Chapter 3: The Strength of a Celestial rank
I woke up to the sound of knocking at my door. Morning light was already streaming through the window.
“Hmm… Is it time to get up already?” It seemed I had overslept a bit, likely due to the rare indulgence in alcohol the night before. Flustered, I opened the door to find a familiar face peeking in. It was a handsome, tanned man with a somewhat Arabian vibe. He was the second-in-command of Yarzak, the person in charge here.
“Ah… Mr. Stroman. Good morning.”
“I apologize for waking you. There’s a guest here to see you, sir…”
“A guest?”
Lately, it seemed more and more people were starting to call me “sir.”
I asked Stroman to wait while I hurriedly got dressed. Nishina, who lived upstairs, had already left for somewhere. It appeared that my guest had arrived at the state soldiers’ barracks.
When I approached the barracks, I noticed a noisy crowd gathered there. As soon as they spotted me, they turned toward me, murmuring, “He’s here, he’s here.” Then, one man stepped forward.
“Hey, you’re here! Are you Shigeto Kusunoki?”
“What? Well… …… ”
“You’re not? What do you mean? Answer! ”
“Uh, yes… but who are you?”
“My name’s Sid! I’m the Lightning Emperor of Flash! I’m here to fight you!”
“Wait, Mr. Sid!”
The man suddenly started spouting nonsense, and Stroman tried to stop him, but it was no use. Still… the best course of action was probably to ignore him.
“Um, no thanks…”
“What? Quit stalling! If you’re a man, fight me!”
“Uh…”
“WHAT!?”
“I decline.”
“Wow, you’ve really earned your Celestial rank. I’m a kind man, so I won’t kill you… Huh?”
“As I said, I decline.”
“Wh-why not!?”
“Well… there’s no point in fighting, is there?”
“B-but I came all the way from the Horasan Province!”
“Uh, thanks for the effort, but…”
“S-so even if it’s pointless for you, it’s meaningful for me!”
“Uh, then how about I just concede defeat? Can I declare my loss in the Divine Rankings or something?”
“Wh-what the hell!? Do you think ranks change just like that, you idiot!?”
“Well, even if you say that, I have no intention of fighting…”
The young man looked utterly shocked by my response, but to me, it was the obvious answer.
My declaration of defeat, without even a fight, left the state soldiers who had been expecting a battle looking disappointed and starting to egg me on.
“What are you saying? Just take care of this brat, Celestial rank!”
“Yeah, there’s no way our Celestial rank would lose to someone so cocky!”
“Hey, cut it out! Mr. Sid, stop this!”
While I understood that in this boring rural village, such a spectacle would naturally draw excitement, Stroman was desperately trying to calm everyone down.
Still, was this man the guest? His words were nonsensical, and despite speaking this world, which shouldn’t have any dialect, he sounded like he was from Kansai. It was all utterly baffling.
“Fine, whatever. Mr. Stroman, don’t bother stopping him. If this guy’s about to get killed… he’ll probably get serious.”
The man calling himself Sid’s aura changed. A sharp, murderous intent began to emanate from him. Caught off guard by the killing intent, I instinctively reached for my waist with my left hand… but… oops. I didn’t bring my sword.
“That’s fine. Where’s your weapon?”
“Wait, hold on!”
“Bro, you’re too soft. A man who refuses a challenge is a disgrace!”
“Wait, that’s not what—”
The man drew his sword in one swift motion. A cruel grin spread across his face. I had no idea how to handle this unreasonable man and took a step back, feeling the tension rise.
“Alright, here I come!”
Just as Sid’s mana began to swell, a sharp female voice rang out.
“Wait!”
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At the same time, something like a mass of mana flew from behind me toward Sid. What was that? Had he sensed the mana as an aura? Sid seemed to writhe in panic as the mana hit him.
“Nggh! What the… I can’t move!”
Something wrapped around Sid, restraining him.
“Th-this thing! Let me go!”
Sid struggled desperately, but the restraints showed no sign of loosening.
“Are you all right, Shigeto-sensei?”
From behind, Yarzak appeared alongside a gentlemanly man I’d never seen before. And another person—a blonde woman—walked forward, her staff still pointed at Sid.
Wait, that’s…
“Ms. Miree!”
“Shigeto-san! Are you all right!?”
“Ah, yes. I’m fine. Nothing’s happened… yet.”
“Thank goodness…”
“But… why are you here, Ms. Miree?”
That’s right. Miree was a priestess working at the the Sky Temple. What was she doing here?
As I struggled to make sense of the situation, the gentlemanly man strode straight toward Sid. Then, he casually pulled a knife from his pocket.
“Should I just stab this into your heart?”
“Nnggh!”
“Huh? I can’t understand what you’re saying… What? You want me to stab you?”
“I’m sorry! Please forgive me!”
“Challenging someone to a fight out of nowhere… Are you an idiot, huh?”
“I-it just happened—”
“What kind of fool picks a fight just because it ‘happened’!? Huh!? You wanna fight me!?”
“I-I’m sorry!”
Wh-what’s going on…? This gentleman also started threatening Sid in a vaguely Kansai-like tone. His intensity far surpassed Sid’s. It was honestly terrifying to watch…
As I stood there dumbfounded, the gentleman seemed to decide that Sid had finally given up and turned back to Miree, speaking to her.
“Sorry for the extra work. You can release the restraints now.”
Miree immediately lowered her staff and dispelled the magic. Sid collapsed like a puppet with its strings cut, gasping for breath. He must have been trying desperately to break free. The gentleman turned to me, removed the fedora he was wearing, and bowed.
“My apologies. I’ll make sure to beat him up enough that he can’t stand later.”
“Huh? Uh…”
“I’m Pardomikhov of the Federal Army. Thank you for your application to join us.”
“Ap-application?”
When I asked what he meant, Yarzak quickly intervened.
“Ah, it’s about General Camilla’s proposal to have you enlisted in the Federal Army while remaining under the state military’s jurisdiction…”
“Oh, right. Sorry for all the trouble.”
“No, no. The Federal Army is in urgent need of Celestial rank recruits. Your enlistment is a godsend.”
Then, Sid, who had been quietly listening, shouted.
“That’s why I’m here to challenge him for his rank—”
“Shut up! Do you want to die!?”
“J-just kidding!”
Somehow, it seemed like these two had a clear hierarchy.
…Wait.
“Huh? Are you also a Celestial rank?”
“Yes, though I’m only sixty-fifth—a rather middling position.”
“N-no, not at all…”
This mafia-like gentleman standing before me was a much higher-ranked Celestial rank than I was.
“Let’s discuss the details back at the barracks.”
“Y-yes, of course.”
That made sense. I glanced around and saw the state soldiers, who had been watching as spectators, now looking dumbfounded. There were likely contracts and other complicated matters to discuss. As Sid tried to follow, Pardomikhov coldly ordered him to sit down and stay put.
As we headed to Yarzak’s office, Miree walked beside me.
“So, why are you here, Ms. Miree?”
I had been curious about this since earlier, but the conversation had been interrupted. Miree smiled and said we’d talk after the discussion with Pardomikhov.
When we entered the office, I was told to take a seat, and I sat facing Pardomikhov. Still, I couldn’t help but wonder who that Sid guy was.
“That young man earlier… he’s an acquaintance, right?”
“Sid? Yeah. He kind of forced himself to become my disciple. I guess he thinks he’s here to protect me, but it’s more like he’s just dragging me around…”
“I see…”
“Anyway, the Federal Government is fully prepared to accept General Camilla’s proposal.”
“Huh? Uh, okay.”
General Camilla’s proposal was that I would be enlisted in the Federal Army but remain under the state military’s jurisdiction here in the Durham Province. If I ended up agreeing to some unknown conditions without realizing it, it would be a disaster.
“So, your wish is to work here in the Durham Province for its liberation, correct?”
“Well…”
When he put it like that, I had some doubts. Of course, I had three students here. And while there were other students scattered across this world… unfortunately, the four third-years didn’t see me as their Sensei. For now, the fact that three students here relied on me as their Sensei was important. But as for liberating the province… what did I even want? I…
“Is something wrong?”
“N-no… Even if we liberate the province, hardly any residents have returned to the liberated Doodle Valley. I’m not sure if there’s any point in continuing to fight for liberation…”
“I see. As expected of someone who was a Sensei. You’ve already grasped the situation. Yarzak here has been thinking the same thing.”
Pardomikhov nodded, and Yarzak awkwardly nodded along.
“That’s right. I was a Sensei in my previous world. And now, my former students have joined the state military and are here. I’d like to support these young people if I can.”
“I see. I’ve heard that Miki and Takato have joined the state military.”
“Yes. For some reason, I seem to have considerable combat power in this world. So, I’ve been thinking about whether I can use that to assist them in their work.”
Pardomikhov listened to me, nodding thoughtfully. As I spoke, I felt something that had been lingering in the back of my mind start to take shape.
“However, as we saw with Sid’s outburst earlier, there are quite a few people like that around.”
“Y-yeah… That’s a problem.”
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