"More! Don't lose your spirit! Swing your swords until your arms give out!"
Captain Meld's booming voice echoed across the dusty courtyard as he drilled the students into proper combatants. Under the scorching medieval sun, Shizuku moved flawlessly. Despite holding only a cheap wooden training sword, her strikes were sharp, graceful, and devastatingly precise. Her athletic body was coated in a glistening, alluring sheen of sweat, her high ponytail whipping through the air with every fluid movement. She was absolutely mesmerizing to watch.
Yet, among all the sweating students, the most out-of-place was undoubtedly Hajime Nagumo.
Despite being handed a non-combatant class—Synergist—Nagumo was desperately swinging his wooden sword alongside the frontline fighters. He knew his job was essentially just a glorified blacksmith and crafter. He couldn't grow food like Aiko, and he definitely couldn't manipulate the entire kingdom's economy like Suzuki.
Nagumo lacked Suzuki's terrifyingly smooth charisma. In just one night, Nagumo had watched fully armored knights bow respectfully to Suzuki, treating a teenage boy like a high-ranking mafia boss. It was bewildering. Nagumo didn't want to rely on the terrifying Merchant, nor did he want to be weak. He wanted his own strength. He wanted to be a protagonist.
But reality was cruel.
"Oi, Nagumo," a mocking voice sneered from behind. "Training all by yourself isn't any fun, right?"
Nagumo froze as Hiyama and his group of delinquents cornered him, their wooden swords tapping menacingly against their shoulders. "Come with us, otaku. We'll teach you how to fight."
While Suzuki was entirely untouchable, Nagumo was the perfect, weak punching bag.
"..." Nagumo lowered his head, his grip tightening helplessly on his sword.
Meanwhile, sitting in the cool shade of the courtyard, Kaori Shirasaki was watching the boys train. She gently wiped her sticky, flushed neck with a damp towel, letting out a miserable sigh.
She hated this. She had quickly tasted the true, disgusting reality of this medieval world. With no hot water or modern plumbing, she had been forced to "bathe" by scrubbing her sweaty, delicate skin with a freezing wet rag last night. It was incredibly uncomfortable, leaving her feeling gross and sticky.
Yet, as she looked at her best friend sitting beside her, Kaori felt a deep, twisting knot of confusion.
Shizuku looked... perfect.
Despite participating in the same grueling training, Shizuku seemed utterly radiant. Her skin was incredibly moist, clear, and glowing with a beautiful, rosy flush. More noticeably, as Shizuku leaned close, Kaori caught her scent. Instead of sour sweat and castle dust, Shizuku smelled intoxicatingly sweet—like expensive lavender shampoo and clothes fresh out of a warm dryer.
It was the undeniable, deeply alluring "afterglow" of a woman who had been thoroughly pampered, washed, and deeply loved.
"What's wrong, Kaori?" Shizuku asked, noticing her stare.
"No, it's just..." Kaori bit her lower lip, feeling a strange, heavy tightness in her chest. "You just seem to be getting used to living in this world so easily, Shizuku."
"....."
Shizuku's heart skipped a beat in pure guilt. What could she possibly say? I spent the night in a five-star luxury penthouse getting a hot massage from my boyfriend?
"E-Er... well... Suzuki-kun helps me a lot," Shizuku stammered, her cheeks burning red. Trying to cover her tracks, she quickly added, "But if you ever need anything, please tell me! Suzuki-kun is planning to work closely with the merchant guilds. He might be able to get his hands on some modern conveniences for us soon."
"Yeah... he really is amazing, isn't he?" Kaori whispered.
Kaori sighed, her gaze drifting back to the courtyard. She watched the boys wildly swinging their sticks, playing at war. Instead of feeling inspired, she just felt terrified. This wasn't a game. When they inevitably got ripped apart by real demons, the crushing responsibility of healing their torn flesh would fall entirely on her shoulders. If someone died because of their own childish recklessness, she would be the one drowning in guilt.
Compared to their naive shouting, Suzuki was a silent, immovable mountain of absolute security. He was already securing their food, their logistics, and their survival.
"Kaori, I know you're worried," Shizuku said softly, wrapping an arm around her best friend's shoulders. "But I will stay by your side. I will get stronger, and I will protect you."
"I'm so sorry for being weak, Shizuku..."
"You aren't. I'm weak too," Shizuku smiled softly, a deeply devoted look crossing her face. "I only feel strong because I have him watching my back."
Hearing that, Kaori felt a sudden, sharp pang of intense jealousy that made her stomach drop. It was a dark, terribly guilty temptation. She found herself craving that exact same heavy, masculine protection.
If only he were stronger... Kaori thought, glancing briefly at Nagumo being shoved around by Hiyama. She let out a helpless breath, her heart secretly wishing for a man who could actually make her feel completely safe.
While the "Heroes" played in the dirt, the Merchant was making moves.
Suzuki didn't waste a single second of his day. Bypassing the training yards entirely, he had smoothly navigated the castle's restricted corridors until he reached the Kingdom's Ministry of Finance.
He confidently pushed open the heavy oak doors, stepping into a massive room overflowing with messy stacks of parchment, frantic clerks, and heavy bags of coin.
"And who are you?" a sharply dressed, middle-aged man demanded, looking up from his massive desk with clear annoyance.
"I am Suzuki Tanaka," Suzuki replied, offering a flawless, harmless smile. "One of the Heroes summoned from the higher plane."
"I see. Is there something you need from me?"
The Minister of Finance pinched the bridge of his nose, hiding his disdain. The kingdom's economy was an absolute nightmare. Between the demon war, border skirmishes, and funding the military, the budget was bleeding dry. He had to be polite to these "Heroes" because the King deemed them vital assets, but deep down, he sneered at them. What could a naive teenager possibly want with the treasury?
"It's nothing major," Suzuki said, casually strolling up to the Minister's desk and leaning over it. "I was just doing some light reading, and I found something incredibly weird in the royal accounting ledgers."
"...What?" The Minister's pen stopped moving.
Suzuki's smile didn't reach his cold, calculating eyes. To put it in terms a teenager could understand, Suzuki had caught him "cooking the books."
"You see, Minister," Suzuki whispered softly, "when you use fake math to hide stolen money, you have to be very careful to cover your tracks. But according to my calculations, a massive portion of the military budget—gold meant to buy armor and food for the soldiers risking their lives—has been quietly diverted into a series of dummy accounts. Accounts that, coincidentally, trace right back to your personal estates."
"....."
The Minister's face drained of all color. His heart began to hammer violently against his ribs.
"Oh, how incredibly sad..." Suzuki sighed dramatically, shaking his head. "Here we are, a group of innocent students, summoned from our warm homes, preparing to bleed and die for your kingdom... while the Minister of Finance actively steals from our war funds to line his own pockets."
"W-What do you think you're going to do with this ridiculous accusation?!" the Minister hissed, sweat beading on his forehead.
"Well, I currently have a friend standing right outside the King's throne room," Suzuki lied flawlessly, his voice dripping with pure velvet menace. "If I don't walk out of here and give them the all-clear signal in exactly five minutes, they are going to walk inside and hand His Majesty the exact proof of your treason."
Treason during wartime meant a public beheading.
"...What do you want?" the Minister choked out, completely cornered.
"You don't want anyone to know you're a thief, right?"
Suzuki smiled, the shadows of the room seeming to lengthen around him as a glowing piece of parchment materialized in his hand.
"Then let's discuss a win-win situation."
With his [Absolute Contract] gleaming in the dim light, the Merchant prepared to put the entire financial sector of the Kingdom in a chokehold.
---
The 5th Suzuki is from Tensura!
What will his unique skills be?
Still, the 1st is a ninja, the second is a physics department of university student, the third is physcology dpearment of university student, the fourth is the third grade of high school that is about to be the economics department of university student, so you will remember, and naturally, the 5th is also a university student; as for what he study, it will somehow related to his unique skill, too.
It will be interesting~!
Please look forward to it!