Ads

Classmate wa Isekai de Yuusha ni Natta kedo, Ore dake Gendai Nihon ni Okizari ni Narimashita - Chapter 66

on

Chapter 66 – The Downfall of One Who Once Admired a Hero

(…!? Why… why did I do that…?)

Suddenly, like a flash of my life before my eyes, everything up until now came rushing back.
Why… why did things end up like this?

(…Is it because I’m about to kill him?)

Brainwashing that man and forcing him into a Hero Suit… it probably wouldn’t work.
He’s the real deal—a true gifted being who acquired his powers through his own strength and mastered them.

The reason I focused on gathering data during his initial attack, abandoning any hope of aid from Red Riser or Rose Pink Baroness, was to determine whether he could be controlled.
And the conclusion was simple: “Impossible to control. If contact happens again, kill him.”

(Being a ‘hero’ is just a façade now. I have to protect my kingdom… no matter what!)

The steam flooding this room made it hard to see, but I could still tell—he was lying motionless on the ground, unable to move.

In other words, if I thrust this sword into his chest now, I could definitely finish him off.

Obscured by the steam, I steadily advanced toward the prone figure.
Step by step… each movement deliberate.

And when I was finally close enough to drive the sword directly into his heart, I realized it.

“…A… doll of ice?”

What I’d mistaken for him… was actually an intricately carved ice decoy.

“…A decoy?”

No way. Did I just fall right into his trap?

No—more importantly, I needed to think—

“Where is he!? Where did he go!?”

I activated every detection function in my goggles, desperately searching for the vanished enemy.

But I could probably rule out the possibility that he’d simply fled.
If he had a teleportation Skill, he wouldn’t need to rely on such distraction tactics to escape in the first place.

Still… I couldn’t find him.
And little by little, I felt my calm slipping away.

(Damn it… where the hell did he go…!?)

Should I try a blind, all-range 360-degree attack to flush him out?

But if I did that—!

Just then, something stabbed sharply into my left shoulder.
The impact overwhelmed me, and I was driven to the ground under its weight.

(…What just happened? What was that just now?)

I forced my eyes toward my shoulder.

The armor and decorations had been ripped open, and something that looked like a crab’s claw was clamped tightly around the suit’s components.

Not understanding what was happening, my thoughts stalled for a second.

And that second… was more than enough time for the enemy to attack.

“Hmph!”

The device lodged in my shoulder began to spin rapidly, winding something up.

At the same time, I finally sensed the hostility.

(No good—Skill activation won’t make it in time!?)

He came at me, ice daggers in both hands, slashing with terrifying speed again and again.
Sparks flew as they scraped and gouged through my suit’s armor.

I didn’t know how the ice hadn’t melted, but I didn’t have time to analyze that.

At this rate, the armor would be stripped completely.
And then I’d have to face this monster with nothing but my bare flesh.

—I had no choice.

Reluctantly, I triggered the self-destruct function built into my suit.
Thanks to the instant ejection system, I managed to escape just in time.

Just as I cleared the blast radius, the suit exploded in a massive blast.

“…It’s over… right?”

I muttered without thinking.
Right before the suit exploded, I saw a shadow straddling it.

Unless something ridiculous happened, the enemy had to have been caught in the blast.

“Haa… haa… damn it.”

I didn’t feel regret for killing someone.
No—what irritated me was that I was relieved to have escaped the crisis.

Scowling at myself, I made my way toward the room directly beneath the command center—my private quarters.

I had to check on that crystal—the one most crucial to powering the Hero Suits and this floating fortress itself.

“—So that crystal is what keeps this whole ridiculous thing afloat… and powers those insane suits too, huh.”

And then—from behind me—a voice I shouldn’t have heard.
A voice that couldn’t possibly be there.

“No… way…”

He was standing there.

No doubt about it.
The man who should’ve been caught in a point-blank explosion—stood there without a single scratch.
And his eyes glowed, like a beast who had cornered its prey.

“Guh…!”

And in the next instant, something struck me.
Hard.
Before I could even react, consciousness slipped away.

◇◇◇

“Appraise.”

Kato Masayoshi – Age 14 (16) – Human – Level: N/A
Status: Unconscious
Note: Knocked unconscious by a surprise attack while attempting to check the crystal beneath the command center.

I used the Skill I’d finally unlocked—【Appraisal】—to confirm that Kato Masayoshi, our so-called “Hero,” was out cold.
Then I gave a long, satisfied stretch.

That ice doll decoy trick? A total shot in the dark.
But wow, it worked way better than expected.

Really goes to show—sometimes you just gotta experiment.

“Now then…”

I descended into the room Kato-kun had been heading toward—his private quarters, which also served as the crystal’s storage chamber.

“Looks about the same as the other heroes’ rooms.”

It matched what I’d seen earlier through the decoy’s eyes:
A modest bedroom with essentials only—bathroom, wardrobe, fridge, desk.
The only difference was… a second room at the back.

“Huh?”

I went to open the back room’s door, but the knob didn’t budge.
There was what looked like a keyhole.

A locked room inside an already isolated chamber?
Yeah—whatever was inside, he was desperate to protect it.

“Hmph!”

No need for body reinforcement.
With pure momentum, I kicked the door open and entered.

The sanctum-like chamber was dim, and strangely solemn.

And there, at the very center of the room…
A palm-sized, jade-green crystal hovered in midair.

“Appraise.”

Target: Crystal of the Otherworld (Ikaishi)
Status: Good
Note: Extracts mana from another world and substitutes for the user’s MP in Skill activation.
If lost, the original owner will become unable to use any Skills, and all previously active effects will be nullified.
Current Owner: Kato Masayoshi

So this was the secret behind it all.

Now that I knew the trick, there was no reason to leave it here.
I could destroy it or just throw it in my Item Box.

“Whoa—”

A loud explosion rocked the fortress.
The entire structure lurched violently.

“Guess priority one is getting this behemoth to land safely.”

I activated 【Sensory Link】 and synced with the water-magic drone I’d stationed above the floating fortress.

Cables launched.
With all my focus, I directed it toward a safe descent—away from prying eyes.

Translator’s Notes:

  • The protagonist uses misdirection, stealth, and real-time strategy rather than brute force—contrasting sharply with Kato’s rigid, tool-reliant combat style.

  • Kato’s idolization of heroism ultimately collapses as he succumbs to paranoia, fear, and betrayal of those ideals.

Comments

Post a Comment