“What do you want? You’re the only one among the Seven Heroes who can’t fight, aren’t you? It’s dangerous. You’d be safer if you took shelter at the rear,” Griffith, the leader of the Great Six, snapped at Yoshida, who’d intentionally left the back lines to talk to him.
Those fighting on the front lines of the Seventh Kingdom currently stood against a powerful shenmo with the power of immortality. Griffith wondered what business Yoshida—someone who was useless in a fight despite being part of the Seven Heroes—could have with him in a situation like that. He was filled with contempt, or at least half of him was. The other half felt genuine concern for Yoshida’s safety. Griffith had fully realized the extent of the New Black Star Loki’s overwhelming strength in their previous exchange of blows. If someone with a civilian’s fighting ability like Yoshida wasn’t careful, he could die just getting caught up in the combat’s aftermath.
“I know that. But I can at least offer logistical support. Won’t you let me help you out?” Yoshida said.
“You want to help?”
“My aptitude lies with the ether element. I might be weak, but support magic is my specialty.” Yoshida spread his arms and a sphere of white mana floated in front of him. Just as he’d said, it was ether elemental mana. “I’ll help you all recover your wounds. Healing Snow.”
As he spoke, white mana particles started raining down on the injured Great Six.
“Oh? My wounds...?” Strong, the one who’d been the most heavily injured, said in surprise. “Yeah, they’ve healed up just a tiiiny bit!”
Other members of the Great Six also chimed in with their comments.
“I feel ever so slightly better now!”
“If you asked me whether it made any difference or not, I’d honestly be hard-pressed for an answer.”
Griffith was also bathed in the white mana that treated his injuries only a small amount. “Mister Yoshida, you aren’t very good at magic, are you? It’s somewhat impressive that you can use magic besides Template Magic, but if you’re at this level, maybe you’d be better off sticking to ether Template Magic.”
“I’m not sure why, but I can’t get the hang of Norman’s Template Magic. That’s why I adjusted the Chanted Magic I used in the past to work without an incantation,” Yoshida replied while looking sheepish. “So, while I can use ether magic, I’m sorry to admit I’m rather mediocre at it.”
“Look, just stay back where it’s safe. I’m telling you for your own good here.” By this point, Griffith was completely fed up.
Despite that, Yoshida wouldn’t back out of trying to offer a helping hand. “Oh no, you don’t need to be so considerate of me!”
Why is this geezer so stubborn? Griffith was thankful for Yoshida’s intentions, but he’d joined the Humanity Defense Coalition in order to become a hero who protects humanity. He couldn’t stand by while an innocent man got himself killed on his watch.
“Come on, why turn him down? Every bit helps,” said the pigtailed Leen. “Thanks for the recovery magic, mister. Though I think you could practice your mana control more.”
“Uh, well, this is the result of giving it my best effort,” Yoshida replied.
“I agree with Leen. An ether user is a useful asset on the front lines, though he’ll be in ridiculous danger himself,” said Stephan, the beautiful, tall, and eccentrically dressed girl.
“Yes, I...understand the danger. Still scared out of my mind, trust me!” Yoshida said while his legs trembled like he was at the epicenter of an earthquake.
Come to think of it, even the fact that he stepped forward despite his fear makes him ten billion times better than the corrupt top brass at the Humanity Defense Coalition, Griffith thought as he studied Yoshida. “Very well. We’ll leave the support to you, Mister Yoshida.”
“L-L-L-Leave it to me!” Yoshida nodded fervently despite the shaking in his legs increasing.
“Are you getting cold feet now?!” Griffith asked.
“Have you finished discussing everything, boys and girls?” Loki said before he started walking toward them.
The Great Six moved into combat formation with Yoshida positioned a few steps behind them.
“How should we handle this, Griffith?” asked the tanned and lovely Chris Almard.
“Our enemy surpasses us at practically everything, even our respective areas of expertise. To top it all off, he has that annoying immortality Ex-Skill. We first need to figure out what to do about that,” Griffith said.
“For the record, I can also use sealing magic, but it’s nowhere near powerful enough to work against a shenmo,” said Lynel, the best one at magic control among them.
“I have a plan,” Griffith said.
Although Griffith was around the same level as everyone else in terms of ability, he led the group because of his motivation and determination, as well as his excellent judgment in situations like this one.
“Unfortunately, part of it hinges on Mister Yoshida, someone we haven’t worked with before, but here’s the idea.” Griffith relayed his plan to the others using telepathy magic to make sure Loki couldn’t hear them.
“Mhm, I see, I see! Sounds like a tricky strategy to coordinate,” Leen said with a spark of excitement in her voice.
“But I know we can pull it off,” Strong said as he tightened his large fists.
“Can you do it, Mister Yoshida?” Griffith asked. He was confident that his close comrades in the Great Six would follow the plan to the letter, but could Yoshida do the same?
“Yes. Even I can handle such a small thing,” Yoshida replied without hesitation.
Griffith stood in silence for a moment.
“What’s wrong?” Yoshida asked.
“It’s nothing, don’t sweat it. All right, let’s go!” At Griffith’s command, the Great Six dispersed.