Episode 87: W-Where Did You Come From?!
Unable to do anything but strengthen their defenses and remain vigilant, Kazuma and the others were spending their days as usual.
“Speaking of which, is it okay to leave those girls on their own?”
“Those girls?”
“I mean Alicia and Charlotte.”
“Ah, well, they have Powered Suits, and I’ve assigned Familiars to guard them, so I think they’ll be fine.”
“What kind of Familiars did you assign?”
“A hamster and a flying squirrel.”
“That’s a… peculiar choice…”
“It’s fine, isn’t it…”
When one heard “magician,” wouldn’t a black cat be the first thing that came to mind?
Though, that might just be a Japanese thing.
“Are they safe?”
“I’ve set it up so I’ll be notified if danger approaches, and they’re strong enough to completely shut down any ordinary opponent.”
“A hamster and a flying squirrel, huh…”
It was a little hard to imagine.
The sight of a hamster and a flying squirrel effortlessly defeating villains would be far too surreal.
“Are there any other acquaintances of yours who have Familiars assigned to them?”
“No, none. As for my classmates, they’re nearby, so I can respond quickly. And for Mom and the others, I’ve given them enhanced Talismans, so there shouldn’t be any particular problems.”
“I see. So you’ve been thorough with the defenses, then.”
“Well, it’s not like they’re absolute, though.”
At the very least, those to whom Kazuma had given Talismans wouldn’t be killed immediately, even if attacked.
In that case, there was no need to assign Familiars as guards.
Of course, it wasn’t because he wanted them to die.
It was simply because it would be a waste of resources and would increase Kazuma’s burden.
Even for Kazuma the Hero, staying on alert twenty-four hours a day to protect not only himself but multiple people would surely be exhausting.
“It’d be great if everyone could gather in one place, though.”
“Everyone has their own circumstances, so that’s impossible~”
“Indeed. Alicia and Charlotte are busy people too.”
For these reasons, Kazuma followed the priority order he had decided on, assigning Familiars as guards and distributing Talismans to establish a minimum level of defense.
“Alright! Let’s go hang out at Kurashige Industries!”
“I understand there’s nothing we can do, but is there really any need for us to go?”
“We’ve already given them enough funds and supplies, so there’s no need for us to do anything, right?”
“No way! I want to make toys too!”
“Please stop calling weapons ‘toys’…”
Setting aside whether it was an emergency or not, Momoko held her head in disappointment at Kazuma, who, as usual, lacked even a shred of tension.
◇◇◇◇
At a certain time, individuals dressed identically to the suspicious person who had attacked Souji stood before King, the Overlord, the Sun King, and Shindo Makoto.
“Hey, hey, seriously? Paparazzi are enough when it comes to people waiting for me~”
“Hmm… A Combat Power of 3000, huh? Not bad for a creature from this planet.”
“Hmm? Your voice is too soft, I can’t hear you~?”
The suspicious person before him, completely enveloped in a white robe, seemed to be saying something, but their voice was too quiet to hear, so King exaggeratedly bent his body and pretended to cup his ear.
It was a movement that completely underestimated the opponent, but the suspicious person didn’t understand King’s intention and didn’t get angry.
“It’ll be interesting to see how long a creature from an immature civilization can last.”
“Oh? You feelin’ up for it now?”
When the suspicious person in front of him threw off their white robe, revealing a tight-fitting bodysuit like that of a tokusatsu hero, King couldn’t hold back his laughter.
“Bwahahahahahahaha! Are you about to start a photoshoot or something?! That’s awesome! But where’s the camera? I don’t see it anywhere!”
“Translation device activated. Can you understand my words now?”
“Oh, whoa! What’s this! You can speak properly after all! I totally thought you were just shy.”
“You’re a talkative creature, aren’t you?”
“Talking things out is important, right? To get to know each other better.”
“Talking things out? Hahahaha, what a strange thing to say. You and I live in worlds that are too different. Discussion is pointless. You… are going to be killed by me here.”
“Hyuu~ I’d really rather not have that!”
King was the first to move.
With a step forceful enough to make the ground cave in, he instantly closed the distance to the suspicious person and punched them in the face.
Just as a dry smack reached his ears, King’s eyes widened at the sight before him.
“What? Is this all?”
He hadn’t been serious, but he had put a decent amount of power into the punch.
His fist easily caught, King was momentarily shaken but quickly regained his composure and stepped back.
“This might not be a joke…”
“Let me tell you… you cannot defeat me. Your Combat Power is 3000. And mine… is 150,000. How about that? Are you in despair?”
“Combat Power isn’t everything!”
Thrusting his palm towards the suspicious person, King unleashed a Lightning Strike.
A pale white bolt of lightning tore through the air and struck the suspicious person.
The Lightning Strike King unleashed pierced through the suspicious person’s body—a perfect hit.
“Did you do something just now?”
“Kuh…!”
In that instant, King understood.
He couldn’t win on his own.
He had boasted that Combat Power wasn’t everything, but it seemed the opponent’s assessment of the power gap was, in fact, true.
Though he prided himself on being the strongest, King, for the first time, abandoned the fight and chose to flee in order to survive.
“I see. It seems you’ve finally understood the difference in our power.”
As King fled through the sky at tremendous speed, the suspicious person praised his decision as correct for a living being, but their intention to kill him remained unchanged.
“Haha… Even I didn’t expect this.”
Before King, who was flying through the sky, stood the same suspicious person from before.
King couldn’t stop the cold sweat as he looked at the suspicious person, who stood with their arms crossed, looking down on him.
He would probably be intercepted immediately even if he fled in the opposite direction at full speed.
Escape was no longer possible, and King sighed in resignation, thinking he might really be killed.
“It seems you’ve steeled your resolve.”
“Yeah. There’s no way I can win, even if I stood on my head. I have no choice but to give up.”
“How admirable. Then, die.”
“But what if it’s someone stronger than me!”
King tightly gripped the Talisman he had received from Kazuma, just in case.
At that moment, a Protective Barrier formed around King, blocking the suspicious person’s attack.
“What?!”
Then, from out of nowhere, the Silver Knight appeared and confronted the suspicious person.
“Wha-?! Where in the world did you come from!”
“Hyahhoo! That’s Kazuma for ya! That guy’s the enemy! Send him flying!”
Hearing King’s words, the Silver Knight gave a thumbs-up and advanced towards the suspicious person.
The suspicious person couldn’t hide their bewilderment at the Silver Knight’s sudden appearance, but they quickly measured its Combat Power to determine if it was a threat.
“Combat Power 5?! What, just a piece of trash?”
Shrugging as if to say, “I was surprised for nothing,” the suspicious person regained their composure.
Mocking it as a being worse than trash, inferior even to an infant, the suspicious person decided to receive the Silver Knight’s attack without any defense.
Since even King’s attacks had no effect, this was a natural reaction, but unfortunately for them, the Silver Knight was something else entirely.
“Guhaah?! W-Why?”
The suspicious person, staggering after being punched in the cheek, was bewildered.
None of King’s attacks had caused any damage, so why did the Silver Knight’s attack work?
“Could it be… a Gift (Skill)?!”
The suspicious person immediately scanned the Silver Knight.
King, standing behind the Silver Knight, showed Gifts of Matchless Strength, High-Speed Flight, and Lightning Strike, while the Silver Knight standing before them displayed Transposition.
“Huh?”
They didn’t understand.
Transposition was merely an ability to swap the positions of objects; it definitely didn’t increase attack power or enhance physical abilities.
Well aware of this, the suspicious person thought their scanner might be malfunctioning and scanned the Silver Knight repeatedly, but only Transposition appeared.
And its Combat Power still only registered as 5.
“That can’t be…”
They had thought there was no way they could lose to mere trash with a Combat Power of 5, but when it came down to it, they were the one on the verge of defeat.
It was no wonder they wanted to reject the reality unfolding before their eyes.
“Hebuh?!”
Taking a blow powerful enough to cave in their face, the suspicious person fell towards the ground.
It seemed they would die if they fell like this, but just before hitting the ground, they were caught by the Silver Knight.
“You’re not going to kill it?”
King asked the Silver Knight, who had saved the suspicious person.
The Silver Knight nodded once, and instead of killing the suspicious person, it restrained them.