kscans

Chapter 66 - Beware of Sweet Words

"As I told you yesterday, today we'll have a special instructor teach the class. Everyone, please be respectful."

The teacher opened the door and Satou stepped into the classroom.

"...Just some boring old guy."

"Is that guy really supposed to be the strongest?"

"He's probably just bluffing."

There were about twenty students, but not one of them showed a welcoming reaction. Takahashi and Suzuki, who were watching from the back of the classroom, let out wry smiles.

"Well, well... they're obviously getting carried away."

"That's pretty normal for kids that age."

"We specifically gathered children who seemed particularly problematic."

They had selected only children who were judged to need urgent attitude adjustments.

"Well, even though they're problem children, they're pretty harmless. It's not like we have kids who go around setting fire to people and objects indiscriminately."

The chairman was one of the old-timers in the current Mutual Aid Society. Naturally, he knew all too well about the past misdeeds of former problem children led by Satou.

"It was a blazing youth."

"These guys...!!"

Setting aside the completely unrepentant adults, the teacher was about to open his mouth to scold the students who had spoken disrespectfully to the special instructor from the start.

"Now, now, don't get so worked up."

Instead, Satou was the one who stopped him.

"Satou-san... but still..."

"They're adorable."

Switching from a smile full of compassion, Satou sneered with a malicious expression.

"How can you not handle the idle chatter of virgin boys who don't know women and virgin girls who don't know men? That said, though. I'll give you some advice out of concern, but isn't that why you can't see any prospects for making them into adults?"

Satou was certain. He was convinced that all the children here were inexperienced. This wasn't based on supernatural ability. It was confidence derived from the instincts of a battle-hardened playboy. Now, the children who had been subjected to this incredibly rude statement were... well, naturally irritated. The fact that they weren't getting heated was probably just cute posturing.

"...Gross."

"Old man, do you know the word sexual harassment?"

"You'd lose if someone sued you, you know?"

"To respond to your words, are you not aware that there's no such gentle thing as justice in the supernatural world?"

No written law exists in the supernatural world. To enforce law requires corresponding power. If there were a human who possessed the violence to force all people in the supernatural world to follow the law... there would probably be only one such person in the world.

"Now. Let's end the witty chatter here. Time is finite, after all. Let's get straight to the practical training."

Satou took out his pipe and lightly waved it. In an instant, the classroom was transformed into an endless wasteland. Only the adults could understand what Satou had done.

"...He forcibly overwrote the world with brute force."

"I think there used to be techniques for projecting and altering one's inner landscape."

"...This is nothing so gentle."

To locally overwrite the world with something deeply burned into one's heart. Even that would be sufficiently difficult and worthy of being called a secret technique, but it would still be realistic. Thoughts connect to power. Therefore, something burned deeply enough into one's heart would be easy to convert into power. But what Satou did was just something like "a place like this would be just right." To overwrite the world with such light, fluffy imagination without any weight is not a power permitted to humans. A blasphemer of fate, a man who made even God say such things, this deed was fitting for him. But the blasphemy wasn't over yet.

"! What is this... my power...!?"

"Wh, whoooooooo!!"

The children's power began swelling rapidly.

"Alright kids, pay attention. Look around the side of your face."

Perhaps because they were confused, the children naturally followed that instruction.

"What is this... numbers?"

Flickering flames had formed into numbers floating there. 12 + 88 = 100. Something like that.

"I made it easy for you kids to understand. The small number on the far left is your original level. What's been added is the numerical value I enhanced you with. I raised everyone uniformly to 100. The power you're feeling now is the strength you would have if you could grow smoothly as you are."

It was the adults who could understand this abnormality. Enhancement. It was popular among all schools of technique. However, those enhanced physical abilities or firepower. They were definitely not something that would allow someone to gain "the strength a person would have if they grew up" in advance. Not only was this abnormal...

"...That's nasty."

"That's Satou-kun's typical nastiness."

The intent behind performing such enhancement. The adults who realized it were looking with eyes that seemed to pity something truly pathetic.

"How is it? You feel like you can do anything now, right? But that's a misunderstanding."

While spinning his pipe like a pen, Satou declared.

"Even if all of you at that level of strength gang up on me, you couldn't give me so much as a scratch."

"You bastard...!!"

"Come on, come here. I'll be your opponent."

When he beckoned with his finger, the boy with the lowest boiling point struck at Satou with tremendous speed. But...

"Whew..."

His fist was stopped by the exhaled smoke. Purple smoke drifting lazily around Satou.

"You can't even get past the cigarette smoke I exhaled... Pathetic."

≪～～～～!!!≫

And so the battle began. The children's eyes burned with anger, focused on one thing. "Make the old man who's looking down on us cry uncle." That was all. However, in just about five minutes, that will crumbled completely.

"Wh, why... like this..."

They couldn't even get past the cigarette smoke. No matter how much power they put into their attacks, they couldn't dispel it. It clung to them, continuing to block their attacks. Their agitation quickly turned into panic toward something incomprehensible.

≪Aaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhh!!!?!≫

Four of them. Boys and girls in particularly strong states of panic charged forward. Their attacks were once again blocked by smoke... no, they hit Satou directly. But...

≪!?!!?!≫

Unfortunately for them, their method of attack was close combat. Therefore, their weapon-wielding arms, their tightly clenched fists, their legs swung with all their might, shattered to pieces. The screams brought by pain... completely crushed everyone's fighting spirit. Everyone collapsed on the spot. Despair. It was nothing but that.

"I didn't enhance myself. I didn't counterattack. I just didn't intentionally weaken myself."

While restoring the children who had lost limbs to perfect health, Satou said.

"I did nothing. I just stood there and took the attacks. Just that, and look at this state."

You probably understand without me saying more. Satou gave in order to take away. He gave the children power enough to make them feel omnipotent, then proved that it was worthless.

"When you first stepped into the supernatural world. Didn't you think? That you were a special existence."

That you could become a hero or heroine. That you had become one.

"Sorry. That's a misunderstanding. Hero? Heroine? Don't make me laugh. Even after enhancing you that much, it's questionable whether you could even get on stage. Even if you did, you'd be extras at best."

The adults heard it. The sound of hearts being completely crushed. The adults shuddered, thinking "how, how cruel..." But the truly cruel part was yet to come. Satou went over to a boy crawling nearby, knelt down and drew his head to his shoulder.

"Ah"

"...But you know. Even extras have some pride, don't they?"

It was a very, very gentle tone.

"The form of that pride varies for each person, but not a single one is worthless."

At these passionate words, the children began to raise their faces.

"You want to protect it, don't you. You want to see it through to the end, don't you."

Standing up, Satou exhaled a large puff of smoke.

"I'll only stand at this podium a handful of times this summer."

Even so, he continued with strongly punctuated words.

"But since I'm doing it, I won't hold back. It'll be incredibly tough. But if you can see it through to the end without giving up... you should become at least somewhat better."

Then Satou showed a manly grin.

"So, just shut up and follow me."

"...T, teacher."

"Teacher."

"Satou, teacher."

It was a wonderful sight. Even moving. But the adults who had watched from beginning to end were utterly appalled.

"What? Isn't that guy a yakuza instead of a salesman?"

"He's the perfect example of a bad adult."

Let's be careful of sweet words.