Chapter 46 - Summoned Hero
After Rio told me which high school Kana Saeki attended, I dashed out of the house.
It was a public school located not too far from here.
At my pace, I could arrive in minutes. I am faster than any vehicle.
Applying Concealment Magic to my body, I ran at a speed that far exceeded human limits.
I passed countless utility poles and overtook automobiles.
The time for students to head to school had passed, but it was that subtle time slot where working adults would be in the middle of their commute.
If it's a high school, they should still be in morning homeroom.
Even if I burst in there, what would I do?
I think as I run.
If I can't communicate with Kana at all, it will turn into a fight.
If there is room for dialogue, it will become a discussion.
I would prefer the latter if possible. If there was another person who had returned from another world, they would be in the same situation as me.
If we could understand each other, we would surely become good friends to talk to.
It wasn't just because Kana was a young female; it was pure camaraderie. Even if the opponent were a boy or an old man, I would have felt this way.
A Summoned Hero is a lonely existence.
To use an analogy, it is like being kidnapped to a foreign country and turned into a combatant.
It's a blunt expression, but since that is actually how it feels to me, it can't be helped.
There is a hollowness, as if my life was snatched away from a certain point in time.
Of course, I am not alone right now.
Angelica came to me, and Elsa is in my head. Even Ayako-chan has joined as a new housemate.
Even so, it is difficult to get them to understand my circumstances one hundred percent.
I wonder if Kana will understand.
If she is acting out of some kind of personal sense of justice, there is a good possibility.
It would be nice if there were a world consisting only of excellent and kind people. That is Kana's wish.
If she is an idealist, even if her methods are a bit strange—
With a faint hope, I turn the corner at the intersection.
The destination comes into view.
A white school building with rows of windows.
That is Kana's high school.
In front of the school gate stands an elderly security guard. He is yawning sleepily, and his build is meager.
Even if I weren't using Concealment Magic, I could easily slip inside.
Any young, motivated man could knock this security guard aside.
I wonder if they only place people there just to give parents the excuse that "our school is properly aware of security."
I pass through the school gate and step onto the premises. I charge straight through the schoolyard toward the entrance.
It isn't locked. It is a peaceful country.
Though, the entrance for students might be properly locked.
I boldly entered the entrance and proceeded down the hallway without even taking off my shoes.
There is a possibility of entering combat with Kana. I can't afford to stop and change into slippers.
Since neither my voice nor my appearance can be perceived by those around me, I can walk through the school building without hesitation.
It feels strange that no one notices me.
It's as if I'm isolated from the world.
I wonder where Kana's classroom is.
Since she is in the same grade as Rio, it's certain she's in the first year. If I see second or third-year classrooms, I'm in the wrong place.
For now, I'll decide to peek into every classroom one by one.
Since I was sent to another world during my third year of middle school, this is my first time entering a high school building.
It felt fresh.
Considering my grades during middle school, it wouldn't have been strange if I had enrolled here.
But when I returned to Japan, I was thirty-two, and everything was too late.
In contrast to me, Kana is able to attend high school properly.
Did her life in the other world end in a very short period?
Or did she use some kind of means to solve the problem of time?
Or perhaps there is even the possibility that Kana is not a Summoned Hero.
While my thoughts were wandering through various possibilities, I saw a classroom labeled "1-1."
Class 1, Section 1.
Is Kana there?
I peek inside through the window.
...I can't tell.
There are students whose faces I can't see because they are in a blind spot. It seems I won't know unless I go inside.
However, no matter how much my presence is hidden, if I open the door, it will surely cause a commotion.
I'm not keen on adding another school ghost story to the list.
Wondering what to do, I stretch.
I wish I could see the seats further back... as I move my head, there is the sound of a door sliding open—clatter.
A few meters away. A single female student comes out from the classroom labeled "1-3."
It's Kana.
She has short black hair and single eyelids. A face that looks like she could be anywhere.
Perhaps because of the information I received that she has all-around athletic ability, she doesn't look unlike someone who is active.
Kana slowly walks toward me.
Can she see me? If so, this girl is, after all—
"Status Open."
Then, the decisive words are spun.
The spell Kana uttered is a privilege granted only to Summoned Heroes.
A skill that appraises the target's abilities and aids in adventure.
That spell, which could be called the symbol of a Hero, was uttered by someone other than myself.
A Hero.
Another Summoned Hero.
"...I'm surprised. You're ten times stronger than the Demon Lord. With specs this high, isn't even daily life difficult?"
She must have finished looking at my status.
Kana casts a thin smile and throws a gaze my way.
In a low voice, I also perform a status appraisal.
[Name] Kana Saeki
[Level] 85
[Class] Hero
[HP] 5500
[MP] 5000
[Attack] 3300
[Defense] 3000
[Agility] 3000
[Magic Attack] 4800
[Magic Defense] 4750
[Skills] Status Appraisal, Divine Sword, Sorcery, Life Perception
[Remarks] A Hero who once saved another world. Having brought back three years' worth of memories, experience points, and skill points from the other world, she is restarting her life from being a high school student.
...She's strong.
But not as much as me. She doesn't have any particularly troublesome skills either.
She just has the orthodox lineup for a Hero.
She is an opponent I could almost certainly win against if we fought.
"So you have Life Perception. That's how you noticed me even though I had Concealment on."
Ordinary perception has the nature of seeing through evil existences, but Life Perception is a skill specialized in the perception of living things.
While it cannot see spirits or undead at all, it is said to be unrivaled when it comes to finding things with life.
"Perceiving every morning is my daily routine. ...I was startled. The greatest combat power I've ever seen was wandering around in front of my house, after all."
Kana is smiling, her lip curling up only on the right side.
"Can you see me?"
"Very vaguely, though. Your voice sounds muffled too. This is Concealment, right? How unpleasant. To think even my Life Perception can't see this much."
"I want to go somewhere where we can talk calmly. Is that okay?"
"It would be useless to resist anyway, right?"
Kana raised both hands, as if to say she has no intention of defying me given this difference in combat power.
I start walking, aiming for the outside of the school building.
Kana followed quietly.
"Did you say you were leaving early?"
"Something like that."
I look back with just my head to see Kana's expression.
She is looking out the window, and I cannot fathom what she is thinking.
According to the remarks column, Kana spent three years in the other world.
And she is restarting her life from being a high school student.
What on earth does that mean?
"At what age were you summoned to the other world?"
"When I was sixteen."
"And you spent about three years there, right? Then, are you currently attending high school as a nineteen-year-old?"
"I'm still sixteen."
I ask back.
"What?"
"I was sent to the other world during my winter break in my first year of high school, and I adventured there for three years. Then, when I came back here, it was my first year of high school winter break again. I got rejuvenated and restarted. Whether the flow of time is different between here and there, or if it's time travel, even I don't know."
It's convenient, she says.
That is quite a clever transfer. It is a far cry from me, whose life was torn to shreds.
Depending on the dimension one is summoned to, there might be a difference in aftercare.
I am aghast, wondering if I simply drew a losing world.
"Are you the one causing the proliferation incidents?"
"And if I am?"
"I would like you to stop."
I hear the sound of Kana breathing out. It is a sigh.
"Why? I don't get it. I just want to make the world a better place."
The entrance came into view.
While I remained silent, Kana said, "I'll go get my shoes," and ran off.
She probably headed for the shoe lockers.
She should understand through Status Appraisal that she cannot escape my feet. I want to believe she has no intention of running.
Still, it would be a hassle if she hid, so I follow her.
I see Kana's small back. She is the same age as Angelica.
I do not want to fight.
I call out to Kana, who has returned clutching her loafers.
"As I thought, we can't leave through the entrance for students?"
"The doors are locked at this time. You can't leave unless you use the visitor's entrance."
"I suppose it's to prevent intruders."
In fact, I am intruding just like this.
Since it is a facility that looks after children, there is no harm in being as cautious as possible.
But, if there were a threat among the children, how do they intend to deal with it?
"Sorry, but this might turn into a long talk."
"I don't mind," Kana replied.