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 4 Chapter 29   Asuka: Companion

──Asuka Tenshi──

Asuka, who had escaped from Igami, walked alone through the forest with heavy footsteps.

At first, she had been running away, but she had stopped runnung.

However, the reason she didn’t stop walking was not because of Asuka’s determination to keep fighting, but rather, it was just inertia.

“Why…?”

Asuka walked towards their base while recalling the battle that had just taken place and the words spoken to her.

She was supposed to win. But she lost.

When Asuka mentioned “admiration” to Igami, it was not because she believed he possessed superior abilities, but rather in response to his actions of “helping others.”

Although the situation was in favor of the opponent, in terms of strength, Asuka was clearly superior. It wasn’t a fight she couldn’t win.

However, when it came down to it, she was overwhelmingly defeated and treated as if she didn’t stand a chance.

“Why…!”

And finally, her feet came to a halt.

“What have I been doing all this time…”

Igami had said it wasn’t in vain, but Asuka couldn’t help but feel that everything she had done was meaningless.

As Asuka walked alone, someone suddenly appeared.

“Asuka-san!”

“And you are…”

“I’m sorry! I couldn’t defend the base!”

Before Asuka stood a healing girl, one of the four members defending the base. She had decided, against the original plan, to come to Asuka’s aid after discussing it with the other member responsible for guarding the treasure, feeling that her presence alone was pointless.

“No… I also lost.”

In response to the girl’s apology, Asuka shook her head with a powerless expression and chuckled in self-derision.

“To think I promised to win and ended up like this. I’m sorry.”

Surprised by the unfamiliar expression on Asuka’s face, the girl spoke with determination to encourage her.

“We’re not done yet. We may be under pressure, but the treasure is still intact. As long as you’re not defeated, the barrier remains, and the treasure won’t be taken. We can still win. Let’s go!”

“But… I, I’m already…”

However, Asuka didn’t respond to the girl’s words. She simply let out a tired sigh and shook her head.

“To begin with, I wasn’t meant to lead others as your leader. Unable to guide my comrades, unable to defeat our enemies… If I’m just going to show such a pathetic sight, it would have been better if I had never…”

She acknowledged her own shortcomings.

With those thoughts in mind, Asuka couldn’t find the words to continue, swallowing her frustrations silently. The air was filled with a heavy silence.

“To you and everyone else, I apologize for causing trouble with my selfishness…”

In that silence, Asuka lowered her head before the girl in front of her…

“I have never thought of you as a burden.”

“Huh…?”

But her words were interrupted midway.

Asuka, dumbfounded, looked up and found the girl staring at her with a serious expression. Asuka had never been met with such eyes before, and she was taken aback, unable to take her gaze off the girl.

“You don’t have to be someone who wins or leads others. For me, it was your desire to help others that shone brightly. Your dedication to helping others made you look like a hero.”

“A hero… I could never…”

“You can.”

Asuka weakly tried to deny the girl’s words, but she was interrupted by the girl once again.

“You can. The other members feel the same way. You are our hero.”

The girl’s eyes carried an undeniable strength that Asuka couldn’t look away from. Captivated by those eyes, Asuka couldn’t avert her gaze.

With her mouth trembling and opening and closing several times, Asuka finally mustered the courage to ask, even with uncertainty.

“Why… Why do you believe in me? Why do all of you trust me? I wasn’t suitable to be your leader. In fact, I wasn’t meant to lead anyone. So why do you believe and follow me so passionately?”

Hearing Asuka’s words, the girl furrowed her brows, as if she found it peculiar.

“Do we need a reason to believe? We saw your determination and wanted to believe in you. That’s all.”

“Eh…”

“We believe because we want to, because we’ve seen the path you’re walking. It’s as simple as that.”

Asuka, once again, was left dumbfounded by the girl’s words.

But the conversation didn’t end there. The girl continued with a “However” and proceeded to speak.

“It was our choice to believe. You don’t have to bear the weight of our trust and faith. You can follow your own path. Even if you lose countless times or show an uncool side, we will still believe in you. Your path is the path we believe in. So…”

The girl stopped speaking and smiled, reaching out her hand to heal the wounds on Asuka’s body.

As Asuka compared her healing body to the girl in front of her and thought of their absent comrades, a thought arose within her.

“To be more free, perhaps?”

Remembering what Kōosuke had told her before, Asuka tightly closed her eyes and, with closed eyes, spoke.

“I apologize. I am who I am. I may not be able to live up to your expectations.”

But Asuka’s words didn’t end there.

“But it frustrates me to be unable to meet those expectations. I cannot accept running away while still defeated.”

Asuka opened her previously closed eyes and looked at the girl who had followed her with adoration.

“I may have shown an uncool side, but will you continue to follow… No.”

Will you continue to accompany me? Asuka halted her words.

If they recognized her as their leader, this phrasing was inappropriate.

The appropriate way to say it now was…

“Join me.”

“Yes!”

And so, Asuka led her comrades back along the path she had fled from.

This time, they would win.