Classmate wa Isekai de Yuusha ni Natta kedo, Ore dake Gendai Nihon ni Okizari ni Narimashita - Chapter 26
Chapter 26: I Tried Using My Extra Skill (Part 3)
"Do you know that girl?"
Seeing my reaction, Kuon seemed to have sensed something and asked me.
"I've never met her directly. But you know the story, right? A month ago, a bunch of guys in our class suddenly got girlfriends. One of them showed off his girlfriend, and that girl was her."
"Ah…."
Recalling that whole commotion—or rather, being forced to remember it—Kuon showed a mix of understanding and an awkward smile.
"If that's the case, why is she here…?"
"Who knows? But I'm pretty sure it's not for a good reason."
Even as I said that, I activated Appraisal on Rentarou’s girlfriend.
Asahina Aoi - Human - 15 years old
Status: Hypnotized, Fatigued, Amnesia
Note: She is under hypnosis caused by magic cast within a group chat. Additionally, parts of her memory have been extracted, resulting in physical exhaustion.
Hypnosis, brainwashing, and even magic, huh?
Since exorcists and yokai are real, I figured magic might exist too, but still…
"Kuon, can you still sense that yokai aura?"
"…That's what's strange."
"Strange how?"
Kuon muttered while staring at the vacant-eyed girl sitting in front of us.
"I can sense the same yokai aura from all the people sitting here… as if they've inhaled pieces of a shattered yokai."
They’re emitting the aura from inside? What the hell does that mean?
Click.
From deeper inside the building, we heard the sound of a doorknob turning.
Kuon and I quickly hid behind the couch and peeked out at the newcomers.
"Oh, all twelve of them showed up today?"
"Students had exams recently, so it was hard to get them all together."
"Well, at least now we won’t have our client bitching at us."
Two men entered: one was a middle-aged guy in a black jacket with short hair, and the other was a younger man wearing a tracksuit, his hair dyed a flashy color.
They walked over to the table between the couches and peered into a glass jar secured on top of it.
"Looks good—it's filling up nicely."
"Hey, uh, I know this is kinda late to ask, but… what exactly is this stuff? The old man just told us to bring it to him once it was full."
"How the hell should I know? I just heard it’s used as material for some new product—we’re extracting something out of them."
From their conversation, it seemed like they didn’t fully understand what was going on here either.
That meant the real mystery was the glass jar.
(Appraisal.)
Target: Glass Jar
Status: Good
Note: Enchanted with auto-collection and memory recall magic. The jar stores extracted happy memories in liquid form.
If the jar is destroyed, the memories will return to their original owners.
So they were hypnotized, gathered here, and had their happy memories sucked out?
But for what purpose…?
"By the way, the other day, I saw some kids being carried out through the back door. What was that about?"
"Oh, that? Apparently, someone got drained past their limit and turned into a vegetable. They had to dispose of 'em."
"A vegetable!? What happens to them!?"
"They turn into nothing but bedridden, mindless husks, pissing and shitting themselves non-stop. At that point, we can't 'harvest' anything else from them, so make sure you properly manage these ones. They're valuable products."
"Y-yes, sir!"
With that, the two men moved to remove the glass jar.
"…What do they think people are…?"
At that moment, I noticed Kuon beside me, trembling with anger.
"Kuon, what do you want to do?"
The magic that disrupts perception should make them unaware of our voices and presence, but I still whispered.
"What do you mean, 'what do I want to do'?"
"Do we beat the shit out of these bastards and save everyone here? Or—"
"…We save them. No—I want to save them."
Nice. I love simple answers.
Then my response is just as simple.
"Skill Bestowal."
"! This is…?"
"Sorry, but I used up almost all my fuel activating skills on the way here. So only use Physical Enhancement when it really counts."
"…Understood."
We stepped forward.
The perception-blocking magic should still last another 20 minutes.
We’ll finish this before that time runs out.
"Kuon, circle around and smash that jar without hesitation. I'll deal with these bastards."
"Understood. I'll leave that to you."
I gave a hand signal, and we leaped out from behind the couch.
"!?!? W-Who the hell are these guys!?"
The man in the jacket screamed upon seeing me.
Right now, their perception of us is warped—they probably see nothing but blurry monsters in human clothing.
They can't hear our footsteps, feel our presence, or even comprehend our voices.
If something like that suddenly appears from the darkness, of course they'd be terrified.
"Shit…!"
One of the men pulled a gun from inside his jacket and aimed it straight at me.
(“Physical Enhancement.”)
Just before he could pull the trigger, I activated Physical Enhancement, accelerated, and closed the distance in an instant.
"Tch."
"Gah!?"
I held back most of my strength and simply jabbed him lightly on the chin with my fingers.
The man collapsed to his knees like a powerless machine that had just been shut down.
"Haaah!"
At the same time, Kuon enhanced her strength with Mid-Level Physical Enhancement and delivered a powerful kick to the glass jar.
The jar shattered, and the twelve people sitting on the couch slumped over all at once.
(“Appraisal.”)
Name: Asahina Aoi (Human, 15 years old)
Status: Unconscious
Note: Lost consciousness due to hypnosis and memory confusion from the extraction process stopping.
It looks like they’re safe.
That means only one guy is left.
"Guh…!?"
Damn it. Right now, of all times, my MP has dropped below the safety margin.
From here on, I can’t use any more skills. I’ll have to fight with my body alone—
"Die, you damn monster!"
I spun around—
The last man stood there, his gun aimed directly at my head.
"Iori-kun!?"
Seeing this, Kuon activated Physical Enhancement, trying to jump between me and the shooter.
『Skill level has reached its maximum. Required experience has been met. Level up will now commence.』
At that moment, a voice I had heard somewhere before echoed in my head.
Impossible.
Physical Enhancement shouldn’t have reached level 10 this soon.
And yet, it just leveled up?
This is—
(No, I’ll think about it later…!)
The moment the man pulled the trigger, I used Mid-Level Physical Enhancement to dodge the bullet.
Then, enhancing my leg strength, I slammed the man’s body into the hard ground.
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