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 3 Chapter 35   Apparently I can’t quit yet

“You’ve changed, haven’t you?”

When I first met Miyano, even with friends or fellow comrades, there was always a slight distance in her attitude.

I can’t quite put it into words, but it felt like there was a surface-level smile even with friends, and that applied to her interactions with me as well.

She once asked me why I build walls, and I guess that was about as far as she came in getting involved with me.

However, lately, her bond with Asada and the others has deepened, and she’s become more open with me too.

“Well, that might be true. Until now, I’ve always drawn lines even with comrades.”

Miyano blinked her eyes for a brief moment and let out a self-deprecating laugh.

“It’s thanks to you. Even though you didn’t intend to, back then you opened up and stirred things up, which allowed me to remove the self-imposed boundaries I had set for myself.”

Back then, huh…

That was probably when, before the school attack incident, I spilled their secrets and inner thoughts, nearly destroying their team.

“And, if we’re talking about that, you’re not exempt either, right? You’ve changed a lot since the beginning.”

“…Yeah, I guess so.”

Well, I’m aware that I’ve changed compared to the beginning.

“Please continue to take care of me.”

As for me, well, I don’t mind teaching them.

But if I could, I wanted to quit being an adventurer.

Technically, I’m still not officially a adventurer, but what I’m doing remains the same.

If you ask me why I want to quit so badly, well, part of it is wanting to finish what I started, but it also just gives me an unpleasant feeling, you know?

It hasn’t even been half a year since the incidents at school, encountering both the school attack and irregular events.

Although she’s not considered a seasoned Special Class, she had a level of danger approaching that, and could be considered more than just an ordinary Special Class.

Just because I quit being an adventurer and don’t enter the dungeon anymore doesn’t mean the danger disappears or that I won’t be used by “the higher-ups.”

But still…

That’s why I want to quit being an adventurer as soon as possible… sigh. It seems like I still can’t quit just yet.

“Let’s enjoy ourselves today, even though there are things we want to say, things we want to think about, and things we have to think about. After all, it’s a special festival.”

As Miyano spoke these words, her expression wasn’t the usual slightly formal one she used when talking to someone older. It was more casual, as if speaking between friends or children.

“In that case, my lady, may I have this dance? … Hmm, that doesn’t sound right, does it? What do you say in situations like this?”

“Hehe, why not use your own words, Igami-san?”

“My own words, huh? Well then, I don’t need to change.”

With that, I took Miyano’s hand and began walking back toward where Asada and the others were.

“You’re wearing a beautiful dress, but do you want to dance or something?”

“Huh? We don’t need to go that far. Besides, do we even have time for that?”

“Well, it might be true that we don’t have time, but do you think it’s necessary?”

“Well, if we have the chance. And hey, have any of you actually practiced dancing before?”

“…No, we haven’t.”

“Well, then it’s impossible anyway.”

“True. But I’ll practice for the sake of future ‘opportunities.'”

Even if you all practice, I haven’t danced before, so it’s impossible for me anyway. …But somehow, I have a feeling that these guys are going to force me to dance. Maybe I should practice, just in case?

“I can’t say that ‘practice isn’t necessary’ because we’ll inevitably need it someday…”

If only they didn’t invite me to dance, this conversation would be over. But I can’t tell them not to practice.

“By the way, ‘you all,’ huh?”

“What about it?”

Miyano chuckled softly while I was left puzzled.

“It’s about what you said earlier. ‘You all don’t dance,’ you said. But who exactly do you mean by ‘you all’? I was the only one you asked to dance, so does that mean you’re considering others as potential dance partners too?”

…Well, it was more of a slip of the tongue or something like that. It’s not like I had any specific intention behind it, I think.

“If you keep nitpicking at others, you’ll end up disliked.”

“Don’t worry. I choose my company.”

“…Sigh.”

Truly, this Hero has changed.

“Alright, let’s get ready, Hero. And the accompanying members too. It’s about to start soon.”

Feeling like this conversation might be heading in an unfavorable direction, I decided to end it and called out to Asada, Abe, and Kitahara, who were chatting nearby.

“Hey, what’s with the term ‘accompanying members’? There must be a better way to refer to us.”

“Yeah, yeah, whatever. Let’s just go back to our room. It wouldn’t look good if the staff is missing right before it starts.”

I initiated the conversation to wrap up the situation with Miyano, but in reality, we had less than twenty minutes until the public opening. We needed to finish our movement, checks, and preparations before that.

“Um, well, about that…”

“Hmm?”

“Do you think we’ll have customers?”

For a rare occasion, Kitahara approached me with a question, expressing her concerns about whether customers would come.

Well, considering the location of the classroom we’re using, it’s understandable to have doubts. If we were doing it normally, we might not attract many people.

“Well, we’re tucked away in a corner, so it’s not unreasonable to think that way.”

“Ugh… Sorry.”

Asada seemed to blame herself for forgetting to apply for the stall, apologizing with a downcast expression.

But personally, I don’t really care about that. Sure, it would have been fun if we had managed to secure a spot with more foot traffic, but there aren’t many of us. I don’t think we’d be able to handle a large influx of customers anyway.

“That being said, we’ve made preparations to manage somehow, so don’t worry.”

“Do you really have everything prepared?”

“Well, to some extent. So, yeah, just focus on what you need to do.”

However, since they were looking forward to it, I wanted them to enjoy themselves, so I did make preparations.

After hearing my words and seemingly finding some reassurance, Kitahara nodded. With that, our conversation ended, and we headed back to our stall.

“It’s about to start, but I hope everything goes well…”

“Well, even if I tell you to relax, it’s impossible, so let’s get ready to give it our all.”

As the starting time approached, it seemed like Kitahara’s anxiety had spread to the others, as the remaining three glanced worriedly towards the school gate through the window.

Well, from here, we couldn’t see the gate, but their gaze was undoubtedly a reflection of their unease.

“First, I’ll prepare the water and then add the potion to it…”

Ignoring the actions of the other four, I filled a bucket with water and focused on setting up the attraction to attract customers.

My actions seemed to pique their curiosity, as the four of them shifted their gaze from the window to me, silently observing without saying a word.

“What kind of potion is it?”

However, as I finished preparing the bucket and sat down, pouring the potion into the water, Abe asked.

“It’s a Sensory Enhancer. It’s commonly used in alchemy to improve the flow of one’s own mana and make it easier to react.”

Upon hearing my explanation, Abe, Miyano, and Kitahara, the group of magic users, nodded in understanding. However, Asada, the pure warrior among them, seemed puzzled, tilting her head.

Well, warriors don’t typically learn alchemy, so it’s understandable that she wouldn’t know.

Normally, this potion is used during alchemical processes to observe small changes and make precise adjustments.

However, in this case, the important thing is to make it easier for mana to flow through.

After adding the Sensory Enhancer to all the prepared water in the bucket and stirring it, the preparations were complete. All that was left was to cast magic on it.

Due to the curse’s influence, I couldn’t perform overly powerful or prolonged magic. But for one time, it should be doable.

Checking the time on the clock, I began constructing the magic, timing it carefully.

“It’s started.”

Carefully and deliberately constructing the magic to ensure no room for failure, the chimes signaling the beginning of the cultural festival’s public opening rang out, and Asada muttered in a somewhat absent-minded voice.

The festival has begun, and our preparations are complete. It’s time to go.

With that in mind, I activated the magic I had finished constructing.

“Wow!”

“So cute!”

As I activated the magic, the water in the bucket floated into the air and split into multiple small spheres.

Each sphere had a diameter of about twenty centimeters, and as the split spheres wriggled and squirmed, they transformed into deformed versions of various animals.

Birds, rabbits, lions, horses, deer, dolphins, mammoths— the floating water took on the shape of these diverse creatures and raced through the air as if running on the wind.

Having transformed into these animal shapes, the water creatures I created were released outside through the window, flying towards the school gate.

“Ah—”

As the animals flew away and disappeared from sight, Asada let out a sad voice.

She had a similar plush toy in her room, and it seemed she had a fondness for animals.

“What are you doing?”

“I’m providing directions. Flying just below the ceiling to avoid colliding with people.”

“Even though you’re not watching?”

Miyano and Abe, whether understanding the difficulty of operating without watching or not, widened their eyes in surprise.

But well, I’m not manually controlling it either.

“With practice, it can be done. It’s just guiding them along a predetermined route, so it’s not that difficult.”

However, setting the course entirely would make the magic too large in scale, so it’s not completely automatic either. It’s neither fully automated nor manual—it’s in a semi-automatic state.

But this method is possible precisely because it’s now, when the festival is about to begin, and the students are in their designated spots rather than walking through the corridors. The chances of collisions increase when there are many people moving about.

“Now, enjoy the festival to the fullest.”

With that, the cultural festival began, and despite being in a corner of the venue, people were drawn to the novelty of my magic.

The next day, before it opened to the public, Nina came specially, accompanied by Saeki-san and others.

Hiro and Koharu-san also came, and thanks to Yasu and Kei bringing their acquaintances, we were able to use up almost all the materials we had prepared due to the lively turnout.

It seems like the sacrifice was worthwhile.

While watching Miyano and the others move around in their dresses, I suddenly locked eyes with Miyano, and she smiled happily.

“Let’s do this again next year!”

It seems like I won’t be allowed to quit next year either, after all.

……To be Continued？