When the truck rear-ended him, Souma reflexively muttered.
"That actually hurts...!"
Souma was unharmed.
Normally, he would have been turned into a mess that would require pixelation.
However, thanks to his high Overall Power, it only felt like saying "Oww."
Naturally, he wasn't sent flying either, and remained in the middle of the crosswalk.
He had protected the little girl firmly.
"Big brother... um, um..."
The little girl said with teary eyes.
"It's okay, I'm fine."
"That's not it, but the big truck..."
"Hmm?"
When Souma turned around, he saw the wrecked truck.
The front was heavily caved in, as if it had crashed into a wall.
Fortunately, the driver was unharmed.
Souma stood the little girl up.
"Can you walk on your own?"
"Yeah! Thank you, big brother!"
The girl wiped her tears and ran off with a smile.
"I'm glad you seem okay too."
Souma said to the male driver.
"Wh-why..."
The driver muttered, his face pale.
"Well, I'm a student at an adventurer school."
"Does going to adventurer school turn you into Superman or something?... More importantly, can you open the door? It got stuck from the impact earlier."
"Sure."
Souma opened the driver's side door—or rather, ripped it off.
He grabbed the broken window and tore it off, riiiip.
"Amazing..."
"Anything else I can help with?"
"No, I'm fine. Thank you. I'm glad you're okay too."
Souma nodded and tried to leave quietly.
The driver stopped him.
"Could you not tell the police about this? If my company finds out, I..."
"I won't tell. Neither me nor the girl got hurt. No need to make a big deal out of it."
"Thank you... Thank you so much!"
Souma nodded and left the scene.
The surrounding people gave him a round of applause, praising his courageous act.
---
◇
That night, Souma fell asleep and went to Mistoria as usual.
He started in a smelly inn room, so he cleaned himself up in the bath.
Then he went to the library to research Mistoria.
He learned about the surrounding geography and the civilization of this world.
When he was satisfied, he went to the guild.
"Hello, Souma-sama!"
"Hey, you're Marida, right?"
"Yes! Thank you for remembering my name!"
At the reception counter, he made small talk with the receptionist, Marida.
"Come to think of it, I have a message from Elena-sama."
"For me?"
"Yes. Apparently: 'Since you didn't come even though I waited, I'm going to take a quest by myself! You idiot, Souma!'"
"I see," Souma said with a wry smile.
"You two have become quite close."
"Yeah, thanks to you, Marida."
"To me?"
"For giving me the chance to join Elena's party."
"That's just my job."
Marida smiled.
"I'll do a solo quest too. I could join another party, but I have a feeling Elena wouldn't like that."
"Hehe, you understand a maiden's heart."
"I'm just sensitive to troublesome things."
And so, Souma took a solo quest.
It was a quest to hunt dozens of level 8 monsters in a wasteland a little ways off.
---
◇
"Ora! Lightning! There! A-cha!"
In the destination wasteland, Souma was thoroughly enjoying the hunt.
He used his newly learned magic while slicing enemies with his sword.
"GYAAAAAAS!"
A humanoid cactus monster, a Cactus Man, screamed and died.
"Seems like I can cast magic consecutively more than I thought."
Souma looked at the gauges in his field of vision.
A new MP gauge had been added below his HP gauge.
It appeared because he had learned magic.
Both gauges were now down by nearly half.
"Should heal up."
He decided to drink a potion he'd bought at an item shop.
It looked like a liquid in a test-tube-like glass bottle.
The liquid came in two colors: red and blue. Red restored HP, blue restored MP.
Flicking off the cork stopper with his thumb, Souma downed the potion.
"Bitter! Gross!"
It tasted so bad he almost spat it out.
But the effect was impeccable; both gauges recovered rapidly.
"I'll buy a slightly tastier potion next time."
The item shop also sold potions flavored to be easier to drink.
However, they were more expensive for the same effect, so Souma had bought the disgusting version.
It was a mistake.
"Either way, I've definitely recovered! Time to work hard again! Uoooooh! Lightning!"
Souma kept hunting until sunset.
As a result, his level rose from 8 to 10.
---
[Job]Swordsman
[Level]10
[Overall Power]2186
---
On Earth, this was a strength comparable to a veteran adventurer.
But for Souma, it was only the beginning.
---
◇
The next day – Monday, a school day, arrived.
(PT training today. I'm looking forward to it.)
Souma got up and washed his face in high spirits.
PT training was where students formed parties and challenged dungeons.
It was held about twice a week and was a practical, combat-style training that students loved the most.
Souma used to hate PT training.
Because he would painfully realize his own helplessness and become disliked by everyone.
But that was a thing of the past.
(Today, I'm partying with top honors students including Mika Osaka, the top of the grade. I'll show off and make everyone reconsider their opinion of me! And then, I'll also party with those I caused trouble for in the past, and this time, I'll be the one leading them!)
Souma was full of motivation.
Watching his back, his mother Namie smiled.
(He's really looked happy these past few days. I wonder if he got a girlfriend?)
After drying his face, Souma ate breakfast with Namie.
It was a simple Japanese meal, but full of love and delicious.
After finishing it all cleanly, he changed into his uniform and equipped his sword.
"I'm off, Mom. I have work today, so I'll be late."
"Take care."
"Of course! My story has finally begun!"
Souma happily dashed out of the house.
Immediately outside were four police officers.
Behind them, two patrol cars were parked in a line.
"You're Kamishiro Souma-kun, right?"
One of the officers said.
Nearby residents watched from a distance, wondering what was going on.
Namie also came out of the house.
"Yes, that's me..."
"Um, is something wrong with my child?"
Namie asked anxiously.
The officer ignored her words and spoke to Souma.
"We'd like to ask you some questions. Could you come with us to the station?"
It was phrased as a question, but there was no right to refuse. Souma was taken away in a patrol car.
Dark clouds were already gathering over his story, which had only just begun.