---

“Thank you for coming over.”

“Pfft… What kind of hardship is that when you’re just a stone’s throw away?”

“There’s such a thing as etiquette, you know.”

“You’re still the same as ever.”

In the Guild Master’s Room of the Adventurer’s Guild.

A table separated a man and a woman facing each other.

“Thank you for applying this time.”

“What do you mean? We’re just helping each other out.”

“Sigh… I wish everyone thought the same way.”

Guild Master Argo.

Lucia Marygold, the Dean of the Academy and a former S-Rank Adventurer.

It would be nice if the relationship between adventurers and academy students resembled that of theirs.

However, repairing a relationship that has already become tangled is no easy task.

While it wouldn’t be impossible if they gave ‘orders’ due to their high positions, that would make them no different from a tyrant ruling over the subordinates.

Since that’s not their style, they’ve never done things that way.

Unless, of course, the worst-case scenario arises.

“Why didn’t you go to this practical session yourself?”

“I feel like the students would be too nervous if I were there… I usually try not to go if I can help it.”

“Well, even if you say that, you’re an S-Rank Adventurer, one of only three in the whole world. I’d feel nervous too if someone like you was around.”

“Even S-Rank Adventurers are just people…”

It’s true that, in terms of sheer power, they’re extraordinary beings, but compared to the other two S-Rank individuals—an Alchemist and a Weapon Master—she figured she was easier to approach.

That was Lucia’s thought.

“More importantly, I was shocked when I saw the name of the adventurer applying today!”

She had received the materials about the applicants on paper beforehand.

Luke.

Seeing that name on the document surprised her quite a bit.

It wasn’t easy to forget a student named Luke.

He had been famous for lacking magical power and was one of the few students who boldly declared his withdrawal.

She never thought he’d end up adventuring.

“And I heard he’s already C-Rank now?”

Climbing the ranks as an adventurer requires considerable time and effort.

Typically, it takes at least three years for an adventurer to advance from E-Rank to C-Rank, and the higher you go, the longer it takes.

While this might seem long, it’s relatively short considering a human’s lifespan.

“That’s truly amazing.”

He had only withdrawn a few months ago.

She couldn’t imagine what had occurred in that short time, but she expected many hardships must have come his way.

After all, advancing at that speed would be impossible otherwise.

She herself had progressed at a similar rate when adventuring, but he was, as she repeated, someone without magical power.

He appeared even more impressive given that he was not born with natural talent like her, an S-Rank.

“Haha… I don’t know what his personality is like, but if that’s included, it could be a different story…”

One of the Guild Master’s duties is to maintain the morale of the receptionists.

Helping them relieve stress with proper breaks is part of it.

Yet, observing that Adela had been appearing rather fatigued after frequently meeting with Luke lately…

“And given that this time, the condition for his help is the B-Rank advancement test, I suppose he’ll be a B-Rank in no time.”

“B-Rank? Can he really do that?”

“From just his skills, I think it’s definitely possible.”

Lucia may not know, but he already handled the Marquis Territory Demonization incident himself.

She believed he had already demonstrated a level of power above B-Rank.

“Hehe… Perhaps a new S-Rank Adventurer will emerge soon.”

His rapid advancement was remarkable, but the skills supporting that speed are impressive as well.

Just the other day, Luke had been the very last student at the academy.

His rise was not due to underhanded schemes or tricks; he had earned it purely through his own ability, and there was much to be learned from that.

‘If only I could pass on the secret to that growth to the students…’

– Knock, knock.

It was during this moment of deep contemplation for Lucia.

“Excuse me, Guild Master. May I come in?”

The receptionist’s voice came from outside the door.

“What’s wrong, Adela? We have an important guest here. Is it urgent?”

“Um… It seems a demon has appeared at the academy.”

“…What?”

The question came from Lucia.

*

“Cough! Cough! Cough!”

Oh dear, I’m going to die here.

It’s nice to safely avoid explosion damage, but unfortunately, the smoke that follows gets into my mouth and nose, making me cough uncontrollably.

‘If you’re going to prevent it, might as well do it thoroughly!’

Thick smoke filled the cave.

Honestly, it was thoughtless to have done it out of frustration.

Fortunately, it seemed the professors didn’t put in all that effort for nothing, as the dungeon wasn’t collapsing from the explosions.

– Whoosh!

In that moment, a strong wind blew and expelled all the smoke from the cave.

Finally, I could somewhat see again.

“You really did mess things up this time…”

“Ugh, ugh… I thought I was really going to die this time…”

“You’re alive! See, I believed in you!”

Luna and Yui were inside a protective barrier, looking tired.

However, the barrier was quite tattered; the explosion’s power was indeed something.

“You! You…! Are you out of your mind!? How could you set off such an explosion in a place like this?! Were you trying to kill us all!?”

At that moment, Arthur, who had been hidden behind a rock, jumped out.

“If we died, you should blame your own weakness, not me.”

The strong survive.

Just look at me.

I’m unscathed despite being caught in the explosion.

And honestly, is it reasonable for a main character to almost get killed by an extra?

– Clank.

“Huh?”

As I was bickering with Arthur, I heard the sound of armor moving from somewhere.

Turning around to check the direction of the sound, I saw an armor staggering to its feet.

So, it seems this much can’t kill it anymore?

Well, if all of them died just like that, everyone in the cave would have perished, and since everyone would have learned explosion magic to slay monsters, no one would come near it.

– Clank, clank.

But isn’t it just a bit too unharmed?

Sure, being undead means it wouldn’t feel pain, but the armor had no scratches at all.

Looks like it was a pretty strong being in a past life.

But like they say, ‘a tree that’s hit ten times won’t fall.’

“Let’s go for a second explosion~”

“Wait, stop!!”

“Luke, this time for real, everyone will die!!”

I was nearly stopped from tearing open the flour sack to set it off.

“Then you guys can deal with it.”

Arthur had just been unable to catch it, and now he’s saying we can’t do this or that?

This is ridiculous!

“You just used all your magic to stop the explosion I created!”

“That’s unfortunate. I’ll have to train harder.”

“How am I supposed to catch it with no magic!!”

“So, in conclusion, aren’t you telling us to do it?”

Seriously, why can’t they let me take care of things?

I’m getting annoyed, so I grabbed Arthur by the collar and threw him against the dungeon wall.

“Creak!!”

With that, Arthur slammed into the dungeon wall.

It finally got a bit quieter.

“Y-You again!”

“Why not go take care of Arthur instead of wasting time over here?”

“Grr…!”

Tia, wanting to say something to me, approached but quickly shifted her priority to checking on Arthur.

“Alright then. Let’s finish up quickly and head off to rest.”

I equipped my Greatsword from the inventory, and even though it lacked a neck, I could sense the Dullahan looking at me.

The Dullahan, being undead, raised its weapon towards me with a burning fighting spirit.

“Is that a challenge to me?”

“Seems like it.”

Wow, how did it know I was strong?

It must have been a tough man in a previous life.

Honestly, I just wanted to gang up on it and go to rest quickly, but if I don’t accept, it would only prove I’m a wuss, so I couldn’t back down.

Feigning acceptance, the Dullahan rushed at me.

“Oh? Speaking of which…”

I opened my inventory with the thought in my mind.

Then, the sword the Dullahan had been wielding disappeared into my inventory.

– …!

Suddenly, realizing its weapon had vanished made the Dullahan take an awkward step back in confusion.

It couldn’t say anything since it had no neck, but I could imagine it thinking, ‘Wh-What’s going on!’

I grinned widely.

“Hehehehe. Hohohoho. Hahahahaha.”

And laughed even more.

*

What happened afterward, you ask?

I just tossed everything, armor and all, into my inventory, and they died.

How did I know they died? Well, the Level Up notifications kept popping up like crazy.

“What on earth just happened…?”

Yui, who had been quiet up until now, seemed genuinely curious and asked.

“Well, think about it. It’s just armor, isn’t it? It’s not alive, and there’s no bones inside, just moving armor. So I thought it wouldn’t go into my inventory, but it did!”

Honestly, the knight I just caught was closer to a Living Armor than a Dullahan.

But since it’s the one I summoned calling itself a Dullahan, I just went along with it.

“…So why the explosions?”

“Just felt like it out of the blue.”

“…”

I suppose this is why people say one shouldn’t act emotionally.

Behind us, the heroines were following, helping Arthur, who had just been thrown.

The expressions on the heroines’ faces as they watched the Dullahan die just moments before were quite the spectacle.

Before fighting the Dullahan, they looked as though they were ready to bury something alive, but now had expressions saying, ‘You mean you, with no magic, managed to do what we couldn’t…?’

I guess this is why stories about strong protagonists or overpowered characters are so popular.

As we neared the entrance of the dungeon, the professors outside, having felt the vibrations from the explosions, rushed inside.

Though ‘rushed’ might be an exaggeration, there were only two teachers outside to begin with.

“What’s going on?!”

The male professor who had run ahead asked, out of breath.

As he prepared to cast a spell, thinking there might be monsters around, I took out the head of the demon I had cut earlier from my inventory, bringing an end to the explanation.

“No further details will be provided.”

 

---