The "lecture" was scheduled to start at eight in the morning. Since my past life, I've been a night owl and hate mornings. And considering I usually work clearing out sewers from after noon, this is nothing short of cruel and unusual punishment.
"There are fewer people than I expected."
Sheena spoke. In front of us, five people who appeared to be adventurers were standing, presumably to participate in the training. Three men, one woman, and—a little ways away—Lilia, arms crossed, was standing with them. Five people in total.
I wondered if Lilia was just a spectator, but apparently, she was counted as one of the participants.
And, as soon as she noticed us, she looked surprised and averted her gaze. ...Am I scaring her?
Well, I did lightly threaten her before.
I suppressed my sleepiness as I looked at the trainees. They all had serious expressions and were looking at Sheena.
"Well then, let's start with introductions."
And so, the participants' self-introductions began.
The first to step forward was a muscular giant. His face was a bit intimidating, but his voice was surprisingly low and calm.
"Good morning. I'm 'Gald.' My adventurer rank is B. As you can see, I'm a swordsman. I came here because I want to improve. Nice to meet you!"
The way he bowed at the end showed that he was polite, contrary to his intimidating appearance.
And he had a large sword on his back. His muscles were impressive, but there was a slightly delicate atmosphere about him.
After Gald's self-introduction, the next to come forward was a thin man. He was about the same height as me, but had an elusive air about him. Perhaps because his cheeks were a little sunken, he looked nervous, but the gun he carried—presumably a magic gun—was extremely sophisticated.
"...I'm Eugene. As you can see, I'm a gunslinger."
The man, who began speaking in a nasal voice, glanced around and added quietly.
"Ah... I mainly fight as a sniper. Although I look like this... I'm a B rank. Nice to meet you."
He lowered his head casually.
He didn't speak very loudly and didn't make any flashy gestures, so it was hard to grasp his personality. However, gunslinger-type jobs are rare, so he must have undergone considerable training.
He's a B rank, so he probably has some experience as an adventurer.
Next to step forward was a woman with a gentle atmosphere. She had long hair tied back and gentle features.
A thick grimoire was hanging from her waist, secured by a cross-shaped belt. At first glance, she looked like a magician.
"Hello. My name is Flora. I'm a B rank adventurer. I'm good at creating barriers. I decided to participate because I thought I could be of help to everyone."
Flora bowed with a gentle demeanor, causing the men around her to blush slightly. I see, perhaps her lovely appearance made people want to protect her.
And the fourth was a man who came out dashing—with an attitude full of confidence, as if to say, "I'm strong." He wore sturdy plate armor, and his exposed arms bulged with well-trained muscles.
"I'm Leon, an A rank adventurer in this town. I can do anything, but I'm relatively good at magic arrows. Frankly speaking, I'm the strongest in this Ragbalt. I never thought I'd meet the Witch of Absolute Territory in a place like this. It's an honor to be instructed by you."
The man who called himself Leon grinned, baring his teeth.
He was quite confident, saying he was the strongest in town. I guess he's an A rank for a reason.
"...And finally, you. What's your name?"
When Sheena called out to her, Lilia, who had been standing a little ways away with her arms crossed, stepped forward after a beat.
"Um... Lilia Welt. I'm a C rank, for what it's worth. My special skill is... well, speed, I guess."
She spoke in a very unmotivated tone, but Lilia's speed was supposed to be considerable.
But this self-introduction was unusually simple...
Before, she would have boasted about being the MVP of the student league or something, but now she didn't.
"She's more reserved than usual..."
As I was thinking that, Leon, who was right in front of her, grinned fiendishly.
"Heh, speed is your weapon? Don't go mouthing off when you're just a C rank. I'm an A rank, and I'm here. It'll be clear who's the best, won't it?"
Gald, with his greatsword, Eugene, the gunslinger, and Flora, the magician, seemed a little put off by his confident attitude.
Despite that, Lilia didn't avert her eyes, but glared at Leon and spat out,
"...Did you just say you were 'the strongest in town'? Sorry, but it's just embarrassing to listen to. It's as pathetic as someone calling themselves the strongest in the world."
"What...!"
Leon's face turned red in an instant, and he became visibly upset.
Just as I thought about how he would respond, Lilia turned away before he could even start ranting. As if to say it wasn't worth dealing with him.
"You... just you wait...!"
"...Ah, whatever. I don't want to talk to you."
Lilia glanced at me, of all people. Did she want to say something?
But she opened her mouth for a moment without saying anything, and then bit her lower lip.
...Does she think something about me?
"Hmm... well, shall we end the self-introductions here?"
As if to break the awkward atmosphere, Sheena clapped her hands.
It seemed that the introductions of the five people were now complete.
"Okay, let's start the lecture. But... giving lectures is a pain, and besides, I'm not good at these kinds of academic lectures or explanations."
The five people around her looked bewildered.
Even I was taken aback when I heard that. Normally, you'd expect to be taught the basic forms verbally, right?
"But it's okay. There's a way to teach you most efficiently. --The quickest way is to have a 'spar.'"
When Sheena said that, a delicate silence fell around them.
Spar... well, I guess that means practical instruction. It might be common, but the problem was that Sheena's eyes had a dangerous glint in them.
"Everyone, don't hold back. I won't either. ...Well, come at me with the intention to kill. If you hold back halfway, I might accidentally injure you badly."
"K-kill...?"
Gald gulped involuntarily, and Flora also took a step back.
Being told to go all out against Sheena, an S-rank adventurer with the title of Witch of Absolute Territory, was something they couldn't bring themselves to do.
"Eh... um, so, does that mean we're going to fight you in a practical format? I thought this was a lecture..."
Flora asked timidly, but Sheena laughed derisively.
"What's the point of theories or lectures if you can't use them in actual combat? You can only be trained through practice. --Especially against me, a witch. Isn't this the perfect test subject?"
Even the confident Leon was biting his lip at her arrogant words. In fact, Leon, who had been making a fuss about being the strongest in town until just now, was taking a step back.
However, Sheena didn't care at all. Rather, she shook her shoulders and laughed as if she was excited.
"I've been relaxing at Darling's house lately, so I feel like my skills have dulled. This is perfect. I'm going to wreak havoc here to relieve my stress, so let's get started!"
I wish you wouldn't call me Darling... or so I thought, but I didn't have the energy to point it out. Now that we'd come this far, it seemed like there was nothing I could do about it.
"Um... well..."
As the five of them looked at each other, Flora somehow opened her mouth again.
"W-wait, Sheena! I understand that practice is important. But even if we all attack at once, at least let us have a strategy meeting first... With this many people, we're sure to die instantly if we don't fight together..."
At those words, Sheena tilted her head.
"Strategy meeting? Ah, well, I don't mind. Okay, I'll give you 20 seconds. Come on, hurry up."
"20 seconds...!? W-wait, that's too short--"
"Okay, start!"
The moment Sheena waved her hand, Gald and the others screamed in near-panic and hurriedly gathered to form a circle.
They probably wanted to discuss how to coordinate and who would defend, but I couldn't hear the specific details from here. They were whispering, and there was some distance between us.
However, I could hear fragments of conversation like, "Erm, I'll be the decoy first..." "Then I'll prepare a barrier..." "Can we stop her movement?" in a frantic manner.
Seeing them, Sheena continued to egg them on, saying, "Not yet? Not yet?" as if she was amused. She was completely enjoying herself.
"...What a cruel person."
I could only sigh as I watched from a distance. I had a hunch from the beginning that Sheena wouldn't be able to give a lecture, but... I was surprised that Sheena was such a merciless person.
And when Sheena urged them for the second time, saying, "Not yet? Come on, hurry up," Gald and the others glanced at me with pale faces. At that very moment--
"20 seconds, right on time. Time's up!"
Sheena's eyes gleamed sharply. A sinister bloodlust rose up as if she was wielding a deadly blade.
"Now, let's begin. Don't start crying!"
At the same time as those words, she dug her heels into the ground, shattering it, and started dashing.
--Whoosh!
A speed that vibrated the air in an instant.
In response, Gald and the others also shouted, "She's coming!" and immediately formed a formation. They seemed to have decided in just a few seconds who would stand in front and who would provide support. Still, they were reacting quickly, as expected of B-rank and A-rank adventurers.
Thus, a dangerous lecture of Sheena VS 5 people began...
As someone watching from the sidelines, all I could say was, "Good luck, everyone..."
Haa, I hope it ends soon...
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