The Magic in this Other World is Too Far Behind! Volume 2

by Gamei Hitsuji

  “He’s called Reiji-sama, right? He carried himself so marvelously that I can’t even describe it. As one would expect of a hero, I’m sure. I hear the heroes from previous summonings were similar to him in that they were the very embodiment of earnestness and righteousness.”

  Dorothea came to a casual stop and closed her eyes. She was probably remembering the parade. It seemed she also found hope from the image of the hero burned into her mind. Suimei, who hadn’t grown up in this world, didn’t know if the hero was a universal symbol of hope or not, but that certainly seemed to be the case for this girl. It seemed likely her opinion was shared by the public at large, so Suimei decided to ask.

  “Do you think that the hero will defeat the Demon Lord and the demon army, Dorothea?”

  “If the hero’s extraordinary powers are as great as the people say, I do think it’s possible.”

  “People are talking about him?”

  “You haven’t heard, Suimei-san?”

  “It’s a bit embarrassing to admit, but no, not really.”

  Suimei wasn’t actually embarrassed, but he thought it would be easy to pretend to be out of the loop. It was likely the whole city was talking about Reiji. And if the look on Dorothea’s face as she talked about him was any indication, the people here held the hero from another world on the same level as fairy tales. Dorothea seemed to find Suimei’s lack of knowledge on the subject unusual, but proceeded to explain.

  “Regarding the hero’s power, there are only the descriptions from history books and stories people have told, passed down through the ages. The few times that the word has fallen into crisis, a hero has been summoned to save us. The fights that those heroes took part in were terrifying. There was the one who fought a giant who was so tall that it could reach the heavens, but the hero split the giant clean in two with a single swing of a sword. There was another hero who cornered a tyrant gripped by insanity by flying through the sky on the back of a black beast. And one who struck down a previous Demon Lord with a holy sword. There are all sorts of stories.”

  “Hmm...”

  This got Suimei’s attention. Not only were the contents of these stories interesting, but it was something that had a great deal to do with Reiji and company. There was no way that he wouldn’t be interested in something that involved his friends. He would have to investigate more later.

  “What do you think, Suimei-san?”

  “Hmm?”

  “About the hero defeating the Demon Lord. Do you think he can really do it?”

  “...I wonder. If the current hero truly possesses the power you just spoke of, then it may just be possible. Though I do wonder if it’s truly like that.”

  “You mean... you think he can’t do it?”

  “No, I just think it’s too naive to assume that the mere presence of the hero will make the difference between defeat and victory. I also think there’s something strange about people giving up hope and deciding they were doomed in the first place...”

  Since Suimei had intimate knowledge of the circumstances, he was filled with anxiety. A battle was not such a casual affair that receiving some boost in power would be enough to achieve victory. Suimei closed his eyes as he worried about such things, but Dorothea puffed out her cheeks indignantly.

  “It would be better not to say such things outside. The hero is on the same level as Alshuna-sama’s envoy. If the people from the Church of Salvation heard you, you would be in for a long sermon on all kinds of things.”

  “Haha... I’ll be careful.”

  This wasn’t the first time Suimei had been threatened with a sermon; Lefille had also said something similar. It seemed that for the people of this world, a sermon from a member of the Church of Salvation was considered a serious punishment. Suimei started to think he’d have to keep such thoughts to himself in the future. After her stern warning, Dorothea’s expression returned to normal.

  “Well, it’s just as you said, Suimei-san. The people from the guild are not so optimistic either... Well, returning to our previous talk, because of the hero’s influence, the number of applicants to the knights, the army, and our Twilight Pavilion have all multiplied quite extraordinarily over the last few days compared to normal...”

  “So that would explain why the receptionist got all tense and tried to turn me away when I came in dressed like a completely normal civilian.”

  “Yup. Suimei-san, I think you should at least get a staff. I don’t know how things will go after you receive a guild card, but a hopeful who isn’t even carrying a weapon asking to register at the counter was certainly unprecedented.”

  “I’m sure. I’ll have to think about that.”

  Suimei was truly embarrassed that he’d caused such a scene because he hadn’t thought things through. He felt like an out-of-place country bumpkin incapable of reading the room. While Suimei was lamenting his mistake internally and bowing his head a little in shame, Dorothea put her hands on her hips and thrust out her chest.

  “It’s fine as long as you understand. So it’s all good.”

  Dorothea exclaimed this with complete satisfaction.

  “So, Suimei-san, do you have any other questions?”

  “Just one more. What exactly will I be doing for an evaluation?”

  That was the main thing that had been on Suimei’s mind all this time. In the novels Mizuki had shown him, when the visitor from another world registered for the guild, they would usually just place their hand on a mysterious crystal ball that would measure their ability. Was that really how things worked here, too? As Suimei was wondering about this, he saw a glint in Dorothea’s eye like she’d been waiting for him to ask this all along. She answered him with gusto.

  “Naturally, it’s a fight!”

  Suimei failed to see how that was the natural conclusion here.

  ★

  Shortly after Suimei heard what the evaluation would be from Dorothea, they passed through another doorway into a large room that resembled the interior of a gymnasium.

  “I see. The reason the building is so big is because of this facility.”

  “Yes. This is the largest guild office in the country, after all. We at least have to have a proper place for training.”

  “A training ground, huh? But it doesn’t look like there’s anyone here.”

  Just as Suimei had said, the spacious training ground was completely empty. After being told the number of applicants had increased dramatically as of late, he was quite sure he’d see a few of them here. Contrary to his expectations, however, the closest presence he could sense was in a room further into the building.

  “The second training ground is used for evaluations in the morning, so there won’t be anyone training at this time. I believe the person who was evaluated before you is in the next room filling out the required documentation.”

  “I see.”

  Suimei gave an indifferent reply when he suddenly felt that something below his feet was out of place. He lowered his gaze and decided to ask Dorothea about it.

  “Hey, the flooring here... Isn’t it a little weird?”

  “Yes, I’m surprised you noticed. This training ground was built using an advanced magic-resistant material. Spells get thrown around in here a lot, after all, so the place was designed to stand up to that.”

  “A magic-resistant material?”

  “Yes. It was a very recent discovery, actually. This is about the only place in all of Metel that has it, you know.”

  “Huh. To think such a thing existed...”

  Suimei paid no mind to Dorothea, who was acting excessively proud, as he admired the material. Instead of her, he was looking down at the floor with deep interest. The materials that made up the flooring and even the walls looked like nothing but ordinary wood and stone, but apparently had magic-resistant qualities.

  Since his own world also magickally treated materials, it didn’t strike him as all that unusual. But for a material to be resistant against mana without having a spell appl
ied to it was quite interesting to him. As he continued to admire it, Dorothea once more welcomed him to the training ground and spread her arms out wide.

  “Like I said, this will be the place where we hold your evaluation. We’ll pair you up with a guild member of our choosing and hold a match right here. After observing the way you fight, we will assign you an appropriate rank.”

  “Hey... Theoretically, just theoretically, is there an evaluation method that doesn’t involve fighting?”

  “That’s an interesting question. In return, let me ask you this: is there a simple way other than fighting to evaluate you?”

  “Okay, fair enough...”

  “So you understand, right? Then―”

  While Dorothea was trying to move the conversation forward, a presence on the other side of the door further into the room started to move towards them. With the sound of the door opening, a single figure emerged. After spotting Suimei and Dorothea, the person in question called out to them with a voice like the clear ringing of a bell. It was a pleasant sound, and her voice wafted all the way over to them like a gentle breeze.

  “Could that be... Is that you, Suimei-kun?”

  “Ah, Grakis-san. It’s been a short while.”

  The person at the door was the woman Suimei had become acquainted with earlier under rather odd circumstances, Lefille Grakis. Suimei gave an odd reply as she walked over with her vivid, shiny, long, red hair swishing behind her at every step. After closing the distance between them, she looked a bit puzzled.

  “Why are you here?”

  “Well, it seems I will be taking an evaluation to determine my rank.”

  “Oh...? But weren’t you here at the guild to put in a request for a job?”

  “Ah...”

  Suimei finally realized the misunderstanding she was under when he saw her surprised expression. When they’d parted ways with each other at the reception desk, her parting words were something to the effect of: “I hope your commission gets quickly resolved.” Suimei now finally understood why she’d said that.

  “No. In fact, I’m a registration candidate myself. And... despite how I may look, I’m a mage.”

  “Is that so? You weren’t armed, so I just assumed you were here to make a request...”

  “Yeah, I’m sorry about that... Really sorry. I will be more careful from now on.”

  “Why are you apologizing so much?”

  “...It’s nothing.”

  The conversation naturally drifted in that direction. Lefille had been under the same false impression everyone else had. The phrase “just deserts” came to mind. After hearing the same thing from multiple people now, Suimei was just sinking further into regret. Seeing that the two of them recognized each other, however, Dorothea spoke up.

  “Do the two of you know each other?”

  “Not really. We just met in front of the reception desk earlier.”

  Dorothea gave an understanding nod to Lefille. Suimei then jumped back into the conversation.

  “Grakis-san, what about your evaluation?”

  “Yeah, I just finished up with it a moment ago.”

  “How was it?”

  “Well, about adequate, I would say.”

  She said that with a glint in her eye and daring smile on her lips. By the look of it, it seemed her evaluation had been far more than just adequate. She didn’t show a single sign of exhaustion, and she wasn’t even breathing heavily. Noticing that, Dorothea made an expression halfway between astonishment and bewilderment.

  “To call your performance ‘about adequate’ with those two as your opponents... They’re both quite skilled guild members, you know.”

  “Is that right? I just carried myself and fought as I usually do.”

  “Just as usual, huh? It’s a real shame you won’t be staying in Metel, Lefille-san.”

  Hearing these words from Dorothea, Suimei casually turned towards Lefille.

  “Where are you headed, Grakis-san?”

  “Ah, that’s―”

  “Ummmm, I’m sorry to interrupt, but... it’s about time to start your evaluation. Do you mind?”

  It seemed that Dorothea was pressed for time, and she cut off Lefille in the middle of her reply. They had spent quite a lot of time talking since entering the training ground, after all.

  “Yeah. I’m ready at any time.”

  “Understood. Then... Rikus-san and Enmarph-san! If you will!”

  Dorothea raised her voice as she called towards the next room over. In response, two people walked through the doorway. One was a man who appeared to be a warrior, carrying a two-handed sword and wearing leather armor. The other was a man carrying a staff in one hand and wearing robes—a mage, no doubt. These were surely the opponents that Dorothea had been talking about for the evaluation.

  “Two of them?”

  “From here, we’ll have you fight against one of them. Rikus-san is a warrior, and Enmarph-san is a mage. They’re both very different in their strengths and abilities, but they’re both quite skilled and should serve well in measuring your aptitude.”

  “Hmm...”

  While Dorothea was explaining, Suimei had been scrutinizing the men who were still approaching from a fair distance. Their mana, presence, and prowess. He couldn’t sense anything from either of them that would put him on guard. They made their way over to Suimei in no time, and immediately the one who looked like a warrior began speaking to him in a curt tone.

  “So, you the newbie?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Name and occupation?”

  “I’m Suimei Yakagi. I’m pretty much a mage.”

  Suimei ended up replying in a very blunt manner to the man’s high-handed attitude. The man, who Suimei assumed was Rikus, glared at him in response.

  “Ah? What’s with the ‘pretty much?’”

  “It’s just a matter of my personal preference. Nothing of note, really.”

  “Huh, is that so?”

  Suimei wasn’t sure why Rikus had taken such a haughty tone with him. He was probably irritated that Suimei was talking back to him, but still, this man had started it and was being excessively rude. The mage called Enmarph, though silent, was also giving off an atmosphere like he would electrocute anyone who dared to touch him. As Suimei continued to asses the duo, Rikus turned towards Lefille.

  “You. You’re still here?”

  “Yeah. I was just talking to these two a bit.”

  Rikus had been making a scary face reminiscent of a Nioh, but after his short facial spasm passed, he turned his glare on Suimei.

  “You. Do you know this woman?”

  “Huh? Well, you could say that...”

  Before Suimei could explain that he had only met her in passing earlier that day, Rikus began muttering to himself.

  “I see... A friend, huh? Is that so...?”

  “Um...”

  “You’re friends, right?”

  A turbulent atmosphere had come over Rikus, and he was smiling at Suimei strangely. When Suimei looked to the side, he noticed Enmarph was giving off the same vibe. Putting that and the conversation from earlier together, Suimei realized what was going on and turned to Lefille.

  “Could it be... these are the two opponents you defeated, Grakis-san?”

  “Indeed, it’s just as you surmised. These are the very two... It feels a bit strange to apologize here, but sorry.”

  “I thought so...”

  It was exactly the situation Suimei had expected, but being right didn’t particularly make him happy right now.

  ★

  In short, the situation hadn’t changed much since the incident at the reception desk. The number of people involved and the cause were different, but Suimei was still getting a raw deal courtesy of a misunderstanding. Confronted with the outburst of anger and hostility from these two guild members, Suimei let out a long sigh. First the prime minister, then the reception desk, and now this. Today was shaping up to be an unlucky day for Suimei, largely spent undes
ervingly under someone’s hateful glare.

  Suimei had so far intuited that the two guild members standing before him were the opponents that Lefille had defeated during her evaluation. Normally for an evaluation, an adventurer from the Twilight Pavilion would fight with an applicant while offering their guidance. It was meant to be a humbling experience. It was also typically only one person. However, for her own gratification, Lefille had asked to fight both of them one after the other.

  Of course, the result was obvious now. Suimei glanced to his side. Apart from the thin blade and light armor she donned, Lefille gave off a sense that she’d come from a noble upbringing and lived an extravagant lifestyle. But despite that impression, seeing the two men cursing at her, it seemed she’d beaten them with plenty of room to spare. And since it seemed she’d said all she had to say on the matter, Suimei turned to the two guild members.

  “So now I just have to do the same, right?”

  Suimei had no reason to let the unjustified hate and hostility being directed at him get him down. Rikus sneered at Suimei’s confident attitude as he answered his question.

  “That’s right.”

  “And the format of the match?”

  “It’s a guild match. There’s no need to adhere to any formalities. We fight, then we’ll give you our evaluation. Just that.”

  “By fight, you mean as a normal bout, right?”

  “Yeah. However, in the guild evaluation match, we use training swords. Since you’re a mage... Ah, I heard you don’t use a staff anyways, right? Hmph. If you have a weapon on hand that you want to use, feel free to whip it out. But you’re not allowed to kill or seriously injure anyone, regardless of whether it’s with magic or a weapon. Not that you’d be able to do that with us as your opponents. Right, Enmarph?”

  “...It won’t be an issue.”

  Those were the first words Enmarph had spoken this entire time. He seemed to be a quiet person. Even though his face radiated anger, his voice didn’t waver in the slightest.

  “But... didn’t you just lose? Both of you, no less.”

  “Shut up, Dorothea! Don’t fucking make fun of us!”

  “Eeek!”

  Dorothea let out a shriek when faced with Rikus’s thunderous yell and Enmarph’s silent pressure. She then turned towards Suimei and stuck out her tongue like it had all been on purpose. Not that she’d needed to add more fuel to this fire...