A hero who wants to help others wants to live a normal life - Chapter 40

Chapter 40   Four-Person Team

After calming Inori, who was complaining endlessly, I parted ways with her and went to find my team members. With this many students, finding my team wasn’t a simple task, but it wasn’t that hard for me. After all, one of my team members stood out quite a bit.

“It seems all four of us are here now.”

“Sorry, I’m a bit late.”

When I approached that person, the other members had already gathered, making me the last to arrive. It seemed I had been delayed by my unnecessary conversation with Inori.

“No need to apologize. You weren’t that late. More importantly, let’s start by introducing ourselves. We don’t even know each other’s names yet.”

The most noticeable of the three other team members, a female student, shook her head slowly and began the introductions.

“My name is Sakura Kujou. I belong to Class 1-A. In combat, I mainly support from the rear with archery.”

The conspicuous girl—Kujou—gave a slight bow as she introduced herself. Yeah, for some reason, I’m in the same team as Kujou this time.

Why though? Even though we made up, we had been in a conflict. Well, technically it was Inori who fought, not me, but still, I wouldn’t think we’d be paired together.

Maybe it’s because they can’t put Kujou and her bodyguard, Toudou, on the same team, but if Kujou is alone, she’d stand out too much. So they might have chosen me as a buffer, someone with at least some familiarity who could smooth things over with the rest of the group. That sounds plausible enough.

Or perhaps they thought that since Inori, my sister, is a “Blessed One,” and I likely know a lot about them, it would be helpful for me to be on the same team as one. Either way, it feels like I’ve been handed a pretty tricky role.

“Ah, I guess I’m next. I’m Seiji Sahara from 1-A as well. My role… probably a floater, I guess?”

Among the four of us, Kujou and I were from Class A, while the other two were from Class B. Not that it really matters. There’s no particular order, but I figured it’d be better for me to speak next since I’m also in Class A. Though, I ended up giving a pretty lame introduction.

“Oh ho, my turn, right? Sure! I’m Rin Hayashi! Feel free to call me ‘Rinrin.’ In fact, you should! It’s cuter that way.”

…Wow, we’ve got a really high-energy one here. Rin Hayashi, or Rinrin, huh? Is that cute? Well, she doesn’t seem like a bad person, so I guess she’s better than someone grumpy.

“Miss Hayashi—”

“Call me Rinrin!”

Kujou looked seriously troubled. But, of course, she would be. After all, this might be the first time someone has interrupted her to insist on how they should be addressed.

Same for me, actually. Glad it’s not my turn to deal with her.

Kujou sighed and shook her head slightly before speaking again.

“…Miss Rin—”

“Call me Rinrin!”

“…”

“Rin☆Rin!”

With a brightness that seemed almost onomatopoeic, Rin — “Rinrin” — struck a pose and cheerfully announced her name. Faced with Rinrin’s exuberance, Kujou closed her eyes for a moment, took a deep breath, then slowly shook her head before opening her eyes with a look of determination.

“Rinrin-san, I—”

“Oh, you don’t need the ‘-san’ either.”

Despite having steeled herself, Kujou was once again interrupted, leaving her standing there with her mouth slightly open, frozen in place. Then, as if seeking help, she slowly turned to face me.

Hey, don’t look at me like that. What happened to your usual dignified expression? You look pretty pitiful right now.

Even if I stepped in, it wouldn’t solve anything. Even if we let it slide now, Rinrin would just insist on how to be addressed later. It’s better to get used to it right away. I motioned with my chin for Kujou to turn back to Rinrin, and with furrowed brows, Kujou reluctantly turned back to her.

“…Rinrin, what role will you be playing?”

“Me? I’ll be using magic to go boom, you know?”

“So, your main role is as a backline caster.”

These two are such complete opposites.

“Yeah, that’s right! Oh, but, while my magic’s pretty strong, there’s kind of a catch — I can only use it a limited number of times…”

“I see. And how many times can you use it?”

“…O-One time?”

One time? Are you serious?

“…One time? So, does that mean you can only use your skill once during a fight?”

Even Kujou couldn’t believe what she just heard. She’s asking a question she shouldn’t need to, but clearly, she’s so surprised that she needs to confirm it. The answer isn’t going to change, though.

“Well, you see, I’m not very good at controlling my skill. I’m really great at making it stronger, but when it comes to weakening it… not so much? So, I end up using all my energy in one shot.”

“I see…”

“But hey, at least the power is absolutely perfect! I always got the highest score in the power category during class!”

Yeah, I bet. If you don’t hold back and go all-out, of course, it’s going to be powerful.

Well, some people can’t even go full power when they need to, so I guess having the ability to use your skill at max strength could be considered a talent in itself.

“…Understood. Let’s move on to the next person.”

Kujou seemed to have decided not to dwell too much on Rinrin’s combat style and turned to the last remaining team member.

“I’m James Moriya. Nice to meet you.”

The male student from Class B who responded to Kujou’s words had an unusually distinct name.

“That’s a really unique name. Are you foreign or something?”

“My mother is. But I have Japanese citizenship.”

“Oh, wow! But that’s still pretty cool!”

“Is that so? Thanks.”

So he’s a half, huh? Now that he mentioned it, his features do stand out a bit from typical Japanese looks. Still, maybe because of that, he’s got a really handsome face. I’m kinda jealous. Meanwhile, my face is pretty average.

Wait a minute, isn’t everyone in this team except me a total visual powerhouse? Moriya has that handsome mixed-heritage look, Kujou is a traditional beauty like a Yamato Nadeshiko, and even Rinrin is a cute girl.

…Not that looks matter in combat, but I can’t help feeling a bit of a gap here. I mean, I’m not saying I look bad, but still…

“So, what role will you play, Moriya-san?” Kujou asked.

“I mainly focus on close combat with physical enhancements, but for this team, I think it’d be better if I focus on drawing the enemy’s attention rather than attacking. Would it be alright to leave the offense to the two of you?”

While I was sulking over something trivial, the conversation moved forward. Thankfully, Moriya seems like a reasonable guy, unlike Rinrin. Well, Rinrin’s just a bit high-energy in her speech and mannerisms, but she might be decent enough when it comes to morals and manners. In any case, I’m relieved.

“Yes, that’s fine. Also, you don’t need to worry about my position. If you do, it might affect your movements in battle,” Kujou replied.

“Oh? Then I’ll take you at your word.”

…Huh. He might be a bit unusual too. It’s not something I should say, but most people wouldn’t just shift gears so quickly after being told not to worry about someone’s status.

“Hey, hey, ‘Sakuran,’ are you like some fancy noble or something?” Rinrin chimed in.

“Sakuran…?” Oh, I get it. She’s calling Kujou that because her name is ‘Sakura,’ but doesn’t that sound too close to ‘confusion’?

Kujou, however, seemed to decide to ignore Rinrin’s odd choice of nickname and continued the conversation.

“I am a distant relative of the imperial family, so I suppose it’s not entirely incorrect.”

“Whoa! Royalty! Have you met the Emperor then?” Rinrin asked excitedly.

“Uh, y-yes. But shouldn’t we focus on discussing the exam right now?” Kujou suggested, clearly trying to steer the conversation back.

It seemed like Kujou was feeling overwhelmed by Rinrin’s high energy and used the exam as an excuse to change the subject.

“Yeah, we should. There’s a mock battle coming up, so we should talk strategy,” I added.

“Gotcha! Let’s chat more later, okay?” Rinrin replied cheerfully.

“Y-yes. If we get the chance…” Kujou replied, though her smile was twitching as Rinrin waved enthusiastically at her.