A Weak Demon Lord Started Livestreaming in a Bottom-Tier Dungeon and Went Viral?! After Completely Crushing Rude S-Rank Explorers and Annoying Streamers, the Internet Erupted in Praise. Um, I'm Supposed to Be the Enemy of Humanity, You Know? - 21

Chapter 21: The Outcast of Explorer School Unknowingly Provokes Everyone

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As soon as she entered the gymnasium, all eyes from the students in the bleachers and media personnel fell on Rio. The reason was simple: at this moment, Rio looked like a breathtakingly beautiful girl, no matter who looked at her.

Her lustrous, straight black hair flowed long. The dark circles under her eyes couldn’t quite be hidden, but compared to her overwhelmingly pretty face, they were nothing more than a charming touch. Even the Gothic Lolita-style outfit suited her perfectly, captivating everyone present—regardless of gender.

But of course—

(Wh-Why is everyone looking at me!? I’m scared!! Ugh, the nerves are making me nauseous!!)

Rio wasn’t used to being the center of attention, and she looked like she might throw up at any moment. She even considered throwing up right then and there to get it over with. But, Al was there, watching her with a sharp, piercing gaze while standing silently on the edge of the wide dueling field set up in the center of the gym

If she did throw up, Al would definitely glare at her like she was a literal garbage. Rio liked Al. Of course, not in a romantic way. Al’s words were often harsh, but they had a way of pushing her forward. To someone like Rio, who struggled deeply with self-worth, each word Al spoke gave her courage.

(Y-Yeah, that’s right. I can’t possibly dirty the outfit Al-san made for me with something like vomit!! And if I lost after everything Olden-san had taught me, Al-san would definitely kill me!!)

With a mix of reverence and fear toward Al swelling in her chest, Rio stepped onto the field. On the other side stood  one boy and two girls.

“Hmm. Just because she cleaned up a little, everyone’s getting all excited. How uncultured.”

One of them was Grace Ahlman. She was the daughter of the CEO of a company that manufactured and sold weapons and armor for explorers. Seeing Grace looking displeased, Rio furrowed her brow.

(Her gear is better than before…)

The equipment Grace wore now was far higher in quality than when they went to the Tokyo Dungeon. Well, of course. Grace had spent a massive amount of money preparing the best gear possible for today.

Using her family’s wealth and cutting-edge technology, her equipment was resistant to all kinds of magic and could likely block most normal attacks. It was the very definition of riding on parental coattails. But Grace didn’t feel the slightest bit ashamed of that. She was about to face Rio—whom she had once dismissed as “useless,” but was now known as “the Demon Lord’s disciple.”

There was a chance Rio had gained power and even surpassed Grace in strength. That was exactly why Grace’s pride wouldn’t allow her to lose to someone she had once looked down on. And if it meant using everything at her disposal, she had no hesitation.

However, Rio noticed something off about Grace’s demeanor.

(Wait, is Grace-san… Not feeling well?)

Rio had spent her time at the Explorer School constantly reading people’s expressions, so she easily picked up on even the subtlest signs. Grace wasn’t at her best today. To be precise, she had been feeling sluggish for a few days now, as though her entire body was weighed down by lead.

Rio felt secretly relieved about that.

(I-I know it’s bad to feel happy about someone being sick, but if Grace-san’s like this, maybe I’ll be able to win!!)

“…Excuse me, Mushigami-san. Are you thinking about something rude, perhaps?”

“Eep! N-No! N-not at all!!”

Grace spoke as if she could read Rio’s thoughts. Just then, a man cut between them. He stood nearly five meters tall—massive like a house. 

With bulging muscles and no shirt, he wore nothing but a thong-style speedo and smiled brightly. Thanks to his clean-cut, handsome face, his whole appearance looked like a badly edited collage.

“Fighting’s no good, you two!! How about bonding over strength training instead!? Yes, let’s do that!! First, a thousand squats!!”

“…I’ll pass.”

“Ah, Miss Ahlman is a tough nut to crack!! But never mind that—it’s been a while!! Mushigami-kun!!”

“O-oh, uh, yes… It’s been a while, Sujiyama-san…”

The giant man was Nikuo Sujiyama. Despite being only seventeen, he was the head of the “Magic Body Modification Club” at Explorer School and was known for his hearty, cheerful personality.

Rio didn’t dislike Nikuo. Unlike Grace, he never said anything sarcastic. In fact, he genuinely looked out for Rio. She didn’t dislike him—but she wasn’t good with him either. Because—

“You look okay today, but you always seemed unhealthy before!! I was really worried!! Have you been eating enough protein!?”

“U-Um, I don’t eat much meat…”

“That’s no good!! To get stronger, eating and training is essential!! I’ll share some of my chicken breasts with you!! Don’t worry—I brought thirty kilos, so giving you five is no problem!! And to help it go down, I’ll give you some strawberry milk-flavored protein shake!!”

“Uh, I-I mean, five kilos is a bit much…”

Rio, unable to say no, ended up accepting the chicken breast and began chewing through it with slow, soft bites. Nikuo meant no harm. Back when Rio was isolated at school, he frequently reached out to her. Seeing her trying so hard to get stronger, he genuinely admired her and cheered her on.

But his way of supporting her was to “make her eat as much as possible and force her to do muscle training.” His intentions were 100% pure. Even Nikuo’s party members cheered Rio on loudly while she worked out.

But to students who didn’t know the full context, it looked like a group of hulking men yelling (encouraging) at her while forcing food down her throat and making her train harshly. It looked exactly like bullying.

“Kihyahhahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!!!!”

“Eek!”

Another intruder suddenly appeared. A girl with disheveled hair, a dangling long tongue, and a wild, unhinged look. Her eyes were totally gone—completely out of it.

“Uh, O-Oni…Onigawara-san…?”

“Kihyahhahahaha!! Gyahahahahahahahahahahaha!!”

When Rio said her name, the girl distorted her mouth so widely it looked like it might split open, and let out a creepy laugh. Her name was Midari Onigawara. Among the “Golden Generation,” she was the only student at Explorer School who didn’t belong to any party and acted solo.

Rio wasn’t good with Midari. Because no matter how you looked at her, she wasn’t sane—and her eerie, laughing presence constantly screaming nonsense was just plain terrifying. Midari had approached Rio several times before while letting out bizarre laughs.

Her motives were unknown. Her words made no sense. Everything about her was a mystery—but what was certain was that Rio was being approached by someone clearly mentally unstable.

As Rio wondered how to deal with this sudden interruption—

“Oh? So you’re here too, Onigawara-kun?”

“Gyaha!! Kihyahahahahaha!! Gyahahahahahahahahahahaha!!”

“Is that so? What a coincidence. Actually, my pectorals aren’t doing too well today either.”

“Kihyahhahahahahahahaha!!”

“Hmm, I see. You’ve been having trouble moving your body properly since last week?”

For some reason, Nikuo could understand Midari’s bizarre shrieking and carried on a perfectly normal conversation with her.

“Gyahaha!!”

“Looks like both of us still need more training!! Come, Mushigami-kun!! Let’s all do squats—”

“Will you two knock it off already?”

“Hmm? Miss Ahlman dislikes squats? Then how about a more intense burpee set? If you push through this, you’ll be stronger tomorrow than you are today!!”

“That’s not what I meant, damn it!!”

Grace snapped, shouting at the totally incomprehensible Midari and Nikuo. Then she cleared her throat and declared.

“There are media and government officials present. Please stop fooling around. It reflects poorly on my dignity.”

“Gyahaha!! Kihyahahahahaha!!”

“Onigawara-kun is right!! Muscles are dignity made manifest!! Muscles solve everything!! What you lack is muscle!! And the will to train it!!”

The three members of the Golden Generation argued amongst themselves, completely ignoring Rio, who was supposed to be their opponent. Facing the three of them locked in a tense standoff, Rio spoke timidly—

“U-Um, it’s about time… Shouldn’t we start getting ready?”

“…Hmph.”

“Kihyahhaha!!”

“Mushigami-kun’s right!!”

The volatile atmosphere eased for a moment. But Rio’s next words immediately brought it right back.

“Y-Yes!! So, um, how about… The three of you come at me together?”

“…What?”

“Gyahahaha!!”

“Oh?”

At that moment, Rio had no intention of provoking them. What she had learned from her master—the Demon Lord—was summoning magic that could call forth an army. To use it properly, she needed to fight many-versus-many.

She wasn’t saying, “I can take on all three of you at once, no problem.” But that was exactly how it came across to Grace and the others. Rio remained completely unaware that she had just unknowingly provoked all of them.

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