◇[Ayaka Sogou]◇
Alion.
Training grounds inside the royal castle.
The heroes were undergoing training under their assigned instructors.
Clang!
Ayaka Sogou received Bainwolf's sword with her spear.
A heavy impact ran through the clash of spear and blade.
However, it was probably thanks to her status correction.
She was not losing in strength even against the large opponent.
(But the real thing starts from here...! It will not always come with straightforward attacks. I have to read every possible next move—)
Thud!
"Kyaa!?"
Ayaka fell hard onto her backside.
(Ah, a leg sweep!? But that just now—)
She turned around.
Standing behind her was Kayako Suou.
She looked a little awkward.
It was an expression Ayaka rarely saw on her.
She seemed to feel guilty.
Bainwolf tapped his own shoulder with the flat of his training sword.
"It was good that you read my leg sweep, but you did not anticipate Suou-chan coming from behind, huh?"
Kayako bowed her head to Ayaka.
"...I am sorry."
Bainwolf laughed heartily.
"Wahaha, I was the one who instructed her, so it is not right for Suou-chan to apologize there~"
He extended his hand.
Ayaka took the offered hand.
She was pulled up.
"...Is this a lesson to abandon the assumption that something is impossible?"
Her ally Kayako Suou would not do something like a leg sweep.
It was impossible.
But was that absolute?
Even if only slightly, she should imagine the unexpected.
It seemed the Dragon Slayer had wanted to teach her that.
"Oh? You sensed my intention without me putting it into words. Goodness, Sogou-chan really is quite the talented woman..."
Bainwolf sounded impressed.
He picked up a wine bottle from the table.
"Phew~, my throat is parched."
"I do not think it is advisable to drink during exercise..."
Ayaka voiced her mild objection.
Bainwolf ignored it and took a sip of the wine.
"Sogou-chan sure is stiff. You are like a nagging knight commander."
"...Bainwolf-san, are you from the Demon War Knight Order?"
"Bain is fine. It is long, right?"
"Bain-san—"
"Being a knight is just a formality. For Ulza, the important thing is the fact that I 'belong to Ulza's knight order.'"
Bainwolf drank the wine with gusto.
"The Demon War King is an arrogant coward, but thanks to that personality, I can live a carefree life in the royal castle. Well, at times like this I should probably fulfill my 'duty.' I need to show every once in a while that I do what I have to when the time comes."
Bainwolf turned back toward the Sogou group.
"Now then, shall we move on from individual combat techniques to building group battles? I have heard this group's policy. You build tactics with S-rank Sogou-chan at the center, right?"
Bainwolf pointed the tip of his sword toward the Sogou group.
"Well, let us get started."
▽
After the training session came to a pause, Ayaka asked Bainwolf.
"Um, why?"
"Hm?"
She wiped her sweat with a cloth held in both hands.
Ayaka glanced at Kayako and the others.
"Why did you volunteer to be in charge of our group, Bain-san?"
"It is a simple story. I purely want you all to survive. It would be a problem if the trump cards against the Demon Emperor died. If we do not have you heroes from another world defeat the Demon Emperor, my precious lazy lifestyle might disappear someday."
He seemed to want to say it was also for his own sake.
"This time around, I would not have been called if the Demon Emperor had not shown up. Goodness, that root evil is a troublesome one."
Bainwolf grinned and stroked his chin beard.
"Well, it seemed the goddess-sama was a little displeased that I volunteered. She had her own reasons for sidelining Sogou-chan and the others. Well... she really is an unfathomable opponent, that goddess-sama. However—"
The direction of his gaze.
The Yasu group.
Tomohiro Yasu was sitting cross-legged on a chair and facing away.
The members of the Yasu group stood nearby looking awkward.
"I need to train them to at least the minimum level soon too..."
It had happened on the first day of training.
Bainwolf had offered a handshake to Yasu.
But Yasu had brushed his hand away.
'You first fix that arrogant attitude of yours! Are you underestimating this "Hero of Black Flame"! The Dragon Slayer!? How trivial! I have no need for your help! Naturally, neither do the people in my group! Engrave that into your head!'
Yasu had made the brushing motion once more.
'Begone!'
Bainwolf scratched his head and smiled wryly.
"Well... I did not mean to look down on him. But I am just bad with things like manners... I often get warned about my attitude even in Ulza's royal castle. Well, next time I will try to be more humble..."
He did not seem offended by Yasu's attitude.
Ayaka thought he was quite mature.
(And I am sure there is a lot I can learn from this person...)
The Ogre Spear Style was ancient martial arts designed for real combat.
However, "forms" alone were not enough.
Ayaka had painfully realized that while fighting monsters in the ruins.
Real combat and practice were different.
And Bainwolf seemed to have abundant real combat experience.
Not the "experience points" needed for heroes to level up.
The real combat experience he himself had cultivated.
In other words, techniques for surviving.
The "skills" the goddess had mentioned probably included that meaning as well.
Ayaka looked at her companions wiping their sweat.
(We will definitely survive... all of us...)
▽
The heroes' training grounds were divided into two locations.
The two training grounds were separated by a wall.
The groups currently in this training ground were three.
Ayaka Sogou's group.
Tomohiro Yasu's group.
Takuto Kirihara's group.
The remaining two were in the neighboring training ground.
Asagi Ikusaba's group.
The Takao sisters.
(I think they were separated with some intention.)
Asagi was not viewed favorably by Kirihara and the others.
There was still no atmosphere of them coming together.
If they were in the same training ground, there was a risk of trouble.
So she understood the intention behind separating them.
However, the Takao sisters—
(The goddess-sama does not like the idea of me getting close with them...?)
Previously, Hijiri had made statements opposing the goddess.
Ayaka Sogou and Hijiri Takao.
She probably did not want people with rebellious intent in the same space.
That was likely the goddess's intention.
(Ever since that incident, the atmosphere from Kirihara-kun and the others toward Hijiri-san seems to have changed a little...)
In one corner of the training ground, Kirihara and the others had an unsettling air about them.
It was not something that had just started now.
From the first day, they had not had a calm atmosphere.
△
On the first day of training, the eldest son of the Four Holy Saints had spoken to Takuto Kirihara.
"Let me introduce myself again. I am Agito of the Four Holy Saints. You are the leader of this group, right? Nice to meet you."
Agito stood in front of Kirihara.
Kirihara was sitting on a long bench in the training ground.
His legs were spread and he sat heavily.
He gave off a somewhat kingly air.
Beside him was Shougo Oyamada.
Behind him were the members of the Kirihara group.
Kirihara asked while keeping the tip of his sheathed sword planted on the ground.
"Are you guys strong?"
"I think so?"
"Stronger than those Five Dragon Warriors?"
"I have never fought them, so I do not know."
Agito looked down gently.
Kirihara glared up at him.
"Think about it and be aware."
"Hm? What do you mean?"
"You guys will hit the ceiling eventually."
"Ceiling...?"
Kirihara's words.
Agito had an expression as if he did not understand their meaning.
Kirihara lowered his gaze and let out a breath of exasperation.
"I have heard about the Hero Blood clan. You guys are that too, right?"
"Well, yeah."
"In short, you are positioned as degraded versions of heroes."
Agito snorted.
"You sure say some things."
"Think about it and be aware... I believe I told you that earlier. I think it is bad to deliberately state an absolute fact, but—I will inevitably have to surpass you guys greatly in the future."
Agito looked back at his siblings.
The eldest daughter shrugged her shoulders.
Kirihara placed his sword beside him.
Next, he made a gesture of tapping the space in front of him with his index finger.
When Agito turned back to face him, he smiled.
"What did that movement just now mean?"
"There is an invisible 'wall' in front of you guys. It is a 'wall' of growth... in other words, a ceiling that means hitting the limit of growth... However—"
Kirihara thrust out his arm.
"[Golden Dragonic, Dragon Roar Wave Buster]"
At the same time as the impact sound, a golden beam shot past the side of the Four Holy Saints.
The resulting wind pressure.
The wind made the Four Holy Saints' hair flutter.
The released beam disappeared just before hitting the wall of the training ground.
Kirihara's unique skill was currently LV3.
He could now adjust the range and power.
So he could intentionally make the beam disappear before the wall.
With his hand still thrust out, Kirihara said.
"As the current top S-rank, I have room to grow to break through that 'wall'... Have even the degraded versions understood now?"
"I see."
Agito showed understanding.
"So Kirihara wants to say that you heroes from another world are superior, right? But you know—"
Whoosh.
For an instant, the place froze.
The one who broke the silence was Oyamada.
"—Huh? Y-you... when the hell did you get there!? Aaaah!? Is this a declaration of war, huh!?"
A blade was pressed right against Kirihara's throat.
It was Agito's sword.
Agito wore a thin smile.
It was only a surface-level smile.
He ignored the yelling Oyamada beside him and brought his face close enough to be right in front of Kirihara's eyes and nose.
"When there is this much of a power difference, I think that attitude of yours is questionable, you know?"
"..."
Kirihara maintained his silence.
Despite receiving a surprise attack, his expression did not change.
Only now did his gaze finally turn toward Agito.
"Shallow displays of power are lame... Are you serious? You are already one step away from becoming small fry? You have already dropped in rank. Do you understand that?"
Agito showed an unexpectedly surprised reaction.
"Heh... you have quite the guts. This has made training you more fun than I thought."
Agito pulled the blade away and straightened up.
"You pass, Takuto Kirihara."
"Are you desperately refusing to admit you have dropped in rank?"
Agito looked genuinely amused.
"Kirihara, you are interesting."
Ayaka, who had been watching from the side, had her heart pounding hard.
(That movement just now... I could not even see the moment he drew the blade...)
Agito's draw had been faster than the eye could follow.
They had status correction.
But the numbers were still not enough to catch up to them.
However, the atmosphere in the place was gradually calming down again.
But then,
"Those are some pretty insolent brats, huh."
Next, the eldest daughter of the Four Holy Saints lit the fuse.
Her name was Abyss Angoon.
Black hair in a ponytail.
Wavy hair.
She was taller than her eldest brother Agito.
Her build was also slimmer than Agito's.
She was a person with an oddly strong presence.
Her facial features were beautiful like her eldest brother's.
However, her unique sharpness stood out too much.
Because of that, her beauty was somewhat diminished.
Also, she wore clothing with a large opening at the chest.
Because it was worn loosely, her chest stood out even more.
Every time she walked, her seemingly overflowing chest swayed.
The boys' gazes were glued to it.
Ayaka was not good with clothes like that.
It was impossible.
"Ki-ri-ha-ra~"
Abyss stepped forward.
"You were talking about shallow displays of power earlier... but you were also showing off your power recklessly, weren't you? Right?"
Abyss bared her teeth as she asked.
Crack.
Kirihara cracked his neck as if annoyed.
"Mine was not shallow..."
"Hey hey heeey!? Do not ignore me and casually talk to Takuto! You are getting carried away, you big-tits woman~"
Oyamada stepped in front of Abyss.
"We are upper-rank heroes, you know? I do not know if you are Four Holy Saints or whatever, but show some proper attitude. Got it? Keep the big stuff to just your chest?"
Perhaps encouraged by Kirihara's completely unfazed appearance.
Oyamada took an even more aggressive stance.
"If my impression of you here is bad? When we kill the Demon Emperor in the future and rise up, I will bully you, you know~? Huh?"
Poke, prod, squeeze.
Oyamada's fingertips poked at Abyss's chest.
However, Abyss did not budge in the slightest.
Instead, she bared her teeth in a fierce grin.
Right after Abyss grabbed Oyamada's finger with her hand—
Snap!
She broke Oyamada's index finger.
"Gyyyaaaaaaaahhhhhhh!"
▽
"Are you still sulking like a kid, Oyamada~?"
Abyss called out to Oyamada.
There was a mocking smile on her face.
"...Shut up, I will kill you."
"Your 'kill you' is sold so cheaply that it is not scary at all."
"Huh? If you keep joking around, with my unique skill—"
"Hm? You are going to show your unsightly side again?"
"Gu..."
It had happened a few days ago, right after his finger was broken.
Oyamada had lost his temper and used his unique skill on Abyss.
It had all been dodged.
At that time, another of Oyamada's fingers had been broken.
By the way, when the goddess learned of this incident, she had said with a smile,
'It cannot be helped~'
So the finger-breaking matter was in a state close to being tacitly approved.
She probably considered it part of the training as well.
"You crazy woman~? I will definitely make you cry someday, you know?"
"Huh? Then shall I break another one?"
"Gu, guuu...!"
Oyamada vented but did not raise a hand.
No, he could not.
The difference in ability was now clear.
The Four Holy Saints were strong—overwhelmingly so.
On the other hand, Kirihara was honestly training with Agito.
"You seem wiser than Oyamada, Kirihara."
"I use what I can use... I have to absorb the nourishment. However, I have not yet forgiven your behavior that lacks imagination. The day when I correct it will come eventually... Remember that."
"Kirihara and Oyamada really never get boring~"
At that moment, the door to the training ground opened.
(That is...)
The Asagi group.
The Takao sisters.
The Sword Tiger Corps.
Nyantan.
"It is not perfect, but it seems the training here is progressing smoothly as well~ Thank you very much."
The goddess, Vysis.
"As long as you clear the conditions I have set, of course I will leave the methods to you. The process cannot be neglected either, but what is most important is the result. If you produce results, there should be no complaints. This goddess Vysis values an atmosphere that respects freedom and tolerance."
"So, what is it, Vysis?"
Agito asked.
The goddess had brought the heroes from the neighboring training ground with her.
There was probably some important information to convey.
It was usually like that at times like this.
"Right now, all you heroes are hurriedly learning practical techniques... but we also need to continue with leveling up."
The goddess placed a hand on her cheek and sighed.
"However, we have already gone through most of Alion's ruins... and we have almost killed off all the notable golden-eyed monsters we had captured. So even the goddess is troubled~"
Kirihara pointed the tip of his training sword toward the goddess.
"So it is finally time for ruins tours in other countries."
"With the Demon Emperor's army movements becoming more active now, unfortunately we do not have the time to leisurely tour other countries. Therefore, tomorrow we will depart from here—"
The goddess clapped her hands together with a smile.
"And head to the Golden-Eyed Demon Zone."