A hero who wants to help others wants to live a normal life - Chapter 39

Chapter 39   Mock Battle Before the Final Exam

Even the day after a student goes missing, classes continue as usual. Right now, it’s a critical period leading up to the final exams before summer vacation. The school can’t afford to change the schedule for something like this, so they carry on as normal.

However, “normal” at this school is not the usual kind of normal. This is a school that trains warriors, so their normal includes combat.

Today, it seems we’re having combat training as a sort of preparation or practice for the final exams. Unlike usual, we weren’t divided by combat styles but were all gathered in one place. When they explained today’s lesson…

“A simulation where we might die? How’s that supposed to be okay for a school?”

“Well, this place is basically a military academy for warriors, so I guess it’s unavoidable,” Kiriya replied.

He’s not wrong—after all, we did sign a waiver about the risks of injury or death during lessons when we enrolled. Still, to suggest that we might die just before this class starts… How dangerous is this lesson supposed to be?

Looking around, most of Class A, including Kiriya, doesn’t seem phased at all. They probably came here expecting this kind of thing from the start.

Take Kujou, for example. She became a “Blessed One” specifically to fight monsters.

Others are probably similar, especially those from martial families like Toko. Their mindset is naturally more combat-focused.

In comparison… the other group is different.

I glance away from the members of Class A to another group of students—ones I don’t usually see. They’re from Class B. While we sometimes train with a few of them during combat lessons, it’s rare to have all of Class B gathered like this with us. But this time, it looks like things are different.

“This time, it’s not just Class A. You’ll be working with Class B too, so be mindful of that,” the teacher announced.

“Oh, so that’s why they’re here,” I thought.

It makes sense after hearing the explanation, though it was easy to guess that we’d be sharing the same class since we’re all gathered in the same place.

“I thought we might compete against them, but it looks like it’s a cooperation exercise instead.”

“Of course it is. The combat abilities between Class A and Class B are too different. If we had them compete and some high-profile student got injured, the school and the student responsible would have a lot of trouble on their hands,” Kiriya said.

“True,” Inori nodded, though her expression suggested that she didn’t care much who the opponent was. Inori is strong—strong enough to be a challenge even for the teachers.

For someone like her, the distinction between Class A and Class B probably doesn’t make much difference.

“Alright, I’m going to announce the teams.”

“What?! We don’t get to choose ourselves?” someone exclaimed.

“Don’t be an idiot. If you picked your own teams, you’d just stick to the same groups you always do. Even if we made you include a certain number of people from each class, the teams would still end up unbalanced.”

Even though it’s supposed to be a joint exercise, if students try to form teams with people they know or aim for the strongest possible team, it’s inevitable that the Class A students would group together, leaving the leftover Class B students to form teams among themselves. That would defeat the purpose of making joint teams.

“Ugh… But if we’re talking about team strength, there’s still a chance I could end up on the same team as you, right, brother?”

“Hmm, maybe? But I doubt it.”

When we entered the school, they probably considered our circumstances and placed us in the same class, but I don’t think they’ll be that considerate when it comes to something as minor as team assignments for a lesson.

Well, we’ll just have to wait and see how the school decides and what kind of teams they assign us to.

“Everyone got their team assignments? We’ve balanced the teams based on your abilities, so no one team should be overwhelmingly strong. Sure, there might be some differences, but your evaluations will take that into account, so don’t worry. After we break into teams, you’ll have a bit of time to discuss strategy, and then you’ll be doing a simulation battle. Make sure to plan carefully.”

When I checked the announced teams, as expected, I wasn’t paired with Inori. I also wasn’t with Kiriya.

Still, I have this strong feeling that my team is going to be a hassle to deal with.

“Oh no, we got separated.”

“Yeah, figured that would happen. But it’s just for this lesson, so it’s not that big of a deal…”

It’s only for this class, so there’s no point in getting too worked up about it. It’s not like we’ll be stuck together forever, and even if I don’t like the team, I only have to endure it for today.

“Oh, and one more thing—this team will also be your team for the final exam. So don’t mess up your relationships.”

Ah, right… Well, even so, it’s just for the exam and today. I can manage that.

“…Well, it’s just for the duration of the test. It’s not worth worrying about.”

“Brother…”

Inori, clearly upset about being in a different team, grabbed onto my shirt and looked up at me with a dissatisfied expression.

“Alright, alright. Let go now, you’re getting in the way.”

Since the teams are already set, there’s no point in whining about it now.

“You’re so mean. Couldn’t you be a little more gentle and affectionate?”

“There’s no need for that. More importantly, you need to be careful.”

As I ruffled her hair roughly and pushed her away to create some distance, Inori pouted in dissatisfaction. Ignoring her reaction, I gave her a warning, and she looked at me with a confused expression.

“Huh? I’ll be fine. Do you really think I’d get hurt from something like this?”

“I’m not worried about you getting hurt.”

“Well, maybe you should be!”

Seriously, it’s not like she’d get injured in this kind of student “playtime,” right? Even if she did, it’s not like she’d die, so worrying about that would just be a waste.

“What I’m worried about is you handling everything by yourself.”

That’s the real concern. Actually, it’s pretty much the only thing I’m worried about.

“Huh? But this is a test, right? If enemies appear, shouldn’t I just defeat them if I can?”

“You just said it yourself—this is a test. The fact that we’re being put into teams means they’re also evaluating our teamwork. If you handle everything by yourself, it defeats the purpose for the other team members.”

“Ugh… That’s such a hassle.”

“Welcome to living in society. Do your best.”

If it’s just about defeating enemies, Inori could handle that easily. Even if an enemy appeared that required the whole class to work together, Inori could probably manage on her own. But that’s not the point.

To live in society, you need the ability to assess the situation and adjust to the people around you. Inori lacks that ability, and it’s not entirely her fault given her upbringing, but I want her to learn more about this “way of living in the world.”

This test is probably about assessing the students’ combat abilities and their understanding of their roles in a battlefield situation. But for Inori, it’s going to feel like she’s being tested on something else entirely. I hope she handles it well.

“Well, okay. But don’t get hurt, alright?”

“I can’t promise that, but I’ll be careful. So, if I do get hurt, don’t lose your temper and go on a rampage, alright?”

“…I’ll try my best.”

It’s partly because of that “wish” of hers, but she’s way too overprotective. I really hope she stops going berserk with her full powers every time I get a little injured.