Later that day, even during group training with my classmates, Rinyu's wild eyes seemed to follow me, as if she wanted to challenge me again. Ignoring her was the only strategy I had, so I shifted my focus to chatting up some of the more unmotivated students, scouting for anyone who might be useful.
Most of them I had already spoken with yesterday, so I wrapped up that task quickly and focused on the swordsmanship training. While sparring with the lower-ranked heroes, I overheard some grumbling from one of the knights overseeing us.
"Tch… Why the hell do I have to babysit these lower-ranked heroes…?"
I felt my heart race with excitement.
(Wait, what's this? Complaints? Oh, I'm all ears—ready to make the most out of this!)
For someone like me, who planned to use my classmates to further my own goals, even the smallest grudge was valuable leverage.
The source of the complaint was one of the knights in charge of overseeing our training.
Normally, the training is split between the
"upper-ranked" Platinum and Gold heroes and the "lower-ranked" Silver and Bronze heroes. The First Knights' Division handles the upper-ranked heroes, while the Second Knights' Division looks after the lower-ranked ones. Rinyu primarily works with the Platinum heroes.
From the knight's complaint, it was clear he saw looking after the lower-ranked heroes as a "lesser" job.
Grumbling like that in earshot of the students was already enough to lower their motivation further.
(How wonderful! …But weakening the already weak won't help me at all.)
If this kind of sentiment came from the upper-ranked knights or teachers, that would be more useful, but alas…
Sneaking away from the lazy trainees, I struck up a conversation with Setuna, who was nearby.
"Hey, did you hear that? Pretty harsh, huh?"
"Why are you talking like a high school girl? But yeah, I'd say that guy's words were a real morale killer."
"Right? Honestly, Miss Umihata from back home would've been better suited for this job."
"True, even if she did mess up a lot."
"Well, at least her looks made up for it. If she weren't so pretty, I don't think I'd have been as forgiving."
"Wow, you're so shallow."
"Who isn't? Oh, speaking of Umihata, where is she?"
At my words, Setuna tilted her head, puzzled.
"Isn't she back in Japan?"
"No, she was summoned with us, remember?"
"…Wait. What?! She was summoned too?!"
Her eyes widened in shock, clearly having no idea. It was almost sad.
(And honestly, kind of cute.)
As Setuna's loud exclamation attracted the attention of nearby students, they began to gather around, curious.
"What's up?"
"What's the gossip?"
"Nah, Setuna just didn't realize that Miss Umihata was summoned with us," I replied.
She glanced at me briefly but decided to ignore me.
One of the other students scratched his head, saying, "Wait, really? I don't remember seeing her."
"Now that you mention it, wasn't it supposed to be forty-one of us?"
"Yeah, but I don't recall seeing her since we got here."
"I mean, seriously, guys?"
With that, I quietly dropped my efforts to defend Miss Umihata.
I subtly steered the conversation to make the students start complaining about her. It wasn't difficult—most of them had less than favorable memories of her back in Japan.
Even if they hadn't interacted with her since coming to this world, everyone remembered how terrible her classes had been.
Once the dam of grievances broke, the flood of complaints poured out. I didn't need to add anything myself—just nudging them in the right direction was enough to turn them against her.
As I listened to the badmouthing, I recalled my conversation with Miss Umihata the previous day.
---
"Miss Umihata, are you alright?"
"Huh? Oh, um… Nakura-kun, right?"
"That's me. I noticed you've seemed down since we got here and wanted to check on you."
She had been sitting alone in the corner of the training grounds, hugging her knees. It was obvious she wasn't okay, but I asked anyway.
Of course, I already understood the situation. Given her poor teaching skills and inability to communicate effectively, she hadn't exactly been popular with the students back in Japan. Now, in this new world, she was isolated even further.
Honestly, I'd always thought it was ridiculous that our school gave a class of high school seniors a rookie teacher like her. But hey, she was pretty, and she had a secret large chest, so I considered it a fair trade-off.
Anyway, back to the matter at hand.
Miss Umihata had been summoned alongside us, but with Shino being the leader, no one had even thought to rely on her as a teacher. Worse yet, it seemed like people had completely forgotten about her existence, which must have been taking a toll on her.
That's why I'd approached her—to plant a seed of opportunity.
"I-I'm sorry… I'm supposed to be the adult here, but… I'm so useless…"
"That's not true. And besides, in a situation like this, age doesn't really matter. By the way, how old are you?"
"Uh, I'm twenty-three…"
"So, you're only five years older than me. And honestly, even if I were five years older, I doubt I'd be able to lead people like Shino. We all have our strengths and weaknesses… and no offense, but teaching might not be yours."
"…Th-That's harsh…"
"That being said, I do think you have other talents."
"R-Really?"
"Of course."
"Wh-What kind of talents…?"
Her eyes lit up with hope as she looked at me. Internally, I panicked for a moment.
(Crap. What *is* she good at?)
Honestly, I couldn't think of anything. She had no redeeming qualities. But I couldn't just leave her hanging.
After a pause, I put a finger to my lips and flashed a confident smile.
"That's for you to figure out, Miss Umihata. Why don't you try to discover it yourself?"
It was a total cop-out, but at least it bought me some time.
As I walked away, Miss Umihata's gloomy expression had softened into a shy, hopeful smile. Her face even turned a little red as she quietly thanked me.
"Th-Thank you… Nakura-kun. Hehe… I guess I don't really seem like the teacher here, huh?"
"Don't worry about it. I just wanted to tell you that I'm rooting for you, Miss Umihata."
"Y-Yeah… I'll do my best…!"
"By the way, out of curiosity, what rank are you?"
Having set the stage, I finally got to the real reason I had approached her.
"Oh, I'm a Gold-ranked hero. It's kind of like having a gold-level driver's license, right?"
She giggled nervously, clearly trying to make a joke. But using a car license joke with high school students was never going to land, and even if it did, it wasn't funny.
Still, her rank was no laughing matter.
"Hahaha! Oh, Miss Umihata, that's hilarious! But I'm glad to hear you're a Gold rank."
She smiled sheepishly, apparently pleased with my reaction, while I turned and left.
An isolated, awkward Gold-ranked hero? She was perfect. I'd make her my pawn, no doubt about it.
And with that thought, I ended my conversation with Miss Umihata.