Shuo Hero Academy.
Training Ground No. 1.
In front of me stands a massive dome-shaped building equipped with a large-scale illusion magic barrier and various mechanical devices, designed to simulate a gate environment.
This is where the mock gate training takes place.
It’s also the scene of today’s terror event.
In front of the inspection area at Training Ground No. 1.
With the cadets lined up in formation, Teacher Mayuzumi shouts with her usual spirited voice, clenching her fists.
“Today is the day for mock gate practice!”
Following that, the usual warnings come in.
The mock gate environment has been created using illusion magic and scientific principles to closely resemble a real gate.
The invading creatures are illusions, but they pack a punch comparable to the real thing.
“If you cadets defeat these invading creatures, your scores will be sent in real-time to the control room by the Hunter Watch! The stronger the creature, the higher the points!”
What a predictable spiel.
I stifle a yawn and glance to the side.
There’s Nishizawa Eri, assigned to my group.
When she locks eyes with me, she smiles.
True to her reputation as the world’s most beautiful girl, her face is annoyingly pretty, and her smile looks like it belongs in a fashion magazine.
“And today, we have a special guest to assist you cadets with your training! Please welcome her with applause!”
With Teacher Mayuzumi’s announcement, someone steps up to the inspection area.
A silver-haired beauty, distinguished by a striking red armband.
My secret weapon, the Student Council President, Saionji Aris.
“Is that Senior Saionji?”
“Kyah! Saionji-sama! So cool!”
“Senior Saionji is the best!”
“Student Council President! Student Council President!”
“The academy’s strongest!”
Cheers erupt among the cadets as the top idol from all grades makes her appearance, accompanied by applause.
Saionji Aris looks down at everyone with a cold expression and speaks.
“Nice to meet you, junior cadets. I’m Saionji Aris, a third-year student overseeing the mock gate practice. I look forward to working with you.”
Clap clap clap.
The applause spreads rapidly.
“Now that Saionji-san is here, let’s get started with the mock gate practice!”
With one hand raising high towards the sky, Teacher Mayuzumi shouts.
At that moment, the heavy metal door of Training Ground No. 1 creaks open with a thundering sound.
The mock gate practice has begun.
*
With a churn in my stomach, I step into Training Ground No. 1.
I look around.
It’s hard to believe that I’m inside a building, with a clear blue sky above.
I see a dense forest stretching endlessly and a clear stream trickling nearby.
A stream comes into view.
The environment created by the model gate is a forest-like terrain.
It matches the description from the original work.
“Hee hee hee.”
Strange laughter comes from beside me.
I turn my head.
There stands Nishizawa Eri.
Her slender figure is highlighted by an orange full-body suit, and she wields a chain scythe, with a dog collar still adorning her neck.
Her face wears an oddly excited expression.
It’s infuriating how she looks good no matter what she does, thanks to some dirty beauty enhancement.
“Why on earth are you still wearing that?”
She points at the dog collar around her neck.
It was strange from the start.
I have no memory of telling her to keep wearing it.
It was just an addition to give a bit more humiliation to Dogeza.
Seeing her treat the collar with such care, which has my name engraved on it, is a bit burdensome.
“Huh? Oh, this?”
Nishizawa Eri touches the collar with her hand.
A faint smile appears on her lips.
No, why is she smiling?
Has she actually lost her mind?
“Because Master ordered me to wear it. I’m wearing it because I’m Master’s slave.”
I hold back a barrage of swearing that rises in my throat.
“Just take it off.”
Isn’t that how she got the nickname ‘pervert’ and all that junk?
Nishizawa Eri pouts.
“No way. This collar is a token that connects me and Master. I’ll never take it off.”
What? Connected by what?
My mind spins.
How could she come to such a crazy conclusion?
What on earth is wrong with her?
“I said take it off.”
“I’m not taking it off.”
Nishizawa Eri uses invisibility and disappears from sight.
“Has she really lost it?”
She’s already annoying enough, and now she won’t listen to a single proper order.
Truly, Olivia is the best at getting things done without whining.
Olivia should just be my exclusive maid.
If she wasn’t a bait, it would have been perfect.
Sigh.
Swish.
Nishizawa Eri reappears as her invisibility wears off.
With a delighted expression, she rattles her chain scythe and says, “Let’s go! Master! I’ll take the lead!”
What’s got her so excited? Nishizawa Eri skips ahead.
Well, I’ve got to be the meat shield today, so it’s a relief that she’s volunteering.
I follow behind her.
We walk along a forest path for quite a while.
For a moment, I get lost in the scenery that’s hard to distinguish between illusion and reality.
[Hostile reactions detected.]
Durandal, switched to combat mode, sends a warning sound.
“Hey, you handle it.”
“Got it! Leave it to me, Master!”
Nishizawa Eri places a hand on her chest.
[Grroooowwwl.]
[Grug.]
About ten giant green frog-like monsters appear in the distance.
Forest Frogs.
Common B-rank monsters that typically appear in forest terrain.
“Yay! Master’s enemies! Disappear!”
Nishizawa Eri flamboyantly throws her chain scythe.
Swish!
The blade of the scythe cuts through the air with the sound of clinking chains and pierces a Forest Frog.
[Shreeeek!]
The Forest Frogs let out a ghastly scream and turn to light, vanishing into thin air.
Her skill really is tailored for dealing with trash mobs.
I’m very satisfied.
At this rate, I could sit back and relax until the villain shows his hand.
[10 Forest Frogs defeated.]
0 monsters defeated.]
[12 teams +20 points]
The kill log flashes on the hunter watch.
I glance at the score board.
[Team 1] [103 points]
[Team 9] [92 points]
[Team 18] [83 points]
······.
Team 1, in the lead, is the duo of the Protagonist and Olivia.
Team 9 in second place features Rin Shinozaki and Daiki Ishihara.
Looks like Olivia and Rin are still competing for pride here.
“Master, I did well, right? Praise me.”
“Shut up and keep dealing with the mobs.”
“Got it! Leave it to me! I’ll be a useful slave!”
I do want to make her my slave, but can she stop saying it out loud?
It’s cringeworthy.
They say when someone changes overnight, it’s a sign of impending death.
Is Nishizawa Eri acting like this because she’s about to kick the bucket?
I don’t care about her fate, but if Nishizawa Eri goes down, it’s gonna be a serious problem for the final boss fight.
[Hostile Otherworld Species detected.]
Once again, a swarm of Forest Frogs appears.
This time, Nishizawa Eri handles them all.
I’m pleased.
Olivia comes to mind, dealing with otherworld species with a fiery show during the dungeon crawl.
Yep, taking the easy route is the best.
While walking through the model gate, dispatching the otherworldly illusions…
“Master.”
Nishizawa Eri cautiously calls me.
“What?”
I turn my gaze.
Her face is turning red.
She fidgets with her fingers and asks, “Do you, um… prefer the bigger ones? The chest…”
Is this really the time for that serious question?
What a ridiculous turn of events.
Last morning’s horrifying scene where Rin and Nishizawa fought over breast sizes flashes back.
It’s one thing when girls I like fight, but when two I don’t, it’s just dizzying.
“Why do you care about that?”
What a typical light novel dilemma.
But I honestly can’t wrap my head around it.
I seriously dislike both of them, so what does breast size matter?
This is all Shinozaki Rin’s fault for showing off her assets.
Is that all she has to brag about?
“I can’t help but think about what Shinozaki said… You backed her during that time, Master.”
“I dislike both you and Rin. What’s the point in talking about breasts to someone you hate?”
If I had to choose, I might lean towards bigger breasts, but I see no reason to divulge such personal and private preferences.
What’s she gonna do with that info?
Nishizawa Eri’s face darkens.
She puffs up her cheeks.
“…You’re lying, Master. You call Shinozaki by her name, though.”
Are we doing this whole naming business now?
I feel like I could fly to the moon with my frustration.
This is absolutely infuriating.
“I don’t know what you’re confused about, but I only call her by name to annoy her, so stop with the nonsense. I’m really ticked off right now.”
In Japan, only calling someone by their name can be seriously rude.
Rin didn’t freak out for no reason when I called her by name.
She probably flinches every time I do it, seething inside.
Thud.
Nishizawa Eri places her hands on her hips and pushes her chest forward.
“Really? Then I’ll officially call you by your name. You’re my Master. I’ll even let you call me Eri-Ling specially!”
“Well, you can call me by my official name. You’re my master, after all. I’ll let you call me Eri-ring specially!”
“What? Eri-ring?”
I’m about to lose all my energy before the real game even starts.
I’m feeling sick.
Seriously.
Since this is a light novel world, I thought I would experience a Yobiste in some form.
I was prepared in my heart.
But I never dreamed I would experience it like this in such a place.
My neck is tingling.
This is definitely a light novel world.
I can’t let my guard down.
“Stop with the nonsense and let’s just go, Nishizawa. I didn’t spare you because you’re pretty.”
Let’s see if I’ll give you a Yobiste.
I absolutely won’t.
“……Okay, Master.”
Nishizawa Eri’s shoulders slump.
Just when she was stepping back in front, doing as she was told.
Thrum thrum thrum thrum thrum thrum.
The entire training ground shakes like it’s experiencing an earthquake.
Crash crash crash!
The forest scenery before my eyes gets haphazardly mixed up, and in an instant, the lush greenery is replaced by dry, withered trees.
The cracked earth and cloudy sky change the landscape.
[Kyaaaaaaaaaaa—!!]
A horrific scream echoes from afar.
Beyond the gaunt trees, a tremendous magical presence showcases the existence of a monster.
Flap.
A giant pair of black wings emerges over the trees.
“Gamma Rank Otherworldly Species Yatagras… How could this happen? An upper-ranked otherworldly species shouldn’t be able to manifest as an illusion!”
Nishizawa Eri mutters a kind explanation.
[Attention, students! This is an emergency broadcast! We are in a crisis! Someone has hacked the system from within. We are completely cut off from the outside, so it’s difficult for us to assess the internal situation, but there’s a strong magical reaction from within… whssss… tzzt…]
The announcement from Mayuzumi-sensei gets interrupted by some noise and then abruptly cuts off.
The villain Mad Hatter.
It must be his doing.
“Master… what on earth is happening…?”
Nishizawa Eri asks me.
I don’t bother answering.
After all, I’m not the one responsible for handling this situation.
Beep.
A warning sound goes off, and the hologram of the Hunter Watch forcibly activates.
[Emergency Summon Alert]
[An emergency situation has occurred.]
[As the field supervisor, I will activate emergency command and summon all students inside the model gate.]
[Students, please gather at the designated coordinates.]
Student Council President Saionji Aris.
I received the message she sent.
In the original story, when the sudden isolation and appearance of the otherworldly species happened, the students were in disarray, and the protagonist just foolishly yelled, “I’ll protect everyone!” without even planning a systematic counterattack.
But not anymore.
Because Aris is here.
I never imagined the Student Council President would be this reliable.
“Hey, Nishizawa. Did you get the message?”
“Yeah.”
“Then lead the way.”
“Got it. Leave it to Eri-ring!”
This is insane.
I walk along the desolate forest with Nishizawa Eri.
It’s a bit different from the original, but…
Finally, the closing episode of Volume 1 has begun.
I’ll give you my all.
The gathering coordinates sent by Aris are in a desolate clearing.
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