Chapter 69

Takuto stood at the classroom door, took a deep breath, and firmly gripped the secret letter from his mother.

---

A middle-aged man who seemed harmless and unremarkable.

But he was a hero.

With his hood pulled deep over his head, Kuraudo warily glanced at the middle-aged hero who had boarded the boat before him, through the gap in his hood. Indeed, it was no mistake.

The hero, one of the three teachers, the Japanese teacher Akihiko Akikawa, known here as Tadao Akikawa. His relationship with Kuraudo before the summoning was merely that of a teacher and a janitor, exchanging greetings when they passed each other.

The only image he could recall was of Akikawa in a worn suit with blue arm covers, but now Akikawa, like Kuraudo, was wearing a stylish and expensive dark blue robe, though unlike Kuraudo.

On the boat floating in the canal, there was no place to run, and a sense of danger welled up inside him. At the same time, he felt embarrassed for a different reason.

Being on this small boat meant he had also just returned from the brothel district.

If it were with the locals, he could have shrugged it off, but with a fellow Japanese, it was not so easy.

Perhaps noticing this, Akikawa, who had initiated the conversation, seemed somewhat suspicious.

The small boat arrived at the opposite shore in no time, just as it had on the way there, regardless of Kuraudo and Akikawa's confusion.

It was not as simple as saying, "Sorry, you've got the wrong person, goodbye."

Kuraudo needed to know how Akikawa viewed his existence as a hero without divine protection and what he intended to do.

The thought of having to do this every time he encountered a hero made him weary, but he could not leave it be.

Kuraudo silently got off the boat first and waited for the middle-aged hero.

As Akikawa stepped off the boat with a "yoikose," Kuraudo, trying to avoid speaking in polite language, called out to him.

"Here, let's go over there."

Kuraudo walked toward a light breakfast place, despite it being early morning and being quite busy.

His actions left no room for argument, but Akikawa did not seem to mind and followed Kuraudo.

At the back of the breakfast place, Kuraudo and Akikawa sat.

Akikawa had immediately put his hood back on after getting off the boat.

The customers seemed to be mostly early morning workers, hurriedly eating their breakfast and leaving. The menu items were very inexpensive, likely a local breakfast spot.

In the midst of this bustle, Kuraudo and Akikawa faced each other, with cheap hot wine between them.

Akikawa bowed his head so low that his forehead almost touched the table.

"In this world, you are supposed to not exist. I am truly sorry, even though we are here."

Kuraudo sighed, looking at Akikawa's thinning scalp.

"If you think that way, it's fine. I don't want to be called a hero now. Raise your head; it's embarrassing."

Kuraudo's words made Akikawa hurriedly lift his head.

"First, I don't want you to tell anyone about my existence. Can you promise me that?"

Akikawa's face became serious.

"...Understood. I promise."

"Few people know about me as a summoner. If it leaks, it will inevitably point to you. If that happens..."

Kuraudo narrowed his eyes.

Akikawa smiled wryly, a bit self-deprecatingly.

"I will never tell anyone. Besides, I am not in a position where I have to report anything."

Kuraudo, curious about Akikawa's "position," asked.

"Embarrassingly, after being summoned here, I was abandoned by my students. For two and a half years, I tried to fulfill my duty as a teacher, but it's not necessary anymore. They've graduated.

The second-year students I was in charge of quickly turned to other teachers and Ichihara-kun, so there's no need to worry.

Now, even the Albium has abandoned me, and I'm just wandering around, pretending to do some minor monster research. So, I have no obligation to report anything. Reporting to the branch would make no one happy."

Akikawa smiled wryly again.

"I have no physical strength."

"You have a blessing, right?"

"No, my blessing is not useful. I call it 'Finger Line.' It allows me to mark an opponent within a certain distance, creating an invisible line. As long as they are within a certain range, I can trace the line to find their location. I can do this for up to five lines at once. If they exceed the range, the line is broken.

I only realized it was you when I felt a familiar presence and, despite feeling it was rude, I sent a Finger Line. It was deflected, and I was certain. No one else has ever deflected my Finger Line except for summoners."

Kuraudo had not considered that his identity could be revealed by the ineffectiveness of a blessing, but either way, it was a situation he could not change.

"Call me Kuro. I'm a hunter now, and I'm from the nomads."

When Kuraudo said this, Akikawa looked apologetic.

"Understood. Kuro-san, then. Still, a nomad, huh? It must have been tough."

Akikawa knew the hardships of nomads from his knowledge of Japan and his travels in this world. Nomads, without a country to belong to, had no citizenship and no education, making it impossible for them to become one of the three types of adventurers, and they had to live outside the city walls.

"Well, it's mutual."

"We had it tough, but our basic needs were provided, and we weren't in immediate danger of being killed."

"I've managed to survive, and that's fine."

Their conversation trailed off amidst the early morning bustle.

They were not particularly close to begin with.

Akikawa took a small sip of the hot wine and swallowed.

"---Kuro-san, do you hate us?"

Akikawa's hesitant question broke the silence.

"I can't say I don't hate, but I don