Hero of Light and Childhood Friend

 Episode 2: Hero of Light and Childhood Friend

　Why is Reiji here?

　And why are you doing hero?

　And there's Shirone, a childhood friend.

　Kuroki becomes incomprehensible.

　As far as Kuroki knew, Shirone went to Reiji's villa with the other girls right after the summer vacation began.

　And Kuroki was also in the middle of traveling alone on summer vacation. Kuroki remembers that.

"What do you mean? Why Shirone? Reiji? Why are you here?"

　murmur in a small voice.

　The fact that Shirone is by Reiji's side tightens Kuroki's heart.

　Due to his parents' circumstances, Kuroki was entrusted to the Akamine family.

　I don't know why. Apparently, the parents knew each other.

　But Kuroki didn't want to know why.

　The people of Akamine's family were very kind to Kuroki, and above all, it was because he met Shirone.

　Kuroki and Shirone grew up like siblings. When I was little, I used to run around the fields together.

　They also learned swordsmanship together at Shirone's parent's kendo dojo.

　That Shirone is fighting on the other side of the image. According to Modes, the video of this battle is from a while ago.

　Reiji and the beautiful girls at the school gathered around Reiji and chatted as if they had finished annihilating the army of monsters.

　Kuroki sees that scene and bursts into tears.

　Surrounding Reiji are some of the most beautiful girls in the school. Those girls are happily talking to Reiji.

(very enviable)

　Kuroki suddenly thinks so.

"HM……"

　Suddenly I hear a voice from the side.

　Before I knew it, Modes was by my side, peering into Kuroki's face.

"Hmmmm, I see..."

　Was Kuroki making a strange face?

　Kuroki thinks about that, but he can't read anything from Modes' expression.

　Modes nodded as if he realized something.

"Kuroki-dono, let's continue. He suddenly appeared a year ago."

　Modes started explaining.

(A year ago? How silly! The last time I met Shirone was supposed to be a week ago?)

　Kuroki couldn't believe his ears.

"Until then, they defeated Nargol's army, which had kept the goddess' forces at bay, and invaded the interior of Nargol. I aimed it at it, but it was completely useless.Five days ago, the strongest elite unit, the Dark Knights, was defeated.At this rate, they will come to this palace tomorrow.”

　Modes explains to Kuroki with a frustrated look.

“They definitely have power that rivals that of the gods. Eight people were summoned, including the hero, but six are heading to this palace. The problem is how to stop them.Therefore, Modes came up with an idea.It would be good if we could summon a being from another world who could also oppose the hero.”

　Saying that, Modes looks at Kuroki.

"That's you, Kuroki-dono."

"No, wait a minute..."

　Kuroki holds his forehead and shakes his head.

(what is that?)

　Kuroki screams in his heart at Modes' words.

"Please, Kuroki-dono. Please save us from the hero."

　Modes bows his head.

"That's unreasonable..."

　In other words, this monster who calls himself the Demon King is telling Kuroki to fight Reiji and the others.

　Kuroki thinks that's pretty unreasonable.

　Reiji is a celebrity at the junior high school and university he attends.

　He was about 180 centimeters tall and had a slender figure and well-proportioned features.

　Perhaps because her mother has foreign blood, her bright brown hair looks golden under the sunlight.

　Good at sports, excellent grades, and a wealthy family. And he is popular with girls.

　He looks like a character in a manga.

　However, although she has a good reputation among girls, she is hated by men.

　The reason is simple, because Reiji's attitude is completely different between the opposite sex and the same sex, and he only pretends to be nice to girls.

　Reiji also has a strange ability that allows him to rush to cute girls when they are in danger.

　There are many girls who have been helped by Reiji.

　Perhaps because of this, there is no end to the number of girls who fall in love with Reiji.

　By the way, I've never heard of a man being saved by Reiji.

　Reiji is extremely gentle with women, but extremely strict with men.

　This is the reason why they are hated by the same sex.

　There are many boys who secretly like girls who have been taken by rage.

　That is also one of the reasons for the low rating.

　However, Reiji doesn't force himself to do something, and the girl falls in love with him, so I can't complain as a man. He can only watch in silence.

　Just like Kuroki, the mutterings of a male student who once liked a girl who became one of Reiji's followers tells the story.

　I have to win against handsome guys.

　And one of Reiji's entourage is his childhood friend Shirone Akamine.

　Did Reiji call out to Shirone because she's cute?

　Or maybe it was Shirone who called out to me, I don't know.

　As for Kuroki, I don't want him to be with me. When I told Shirone about it, we got into a fight. That's what happened recently. Kuroki's first love has been destroyed.

　Kuroki only has mediocre specs. Reiji is a bad opponent. He had no choice but to give up. However, this monster claiming to be the Demon King tells Kuroki to fight against that Reiji.

(That's impossible!)

　Kuroki wants to cry. Reiji is strong against fights.

　It will end up being bumpy.

　Once upon a time, the captain of the karate club got into a fight with Reiji in revenge for losing the girl he liked to Reiji.

　As a result, the captain of the karate club had his jawbone broken and took three months to fully recover. By the way, Reiji is unharmed.

　I don't know if Reiji's parents did something behind the scenes, or if the karate club captain didn't do anything for fear of retaliation.

　But for some reason it didn't show up. Although it was an open secret among the students in the school.

　Another martial arts guy challenged Reiji.

　Some of them were taller than Reiji, and some were adults.

　But no one has won. Kuroki, of course. Reiji probably doesn't remember things like the opponents he defeated in the past. I didn't want to feel that miserable.

　Kuroki wants to cry.

(Why is there such a guy? Even though we are the same age, the difference is amazing.)

　In contrast to the genius Reiji, Kuroki is an ordinary person.

　It is a miserable comparison.

　So even if you fight, you can see the results. should not fight.

　Besides, Kuroki is supposed to be a pacifist. It is impossible for him to fight. Thinking so, Kuroki holds his head.

"Please wait! Your Majesty!"

　

　Someone breaks through the horde of monsters and enters.

　When I looked up, there was a person standing there dressed in jet black armor.

　He was a man with a well-proportioned face and dark skin. He's a yankee brother who likes cosplay, but he has goat-like horns on the left and right sides of his head.

　That showed that the man was no ordinary human being.

"Oh Sir Ranfeld! Are the wounds of the hero good?"

　The man called Ranfeld bows respectfully.

“Thank you for your concern, Your Majesty. please let me go

　A man called Ranfeld appeals to Modes.

"in addition……"

　Saying that, Ranfeld glares at Kuroki.

"I don't think this person can win against that brave man."

(You are right)

　Kuroki almost nodded at those words.

"This Ranfeld will show you what you are capable of!"

　Saying that, he pulls out his sword from his waist and slashes at me.

"Hey! Wait!"

　Kuroki twists his body to dodge the slash.

"Ha!"

　Ranfeld will attack.

　If Kuroki moves his legs quickly, he will dodge the next one as well.

　Then, Kuroki softened his knees and performed a shuffling, dodging Ranfeld's attacks.

(What do you mean? I can move faster than usual)

　For some reason, Kuroki feels lighter than usual.

　And when he dodges several attacks, he unintentionally grabs the opponent's hand and throws them away.

"Guha!"

　A groan rises from Ranfeld, who was slammed to the floor without being able to catch up.

"Excuse me!"

　Kuroki apologizes for accidentally throwing it.

　However, Ranfeld's attacks did not end there.

"Shit!"

　Ranfeld stood up and thrust his left hand toward Kuroki.

　A black flame flickers in the protruding left palm.

"Wait, Sir Ranfeld! That magic!"

　Ignoring Modes' restraint, Ranfeld threw the flame from his left hand at me.

"Kill it, my black flame!"

　The black flame on his left hand spreads wide and attacks Kuroki.

(Unavoidable!)

　To escape the flames, one must run to the hordes of monsters that surround Kuroki.

　It would be difficult to move that far at this short distance.

　A black flame approaches Kuroki.

　Kuroki instinctively held out his hand and assumed a defensive posture.

　Flames hit Kuroki.

(Heat? No, not hot?)

　The flames were stopped by Kuroki's hand. Kuroki was catching the black flame with his palm.

(Huh? You caught the flame? Why?)

　I opened my eyes wide in amazement at the sight.

　Flames are intangible, and it should be impossible to catch them with your hands.

　It should have been normal. However, Kuroki blocked the black flame with both hands.

　When Kuroki tries to tear off the flames, the black flames dissipate.

"That's my black flame..."

　Ranfeld mutters helplessly and hangs his head.

　The previous technique was the greatest technique for Ranfeld.

　Of course, Kuroki, who doesn't know about this, is just confused.

(it feels weird)

　I looked at my hands to make sure, but they weren't burned.

　Black flames erupt from Kuroki's palm when he remembers the feeling he had earlier.

"!?"

　Surprised, Kuroki hurriedly crushes the black flame in his hands.

(What? Why? How could such a flame come out?)

　The sound of crackling applause can be heard next to Kuroki.

"As expected of you, Kuroki-dono. Sir Ranfeld is the strongest knight in Nargol. To think that you can keep Sir Ranfeld at bay and even take over the Black Flame. With this, you can even defeat the Hero."

　When Kuroki looked to the side, Modes was laughing while clapping his hands.

(What is a black flame? Is it the black flame that you put out just now?)

　Kuroki remembered that the Reiji and others in the earlier video were also emitting light and flames from their hands.

(Maybe? Did you come to this world and become able to use strange powers? No, I can't keep up with it anymore. Are you really going to fight Reiji?)

　Modes nodded with satisfaction.

(Apparently, he really wants to fight Reiji against himself. However, he has no reason to fight. If he refuses...)

　Kuroki thinks so. He tries to tell Modes about it.

"Umm, that's right..."

　As I was about to say that, Kuroki realized that there was something.

(What will happen if I don't fight? If I don't fight, will I be able to return to the original world from this world?)

　It was quite possible.

　Called to fight the hero. He may not be allowed to go home without a fight.

　Kuroki thought so and glanced at Modes.

"Um... can't you return to the original world if you don't defeat them?"

　Kuroki asks once.

"eh……?"

　However, that question seemed to come as a surprise, and Modes let out a strange voice.

"... Is there a way to send Kuroki-dono back?"

　Modes thought deeply and took out something like paper from his pocket.

　Kuroki has a bad feeling.

　Modes reads the letters written on the paper and opens his mouth.

"Could it be... you don't know how to get home?"

　Modes is silent on that question.

　An awkward silence reigns all around.

"... It seems that there is no way to return to this summoning art."

　It was the worst.

"Hey, wait a minute--!"

　Kuroki screams involuntarily.

"What is it! That's it!"

　I may not be able to return to my original world. Kuroki almost fell over at that fact.

"No, I'm sorry."

　Modes bows his head and apologizes.

　Kuroki thinks that he seems to be rather small-minded for his size.

"Please wait, Kuroki-sama."

　Mona, who was by her side, stands in front of Modes. She looks at Kuroki with a tearful face.

　Kuroki can't say anything to those eyes. For Kuroki, who is not used to women, those eyes are a deadly weapon.

"Please. Kuroki-sama. Please listen to Modes-sama's story."

　Kuroki looks at Modes.

"Then Kuroki-dono. Let me tell you why we are fighting."