238. Regarding the Vanguard

I woke up.

Lately, it feels like I’ve been doing nothing but losing consciousness.

As I pulled myself up from the bed, Ichinose-san was there.

“Ah, Kudo-san, you’re awake.”

“……Same to you.”

She closed the manga she was reading and turned toward me.

From the next room, I could feel the presence of Nishino-kun, Rikka-chan, and even Igarashi-san.

It seems everyone else has woken up safely too. …I mean, it was training, so they weren’t going to die, but after seeing that disaster earlier…

“I heard about it. While we were out, you fought Libera-san.”

“Yeah, I got beaten to a pulp.”

I thought I’d become considerably stronger after evolving, but Libera-san is truly in a league of her own.

And the terrifying part is that she still intends to get stronger herself.

Well, as an ally, she couldn’t be more reassuring.

“My body is… yeah, no problem. No broken bones.”

“No problem? …I heard you got crushed by Behemoth, though?”

“Yeah, it was a bit heavy, but thanks to my increased stats, I managed to stay in one piece.”

“Eeeeh…”

Ichinose-san gave me a look as if she were seeing something unbelievable.

“Being crushed by that giant body and ending it with ‘it was a bit heavy’ is just wrong. Kudo-san, you’re becoming less and less human since you evolved.”

“……It’s painful that I can’t strongly deny that. But Ichinose-san, you reached LV30 too, right? Have you checked your evolution options?”

“Yes, of course. There were five candidates in total. —Here they are.”

Ichinose-san handed me a slip of paper. Apparently, she had taken notes in advance.

『Evolution Options』

• Overhuman

• Hermit

• High Mechanoid

• Tokoyobito (Eternity Dweller)

• Demi-Goddess

Overhuman and Hermit were in my options as well. Since there were overlapping races in the previous evolution too, I guess the races displayed at the top are common races that can be chosen without meeting specific conditions.

The third one, High Mechanoid, is likely a higher-tier version of the Mechanoid that appeared in the previous evolution.

What kind of race is the fourth one, Tokoyobito? I can’t tell just from the characters; I’ll have to look it up.

The last one, Demi-Goddess, is probably the female version of my Demi-God. I’ll have to investigate that one in detail too.

“I thought I’d decide after having you look them up, Kudo-san.”

“Right. Oh, just in case, I’ll check the first two as well. Even if the race names are the same, they might be different from mine.”

“Yep, yep, please do.”

“Since this is Ichinose-san’s ‘graduation from humanity,’ we have to check thoroughly.”

“Hmph, don’t tease me. …Wait, are you still bothered by what I said earlier?”

“I’m not bothered at all—”

“You’re clearly bothered! Jeez!”

“Ahahaha, that’s my payback.”

Ichinose-san pouted and started light-punching me. Cute.

“Ohh, flirting in broad daylight, I see.”

“Kudo-san, is your body okay?”

Nishino-kun and Rikka-chan entered the room.

“”No, we aren’t flirting or anything!”” we said in unison.

“You’re perfectly in sync.”

“……Au.”

Ichinose-san turned bright red and looked down.

Seeing that, Rikka-chan was smirking.

……Yeah, sorry about that.

Maintaining the slightly awkward atmosphere, we headed to the living room where Libera-san was waiting. Igarashi-san was in the corner of the room playing with Kiki and Shiro. ……What an unexpected combination.

“Oh, looks like you’re awake. I’m glad your body seems fine. I was worried~”

Even as she said that, Libera-san’s eyes were glued to the manga in her hand. Without mentioning the title, it’s the one where an orange-haired boy uses the power of a death god to protect his friends.

“You don’t look worried in the slightest.”

“No, no, I was worried. But I just couldn’t help being curious about what happens next in this book. I mean, this captain with the glasses is incredibly strong. With the shocking developments one after another since his reappearance, I’m dying to know what’s next. Also, the dialogue is cool.”

“Ah, yeah, I guess…”

Well, that is the climax of the afterlife arc. Honestly, it’s a super exciting part, so I get it.

Then Ichinose-san suddenly took out her glasses and pushed her hair back.

“—I shall stand in the heavens.”

Stop it, we’ll get scolded.

“…Natsu, lend those to me. I want to do it too.”

“Here you go.”

“Libera-san, don’t copy her. Ichinose-san, stop it too.”

Seriously, stop it already.

Also, the moment “glasses” was mentioned, Igarashi-san flinched. No, it’s not you.

Libera-san put on the fake glasses and then looked at me.

“—So, how was it?”

“What do you mean?”

“Your impressions after evolving and actually fighting.”

“……”

“From my perspective, the impression was that your body isn’t used to the rapidly increased stats yet. The same goes for how you use your skills. Your tactics and situational judgment were decent, but your finishing was weak. If you had fully mastered your enhanced power, you should have been able to fight much better.”

……It’s frustrating, but she’s right.

It’s annoying to be told that by someone holding a manga, but Libera-san’s evaluation is mostly correct.

“Also, did you notice your own weakness? You’d better fix it properly from now on.”

“Eh…?”

I tilted my head.

Then Libera-san finally took her eyes off the book and looked at me.

“What, you didn’t notice?”

With a sigh, Libera-san shook her head.

I felt strangely irritated.

“What is it, my weakness?”

To be honest, I have so many ideas that I don’t know which one it is.

“If you can’t notice it yourself, there’s no point in me telling you. Well, I’ll let you notice it plenty during the training from now on, so don’t worry.”

“That’s so roundabout.”

“If you always want the answer immediately, you won’t grow. First, think and try to come up with your own answer.”

“Well, I guess that’s true, but…”

Seeing me look a bit unconvinced, Libera-san sighed.

“Well, in exchange, I suppose it’s time I told you.”

“About what?”

“—About the Vanguard.”

At those words, our movements stopped completely.

The relaxed air from a moment ago became tense in an instant.

“I’ll tell you the expected members, their strength, and their abilities—everything I know.”

“……You’re being quite straightforward about that part.”

“Of course. You can never have too much analysis and planning.”

“Then, you could have told us sooner, couldn’t you?”

“Impossible.”

“Why?”

“Because I thought your hearts might break if I didn’t wait until you were strong enough. The Vanguard is strong. With the current Kazuto, three of you fighting together might finally be a match for just one member of the Vanguard. Information about opponents on a completely different level only becomes noise if you remain weak.”

……I’m sorry, but my heart is already starting to break just hearing that.

Or rather, everyone, starting with Ichinose-san, has frozen up.

“……Is there still that much of a power gap between us and the Vanguard?”

“Yes, but I don’t want you to misunderstand; what I just said is strictly if Kazuto were to fight alone. Depending on the cooperation of Natsu, Momo, and the others, and the matchup with the opponent, there is plenty of chance for victory. So there’s no need to be that pessimistic.”

“……Then please say that first. Honestly, it’s bad for my heart.”

“My apologies. But tension is necessary, isn’t it? It prevents complacency. Well, I think it’s an unnecessary worry for you all, though.”

……Honestly, I can’t say I wasn’t feeling a bit cocky after getting stronger.

“So, as a review, there are at most ten members in the Vanguard. This is a confirmed fact. The number might decrease, but it will absolutely never increase beyond that.”

“What’s the basis for that?”

“I told you before, there isn’t enough energy. They have already tampered with the system once. Further tampering would affect the future of the system, and in the worst case, there’s even a possibility that the two worlds themselves will collapse.”

“……Certainly, that would be counterproductive for the otherworlders too.”

The otherworlders’ objective is strictly to escape the collapse of their world and migrate to a new land—our world. Placing a burden on the system that serves as the foundation is not something they would desire either.

“So, regarding the members: the leader Randall and his aides Shuri and Glen. These three are almost certainly there. Randall is the leader of this plan and, above all, strong. Even I would prefer to avoid facing the three of them at the same time.”

Doesn’t that mean they’re incredibly strong?

Randall is that man who was in the video the white girl showed me… Probably someone who was also close to Libera-san. Can we win against someone like that?

Ignoring my anxiety, Libera-san continued.

“Now, as for the characteristics of the three I just mentioned and the other members—”

The expected members, their traits, skills, and strength.

After hearing it all, a mood like a funeral wake drifted among us.

“……So the other world actually gives out chuunibyou-style nicknames like ‘Flame Emperor’ or ‘Holy Ark’…”

“In our world, a nickname is the highest honor for a hero. It’s also an expression of absolute trust in one’s own power. It’s a sign of the pride that even if people imagine what kind of power you have based on your name and take countermeasures, you will absolutely not lose.”

Absolute confidence in one’s own power, huh.

Incredible. No matter how much power I gain, I don’t think I could ever have absolute confidence in my own strength.

“Well, you don’t need to face them all. Among the members I just mentioned, you’ll be facing seven at most. You can ignore the other three.”

“Why?”

“The roles of those three are already decided. So you really don’t have to worry about them.”

I wonder what kind of roles they have?

“Now, regarding the method to overturn this power gap: first, leveling up is mandatory. Training will continue. Additionally, I’ve managed to secure the cooperation of the ‘Sea King’ and ‘Wolf King’ as combat forces. Lastly, we will prepare an environment advantageous to us. As for the item necessary for that—Kazuto, you already have it.”

“……I do?”

“Yes. It seems your magic sword friend over there noticed it though. ……To have had his eye on that even before I arrived, he’s quite something.”

『Ts……』

Tossed the topic by Libera-san, Arrogance flinched.

I looked back at Arrogance’s actions until now.

The thing Arrogance was aiming for—could it be…

I took that out of my Item Box.

The thing that had been sleeping in my Item Box all this time because I didn’t know its use.

“Could it be… this?”

“Correct.”

Seeing what I took out, Libera-san nodded.

Ichinose-san also peeked over from behind to look at it.

“……That’s what you got when you defeated Peony…”

“Yes, the ‘Seed of the World Tree’.”

A seed about the size of a walnut.

But what on earth could this be useful for?

“Hehehe…”

Looking at the Seed of the World Tree, Libera-san grinned.

Ah, this is it. The face she makes when she’s about to say something terrible.

“—Let’s resurrect Peony♪”

「「「「「…………」」」」」

At that statement, everyone except Libera-san froze.

See? I knew it was something terrible.

End of 238