Chapter 8

Yoshida, who had been outed by the princess in front of the class as having a crush on Tanaka, could no longer bear the embarrassment and ran away from the cathedral.

Tanaka immediately chased after Yoshida, who was crying and running away.

Yoshida, a girl, was running at a speed that Tanaka couldn't catch up to.

Thinking he would never catch her, he shouted, "Wait! Yoshida!"

Hearing his voice, Yoshida's back stiffened for a moment, and then she ran even faster.

It seemed he had startled her.

Tanaka regretted his actions, thinking he had done something unnecessary.

Yoshida, running down the corridor, collided with a table that held a vase.

She knocked over the table without a care, running with all her might as if she wasn't thinking about anything.

Yoshida's speed was incredibly fast, even for a girl.

She was as fast as the boys on the track team.

This speed was probably due to her stats increasing after coming to the other world.

Tanaka, who had almost lost sight of Yoshida several times, struggled to keep up.

Chasing her at such a high speed, he found it hard to breathe, and his heart felt like it was about to burst.

But he couldn't leave Yoshida alone, so he continued to chase her with all his might.

Because Yoshida was the one he liked!

With this love in his heart, he continued to chase her.

Tanaka cornered Yoshida at the end of a dead-end balcony.

Yoshida stood with her back against the balcony railing, which overlooked a cliff with a pond at the bottom.

"Phew, phew, that's enough, don't run anymore. I finally caught up."

"Don't come any closer! If you do, I'll jump from here!"

"Why!?"

"Being outed like that, I'm too embarrassed to live!"

"What do you mean!?"

"I was outed in front of everyone for liking Tanaka! Everyone laughed at me! I can't go on living... I'm going to die!"

Tears streamed down Yoshida's face, and she bit her lip, then suddenly leaped over the balcony railing.

Yoshida's body soared through the air and fell toward the pond.

At that moment, Tanaka quickly closed the distance, grabbed the railing, and leaped over it, catching Yoshida's arm! He pulled her up and embraced her.

"What are you doing! Idiot!"

Tanaka forcefully pulled Yoshida up and sat her on the balcony floor.

"Ugh, ugh."

Tanaka kissed Yoshida, who was crying, without giving her a chance to speak.

It was a forceful kiss.

Yoshida, initially surprised with wide eyes, soon accepted it and kissed him back.

"Listen, Yoshida! I like you too! Will you marry me?"

"Eh? Eh? What? I understand being told I'm liked, but marriage right away! What are you saying all of a sudden?"

"Do you not want to?"

"I don't mind. I'm really happy. But isn't that something you say after becoming a couple?"

"I really like you, and I want to be with you even after we graduate from high school. So, I want you to marry me. Is that okay?"

"...Yeah. I like you too."

They shared another passionate kiss. The priests who had been worried and chasing after them showed relieved expressions upon seeing the two.

"I joined the class committee because Yoshida ran for it. I've liked you since then."

"I was really happy when Tanaka joined the class committee."

"We were in love all along, but neither of us could say it."

"Yeah. We should have confessed earlier."

"Yeah. There are a lot of things we want to talk about, but since you suddenly ran out, everyone must be worried. Let's go back to the cathedral."

"Okay."

The two of them walked back to the cathedral, leaning on each other.

*

In the cathedral, the Blood Oath was about to begin.

Princess Aura held the Oath Crystal, and four B-rank students were to drop a drop of blood on it.

The blood was drawn from their fingertips with a silver needle.

Some girls, who were too scared to prick themselves, had their blood drawn by the boys.

One of the girls was still crying.

"Please follow the instructions."

"Yes."

"Thou shalt make a contract before the Oath Crystal. Swear to serve me and fight as one until thy wish is granted. By the name of Princess Aura and the guardian deity Celesta, I shall bless thee. Offer thy proof of the Oath here!"

"Your will be done!"

The four students dropped their blood on the crystal.

The crystal, without being stained by the blood, emitted a faint light that enveloped the four.

"The contract is sealed. May thou be blessed."

"Is the contract sealed now?"

A student, half-believing, muttered to himself. Princess Aura smiled at the student.

"Yes, the contract is now complete. Next group, please."

The oaths were made one after another.

Four students at a time made the oath, and groups that lacked members in the B-rank included C-rank students.

When the B-rank groups finished and it was the C-rank's turn, a commotion arose in the cathedral.

Yoshida and Tanaka had returned to the cathedral.

Moreover, Tanaka was holding Yoshida's shoulder, and Yoshida was tightly gripping the hem of Tanaka's armor.

Anyone could tell that they had confessed and were now in love.

Whistles were blown.

Hearing the whistles, Yoshida's face turned bright red, and she looked down, but Tanaka lifted her face and kissed her.

Yoshida's face turned so red it looked like it might explode, and cheers rose from the classmates.

What is Tanaka doing, acting so cool?

You're known for not being cool, Tanaka!

Despite not being cool, with his beautiful equipment, he looked incredibly handsome.

Yoshida, who was also not particularly cool, looked like a princess in her white robe.

It's amazing how appearance can change everything.

"Wow!""A kiss...""Amazing!"

The commotion wouldn't stop! A thunderous cheer blessed the two.

Seeing this, someone grabbed my dirty poncho tightly.

Looking to the side, I saw Ishikawa with teary eyes, acting like a love-struck girl.

Ah, this is a girl in love with love.

I understand it somehow.

"That's nice," Ishikawa said softly.

"Huh? What's wrong?"

"N-nothing!"

Ishikawa, returning to her usual self, let go of my robe and acted as if nothing had happened.

Maybe she's a little more affectionate toward me now.

If she weren't so harsh, she'd be a pretty good girl.

Her face is above average, and she's popular enough to be admired by girls.

Since we're in the same group, I'll take my time to instill my charm and make her unable to live without me.

And as a bonus, I'll make Kagawa and Nagano mine too.

Fufufu!

As I indulged in my perverted fantasies, my nose grew, and Ishikawa looked at me with disgust.

"Gross!"

My perverted thoughts must have shown on my face.

The oaths continued, and the oaths of 38 students, including us, were completed.

Mr. Sasaki, the only one left out of the oaths, was hunched over like a deer left behind by the herd.

This isn't like Mr. Sasaki.

"Um, what about my oath? Who should I team up with?"

"Mr. Sasaki, you are C-rank and have already passed the growth threshold, so there is no need for an oath."

"But I'm only 29!"

"At 29, you are a mature woman."

"Calling a 29-year-old a mature woman... That's harsh... I want to contribute with everyone else... Even E-rank students have made oaths, so I want to make one too."

"I'm sorry, but it's not possible due to the number of people."

"But!"

A spear was pointed at the teacher's nose by one of the princess's guards.

Realizing that further objections to Princess Aura were futile, she backed down.

Instead, she glared at me, who had made an oath despite being E-rank.

Hey!

Stop it!

Why are you glaring at me?

It's not my fault!

Glare at Princess Aura!

Ignoring Mr. Sasaki's indignation, Princess Aura praised everyone.

"Thank you all. The Blood Oath is now complete. Let me introduce the trainers for your training."

In front of Princess Aura stood a row of knights in holy silver armor.

They were all handsome knights with a mix of Western and Eastern features, and the girls let out squeals of delight, while the boys were in awe.

Ishikawa, standing next to me, whispered to me.

"That knight is way more handsome than you."

"None of your business! I'm sorry!"

"Maybe I'll become his girlfriend, hehehe."

"He's so handsome. I want to be his girlfriend too."

Even the lolicon Kagawa was instantly smitten.

Her eyes were glazed over, and she was completely in love.

I thought she was a little more affectionate toward me, but this is what I get.

This is why women are...

"But if you really want to, I'll stop being his girlfriend."

What is this? Is Ishikawa trying to get me to confess?

She's being unusually provocative.

If she's being affectionate, I don't mind her as a girl, but if I confess, she'll say, "You confessed first!" and I'll be dominated for life.

I don't want that kind of relationship.

I need to avoid that.

"Hey, can I confess to the knight? Hey? Hey?"

Ah, this is annoying!

Why are you forcing me to decide right away?

These things should be thought about after a good night's sleep!

I don't want to answer right now!

"Everyone,"

As I was trying to decide how to answer, the princess moved on, saving me.

"From today, we will train in the dungeon for 30 days. Each group will have a dedicated knight trainer, so please follow their instructions."

Good job, Princess Aura.

Ishikawa's "make me confess" attack was nullified.

The group trainers started to arrive one after another.

The trainers were all handsome, and some female students started to flirt with them.

This is bad.

If a handsome knight is assigned to our group, my only enjoyment in this other world, my harem (planned), will collapse.

I have to do something about this!

But there was no need to worry.

No trainer knights came to the D-rank group.

The D-rank group, which was not expected, was not assigned any trainers from the beginning.

As expected of a group with zero expectations.

"What about our trainer?"

"It doesn't seem like one is coming."

"I thought there were quite a few."

Looking around, there were 13 trainers: 5 for the A-rank group and 1 for each of the 8 other groups, totaling 13.

That means one is missing.

I guess I'll have to teach them myself?

I could be a teacher and have a forbidden love with the students like in a teen comic.

As I was thinking about this, Ishikawa had already moved to the priests.

Ishikawa, with her high initiative, was questioning one of the important priests.

"Why don't we have a trainer?"

"I'm sorry, but there aren't enough knights to assign to the D-rank group. It was already a struggle to get the knights to cover the other groups. Please don't take it personally."

"What are you saying! A-rank only has Tanaka and Yoshida, but they have 5 trainers! Give us one!"

"The A-rank trainers have specific roles: one for otherworldly knowledge, one for magic, one for sword skills, one for pharmacology, and one for..."

"Hey, Ishikawa, stop it."

I bowed deeply and pulled Ishikawa away from the troubled priest.

"Ugh, this is so frustrating."

"We knew we weren't expected. Why are you getting angry now?"

"I know, but it's frustrating to be treated like this! No trainer! If we go into the dungeon without a trainer, we'll be killed by monsters right away!"

Don't worry. I'm here, so we won't die. Just then, the priest from earlier came back and handed me a document.

"What is this?"

"It's a request letter to the Adventurer's Guild."

"A request letter?"

"We can't assign a knight to the D-rank group, but without a trainer, you won't know what to do. We'll send a request to the Adventurer's Guild for training for beginner adventurers. Take this request letter to the Adventurer's Guild. A skilled adventurer should be able to guide you. The training curriculum will be up to the adventurer, so you can register with the Adventurer's Guild and do some quests while training, hehehe."

"The Adventurer's Guild is outside the temple, right?"

"Yes, it's about a 15-minute walk."

"We are heroes, but can we go outside the temple? Is there no risk of leaks?"

"You are troublemakers... hehehe. Since you are D-rank heroes, you are housed separately from the other heroes, and you haven't been told any secrets that could cause problems if leaked. You are free to go outside the temple. You could even stay at an inn outside if you wanted."

What is this?

Heroes can go outside the temple?

D-rank heroes are the best, aren't they!?

Usually, heroes are always under the watchful eye of the summoner.

In extreme cases, they might even be forced to wear a slave collar to make the master-servant relationship clear.

But to be free from the priests' watchful eyes and able to roam freely?

To be able to enter and exit the city freely and walk around the city?

This is amazing!

I never thought I would be able to enjoy such freedom after being summoned to another world!