Because of the Hero Summoned from Another World, I Got Replaced and Made the Backup—And My Childhood Friend the Saintess… - Chapter 04: Still… This Really Hurt

Chapter 04: Still… This Really Hurt

The summoned Hero turned out to be a boy not much older than me.

Back in his world, he was something called a koukou sannensei—a high school senior, or something like that.

With black hair and black eyes, he had a look completely unfamiliar in this kingdom.

Honestly… yeah.

He really did seem like someone from another world.

He was skinny, didn’t look like he’d ever held a weapon, and honestly?

He didn’t exactly give off the vibe of someone ready to fight the Demon King.

Which… made me more than a little uneasy.

A few days after he arrived, I was told I’d be meeting him face to face.

The Crown Prince had asked me to take charge of his training until he was ready to begin his journey.

“My name is Hiroto Kanda. ‘Kanda’ is my last name, and ‘Hiroto’ is my first. Nice to meet you.”

With a nervous look on his face, Kanda introduced himself.

I gave him a small nod and answered calmly.

“You can call me whatever you like. His Highness asked me to oversee your training, so I’ll be your instructor until you set out. Let’s do our best.”

“Y-Yes! Thank you!”

His greeting was stiff and awkward.

And standing right beside him… was Arianna.

She kept glancing between us, a worried look in her eyes.

Just like she had done with me—

Arianna would be helping with his training too.

It was part of her role as the Saintess.

As I started explaining the training process to Kanda,

Arianna leaned in close… and whispered something in my ear.

“As you can probably tell just by looking… Lord Kanda has no actual combat experience. So please adjust the training accordingly.”

Was she asking me to go hard on him because he had no experience?

Or to go easy on him because he had no experience?

Either way, whether he’s fought before or not doesn’t really matter anymore.

Kanda was chosen to be the Hero.

He’s going to face the Demon King, whether he’s ready or not.

So my job was simple—

Train him the best I could, based on what he needed.

“Well then, Lord Kanda. We’ll begin your training now. Are you ready?”

“…Yes! I’ll do my best!”

And just like that, Kanda’s training with me officially began.

To put it bluntly…

Kanda was weak.

Seriously weak.

His basic stamina was terrible—

Just a bit of running and he was already doubled over, gasping for air.

He didn’t have much muscle strength either.

He could barely lift a dull training sword, let alone swing it properly.

Same with the spear—he looked like he might drop it at any second.

This wasn’t even close to what I’d call proper training.

The drills I did with the knight corps when I was still a kid?

They were ten times harder than this.

“Back in my world, I was actually considered pretty athletic for my age…”

Kanda managed to say that between gasps for air.

Honestly, I found that pretty hard to believe.

Like… what kind of unbelievably peaceful world lets someone with that level of stamina be considered athletic?

Still, just because Kanda couldn’t move properly didn’t mean time was going to wait.

And the Demon King sure wasn’t going to hit pause.

So, I stuck to the plan.

Kept the training on schedule.

That said…

Kanda did have something that made up for his weak body.

The absurd amount of magical power he gained when he came to this world—

And the ability to summon and dismiss a Holy Sword at will.

Once he had that sword in hand, his physical abilities shot through the roof.

He could cast a whole arsenal of powerful spells, too.

Now that looked like a Hero.

Even without proper combat experience, just holding that sword made him stronger than me.

Ridiculously strong magic and physical boosts, with zero technique to back it up.

He didn’t fight—he bulldozed.

And even so… he was stronger than someone like me, who had spent years grinding through painful training.

…After seeing that, I had to admit—

Yeah, maybe he did look more like a Hero than I ever did.

But that didn’t mean he was done.

Training was another story altogether.

Sure, he had raw strength when the Holy Sword was out—

But without it, he was just a weak, untrained kid.

And even with that power, he had no combat sense.

If he ever faced someone with equal strength but better technique, he’d be finished.

So, I drilled the basics into him—hard.

And I made one thing absolutely clear:

No Holy Sword during training.

None.

“Build up your stamina. Stamina will never betray you.”

“Haa… haa…”

I had Kanda run laps—over and over—around the knights’ training grounds.

It was a non-negotiable part of every session.

Always the first thing we did.

And I ran with him.

Because barking orders from the sidelines wasn’t going to help.

It would’ve just irritated him.

“Relying on big spells and blasting away with magic doesn’t guarantee a win. Sometimes it’s the small stuff—the clever tricks—that catch your opponent off guard and turn the fight around.”

“So… little tricks, huh?”

We went through everything—

From the basics of magic to more advanced techniques.

“If you don’t have enough strength, then grip it with both hands! Dropping your sword is the same as throwing away your life—remember that!”

“D-Damn… it…!”

I drilled him hard in swordsmanship too.

Hands-on. Focused. Relentless.

I kept pushing him, day after day.

My goal was simple—

Build a solid foundation from the ground up.

Make him strong enough to fight without needing the Holy Sword.

That was the best I could give him.

And honestly, I thought that was exactly what I should be teaching him.

More than that—

I genuinely believed it was for his own good.

I never looked down on Kanda.

Not even once.

I trained him because the Crown Prince asked me to.

That was all there was to it.

Yeah, sure—he was suddenly given the title of Hero,

The role I’d been working toward for years.

But that wasn’t his fault.

It’s not like he came here demanding my place.

He didn’t steal anything from me on purpose.

So no—

I never held a grudge against him.

I gave his training everything I had.

And yeah, maybe I got a little too fired up sometimes…

But I never once meant to push him too far.

Still…

That’s not how it looked to everyone else.

“The ex-Hero candidate is taking out his frustration by bullying the new Hero.”

“Apparently, he won’t let him use the Holy Sword and beats him up with training weapons.”

“Word is, he pushes him so hard he collapses every single day.”

That was the rumor going around the castle.

Or rather… it wasn’t just floating around quietly—

They were saying it on purpose, loud enough that I could hear every word.

I mean, I’m just a commoner.

No matter how many years I’ve spent here, there are still plenty of nobles who don’t like me.

So I’ve learned to ignore gossip like that.

But…

This time… it stung.

“I told you—don’t drop your sword. That includes when you fall. Now pick it up—”

To me, it was just another regular day of training.

Start with basic drills.

Move on to magic practice.

Then finish with sword training.

Even dull practice swords can cause injuries if they hit the wrong spot.

Of course people fall.

Of course they get hurt.

But that’s just how it’s always been.

At least… it was for me, ever since I was a kid.

“Please! Let him rest for a bit!”

When Arianna suddenly stepped between us—

I froze.

For a moment, I didn’t know how to react.

Should I tell her to move? It was dangerous.

Should I ask her to heal Kanda’s wounds?

But before I could say a word…

Her next sentence wiped away any hesitation I had.

“This is too much. Lord Kanda… he’s not like you.”

Her voice was calm—but firm.

Arianna stood between us, her eyes filled with quiet strength.

And that’s why—

I swallowed the words I was about to say.

“…Training’s over for today.”

That’s all I said before walking off the training grounds.

When I was a kid, my training had been way harsher than this.

And even then, Arianna never once stepped in for me.

Of course, things were different back then.

And it’s not like I ever wanted her to defend me.

But still…

Seeing her stand in front of Kanda like that—

It hit harder than I expected.

There was a quiet little corner of the castle—

A place Arianna and I used to sneak off to when we were kids, whenever we had a bit of free time.

I headed there, hoping to clear my head.

But from a distance, I saw them.

Arianna and Kanda.

Already there—together.

And just like that,
I turned around… and walked the other way.