Chapter 159

The battle with Rose.

It was a fruitful experience for me, and I learned many lessons.

The difference in ability between me and Rose.

The establishment of a fighting style using the Healing Accelerated Fist.

If you only look at the result, it was just that I got beaten up first after being held back, but I certainly felt that I made progress.

“Well, let’s go see the Leader.”

Soon after I woke up from my stupor, it was time for dinner. Since it was a good opportunity, I invited Amako to dinner as well, and we spent dinner time in the cafeteria, which was now bigger than when I arrived, and could be called the rescue squad’s only resting time.

But before dinner, Amako, Nea, and Ferrum had a little quarrel …… or something like that.　I was a little surprised to see them doing something like that.

I was relieved that Ferme and Amako got along well, although I was a little shaken by Amako, who had used her precognitive magic to anticipate their moves and had struck them back, but I managed to remonstrate with the sullen little fox and the half-crying demon and monster.

“…… What is this, I’m your guardian or something….”

I muttered to myself as I walked down the corridor leading to the Leader’s office after dropping Amako off.

Her personality is similar to mine in some ways, and I can’t help but care for her. In addition, I heard about the nature of dark magicians from Koga and found out that Ferrum has been living alone, so I’m worried……, or maybe I’m feeling sorry for her.

“Emotion-driven magic, huh?”

To me, dark magic seems to be a very unstable magic. In other words, dark magic is the manifestation of one’s own negative emotions in the form of magic.

Ferrum is an armor of reversal, born of loneliness that no one can touch.

While Koga is a restraint that binds the animal nature that only finds joy in battle.

“So how is Ferrum’s magic now?”

Now, she’s not alone.

I’m ashamed if I’m the only one who thinks so, but if she thinks so too, then …… when Ferrum’s magic is restored, will her dark magic remain the same as before? Or—-

“Oh.”

I was so engrossed in my thoughts that I almost ran into the door of the Leader’s office.

I’ll put aside what I’ve been thinking about for now. From now on, I have to switch my attention to talking with Rose.

“Leader, this is Usato.”

“Yeah, come in.”

“Excuse me.”

After answering, I entered the Leader’s office.

Rose, who was sitting by the window looking out, looked back at me and sat down in her chair, crossing her arms.

“You sit down, too. It’s a bit of a long story.”

“Huh. ……”

I sat down in the chair that had been placed so that I was facing Rose.

It’s going to be a long story, is it something important?

“First of all, you know that I was summoned to the castle yesterday, right?”

“Yes, is it something to do with me?”

“Yes. You may have heard about it, but it was decided that a meeting between the four kingdoms of Lingle, Samaria, Calm Helio and Nirvana will be held in the Magic City of Lukvis in the near future. As the representatives of the Kingdom of Lingle who will be heading there, the knight-errant Sigurth, the resident magician Welsey, the heroes Suzune and Kazuki, and you have been appointed.”

The decision was made sooner than I expected, but I guess I’m going too.

It’s not surprising, since I’m the one who gave Samaria the letter. I guess I’ll need to be the bridge to the other side.

“When will you be leaving?”

“We’ve already sent word to the countries that the talks will take place. We’ll be leaving in a week at the latest.”

A week? That’s less time than I thought.

It would take a long time to get from the Kingdom of Lingle to Samaria by carriage, so they might have taken that into consideration.

“Lloyd-sama says he won’t force you to go if you refuse.”

“No, I will go. I’m the one who gave the letter to Samaria, so I’m going to take responsibility until the end.”

I can’t just throw it away halfway.

Besides, I’m sure senpai and Kazuki will go, too. If it was just me, I would have been worried, but with the two of you, I’m fine.

Rose nodded in response to my answer.

“Then I guess you can’t call yourself a rescue squad anymore.”

“Huh? What does that mean, ……?”

I was about to ask a question when Rose threw something at me.

As soon as I caught it, I saw that it was a cloak with a white hood that I hadn’t seen for a while.

“Oh! It’s fixed!”

“It’s a good thing I asked to repair it as soon as possible. There’s no way you’re going to wear an inappropriate cloak to a meeting.”

Nodding at Rose’s words, I sleeved up the uniform.

Glad to feel the familiar comfort, I asked her about her words earlier.

“Thank you for fixing it for me. So, what do you mean by the title?”

“It means exactly what it says. You’re not just a rescue squad from today.”

I’m getting even more clueless.

I’m no longer just a rescue squad? What does that mean?

I’m called a member because I belong to the rescue squad, and if I’m no longer a member, then that means I’m …… going to be moved from the rescue squad to some other …… place?

Horrified at the thought, Rose smiled, as belligerent as ever.

“Actually, I’ve had a hunch ever since I trained you as a chick. No matter how much you were abused, you were stubborn enough to stand up. You little brat did not break down no matter how many times you’re abused and bounce back at me.”

Am I really being blamed? Or am I being praised?

It’s a strange situation for me to be praised for being stubborn and cocky, though you say it with such joy.

“When I first saw you, I thought you were just some kid from nowhere, but when I opened my eyes, I realized you were one hell of a guy.”

“Please don’t make it sound as if I was a bad guy to begin with. ……”

“There’s no way a normal kid can withstand my training.”

Why should I be treated like a terrible person by the person who put that training on me?

“That’s why you’re the best choice.”

Rose’s smile deepens at my confusion.

I wait for her next words while being engulfed in a different atmosphere than before.

“Usato Ken. From now on, I’m appointing you as the vice commander of the rescue squad.”

“……What?”

The words were so sudden that my mind went blank.

After a few seconds or so, I finally recognize her words and my thoughts stop again.

Vice Commander.

I didn’t even know there was such a title until now.

No, in the first place, I hadn’t even thought that there was a rank other than Leader in the rescue squad.

“What? So surprised you can’t even speak?”

“Isn’t that too sudden? It’s not like there’s a deputy commander, you’re suddenly …….”

“Oh? I told you before the mock battle. I said I would assess you. As a result, you’ve exceeded my expectations.”

You did say you’d assess me, but there was no way I was going to think that meant assessing whether or not I was worthy of being Vice Commander.

Seeing me in a complete panic, Rose smiles in an amused way, but she doesn’t seem to be making fun of the words as a joke at all.

She’s really going to appoint me as the vice of the rescue squad.

“I’ve been planning to do this since the beginning. From the moment I started training you. I told you.　You’re going to be my right-hand man.”

You did say that.

But I thought it was a joke. ……

“But, I don’t think I’m the right person to be the vice commander……. I’m sure there’s someone more fitted, and they’ll surely try to overthrow me immediately.”

“…… Sigh, seriously.”

With a dismissive smile, Rose got up from her chair, walked over to me and slammed a pin into my forehead.

I felt like I was going to fall over as stars popped in my vision from the powerful blow, but I held on and looked up at Rose.

“Do you think I’d appoint someone unworthy to be my vice commander?　Of course I chose you, Usato, because I thought you could handle it.”

“I would?”

“Besides, Alec and the others approve of you more than you think. If you still can’t believe it—-“

She stops speaking for a moment there and raises her fist in front of me.

“Try to make them admit it. Just like you did with me.”

“……”

The title of vice commander is too big for me.

But on the flip side, it means that Rose thinks highly of me enough to entrust me with such a title.

To be honest, even now that I’ve been told face to face like this, I don’t know if I’m worthy of being vice commander.

But, but… I don’t think it’s like me to dwell on it forever after being told this much.

“I accept the position of vice commander.”

“Okay.”

Rose nodded in satisfaction at my words.

She sat down on the chair in the Leader’s office and leaned her body against the backrest.

“From now on, make sure you behave in a manner that does not disgrace the title of vice commander. You may return.”

“Yes.”

Realizing that I was once again the vice commander, I bowed to Rose and was about to leave, when I suddenly remembered the words Rose had said to me during today’s battle.

[I never thought I’d be attacked. Not since ……?]

He was the one who attacked Rose, who could not be touched without unleashing a one-time hidden gem called the Continuous Healing Fist.

How could I not be concerned?

I lowered my hand on the door and turned around to ask her about it.

“Um, I have a question for you. ……”

“What is it?”

“Who was the person who attacked the Leader before me?”

“!”

I see Rose’s eyes widen slightly at the question, and I think I’ve lost it.

Is there some reason for this?　No, it was an opponent that could attack Rose. In fact, even the assumption that it is a humanoid creature might be wrong.

There is even a possibility that it had a body even bigger than that wicked dragon.

After a few dozen seconds of silence, Rose nodded and finally opened her mouth.

“…… Let’s talk about this for a bit.”

A somewhat grave tone.

The atmosphere was completely different from what she had been used to, and she was inwardly confused.

“That thing that attacked me was a demon.”

“Are you saying that you were wounded during the war with the Demon Lord’s army?”

“No, no. It was before the Demon Lord awoke from the seal that we faced him.”

Before he woke up from the seal ……?

Isn’t that before the rescue squad was created?

Not caring that I couldn’t keep up with her thoughts, Rose continued to speak.

“The man’s name is Nero Argento. He is a mage who rules the wind. And …….”

She broke off there and after meditating once, she gazed at me with her strong-willed ship’s eyes as if to shoot me and said those words.

“It’s also the name of the man who scarred my right eye.”

“Nero Argento ……”

After hearing that name from Rose, I left the Leader’s office. No, to be precise, Rose didn’t tell me any more.

I lay down on the bed, staring at the ceiling and muttering the name of the mage who had scarred Rose’s right eye.

The scar on Rose’s right eye had been bothering her for a long time.

As well as the fact that she occasionally held her hand over her right eye as if it was a habit, somewhere in the back of my mind I had been wondering why she, who could use healing magic, had left a scar on her right eye.

“…… and that.”

The name reminded me that the fire-controlling Third Legion commander that Arc-san fought in Hinomoto, the Land of Beasts, claimed to be that man’s apprentice.

I fought with Koga, so I wasn’t able to see him fight, but I heard that the leader of the Third Legion wore flames like armor, and had overwhelming firepower and strength.

The fact that he has as his apprentice a person who is powerful enough to rise to the rank of legion commander does not mean that I can measure his strength.

“I wonder what happened to him.”

When she revealed Nero Argento’s name to me, I had the feeling that Rose was a little different …… than usual.

“I guess we’ll wait for her to tell us.”

As I left the Leader’s office, Rose told me that she would tell me everything eventually.

It’s not that she hasn’t made up her mind to tell me, it’s more that she doesn’t want me to get upset and interfere with the upcoming meeting.

If that’s the case, I should stop thinking about it and focus on what’s in front of me.

“……”

Suddenly, I look at the repaired troupe uniform hanging on the wall.

You can’t even see the original damage, and it looks the same as it did before, but now that I’m the vice commander, the weight of being the one standing on top of the group suddenly hits me when I put my sleeve on it.

Expectations from Rose.

Anxiety about myself.

The weight of the title of Vice Commander.

I feel crushed by it all, but I’m determined to carry it on.

Author’s Note:

After the hellish training, the battle against the Demon King’s army, and the difficult and painful journey, the prologue for Usato has finally come to an end.

It’s been a long road from the first chapter to here …… (currently, 159 chapter)

I have written an activity report about the book version of “The Right Way to Use Weather Magic: Rain Man Wants to Grow Vegetables”.

In addition, N-Star, where I’ve been writing about “The Right Way to Use Weather Magic”, has opened up their feedback section.

Due to the format, I can’t reply to your comments, but please understand that.