Atelier Tanaka

Book 6: Chapter 4 (11)

Academic City (2nd)

I was flying low in the sky just out of reach of the slug’s tentacles.

A loud boom resounded from above me. The sound echoed through my head and I was nearly deafened for a moment. I looked up to find the source and spotted several people floating in the sky.

Each of them was someone I was familiar with.

Professor Journal along with the Heroes of the East and West and some members of their parties were flying above me.

Several of them were holding staves or wands out in front of them. They must be the cause of the loud boom, most likely a magical attack of some sort. I also noticed several magic circles encasing them like barriers which were similar to a magic I saw the noble mage use during the dragon subjugation party.

“Wait, i-is that….?”

Ester-chan pointed the figures out once she noticed them.

She must recognize them.

She was still floating beside me as I used my flight magic on her. She had grown accustomed to the levitation and was now sitting in midair while holding her skirt down to prevent it blowing in the wind.

I wonder how different a ‘dere’ Ester-chan would have reacted in this situation.

There’s no doubt she’d let her ‘skirt’ blow wildly as she fully exposes her lower body while offering herself to me. I bet she’d be smiling the entire time too. I suddenly felt the blood rushing to my lower body. There’s no doubt that such a full-frontal assault like that would be super effective to any virgin.

“They are the Hero of the East and West as well as Professor Journal.”

“Amazing! This is the first time I’ve seen the Heroes of the East and West fighting beside each other!”

“Is it really that rare a sight?”

“Of course it is! Don’t you know anything?”

“It’s really that big of a deal?”

“That’s right! The chosen hero has always been one person. That is, of course, until this generation when two people were chosen! To add to that, the two heroes were taken from two separate countries which have been at war with each other for decades!”

“What a strange pairing….”

So they’re not too different from the two main choices for a heroine in a galge.

This reminded me of the hostile nature that existed between the two when I first encountered them on the Dark Continent.

That’s what they were arguing about when I first met them.

“With such brave men here to save us, that creature stands no chance. Thank goodness. It would be unfortunate if Allen and I would have to find a new city after the first one we escaped from Papa to got destroyed.”

“….”

Ester-chan has high expectations for the heroes.

I also noticed other figures that appeared to be cheering on the heroes.

Many of the citizens of Academy City were no longer fleeing the slug. Now they’re lining the streets and singing the praises of the heroes flying above their heads. Those bestowed the title of ‘hero’ earn great admiration from the average person. Even a random villager would have heard of them just because a title was granted to them.

I never really confirmed how either of the Heroes felt toward me before we left the Dark Continent. It’s possible they both resent me for upstaging them. I doubt either of them are hostile toward me, but I can’t know that without reading their minds, and I’m not going to use Goggoru-chan’s ability to find out.

It’s a frustrating position to be in, but, right now, my main focus should be keeping them alive.

These two are the main characters of the story. They’ve been rivals for years but are now forced to work together when confronted with an overwhelmingly powerful enemy. It’s a tense situation that a busamen like me loves reading about in books. However, I fully understand the power of the tentacle slug they’re about to take on which replaces the usual excitement I’d feel with dread.

“Ah, look! The Heroes are about to attack!”

“….”

Ester-chan looked toward the sky with excitement as the Heroes’ assault began.

The Heroes of the East and West launched forward through the air simultaneously. The entire scene looked like it was taken straight from a movie. Of course, they looked cool.

“Heroes like them can kill a lowly monster like that in one hit….”

The tentacles of the slug didn’t hesitate to respond to the charging heroes.

Bu~oon

The Heroes didn’t stay in flight for long. The very first tentacle that attacked them swatted them down like flies. In one quick swoop, a massive tentacle the size of a building swept through the air, hitting both Heroes before they could get close to the slug. There was a sickening crunch that even I could hear from my position some distance away. The two were launched towards the earth before slamming into a building, crushing through several walls and creating a cloud of dust.

Then, as if adding insult to injury, the building they crashed into began to collapse on top of them.

“T-The monster…in o-one shot….”

Even Ester-chan was left at a loss for words.

Watching the Heroes be defeated with such ease shocked the lolibitch.

Professor Journal and the Heroes’ companions quickly moved to save themselves and the Heroes. Most of them began to retreat while firing off magic attacks from a distance while a few others rushed to save the Heroes before they could be crushed beneath the building.

However, the tentacle slug had found a new target for its attacks.

Up to this point, the slug’s tentacles had been rampaging wildly, destroying everything it came across with no real sense of direction. However, now that a threat had presented itself, the tentacles all focused on the party in the sky. One by one, the tentacles quickly swatted down the floating defenders. No matter how skilled at flight magic any of them were, the tentacles outmaneuvered them all. They all crashed into the ground much the same as the Heroes had done previously.

“….”

“….”

The best defense a combined force of Academy City’s strongest and the fabled Heroes only managed to last a few minutes against the slug.

This isn’t the time to be hesitating.

I need to use my recovery magic immediately.

If the Heroes are killed, who will complete the quest to defeat the Demon King?

“Hnn….”

I activated a massive area of effect recovery magic large enough to encompass the area where everyone had fallen. I can’t be sure that focusing on a certain area would heal everyone that’s been injured, so my plan was to cover an area several kilometres in size to ensure I got everyone.

“W-Wait, what are you doing!?”

“This will just take a moment.”

Ester-chan was concerned when she noticed a magic circle forming beneath us.

I gave her a quick response as I continued focusing on my recovery magic. It was close to thirty seconds before the effects started to show. The magic circle increased in size until it covered a large portion of the city. It began emitting a warm, white light that healed anything inside of it. As long as they weren’t killed instantly, they should be healed.

“That white…glow….?”

“I’m still worried about Edita-san. I need to make this quick so I can find her.”

The surrounding section of the city had been overtaken by chaos once the Heroes had been thoroughly defeated. The people were panicking, the streets were on fire, and most of the buildings had collapsed. It was hell on earth.

I can’t rest until I know Edita Sensei is safe.

I love you, Sensei. I’ll do everything in my power to save you.

“Eh? Ah. w-wait, what are you–!?”

I don’t care if this flight speed is scaring the lolibitch. Nothing is going to stop me from saving Sensei.

***

It only took a few minutes of flying through the sky to notice Edita Sensei.

I don’t know if it was intentional, but she was making it clear where she was, her magic almost acting as a beacon.

The JC was with her.

The magic she was using was a barrier that she created around herself and the JC. It was the only thing holding up a several story building that had been crushed near the base and toppled over onto them.

Sweat poured from her brow and she was down on one knee. The desperation was evident on her face.

The glow created by the large barrier was enough to draw my attention.

“Gunununu….”

The JC was cowering on the ground behind Sensei.

She was sitting on the ground beneath Sensei’s small frame. Perhaps she was initially in shock when she fully expected to die, but once she realized Sensei had saved her but the tower was still a threat, she leapt to her feet and ran out of the danger zone.

“I-I’m sorry! I-I don’t know what else to do!”

“Ah, hey! Stop running! You can’t leave me here!”

“Shut up! You’d do the same if you were in my position!”

Completely corrupt to the core.

It’s exactly what I’d do in that situation.

Self-preservation is something all winners have.

Which is why I love Edita Sensei who will always lose due to her own misguided kindness.

“Oi, that’s not fair! That isn’t fair!”

“What can someone like me do!? Even the Heroes were defeated in a single attack! The only chance we’ve got is to run!”

“T-The only chance you’ve got! You can’t leave me after I saved you! It’s not fair!”

Two similar situations, two very different groups of people. Ester-chan nearly died trying to save the megane bully and it took convincing to get the megane to leave her to her fate. This situation is far more realistic. One person saves another and expects to be saved in return while the person that was saved only wants to guarantee their own survival. It’s almost comical.

The JC started running first and managed to put some ground between herself and Edita before Edita too also started to run out from beneath the floating rubble.

Edita Sensei screamed after the JC as they both fled the area. She was screaming any insult that could come to mind but I’m not sure if she has time to devote her energy to anything but running. She was already breathing heavily and I could see her legs slowly turning to jelly. She’s already reached her limit.

“Gu…nununu….”

She’s about to collapse.

I have to save her.

“U-Umm, that Elf, she’s not….”

Once Ester-chan realized the elf that was about to be crushed was Edita Sensei, she actually showed a look of concern. The same person she had been fighting with just a couple days prior, she was now worried about.

“Edita-san!”

“Ah….”

Sensei’s expression changed once she looked up and saw the lolibitch and I flying above her.

Her face lit up as she recognized us. A port in the storm, a light in the dark, or a busamen in the sky; her saviour was here. She quickly realized her true self was showing and it was replaced by the usual stubborn loli I was used to.

“S-Stay back! You’ll just get crushed too!’”

Always so stubborn.

I’m surrounded by stubborn blonde non-virgin loli’s that always put up a brave face. Both the lolibitch and my thick thighed loli Sensei. It’s nice seeing this side of them. Especially Sensei who has given me a lot of fan service lately. The bravery she was showing was extra cool. I don’t think I could fall more in love with her.

“I’ll take care of it, just stay there!”

“Eh!?”

I used my flight magic to control the direction the tower was falling.

I checked a clear area to the side of Edita Sensei’s barrier and made sure there was nobody in the landing area before redirecting the building toward it. It landed with a thud and a puff of dust erupted from it, but nobody was injured.

“Wha….”

“Are you alright, Edita-san?”

“W-What did you just….”

Sensei’s eyes widened as she stared at me in disbelief.

I don’t think I’ve used that magic in front of Sensei yet.

“Edita-san?”

“I-I shouldn’t be surprised. You’ve already defeated a red dragon and what you did with your fireball when we were attacked by the sky pirates. It’s probably simple for you to move something of this size with your flight magic.”

“I get you’re confused, but we need to get out of here.”

“A-Ah, right!”

The tentacled slug is still rampaging despite the Heroes’ attempts to defeat it. We’re still surrounded by many tall buildings, and if we stay here, it’s likely we’ll find ourselves in the same position.

Even so, I can’t help but feel like I’m putting everyone in danger by being near them thanks to my low LUC stat.

“U-Uwaaaaaaa!”

I was looking around for our best route of escape when I heard a scream.

It was a familiar scream.

I looked toward where the voice came from and spotted the JC being harassed by several small tentacles. They wiggled their way through the rubble on the ground and grabbed the JC by the ankles before lifting her into the air. She was dangling upside down by her ankles.

Why does it always get worse?

“Gu, what is wrong with that kid….”

Edita Sensei looked annoyed as well.

Ester-chan surprised me by trying to defend the JC.

“Oi, what are you two doing!? Isn’t that the girl that you two were helping write a report!? Why aren’t you protecting her!?”

“Ah, her? She ran off trying to save herself! Why do you think I was left standing here, on my own, under that huge building!? It’s not my problem she got herself in even more danger!”

“But, if you do nothing, she’ll….”

“Uguu…”

I can see where the lolibitch is coming from.

Which means it’s time for me to show off again.

Time to raise her affection level.

I managed to get the same lolibitch that hated my guts to start desperately begging me to marry her by saving her in a similar situation during the dragon extermination party. I could try to see if the same methods work on the JC. I might be able to get a girl who should be a virgin to fall in love with me.

Amazing. This is great.

My moment has finally arrived.

I’ve waited for it for so long.

What feels like multiple lifetimes.

I’ve craved something considered so normal for most people ever since I was a child.

I will marry the JC.

“I’ll save her.”

“Eh? O-Oi, wait a second!”

I know I’m putting Edita Sensei and Ester-chan in further danger by keeping them here, but I can’t abandon the JC. I erected several Stonewalls around the pair to protect them and left a small opening that they could escape from if necessary. It’s a simple shelter that should be capable of protecting them from any debris or falling buildings.

“W-What the heck are you doing!? Did you just use Stonewall!?”

“What do you think you’re doing!? D-Don’t be stupid!”

I left the two loud blonde loli’s in the stone shelter and took off to save the JC.

I flew toward the JC faster than I’ve ever flown before. It wasn’t that I was desperate to save her. To me, she wasn’t just a cute girl in danger. Rather, I saw an untouched hymen waiting to be broken.