Tanaka deftly made his way toward the exit in a subservient manner while rubbing his hands together. This technique of his was the pinnacle of mankind’s arts. It was a domain of technique that could only be attained by those who were well-versed in the ways of adopting a low-key attitude towards the strong, and possessed experience in perpetually escaping from various crises.

「Well then, fare thee well.」

He ran away at lightning speed. This was exactly what the great strategist Tanaka meant about valuing swiftness the most, or so he seemed to be implying as he pulled off such a splendid escape stunt.

Seeing off such a Tanaka, the two were calm as though nothing had happened.

「Is it alright to simply let him go like that?」

「I’m sure it’ll be fine. He seems to be from the Empire, after all. Not to mention that he’s kind of idiotic.」

In contrast to Mikoto who seemed a little lax, Merlin didn’t let guard town.

「Hmm…. Nevertheless, that guy….」

Seeing Merlin’s appearance as he pondered with a serious face, Mikoto felt a tinge of anxiety.

「What’s the matter?」

「That appearance of his, he’s got quite a good sense of style, don’t you think so too?」

Floating a fearless smile, he didn’t seem like an aged man at all. As he seemed to have found the man worthy of becoming his lifelong rival, fire began to set ablaze in his aged body.

「No… I’m not sure about that. How should I put it, he was too over the top, or something…. I do recognize most sides of you, but definitely not your taste. In the first place, why do I have to continue wearing sailor uniform?」 「What are you talking about?! How can you not understand the holy power radiating from sailor uniform that charms all who see it? With all the wealth and knowledge I’ve gathered over the years, I can say with certainty that it’s no less divine than sacred artifacts, you know?!」

It seemed that the Great Sage Merlin was an ardent believer of sailor uniform.

「Haa…. I’ve been thinking that I wish I’d had said no when I received the suggestion to receive magic bestowment from you.」

This hero, she seemed to be beset with a lot of trouble in her own way.

◇ ◇ ◇

「Fuhahaha! Escape succeeded!」

Tanaka shouted in joy as he made his way through the town.「It is a pity that I have to part with Hero-chan. However! My guts are telling me that if I go with her right now, only disasters will await me. Well, I guess I have to be content with only being acquainted with her for the time being. Kukuku.」

The new flag he had raised this time. Tanaka’s face was colored with a smile, as he deliberated the best way to handle it. It was probably because he had finally met someone from his original world after a long time. He felt a joy akin to completing a game.

Tanaka was in a good mood as he continued to run under the rain that had started to fall before he knew it. However, his strides gradually slowed down. Eventually, Tanaka came to a complete halt and stood in place. His face was pale, a complete contrast to how it was just a moment ago.

「No way…. That’s just….」 Tanaka continued to be soaked by rain. He couldn’t afford to even feel the coldness of it. He was simply, thoroughly losing himself in his own thoughts. Tanaka had involuntarily realized it. The desperate situation he was thrust in.

He had been subconsciously trying to avoid thinking about it up until now. No, he had been deceiving himself into forgetting it. However, the conversation with the hero whom he’d just met. With that as the trigger, the seal was broken. One casual remark in his conversation with the hero. It’d been replayed over and over again in his head for a while now.

「–We, heroes, were strengthened upon summoning by absorbing magical energy provided by numerous magicians.」

The truth hidden underneath these words. Whether he wanted it or not, Tanaka’s genius brain automatically led him to the answer. And then, he was shocked at the despair labeled as truth he was led to.

Up until now, Tanaka had never slacked in his endeavor to claim the supreme throne. As a result, he had been steadily leveling himself up, but then a single uncertainty was thrown into his path. The values of his glitched stats had for some reason decreased. He hadn’t felt particularly weakened, nor had it caused any problems, so he’d never thought much of it.

But here he involuntarily realized it. The pieces had finally all fallen into place with the conversation they had just a while ago. The truth he had tried to ignore was shoved right into his face.

「My power was stolen by the hero…. And then, it’s still continuously being stolen from me even now….」

He didn’t want to think about it. However, his genius brain had ignored his wishes and thrust him into reality. Hero summoning – at that time, the hero had also absorbed the power of Tanaka, who wasn’t a magician and was merely involved in the accident. Thus, Tanaka was forced to land in another world with power on the same level as a baby.

He’d avoided thinking about it, but now that he thought about it, everything fell into place. The reason why Tanaka couldn’t build a harem was because the hero had absorbed his popularity power as well. And the reason why the hero could build a harem so smoothly was because he’d been using Tanaka’s popularity power.

Moreover, the fact that Tanaka’s power was still being stolen away even now. Even if he leveled up and amassed more power, his stats value would perpetually decrease from time to time as though being reset. Most likely, the hero would be gaining power each time.

What a harsh reality. In order to overcome this strait–

「I have to defeat the hero, however….」The solution was obvious. The problem was that it didn’t seem to be feasible.

He was at an overwhelming disadvantage from the beginning. And on top of that, the gap in power would continue only to widen. From now on, even if he strove to be stronger, his power would continuously be stolen by the hero time and again.

Time alone passed by as he was drenched by rain. Even with Tanaka’s genius brain, he couldn’t find a path that would lead him to the future. Tanaka was driven into a corner. The only thing he understood was the sad reality–

「I can’t win against the hero….」

The moment he stepped into this world, the match had already been set. He’d jumped into the trap laid down by the world from the very beginning, and up until now, he had merely been dancing on top of its palm. Tanaka collapsed to his knees. As if pouring salt into his wounds, the rain poured even more heavily on Tanaka. The truth was finally unveiled. It was a bottomless swamp known as despair. Tanaka could only stand there in a daze, surrendering himself to the despair he could not crawl out from.

Thus, Tanaka was defeated by the hero without even confronting him.

◇ ◇ ◇

Name: Mikoto

Level: 52 Experience: 110/5200 Guild Rank: A

Vitality: 1486/1486 Magical energy: 1663/1663

Strength: 691 Dexterity: 782 Agility: 806

Intelligence: 805 Spirit: 701

Skills: Sword (3.88) Shield (3.12) Magic (3.01) Blessing of the God of Creation (2.74) Equipment: Thin Sword of Thunder, Sailor Uniform, Small Shield of Power

◇

Name: Merlin

Level: 128 Experience: 3645/12800 Guild Rank: A

Vitality: 471/471 Magical energy: 3277/3277

Strength: 269 Dexterity: 272 Agility: 433

Intelligence: 2297 Spirit: 2129

Skills：Wand (3.83) Magic (8.17) Alchemy (6.74) Chanting Omission (10.00) Multiple Chanting (10.00)

Equipment: Staff of the Spirit Tree, Fairy Robe