?
「Whatta ‘bout me? What should ah do?？」
‘Think about it yourself, if you look at the hero’s condition, even an idiot would understand,’while I was thinking that, I kindly, carefully, and thoroughly told them what to do.
Although whether or not that was what actually happened, there’s no evidence .
「This guy, perhaps he was being brainwashed. That’s why, cast 『Dispel』.」
「Haa??? 」
The classmates behind us were also getting noisy.
Ueno-san didn’t know what to do either, but she started chanting right away.
「…Oh curse, oh curse that is corroding our friend’s soul, begone immediately, disappear…『Dispel』.」
The hero was shining with a pale light.
It was different from Hosoyama’s healing light, it was black.
Ueno-san saw that and gasped.
「Tsukasa-kun, was reahlly cursed!」
I glanced over at the Commander who was in the middle of combat.
A fairly high-leveled battle was unfolding.
…I want to join them.
It should be fine to leave this to Hosoyama-san and Ueno-san.
However, there was an indescribable uneasiness growing in my heart.
And then, a boy who had been silent until now suddenly spoke up.
「Akira, we’re fine here, so go help Saran-san and the others. You, are stronger than us, right?」
「We’ve already come to a resolution. We can’t keep burdening Tsukasa forever.」
「…you guys.」
There was strong determination within those eyes.
「Come on, go.」
Having been urged, I reluctantly moved towards the Minotaur.
Not having a dagger at the moment, I could only use my skills.
Nevertheless, I had a plan to get us out of this stalemate.
「Commander Saran!」
「Akira-kun, is everything fine over there?」
When I ran up to Commandr Saran, he said that without looking back.
Even though he said some things, it seems that he was worried about my classmates.
「About that, a spell…it has been confirmed that a curse was put on the hero. An exorcist is breaking the curse right now, but the quickest way would probably be to directly kill the guy that put it on him. 」
I don’t think that it was because Ueno-san was unskilled, the curse was too powerful.
「…I understand. I’ll look into it.」
「Please. …and, I want to try that.」
「…that, is it.」
I left the curse to the Commander-san, so now we needed to finish this up.
Commander-san hesitated, but I think that it’s quite the effective skill.
「I’ll do as Commander Saran says. …Everything is, so that I can survive.」
—
Chapter 16~Trump Card~
「Everything is, so that I will survive.」
When I said that, Commander Saran sighed.
In addition to that, it was a considerably deep sigh.
When I readied myself for his complaining, he suddenly lifted his head.
「I understand. I will also do my best, so that you will survive. …however, it’s still not enough to defeat that Minotaur even if I do my best. Please help me.」
「Isn’t that obvious? There’s still a lot of things that I want you to tell me about.」
「Alright. …I as well, want to hear more in detail about things such as smartphones and airplanes.」
「I’ll tell you anything you want. After we survive this.」
I left him with these words, and invoked stealth.
I could be seen by Commander Saran who had the evil eye, but not by the Minotaur.
Although I said that, the Minotaur was kept busy by the knights and didn’t have the time to look over here, but it was just to be on the safe side.
「If, we fail, it would be difficult for everyone here to get out of here safely. Be careful.」
「I got it.」
Making full use of the unsurpassed jumping power that belonged to the assassin occupation, I jumped over the Minotaur, and landed behind it.
The knights who had contained the Minotaur had guessed what I who hid my presence and Commander Saran who was gathering his MP were doing and escaped as fast as they could.
They had good judgment.
When I did this coordinated attack during the training with Commander Saran, I couldn’t control it, and almost obliterated an entire forest.
Although I was behind the Minotaur, I didn’t pay attention to what was in front of me and closed my eyes.
「Oh Lord, give me the power, the power to thoroughly hunt down the enemy that obstructs us…『Lightning』.」
The lightning bolts rained down on the Minotaur, his fur was burnt and he could not see.
『Guaaaaaaaa!!!!』
The attack went through to the Minotaur for the first time.
My classmates cheered.
「…tsk! Right now!!」
At Commander Saran’s words, I opened my eyes.
I held my hands in front of me.
「….『Shadow Magic』.」
The shadow, exploded.
Of course, it did not explode in the literal sense.
There were shadows everywhere, the dungeon that was lit up by 『Lightning』was dyed by the darkness in an instant.
If the light became stronger, the shadows would become darker in turn.
However, even though it should’ve been dark, I looked around curiously.
The Minotaur was also acting a little strange, and was going to attack Commander Saran who was right in front of him.
「Pull it in.」
However, he suddenly stopped at my words.
He had stopped precisely at that time, but if you saw it from far away, it would’ve looked like I had restrained him.
『Guu!?… Guooooo!!!!?』
And then, just as I said, the Minotaur was pulled into the shadows.
All that’s left was its head.
「…」
The shadows that swallowed up the Minotaur, as it had finished its job, it shrank, until it reached the size of human, in other words, it went back to being my shadow.
There weren’t any cheers coming from my classmates, they just dumbfoundedly stared at the place that the enormous Minotaur had been.
Having succeeded, the knights and Commander Saran breathed out in relief.
「…haa, I want to go baack.」
I muttered that, and went into stealth once again.
I don’t want to be bothered by my classmates.
In addition, I didn’t want to be looked at weirdly.
Sensing that, Commander Saran smiled wryly, and clapped twice.
The clear sound of clapping brought my stupefied classmates back to their senses.
「Even though the biggest danger has passed, we are still inside the dungeon. I don’t know if there are any other dangers. We’re going to stop here for today and go back now, so do not lose focus on the journey back.」
The knights carried the Minotaur’s head, and the hero was carried on his friend’s back and we left the dungeon.
I was in the back, following them while thinking about what to do from now on.
I couldn’t hide my abilities anymore.
The question was how much of it would be reported to the king, and how much of my strength would be revealed.
…after they break the hero’s curse, it might be best to go into hiding for a bit.
—
Chapter 17~Level Up~
We left all the monsters that appeared on the journey back to the knights, and we returned to the surface as quickly as possible.
The sun had already completely set, and the huge crowd of people that was there when we entered the dungeon wasn’t there anymore, there were a few people here and there.
As one would expect, it seems that there won’t be anyone who will enter the dungeon at this time.
「We’re entering the forest. Take care to not stray from the group.」
Commander Saran’s voice sounded extremely loudly.
Perhaps my classmates were exhausted, but the chattering on the way back was very quiet.
Similarly, I was tired as well.
We were cleaning up after the classmate who had happily went off on his own in the upper floor.
After the trap activated, I had killed the monsters who attacked my classmates with a hidden weapon, and had put all of my power that I had at the moment, into the shadow magic during the battle with the Minotaur.
Compared to Commander Saran, my ridiculously high MP was almost gone as well, the MP potion restored some of it.
There were no severe injuries, but unfortunately, because there were a lot of us, so there weren’t anyone who were uninjured.
Worst of all, was the stab wound on my side that was hurting even now.
This was, where the monkey-like monster had stabbed with the sword that it held with both hands.
Something like how it went about life with those kinds of hands, there were various things that I wanted to tsukkomi on, but anyhow, it hurted.
For now, I sprinkled the HP potion on it and the cut closed.
As one would expect, because the wound was not completely healed, and the blood did not replenish, I was a little unsteady due to the anemia.
Since the knights were flawlessly escorting us, we didn’t need to do anything.
Come to think of it, just how much had my status improved?
I had more or less dealt the final blow to the Minotaur, so I’m certain that I leveled up.
In different worlds, there were often statuses that notified you if you leveled up, but it seems that this status didn’t have such a thing.
「Status.」
I confirmed that no one had heard me, and opened my status.
Aside from the time when I arrived in this world, I had not opened it.
ーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーー
・Akira Oda
・Race / Human
・Occupation / Assassin Lv.15
・HP 25/5400
・Attack 3600
・Defence 2400
・MP 12/2100
ーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーー
Skills
・Arithmetic Lv.5
・Negotiation Lv.5
・Hidden Weapon Lv.5
・Assassination Lv.4
・Curved Blade Lv.1
・Dagger Lv.5
・Stealth Lv.MAX
・Perception Lv.4
・Threat Detection Lv.3
・Intimidate Lv.1
・Roar Lv.1
ーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーー
Special Skills
・Language Comprehension
・Eye of the World Lv.1
・Shadow Magic Lv.3
ーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーー
「…ooh.」
「Nn? Akira, what’s wrong?」
「No, my bad, it’s nothing.」
Unintentionally, a strange sound came out.
It wasn’t surprising that my level had gone up to 15.
It was clear that I had defeated the Minotaur that was stronger than me.
I would be troubled if it didn’t go up by 10 levels.
Leaving that aside, before I knew it, all of my skills leveled up, and I acquired the new『Intimidation』and『Roar』.
I definitely acquired these two skills because I had continuously suffered the Minotaur’s 『Intimidation』and『Roar』.
Commander Saran had said this, but it seems that there was a high probability of acquiring the skills that were used on you.
That is to say, the hero definitely acquired it as well.
Since he protected everyone and was right in front of the Minotaur.
My status too was three times my initial status.
Three times at level 15?
I don’t know if it increased with every level up or it increased all at once when it reached a convenient number, but it appears that there was a significant increase.
If, my other classmates leveled up this much, it would be a mass outbreak of superhumans.
If I believed the butler’s words from the first day, the highest attack power of a person of this world was 500, the me right now had 7.2 times that.
Even I couldn’t connect my attacks to that Minotaur and had struggled, but can the people of this world defeat that Minotaur?
…or rather, aren’t the monsters too strong??
The attacks of this country’s last stand Commander Saran didn’t really connect aside from『Lightning』.
The dagger that I had borrowed from the armory as well, it didn’t make a scratch on him and then it broke.
I have a feeling that even if it were the Minotaur, its body would disintegrate just by being near the demon king.
「Ok, we have safely arrived. After we do roll-call, we will disperse.」
I want to test out the skills that I have not used yet as well, so I’ll go to bed early today and tomorrow, let’s ask Commander Saran some things.
I won’t even borrow a new weapon.
In any case, I’m worn-out today.
I want to quickly sleep on my fluffy bed.
「Ah, Akira-kun, please stay behind for a little bit.」
「…」
For the first time ever, I seriously wanted to kill Commander Saran.
—
Chapter 18~The Present From Commander Saran~
「I’ll give this to you.」
He said this, and what Commander Saran took out was, a katana.
…wait, where did he get that from just now?
Before I could ask him, Commander Saran presented the katana to me without hesitation.
I lost to Commander Saran’s friendly smile and reluctantly accepted it.
With a black handle, a black guard, and a black sheath, it was a katana that appealed to the second year junior high school student within me.
TN: what the author had here was ‘厨学’, and I don’t know what that means, but ‘厨’ could also sound like the kanji ‘中’ and ‘中学’ means junior high school, which makes more sense, so that’s what I’m going with. As some people had pointed out, it would be better to put chuunibyou here instead, but the kanji did not read as chuunibyou, so I decided to leave it as close to the original as possible with this one. The entire phrase was 厨学二年生.
…or rather, they had katanas in this world.
I hadn’t seen one until now, so I just thought that there weren’t any.
「This is??」
「It is a weapon that the first hero-sama forged with his own hands called a katana. If I’m not mistaken, you came from the same world as the first hero-sama, did you not? You should know about katanas, right?」
「…no, yeah. How should I put it, why are you giving this to me who isn’t even the hero? Or rather, is it ok for you to give that to me so unreservedly?」
When I pulled it out a little to take a look, the katana blade was splendidly pitch black as well.
…you sure know how to do things, first hero.
「Of course, I had thought of what to give Tsukasa-kun, but since he doesn’t have the curved sword skill, and there is a holy sword that’s passed down from one generation’s hero to the next, I discussed it with Zeal-kun and we decided to give it to you.」
「…what about the king?」
「…this is a secret, but this, was stolen from the royal treasury. Your weapon was broken during today’s fight with the Minotaur, so this is the perfect timing.」
I was a little horrified at Commander Saran who nonchalantly said something unbelievable.
Didn’t he just say that he stole that from the treasury?
「It’s true that I said that I stole it from the treasury. Besides, rather than being buried under those glittering bars of gold, being useful would make that katana happy as well. Besides, the dagger that you were using was a stolen item too.」
…he’s psychic.
Also, I didn’t tell anyone about where I had gotten the broken dagger.
It’s already broken, so I’d like it if you didn’t talk about it anymore.
I drew the katana out completely.
The blade had the form of the so-called Kogarasu Zukuri, part of the back of the blade, just the tip, had an edge to it as well, it was a double-edged sword.
TN: the Kogarasu Zukuri is a type of katana that has a very unique form and are distinctive in their double-edged sword tip.
It was a katana where you couldn’t say, 「Don’t worry, I’m hitting you with the back of the sword」.
「There’s no inscription?」
「It seems like there is. Look, it’s on the side of the base of the katana. We can’t read it though.」
When I took a look at it, there were words engraved there.
In kanji.
As expected, it seems that the first generation hero was a Japanese person.
The kanji that I haven’t seen in a long time filled me with nostalgia.
「So, what does it say??」
Urged by Commander Saran who had an excited look on his face, I read those words.
The inscription on the katana blade was engraved in white, and it was extremely eye-catching.
「It says ‘Yatonokami’. If I remember correctly, it seems to be the name of a god.」
「Yatonokami…there was such a god in your world?」
「Aah, it’s a god from my country, though. In the country that we were born in, in Japan, we believe in many gods, and it is taught that gods dwell in all things. Especially when, there are a lot of gods who are quite similar.」
「Gods dwell in all things. …I see, I’ve never thought about that. In this world, there’s only one Creator-sama.」
His eyes sparkling at the novel information, Commander Saran started talking about this world’s god even though I didn’t ask for it, but I ignored him, and looked down at the katana.
「…huh?」
Next to the inscription, there were inconspicuous words that weren’t engraved in color.
Reflected in the moonlight, I could barely read them.
‘In the future, I pray that it would be of help to my kouhai’
At those words that were flowing down on the left side, I unconsciously smiled.
In my heart, I thanked my senpai.
Without a doubt, these words had become my emotional support.
「…I want to meet the first generation herooo.」
「…」
When I looked up at that extremely clear starry sky that you wouldn’t be able to see in Japan and I said that, Commander Saran didn’t say anything either and looked up at the sky.
Unfortunately, there weren’t any constellations that I knew, but the anguish and anger that I felt towards the idiotic hero and the scheming king up until yesterday had, completely disappeared without a trace.
「Hey, Commander Saran, I—-」
I asked Commander Saran, for a favor.
—
Chapter 19~Dispel Curse~
The sky had been dyed black, the moon didn’t even come out.
In Japan, even at this time, there would be many dazzling lights, but unfortunately, the gorgeous city lights of the castle town could not compare, and when the moon concealed itself, everything would be enclosed in darkness.
The dark night was my world.
Even though I’m going to assassinate someone, it was the perfect weather.
「…for hero-sama, there are behaviors, actions, and words that are befitting hero-sama. There will be divine punishment for that person who obstructs someone’s path.」
「I see, so that’s how you put a curse on that hero.」
Holding her hand over the black crystal, the princess was trembling violently as she looked over here.
I put my foot on the window frame, and entered the princess’s bedroom.
「…you are, a part of hero-sama’s group, are you not? For you to enter a maiden’s room without permission, what a shameless person. Also, to not even conceal your face, you have a lot of confidence in yourself.」
「Maiden, huh. It would’ve been better if you were praying for the person that you like to look your way, I don’t want to call a yandere-san who curses others a maiden. Besides, I didn’t conceal my face on purpose. For you to not recognize my face when I’ve been staying at the castle meant that my 『Stealth』 is working properly. …did you take a good look? This is the face of the guy who is going to be a hindrance to your plans. I can slit your throat anytime.」
I grinned and grabbed the darkly clouded crystal.
As I thought, even though I just touched it, I felt an intense chill.
Being cursed by this the entire time, should I praise the hero for not having gone mad yet, or should I be amazed that he didn’t realize it.
Everything was as Commander Saran had guessed.
Looking at the princess, I recalled what happened during the day.
「The princess put a curse on the hero?」
The day after we passed through the dungeon, surviving after being on the verge of death, I heard from Commander Saran, about where the the curse could’ve originated from.
The place where I received the katana, within the shadows of the courtyard’s water fountain, there were two people standing there side-by-side, dazedly staring at the flowers in the flower bed and, things like the insects that gathered the flower’s nectar.
「Yes. …no, would it be better to say that it couldn’t be anyone other than that person?」
「That princess, did she fall in love with the hero? Why would she do something like put a curse on him?」
No matter how you looked at it, the black-bellied princess was madly in love with the hero.
Especially when it was to the degree where she didn’t lose out to the classmates who were the hero’s fans.
「I don’t really understand how women think, but perhaps, it’s a different type of love or something?」
「That’s way too abnormal. Besides, that curse, if she was careless, it would’ve been a matter of life and death.」
It seems that the hero always had an intense headache, as if there were two conflicting people violently fighting inside his head.
Ueno-san was, even now, continuously casting the magic『Dispel』.
It’s not very effective, but there’s not much else we could do.
It seems that were even some classmates who were convinced that the hero was suffering because I had 『Dispel』 cast on him, but sooner or later, the circumstances would’ve turned out as such.
The curse was, just that strong.
「The princess, Maria Rose Retice-sama was, from a young age, brought up without knowing what love was. The queen had passed away after giving birth to the princess, and the king who was deeply in love with the queen, could not acknowledge the existence of the princess who indirectly caused the death of the queen from the bottom of his heart, and treated her as a chess piece who preserved the royal family.」
He treated his daughter like a chess piece, huh.
Certainly, when I snuck into the study, it did feel like that.
「Well? Love is to use, and be used. The princess who was raised like that can only express her love by ‘using’, and decided to put a curse on him and turn him into her desired ‘usable’ hero. Which means, she’s doing this according to the king’s orders…right?」
「That’s probably what happened.」
「I see. And the indirect cause of death…huh. I also understand why you knights are so concerned about that princess. Normally, when they have given up, they would do as they liked, but in this country, the king and princess are still here.」
If they did whatever they pleased, there would be some dissatisfaction.
It also wouldn’t be strange for there to be a coup d’etat.
Nevertheless, the reasons why that didn’t happen, was probably because the evidence of the wrongdoings were covered up by something like the princess’s magic, and the chivalric order who understood the entire situation but didn’t say a word.
The knights felt some sort of guilt towards the king and princess.
This was my own hypothesis, I don’t even want to ask about what happened, but perhaps the cause of the queen’s death had something to do with the chivalric order.
If that’s the case, that would explain why the chivalric order was not saying anything.
The knights, felt guilty towards the king and princess.
「…perhaps, it’s as you’ve expected. We are indebted to the king and the princess.」
「This country is very far away from the ‘Volcano’ where the demons live. It’s strange that such a country would summon heroes. By all rights, it shouldn’t be a distance where you have to worry about demons.」
Despite this, we were here, in Retice.
In other words, it just meant that, from the very beginning, they had every intention of integrating us into the military.
Certainly, the demon king did exist, and there were also instances where they harm humans, but there was no reason for why the faraway Retice summoned us.
I don’t know why they told such an obvious lie, but I think that they did something truly stupid.
「Their way of thinking is simple. It would be good if they defeated the leader. If so, even if it were to be exposed, we may be able to somehow deceive them.」
「I see. …I should probably settle things tonight.」
「Considering Tsukasa-kun’s condition, you should do it as soon as possible. Most likely, the princess should be using a crystal or a magic stone as an intermediary. If you destroy that, the curse will be broken.」
「Got it. Today, I will be sneak into the bedroom of the princess and break the curse. If I succeed, I’ll be leaving that to you.」
「…alright. I’ll think about it.」
I cut the crystal with the katana ‘Yatokami’ that I had just received.
「With this, the hero’s curse has been broken. I’ve bothered you.」
I held the crystalline fragments in my hand, and once again put my foot on the window frame.
I purposely exposed my face in order to distract the princess, but it would be bad if it were to be seen by someone else.
I should retreat without delay.
「I see, I thought that if the hero’s was destroyed, it would be the same for the rest, but it seems that I was wrong. Is it fine for the other people’s?」
When I took a look, there were other crystals that were smaller than the hero’s that even had a name tag attached.
「It would be troublesome if you called the maid that’s on the other side of the door as I destroyed them. I will run away…no, there’s something that I want to know. You, what are you thinking, are you following the king’s orders?」
「Everything is for the sake of His Majesty the King.」
「…really.」
The princess muttered this as her doll-like face, became more and more expressionless.
I shuddered a little, and immediately retreated from that room.
Aah, I hate crazy women.
—
Chapter 20~Trap~
After breaking the princess’s curse, I immediately held onto the crystal and snuck into Commander Saran’s room.
「Oya, Akira-kun, that was fast.」
Even though I have completely entered stealth and should’ve been in a blind spot, he had sensed me, my pride as an assassin took some damage.
I went around the front of the desk with a dejected look on my face, and when I put the crystal down onto the desk with a thump, Commander Saran finally raised his head and looked at me.
「Please don’t make that face. I told Zeal-kun to take the day off today, and it’s because you’re the only one who would come.
「That’s not it. I’m not satisfied with having been detected.」
「Oh my, was it not due to the connection between you and I?」
「Gross.」
When I cut him down, Commander Saran fell on top of the desk.
However, his recovery was just as fast, he immediately picked up the crystal in front of him.
And then, he narrowed his eyes.
「This is….」
「Nn? The curse still hasn’t been broken?」
「The curse has been terminated. It’s just that, I’ve seen this crystal before….」
Deeply furrowing his brows and glaring at the crystal, I was able to see the intense rage and hatred in Commander Saran’s eyes.
It was unusual for the always smiling Commander Saran, it was the first time I saw Commander Saran like that.
「…can you tell me where you’ve seen this?」
When I said that, Commander Saran’s grim face quickly vanished, and his usual smiling face came back.
However, that look on his face was a little strained.
It seems that he was forcing a smile.
「No, please give me some time. I should be able to tell you about it tomorrow.」
「…I got it.」
「Well then, like usual, why don’t I answer your questions.」
While he said this like usual, the eyes of Commander Saran who was always calm and collected were wavering the entire time.
「No, it’s fine. I’m worn out from today, so I’m going to bed early.」
「Is that so. …well then, have a good night.」
「Good night.」
I randomly left through the window.
It’s going to be a habit now.
「…if I ask Vice-Commander Zeal…no, would it be better to not pry into it?」
That look on the Commander’s face, it seems that he doesn’t want me to pry.
For me who didn’t really care about other people, I didn’t know, what I should do.
「…let’s go to bed.」
I, who thought that I would understand everything tomorrow and escaped from reality, would go through hell the next day.
As expected, I should’ve killed the king and princess, at that time.
「Akira! Akira, wake up!!」
I was violently being shaken and when I woke up, I saw the hero who was conscious for the first time in a while.
「What is it. …or rather, how did you find out about this room?」
「I asked Zeal-san. More importantly, something happened to Saran-san! Hurry up and get ready!」
Seeing something unusual in the impatient look on his face, I reluctantly did as he said and got ready.
I changed into black clothes, wrapped a black cloth around my neck, and equipped ‘Yatonokami’ onto my waist.
When I went out into the hallway, the hero who left my room when I was changing was urging me to hurry up.
Was it ok for the guy who was in bed up until yesterday, to be moving like this.
When I went towards the courtyard while being hurried by the hero, all of my classmates were gathered there.
The king and princess were also there.
…only Commander Saran, wasn’t there.
「Vice-Commander Zeal, where’s Commander Saran?」
When I asked Vice-Commander Zeal, he sorrowfully looked down.
Did something happen to Commander Saran?
「Don’t tell such an obvious lie.」
From behind, someone suddenly said this.
When I turned around, my classmate who bumped into me even when we were in our original world was glaring at me with eyes filled with malice.
「Ha?」
「Saran-san is, over there.」
I was nearly caught up in the trivial pretext of a small fry, but I followed the hero’s gaze and was at a loss for words.
Commander Saran was, over there.
He was lying there at the king’s feet.
His chest was dyed a dark color, and in the middle was a silver dagger.
It was obvious, that he was dead.
「That is, the dagger that you were using, right? You killed him. Murderer.」
My classmates were, glaring at me.
Only the hero was, looking at me with imploringly.
「…I see, it seems that I’ve been caught in a trap.」
I muttered this and looked at the king and princess.
The two people, had a sad look on their faces, but their eyes were glaringly bright with pleasure.
「Naa, Akira, if it’s a misunderstanding, then say so.」
The hero said this and looked at me, but I was staring at Commandr Saran, and did not look at the hero.
Honestly, including the hero, regardless of what my classmates think of me, regardless of how they see me, I don’t really care.
It’s just that, even though they were students who strived in their studies in Japan, their ability to remember was extremely disappointing, was what I thought.
Did these guys not see that the dagger shattered when I attacked the Minotaur?
「Say something!」
My righteous classmate shouted at me.
I just sighed.
「Even though I saved you in the dungeon, it’s come to this, huh. Really, I’m fed up with you guys.」
「Shut up! Even before we came to this world, I was unable to stomach someone like you. Anyways, it was obvious that you were sneaking around even within the dungeon.」
I didn’t waste my time talking to the classmate who targeted me from the very beginning, and walked towards Commander Saran’s corpse.
The king and the princess didn’t stop me, and just attentively watched over what I said and did.
Commander Saran’s face was, twisted in anguish.
My heart was uncomfortable.
Was this emotion rage?
I quickly offered a silent prayer, and pulled out the knife from that corpse.
A red liquid flowed out from the body.
That body was already cold to the touch.
When I did that, my classmates screamed.
I stood up and glared at the king.
「I’m a hindrance, aren’t I? I’ll leave right away, so don’t worry.」
「What are you saying? I have not intentions of letting you go.」
「We will not let you go. The serious crime of killing this country’s last stand, even if you are a part of hero-sama’s party, we will have you atone for it.」
Those words were the signal.
It wasn’t the chivalric order, the palace guards surrounded me.
My classmates also joined the encirclement.
Vice-Commander Zeal merely, was telling me something from far away.
「Seize him.」
In accordance with the king’s order, the encirclement gradually became smaller.
「…no matter how many small fries gather, you should realize that you’re small fries.」
I muttered this and invoked stealth.
In an instant, I disappeared from their field of vision, and the human encirclement was bewildered and raised their voices.
Come to think of it, this might’ve been the first time that I’ve so brazenly erased my presence in public.
I jumped over their heads and approached Vice-Commander Zeal.
Perhaps Vice-Commander Zeal knew that I would come this way, although his eyes wandered around, he said the things that he wanted to say in a small voice.
「The ones who killed Commander Saran was the king’s assassin legion ‘Night Raven’. You are also being targeted by them. Be careful. Also, there is a letter addressed to you in Commander Saran’s room. It is together with the necessary items needed for the journey that Commander Saran stole from the castle’s treasury. …hurry, please escape from the castle. 」
「…I got it. Vice-Commander Zeal as well, take care of yourself.」
I saw Vice Commander Zeal’s weak smile, and jumped onto the castle’s roof while in stealth.
In the courtyard, the palace guards were running around looking for me.
My classmates looked as if they regretted letting me get away, and the hero secretly sighed in relief.
I snuck into Commandr Saran’s room, took everything and anything that I needed, and left the castle.
Commander Saran’s death was outside of my calculations, but everything up until now was as I had predicted..
I had asked Commander Saran for a handbook for when I left the castle.
I did not kill Commander Saran.
Regardless of what my classmate had said, it didn’t change that fact.
I will destroy Commander Saran’s enemy without fail.
However, before that, there’s something that I must do.
I thought of Commander Saran’s gentle smile and roughly wiped away my distorted vision, and sprinted with all my strength down the path that we used during the dungeon campaign.
Wandering Muse Translation 
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