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 19   The Past of the “Strongest”

“…Your spirit is admirable. However, that’s not the point. The level of a special-class monster is irrelevant. We already know that it can be defeated. We can estimate the approximate damage and it’s not beyond the realm of common sense to deal with it.”

“Huh?”

Saeki’s remark about the special-class monster being of a certain “level” caused Kana to let out a dumbfounded voice.

At that moment, her emotions could be summed up as, “What is this person saying?”

After all, they had gone through so much hardship. They had endured injuries and continued to fight without giving up, and finally emerged victorious. But if all that was referred to as merely the “level” of a special-class monster, it was understandable for her to feel incredulous.

She even started to doubt if it was a miscommunication.

However, for Saeki and the others, it was not a slip of the tongue or a misunderstanding—it was simply a matter of fact.

“So what I’m saying is, can you stop a situation where a special-class existence, capable of defeating it alone and with minimal effort, goes berserk?”

“A special-class… with minimal effort?”

As Kana softly echoed Saeki’s words, she shifted her gaze towards the girl behind the glass with a rusted-like motion. And it wasn’t just Kana, both Mizuki and Yuzu had the same reaction.

“Berserk?”

The only one who was already aware of the rumors of being the “world’s strongest,” Haruka, asked the question that had arisen from Saeki’s previous statement.

“Yes. When emotions escalate to a point where they can no longer be contained, they channel that energy through force. It’s essentially a release of stress. Normally, people wouldn’t recklessly unleash their power based on the reactions of those around them or society’s attitudes, but it’s different for them. It doesn’t matter what happens to their surroundings or who dies. They continue to rampage like an immature child, driven solely by their emotions. Until they’re satisfied.”

“That’s…!”

“In reality, several places have been destroyed by their actions.”

Although they playfully shrugged their shoulders and acted nonchalant, pretending it was just a failure in handling the gates, Mizuki and the others weren’t truly listening.

“You understand, right? That creature is a genuine ‘monster.’ It’s not like a human.”

—Does Igami-san also think of her that way?

As Mizuki tightly clenched her fist in response to Saeki’s words, she turned his gaze towards Koosuke, who was talking with the girl behind the glass.

“And what about Koosuke’s involvement?”

“Hmm?”

“Koosuke is clearly being treated differently. So, what’s the reason for that?”

Even if they had to resort to poison or viruses, why would they assign someone like Koosuke, a third-class adventurer, to deal with a monster of that level? While it made sense to involve adventurers, wouldn’t it be more reasonable to use a special-class?

Haruka’s question was only natural.

“Oh, that’s easy. He can stop it… no, he’s the only one who can.”

And so, Saeki began to tell the story of Koosuke’s past. To be precise, it was the past of Koosuke and that white girl, perhaps.

“At a certain gate, unfortunately, an irregularity occurred, and adventurers were trapped inside. Moreover, it was on the verge of collapse, and it was decided to summon that thing before any damage occurred. So, he was inside that problematic gate, and he managed to rescue the stranded adventurers… but due to a mistake in the union’s coordination, even though they hadn’t escaped from the gate yet, that thing was summoned. It seems they rushed because if the gate collapsed, it would cause civilian casualties… but they rushed too much.”

An “irregularity” refers to the appearance of a special-class monster due to measurement errors. It happened in a gate located in a residential area, and according to the accounts of those who managed to escape from within, the monsters were already trying to break out.

Therefore, adventurers were immediately dispatched to destroy the gate. However, the outcome was disastrous.

The only survivors were those like Koosuke who had been inside the gate from the beginning.

And it was deemed impossible for them to handle the gate’s situation on their own, so the “world’s strongest” was sent in.

“And then, that thing attacked the dungeon along with the adventurers inside, trying to destroy the gate. But he stopped it.”

When the girl arrived at the dungeon, she immediately began constructing magic with the intention of demolishing the entire dungeon, including the special-class monster, in a seemingly troublesome manner.

At that time, Koosuke was already stationed near the gate, which served as the exit of the dungeon. However, there were still others inside, and everyone present should have been aware of that.

Nevertheless, no one made any attempt to stop the girl, who was clearly attempting a massively destructive magical attack.

Therefore, Koosuke stopped her.

“He apparently told it to wait because there were still people inside, but of course, things didn’t go smoothly. After that, it turned into a battle, putting the destruction of the gate on hold.”

The pure white girl, who had been doing as she pleased all along, had never experienced being stopped by someone.

Even those who had protected the girl and provided her with a place to live didn’t stop her.

There were times when they reasoned with her and tried to gain understanding.

But even then, it was only to redirect her desires or postpone them, and they never fundamentally made her give up.

Because they knew that if they stopped her, everything around them would be incinerated.

Sleeping, waking up, eating whenever she pleased. If she wanted something, she could casually request it, and it would be brought to her.

The girl’s life was a realm of limitless selfishness.

It was likely a reaction to the suppression of her experiments.

When she was a baby, the girl had been captured by villains and used as a subject for experiments.

With her newfound power, the girl destroyed that past, releasing what had been suppressed and gaining freedom.

And yet, if she was told, “This is wrong, that is wrong,” it would remind her of the experiments.

—Even though I’ve already been set free, do I have to go back to that time again?!

That’s why the girl hated being held back.

And it was Koosuke who stopped her.

He did it with a curse-laden remark, saying, “What the hell are you doing, you idiot! I don’t care if you do it, but at least assess the situation first, you brat!”

She felt belittled, ridiculed—just like back then.

Of course, Koosuke didn’t mean it that way. He was just desperate to help others and didn’t know much about the girl, that’s all.

And so, rather than destroying the gate as requested, or exterminating the monsters, eliminating the “enemy” right in front of her took priority.

The girl made that judgment and attempted to launch an attack against Koosuke—only to have Koosuke sense the danger and throw mud in her face, obstructing her. He then grasped the situation vaguely through the voices around him, escaped deeper into the dungeon, using the monsters as shields, buying time, and kept evading the girl until she grew tired.

They fought within the dungeon, minimizing the damage while successfully destroying the gate. But it was through that experience that she grew fond of him, seeing him as someone who could stand even against her full power and survive, as someone who could withstand her rampage.

Until now, no one had opposed her. She had burned them all.

But Koosuke was different. He stood against her, and yet he “survived.”

“Since then, it turned out that this place was conveniently located near where he had set up his base, so she ended up living here.”

Koosuke’s presence used to frustrate and intrigue her, but now she fully acknowledges and directs her affection towards him.

For the girl, who was thrown into a twisted laboratory before she could experience emotional education or even the love of a family, this affection is her first genuine feeling.

“The reason why the country, the world, don’t eliminate her and instead utilize her is because he can steer her. The world refrains from disposing of her precisely because he can keep her in check. He is the only person in the world who can make her listen. That’s him.”

Therefore, the girl—Nina—obeys Koosuke. He is the only important person in the world who stays by her side.

Well, even though their expression of love has turned into something beyond battles—into a deadly struggle—Koosuke never thought of himself as a troublesome opponent.

“You seem curious, but haven’t you witnessed his greatness with your own eyes?”

“…Yes, we have. However…”

Even after hearing Saeki’s story, Mizuki and the others who still wore a troubled expression, Saeki shifted his gaze towards them and asked.

But Mizuki was in a state where her own emotions were swirling and not yet settled, making it difficult for her to give a clear answer to his question.

“Hmm?… Then I’ll ask you, Mizuki Miyano. As a Special Class and a Hero, do you have the confidence to defeat—or rather, survive against—monstrous beings capable of effortlessly handling multiple Special Class monsters at once?”

“W-Well…”

Mizuki also recalled the Special Class monster she had fought before.

Even with her comrades by her side, she struggled during that battle.

If she were to face such formidable opponents in multiples, would she be able to emerge victorious?

Could she survive against opponents she could easily defeat even when they were in multiples?

—No, it would be impossible.

“You don’t, right? The other Special Class individuals felt the same way. No matter how many people join forces, they can’t envision a future where they win. I mentioned it before, even with a sentient nuclear bomb. That’s how much it’s ‘distorted.'”

Saeki seemed to understand Mizuki’s answer when she bit her lip. He shifted his gaze back from Mizuki to the other side of the glass and continued speaking.

“However, if left unchecked, it will eventually stop. But in doing so, not only cities but entire countries would vanish. Usually, when there are signs of that happening, we throw it into the most challenging dungeons among the Special Class ones to relieve its stress. However, even that caused considerable damage.”

It seemed that the conversation had concluded on the other side of the glass. Koosuke left the room, distancing himself from Nina.

Saeki, who witnessed this, moved away from the glass and readjusted himself on the sofa where he had initially been sitting.

“But he’s different. Despite being a Third Class, he can survive against it. Of course, he himself gets injured, and there is some collateral damage, but it’s much less compared to the havoc that would occur if it were rampaging elsewhere. It’s much more optimistic than leaving the Special Class gates unattended without using it. Well, personally, I think it would be better to kill it, though.”

After hearing the entire conversation, the minds of Mizuki and the others were filled with indescribable turmoil.

Was it directed at the treatment of the girl, or perhaps the burden placed solely on Koosuke, or maybe it was about their own immaturity and insignificance being made apparent…

And as the white-haired girl observed the state of Mizuki and the others on the other side of the glass, she quickly lost interest and returned to her favorite chair with a cheerful expression.