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Translator: Vine
Chapter Title: Raid
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"..."
Everyone here couldn't believe their eyes. True to her word, her speed was incredible.
Amelia streaked forward like a flash of light, her magnificent golden hair, cascading down to her waist, streaming behind her as she charged.
But what surprised the villains and Shu wasn't that.
No, of course, they were surprised by her incredible speed, but...
Amelia had clearly stabbed the villain with her weapon.
...She stabbed him?
Why wasn't there a wound?
"Oh, you're tougher than I thought. Why are you so thick?"
"Diiieee!"
"Kyaaah?!"
-CRASH!
The villain, making full use of his massive body, slammed his hand down towards Amelia.
But Amelia had already screamed and darted away, leaving only the innocent ground gouged and dust rising.
She was definitely fast.
...She was fast, but why didn't her attack land?
"This is so annoying! Why is he so tough?!"
"I see... You, your speed comes at a price."
"You figured that out in one go? You're pretty smart, aren't you?"
A price?
What on earth...?
"If speed increases, attacks should become stronger, but there was no impact. The more you use your ability, the faster you get, but your strength weakens. Now I understand why your father couldn't catch you. The price is too high."
"Haa. Yeah, that's right."
She gets weaker?
Looking at her at his words, he finally noticed.
The spear in her hand was trembling slightly. Was it heavy?
She was someone who always held her spear straight, even when struggling.
The tip of the spear was shaking.
"But it's strange. Why aren't you running? Contrary to what you said, your ability is definitely not suited for a prolonged battle. It was a bluff."
"Ah, ahaha. Even my bluff was exposed? Am I bad at acting? ...Hmm, I don't know."
"Even if we can't catch you, you won't be able to catch your opponent, will you? If you run, we, who have no way to catch you, are finished. Why aren't you running?"
"No, cancel that. You're dumber than I thought, villain."
"What do you mean? I don't think I said anything wrong."
At the executive's questioning words, Amelia laughed and shouted towards him.
"How can someone who abandons their friends and runs away aim to be a hero, you idiot!"
"..."
"If I did that, Dad would really beat me and I'd have nothing to say for myself!"
Shu stared blankly at her, at her proudly smiling face.
A hero. The hero Shu aimed to be.
A fragment of that hero was visible in Amelia.
She clearly preferred aggressive methods.
He had definitely felt that while being caught up in her absurd plans. But she was clearly also an aspiring hero.
Amelia, who had enrolled in the academy to become a hero, held her own convictions.
He had to help her.
Just as Amelia said, heroes don't abandon their friends.
But how? No, don't think.
There was no time to consider whether he could or couldn't. He just had to do it.
Protecting his senior, he had taken several blows he could have avoided, and his entire body ached.
Perhaps it was because he had avoided every attack he possibly could until now? Unaccustomed to pain, his body was screaming.
It didn't matter.
He had to wait for the Association and the police, who might arrive at any unknown time, and also protect his senior. Moreover, his opponents were an executive whose strength was unknown, and henchmen who seemed stronger than before.
It didn't matter.
Amelia had used her ability so much that she had weakened to a level where she couldn't inflict any meaningful damage on her opponents. Perhaps he might even have to protect Amelia.
It didn't matter.
None of that mattered.
Because abandoning comrades in danger was something a hero should never do.
He, somehow, had to...!
"Hah. For students, your sense of justice is quite profound. Let me tell you something good. What you have is recklessness. If you die, there are no friends or anything."
"That doesn't matter. If I run away from here now, I'll just be a loser, won't I? I don't like that. I've decided to save my friend by any means necessary."
"Is that so. Then die. My apologies. This is also for the sake of survival."
But it was far.
Too far.
He had to defeat all these villains and help Amelia, but...
To do that, it was too far. Not impossible. But it would take too long.
He could win. He was certain. They couldn't wound him.
All the wounds he had sustained so far were from defending his immobile senior.
But even if he caught all the villains, time would run out.
Shu's ability was Intuition. A defensive ability, focused on evasion.
Therefore, a fight against multiple opponents like this was bound to take a long time.
Until now, he hadn't thought of it as a weakness. So he thought.
Even if not as much as Amelia, if it had been an enhancement-type ability, that would have been great. If only...!
"Ugh, why do I have to... Ah, I know. I know. It's my mistake."
Tap, tap.
Even amidst the fighting, he seemed to hear light footsteps.
...A voice he had forgotten until now.
"Ah, Arte...?"
"Yes, Shu-kun. It's Arte Isis. When things get tough, instead of trying to solve it alone, how about calling a friend?"
She appeared as if she were taking a stroll in a park in front of her house.
Along with the smell of blood emanating from her entire body.
"You, who are you? Don't tell me..."
"Ah. So this is how it turns out? ...Hmm, what should I say? Ah, this is good."
Where on earth had she been, only to arrive now?
Could it be that she had orchestrated this?
He had a mountain of questions he wanted to ask, but decided not to speak them now.
A wave of relief spread across Shu's face.
Because it was clear she wouldn't want them to die in a place like this.
"It's an Arte Chance that doesn't come every day!"
"Attack quickly! Now!"
CRACK.
With that sound, the villains' necks were instantly twisted.
***
Haa, I expected too much.
Yoo Shu had dodged all my threads during the last spar, and these guys couldn't.
So I thought he could handle it easily enough.
The senior was a variable.
No, did I underestimate the puppets' struggle for survival?
Yoo Shu reacted to the perfect ambush, but Amelia couldn't.
And because of that, while covering her, the senior was instantly out of commission.
Yoo Shu, now burdened with extra baggage, got hurt by throwing himself into danger without being able to dodge.
I thought Amelia was a complete heroine, but she was covered in penalties, like looking at myself. The sense of kinship was no joke.
I knew about her ability, but it was my fault for not bothering to check the details. No, I just thought 'acceleration' meant she only got faster.
What did the author say when someone asked if that wasn't ignoring the laws of physics?
Something like, 'We have mana and abilities, what does it matter!'? I have no words.
No, but still, that's not right. Attack power weakens the more you fight, but speed increases, what kind of...?
Is it equivalent exchange? I heard the speed increase outweighs the power decrease, but it's meaningless if you can't deal damage.
Both Yoo Shu and Amelia. If their basic specs were supported, they'd be monsters, but right now, they're struggling, exactly like late bloomers.
I'm not someone holding onto a coin, hoping it'll skyrocket someday, so what is this?
Seriously, the author just loves penalties, doesn't she?
And in the midst of all that, Yoo Shu is the only one without penalties? Is that protagonist buff? How annoying.
"You bitch! From the start, you were trying to kill—*cough*?!"
"Oh. You suddenly stopped talking. ...Is there a problem?"
Oh dear.
How dare you try to spout nonsense in front of the protagonist.
Don't you know you shouldn't say strange things with that smelly mouth?
I wanted to snap his neck, but this time, I decided to yield to the protagonist.
"Alright, Shu-kun. It's your turn."
"Me, me...?"
"Yes. I don't have a hobby of snatching prey that someone else has already caught. You've almost got him, haven't you?"
Nonsense.
Far from catching him, Amelia was on the verge of death, unable to even approach.
Even if Yoo Shu won, two main/supporting characters dying would be a huge problem.
That's why I intervened.
But if I capture the executive here too, that's a bit much, isn't it?
The protagonist should be the one to catch these kinds of guys; it makes for a better scene.
Even an Arte Chance has its limits.
"Alright... I'll hear about what you were doing later, but I'll say thanks for now."
"It was nothing much, really. Well, if you insist."
Ah.
I had a slight hope he might have forgotten.
Seems that's not the case.
Always so sharp-witted, honestly.
How should I make an excuse? I decided to think about it slowly.
"Hmph, here I go!"
[Oh, Intuition! It's the best! A chance to legally watch the protagonist's heroic deeds!]
Now that I think about it, that's true.
Imagining the author's pleased expression, a laugh escaped me.
It wasn't as if there were no gains, either.
He seemed impressed by Amelia's actions.
I hope he's at least grasped a bit of what it means to be a hero.
***
"Fuck, fuck...! This is seriously bad luck!"
He scrambled down the mountain at a speed so fast it felt like he was sliding.
His entire body was already covered in blood, a complete wreck with no uninjured spots.
But there was no time to worry about that.
Because he didn't know when that crazy bitch would catch up!
"Huff, huff...!"
He was lucky.
For some reason, she hadn't killed him, but instead had him fight that boy.
It was an utterly incomprehensible action.
Perhaps that was why she attacked them in the first place?
But paradoxically, that was fortunate.
Because it gave him, Marmot, time to use his special skill.
It seemed that woman didn't want the students to know what she had done, so he had silently played along.
Then, taking advantage of their carelessness, he thrust his neck into the tip of the student's swung sword, tearing his necklace.
Only then could he escape, leaving his already dead subordinates behind. He let out a sneering laugh at their bewildered expressions, as if they hadn't expected such an action.
The one who survives is always the strongest.
And he had survived today too.
"...? What, was there someone who survived? Hey, are you okay?"
Near the mountain entrance, a woman with wolf ears and a tail was sitting on the stairs.
One of his subordinates?
Looks like there was someone who fortunately survived.
That bastard, for someone so merciless, he was surprisingly sloppy.
"You look fine. It's an order. Quickly get a vehicle—*cough*?!"
"I don't know who you are, but I apologize. It's an order. No one is allowed to leave this place."
Marmot could finally see her neck, which had been hidden by her clothes.
...Sloppy my ass.
From the start, she had no intention of letting anyone live.
"Hah, seriously. Today, my luck, is, absolutely, gone."
It was the final moment of the rat who had crawled through life.