ACH Chapter 56

　When my three students and I arrived in town, we headed to the Hero’s Guild.

 

　When I told the receptionist at the Hero’s Guild that I came to take the status test, I was given four numbers.

 

   “You will be called by your number at the status test venue. The examination site is located in the stadium near the center of the city in the west, so when you are ready, please head that way.”

 

　The receptionist told us with a smile, and we left the heroic guild and headed for the stadium where the measurements were to be taken.

 

　Incidentally, as we were leaving the guild, we heard this exchange between the receptionists

 

   “Kyah! Hey, listen to me! I’m talking to that Brett again! I really think he’s a badass! He’s so strong and cool, and besides, he’s a teacher!”

 

   “Yeah, yeah, whatever you say. Also, your voice is loud.”

 

   “And those three girls are getting more and more beautiful every time I see them! They must be in love…!”

 

   “Yeah. You really ought to get yourself arrested. And keep your voice down.”

 

　It was kind of a mess, but I decided not to worry about it and went outside.

 

　It only took a few minutes from the Hero’s Guild to the stadium.

 

　I took my three students to the venue, and eventually arrived there.

 

　The stadium in this city is a bit smaller than the venue where the strongest rookie match was held, but it’s still large enough to hold athletic competitions.

 

　Various measurements were being taken here and there in the arena.

 

　The 100-meter run, repetitive side jumps, shot puts, magic power measurement, and so on.

 

　From the combined scores of these multiple tests, each hero’s status would be calculated based on a unique formula created by the Hero’s Association.

 

　For example, the status of ‘agility’ is derived from the total score of tests such as the 100 meter run and the repetitive side jump.

 

　We were instructed to head to the corner of the 100-meter run after being checked at the entrance of the arena for our registration name and number.

 

　By the way, there were two receptionists there, and one of the girls seemed to be a newcomer to the staff, as her reception work was not very efficient, and it took some time for me to get there.

 

　She’s about the same age as Rio and the others.

 

　She seemed unsure and timid, and looked somewhat like Iris from a year ago.

 

　Well, everyone goes through a rookie phase, and not all kids are good at their jobs from the start.

 

　These kids grow up through repeated mistakes and their experiences.

 

　I said, “Thank you, and good luck” to the kid who looked down because of her incompetence.

 

　Iris, who followed after me, seemed to call out, “Yeah, it’s okay.”

 

　The receptionist turned to me and Iris, her face red, and said, “I’m sorry, I’m sorry” and bowed her head.

 

　Another female staff member also finished the reception for Rio and Mayfa and bowed to Iris and me.

 

　Well, there’s something comforting about this kind of thing.

 

　It’s not easy to train people, no matter what the job is.

 

　You can’t learn anything just by teaching, you need practice and experience, and for that, you need to take the training wheels off at some point and let them do it on their own.

 

    I understand the idea that a customer is not teaching material, but maybe it’s partly because I’m a teacher, I get emotionally invested when a newcomer learns through practical experience.

 

　Anyway, I think sensible adults should at least tolerate a few blunders, but…

 

　Apparently, the Hero who was waiting his turn in line behind us at the time didn’t seem to have the same idea as me.

 

   “You’re too late. Don’t be so slow, you idiot!”

 

　As we were leaving the reception area of the stadium and started heading towards the 100-meter run, we heard an irritated man’s voice from behind us.

 

　When I turned around to look, I saw a well-built man in his mid-30s there.

 

　The man had an unpleasant expression on his face and was stamping his feet incessantly.

 

　The newcomer receptionist apologized with a tearful face, “Oh, um, I’m sorry…” but the man said, “Don’t be sorry! I told you to hurry up!” It was a perfect vicious circle, with the new staff member’s hands trembling and dropping the pen because of the rush.

 

　Then another staff member rushed over to help.

 

   “I’m sorry. I’m sorry, she’s still new here. We’ll have to redo the procedure.”

 

　But even at the staff member’s words, the man directs a word of irritation at the staff member.

 

   “Huh? So what if they’re new here? What are we to the Hero’s Guild? We’re guests, aren’t we? Isn’t it ‘natural’ to train them to do their job properly before putting them in front of customers, huh?”

 

　The man questioned the staff.

 

　The staff member was depressed and just listened to his words as he tried to endure them.

 

　………No.

 

　As expected, I can’t watch.

 

　The man’s argument seems to be a legitimate argument at first glance, but it’s strange in that it first assumes that the teaching staff and training time are unlimited and plentiful.

 

　It depends on the financial resources of the industry, for example, a well-run industry that spends about three months on initial training and teaches the basics, and an industry that is strapped for manpower and personnel costs, such as sending them out to the field on the third day of their education to learn while failing, will be completely different.

 

　The budget of the Hero’s Guild’s personnel comes from the national defense budget, that is, taxes paid by the people. However, most of the national defense budget allocated is paid for the work of Heroes, so the budget left for the Hero’s Guild is not much.

 

　If that’s the case, neither manpower nor time for education would be available in abundance.

 

　Well, to begin with, the story that Demon Hunters (T.L. Note: Gonna change Demon Slayers to Demon Hunters from now) who receive their paychecks from the Heroes’ Guild for the work of defeating the Demon King are ‘customers’ is also strange….

 

　No, even if they were customers, they wouldn’t have that attitude.

 

　Even the veteran female staff member thought it was bad and went into cover and even bowed down to the newcomer’s inadequacy, so it’s clearly too much to complain about it any further.

 

　Thinking that, I went back and was about to speak out, but at that time –

 

   “Hey, old man! Aren’t you a hero, too?”

 

　Rio opened her mouth to say so before I did.

 

　Rio walks briskly up to the man, and when she gets close enough to the man, she glares up at the man, who is a head taller than her.

 

　The man seemed to be frightened for a moment, but quickly regained his composure and spoke back to Rio.

 

   “Oh…? What is it, kid, it’s none of your business. Stand back.”

 

   “I don’t like it. Don’t you think you’re too old as a Hero to be bullying the weak? Apologize to these people right now!”

 

   “What…? Hey little bitch, what did you say? Get down on your knees here and apologize to me.”

 

   “What, aren’t you an idiot? Aren’t you ashamed to admit it? If you’re going to be a grown-up Hero, you could at least imitate a good guy like nii-chan.”

 

　Saying that, Rio beamed and pointed towards me.

 

　The man’s gaze turns to me.

 

　The man opens his mouth to me.

 

   “…Oh you seem young. Are you a teacher at the hero’s academy or something? What, is this little shit one of your students? She has no manners, you need to discipline her properly.”

 

　The man said and glared at me.

 

　I responded with a quick word in response.

 

   “Oh no, I think Rio is right. A good old Hero shouldn’t have that attitude. Have you ever heard of the Hero’s Spirit?”

 

　The man’s anger seemed to have reached the boiling point at my response.

 

　The man’s face turned bright red and he ignored Rio and walked toward me.

 

　And when he was right in front of me, he grabbed me by my chest.

 

   “Oh young man. Are you trying to pick a fight with me?!”

 

   “I was just explaining the ‘natural’ attitudes of a Hero. To begin with, to a Demon King Hunter, the hero’s guild is your employer who arranges work for you. If we go with your argument, isn’t it natural for employees like you to treat your employer with respect?”

 

   “Guh….! You don’t know what you’re talking about, do you?”

 

　Stuck in a rebuttal, the man clenched his right fist, the one that wasn’t grabbing my chest, and punched me in the face.

 

　It’s not that fast, the punch of an average Hero.

 

　I catch that fist with my left hand in a crisp manner.

 

   “Nah..!? Aaaaaaah!”

 

　I put all my strength into my left hand and clenched the man’s fist, and he fell to his knees in pain.

 

　When I let go of his hand, the man got down on all fours, got away from me in a hurry, turned around and glared at me again.

 

   “Hah, hah…you…you…who are you!”

 

  

   “What do you mean by ‘who’, you said it earlier didn’t you? I’m a teacher at the Hero’s Academy.”

 

   “Oi, I’m a veteran Demon King Hunter! How could a young teacher from the Academy of the Hero have this kind of power?”

 

　Hmmm…..

 

　I’ve recently learned that the public image of teachers at the Hero’s Academy is that they are all bark and no bite, having no skill.

 

　It’s not possible for a teacher to be incompetent as he or she has to be good enough to teach students, but other than Leonora, who taught me when I was a student at the hero’s academy, I may not have seen many other teachers who have a high level of ability as a hero.

 

　Even though great players don’t always become great coaches, I don’t think that this is the case…

 

　And that’s when it happened.

 

   “I’m sorry I’m late, big bro! I’m afraid I overslept!”

 

　A little man appears in front of the reception desk at the entrance of the stadium where we and the man are causing a ruckus.

 

　Then the little man takes turns looking at us and the disturbed man, whom he calls his big bro, and asks him.

 

   “Huh? What are you doing squatting there, bro? And these guys… Oh, I know what you mean, man, it’s because they’re cheeky. I’ll join you in the fight. Shush, hey, hey, hey, hey. Come on, come on!”

 

　The little guy makes some kind of fighting pose and challenges us.

 

　…well, he’s probably a Hero too.

 

　But the other guy, the man who was called big bro, stops him.

 

   “Well, wait a minute, Johnny. I don’t want you messing around with anything that’s not right. We’re Heroes after all. It’s time for us to set an example for others to follow.”

 

   “What…? Ah, ah…. as expected of bro, there is a reason. You know, you guys, I’m aiming to be a good hero like bro.”

 

   “Okay, Johnny, sign in with the receptionist! Let’s go get measured!”

 

   “Oh, okay, bro!”

 

　The little man and his big brother walked into the stadium as the veteran staffer quickly completed the formalities.

 

　Rio, I, and the receptionists, were in a state of shock as the storm passed.

 

　Then the veteran receptionist seemed to notice and bowed to me.

 

   “Thank you for helping us! I thought my heart was beating out of my chest!”

 

   “Oh, no. I know it must be tough with someone like that around, but good luck with your work. It’s thanks to all of you that we can focus on our heroic activities. I’m the one who should be thanking you for everything.”

 

   “No, no, no, no.”

 

　The receptionist was kind of horrified.

 

　No, but I actually think it’s amazing that this staff member can be so grateful .

 

　It’s scary because there are so many good people in this world.

 

　Anyway, I left the reception desk at the entrance of the stadium with Rio, Iris and Mayfa, and headed for the 100-meter run.

 

　By the way, Mayfa put her elbow in my side and said, “Onii-san, I don’t think it’s a good idea to get more fans everywhere you go,” but I didn’t understand what she meant.

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