Chapter 110 – An Emotional Reunion

“Throw the sword?”

Akagi-kun looked at me like the thought had never even crossed his mind. His brow furrowed deeply. Well, yeah—if it were a normal sword, throwing your own weapon would be a bad move. But this one’s special—it’s a cheat sword that you can summon or dismiss at will.

Since swords are close-range weapons, having a way to fight at mid-to-long range would really broaden your options. I think the best thing to do in a fight is to attack from outside your opponent’s reach, right?

“If you’re hesitant about throwing your main katana, you’ve got a wakizashi too.”

Maybe he has that whole “the sword is the soul of the samurai!” mindset. If so, maybe even throwing the wakizashi would bother him.

But I think it’s better to have a wide range of things you can do. I mean, there was that popular manga where the guy threw his sword, right? Akagi-kun’s probably read it too.

“I did think about borrowing a wakizashi if it became necessary, but throwing it, huh…”

Aoi-kun adjusted his glasses, lost in thought. So he had considered borrowing one. That’s a solid plan, too.

He might actually have some skill with a sword—he probably practiced kendo from a young age.

“I’ll lend you this one.”

Akagi-kun lightly tapped the hilt of his main katana. Does that mean Aoi-kun’s good enough that Akagi’s willing to lend him the big one? Either the Aoi family’s siblings are all super talented… or Aoi-kun just has low self-esteem. I wonder which it is.

Anyway, if we’re going to throw something, we could always have Midorikawa-kun use his barrier magic to make something specifically designed for throwing. But if it’s a sword that can cut through anything, I think it would definitely do damage.

If it hits, it’ll pierce through no matter how hard the target is. The only issue is the “reload time”—the brief moment when you dismiss it and re-summon it and then pull it out of the sheath again leaves you defenseless.

And then—

“Kino-kun’s teleportation ability is incredible, it’s like he’s the heart of this party.”

No matter how you look at it, Kino-kun’s ability is hands-down the most important ability in this group of heroes.

Thanks to him, the heroes can escape anywhere, anytime.

Knowing that, even the royal family and the likes would dare treat them carelessly. It’s the ultimate deterrent ability.

Also, not having to camp outdoors? So useful. I think being able to rest properly at an inn is a huge advantage.

And they can eat their meals somewhere peaceful, replenish supplies easily, and never have to worry about forgetting something. I seriously want to praise Kino-kun  for choosing the teleportation ability.

“Because it means I can go see Saki-san anytime!”

He grinned, teasingly, as if that were the most useful way to use it.

“Your ability’s amazing for offense too. I’m jealous of that teleport power.”

When I said that, Kino-kun’s smile deepened.

Yeah—that’s the look of someone who knows.

If he chose a dangerous location as the teleport destination, he could immobilize the person you teleported instantly. And if a teleport failed and became a partial teleportation… the damage would be horrifying.

Or he could just teleport that boulder over there above the enemy’s head.

Honestly, everyone here is so ridiculously overpowered.

Oh—right.

I motioned to Momose-san with my finger.

She came over, unsuspecting, and I whispered in her ear—

In my opinion, this is the god I think receives the purest prayers from humans.

“Eh!?”

Momose-san’s shoulders trembled as if she was ticklish and she burst out laughing.

“If you ever get the chance, I’d like you to try it.”

There’s no need to laugh so hard! If faith truly becomes power, then I seriously think that god is the strongest.

“Oh, right. Kino-kun, could you teleport a match to that pointy rock over there?”

I said it as the idea came to me.

“Of course.”

A reassuring answer, followed by a grin.

“I’ve got a tiny bit of destructive power myself, so I’ll show you.”

Since I’d just analyzed everyone else’s abilities, I figured it was only fair to reveal mine too.

I took out a match and handed it to Kino-kun.

“When I give the signal, light the match and teleport it near that pointy rock, please.”

It had been a while since I’ve done it, so I wasn’t sure how much I should put out. Well, just a bit will be fine. Like a small puff of fireworks—boom, nothing big.

I gently released some gasoline over the pointy rock in the distance and gave the signal—

Striking a dramatic pose with my hand, making it like a gun, bang!

Kino-kun struck the match with a sharp swish—the match went out in an instant.

And then—

For a moment, the world was enveloped in a flash of light and a thunderous sound..

Eh—EHHHH!?

Even though we were far away, the shockwave was massive. I only used a tiny bit!

I should’ve had Midorikawa-kun reset the barrier first…

“That was awesome!”

Akagi-kun’s eyes sparkled. Boys sure love this sort of thing, don’t they? But this was a mistake…

“I couldn’t get the barrier up in time.”

So Midorikawa-kun had tried to put one up. It all happened in a split second. I’m really sorry.

“Saki-san, you’re amazing!”

Although Kino-kun was smiling brightly— behind him, someone far more terrifying stood.

“Sa–ki–san?”

Momose-san calls out to me in a different, more forceful voice than usual. Scary. Her eyes were scary. I’d been wanting her to stop calling me “Onee-sama,” but—yeah, now doesn’t seem like the right time.

It’s terrifying when someone changes how they address you. Such a cute face—yet so scary.

“No, seriously! The last time I tried this, that little bit didn’t cause that kind of explosion!”

I scrambled to explain myself. Maybe my “1000-yen Repeat” ability had quietly improved? Not in terms of the amount I can bring out changing, but in precision—like, I’d gotten better at dispersing the material more finely when releasing it. A subtle evolution, maybe…

“I can more or less guess what you did, But without Kino-kun and Midorikawa, wouldn’t that basically be a suicidal move?”

“Yes…”

I hadn’t thought it through. Everyone else’s powers were just so incredible that I got carried away. I’d hoped that with Kino-kun’s help, I could make better use of mine—but an explosion whose scale cannot be controlled is too dangerous.

It really is something I can only use as a last-resort self-destruct move.

“ I mostly just sprinkle a little salt and pepper instead now. I’ll stick to that approach from now on.”

As a blinding attack. That’s my offensive ability. Weak. Painful.

“I see. Simple, but effective,” Aoi-kun nodded.

Eyes are the weak spot of most living things, after all.

“Pepper is fine—but explosives are dangerous!”

“Yes, ma’am.”

I will reflect on this.

After Momose-san finished scolding me—

We started talking about testing Akagi-kun’s sword throw,

When we felt a slight tremor in the ground.

It felt like something massive was approaching from afar…

A drop of sweat trickled down my cheek.

That explosion earlier had made a lot of noise and light. And around here…

I turned to look in the direction of the tremors. It’s still a long way off, but I can see it in the distance.

Long time no see, Rock Turtle-san…