Raising the Lowest-Ranked Adventurer, the Heroic Girl – Wasn’t I Just a Substitute Old Man?

Raising the Lowest-Ranked Adventurer, the Heroic Girl – Wasn’t I Just a Substitute Old Man?

Chapter  36   Kana: Encounter with the Unreasonable

“What nonsense is that!”

“Hasn’t your personality changed!?”

While Kana laughed as she blew away the enemies, the remaining two members of the Tenshi Team who witnessed it couldn’t find any amusement in the situation.

They were in a situation where their leader, Asuka Tenshi, who was both their leader and a top-class member, was absent. However, they were all first-class individuals, and the team’s composition was not imbalanced.

Furthermore, they had three members against only two enemies. There should have been no elements of defeat. That’s how it was supposed to be.

And yet, now there were only two members left—a swordsman and a healer. Moreover, the swordsman, despite having recovered, was already fatigued, while the healer had depleted her magical power due to treating injuries.

Unbelievable. This wasn’t the opponent they knew. This is ridiculous. They couldn’t stand for such a thing to happen.

Such an irrational situation, which should never have occurred, made the two members of the Tenshi Team furious.

But according to Kana, this was no joke.

“It’s obvious, isn’t it?! I’m pissed off at you guys! That’s why I’m going to beat the crap out of you! It’s obvious I’m different from usual!”

They wanted to be the ones who were angry. They wanted to say, “Don’t mess with us.”

They presented their own selfish reasoning, acting as if they were in the right and imposing on others, causing their comrades—friends—to cry.

Moreover, the reason for that was that they themselves had been underestimated.

What is that? This is ridiculous.

Those who made their friends cry and the ones who created the reason for their friends to cry—both made them furious.

Will they be acknowledged? They won’t acknowledge it.

That’s why, in order to deny those who made their friends cry—wipe them all out.

“It might not concern you guys, but if you’re going to hold a grudge, then blame your own leader!”

That was the reason Asada Kana wielded her weapon.

“Kuh! Asada’s weapon is powerful but heavy and slow! Keep evading and counterattacking, even if it’s with lighter strikes!”

“That’s right! Evade! Ahahahaha!”

And so, even if they managed to receive just one blow… No, even if they barely grazed it, the relentless swinging of the heavy hammer seemed capable of inflicting severe injuries without a direct hit.

However, the two members of the Tenshi Team, perhaps due to their pride as high-ranking individuals, continued the fight without giving up.

“Kuh, you think you can keep up forever… Ah!”

But the student swordsman, who managed to stand up and keep fighting thanks to the healer, seemed to have taken a considerable toll from Kana’s attacks.

In addition to that, combined with the previous battles, the student swordsman suddenly lost his footing, his strength giving out.

“Aha!”

Not missing that moment, Kana struck the student swordsman with a forceful blow, enough to send him flying, but not enough to kill him.

“What?!”

And the student’s body collided with a nearby tree, right next to Tenshi, who had just finished his conversation with Koosuke and appeared to chase after his comrades.

At that moment, it was deemed a critical injury, and the healing magic barrier that had been set up in the surrounding area was activated.

This makes it the second person.

“Why! What happened!?”

“Hey there, Tenshi-san! I’m the powerhouse girl who just keeps charging in. Your teammates, they’re out of the game. Well, more like I took them out.”

Asuka, who hadn’t anticipated her teammates suddenly flying towards her after reaching them, raised her weapon in confusion and remained vigilant towards the direction where she heard the voice.

“Sure, compared to you and Mizuki, we may be weaker, but hey, don’t underestimate us too much.”

As Asuka turned her gaze in that direction, Kana stood there, confidently smiling with the large hammer resting on her shoulder.

“…Asada-san. Did you do this?”

“It should be obvious if you look, right?”

“The three of them should have been stronger than you…”

“Strength isn’t solely determined by rankings, you know? Besides, talking about those rankings… When are you referring to?”

The rankings that documented the strength of Asuka, Mizuki, and their teammates were from over two months ago.

It’s said that people can change significantly even after three days of not seeing each other, let alone such a short period of time. Battles are influenced by the mindset, and for Kana and her friends, who had been diligently training during this summer vacation, the current rankings were nothing more than mere decorations.

“I see. I must have underestimated you.”

“It’s a bit late for you to understand now, though.”

Asuka stared at Kana with a bitter expression.

Already, three members of the team had been defeated, with two disqualified due to the activation of the recovery magic barrier. In other words, while all five members of the Miyano Team were still standing, only four members of the Tenshi Team remained. Moreover, one of them was injured, and both Shun and another member were occupied with protecting the treasure. That meant Asuka was the only one able to move properly.

It could be said that the situation was overwhelmingly unfavorable.

“What will you do? Fight? Or retreat? If you choose to fight–”

Kana paused for a moment, emanating a fierce aura from her entire body as she glared at Asuka.

“Two more of you will disappear.”

What should they do? Fight or retreat?

Even if they could win the battle, as adventurers, they should consider the enemy’s hidden tricks and unexpected events that could occur. It would be wise to retreat with their comrades or buy time for their allies to escape. Then, they could regroup and challenge again. That would be the proper choice for adventurers.

However, Asuka had intended to defeat the Miyano Team with ease. Yet, this was the result of underestimating the opponent.

If she were to withdraw now, even if she managed to win, Asuka wouldn’t be able to boast about it.

Moreover…

“Only one person will disappear.”

“Huh? Are you abandoning them?”

“No. The one who will disappear is not us, but– it’s you.”

Being defeated without retaliating didn’t sit well with Kana.

“Hmph!”

“—Huh!”

In that instant, Asuka lunged at Kana with a thrust that surpassed her perception.

It was almost by sheer coincidence that Kana managed to avoid it. She had a vague sense of unease, prompting her to dodge. That was all.

“Guuh! Tsss~!”

But that single strike was not the end.

Kana tried to avoid and defend against the consecutive thrusts that followed, but she couldn’t avoid one of them.

Still, managing to avoid fatal injuries despite being unable to dodge every attack was truly commendable.

“…Your maneuvering with such a heavy weapon is impressive. You must have trained extensively.”

“Well, thanks. Well, you know, the instructor isn’t very helpful.”

However, judging from the situation alone, Asuka appeared completely unhurt and unexhausted, while Kana was covered in wounds, gasping for breath, despite the brief duration of their exchange.

There was no need to question who had the upper hand.

This was the difference between the top class and the first class. An insurmountable reality.

“…I sympathize with you on that point. Having someone like that as an instructor must be unpleasant.”

“It seems like you’re quite disliked, but was there something that caused such animosity?”

“We simply had a conversation. And as a result, I realized that no matter how long we try, we will never be able to get along.”

As Asuka recalled her conversation with Koosuke and wore a displeased expression, she quickly shook her head and readjusted her grip on her weapon.

“Enough about that. Let’s continue. I’ll defeat you and then swiftly take down the others. The winners will be us.”

And in that moment, she gathered strength in her legs, determined to deliver the finishing blow–

“With this, ‘Ten-Sho’—! Kyaa!”

A pillar of flames erupted from Asuka’s feet, piercing the heavens.

“Be blown awaaay!!”

It was no ordinary flame that would merely scorch. But the opponent was a top-class fighter. Though they might not be unscathed, Kana assessed that they would still be alive. With that in mind, she charged into the flames herself, swinging her great hammer.

As a result, Asuka was sent flying by the direct impact of the flames and Kana’s full-force attack.

“You fool. It’s reckless to charge through the flames like that.”

In that moment, the one who appeared was Haruka Abe, the magician of the Miyano team.

Her timely arrival was no coincidence. She had been waiting here from the beginning.

To lure the enemy in, Kana caused a commotion and drew attention, allowing Asuka to be taken down when she arrived later.

That was the strategy devised by the Miyano team.

Koosuke deliberately engaged in a slow-paced conversation to buy time for this very purpose.

“That worked out fine. I had the charm, and it hit in the end.”

“But that was–”

While Kana laughed triumphantly at taking down the enemy, Haruka watched the direction in which Asuka had been sent, wearing a troubled expression.

“No way!? Why can she still stand up?”

“I knew it…”

Then, Asuka, who should have taken a direct hit from Kana’s attack, slowly stood up.

“Before it hit, I used the wind to blow myself away and created a cushion while I was at it.”

“No way, she pulled that off in an instant? And isn’t she a vanguard? How is she capable of using magic?”

“Because she can, that’s why she’s ‘top-class.'”

Normally, vanguards shouldn’t be able to use magic, but she defied that common sense and stood in our way as if it were natural.

This is what it means to be top-class. This is the epitome of the absurdity that only a handful of individuals in the world possess.

“Retreat.”

“…Alright.”

“Do you think you can escape?”

“Then, I’ll make sure to take you down with me.”

“<Flame>.”

As Haruka uttered the magic spell, Asuka’s vision was engulfed in flames for the third time today.

“did they escape?”

Anticipating another attack that would break through the flames, just like before when she mentioned taking someone down with her, Asuka braced herself. However, no matter how long she waited, no attack came. After the flames subsided, there was no one left.