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 31   The battle between Mizuki and Asuka—the conclusion

“Huh?”

“Hm!”

“What?”

Each of them reacted differently to my words, but I suppose their thoughts were somewhat similar.

Perhaps they were thinking, “What is he thinking?” or “What is he saying?”

Confused by my sudden words, the young lady, still with her weapon raised alongside Miyano, took a step back to create some distance. She stared at me again, weapon at the ready.

“What do you mean by that? Are you saying you can’t fight because of your injury or something?”

“Well, if you trained so hard to defeat Miyano, losing like this would be unsatisfying for you too, wouldn’t it?”

Our strategy was to defeat one member of the opposing team, reducing their numbers to equal or fewer than ours, and then evade until time ran out.

Facing two high-level opponents on their team, and knowing that they would come at us with their full strength without any complacency, it would be tough to handle.

Therefore, I came up with this strategy to secure a victory.

However, while Miyano didn’t complain about the strategy for winning, she must have felt some dissatisfaction.

If possible, she wanted to directly confront the young lady and win, both for herself and for the sake of the match.

Then it’s perfect.

Our numbers have decreased, but so have theirs, and now we have more remaining members than they do.

There’s only a sufficient amount of time left, and there won’t be any further changes in the team composition.

If Miyano can win, that’s great. But even if she loses, it will be a tie in terms of numbers, making it a victory for our team.

So, let her do as she pleases.

Moreover, even if a major comeback happens later, and our team ends up losing, I believe that loss would still hold meaning.

That’s why it’s truly perfect.

“As for me, I thought this would be a good stepping stone for them, but if it ends like this, it won’t serve as their training… You’re not just a stepping stone, right? Show them what you’re made of and win.”

When I advised the young lady before, I mentioned that the reason I was giving advice was to use Miyano and the others as stepping stones.

At that time, she denied being a stepping stone, so let’s have her prove it.

“This situation, where you can fight Miyano, is something you desired as well, isn’t it?”

“If that’s the case, I will grant your wish and win.”

“Why are you saying such presumptuous things?”

While Asada complained to the nodding young lady, I ignored her and turned my gaze toward Miyano.

“Are you okay with this? Even if I leave her immobilized and the match ends, can you truly say that you won, Miyano? Are you satisfied with that?”

“I understand… Thank you.”

When I posed the question, Miyano nodded solemnly and expressed her gratitude before moving forward.

“But what about me? If we’re talking about not achieving our full potential, I’ll be in that same situation, won’t I?”

“I’m sorry, but you need to take a break. I can see that you still have the motivation, but I can’t let you get involved in their fight. Stay by my side and protect me. I’m in no condition to endure the aftermath alone; it might be enough to kill me.”

“Mmm… I got it.”

Despite wearing a sulky expression, she seemed to understand that I, who was protecting the treasure, couldn’t move from this spot and that a guardian was necessary. In the end, she reluctantly nodded.

“Well then, let’s continue, shall we?”

“Yes. However, this time won’t end with a simple clash.”

There’s ten minutes left. Now, how will it unfold?

──◆◇◆◇──

“Hey, isn’t Mizuki being pushed back? Are you okay?”

“Well, in close-quarters combat like this, the princess might have the upper hand compared to Miyano.”

With that, the battle began, combining both magic and physical combat. However, from what I could see, Miyano seemed to be on the defensive.

“Why is that?”

While the princess may have superior skill, there isn’t much difference in their basic abilities, and Miyano surpasses her in tactics and offensive power. In fact, if we consider overall capabilities, Miyano would likely come out on top.

Despite this, Asada couldn’t comprehend why Miyano was being pushed back and asked with a displeased expression, glancing at their fight.

But from my perspective, I had a feeling that was to be expected.

For some reason, body enhancement magic tends to be influenced by the user’s attribute. For example, earth magic enhances durability, wind magic enhances speed, and so on.

“Regarding Miyano, or rather, lightning-based magic, it excels in both attack and enhancement, being fast and powerful. However, it can only move in straight lines. On the other hand, the princess’s wind-based magic allows her to move freely, not restricted to straight lines. In close-quarters combat, the slight difference in speed won’t give her a significant advantage once you’re accustomed to it. Instead, the princess’s advantage lies in her ability to move in ways other than straight lines.”

When it comes to advantages, it also requires a certain level of skill to move smoothly in curves, but the princess would likely be capable of that with enough practice.

“But Mizuki can move in curves too, right? Like taking the enemy’s back.”

“Well, it’s not like she can move in curves other than straight lines. Miyano is simply taking the enemy’s back with a few linear movements. Just like how a polygon with more sides, such as a triangle or square, approaches a circle, Miyano is making slight adjustments.”

Even if there were a hundred-sided polygon, it would still have angles and not be a perfect circle. Miyano isn’t moving in true curves.

“But if she can successfully get behind the opponent, isn’t that a good thing?”

“No, even though it’s on a small scale, using magic repeatedly like that consumes extra mana, and continuously activating short-distance movements at such high speed affects concentration.”

Magic requires a lot of mental effort, and when combined with sword combat, it becomes exhausting beyond imagination.

There’s also the issue of mana. Using magic repeatedly like that consumes a significant amount of it.

It’s like the gasoline in a car. Even if the car is stationary but the engine is running, the overall gasoline consumption is lower compared to repeatedly turning the engine on and off. It’s similar to that.

“And besides, it has its flaws.”

“Flaws? What are they?”

“Well, let’s see… Can you change directions every 0.1 seconds while running at full speed? And without slowing down.”

“That’s impossible. Not only avoiding slowing down but changing directions every 0.1 seconds while running, that’s too short of a time interval.”

It’s something similar to that. Miyano’s technique isn’t about using magic and giving instructions every time, but rather deciding the course from the beginning and activating it. Otherwise, her thoughts wouldn’t keep up with her body’s movements, and she wouldn’t be able to activate the magic in time. So… Ah, as I thought.

“Mizuki!?”

Deciding the course from the beginning means that if that course is read, there’s no need to deliberately go for an attack. Just leaving the weapon in that spot would make it difficult for the opponent to be hit.

Well, it’s a prerequisite that you have eyesight capable of perceiving Miyano’s speed and the ability to react to it. But it’s easier than directly going for an attack.

So it’s not strange if the princess can do it too.

Because I can do it myself. Well, in my case, it’s also about familiarity and guiding, but in terms of being able to deal with it, it’s the same.

In long-distance battles, there might be enough room for thinking, but in close-quarters combat like this, it’s impossible.

That’s why I usually employ a hit-and-run style, attacking and then quickly moving away.

“Kuh!”

“I must… I have to win!”

As Miyano came to a halt, the princess thrust her spear towards Miyano, but the attack unnaturally stopped midway.

“Tsuh!”

Oh? You’ve sacrificed your movement speed and switched to obstructing your opponent.

If that’s the case, the princess won’t be able to avoid the lightning speed either, so she might be able to disrupt the opponent’s techniques and deal damage.

But, by sacrificing your speed, both your ability to dodge the opponent’s attacks and your own attacks become more difficult. It becomes a messy fight of who will fall first, almost like a chicken race.

Well, attribute-wise, the princess has the advantage, so there’s no choice but to go for it, even if it’s a bit forceful.

The princess probably hasn’t realized it, but if she manipulates the air and creates a vacuum layer, electricity can’t pass through it.

So, I think it’s quite challenging for Miyano when her attacks get defended like that.

Although magic is a mysterious phenomenon, if you force it, it might be possible to penetrate through, but it still consumes… or rather, wastes more mana than usual.

Ah—

While pondering about such things and watching the two of them fight, it seems like the princess dropped her spear, perhaps due to being shocked repeatedly.

“Aggh!”

Instead of slashing with her sword, Miyano applies body enhancement again and goes for a tackle.

It may indeed be faster than slashing with a sword, but it really feels like a messy fight.

Are they turning it into a catfight?

I thought that, but it turned out to be exactly that.

In contrast to the incredible battle just a moment ago, they engaged in a grappling exchange as if the previous intensity had been a lie.

However, that was just a minor occurrence. As both of them collapsed to the ground, a tremendous gust of wind blew, and from that spot, as well as from our location, we could hear a sound resembling a collision.

Turning my gaze towards the source of the sound, I saw Miyano in a state where she had collided with a tree. It seemed she had been blown away by the recent wind.

“I can’t afford to lose! I don’t want to lose!”

After being tackled by Miyano and rolling on the ground, the princess, despite her dirty appearance covered in mud, unsteadily stood up. She extended her hands forward, releasing the spear she had dropped, and began gathering her remaining dwindling mana to construct a spell.

“I won’t let you!”

Hurriedly getting up to face the princess constructing her spell, Miyano forcibly converted her mana into lightning, channeling it into her sword, and dashed forward.

With Miyano’s speed, she would be able to slash before the spell construction is completed.

However, the princess showed her resilience.

A spell unlike anything I had seen in our training sessions, a simplified and rough creation that didn’t match her usual style.

It seemed fragile enough to self-destruct with just a slight touch, but that’s why she made it in time.

“Ha, Aaaaaah!!”

Discarding complete control, the princess unleashed an attack focused solely on defeating Miyano, even if it meant being injured by the uncontrolled aftermath of the spell.

“Kuuuuuuu… Aaaaaaaaahhhhhhh!!”

Miyano charged head-on towards the princess’s compressed and cyclone-like spell, wielding her electrified sword, and swung it down—slashing through.

In that instant, Miyano’s lightning clashed with Tenshi’s wind, intertwining and merging. The already formidable wind transformed into a raging storm, ravaging the surroundings accompanied by thunder.

“Kuooh!? Disgus—”

The collision of their attacks unleashed a tempest and thunderstorm, wreaking havoc and obliterating everything in the vicinity.

Knowing it would be dangerous to get caught in it, but unable to move from my spot, I quickly erected a barrier.

However, this might not be good.

Although I had erected the barrier, it was hastily constructed and lacked durability. The aftermath of their clash easily overwhelmed the barrier, causing it to let out a helpless cry.

“Kyaaaah!”

And someone else let out a cry of despair as well.

The sudden onslaught of the storm and thunder was unexpected, and Asada clung to me. I’m sorry, but it’s already pointless.

With a crackling sound as if an eggshell had been shattered, the barrier crumbled and vanished.

As the barrier broke, I was swept away by the impact of the raging wind and the destructive force of the thunder.

“I-I’m moving–”

While still clinging to Asada, I was carried away by the wind and ended up colliding with a nearby tree.

Well, at least I didn’t get directly hit by the lightning.

By the way, Asada, couldn’t you have managed without clinging onto me?

As the raging wind and thunder subsided, signaling the end of the battle between the two, I gritted my teeth in pain from the impact against the tree and, despite letting out a groan, lifted my face.

Through the swirling dust, it was impossible to discern who remained standing.

After a while, the dust settled, and figures gradually became visible.

And as my vision cleared, standing there was–