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 30   The situation of the 2^nd to 3^rd year students

──◆◇◆◇──

…No problem. At this rate, I could also explore other areas–

However, after enduring in that spot for about an hour, I suddenly heard the sound of explosions and collapsing from a distance.

“Huh? Why in that location… No, are there other students over there?”

What should I do? Should I go and help?

In terms of equipment or personnel… If we’re lacking in those areas, for now, the enemy’s attacks aren’t that intense, and we have some leeway here, so we should be able to go and help.

But…

“Igami-san, we’ve managed to secure a certain level of safety here. Let’s go help the people over there!”

“No, we can’t. Even if the current situation is stable, it’s because you’re here. The enemy doesn’t take serious action because you possess the power of a hero. Besides, you still haven’t mastered precise control over your powers. If you use them in a melee, you might end up harming our allies.”

That’s right. Even though we have some leeway, it’s mainly because Mizuki Miyano is here. There have been a few instances where the enemy almost got close, but Miyano used lightning to maintain the situation.

The reason the situation is currently calm is also because the enemy is wary of that power.

“If that’s the case, I will accompany you.”

“…Ojou-sama?”

“Shun and I are high-ranked. We’ll be of help.”

However, when I rejected Miyano’s proposal, Ojou-sama—Tenshi stepped forward, saying those words.

“Do you have time to hesitate? You’re going to go anyway, aren’t you? Even if you don’t go, I will go and help.”

“Tch… Just wait a moment.”

Even if I tried to stop her, Ojou-sama would still go. After all, she’s the kind of fool who would rush in to help others, even against high-ranked monsters. There’s no way she would stop.

Originally, once the situation settled down, I, who wouldn’t contribute much in terms of combat strength, planned to assess the situation in other areas and provide assistance if possible.

Since she wouldn’t stop anyway, it’s undoubtedly better to act together with Ojou-sama.

For both me and her.

“Miyano, if anything unusual happens, contact me immediately. If you can’t reach me, contact Saeki-san. The situation over there might also be relevant, and they might provide some advice. You remember that business card I gave you before, right?”

“Yes, but…”

“Asada, Abe, Kitahara. Don’t do anything reckless like last time. This time, even if you guys act recklessly, it might not be resolve. Also, there’s a traitor among the teachers. They might not be among those present here. Be cautious.”

“Hmph, you better make sure you don’t get injured in strange places!”

Asada, who had completely returned to her usual self, responded with her usual bold words, and the other two nodded in agreement.

“Let’s go.”

Having witnessed that, I led Tenshi Asuka and Kudo Shun, both high-ranked individuals, and headed out of the base.

──◆◇◆◇──

“The situation is completely chaotic.”

Carefully moving to avoid drawing too much attention, I arrived at the location where I thought I heard the explosion sound.

As expected, the school building had completely collapsed, with traces of blood scattered around.

“…! This sound!”

“It’s the sound of combat!”

Though I couldn’t hear it due to the distance, the two high-ranked individuals seemed to have picked up on faint sounds of battle. Tenshi instantly increased her speed and rushed towards the direction of the sound.

“Ah, damn it! Idiots!”

“I’ll go ahead!”

Following after Tenshi, Kudo also ran ahead.

As I chased after them in the direction they had gone, I arrived at the entrance of a still-standing school building. There, a fierce battle was already underway, with Tenshi and Kudo engaged in an intense fight against nearly twenty opponents.

However, they were high-ranked individuals. Even if all of their opponents were top-ranked, they wouldn’t be killed.

Furthermore, support magic was being cast from within the school building, so there should be no problem if I left them to handle it.

So, I headed towards another area—the direction of the intact school building.

If magic was being cast in that direction, it meant there were people inside. Confirming that should be my priority.

“Have they been reinforced?”

…Well, of course. These are the survivors caught in the collapse of the building. If they were seeking refuge inside the building, they would naturally be cautious.

I attempted to enter the school building, but the windows were blocked with soil, and magic was cast to prevent the walls from being broken.

So, reluctantly, I tried to find an opening to enter from the front…

“Well, this was to be expected.”

“Damn it, the enemy has come this far!”

“Hey! Call for reinforcements! There’s no way it’s just him!”

Mistaking me for an enemy and assuming I had intruded, they attacked me.

“Wait! I’m an instructor! I came to assess the situation because there was some leeway in other areas! Those people fighting over there! They are their allies!”

While dodging the students’ attacks, I removed the sword from my waist and threw it aside, also retrieving my adventurer’s license and throwing it up in the air, raising both hands.

Upon witnessing such actions, they must have harbored some doubts. The students ceased their attacks, still wary of me, but picked up the adventurer’s license I had thrown and glanced down at it.

“Instructor?” “But a third-class one?” “Would a third-class be an instructor?” “Can someone like you even make it this far in this situation?”

Such doubtful words, accompanied by their gazes, were directed at me, but well, it couldn’t be helped. Normally, no one would choose a third-class as an instructor.

“The team I’m responsible for consists of first-year students, Mizuki Miyano. Over there are also first-year students Asuka Tenshi and their instructor, Shun Kudo. I know it’s difficult to believe given the circumstances, but please trust me.”

“…I’ll trust you for now, but if something seems off, I’ll strike immediately.”

“Yeah, I understand… So, what’s the situation like? The area where we were conducting the combat test was under defense outdoors since we had some leeway. But we came here to check on the situation.”

As we headed towards the classroom where other students were said to be, I conveyed the actions taken by the first-year students and listened to the situation on our side… To be honest, it was nothing short of terrible.

Apparently, only the first-year students had a combat test today, while the second and third years were having a normal written exam without instructors.

In such a state, they were attacked, caught off guard without proper equipment, and the teachers were the first to be killed.

Despite the chaos, they managed to defeat the attackers somehow, but while discussing the current situation and future plans, they were attacked by additional assailants, forcing them to take refuge in the school building.

The same situation applied to the third years as well. They had handled it better than the second years, but then came that explosion.

This building we’re in is used by the second years, and the collapsed one I saw earlier was used by the third years. It seems that more than half of the third-year students were either killed or injured in that collapse.

And now, the third years have come here with their injured students, trying to regroup with the second years in the adjacent building, and that’s where things stand.

Considering the lack of someone to give instructions and the absence of an absolute force to take charge in times of emergency, it couldn’t be helped.

Although it may seem like a lot because we have two special-class students in the first year, Miyano and Tenshi, in reality, having that many special-class students is not the norm.

And so, in the classroom where we finally arrived, students lay collapsed and covered in blood.

They must be the ones who survived the building collapse or were injured in the attack.

However, it’s strange. From what I’ve gathered, initially, the attackers here seemed weak. Did they strengthen their forces because they couldn’t crush us?

If that’s the case, is their target still Miyano? Or are they trying to eliminate the first-year students with two special-class students first?

…But regardless, isn’t the enemy’s force too weak? If they were going to attack, they could have started with an explosion.

If they had just destroyed the school building from the beginning, it would have been over for us.

I understand the first-year students. They probably wanted to ensure the certain elimination of Miyano and Tenshi, the special-class students, since it would be troublesome if they survived the explosion.

But what about the other grades…? No, did they also have someone they wanted to eliminate first, like the first years?

Even if there are no special-class students, there are still those who rank high among the first-class students, and those at the top of the rankings should have a certain level of strength.

Considering that Tenshi didn’t rank in the top ten, I can understand why they would want to eliminate them first, right?

As I was contemplating the situation, it seemed that they had defeated all the attackers outside as Tenshi and Kudo approached us.

“What’s the situation like?”

In response to Kudo’s question, I proceeded to explain the situation that I had just heard.

“We were planning to gather the students here and regroup…”

“That’s impossible. There are too many injured individuals.”

“Yeah, you’re right. We have no choice but to defend this place.”

In response to Kudo’s murmured statement, which carried a strong sense of shared understanding rather than a mere suggestion, we began discussing our future course of action.

However…

“…So, what do you plan to do? Do you have any strategies in mind?”