I Don’t Want to Die as a Mob in My Second Life! ～A Story Where I Kept Training from Inside the Womb and Ended Up Being Mistaken for a Monster～ - Chapter 61: Master Tactician Lord Kanata! (No, Wait—That’s Not Right!)

Chapter 61: Master Tactician Lord Kanata! (No, Wait—That’s Not Right!)

The doodle-faced mascot floated beside me and casually dropped a bombshell:

『In three days, a Supreme-Class Conceptual Spirit will appear.』

(…Huh? Wait, wait, wait—what!?)

What the hell is she talking about!?

The only Supreme-Class Conceptual Spirit event I knew about this year was [Erasure], which wasn’t supposed to happen for another month!

Sure, Japan’s been a mess lately with all kinds of trouble…

But two Supreme-Class Spirits in the same year?

Let alone in the same country? That’s seriously rare.

『Ooh~ As expected of Lord Kanata! Completely unfazed by this news!』

Nope.

I’m just really good at keeping a blank face!

『If a Supreme-Class Conceptual Spirit is about to appear in Japan, it means one of two things: either a certain type of consciousness is spreading throughout the country, or a powerful collective will from abroad is being focused on Japan.』

“Yeah… that does make sense.”

『Leave this to your beloved Naro-chan! I’ll scan every post across global digital networks over the past few weeks and look for trends! Please wait just a moment~』

With a soft myumyumyuuuun, the digital cat-bat Naro-chan (※record holder for 124 prior offenses) began projecting some sparkly signal-emitting animation from her head like she was in a retro sci-fi anime.

…Sure, it looked surreal as hell.

But hold on a sec—

Did she seriously just say she’s scanning the entire global internet for trends?

“Wait, you can actually do that?”

She’s way too competent…

A total contrast to good old “Miss Can’t-Read-the-Room” Setsuna.

That woman acts all smug like, “I totally know the internet!”

But the most she can do is throw around a random meme or two like “Pugyaa~!”

She’s broad-minded enough to treat me normally without freaking out,

But mentally? She’s like a kiddie pool.

Shallow. Super shallow.

『Oh! My lord’s lovely wife is currently flexing on a message board full of housewives. She’s like, “My husband makes over a hundred million a year, you know?”』

“She’s actually doing that? Wow. Total kiddie pool behavior.”

『Wha—!? Did you just call her that!? Is that some kind of dirty nickname!?』

It’s not a dirty nickname!!

“Hmm… (Anyway.)”

Time to think about what kind of Conceptual Spirit might be showing up.

If we’re talking about recent trends and hot topics…

I hate to admit it, but the top candidate would probably be—me.

Still, a “new celebrity” doesn’t just turn into a Conceptual Spirit overnight.

Unlike a single word or emotion, it’s harder for people to collectively picture a person clearly enough.

Which means, for someone to become a Conceptual Spirit, they usually need to have been making headlines for at least a full year.

So in this case, it’s not me that’s manifesting.

It’s the collective feelings directed toward me that could take form instead.

And if I go by what I remember from my past life…

“[Erasure], huh.”

『Ghh—!? Y-You guessed it in advance…! After pulling the data together, I found tons of posts like “Kanata Soranaki should disappear” or “He’s going to erase us all!” So, based on that trend, I’d say the odds of the [Erasure] Conceptual Spirit appearing are very high!』

Naro-chan looked like she was about to start praising me with sparkling anime eyes.

“As expected of Lord Kanata! Not even my super-electronic brain can calculate that fast!”

…Yeah, not feeling the praise right now.

Because that just confirms one thing—

Everyone seriously hates me.

“So that’s how it is… (I’ve basically accelerated the manifestation of [Erasure] just by existing.)”

Come to think of it, the whole “erasure” keyword had been trending lately anyway.

If I remember right, some of the countries under the Holy Empire Libertaria were openly throwing around hate speech like,

“Erase Ouma Shiranui already!”

He’s a national hero from Japan’s point of view—

But for everyone else, he’s practically a demon.

People already wanted him gone.

But then I showed up.

So now, there were two things Japan-haters wanted erased.

And just like that, the probability of [Erasure] appearing basically went turbo.

“Haaah… (So it’s ten times faster than usual? That means I must’ve been feared by a lot of people—and by ones with especially strong egos.)”

『Fufufu… I see now.  So Lord Kanata’s greatest weapon isn’t his raw power—It’s his brain. No wonder so many people, including adorable little Naro-chan here, had their hearts read like open books and got totally brainwashed!』

I didn’t read your heart.

And I definitely didn’t brainwash anyone!!

“Alright. I get the picture. Let’s get moving.”

—Yeah, no way I’m telling Ouma about this.

That guy’s got an overwhelming sense of self.

If he consciously locked onto the idea of [Erasure]…

That Conceptual Spirit might just show up on the spot.

And worse—if he starts grilling me like, “How do you even know this is going to happen?”

And I somehow slip up and reveal that the source is Naro-chan—a literal runaway digital fugitive…

Well, let’s just say:

Since he already doesn’t like me, I’d probably be executed on the spot.

But if I tried to dodge the question and hide where the info came from…

“Do you possess knowledge of the future?” 

“Are you… a time traveler?”

And just like that, he might connect it to the Conceptual Spirit known as [Regression].

If Ouma focused his willpower on that absurd meat angel, it might speedspawn instantly.

And honestly, I still have zero confidence I could beat her even now.

Ughhh…

“…Forgive me, Ouma. I know we’re supposed to be allies, but this time, I’ll have to move without telling you. (That heroic old man really is a pain to deal with…)”

Just as I muttered that with a sigh—

Naro-chan’s eyes lit up.

『I see now…!』

Wait, what do you mean “see”?

『Ouma Shiranui is your ultimate rival. A political opponent with decades of accomplishments and sky-high popularity.』

…Okay?

And?

『So! Lord Kanata plans to move ahead alone and defeat [Erasure] himself—to snatch all the credit! Brilliant move, my lord!』

“Huh!?”

『It’s the perfect strategy! You’ll close the gap between you and the legendary hero—and rise as the future ruler of the world!』

HUUUUH!?

The hell are you talking about!?

Who the heck said I wanted to rule the world!?

“I have zero interest in that.”

『Wha—!? Zero interest!?』

Siiigh…

Sorry to disappoint you, little sewer-cat,

But my dream is just to live a peaceful life in the future, alright?

I don’t want to “reign” over anything, got it?

『I—I see… My thinking was too small-minded…』

Hmm?

『Stealing all the credit? Chasing after fame and glory? Ahh, no, no! I was way off! You weren’t aiming for something so petty!』

Wait… wait, what?

Where are you going with this?

『In that case…! The only benefit greater than fame or reputation would be… Capturing a Supreme-Class Conceptual Spirit alive, wouldn’t it~~~!?』

Whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaat!?

“Hey—(Whoa, hold on! Do you have any idea how insane that is!? Nobody in history has ever captured a Supreme-Class Spirit alive!!)”

And the one we’re dealing with is [Erasure], okay?

The literal embodiment of “wipe everything out.”

And you want me to capture that instead of just defeating it!?

『Fufu. I understand it all now.』

Understand what, exactly!?

『Why waste time slowly building up fame and achievements—when you could just supercharge your violence stat and leap straight to the throne!?』

I don’t wanna leap anywhere!!

『Even if the risk of dying is through the roof—it feels way more thrilling, right!?』

NO IT DOESN’T!

I’M VERY AFRAID OF DYING, THANK YOU!!

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

[Tips] —Kanata’s Internal Nickname Guide

Kiddie Pool:

Alternate name for Setsuna Kirisame.

She’s got emotional range, sure—but everything else about her is shallow.

And no, it’s not a dirty nickname.

Currently arguing with strangers on the internet.

“It’s not fake, okay!? My husband is a billionaire, younger, super-strong, dark, hot-androgynous beauty, you got that!?” CLACK CLACK CLACK—SEND!

Natural-Born Hero Old Man:

Nickname for Ouma Shiranui.

Has a habit of thinking slightly off-base thoughts, and his willpower is way too high.

Which makes him a massive pain to deal with.

Currently doing ten thousand crunches while obsessing over his rival (Kanata).

“Kanata, you fiend… I won’t lose to you, Kanataaa…! (Willpower +140% UP)

Marshmallow-Head White Cat Sewer Bat Naro-chan (※124 criminal offenses):

Another name for Nashiro Hiraga.

Basically a morally flexible mascot character.

Despite her cutesy appearance, she’s still a hardcore biote**orist—

And Kanata absolutely has not forgotten that.

Currently enjoying life to the fullest as Kanata’s right-hand sidekick.

(※Kanata is suffering.)

『To think Lord Kanata was secretly planning to capture a Supreme-Class Conceptual Spirit and use it for a reign of terror…!』

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

Next time: End of the Preparation Arc!

↓ Feel free to drop your thoughts anytime!

Ideas like “this would be hilarious,” “what if this happened,” or “how about this kind of character?” are always welcome!

And don’t forget to Follow & leave a ★ rating!