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 33   Pain

As I opened my eyes, a sense of unease washed over me. I found myself in my own room.

Huh? Why am I here?

Well, it’s not like I’m calling this place “my room,” but I was supposed to be at school just a moment ago, right?

Feeling something strange, I sat up and looked around. It was indeed my room.

However, something felt off. Despite it being a familiar place, I sensed a lingering discomfort.

“What?! Why are you here?! You were supposed to be dead!”

Trying to get up from the bed, the door suddenly opened, and a woman entered the room――it was Mika.

Mika, my girlfriend. She should have died years ago, but…

That’s right. Mika died. She died in an accident in the dungeon.

So why is she here?

No, that’s not it. It’s not like that.

“…It was just a dream, right? Yeah, there’s no way you would die.”

That’s right. It was just a dream. There’s no way she would die.

I can’t believe I said something so foolish. What kind of dream was that?

As I shook my head a few times, trying to clear the sleepiness from my mind after saying something strange, I raised my head to apologize.

“Sorry. I said something weird――”

But then, a fist flew towards my face.

“What… the hell?”

Mika is a second-class warrior type, while I’m a third-class magic user, so there’s a difference in our physical abilities. I could tell that a fist was coming towards my face.

But I didn’t understand why I was being punched in the face.

Sure, I said something rude like “you’re dead” earlier, but would she really punch me over that?

Well, she’s usually quite bold and impulsive, so it’s not entirely out of character for her, but still…

However, Mika’s actions didn’t end there.

After being hit, my head snapped back, and as I tried to sit up on the bed again, Mka grabbed my shirt collar and vigorously shook me.

“Hey… I-I’m sorry for saying you were dead! So, I――gah!”

Even though my words were interrupted by the shaking of my head, I apologized. But I couldn’t finish my sentence before I was headbutted this time.

“Ouch… that hurts…”

As I was once again brought down onto the bed, holding my nose that had taken the headbutt, I realized it didn’t hurt as much as I expected. She must have held back a bit. Even the area where she punched earlier doesn’t hurt that much.

“I said I’m sorry, but did it really require going this far? If you hit me with your full strength, it would be a severe blow for an ordinary person like me, you know?”

However, despite the lack of pain thanks to her holding back, the fact remains that I was punched and headbutted.

Even though she’s my girlfriend, it’s alright to complain about this much.

But Mika didn’t say anything in response, just looking at me.

…Come to think of it, she didn’t say anything when she hit me earlier either.

What on earth is going on?

“Hey… why won’t you speak up? Why have you been silent all this time? You’re not the type to be so quiet, right? You’re the kind of person who speaks their mind freely, aren’t you?”

She wasn’t this reserved before.

She used to speak her mind clearly, pulling everyone along… It’s embarrassing to admit, but she was like the sun.

Ah, Asada might be similar. If they meet, they might get along well. Or would the suns clash?

“Come on, cheer up. Look, I had a bad dream. You know those times, right? I’ll treat you to the cake you like.”

But well, even someone like her has bad moods. Today must have been one of those days. I probably made her angry by saying something that irritated her, and she fell silent. That must be it.

Otherwise, it’s abnormal for her not to speak. She’s not even dead or anything.

Not working, huh? How about going on a trip next time? Even if the senpais complain a bit, I’ll take paid leave. How about going to a foreign country? Neither you nor I have ever left Japan, so I think it would be nice to experience it at least once. We talked about going on a trip after getting married, but why not go before that?”

Mika mentioned before that she wanted to go to England and see the gardens. It might be a good opportunity to go. Was it the English Garden?

We can go somewhere else for our honeymoon.

But still, Mika doesn’t answer… She won’t respond.

Why won’t she say anything? Why…

I know the answer myself.

But I can’t accept it. I mustn’t.

Because she’s here. If I acknowledge it, then she… I…

So, I shake my head, trying to dismiss the thoughts that come to mind, and speak to Mika once again.

“It’s definitely going to be fun. After all, we can be together again after such a long time… So, hey? Could you please say something?”

However, as Mika approached me with a sad smile and hugged me, I couldn’t help but understand the situation.

She’s dead. She’s dead. What I’m seeing now is an illusion, and the person in front of me is fake.

That’s something… I know.

“But you know, I still can’t accept it. I knew it. That you were dead. But I always had this hope that maybe someday you would come back. That you would suddenly appear like before, and we’d have those foolish conversations again, and that our everyday life would return to normal. But nothing ever went back to the way it was.”

Even though I’m in front of my lover, I cling to Mika, tears streaming down my face, and pathetically and miserably repeat my lamentations.

I don’t want to show such an embarrassing side of myself, but still, the words won’t stop and they escape me.

“You’ll probably be angry, but I… I actually believed in such a foolish thing… that maybe I could see you again after you died.”

Trembling, I speak those words, expecting to be scolded, but all Mika does is hold me gently.

Right after Mika died, I seriously considered suicide.

But I stopped. I was scared. Not scared of dying. I was scared of being hated by her.

“But, if I did that, I thought you would hate me. I thought I would be throwing away our memories together. That’s why I didn’t die… I couldn’t die.”

Upon hearing my words, Mika tightened her embrace even stronger than before, and then gently loosened her grip and moved away from me.

I was afraid she would disappear somewhere again. That she would vanish completely.

Thinking that, I quickly looked up, and Mika was looking at me with an expression that seemed angry, her hand on her hip.

No, not just “seemed” angry. She was genuinely angry.

I averted my gaze from Mika, feeling pathetic.

…Ah, how pathetic of me.

But even though I turned my face away, I understand. I can tell that you want to express your complaints, even without looking at your face. I’m aware of how foolish the things I said were.

However, it may sound weak, but for me, the world without you, who died, appears dull.

Everything feels empty, unsatisfying no matter what I do, and an insatiable sense of loss clings to me like a curse.

Life was supposed to continue.

We even made promises of marriage.

We talked about our future.

Yet you died… leaving me behind.

No matter what I do, thoughts of you always flicker in the corner of my mind.

What would you do in this situation? You used to say such things. If I were with you, it would have been enjoyable…

But no matter what questions I ask, you won’t answer. Our memories won’t increase, and we can’t be together.

Because you’re already gone.

“It’s tough being alone. It’s painful being alone. It’s sad being alone. It’s lonely being alone.

To think that I have to endure these feelings forever, it feels like some kind of punishment.”

But even so…

“Even so, I have to stand up…” I muttered.

As I looked up again, Mika was still watching me, not with anger but rather with concern. It was embarrassing and frustrating to see her wearing such an expression because of me, so I clenched my teeth and stood up.

I may have already shown plenty of disgraceful moments, and it might be too late now. But still, this level of patheticness is just too much.

I know this is a dream. It’s an illusion, a temporary delusion. The reality is that Mika isn’t actually here with me.

Ah, I understand that.

But even if it’s a dream or something I’ll forget when I wake up, what’s the point if I can’t act cool in front of the girl I love?

I crushed my pathetic self in my heart and directed a provocative gaze at Mika, as if to say, “Don’t underestimate me.”

However, even though it was supposed to be an illusion, even though I created this fantasy, her expression was smiling as if to say, “Well done.”

It was a figure that was more true to herself than the image I had in mind, and I found myself wide-eyed and frozen in place.

But Mika, with a smile on her face, struck my chest with her fist and then turned her back, walking away.

As a result, my field of vision turned completely white, transitioning from my familiar room to an unfamiliar dimly lit space.

This is probably reality. My head throbs with a dull ache from the impact.

“Ahh, damn, that hurts…” I muttered, not holding back tears as I clutched my chest.

But I can’t stay here like this. Because if I do…

“That guy will worry and disguise again, won’t he?”

That’s why I have to stand up. I have to move forward.

With that determination, I took a deep breath and looked around.

Where is this… some kind of basement? …Wait, I’m not wearing any clothes.

I’m not restrained, but instead, I realized that I wasn’t wearing any clothes.

Fortunately, I still had my underwear, but I probably lost the rest in some sort of disarmament process.

“――Ah!”

However, the situation didn’t allow me the luxury of worrying about such things. An explosion rang out, and specks of dust fell from the ceiling.

…Damn, this isn’t good.

Not only is there a risk of collapse, but I’m more worried about Miyano and the others. The sound I just heard indicates that a significant battle is taking place, and there’s a high possibility that they’re involved in it.

Hurry, I need to get out of here as quickly as possible and go help them.

Mika may have been an illusion.

But it doesn’t change the fact that I showed her my pathetic side, even if she was my “girlfriend.” So this time, I have to show her something cool. I can’t bear to be so pathetic anymore.

That’s why――this time, I won’t let anyone die!