Chapter 61
Chapter 61
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 61
Chapter Title: Akbar
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"Thank you for taking the time to come."
"Pfft... It's just a stone's throw away. What trouble could it be?"
"There's such a thing as etiquette, isn't there?"
"You're the same as ever."
The office of the Adventurer's Guild Master.
A man and a woman sat facing each other across a single table.
"Thank you for your support this time."
"Not at all. We're helping each other out."
"Haa... I wish everyone felt that way."
Guild Master Argo.
The academy's Headmaster and former S-rank adventurer, Lucia Merigold.
If only the relationship between adventurers and academy students could be as amicable as theirs.
But restoring a relationship that had already become twisted was a distant prospect.
It wouldn't be impossible if they used their high positions to issue an 'order', but that would be no different from a tyrant ruling their subordinates through force.
Such a method was contrary to Argo and Lucia's characters, so they had never resorted to it.
Unless, of course, the worst-case scenario came to pass.
"Why didn't you go to the practical training yourself this time?"
"I feel like the students get on edge when I'm at the training site... so I try to avoid going if possible."
"Well, even if you're not active anymore, you're still one of only three S-rank adventurers in the world. Even I would be nervous with someone like that around."
"An S-rank adventurer is still a person, you know..."
Of course, in terms of sheer power, she was an extraordinary being, but compared to the other two S-ranks...
...the Alchemist and the Weapon Master, wasn't she the more approachable one?
So Lucia thought.
"More importantly, I was quite surprised when I saw the name of the adventurer coming to help today."
She had received the documents on the supporting personnel beforehand, so she already knew.
Luke.
Seeing that name written on the document had astonished her.
It was no wonder; she still hadn't forgotten the student named Luke.
He was famous for having no magic, and he was one of the few students who had confidently declared their withdrawal from the academy.
She never imagined that he, who had left without giving anyone a chance to stop him, would be working as an adventurer.
"And I hear he's already C-rank?"
It takes a significant amount of time and effort for an adventurer to raise their rank.
Normally, for an adventurer to go from E-rank to C-rank takes at least three years, even at the fastest pace.
And it takes even longer the higher you go.
This might seem like a long time, but considering a human lifespan, it was actually quite short.
"That's truly incredible."
It had been a few months at most since he left the academy.
She didn't know what had happened in that short time, but she presumed he must have faced many hardships.
Otherwise, it would be impossible to rank up at such a speed.
She herself had ranked up at a similar pace during her time as an adventurer, but he was someone with no magic.
Unlike an S-rank like herself, who crushed everything with innate talent, his origins were fundamentally different, which made his achievement seem all the more amazing.
"Haha... His skills are good, but if we're talking about his personality... I'm not so sure..."
One of the Guild Master's duties included managing the receptionists' mental well-being.
Helping them relieve stress with adequate rest.
But seeing how stressed Adela, who had frequent encounters with Luke recently, seemed...
"Besides, he made passing the B-rank promotion test a condition for helping out this time, so he'll probably be B-rank soon."
"B-rank? Is that even possible?"
"Based on his skills alone, I believe it's more than possible."
Lucia didn't know it, but he was the one who handled the Demonic Human incident in the marquisate.
He already seemed to possess the power of a B-rank adventurer, or even higher.
"Huhu... Perhaps a new S-rank adventurer will be born before long."
His incredible promotion speed was amazing, but the skill that backed it up was just as impressive.
Luke, who until recently had been the lowest-ranked student at the academy.
He hadn't climbed through cheating or tricks, but with his own ability, making him a worthy role model.
'If only he could pass on the secret to his growth to the students...'
-Knock, knock.
Just as Lucia was seriously pondering this.
"Guild Master, excuse me. May I come in?"
The voice of a receptionist came from outside the door.
"What is it, Adela? I have an important guest right now. Is it urgent?"
"Well... a Demonic Human has reportedly appeared at the academy."
"...What?"
The one who questioned it was Lucia.
***
"*Cough! Cough! Cough!*"
Ugh, I'm dying.
It was nice of it to block the blast damage, but I couldn't help coughing as the smoke that followed filled my nose and mouth.
'If you're going to block it, you might as well do a thorough job.'
Acrid smoke filled the cave.
To be honest, I did it on a whim without thinking about the consequences.
Fortunately, the dungeon didn't collapse from the explosion, as if to prove the professors hadn't worked so hard on it for nothing.
-Whoosh!
At that moment, a strong gust of wind rose up, blowing all the smoke out of the cave.
Only then did my vision clear.
"You really did it..."
"Hah, haah... I really thought I was going to die that time..."
"You're alive! Dammit! I knew you would be!"
Luna and Yui were inside a barrier made of blood.
Still, the barrier was in tatters, a testament to the explosion's immense power.
"Y-You...! Are you insane!? How could you cause an explosion like that in a place like this?! Were you trying to kill us all?!"
It was then that Arthur, who had been hiding inside Stella's rock wall, burst out.
"If you died, you should blame yourself for being weak. Why blame me, you punk."
The strong survive.
Look at me.
I was caught in that explosion and I don't have a single scratch.
And logically speaking, how does it make any sense for the protagonist to almost get killed by an extra? That's ridiculous.
-Clank.
?
As I was bickering with Arthur, I heard the sound of armor moving from somewhere.
I turned to check the source of the sound and saw a suit of armor staggering to its feet.
So this isn't enough to kill them anymore, huh?
Then again, if this was enough to kill them all, everyone in the cave would be dead too, and people would just learn explosion magic and spam 'Explosion' to hunt monsters.
-Clank. Clank.
But aren't they a little too unscathed?
Even if they're undead and can't feel pain, there's not even a scratch on the armor.
Must have been a pretty strong person in their past life.
But as they say, no tree can withstand ten chops.
"Time for a second explosion!"
"S-Stop!!"
"Luke, we'll all really die this time!!"
They threw their whole bodies at me to stop me from opening the flour sack, and I failed.
"Then you guys take care of it."
This Arthur guy couldn't even beat them a moment ago, and now he's saying I can't do this, I can't do that.
What a load of bullshit.
"We used up all our magic blocking the explosion you just set off!"
"That's too bad. You should dedicate yourself to more training."
"How are we supposed to fight without any magic!?"
"So basically, you're telling me to do it."
I said I'd handle it, so why are you making such a fuss?
I got annoyed, so I just grabbed him by the collar and threw him against the dungeon wall.
"Gahk!!"
-Thud!
And so, Arthur was slammed into the dungeon wall.
It finally got a little quieter.
"Y-You, again!"
"Instead of wasting your time on me, why don't you go tend to him?"
"Eek...!"
Tia started to approach me, as if to say something, but my words must have changed her priorities, as she ran to Arthur instead.
"Alright then. Let's finish this quick and go rest."
When I took out my greatsword from the inventory, I could feel the Dullahan, which shouldn't even have a neck, looking at me.
The Dullahan, despite being undead, aimed its sword at me, its fighting spirit blazing.
"Is that thing trying to pick a fight with me?"
"It seems so."
The little punk. How did it know I was the strong one?
It must have been a pretty tough alpha male in its past life.
Honestly, I just wanted to gang up on it and go rest, but if I didn't accept its challenge, it would be like proving I was a beta, so I had no choice.
As I acted like I was accepting the challenge, the Dullahan charged.
"Huh? Come to think of it."
I opened my inventory just by thinking about it in front of me.
And just like that, the sword the Dullahan was swinging vanished right into my inventory.
-......!
Suddenly deprived of its weapon, the Dullahan faltered in confusion and took a step back.
It couldn't say anything without a head, but I could guess it was probably thinking, 'W-What!'
I grinned.
"Kekekeke. Hehehehe. Hohohoho. Hahahaha."
And laughed some more.
***
What happened after that, you ask?
I just stuffed the whole suit of armor and everything into my inventory, and it died.
How did I know it died? Because a bunch of level-up notifications popped up.
"What in the world just happened...?"
Yui, who had been following quietly until now, asked, her curiosity apparently getting the better of her.
"Well, I thought about it, and it's just a suit of armor, right? It's not alive, there are no bones inside, it's just the armor moving. So I wondered if I could just put it in my inventory, and it worked."
Honestly, the knight I just fought was closer to a living armor than a Dullahan.
But hey, the guy who summoned it called it a Dullahan, so I'll just go with that.
"......Then why the explosion?"
"Just because. I suddenly got pissed off."
"......"
I guess this is why they say you shouldn't act on your emotions.
As we headed for the dungeon entrance, the heroines followed behind us, supporting Arthur.
The looks on the heroines' faces as they watched the Dullahan die from a distance were quite a sight.
Before I fought the Dullahan, they were looking at me as if I was trying to bury them alive. Now, they were wearing expressions that said, 'You, who doesn't even have magic, defeated something we couldn't...?'
I guess this is why hidden-power and overpowered-protagonist genre novels are so popular.
As we neared the dungeon entrance, the professors, who must have felt the explosion's tremors from outside, stormed into the dungeon.
Actually, 'stormed in' is a bit of an exaggeration; there were only two instructors outside to begin with.
"What happened here?!"
The male professor running at the front asked without even catching his breath.
He was scanning the area, ready to cast a spell as if expecting a monster nearby, so I ended the need for an explanation by pulling the Demonic Human's head I'd cut off earlier from my inventory.
"I'll spare you the details."