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 5 Chapter 44   Role of the “Hero”

After the incident, the school received a notification stating that there is a shortage of staff in the department responsible for handling the gates. As a result, the school has taken on the responsibility of managing the situation for the time being.

In light of this, the school’s decision was to take a temporary break by keeping essential personnel such as teachers and staff in place.

Naturally, this decision makes sense. When a gate appears at the school and it cannot be immediately dealt with, it is safer to send the students back home or to their dormitories and have them wait.

Normally, dealing with a sudden gate occurrence wouldn’t be an issue. After all, the students at that school are adventurers, so with the right team members, they can handle the gate confirmation and processing without any problems.

However, the current situation is different.

They did explore the gate to some extent to investigate, but even if everything seemed normal at that time, it doesn’t guarantee that anomalies won’t occur while they’re inside the dungeon.

The most frightening possibility is a collapse. There is a chance that the gate could suddenly collapse before they have a chance to destroy the core. Even if they manage to reach the core, breaking it might result in the gate collapsing, which poses a whole new dilemma.

Therefore, until a clear directive from the higher-ups is received, the school cannot act recklessly.

It’s an unprecedented situation, and without prior preparations, if students were to perish upon entering the gate, it would become a serious problem.

Moreover, even if those circumstances weren’t present, I believe that suspending classes was the right decision.

Some people might be worried about the safety of their families, and it’s essential to provide time for assessing the current situation and planning for the future.

Due to these reasons, we dispersed for the time being. I managed to get in touch with Saeki-san after several attempts and arranged to meet at the research facility.

“Sorry for making you wait. I called you over, after all.”

“Oh, don’t worry. I understand the situation.”

Although we had met not long ago, Saeki-san looked worn out. Considering the circumstances, it was understandable.

While Saeki-san primarily works in research and isn’t directly involved in gate management or related tasks, this situation would undoubtedly pull in personnel from various departments regardless.

As if to prove the busyness of the situation, Saeki-san, who usually waits at the entrance smoking a cigarette when I arrive, asked me to wait a little longer today and directed me to a nearby waiting room.

Eventually, after over an hour of waiting, Saeki-san finally appeared.

“So, the matter you wanted to discuss is about Nina?”

“Yeah. Well, considering she was kept alive for times like this, it’s somewhat expected. She’s been assigned to destroy the gates.”

Originally, or rather, the human society in this world kept Nina, who is an uncontrollable force of violence, alive precisely for dealing with powerful gates that couldn’t be handled through conventional means and to act in case of anomalies.

And it seems those higher-ups have decided to utilize Nina for dealing with the current abnormal situation.

“Is that why you’re steering her?”

However, fundamentally, Nina doesn’t listen to people. It’s not that she doesn’t listen at all, but due to the unique environment she grew up in, she is emotionally immature compared to her physical strength. As a result, she can be quite childish, and while she follows instructions, there’s always a possibility she might cause destruction beyond what was instructed, making her a challenging ‘pawn’ to handle.

But with me, she listens to what I say. She stops at the necessary minimum destruction, and there’s no chance of her getting angry and going on a rampage even if I give her orders.

So, they probably want to use me to effectively maneuver Nina and handle the gates efficiently.

“That’s right, but it’s not just that.”

I thought so, but apparently, it wasn’t the only reason. After affirming what I said, Saeki-san shook his head, denying my words.

…What is it? I have a bad feeling about this.

I felt an uneasy premonition.

However, it’s not entirely baseless, and not without reason.

Sitting in front of me, Saeki-san had a stern expression. I’ve seen this expression of his a few times before, and each time, it was about something inconvenient or problematic for me.

So, surely, the fact that Saeki-san is wearing this expression means there’s something inconvenient for me this time too—

“You guys—more precisely, all members of the ‘Hero’ team—are given an order to destroy the dungeon that occurred this time. If you refuse, you’ll become criminals.”

Upon hearing these undeniable words, I understood that my expression must have turned grim.

Even though we call her a ‘Hero,’ Miyano is still a student, a child.

I had heard before that students don’t start acting as heroes until they finish their studies, which contradicts this situation. Moreover, refusing the order would be treated as a criminal act, which might result in being forced into labor.

Knowing Miyano, though, she probably won’t decline this offer if it means helping out as a hero.

While feeling frustrated about the idea of forcibly using a child like Miyano, I can’t say I completely fail to understand the circumstances.

“In such a dire situation with gates appearing all over the world and causing harm to citizens due to the lack of government manpower, using whatever means available to tackle the problem might deviate from conventional norms, but it seems to be the right choice for the country.”

They aren’t directly approaching Miyano; they’re trying to communicate through me. I can’t help but think that they are showing sincerity in their approach.

“However, I have one question.”

“What is it?”

“Before, when a hero was swallowed by a gate, it led to a situation where destroying the gates could only be done under the government’s supervision or by government-appointed personnel. What happened to that arrangement?”

I understand the need to handle the sudden increase in gates, and reluctantly, I have to accept it. But it’s not without problems.

Destroying the dungeon means destroying the core, and the moment the core is destroyed, the gate collapses, causing everything inside to vanish, regardless of anyone’s presence.

That’s why, even if the core is found, it’s not destroyed; instead, government-appointed individuals were responsible for handling the destruction of the dungeon’s core. So what changed now?

Have they managed to find a way to distinguish between collapsing dungeons and stable ones, or a method to deal with them?

“Oh, that aspect remains the same. So, if the core is discovered, someone else will be responsible for destroying it.”

“That means more sacrifices.”

Although I understood there was no other choice, I couldn’t help but be bitter about it, both towards the country that couldn’t come up with an alternative and towards myself.

After all, I’m just a third-class Awakened with no significant power or intelligence, nor any exceptional combat skills. Thinking that I, with no special qualifications, could come up with measures better than dealing with the cores by sacrificing someone, I found myself questioning my arrogance.

Even so, I had researched and prepared to protect Miyano and the others, but I couldn’t come up with any method or even a hint of one other than destroying the cores with a sacrifice. It frustrated me to no end.

“It’s not that it’s not a problem… or rather, it is a problem. But if we don’t do it, many more will die. In the current world, it’s impossible to manage every newly generated gate.”

Saeki-san answered with a wry smile, acknowledging my self-deprecating tone. What he said was true, and I could sense his determination and conviction in his words.

“So, starting the day after tomorrow, you’ll be diving into the gates we designate.”

“The day after tomorrow, huh?”

“I know it’s sudden, but there’s no other way. Moreover, some other heroes have already started moving. Considering that, the government is trying to be considerate. Besides, even though there are concerns about safety and guarantees, they seem to be planning to mobilize other students too. At the latest, they would have started dealing with the gates in a month anyway.”

“I… I understand.”

Yes, I understood. Given the severity of the situation, we need to gather anyone capable of fighting, regardless of whether they are heroes or not, and do it as soon as possible.

Considering that, having just one day of reprieve is more than I could have hoped for.

“Also, from now on, I’d like you to stay here as much as possible. If possible, I’d appreciate it if you could even sleep here.”

“That would be better in terms of staying in touch about Nina and for other reasons too, I suppose.”

From here to my house takes about thirty minutes by car. If something happens, that thirty-minute commute could delay our response, and safety-wise, my apartment, like any regular home, could pose a problem. Considering Nina’s situation and the safety of Miyano and the others, I mustn’t put myself in harm’s way.

Besides, I need to comfort and give Nina some rest after her efforts and struggles due to the instructions from above.

Thinking about all these aspects, it makes sense for me to sleep here at the research facility. So, I nodded in agreement with Saeki-san’s words, and he continued speaking.

“Furthermore, the same goes for Miyano-kun and the others.”

“…Is the dormitory not suitable after all?”

“It’s not. Although it has better security compared to a regular house, it’s still not foolproof. Besides, ‘Heroes’ are in demand, and civilians might rush in there as well. It’s better to provide a place here, for the sake of both the citizens and them. We’ve already prepared the rooms, and we have some daily necessities ready too.”

That can’t be helped. After all, there were so many casualties. Some of the children probably want to rest and be with their families.

I had concerns about that too. If Miyano was going to act as a hero, it wouldn’t be ideal for her to continue living in the dormitory.

Given the current situation, it might seem like the school was unaffected because we, along with the students, handled the situation, but it was different elsewhere. In the urban areas not far from the school, there were already reports of dozens of people dying due to monsters coming out of the gates.

But even that was considered lucky to have only “dozens” of casualties. A simple search showed that there were probably places where thousands had died.

That’s why civilians seek out those who possess the strength to fight for safety, and having a ‘Hero’ nearby makes it even more appealing. In a sense, a ‘Hero’ exists for that very purpose.

A symbol to reassure the citizens—that’s what a ‘Hero’ is. That’s why people seek out heroes and gather around them.

Frightened, in pain, desperately seeking help—’Heroes.’

Because I heard you could somehow save us.

And so, powerless citizens cling to the ‘Heroes,’ unaware of how burdensome it is for those they cling to. They cry out desperately and selfishly beg for help without understanding the gravity of their actions.

It’s only human to think only of oneself even in such a situation, and one could argue that’s what makes us human. But from my perspective, I want to tell them not to burden children with such heavy responsibilities, risking their lives for someone else’s sake.

However, I understand that it’s because I know Miyano, and because I possess some fighting capabilities, that I feel this way.

Well, for that reason, and to avoid exposing Miyano and the others to the irresponsibility of the citizens’ voices and prying eyes, it might be best for them, at least Miyano as a ‘Hero,’ to establish their base of operations somewhere else.

But, I also knew that sending them back home wouldn’t be feasible. Based on my initial investigation, it seemed their family relationships weren’t exactly amicable.

Moreover, being at home wouldn’t be much different from being at the dormitory.

“Thank you.”

“No, this was something I requested, and having them operate from a different location would be helpful for us too.”

So, I had considered the worst-case scenario of sheltering them in my house and having them move under disguises. But if they provide a place here, then my wish has been granted.