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006 The Heroes
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Translator : PolterGlast
The 34 high school
students who were summoned and thrown onto the marble floor were placed under
the watchful eye of Princess Ermelda, who was wearing a lovely yet extravagant
dress.
The record cards of
the 34 summoned individuals were immediately checked.
A record card is a
record of a person's life. It's famous for being discharged from the chest when
a person dies, but it can also be checked while someone is alive. By using a
certain skill or magic, one can check the record card of a living person.
"Why are all of
them criminals?"
Of the 34, 12 were
criminals. Whether one says "only 12" or "as many as 12"
would depend on the individual. Ermelda felt "as many as 12."
This number accounted
for 35 percent of the 34 summoned individuals. A 35 percent crime rate was
high. If a nation had such a number, it would be a sign of a failed government.
"Perhaps the
fortunate thing is that there were few serious crimes."
There were few, but
not none. Ten committed minor offenses such as assault, extortion, and theft,
but two had committed arson and robbery, which were considered serious crimes
in this country.
Ermelda gazed at the
copies of the summoned heroes' record cards with a troubled expression.
"Why is the Hero
of Flame a serious criminal?"
Of the 34, 4 had
hero-type jobs, and 3 of those were criminals. In particular, Shinji Akaba—the
Hero of Flame, who was expected to have the most attack power—was an arsonist.
He didn't become the
Hero of Flame because he was an arsonist. It was a mere coincidence that
Shinji, an arsonist, became the Hero of Flame. This was inferred from the lack
of correlation between the other heroes' attributes and their criminal records.
A record card recorded
name, gender, age, job, skills, and criminal history, but for Princess Ermelda,
the important parts were the job and skills. Even if a person had a criminal
record, it was in the past. More precisely, it was from a different world. It
was natural that the laws of another world would not apply in this country.
They didn't, but...
"Is it alright
for such heroes to gain power?"
They had been
summoned, but it couldn't be said that the heroes wouldn't bring disaster to
this country. Ermelda, who had believed that heroes equated to good conduct,
was plagued by a great anxiety.
Nevertheless, the
summoning of heroes had been widely advertised both internally and externally.
It couldn't be undone now. Even if the heroes committed crimes, they would have
to be judged mercilessly. They had to be educated to prevent them from
committing crimes. Before the summoning, she never thought she would have to
worry about such things.
Ermelda summoned the
Knight Commander and the Magic Corps Commander.
"First, educate
all 34 on what constitutes a crime. Tell them that even if they are heroes,
criminals will not be forgiven."
"We have heard
about their criminal records. Leaving aside minor crimes, will serious
criminals be reformed?"
At the Knight
Commander's words, Ermelda frowned. Both the Knight Commander and the Magic
Corps Commander acutely felt the gravity of the situation due to the expression
Ermelda had never shown before.
In this world,
criminals are not encouraged to reform. This is because criminals are
considered criminals and not people who will reform. Criminals are given
punishment corresponding to the crime they committed. That is all. Although
that punishment might be more painful than death.
"We have no
choice but to reform them. Heroes must serve as role models for the people. If
that cannot be achieved—"
Ermelda swallowed the
word "elimination."
The country performed
the hero summoning because the number of monsters in the multiple dungeons
within its borders had increased. If the number of dungeon monsters increased,
they would eventually overflow onto the surface. To prevent this, it was
necessary to thin out the monsters within the dungeons.
Fortunately, there
were a few years before monsters would overflow from the dungeons. However,
once this phenomenon began, it would be difficult to stop. Past experiences
showed that thinning out monsters in the deeper layers of the dungeons would
calm the situation. That was why powerful job holders, heroes, were summoned.
"—Therefore,
taking someone else's property without permission is the crime of theft."
"Hey, what kind
of lecture are we getting? Even kids know that!"
Shinji, the
problematic Hero of Flame, intimidated the civil servant giving the lecture
with a bored look.
"Adults commit
crimes that even children understand. Even if you don't know these things, you
will be punished if you commit a crime, so this is also a lecture to protect
yourselves."
"The country
should just deal with that."
Shinji said such
things, but those who committed crimes found their jobs changing to Bandit or
similar without them realizing it. It was too late once it happened.
Putting that aside,
Shinji, who said such things, had no intention of obeying the law. That's what
the civil servant felt.
"The country
protects those who abide by the law and condemns those who violate it.
Therefore, we will not cover anything up. These are things you all must know as
a minimum, and claiming ignorance will not be accepted."
"Tch. You summon
us and then don't even give us special privileges? What a stingy country."
To the civil servant,
obeying the law was a matter of course, but Shinji wasn't the only one who
believed they had special privileges because they were summoned. A certain
number of other heroes thought the same way.
Ermelda and her
associates felt a sense of guilt and responsibility for forcibly bringing
Shinji and the others into this world. Therefore, the country provided the
summoned heroes with the best possible treatment. However, this was within the
bounds of common sense and did not grant excessive privileges.
The civil servant
carefully observed the heroes' classroom behavior and reported it to Ermelda.
"Indeed, many of
them had bad attitudes. They are troublesome individuals..."
Ermelda observed them
for about a week and then sorted them into groups based on whether their nature
seemed problematic or not. As a result, the heroes were divided into three
groups.
The group of
problematic individuals, including Shinji, had 14 people. The group of
non-problematic individuals also had 14 people. And then there were 6 people
with production-type jobs.
Fortunately, the jobs
were able to be balanced across the groups.
After the grouping,
the Knight Commander and the Magic Corps Commander summoned the heroes to the
training grounds.
"You will undergo
combat training for one month, after which you will actually enter the dungeon.
Even in training, if you are not careful, you will suffer serious injuries. Be
diligent in your efforts."
Hearing the Knight
Commander's words, the heroes—especially Shinji's group—did not react well.
"Hey, instead of
doing boring training, just let us into the dungeon already."
"Entering the
dungeon without training is dangerous."
"Isn't it the job
of a hero to figure that out?"
As Shinji continued to
press, the Knight Commander and Magic Corps Commander put their heads together
to consult.
"Alright.
Shinji's group will be allowed to enter the dungeon."
Both commanders
thought that if they experienced some pain, they would learn their lesson.
"What about your
group?"
He asked the group
that wasn't Shinji's.
"We'll train
first."
The heroes were
divided into Shinji's group, who would go into actual combat, and the group who
would remain at the castle for training.
***
Not all summoned
heroes had combat-type jobs. Out of 34, 4 had hero-type jobs, 8 had front-line
combat jobs, 8 had Mage jobs, 4 had scout jobs, 4 had priest jobs, and 6 had
production-type jobs such as blacksmiths and alchemists.
Therefore, not
everyone would undergo combat training.
In the evening, Sayaka
Itsukushima—a production-type job holder—returned to her room with a gloomy
expression.
"Why doesn't
anyone talk about Fujii-kun...?"
This time, her
classmates were summoned. However, there should have been 35 people, but only
34 were summoned. The missing person was Fujii.
Since no one knew that
Fujii had reincarnated in a different place, almost all of her classmates
thought he hadn't been summoned at all.
Only Sayaka was
worried about the safety of her missing classmate. Why was he the only one
missing, wasn't he struggling after being sent to another part of this world,
wasn't he having a terrible time...?
"Maybe it's
better for Fujii-kun not to be here..."
All the classmates who
bullied Fujii were here. It must have been good for Fujii to be away from them.
Especially Shinji, the
leader of the bullying, was here. That alone meant Fujii wouldn't be subjected
to violence.
"If I had more
courage, I could have helped Fujii-kun..."
She lacked the courage
and couldn't stop the bullying. Even now, Shinji was scary. No, he was even
scarier now.
Sayaka was an
alchemist, but Shinji was the Hero of Flame. The difference in their physical
strength had widened even further.
Sayaka sat on her bed,
looking down so much that her slightly reddish hair hung loose.
"I miss you...
Fujii-kun..."
She squeezed out a
voice that almost faded away.
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