Volume 1 - CH 1.2

A School for the Returnees

Translated by Omkar

Edited by Omkar

“Just kidding. Well, this is one of the worst examples of the worst. What I’m trying to say is that if we leave the Demon King alone because it’s another world, one day this world might suddenly disappear too. That’s why I need you experienced heroes to lend me your strength…… I mean, you guys know what I’m talking about, right? It is extremely inefficient to summon new heroes and train them from scratch. If that were the case, it would be safer and more secure for everyone to use experienced heroes. In short, this academy is also a company that dispatches heroes.”

Kuzuha, who had become a pain in the ass, then clapped her hands together.

“Yes, that’s the end of the explanation ! Next comes the much-anticipated ability test. Since this is basically a platoon system, this will be like a class division, so don’t be stupid and do your best~. Oh, and of course, there are various preferential treatment for the top platoon. Well, you guys have already experienced this kind of thing in other worlds, haven’t you ?”

That being said, I am apparently the only one who thinks that I have absolutely no experience in guilds or ability testing……. The new students started to leave their seats one after another, following the guidance of the student council. These guys are really motivated, aren’t they ?

(Here’s your chance ! You’re going to step up to the very top here!)

(What chance? Moderation is good enough.)

What are we doing trying to stand out in a place like this ? Besides, the people around me are heroes who have fought many battles in the past. Even if I really tried, I’d probably be in the lower middle of the pack.

But apparently, I didn’t even have to worry about that. Kuzuha, who was about to leave the podium, picked up the microphone as if she had just remembered.

“Oops, I forgot. Well, the new students I’m going to call now, please gather over here~.”

And then she begins to read the list of names. What did they do to be called out so early in the school year ? Poor students……

I thought it was not a matter of personal concern.

“Rikusho Enjou, Kiba Jin, and…….. Kyouya Kujo. The thirteen of you, come to my office.”

“Eh– Me too ?”

(Kukuku… What the hell did you do, Kyouya?)

I don’t remember doing anything, but I can’t ignore it. I reluctantly went to Kuzuha. The other students who had gathered there looked as if they had no idea why they had been summoned.…… Incidentally, one of the students in the group that was called out was Komari, whom I met at the school gate. If you look at her, you’ll see that she has a nice bump on her forehead.

After everyone had gathered, Kuzuha announced casually.

“You guys don’t have to take the test. Go back to your dormitory. The invitation has room allocations.”

That was all that she had to say. Kuzuha quickly turned on her heel. The students looked puzzled…… but one large boy among the students persisted.

“Hey, hold on, what do you mean by that ?”

The boy asks with a sense of intimidation. His steely eyes look like those of a yakuza, but is he really the same age as us ?

But Kuzuha turned around without a hint of trepidation.

“Hmm ? Don’t you understand if I don’t bother to tell you ? Seriously ? Do you not have any idea what it is ?”

After asking the opposite question, Kuzuha held out her right arm.

“Do you know, what is this ?”

On Kuzuha’s rolled-up arm, there was a faint leaf-like mark floating.

“It is a mark given by the Goddess to the heroes who saved the world. It’s like a title for clearing another world. I have a question for you…… does anyone here have one of these ?”

No one nodded in agreement.

“Well, yes, of course. You’re the ones who weren’t reported as cleared. Either you failed to defeat the Demon Lord and were deported, or you were summoned by more than one person and you didn’t participate in the conquest…… Well, whatever the case, you failed. Am I wrong ?”

It’s a straightforward statement, but no one denies it. Everyone just looks away. Apparently, they have an idea.

“”Failed heroes” – that’s what they call losers like you in this school. In short, you are the lowest group of students who don’t even deserve to take the test. If you keep on earning points, you may be promoted to the next level. Bye.”

Kuzuha says this in an obviously dismissive tone and quickly tries to leave……. but not everyone was able to keep quiet after being subjected to this.

“Hey, don’t be ridiculous. A fallen hero, huh? You can say whatever you want…..”

And it was the boy from earlier who refused to budge. He was the one who was trying to get at Kuzuha with a devilish look on his face.

“I don’t know if you’re on the student council or the executive committee or what, but you’re taking advantage of me, aren’t you ?”

“No~, even if you say, “This is me,” I don’t understand. I’ve never met you before, so I don’t know you. I’ve never met you before, so I don’t know you. …… But I do know your name. Let’s see, your name is….. Takeshi Onishima. I’ve never met you before, so I don’t know you. I’m scared, scared, scared~!”

Kuzuha smiles while looking at the list of names. His attitude must have irked Kuzuha. The student, whose name seems to be Onishima, turns pale in earnest.

“You’re a loser, aren’t you ?”

Onishima approaches with anger. He is about to strike at any moment. ……Hey, hey, please don’t give me a fighting situation all of a sudden.

But at that moment, a small shadow intercepted Onishima’s path.

“ Fi– Fighting is not good !”

The one who jumped out of the door with such vigor was, of course, Komari herself. I was amazed at her guts to block a man who looked to be twice her size. The figure burning with righteousness is quite heroic. But, of course, there was no way to settle the matter with a “Yes, I’m sorry”……

“Get out of the way !”

“Kyaaaah !”

Komari was easily pushed away and for some reason, she was sent flying toward me. I couldn’t let her go, so I supported her shoulder, and Onishima’s eyes glanced at me……. I was so shocked that he turned his head to look at me

“Huh ? You have a problem with me too ?”

“Oh, no, it’s not so much a problem…… but, well, I don’t think it’s a good idea to be too violent……”

“Shut up, you small fry !”

“Ah, Okay”

“Heeh… what the hell is this guy, he’s too scary.”

As I shrugged and withdrew, Onishima gave me a mocking sneer.

“Ha, they’re all scared shitless ! You think I’m on the same bottom rung as these mooks ? Don’t fuck with me ! The world I was summoned to is [Stage: V] remember ? And I was so close…… to clearing it, too! I was just a little careless with that one ! I’m as good as any of you !”

Onishima barked, and then laughed, as if he had just “come up with a good idea”.

“If you want, I can prove it by crushing all of them here. That way there won’t be teams and shit, right ?”

A moment later, a gigantic magic circle unfolded on the ceiling of the gymnasium.

It is the《Torch of the Deadly Ashes》a hellfire magic that consumes the target with the fires of hell.

“Oh, oh, after bringing up such a big object. I’m fired up…… but I don’t think we should.”

“Huh ? If you want to beg for your life, go ahead.”

Onishima scoffed and activated the magic circle without hesitation……. Eh, you’re really going to shoot us ?

But just as the inferno was about to be unleashed, there was a gush of light like a bolt of lightning, and a moment later, the magic circle split in half and disappeared.

“Wha ?”

Onishima cannot hide his astonishment at the fact that the magic circle has been torn apart.

Then, from behind him, came a lone voice.

“–Violation of school rules, points deducted.”

A woman with a Japanese sword in her hand appeared behind Onishima. The sharp point of the sword is placed precisely on Onishima’s neck.

“Hey, hey, Rei-chan~ We haven’t even been divided into groups yet, have we ? I don’t want to see any point deductions~ !”

“…… Kuzuha is sweet”

“Don’t stare at me, I’m scared…… In general, it’s you who’s at fault, isn’t it, Takeshi-kun ? That’s why I told you you shouldn’t have done it. But I’m glad you’re a kind sister, Rei-chan. Otherwise, I would have cut down 30 times myself.”

After smiling teasingly, Kuzuha adds, as if remembering.

“Oops, or is that it? Was that ‘just a little careless’ too ?”

“Guh…!”

There was no way that Onishima, who had been shown a clear difference in ability, would be able to argue with her.

Kuzuha’s words suddenly became more forceful as she faced Onishima, who had fallen silent.

“Okay, I’ll tell you one thing. This is not one of those friendly schools. There is no meaning to “effort” or “room for growth” or anything like that. The only thing that is required of a hero is the result of “saving the world entrusted to you”. Don’t you understand ? If you fail, that world will be destroyed. You can go down on your own if you want, but all the lives of the world are at stake. That’s what you call being a little careless, isn’t it ?”

Kuzuha was not only talking to Onishima, but to all of us.

“――You guys, stop spoiling yourselves. Any excuses are meaningless. You have failed. You are failed heroes, unqualified to be saviors. That’s the only fact.”

The eyes that look down at us, the losers, are filled with a cold pressure that makes me shudder. No one can do anything but look down, unable to open their mouths.

……But it was only for a moment. Kuzuha quickly returned to her easygoing tone.

“And that’s the end of the story. You must be tired, too. You can go back to the dormitory and get plenty of rest. Tomorrow is the first day of classes. Think of a funny greeting while you still can~.”

The students, knowing that they have been liberated by these words, left the gymnasium in a hurry. I decided to follow their lead.

I’m not unhappy with the way I’m being treated, and I don’t want to be noticed by the dreaded executive board. Most importantly…. it’s true that I couldn’t defeat the Demon King.

――――……

――……

In the south corridor of the C wing of the school. After the entrance ceremony, Kuzuha and Rei were walking side by side.

“Wow, Rei-chan, it was nice timing~ You were so cool, like a hero~!”

“Hmmm, you knew that, that’s why you stirred it up like that. You have bad taste.”

“Well, I mean, what can you do ? Not all of them are good kids who will listen to what we tell them. This school is a meritocracy. The best way to do that is to show your strength as quickly as possible. In fact, I was surprised at how quiet the kids were this term. You remember ? Last time, we got into a brawl right out of the blue.”

Kuzuha laughed nostalgically. The students who gather here are not all honest. They are always dealing with “bad kids” who don’t listen to them. But in the middle of such an old story, Kuzuha’s lips twitched.

“Hey, hey, Rei-chan, are you listening to me ?”

As she glanced at the person next to her, she saw that Rei was thinking in an absent-minded manner.

“Oh, no, I’m sorry….. I’m actually a little concerned about something…..”

And Rei muttered unconfidently.

“I had a feeling earlier that the touch…… that magic circle, it was already empty……”

Then Kuzuha blinked her eyes in surprise.

“Oh, you didn’t notice ? I didn’t think you cared about that kind of thing, Rei-chan. ‘Anything is fine as long as it gets the job done!’ Like that?”

“Hmm… Who the hell do you think I am ?”

“Ha-ha-ha, just kidding, just kidding.”

Kuzuha laughed for a moment and then suddenly turned serious.

“But you’re right, Rei0cahn. That technique has already been neutralized. The gunpowder has been neatly extracted from it…… I honestly didn’t even know who did it”

“Even with your eyes……? Bu- but I’m sure none of today’s students had that much ability ……? !”

This is an academy for students who have returned to their home country with a capability equivalent to that of nuclear weapons. Naturally, the security facilities are also adequate. One of them is an inspecting magic called “Eye of Judgment”. Those who pass through the invisible magic circle installed at the school gate will have all their statuses revealed. It is also used to test the abilities of new students.

However, Kuzuha laughed off Rei’s words.

“Ha-ha-ha, Rei-chan, are you talking in your sleep ? That means nothing if you can use concealment magic more powerful than the Eye. Those things are toys and toys for bureaucrats who want numbers…… Rei-chan, don’t you think it’s a little too peaceful here ?”

“Uh…”

Rei fell silent, unable to say anything back.

“Well, I think I can narrow it down by process of elimination. But there are a lot of students with “no information”. I can’t get any information from the goddesses at all. I don’t know if it’s an infighting or a factional split, but they are the ones who asked us to create the school, so they need to get their act together.”

Then, Kuzuha laughed rather happily.

“Well, but anything is fine. I’m all for strong children. At least as long as they’re…… on our side.”