Seeing it happen right before his very eyes, Suimei could only stare in wonder. Reiji may have been the all-around, good-looking, good-at-sports perfect guy, but this just wasn’t right. It wasn’t possible. The requisite amount of power required to render stone to pieces like that… Doing that should have required a good impact with serious weight and force behind it. It literally shouldn’t have been possible with just a poke. This was unreasonable even for a strong, perfect guy like Reiji. Yet in spite of all this, he was acting as if it was all quite natural.
“See? I did it.”
“‘See?’ My ass! Don’t move the plot forward in such an ominous direction…”
It certainly did seem ominous. If this was truly a forced summoning to another world…
Indeed, Suimei was now sure they’d entered an unknown dimension. Someone with skills that overleaped his had brought them here. The art of physically reinforcing a body in addition to summoning it was no simple ritual, but… Turning that over in his mind, Suimei suddenly realized something else. As a magician, it was only natural that he took to analyzing the mana and any sort of magicka that had been involved. But even so, all things considered, he was the one being extraordinarily casual about the whole thing.
“So how about you, Suimei?”
“…No, nothing seems different for me.”
He knew Reiji was really asking if he’d undergone some sort of strengthening as well, but Suimei had answered honestly. When he tried clenching his fist and gathering his mana, there was no hint of any change.
That had to mean Reiji had been the one summoned as a hero to defeat the Demon Lord. There was no point in summoning Suimei here. But just as he slumped his shoulders, the magicka circle beneath their feet suddenly began to glow. Reiji’s expression abruptly shifted to one of unease.
“This is…”
“Tch, it’s activating! Are we being transferred again, or maybe…?”
“Something is being summoned?!”
Reiji understood the implication quickly. In fact, he hit the nail on the head and put himself on guard accordingly. A magicka circle smaller than the one on the ground then suddenly appeared in the air.
“It’s coming!”
“Wah!”
A voice came from the circle, and Reiji swiftly took action the moment a shadow emerged. He seemed to have realized what was coming out, but demonstrated a level of agility far beyond what he was previously capable of in responding to it. Was it the result of the physical reinforcement? Either way, Reiji managed to catch Anou Mizuki, the girl who had fallen from above without warning.
“Mizuki!”
“Wah… Reiji-kun, what…?”
“Good for you, Mizuki. Thanks to Reiji, your butt was saved.”
Thus, the three friends were reunited again in this unknown place.
★
“You’re kidding. Seriously…?”
“Yup, that seems to be the case.”
After catching Mizuki, Reiji explained their current predicament to her and what he’d deduced about it so far. Mizuki seemed to be thrown for a loop at first, but was predominantly glad that she wasn’t alone. Encouraged by the presence of her two best friends, she gradually came to terms with the current situation. Her willingness to accept it rather than deny it showed both boys that she had some guts.
“Hmm… Okay.”
“You accepted that all pretty fast, huh?”
“Well, the two of you are pretty calm about it. If I’m the only one who breaks down, can you imagine how embarrassing that would be? And besides, since we’re already here, what else is there to be done? We have to accept it one way or another.”
Mizuki seemed to have a refreshing take on it all, and explained herself to the boys while fiddling with the unseasonable red muffler around her neck. She had long, black hair and gentle, coal black eyes. She had a certain look about her that gave the impression she was a dainty and fragile young woman. Yet though she looked rather meek, she apparently had quite a stout heart inside her. The boys had only known her under normal day-to-day circumstances, so it seemed there was plenty they still had to learn about Mizuki. Reiji then smiled at her.
“Mizuki, you’re pretty tough, aren’t you?”
“Huh? A-Am I?”
Having that smile directed at her, Mizuki finally caved. Her face turned bright red. This kind of exchange was typical for them, including Reiji being unaware of the effect he had on girls.
And just like that, the strange and potentially frightening situation they found themselves in was diffused by a completely inappropriate atmosphere. Determining it was counterproductive, however, Suimei decided to change course and get things back on track.
“So, Mizuki, I want to ask you something.”
“What’s up?”
“Well, about this situation that we’re in now… If it’s nonsensically similar to those novels you read, then after this…”
“Mm, yeah. Someone important from this world should appear. Or possibly…”
What could it be? The first part of her reply was definitely what he would have expected from reading one of her books, but what was this about another possibility? She made it sound like there was another direction this could go, so Reiji prodded her for more details without pause.
“Is there something else?”
“In one of the books I read, the hero was summoned somewhere else… And if we were following a plotline like that, that would mean we’re in the Demon Lord’s palace right now.”
“You mean starting right at the climax?”
“Yeah, the last dungeon.”
“Ugh… Isn’t that a bit much, honestly?”
Suimei let out a disheartened groan. In the majority of novels like this, after being summoned, the hero must face several trials, twists, and turns before defeating the Demon Lord at the end of the story. But what Mizuki was suggesting meant that they’d be starting from there, right at the climax—the final boss.
That thought didn’t thrill Suimei. It meant they’d be in serious danger, and this wasn’t exactly where he wanted to spend his last breath. Reiji, on the other hand, began questioning Mizuki in a calm tone.
“If memory serves, that’s the kind of story where they defeat the Demon Lord right away, then return to live in the new world as heroes, right?”
“Yup. Then they either challenge the next powerful enemy, or end up getting involved in a war between countries though…”
“Okay, but the situation that we’re in right now…”
“I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s something similar to what Reiji-kun was thinking.”
“Oh my god…”
Mizuki’s assessment left Suimei quite dejected. His discontentment left his lips as a pained sigh. This sounded more and more like it was going to be a huge pain. If what Mizuki was suggesting was true, it would only be inevitable that he’d get dragged into it. And since Suimei had other plans, this would end up being a major speed bump for him.
“Anything’s possible. I guess we’ll see, huh?”
And the moment Mizuki said that, Suimei could hear something—using his ears that were enhanced with magicka—coming from outside the room. Erasing his presence, keeping alert, and killing any excess noise, Suimei called out to the others.
“You guys.”
“Huh?”
“Yeah, I know.”
“Oh? Is that also a result of your strengthening?”
“I think so, but if so, how are you able to hear it, Suimei?”
“My, uh, ears have always been good… Actually, this isn’t the time for that.”
Suimei brushed off the question with a light joke. He and Reiji were on the same page now, but Mizuki had yet to grasp the situation.
“H-Huh?”
“Mizuki, someone’s approaching right now. Quite a few people, actually.”
Reiji recognized the distinct sound of many footsteps approaching. It seemed that the strengthening effect didn’t just make him physically stronger. And once he gave Mizuki the short of it, Reiji positioned himself in front of her with the intention of protecting her while he focused on the passage that lay beyond the door. Mizuki shrank back in anxiety, and Suimei also put himself on guard next to Reiji.