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?

Volume 2  Chapter 14   Encounter with the Strongest.

“!”

Suddenly, Haruka’s body trembled, and she quickly turned her gaze to the right, rising to her feet at the same time.

“Haruka-chan?”

Yuzu called out to Haruka, perplexed by her strange reaction. However, Haruka didn’t shift her gaze towards Yuzu. Instead, she stared into empty space with a stern expression.

“Here it comes!”

“Wha-what?”

Though it was an absurd reason for tailing someone related to an acquaintance’s lover’s investigation, they were currently engaged in covert operations.

Haruka understood this as well. Nevertheless, she shouted loudly.

While Kanade and the others were confused, not understanding the reason behind Haruka’s actions, they soon came to comprehend the motive.

“What?! A gate!?”

“We didn’t have any signs of its occurrence, right!?”

Suddenly, a gate appeared before their eyes, the same spot Haruka had been watching all along.

Normally, abnormal phenomena would occur at the location days in advance before a gate’s appearance.

However, this time, there had been no reaction whatsoever.

And only Haruka, whose “eyes” were keen enough to perceive the magical energy of others, noticed it.

“Kana, Yuzu, calm down! First, let’s assess the situation. Does everyone have their weapons?”

At this point, there was no room for covert operations; that much was clear.

With that realization, Mizuki, the leader, reached into her pocket and pulled out a dagger, addressing the members.

“I have one.”

Haruka spoke up, drawing a short staff hidden up her sleeve and assuming a defensive stance.

In a few more seconds, she would finish constructing her magic, ready to launch an attack immediately if any monsters emerged from the gate.

“I-I also have something, not my usual, though.”

Yuzu didn’t have her usual large staff, but she did wear a necklace that aided in magic assistance.

While she couldn’t go all out, it should suffice for the time being in case they had to engage in combat.

“What about Kana?”

“Well, technically she doesn’t have anything… But wait, that might actually be better.”

However, Kana didn’t have anything with her. The weapons she used were too large.

She did have some equipment to wear on her fists, but Kana had found something better.

“A bus schedule?”

“Apologies to the bus company, but this will do!”

While shouting those words, Kana lifted the bus schedule with one hand and slung it over her shoulder.

At that moment, monsters emerged from the gate.

“…Not good.”

However, those monsters had wings. And it wasn’t just one; at a quick glance, there were about twenty of them.

If they let the winged monsters roam freely, the extent of the damage was unpredictable.

Mizuki and the others exchanged glances, silently agreeing to defeat as many monsters as possible.

“Oh!”

However, the things Kana and the others had prepared were never used even once.

Just then, Igami and the others, looking flustered as they hurriedly came out of the pastry shop, caught their attention. While Igami made a phone call somewhere, the woman gazed at the gate and elegantly leaped towards it.

“Danger—eh?”

“A white… flame…?”

If they approached the area where the monsters were appearing, they would naturally be targeted.

However, as the woman lightly swung her arm in mid-air, a white flame was released into the sky.

And after the white flame disappeared, not even a trace of the monsters that had been there remained, not even their bones, only vanishing into dust.

“What was that… I’ve never seen anything like it.”

“It was white, but it seemed to be the same flame magic. Maybe Haruka… Haruka?”

Confused, the woman continued leaping and entered the gate.

“Haruka? What? Do you know something?”

While observing the woman’s behavior, Mizuki questioned Haruka, who had an astonished expression.

But Haruka, in a dazed state, was looking at the spot where the woman who had entered the gate had been.

Mizuki, puzzled by Haruka’s behavior, was about to ask again, but her words were cut short by the event unfolding before their eyes.

“…Black?”

“It’s not white this time, but black flames?”

From the gate, black flames overflowed instead of white.

“Wait, white and black flames… I feel like I’ve seen them somewhere before…”

Feeling something click in her mind at that sight, Mizuki continued to search her memories, still maintaining her vigilance.

However, as Mizuki struggled to retrieve what she desired from her memories, time continued to pass. Just now, the woman who had entered the gate from which the black flames were overflowing reappeared.

Returning to Igami’s side, she smiled cheerfully as if nothing had happened, exchanged a few words with him, and then the two of them disappeared to somewhere unknown.

The four of them stood there, stunned, observing the rapid progression of events.

They had completely forgotten their initial purpose of tailing Igami-san, and by the time they remembered, the two had long vanished from sight.

“What was that all about?”

“It was incredible, right? Is she a hero?”

“Haruka must know something, right?”

“Ah, that was… a… no, the pinnacle of adventurers… a mage…”

Uttered in a trembling voice, those words sounded odd considering Haruka’s usual demeanor.

However, if one knew the circumstances, it couldn’t be helped.

After all, the person who had been there just moments ago…

“…’The Strongest in the World.'”

“…”

They were referring to an overwhelmingly powerful individual, deserving of such a title.