When the Villainous Flame User Trapped in a Time Loop Starts Living Earnestly, Every Female Party Member Turns into a Pervert and Now the World Is in Danger!? - 10

Chapter 10: Turn Up the Heat!

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“What on earth is going on? What is the second son of the Spoild family doing…?”

“Headmaster… Um, it seems he’s trying to encourage a disqualified applicant…”

“Hm…They’ve been shouting fiery words back and forth for a while now… Was he always like that?”

“I-I don’t know… Maybe something happened during the exam break?”

Damn it, even I’m shouting things I never would’ve said before, and it’s kind of embarrassing.

(Bocchama… Something feels off compared to the last time, but it’s still technically a duel… However, last time, he fought Nemeth because he couldn’t stand that a mere commoner dared stand before him… But this time, he’s trying to stop Nemeth from being disqualified? Has the Bocchama already recognized Nemeth’s talent? Why?)

Sword, who had rushed over, was standing there dumbfounded. But whatever. I just had to go through with it.

“Come on, bring it on!”

“B-but…”

“No ‘but’s! If you won’t come to me, then I’ll come to you!”

“Wha—!?”

Anyway, if I rough him up a bit and make him mad, something should happen.

“Take this!”

“Guh—! W-wait, please! Why are you—”

“Would you tell the Demon Lord to wait too!? Or is that talk about wanting to be a hero just for show!?”

“—!?”

I went straight for a flying kick. That should force him to fight back. Sure enough, Nemeth pulled a training sword from his bag and finally got fired up.

“I’m not just all talk! I may be bad at magic, but when it comes to the sword—!”

“Oh yeah? Then come on!”

“Gale Slash—!!”

The real problem started here. If I remembered right, this guy was still weak and pathetic at this point. But last time, after I kept insulting and bullying him, he awakened from anger or whatever… 

Damn, trying to recreate that on purpose feels so awkward and embarrassing…

“Take this!”

“Guh!”

I slammed a knee into his stomach. That alone made his knees buckle…

“Now, I’ll show you! The Spoild family’s power of flame—Fire Burst!”

“Wha—What incredible heat!?”

“How about that! This is the power of a chosen noble! What’s wrong, country boy!? You’re going to face even greater power from here on out! Don’t flinch at something like this!”

The blue flame was too dangerous, so I toned it down to normal red flames…

(-?! Bocchama… You’re not using the blue flame… So you really don’t intend to defeat Nemeth in this duel? Rather, it seems… Bocchama, your acting is terrible! It’s completely obvious you’re trying to encourage him…)

Come on, face it head-on and awaken your heroic power…

“Ugh… Am I not good enough…? Such incredible strength…”

“Huh?”

“I trained so hard… I endured every brutal practice… I even sparred with the adults in my village… But this is what a chosen noble can do—”

“Don’t you dare give up so fast!!”

Damn it. Maybe being declared “disqualified” right at registration hit him harder than I thought. Last time he stood up to me, but now his spirit broke immediately.

Crap…

“Don’t give up on your dream so easily! Burn hotter!!”

“…Huh?”

Anyway, if Nemeth walked away now, I’d be in trouble, so I grabbed him by the collar and shouted.

“Listen! Noble or commoner, none of that matters! There are plenty of nobles who turn out to be total trash once you open the lid! People who think they’re great just because of their bloodline, who abuse their power and trample over others… Don’t you ever bow down to scum like that!”

“Uh… Uum…”

“More than anything, are you really going to give up here? Are you going to give up your own dream?! If you quit now, your dream ends right here. You haven’t even started running yet! Don’t you dare give up before you’ve even begun! Struggle, fight, and become the hero who gives people hope and saves the world!”

So hurry up and awaken already so you can pass the exam, damn it!

While screaming that in my head, I grabbed Nemeth’s hand and forced him to his feet.

“How many times do I have to tell you? You can do it.”

Then Nemeth looked up at me with a tearful expression…

“…Wh-why…”

“Huh?”

“Why… Why would you go so far for someone you just met today…?”

Well, fair point! We literally just met, so hearing “You can do it” out of nowhere has no foundation at all. What should I even say?

I couldn’t exactly tell him I knew he’d become a hero. But I had to say something…

“This academy… They call it a place for the chosen elite, but the ones who actually get in are either idiots like me who barely met the noble quota, or schemers looking to build connections, or people who only care about job prospects later. Even the serious ones only aim to join the knights, at best.”

“I-is that really true?”

“Yeah. That’s why… There aren’t any idiots here who, with such clear eyes, can still say something as pure as ‘I want to be a hero.’ That’s why you stood out to me and why I felt something sleeping deep inside you the moment I saw you. I just knew… I knew you could really do it. So I decided to believe in you!”

God, this is so embarrassing! So embarrassing, what am I even saying!? Even I don’t really understand what my point is anymore, and I sound so cringe..

Still, the hero…

“You’re an amazing person…”

“Huh?”

Nemeth’s face flushed red, but he looked at me with shining eyes and smiled.

“Somehow, my chest… My whole body feels hot. Yes… To never give up, never bow down, and become the hope of others… That was the first step toward becoming a hero. My late brother once sought to be such a hero… So I—”

“Nemeth?”

“A person who can inspire others… You’re not just strong, you have a wonderful heart. I respect you.”

“N-no, that’s not…”

“That’s why I’ll stand and fight—to become a hero like you!”

He’s totally misunderstanding, but…

“Thank you, passionate senpai!♪”

“D-don’t get the wrong idea! I’m just the fall guy here!”

Yes! Finally! The hero’s body started to glow!

“Hey, Habiri-kun… What is he talking about…”

“He’s so different from how he usually acts with us…”

“Could it be… Habiri-sama treated us coldly because he thought we were boring people?”

“Yeah… After all, none of us really aimed to become heroes, even after joining the magic academy…”

“But once, we all dreamed of it, didn’t we? Of becoming heroes to defeat the Demon Lord… But somewhere along the way, we forgot that dream…”

“But he’s different… Habiri-kun saw through it…”

“Maybe… Habiri-san once dreamed of becoming a hero himself and now he’s found a comrade on that path. That’s why he’s revealing his true self…”

“So that’s… Habiri-kun’s true nature…”

Hey, hey, hey—students! You’re completely misunderstanding here!! Why does it feel like the way everyone’s looking at me has totally changed!? Well, whatever…For now…

“All right! Take this! Fire Burst! (monotone)”

“Uwoooooooaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhh!!!!”

“No way—my flames are being erased?! (monotone)”

Good, big flash! That means my magic’s been canceled out. You see that, teachers? That’s the power of a hero! And it’s about to shine even brighter!

“What is this power!? That boy… Habiri Spoild drew it out!?”

“Headmaster… Th-this is…”

Ha! Even the staff are shocked. That should take care of Nemeth’s problem. Now—draw out even more power!

“Th-this is… My power? I have such strength inside me…?”

Ah, good. So history’s back on track—wait, huh?

“Hey… You can give more than that, can’t you?”

“Eh? What do you mean… This alone is already unbelievable for me!”

That was definitely the light of awakening, but… It looked way weaker than what I saw last time!? No. There was no doubt about it. This light was definitely way weaker than the last time!

“Amazing… That examinee and also…”

“Habiri-kun brought that power out of him…”

“I don’t really get it, but they’re both incredible…”

“…So cool♥”

Sure, to anyone else, that power must look impressive enough. But this isn’t it! He’s supposed to be way stronger! Especially when he snapped—when he snapped… huh?

(Bocchamaaaaaaa!? Where did the cruel and arrogant Bocchama go!? He’s turned not just decent but hot-blooded! But…As a result…This is…)

He didn’t snap this time, so the awakening was half-baked… 

Which means…

(Nemeth-dono’s overflowing magic… It’s clearly inferior to last time! This is barely worth mentioning! Not even dirt under the nails! You can’t even compare this flimsy power to the glorious dick’s smegma! Well, not that Nemeth-dono has any ‘pole’ down there, as we all eventually discovered, but that’s beside the point! Anyway, at this level, while notable among magic academy students, it’s still nothing against a Demon Lord’s general! In fact, I could defeat this current Nemeth-dono with one hand! Th-this is… This is bad, isn’t it!?)

The awakening was incomplete and the hero was weaker than last time!?

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