With the monsters defeated, everyone should be relieved, but the atmosphere is oddly tense. This is all because of my presence.
I’m elated that I managed to fight without Iaido. But I soon notice something off about the air.
──What’s going on?
The unfamiliar adventurers, who I thought were guarding the students, remain in combat stance even after the battle ends. Their intense fighting spirit is directed at me.
Unfamiliar adventurers……. Finally, it dawns on me.
“Who are they?”
I ask Kimijima beside me.
“Bryan…… the elf-like one is an adventurer here to climb the level, and the couple over there is from a village ahead.”
“I see. But it’s probably me, right?”
“What? ”
“The Celestial Rank is their target, isn’t it?”
“……I thought so.”
“Really?”
“I just had a feeling everyone might be after it.”
I see. No matter the reasons, there was always an unnaturalness to it. Still, climbing the levels with Regress has boosted my confidence. I’ve also become somewhat numb to life-and-death situations. I’m a bit surprised that I’m not too bothered by all this hostility.
Suddenly, I feel a gaze and turn around. Regress is there with his usual “I know everything” smile, giving me a wink.
……Seriously. But as long as he’s smiling like that, it doesn’t seem like a bad future awaits.
“Let me confirm this first. Are you Shigeto? The one who recently became the Celestial Rank?”
The first to move is the elf-like man with pointed ears.
“Yeah. Shigeto’s my name. Somehow, I ended up becoming the Celestial Rank.”
“A reputation beyond your strength must be a heavy burden. How about I lighten it for you?”
“Nah. Thanks to this, I got a job with the Federation Army. I can handle a little weight.”
“Hmph…… I watched you, but you’re still not ready to be called the Celestial Rank, are you? An overblown title will shorten your lifespan.”
“……What’s your name again?”
“Bryan. The man who will become the Celestial Rank.”
With a confident tone, Bryan declared, “I’m the best here, no question.” Indeed, his sense of style was unmatched among us. But Amul, seemingly flustered by Bryan’s remark, snapped back.
“What are you talking about, you brat! The Celestial Seat belongs to my Bengar!”
“Hey, hey. What are you even saying? You guys should just sit back and watch the situation in Dix Village. There’s no point in sticking your noses where they don’t belong.”
“Pointless? Don’t talk nonsense! You saw it, didn’t you? That delicious Celestial Seat—I’m not about to let it slip away!”
I could only manage a wry smile at the mention of a “delicious Celestial Seat.”
Ignoring my confusion, the argument between Bryan and Amul only grew more heated.
“Shut up. You’re just a Puppet Mother, aren’t you? You’re the one who wants your husband to take the Celestial Seat—he doesn’t even care about it. Look at that unmotivated face of his!”
“Ah! You brat! Don’t call me that! And don’t go around saying my husband has no drive. I’ll burn you alive!”
“Oh yeah? Can you even do that? The moment your magic surges, I’ll cut your head off.”
“Grr. You’d really raise your blade against a weak woman?!”
These people are something else. They’re hurling insults at each other just to fight me. Bengar, called over by Amul, stood in front of Bryan, glaring at him. Despite Bengar’s massive frame, Bryan didn’t back down an inch. Instead, with a face full of desire, he turned to me and spoke.
“Hey, Celestial Seat! Who do you want to fight?”
“Uh, I don’t really care either way…”
“Listen, I’m not saying this to be mean. Choose me. If it’s me, I won’t kill you—I’ll just show my strength and let you step aside. A guy like him wouldn’t be able to hold back.”
“Hey! My husband can hold back just fine!”
This was beyond just an argument. I almost wished I could just… let it go.
“Just stay here for now.”
I didn’t know how this would end, but I couldn’t let the students get dragged into this fight. I moved away from the three of them and walked toward Bryan and the others, who were still hurling insults.
“Ah, Sensei…”
I heard Kimijima’s voice from behind, trying to stop me, but this was something I had to handle myself.
READ THE ORIGINAL TRANSLATION AT LOCALIZERMEERKAT.GITHUB.IO
While everyone was distracted by the heated argument between the adventurers, a man quietly emerged from the forest. He had completely suppressed his presence. No one noticed as he silently approached the students, who were a bit farther away. He moved as casually as if he were out for a stroll. No one seemed to notice his subtly out-of-place actions.
Except for one person—Kimijima. The unease she had been feeling suddenly surged. She turned around sharply, and the man immediately rushed toward her.
Kimijima hurriedly raised her naginata, but the man easily brushed it aside and grabbed her in a hold from behind.
“Ah!”
At Kimijima’s small cry, I instinctively turned around. A man had her pinned from behind, a knife pressed to her throat. Kimijima’s face was twisted in fear from the sudden turn of events.
Damn it. Of all times…
“Hey, you two. Enough of this pointless chatter.”
His voice, though muttered, carried a magical force that reached everyone’s ears clearly. It was obvious from his tone alone that he was no ordinary man.
“K-Kimijima!”
“Sensei…”
It seemed I wasn’t the only one who hadn’t noticed him. Even Spells was staring at the man with a panicked expression.
“Anyway, this girl… Did she sense my presence? …Well, no matter. That Celestial Seat belongs to us. Give it up.”
“Who the hell do you think you are?!”
“Who do I think I am? Are you an idiot? It’s simple. He’s going to fight us now.”
“Us…?”
At that moment, a presence suddenly emerged from the thicket of the forest. There had been no sign of anyone before… What was going on?
Then, a large man stepped out, an unpleasant grin plastered across his face.
“Well done, Bodick!”
The large man spoke with a pleased expression. The man holding the knife to Kimijima, Bodick, responded with a smug look.
“Yeah, now it’s your turn, big bro. I’ll have fun with this one.”
“Ah!”
“H-Hey! Stop that!”
Bodick yanked Kimijima’s hair from behind. She let out a small cry but quickly clenched her mouth shut and looked straight at me.
Her gaze, filled with strong determination, calmed me down, even though I was on the verge of panicking over the knife at her throat.
…It’s fine. I’ll definitely save her.
Meanwhile, the two of them seemed completely at ease, chatting among themselves.
“Hey, let Kimijima go!”
“Sure. But in exchange, you’ll fight my big bro.”
“What?!”
“You’re popular, huh? But if it’s a matter of priority, we’ll let you go first.”
At those words, Bryan snapped.
“Don’t go deciding things on your own! I don’t care about that girl. I’ll fight him my way.”
“Hey, you. If you’re going to fight them first, don’t resist. Just let yourself be killed. If you resist, I’ll kill this girl.”
“Damn it! Stop!”
“What… You’re despicable!”
Bryan fell silent, knowing that killing me without resistance wouldn’t trigger the Celestial Seat’s succession. It was frustrating, but taking Kimijima hostage was effective.
“Despicable? That Celestial Seat was always ours to begin with.”
“! You can’t mean…”
“That’s right. We’re the Disaster.”
At Bodick’s words, Bryan’s breath caught. The middle-aged woman also fell silent, clearly frustrated.
Damn it. I don’t care about myself. I focused on Kimijima, who had a knife pressed to her throat.
“Sensei. I’ll be fine.”
Kimijima was still calm, looking straight at me.
Is there something…?
I scanned the area, sensing something. Nishina and Sakuragi were also calm, as if waiting for something. There must be some common thread between the three of them.
Kimijima, with the knife at her throat, was pale but still composed, her gaze fixed on me.
But this was my fault for thinking that staying away would keep her out of this. Damn it… I can’t let Kimijima get hurt.
I took a deep breath to calm myself.
“O-Okay. I get it. Just stop. I’ll fight that guy, right?!”
“Yeah, originally we weren’t even planning for a succession. We were just going to kill you without resistance, but…”
“What are you talking about?”
“My big bro’s rank is 73. Even if I kill you, there won’t be a succession.”
“What…?”
“Our goal is to avenge our brother, Carton.”
I see. I had assumed they were using the succession as a shield, but this was tough. Their goal was simply to kill me.
A cold sweat ran down my back.
“But… that was the plan until just now.”
“Huh?”
“After watching you, I’ve decided I’ll take the Celestial Seat. That’s fine, right, big bro?”
Bodick turned to look at Gordon.
“…Yeah. The Disaster will take absolute control by holding two Celestial Seats.”
Gordon must have thought the same after watching me fight. This Bodick guy seemed to have considerable strength. But if they wanted the Celestial Seat, there was a way to win in this situation.
“That’s how it is. This is your chance, right? Heh heh heh. You’d better take it seriously.”
“Yeah, I get it. But… don’t complain if you die.”
“Die? Ha ha ha ha! Are you stupid? Don’t get cocky just because you happened to get the Celestial Seat! We’ve seen your strength. There’s no way you can beat me or Gordon.”
Strength… That’s right. They must have seen me fight the High Orc without using Iaido and thought they could take me. Regress must have known this. He’s not telling me not to resist—they’re telling me to fight seriously.
──But… if I kill them, what happens to Kimijima…?
I glanced at Nishina and Sakuragi.
They were still staring intently at Kimijima. They must be planning something to save her.
“Big bro, don’t hurt this beauty, okay?”
“Yeah, I get it. Ha ha ha. Sorry!”
Gordon, already confident of victory, started walking toward Kimijima, exchanging places with Bodick. I focused my mind on my sword, ready to draw at any moment.
“Well, do your best. Still, I wonder why my little brother…”
“Little brother?”
“Carton. Don’t tell me you’ve forgotten.”
“…That was his own doing.”
“Don’t mess with me! Carton was still climbing the ranks—he was a prodigy! He shouldn’t have been killed by someone like you!”
As Gordon and I spoke, the attention of those around us focused on our conversation. But my focus was entirely on Kimijima. Nishina, Sakuragi, and Kimijima herself were the same.
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