Author’s Note: Sorry for the long delay. Had to finish two papers and prepare for a test. I also had a bit of trouble making things sound right this chapter. Hope you enjoy.
The Preceding Hero is Inspired
It"s been a while since I"ve seen one of those nightmare things.
A battle maniac I fought three years ago when I was fighting as a hero appeared.
It was a dream where she kept on pressing me and saying
「Fight me~! Come on, fight me~!」
Ah~, it was a terrible dream.
I got up from the bed in the room that I was offered by the guild and stretched my body.
The guild offers a chance to rent simple rooms to low ranked people and that"s why I have a room.
Thanks to the bed that you could say was even harder than the floor, even I who could deeply sleep even on top of rocks couldn"t get to sleep. So it ended up being a light sleep.
I just thought of this now but I probably would have slept better if had tried sleeping on the side while sitting. It"s too late now.
If you"re wondering why I was sleeping in an environment that was inferior to even a stable, well, about~ that……It"s probably because I don"t have a single coin.
Hm? Was it because the medicinal plants were cheap, you ask?
Of course not. The medicinal plants were sold at a high price. The better medicinal plants that received the Fairies" Blessing seem to have made up most of the bundles of medicinal plants. As proof of that, I have the pouch-type fourth dimensional tool bag at my waist.
Then, even after buying the tool bag, I still had around 2000f left over from the plants themselves.
With that much earnings, it seems that it was an impossible amount to earn among the newbies of the lowest rank E.
Naturally, I received the jealousy of the Senpais.
The muscular old men that surrounded me had such a manly stench that my body started shaking out of rejection of it.
As if thinking "You shuddering in fear", the Senpais became even more arrogant.
At the time when I didn"t do much thinking and without thinking of the after effects and was about to beat down those old men, a G.o.ddess descended.
「Would you just stop it! Don"t you think that it"s shameful for you well aged men to be taunting a newbie! 」
Tre-san, you"re seriously an angel.
The men seemed to reluctantly retreat at Tre-san"s words.
Take that! I made fun at them a little in my heart but,
「Those guys really aren"t bad guys, you know. ……Well, they must"ve just been vexed by the topic of a guy that came fresh from the countryside. ……Please forgive them.」
When she said that, it was already as if I was granted the merciful words of a G.o.ddess.
Yeah, if I were to think of those old men"s position, I could see where they were coming from.
I think even I would be vexed too. I am a guy after all.
「Well, if you have some extra money, try treating them a bit. Since men are egoistic, if you do that, I"m sure that their att.i.tude will change.」
I am also one of those men but, because they were Tre-san"s words, I was half-convinced so I agreed to it……
Should I really have done that?
「Ya hear that men! Newbie said that he"d treat us all to some drink!!」
「「「「「Uooohhh!!」」」」」
In an instant, all of the mercenaries that were in the guild cheered.
By the time I had realized what was going on, it was already after I was brought to the guild and annexed bar where I first met Tre-san and the guild"s female faction was pulling my wallet"s string to remove it because I had bought all of the bar"s sake.
As the men continued their feast in the corner of my eye, the female faction made womanly glances that seem to want to say "He"d be a good source of money♪" aimed at me.
Ah~, women are scary.
With that proverb, that seems like it has lasted even to modern j.a.pan, in my heart, today"s the day that I head to the guild.
No, well, that"s a bit exaggerated since this is only the second day.
Getting up out of bed, I pull out from the tool bag, not my uniform but, a set of clothes and a pair of leather gloves and leg guards.
These were the armor recommended by the guild for low rankers that I had bought on the side while I was getting the fourth dimensional bag.
These blade-protection types are a bit plain but they"re st.u.r.dy clothes that are hard to tear. Also, when you look at me wearing this leather armor, I completely look like a resident of a fantasy world.
I don"t want to hate how it looked brownish overall. It had a poverty look to it.
Incidentally, I stuffed my uniform into the tool bag. Though there isn"t a problem in s.p.a.ce, if you don"t fold it to its smallest, it won"t go in.
While I resolved myself to rent a stable the next time, I left the room that I stayed overnight at and walked for about five minutes to arrive at the guild.
I wonder if Tre-san is gonna be there~, but she is kinda scary. While my inner self was uneasy with these thoughts, when I entered the guild, the place was engulfed by a suffocating tense feeling.
Huh~? What"s with this gloom?
Going from yesterday"s image, a guild had an image of being more frank (one where a television program would tell kids that they shouldn"t imitate it by showing how you could immediately start a violent fight or have some sake while having a common conversation, yet, when compared to the strict knighthood, a bit more frank), but this is……
Even the old men that charged at me yesterday were fully armed and had some meaninglessly serious faces on. Even the girls that were pulling on me yesterday had their bodies wrapped in some erotic equipment that seemed to bring up doubts on their defensive capabilities………
From the way that everyone looked like how they would be before a raid, my curiosity was aroused.
「Uhm~, Onee-san, onee-san.」
「Ah. ……Yes, good morning. What can I do for you?」
There was weird pause for a moment but the Reception"s Busty-chan showed me a smile on her face as if trying to firmly resist the atmosphere that had enwrapped the guild.
That pause was probably a pause where she was able to recognize me and think "So it was the newbie that brought in a mountain of medicinal plants".
It"s scary to think that I might be given a nickname like "The Medicinal Plant Collector, Yuu".
「Just what is with this view…」
「Eh? ……Ahh, the guild"s compulsory draft was announced……」
「Compulsory draft?」
「Yes. Limited to guild members that hold the rank of C or higher, it"s possible that the guild side might draft them in half compulsion. ……Yuu Yashiro-san is an E rank. You aren"t subject to the draft so you have nothing to worry about.」
Busty-chan answered smilingly.
……U~mu, I"m kind of getting a bad feeling about this. And these kind of feelings are usually~ on the mark.
「Is that so~. Well, I"ll be going.」
Since today looked like an unlucky day, I tried to leave, but as I did,
「Hm? ……Well if it isn"t Yuuya Shiro.」
She made a voice that called me to a stop. ……But still, why do the people of this world go and subtly change a person"s name like that.
Is it really that hard to p.r.o.nounce?
As I turn around while thinking that, what had appeared there was Tre-san that had erotic equipment that had pressed down all over her brown skin.
「!, G, g………Good morning.」
Like in a fantasy, her glossy, black leather-made equipment had, in leotard-type fashion, been completely open from her collarbone to her abdomen below her bellyb.u.t.ton.
You could say that Tre-san"s equipment was able to pull out the charm of her cheeky rocket b.o.o.bs very nicely. Her chest"s valley was a wonderful gem that could be enjoyed from up top, in front, or down below.
Then, along with that, probably made of the same material, she had glossy, black leather-made high-knee socks that stretched up to her thighs. That is also very erotic.
「Fufu, what"s wrong, Yuuya Shirou. You sure are looking me pretty earnestly, aren"t you.」
Tre-san laughed bewitchingly. N, not good…She found out that I was checking her out!
「You sure are precocious even though you"re just a kid. Well, since I had some fun seeing your bright red face, I guess I"ll take that as the payment.」
You were planning on charging me!? ……I, I knew it, women are scary.
……Wait!
「I"m already 16 you know!」
「Come back after you"ve reached the age where you can drink sake.」
In this world, Reinbulk, you"re generally seen as an adult once you"ve past 18 years old.
Gusun (Sob).
「Fufu……So, from the way you"re acting, looks like you don"t know anything.」
「Eh?」
「There"s talk that, yesterday, a Court ranked demon appeared at the castle.」
「……Cou, Court ranked!?」
I was so surprised my voice turned inside out.
What "Court ranked" means is that even among demons, they are found in the higher rankings. Hold abilities next to the Demon Lord, there"s Duke Rank, Marquis Rank, Earl Rank, Viscount Rank, and Baron Rank, five ranks in total.
By the way, for anyone lower than Duke Rank, it"s fine to call them part of the ma.s.ses.
There"s things like "they"re strong for a Baron Rank" or "they"re weak for an Earl Rank".
It"s because this world is only for the great.
But, in regards to the Duke Ranked, even I who was a hero, I had to admit that their existence could only be monsters.
I mean, I, who tied with the Demon Lord, was only able to keep just the seven of them in check.
Well, even if you say Court Ranked, there are various ones that are below Duke Rank. I"m sure that it"s either from Pin to Kiri.
Even if they are Court Ranked, if it"s a small fry, even the excellent First Division Knights should be able to repel them or someth―――、
「Also, it was Duke Rank, [Agniera the Convicted].」
It was a monsterーー！！
Eh, eh!? And it was even that Flam!!
Self-proclaimed [War Princess of the Flame Axe]. Even among those monsters, she"s different. Without using magic, she"s a Demon woman that fights with her own skill and unique power. She"s a genuine battle idiot, whose ability for battle is at the top, even among the Duke Ranked.
Well, on the other hand, she"s a disappointment of a girl whose head is only filled with thoughts of fighting. Though~, her b.o.o.bs and b.u.t.t are big and to my liking.
On a related note, the one who came at me at the beginning was also her.
This is on an even more related note but this [Agniera the Convicted] thing was an insult-filled nickname that the human side had selfishly called her.
What was it? I think it had the meaning of "unburned remains of ash" or something.
When called this, Flam goes berserk so be careful.
Though she is already snapped.
However, having thought up to this point, I noticed a certain something.
「…………Why is this country still existing if such a monster appeared?」
That"s right. If these Duke Ranked monsters were to go wild, they could easily blow away one or two countries.
Just like how magicians" power is expressed with Tactical Rank and Hazard Rank, our demon rivals are also ranked the same way.
Agniera………No, Flam is one who, as expected, can"t reach me or the Demon Lord who are [Transcendent Rank], so she is essentially at Hazard Rank.
This Hazard Rank is, as the name suggests, designated to those who possess power that rivals that of a calamity.
But even among them, Flam, as her second name and the flames that seem attached to her suggest, is a demon who specializes in flames.
With wide area attacks and blazing-type attacks have a good affinity with each other, if that girl"s special attack………I think it was called Gehenna Flame or something, were to be fired, I"m sure that this country would have become scorched earth in an instant.
It should"ve been an instant with me, who was carelessly sleeping, included.
As to why is it still here, alive, with me included,
「It seems that, in response to the princess"s crisis, a hero that was summoned from a different world rushed in and repelled her. ……As expected of a hero. That power that had once eliminated the Demon Lord isn"t just for show, is it.」
Now I get it………So that Pretty Boy-kun had defeated her after awakening or something, huh. ……Pretty Boy-kun"s a bit too reliable. Thanks to him, we were able to avoid the necessary event of waking those that were sleeping with the heat.
……Hm?
A new question seems to have come up, but………Why did Flam appear there alone?
No, I just misunderstood Tre-san"s words and just thought that she went there alone―――…Wasn"t she originally alone? A lone hot-temper……huh? Did I just say something good?
(TL note: Joke lost in translation. A lone hot-temper was 単騎な短気, tanki na tanki.)
No, no, stop it! It"s "Why did she appear?"
……This is only a guess, but did that Flam probably made the mistake of thinking that Hero = me?
If the fact that the hero summoning happened was exposed to the Demon Lord Army somehow, for that girl who loves battles more than a meal three times a day…………It"s totally possible.
Which would mean that the guild"s situation is……
「So that means that the reason everyone in the guild is fully equipped is because the country is opposing the Demon Lord Army that marched to Luxeria aiming for the hero and the guild is to cooperate in the repelling or defeating of the Demon Lord Army?」
「Oh? ……That"s right. You get it pretty well.」
It"s because, after I was summoned three years ago, it immediately became that same situation.
Not good, not good. My other world slow life will be completely wasted. Though I say that, if I were to stand on the battlefield, I"d physically stand out…………,
「Well, you"re still an E rank. You"re not subject to the draft. If you"re going to be an adventurer, you have the option of going to a different country.」
……Th, that"s it!