Middle-Aged Man Isekai Summoning - Chapter 4

 What Is Conversation?

Seven days had passed, yet I still hadn't managed to have a proper conversation with my companions. Even Yuno, who seemed like she'd be good at communicating, only spoke to me with an awkward smile. With the other members, the situation was even more serious—conversations didn't even happen. What concerned me even more was that the awkward atmosphere among the girls themselves continued.

"Cattlea, how do you think I can get everyone to talk to me?"

"Let me see... It would be great if there were some kind of catalyst, but in our current situation, it seems difficult."

Cattlea pondered with a serious expression. Right now, she was the person I talked to the most. Cattlea is my personal maid, a girl who just turned 18. However, since 15 is considered adulthood in this world, Cattlea is also a fully grown woman. Although she comes from a commoner family of merchants, she is a brilliant person who graduated at the top of her class from a school attended by nobility, and is currently a highly capable maid working in the royal castle.

Besides taking care of my daily life, I learned many things from Cattlea. Even though I could converse using translation magic, I couldn't read or write the local language, so she studied together with me while pointing at letters in books. This was a two-in-one study method adapted from my past experience learning foreign languages to get closer to foreign girls. As a result, Cattlea and I hit it off quite well.

After finishing my language studies, I had her prepare materials that showed the financial situation of this kingdom—data to grasp the whole picture, including agriculture, fisheries, and tax systems. I had doubts about a country pushed to the brink by war trying to decide its own fate by relying entirely on outsiders.

Sure enough, the country's finances were in dire straits. Having relied on luxury goods and ornaments as their primary industries, those items couldn't sell during wartime and instead became dead weight. And precisely because they lacked the weapons and food necessary for war, they relied on the Hero Summoning magic to call forth a select few elites. However, many parts of this situation still didn't add up. Because this country had many suspicious aspects, I thought it best to achieve our goal and return home as quickly as possible. In the meantime, I planned to cooperate, but I decided to submit reform proposals through Cattlea to her father to help improve the situation even a little.

By the way, my financial knowledge was cultivated from past experience giving advice to sugar babies. My stance with women struggling financially was not to simply hand over money, but to teach them how to increase their wealth or start a business. For that reason, I obtained qualifications myself and deepened my knowledge through actual management.

"If Dai-sama hadn't explained your skill back then, things wouldn't have turned out like this... Cattlea still can't tell whether Dai-sama is foolish or brilliant."

"At that moment, I got too carried away when they called us comrades."

Incidentally, Cattlea also knows about my skill. At first, she looked at me like I was garbage, but through our study sessions, her attitude gradually softened.

"A catalyst, huh... Should I just start a fight with those girls?"

"Wouldn't that make things worse?"

"Well, even if it gets worse, it won't change much from how things are now!"

"But how do you plan on calling everyone out?"

"Right... Since we can't talk, I'll write down my honest feelings in a letter and convey them. If my personal maid delivers it, they'll probably read it."

…

..

.

While waiting in the ring at the training grounds, five furious "demons" arrived. The cause was the letter I wrote, but it seemed I had poured way too much of my raw feelings into it.

"Oh! You guys came."

I called out while hiding my awkwardness, but the response I received involved words far more dangerous than expected.

"Dai. It seems you want to be slashed to death..."

Yuno emitted an ominous aura while speaking in a low voice.

"Old guy. I'm going to burn you to death, so don't you dare move!"

Maya also made a terrifying statement with a smile. I never expected such words to come out of girls' mouths. Furthermore, the three behind them showed no mercy either.

"Everyone, I'll heal him right before he dies as many times as it takes, so please go ahead and do it without worry❤️"

Sharon said brightly.

"I feel relieved hearing that. That way, it won't count as team killing, nor will it violate chivalry."

Aria gripped her sword with a solemn expression.

"...I'll bite you to death..."

Iris was quiet, but anger unmistakably radiated from her. At this, even I couldn't help backing away while frantically raising my voice.

"W-Well now! Can everyone just calm down and be rational?!"

" " " " " HUH?! " " " " "

All five let out an intimidating roar in unison.

(Terrifying! They aren't just demons, they're violent deities! But this feels like the most lively conversation we've had so far!)

"Anyway, the reason I called you here is to make the gap between me and you girls crystal clear."

When I said that, Yuno furrowed her brows and spoke up.

"There's no point in that..."

"Honestly, you guys think I'm the most useless one here, don't you?"

When I asked them directly, all five fell dead silent.

" " " " " . . . " " " " "

"Well, I said so during self-introductions, and it was true back then. But unlike that time, I've now gained magic and a weapon. Plus, I've been training. So I don't think the gap is that wide anymore."

When I stated that assertively, Yuno argued back with a grim expression.

"After just a few days? You think you can catch up to us, who were fighting in our original worlds...?"

"Yeah, exactly. So let's test it out. Aria and Maya, take me on together."

At those words, Maya let out a voice mixed with shock and anger.

"Haaah?! Are you looking down on us? That's going to be an obvious blowout!"

Aria also lowered her brows in trouble and shook her head.

"Dai-dono. As a knight, I cannot accept such a request."

I chuckled slightly, shrugged my shoulders, and continued provocatively:

"Just come at me. Or are you not confident you can win?"

At my provocation, Maya reacted instantly.

"Fine then...! I'll make you regret this!"

Aria nodded reluctantly as well.

"...Very well. I shall be your opponent."

Aria took position in the front guard, while Maya positioned herself in the rear guard. Both were dead serious, clearly intending to knock me down.

"Aria, I'm going to blow this old guy away, so watch the timing and dodge!"

"Understood. I will face Dai-dono head-on!"

"Alright, let's start! First off—here you go!"

I threw a pre-prepared sandbag high into the air and chanted a spell.

" 'O Wind, heed my will—Air Shot.' "

The wind projectile hit the sandbag, scattering a cloud of dust across the ring. In an instant, their vision was engulfed in sand, and the two squinted in confusion.

"Eh!? I can't see anything... Ouch! Sand got in my eyes! It hurts!"

"Kh! Where is he!? I can't see his figure!"

Glancing at the two whose vision was taken by the sandstorm, I put on the goggles I had prepared beforehand. I had asked Cattlea to prepare these for me in advance. Furthermore, because this sand was physical rather than magical, Aria's skill providing magic defense wouldn't trigger.

"Here's another one!"

I periodically threw in other sandbags to generate more sand clouds, keeping their vision blocked.

"Damn it! This is annoying, I'll blow it away with magic!"

"Aria, I won't be affected by magic, so it's fine!"

Maya chanted a quick spell.

" 'Tornado.' "

Wind generated around her, blowing away the sand cloud. Their vision cleared up, but by then, my figure was no longer inside the ring.

"Eh!? Where did he go?"

"Right here."

Turning around at my voice, my prepared spear was already closing in behind Maya.

"With this, Maya loses."

The spear extended, binding Maya's movements.

"Hah...! Kh...!"

Maya's shoulders trembled in frustration. Truth be aloud, I had quickly moved outside the ring.

Because Maya's "Tornado" spell centered around herself, the origin point of the wind revealed her exact location.

Predicting that, I quietly circled around behind her and extended my spear, taking her down in a single move.

"Alright, next is Aria."

"Dai-dono, you are quite cowardly, aren't you?"

"Well, consider it a handicap!"

"However, next is a 1-on-1 duel. How will you fight?"

"Same way again."

Grit—

"Sand again? Do you think the same trick will work twice?"

"Well, who knows?"

"Go ahead, I shall take it head-on fair and square."

"Understood, try tanking this!"

I threw a sandbag toward Aria while simultaneously chanting a spell.

" 'O Wind, heed my will—Air Shot.' "

Sand scattered into the air, obscuring her vision. Aria maintained a calm stance and declared:

"Hmph, as expected, the same trick. Something like this is meaningless in a duel—"

Before she could finish her sentence, a stone struck near her ribs at high speed with a dull thud.

"Agh...! Ow...!"

I had hidden stones inside the sandbags along with the sand. Then I used wind magic to accelerate those stones. Against Aria, who wasn't wearing armor, that alone dealt significant damage.

Aria bent over in pain, trying to catch her breath. Taking advantage of the gap, I walked over slowly, aimed my spear at her, and declared victory.

"That's match. Sorry Aria, but this is what real fighting is."

"Kh... I think it's cowardly, but it certainly makes tactical sense..."

Aria wore a frustrated expression, but had no choice but to acknowledge my methods.

"Sharon-san, please heal her."

"Eh! Yes!"

Sharon-san hurried over and began healing Aria with recovery magic. Seeing her chant with a tense expression surprised me a little.

(I asked Sharon-san without thinking, but she can heal it right away.)

Confirming Aria's recovery, I turned back to question Maya and the others once more.

"Do you understand now?"

"Understand what...?"

"Don't play dumb, you know what I mean."

I stared at them intently, guiding them toward the realization.

"Tch! You want to point out our lack of coordination, right?!"

"There's an even bigger issue before that, isn't there?"

I pressed further with another question.

"...Not knowing each other's abilities or opponents."

"Bingo. How can you coordinate without knowing your allies or your opponent? I simply exploited that gap. If you girls knew and trusted each other, and knew my capabilities too, I would have lost in an instant."

My words left them speechless, and silence fell over the group. Amidst the silence, the sound of applause suddenly echoed from outside the ring.

Clap clap clap clap—

Yuno stepped onto the ring while lightly clapping her hands.

"That was amazing. Well then, it's my turn next. What should we do? Should we test my coordination with everyone too?"

"No, I was planning a 1-on-1 duel with you from the start."

I turned to face Yuno, steeling my resolve.

(Next up is the final boss, Yuno... Still, back-to-back fights with no break is rough on an old guy! But given this atmosphere, there's no way I can say that out loud...)

Prev            TOC            Next