Maccad Empire Castle, Training Hall
“H-Hey, Ryuto? Shouldn’t you sto—” Tamaki called out, worry in her voice.
“Be quiet. Urgh!” Ryuto let out a groan, falling to all fours. In the next moment, he began to cough intensely. When the coughing fit finally passed through him, he tried to stand up, but found that he was shaking like a newborn deer. Using Limit Breaker multiple times in a row is rough...but each time I do, I can tell that the time I can keep it activated is lengthening, he thought. “Limit Breaker!”
The cost of using Limit Breaker was severe fatigue and muscle pain. Even so, Ryuto continued to use it—and this was despite the fact that it also amplified one’s senses, including one’s sense of pain. The agony he was in should have been unbearable, and forcing an already-exhausted body to fortify itself would only hurt it more.
“Gah!” Still, even through all the pain, screaming gutturally and sweating profusely, Ryuto did not deactivate Limit Breaker. It was unclear to him whether this was an effect of Limit Breaker itself or simply because of his constitution as a hero, but he was sure that the pain was making his body stronger. As such, he was convinced that this was the most efficient way for him to train. “Argh!” Once Limit Breaker ended, another wave of extreme pain washed over Ryuto.
Tamaki felt tears welling up in her eyes but still didn’t take her gaze off him.
“R-Ryuto, what are you doing?!” Aoi, who’d just arrived, yelled out as she ran towards him.
I’m sorry, Aoi...but I need to get stronger. If I don’t... Images of the captain handling him easily and of Inori sneering at him flashed through his mind. I need power to fight against this injustice. Just as Ryuto was about to reactivate Limit Breaker, though, a voice rang out across the room.
“Okay, hold it right there. I dunno why you’re so desperate, but you’re putting yourself under way too much strain.” The voice laughed lightly.
Ryuto glared at the owner of the voice—a young guy with black hair and sharp eyes. Standing next to him was a black-haired girl who gave off a very gentle feeling.
“Who are you?”
“Oh, right—introductions.” The guy acted as though he’d had a sudden revelation. “I’m Keito Kinjo. This cutie over here is Sora Saijo. Nice to meet ya.”
“‘Cutie’? Aw, you!”
Ryuto’s eye twitched in annoyance at the scene before him. However, he couldn’t just ignore them—he needed to follow suit and introduce himself as well.
“I’m Ryuto Shinzaki. This is Tamaki Karasawa and Aoi Isoya.”
“I’m Tamaki.”
“I’m...Aoi.”
“Judging by your names, you’re all Japanese too... Heroes?” Ryuto asked.
Keito’s lips widened into a smile. “That’s right! We’re the heroes of the Maccad Empire. My Divine Blessing is Count—an aberrant. Sora’s is an A-Rank, though—Spatial Magic! What about you guys?”
“‘Rank’? What’s that all about?”
“Ahh... Don’t worry about it.”
Ryuto’s eyes narrowed as his question was brushed off. “I have Limit Breaker, Tamaki has Mana Affinity, and Aoi has Barrier Magic.”
“Oh, what? Really?! Ha ha, just kidding. I already knew that.”
Ryuto was really starting to get pissed off, though he had little idea why.
“Heroes are summoned in threes, right? Where’s the last of you?” Ryuto asked.
“Hm? Oh, you mean Zenta Arai? He’s on a trip right now.”
“A trip?”
“Eh, we’re not really sure. They want him to figure out his Divine Blessing or somethin’.” Shrugging it off, Keito continued the conversation. “Anyways, welcome to the Maccad Empire! If there’s anythin’ you wanna know, feel free to ask! Let’s be friends! After all, we’re gonna be livin’ here together.”
“Nice to meet all of you!” Sora said happily.
Ryuto hesitated, but then reached out and shook Keito’s outstretched hand. “Yeah...nice to meet you,” he said in a low voice.
✦ ✦ ✦
A single road stretched across a plain. A carriage drawn by a pair of horses trundled down this road, kicking up the light-brown dirt as it went. Beside it was a single adventurer, who was most likely there as a bodyguard. Meanwhile, inside the plain-looking coach was a guy who was currently in the middle of letting out a very pathetic groan.
“Ugh... My ass hurts. I should’ve learned more about vehicle suspension systems when I was in Japan. Hey, Mei—are we there yet?”
“We’ve hardly begun our journey. For your information, carriages with suspension systems exist...but only at a high price.” The maid who was also in the carriage, whose name was apparently Mei, answered the pitiful young man.
“Seriously? Let’s buy one! I’ve got the money!”
“There’s a limit to the funds you received from the empire. You’ll have to either earn your own money or save up for it.”
“But they splurged on a bodyguard...”
“Having a bodyguard is necessary. Being comfortable while traveling is a luxury.”
“That’s not fair, Mei. Don’t you care if the skin on my ass peels off?”
“Please rest assured that, if it does, I will simply use healing magic.”
“Uh...” At this point, the adventurer who’d been hired as a bodyguard spoke up. As soon as he did, though, the young man inside the carriage froze up. The adventurer blinked. “Hm?”
“What...is...up?” said the young man stiffly.
Watching the two of them interact, the maid decided to intervene. “My apologies. He is very shy and has great difficulty speaking with others.”
“He seemed to be speaking fine with you, though.”
“As his maid, I am an exception. Regardless, how may I help you?”
“Oh. Well... I was just curious about the relationship between you two. It doesn’t really seem like a typical master-servant relationship. Doesn’t look like this young man is a noble either.”
“Isn’t it poor manners to pry into the circumstances of the ones who hired you?”
“O-Oh, I was just curious. I didn’t mean to pry. Just forget it, then.”
“All right—I shall.”
The conversation promptly came to an end, leaving silence in its wake. Though the maid and Zenta had previously been having quite a lively conversation, Zenta was now so stiff that not even a single word escaped his lips. Suddenly, the carriage shook violently, hitting the young man in the butt.
“Ow!”
“Are you hurt? Shall I cast some healing magic on you?”
“No, I’m fine...” Zenta declined her offer, with the understanding that it’d be pretty pathetic if he asked for healing over such a trivial thing. This sucks. I was isekai’d but I’m still such a wimp. I don’t even know how to use this stupid Divine Blessing... He let out a sigh. He was Zenta Arai, third hero of the Maccad Empire and holder of the Total Shut-In Divine Blessing.