kscans

Chapter 191 - The Possibility Called Youth

Just one more hit. In our world, it is a common tale for that last hit to feel impossibly far. If you looked at the gauge displayed beside me, you would see I have only 1 HP left. A single strike will take me down.

"Damn it, he's so stubborn...!!"

"So this is the final hurdle!"

I have set the specifications so they cannot defeat me without coordinating at over ninety percent, if not a full one hundred. Right now, their coordination is at about eighty four, maybe eighty five percent. It is impressive they can manage that much when some of them have never even met. But it is not enough. It may sound harsh, but that kind of unfairness is the default when you are facing an overwhelmingly superior opponent.

"...I will create an opening."

The one to suggest it was Rika-chan. I could not believe it. Did she think she could exploit my feelings for her to create an opening because we were close? No, that is not it. It does not feel like that.

"The graphics for medicinal herbs and antidotes look similar, so be careful!!"

"Shut up, Mama! You just have to bring up a confirmation screen before using them! Besides, I don't even have any medicinal herbs or antidotes in the first place!!"

Replying so earnestly is hilarious. Meanwhile, Chika-san continued to offer advice, nimbly dodging attacks amidst the chaotic battle. From their perspective, she must have been incredibly annoying. Rika-chan fired a bolt of lightning at Chika-san, driving her back, then opened her mouth as if she had resolved herself.

"https"

Huh? Not just me, but even my allies were confused. What is https? Oh, a URL? Does she mean https? But why, at a time like this... I seriously do not get it. I continued to deal with the demon king subjugation squad's attacks while tilting my head in confusion.

"dosukebe.otokonosaga..."

...No, wait. It suddenly hit me. The words she was calmly reciting were from...

"The review blog for wind-based services I'm so indebted to!? Wh, why... no, don't tell me, Rika-chan, you went through my bookmarks...!!"

In that instant, an impact shot through my back. When I turned around, I saw Hikaru and Sarna-chan, having just swung their sword and great scythe.

I see... so it was Saku-chan. Teleportation, even if it was just a short distance.

I had not taught her that yet. I thought it was too soon, that she would not be able to use it. Well well, I see.

"Heh, my defeat was caused by my underestimation of the potential of youth."

"Hey, hold on. You're trying to make it sound cool, but that's not what created the opening."

"I am not satisfied with this."

"You gotta be kidding me, it ends like this?"

Aah, aah, I cannot hear you. And you should not get cocky just yet. You may have defeated me, but it is too soon to claim victory.

"Gah!?"

For dramatic effect, I was now just skin and bones, looking like I was five seconds from truly kicking the bucket. But hey, pay attention to my right hand. See that ridiculously huge, jet black sphere of light? The demon king's final, desperate struggle. Even if I die, I'll take you all with me... It is a classic, right?

"Have you forgotten, you fools? I am one born from the darkness in people's hearts..."

"So it's that kind of thing! It looks like a long speech, so he's giving us time to prepare! But if we let our guard down, we'll definitely all be wiped out here!!"

The members who could erect barriers began preparing a compound barrier, while those who could not started acting as batteries.

"Frustration with a tactless father, irritation at a convenience store clerk who carelessly hands over change."

The hate for a husband who says anything is fine for dinner, but then complains "not this today" when it is served. An annoying boss who gets too personal. A neighbor's noise, just loud enough that you cannot ignore it. A teacher who plays favorites.

"Th, that's the demon king's self destruct technique... the Discomfort Orb! A destructive beam of negative energy condensed from the darkness in the human heart!!" "The darkness in his heart is so lame!? And he's going with that until the very end!?"

"If I'm going to die, I'm taking you with meeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!"

Well, yeah, they blocked it. Just like that. I said taking them with me was a classic, but I know how to read the room. If they had let their guard down, I would have mercilessly given them a game over screen with a "don't underestimate me," but they were able to block it normally by getting serious.

And so, the raid battle came to an end. They had magnificently succeeded in subjugating the demon king. I left the minor details to the Mutual Aid Society staff and sent them all back to the Surface World.

"Once again... good work, everyone."

"You can say that again."

"Making us do such a stupid thing..."

"I have plenty of complaints, but let's just get this job over with."

"You're right. It's getting late."

It was a little past three in the morning. We were all gathered in a room in Sugar the Great that had been renovated to look like a faculty office. As for why, it was time for grading. The Mutual Aid Society was conducting its own evaluation, but they had also asked for our perspective as people who had fought directly. It was a pain, but since I had accepted the job, I could not just phone it in.

"The MVP would have to be him. Nakajima, was it? There's no doubt he was the cornerstone of the group."

Everyone nodded in agreement with Yanagi's words. There were no objections. Nakajima Shigeru. He was thirty, five years younger than me. He was originally from the Surface World, but he came to this world late... when he was twenty, I think.

"In terms of current combat ability and potential, he isn't exactly blessed, but that boy knows his place."

"You can't move like that unless you really understand your own limits."

"Yeah. The fact that he doesn't despair and calmly assesses what he can do before taking action is a big plus."

"He's good at directing the group, too. It would be a blessing to have someone like him in an organization."

Onisaki, Takahashi, Suzuki, and Chika-san listed off his merits one by one. I had no objections to these points either. I felt it was exactly as they said. No matter how much Nakajima struggled, he could never become an outstanding individual. He had already reached his growth limit. This is a world where it is common for some kid to pop up out of nowhere and instantly surpass someone who has been training for decades. The veterans have come to terms with it, but not completely. Somewhere in their hearts, they harbor envy and jealousy. But Nakajima has none of that. He accepts that fact for what it is and has cleanly separated himself from it.

"A guy who can cleanly make calculations without letting his emotions get in the way is a tough opponent. He's a similar type to you, Yanagi."

"That's true. However, in a way, he handles it better than I do."

"That's because you never bothered to hide how detached you were."

Someone who can act without considering their own feelings often appears detached to a third party. But when that person is exceptionally skilled, that detachment can work in their favor. It becomes a kind of charisma. Yanagi, who excelled at everything, was that type, but Nakajima is different. He acts in a way that prevents others from sensing that detachment. His smooth command is proof of that. Just as Chika-san said, he is the kind of person you would be grateful to have in an organization. I would even want him as a subordinate.

"If I had to point out his one and only weakness, it's that he has exquisitely bad luck."

"Oh my, Satou-chan, you know him?"

"Yeah. We're not that close, but we have enough of a connection that he diligently sends me mid-year and year-end gifts every year."

The reason for that is...

"I was the one who saved him when he was on the verge of death."

"Oh, you were? Do tell the story. It will be a nice snack to go with my drink."

Yanagi urged me on while chugging his beer. It is not something I need to hide, so I do not mind... but seeing this guy drink beer still feels weird. You are definitely the type to be elegantly swirling a wine glass.

"It was about ten years ago. I was doing my rounds when I found a small-scale Alternate Realm."

I sensed a human presence, and leaving them to die would have left a bad taste in my mouth, right? So I quickly entered and quickly slaughtered the master of the place. Nakajima was in critical condition at the time, so I gave him some basic treatment and tossed him to the Mutual Aid Society. I could have healed him completely, but I chose not to. It was because the unconscious Nakajima's face was twisted in terror and agony. He must have gone through something terribly frightening and tasted despair to his fill. That is why I did not heal him.

"Just because your body is fully healed when you wake up doesn't mean the emotional scars you got on the brink of death will fade."

"A disconnect between the mind and body."

Yanagi muttered in response to my words. Nakajima has the aptitude. Therefore, his options are limited. He has to fight in the Supernatural World until he can acquire the skills to defend himself. How would he feel if he were told that while his emotional wounds were still fresh? He might manage on the surface, but the mental toll would surely pile up. The Mutual Aid Society knew of such cases, so they did not perform any major treatments after bringing him to one of their affiliated hospitals either...

"...But that created its own set of problems."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, at the time, he was in a two year vocational school and right in the middle of job hunting."

While everyone around him was securing job offers, Nakajima was apparently getting rejected left and right.

"And get this, the day after I rescued him was supposed to be the day of the final interview he had finally managed to land."

"""""Ugh..."""""

Companies have to consider the other job applicants as well. They might be able to wait a day or two, but several weeks is impossible.

"The Mutual Aid Society might investigate his identity and contact his family, but they don't look into the details of his personal life, do they?"

So you can imagine Nakajima's despair when he finally woke up...

"As it happened, he woke up right when I went to visit him. I ended up hearing his story, and... you know?"

He was someone I saved, after all. I thought I would go see him at least once, and that is what I walked into.

"Even I felt sorry for him. So I gave him some advice here and there after that."

After Rika-chan got dragged into the Supernatural World, I shifted my focus, but things were different back then. I spent overwhelmingly more time living on the Surface, and I rarely showed my face except for dangerous cases. I felt bad for him, but I am not so nice that I would take care of his every need.

"So Nakajima-chan is your disciple, is that it?"

"It wasn't anything that grand. I just taught him a few crafty ways to handle things."

"But don't you think that's how he sees it? That's why he's so diligent about sending you year-end gifts and things every year, right?"

"Having him feel strangely indebted to me is actually more awkward, you know."

Even though I keep telling him he does not need to be so considerate. I could understand it if he saw some value in using me, but that does not seem to be the case. He is a man who can make detached calculations. He understands me as a person to a certain extent. So he must know it is meaningless... He is a conscientious guy.

"Getting back on topic, his bad luck started from the very beginning, but he's got plenty of other episodes like this."

If he suffered because of something that was his own fault, then it cannot be helped. But in Nakajima's case, misfortune befalls him through no fault of his own. And those incidents can only be described as truly bad luck.

"He's had it rough."

"Yep. But well, he's come to terms with it and is handling it well, so he's an amazing guy after all."

I am human too, you know. I have my unlucky days. But I have power. The power to beat down any misfortune. If it comes down to it, I can even improve my own luck. So even when things are not going my way, I can take it easy, but Nakajima has nothing like that. That is why I think he is amazing for finding a way to deal with it and live his life.

"Alright, next, let's talk about who gets to be the runner up MVP."

And so, our night wore on.