Chapter 103: Himeno Airi
Act 9 ; Charm
Himeno Airi was her name. She was a completely normal high-school girl… Just a run of the mill girl, who was not a beauty, had no freckles, and wore unfashionable glasses. She was a seedy person no matter how and where you looked at her. By appearance, she was simply a below average girl.
She had neither a distinctive appearance nor history. Only her grades belonged to the better side, but she wasn't a gifted one, and wasn’t a hardworking or passionate girl either. She wasn't blessed with special talents or a good pedigree.
Thus, her situation could be said to be just normal. Because not everyone is born with a golden spoon in their mouth. Because no one stands above others amongst the 7 billion other humans on Earth. No one is special. She understood the yearning to become that impossible special one.
Therefore, Himeno Airi didn’t feel ashamed for being a normal girl. In fact, she didn't even try to hide the fact that she was fine with just being a normal girl. Because that was all she could have anyway.
By the time she graduated from her Junior Highschool at the age of 15 years old, Himeno Airi had fully understood that fact. However…
「W-W-What in the world is this class…」
Her anxiousness grew even further as she began her new life as a high school student. Well, she had passed a peaceful year as a freshman of Shiromine High without causing any trouble for the sake of not having needless anxiety later on.
But, her troubles came all at once along with the change of the class as a sophomore of Shiromine High.
「Souma Sakura, Reina A Ayase, Kisaragi Ryouko, Kenzaki Asuna, Takanashi Kotori, Natsukawa Minami…」
Those names were on the list of the girls of 2-7 of Shiramine High, which was the class Himeno Airi was assigned to, and also the names of famous beauties in her freshman year.
「Y-You gotta be kidding me… There's the famous Juri-Mari combo and Randou Kyouko, Kizaki-san and Kitaooji Rurika, and to make matters worse, there's also Nagae Yukiko who has many hidden fans…」
The list of famous beauties in her freshman year (and unfortunately in the entire high school too) who went to the same class as her was long.
「Isn't this class way too high level for me!?」
Basically almost every beauty in her grade was gathered in the same class as if it was intentional. There was Souma Sakura, a pretty and ideal beauty on the top of the list. And following right behind her was Randou Anzu whose beauty was also a cut above the rest.
A large number of beauties were gathered in class 2-7, and was like a large-scale gathering of national idols. "What the hell is wrong with them, do they actually want to hold a concert in budokan. Damn you all, there's no way those girls will be inferior to the national idol group if they stood on the same stage."[TL : Budokan, national stage]
"The heck, it isn’t even a joke since all of them are beauties." Yes, it wasn't a joke for Himeno Airi.
「Nai WA~~, These girls are just impossible for me to exist alongside with…」
Airi was literally troubled by their existence.
「T-THE HECK IS WITH THE GIRLS’ LINE UP!? I’M BASICALLY THE UGLIEST GIRL IN THIS CLASS! 」
Properly speaking, she would be reigning in the 1st or 2nd place in most class caste with only three girls in the class, that is. Her plan was to create a three kingdom-like situation.
However, 2-7 of Shiromine High was like the warring era of Japan. The classroom in which so many famous beauties were crammed together was just like a jewel box.
And then, what will become of the pebble that was picked up by the river and placed into the same box filled with well ordered beautiful jewels?
That was the most correct expression to illustrate what would become of an ugly girl when she was mixed along with beauties that would make anyone turn around.
「Holy moly, what should I do now, I don't even have a friend here…..」
Although, she was lucky that amongst the nineteen girls of 2-7, not everyone was a beauty. It could be said that the situation was fifty-fifty, the famous beauties aside, the rest of the girls were those whose names were unknown and had a mediocre appearance like her.
Thus, there will be no situation in which she would gather attention due to being the only ugly one in the class.
But still, her appearance didn’t stand out and was so-so in this class.
「I-If I make a mistake and get isolated in this class….」
There's a great difference between isolation and being a ‘Loner’.
Isolation is when someone is basically disliked by the entire class, is the lowest of the lowest who disturbs the harmony in the classroom, on the other hand, a loner has more of a meek personality and their own circle of friends. In fact, being a loner wasn't all that bad if the class was boring.
But, if it was a class where you can find so many beauties and handsome guys like that of a drama… It is literally a hell-like class for a loner. For a loner, the paradise of the normies was a serious threat, casting a brilliant light that meant isolation hell.
To endure such living hell, Airi kept telling herself to not get cocky and incomprehensible.
I’m not supposed to chew more than I can eat, but in this class of miracles called 2-7, forget about being a loner, I might as well as have fallen into a hell called “Isolated Loner” if I try to aim for anything with this ugly figure of mine. I will make sure to stay inside a dark and lonely forbidden forest in the corner of this brilliant paradise of beauties. Oi, wait a minute, isn’t that like sealing my fate with a curse, (╯°□°）╯︵ ┻━┻!.
「Nonononono, I absolutely mustn't enter that forbidden forest. Wait a minute, can I even live in this class in the first place….」
Airi frantically made a survival plan while staring at the name list of her class with bloodshot eyes.
「Think, I know you can do this, Himeno Airi. Think carefully, if you start your second year of high school without any kind of plan, you will become a loner in the truest sense.」
「Those normal looking fellows whose skills are to go with the flow are guys whose names are unknown to me too. Even if I happen to know them, I’ve almost never interacted with them since they were in a different class last year.」
Though her level of appearance was so-so, the matter of entering an already formed group of similarly normal girls as a newcomer was almost an impossible task for Airi whose communication power was close to zero.
「I-I have no choice but to make a gamble then!」
If she failed to enter the circle of normal girls, Airi could say goodbye to a peaceful second year of high school. Even if she somehow managed to snuggle herself into one of the normal groups, there would be fierce infighting in the group because of how abnormally high levelled class 2-7 of Shiromine high was.
The way to victory was a thorny one. "In the worst case, doesn’t that Momokawa look even cuter than those normal looking girls?" Actually, this is a kind of hardship that I have to suffer, to even lose in terms of cuteness to a boy.
Momokawa Kotarou was in the same class as Airi during their freshman year. Thanks to his slightly childish face, short stature, and slightly longer hair, he looked cuter than your normal looking girl, and was the so called "Trap". Things like ‘he looks like a cat’, or ‘his saucy attitude combined with his androgynus face’ were hot topics amongst the other students but… To be honest, Momokawa’s charm surpassing even Airi despite being a boy hurt Airi’s consciousness as a girl, which directly related to the continuation of her peaceful second years life as a high school student. She might have accepted her defeat in terms of cuteness if her opponent was a transcendently cute boy to the point of looking like a beauty like Reina, but against a "Trap" like Koutarou…
「No, let's make a gamble… I, will make the necessary preparations!」
The level of the appearances of the girls in 2-7 Shiromine High was simply just too high. The levels of those beauties were simply over 9000, and to make matters worse, there was also an existence that drove normal looking girls like Airi even further into the abyss of despair, a trap who looked even cuter than them, Momokawa.
Oh woe is me, why does my peaceful high school life look more like a distant dream now. Alright, let's then aim for a slightly better position in the class caste!
「I-It should be okay…. D-Despite being a dyke, Kizaki-san is seriously a gentle girl, so it… should be okay.」
The one Airi was aiming for, Kizaki Akane, was in the same class as her last year and, at least amongst the people Airi was acquainted with. For Akane, her relationship with Airi was nothing more than one of many friends whom she acquainted due to her rather bright personality. But, Airi came to the final conclusion that to have a peaceful life in 2-7 of Shiromine high, she had to enter Akane's group.
Because Kizaki Akane was definitely amongst the top rank in the class caste during the first year. She was a charming girl blessed with curves, had a cute and gentle appearance along with drooping eyes and was quite tall for a girl of her age as well as the ace of the volleyball club. She was an extremely kind girl with little to worry about both in terms of personality and appearance. Even Airi was forced to approve that compared to a girl with a strange personality like her, Kizaki Akane was truly a super nice girl.
As long as I can enter the circle of Kizaki Akane’s friends, even if it's impossible for me to aim for the top caste of this class, I'll at least be guaranteed the middle position.
「As long as I am careful with my way in dealing with Kitaooji Rurika, Kizaki-san is not a problem.」
Kizaki Akane was a dyke through and through, and her girlfriend was none other than her childhood friend, Kitaooji Rurika, and even though they think their relationship is a secret, it is in fact an open secret. No one had confirmed the truth to those two, but….. Anyone who saw their relationship in the first year was convinced about the truth of the secret. They're the very definition of Bakaple*. [TL : Baka Couple – Stupid Couple, you can read "Uzaki-chan wa asobitai" to understand the true meaning of it] Thanks for the treat of your bakaple show by the way.
That aside, Kizaki Akane was a wonderful person-As long as you made sure to not mess around with Kitaooji Rurika- And this was the conclusion of Airi’s research about them.
「A~h, and since I'm basically sticking around Akane whose level is at least twice of mine, I guess the other ugly ones are going to be tagging along with her too.」
Akane and Ruruki were basically sticking to each other 24/7 when they knew that they were in the same class. In regards to appearance, Kitaooji Rurika was basically the cute loli type which is the exact opposite of Akane. Her power level is more than doubled when she is paired with different kinds of beauties. Even ugly pebble-like Airi was polished in terms of power level just by being around her.
Even without those game-like effects, being the only friend to face the atmosphere between the two dykes was not comfortable for Airi.
「A~h, nai wa~, this is the worst, I have to at least bring in another person into this fluffy area~」
Airi was completely immersed in her own world of worries as she looked at the namelist of her classmates…. She was basically making a gamble. Suddenly, a savior delivered herself into the fluffy dyke world.
「Ah, I am Futaba Meiko. Best regards, Himeno-san.」
Airi’s last worries of being the only friend in the two fluffy dyke world was for nothing when Kitaooji Rurika came along bringing with her most favourite teddy bear plushie in one hand and her fellow member of the cooking club, Futaba Meiko, a girl who triumphed over other students in terms of weight, otherwise called Butaba behind her back by other students.
Airi’s dream of a fantasy world was crushed to smithereens in a mere three minutes after she left the stone room, by the demons known as Goma.
「GEBRAAA! ZABAAA, UBAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA! 」
After crying out at the top of her lungs, and vomiting the contents of her stomach, she reconsidered her situation again.
In any case, Airi ended up meeting the Goma, and learnt the bitter reality of the labyrinth of this other world.
A live encounter with the demons made them far scarier than normal. They were human-like creatures with cockroach-like glossy black skins. Disgusting, they were just too disgusting. And upon the encounter, they rushed at Airi and raised their rusted weapons with saliva dripping from their mouth with bloodshot eyes.
Like hell a normal high school girl could beat those demons. Even an armed police officer might not be able to do anything in this kind of situation.
Even though Airi’s 『Healer』 vocation had 『Lux Sagitta』 as an entry level offensive magic, she ended up doing nothing but earnestly screaming at the top of her lungs without even trying to use her skills.
Airi’s encounter with the Goma was a bad luck that came right when she had yet to be fully prepared to fight demons. Thus, right after the first encounter, she ran away and fortunately managed to reach the fairy plaza.
「Done, my life as a human is done for.」
After recovering from the shock of her first encounter, Airi checked on the magic circle while nibbling on fairy walnuts and drinking from the spring water. However, no matter what kind of plan she came up with for the dungeon capture, nothing worked.
「Now I know why all of those fellas who were sent to another world got cheat skills.」
「Another cheat again, another double standard MC, seriously, I’ve had enough of this kind of works.」
Sure, the adventure of a normal highschool girl who was suddenly summoned to another world of sword and magic as she built a reverse harem of hunks sounded exciting.
But, like hell a normal high school girl who was born and raised in the modern era of peaceful Japan could survive in another world without any kind of cheat vocation or cheat skills on her own.
Airi definitely couldn’t defeat those kinds of monsters. Even without all of those monsters, looking for a way to get out of the seemingly endless labyrinth was hard by itself. Even back on Earth, the matter of exploring a savage land, dense forest, mountain, or cave needed thorough preparation and all kinds of equipment including top notch survival skills.
And here she was, thrown into a place with dangerous monsters as soon as she was sent to another world and must survive it. In other words, aiming for the deepest part of the labyrinth is impossible! The action itself was absurd in the first place.
「Rather, like hell I can survive by myself.」
『Lesser Heal』:Heals minor injuries, light healing magic.
『Lux Sagita』:Lower rank attack magic of the light attribute.
『Flash』:Releases a flash of light to blind one's enemies.
Those were the initial skills granted for Airi's 『Healer』 vocation.
Airi’s skills were rather balanced with healing magic as the core of her vocation. 『Lux Sagita』 was the means to attack, and 『Flash』 was to assist her retreat in case she faced too many opponents. In fact, when she tried using 『Lux Sagita』, she knew that it had enough power to kill the disgusting Goma as long as the skill hit.
But, even a splendid arsenal was like pearls before swine if the owner couldn't use it properly. Himeno Airi thus ended up unable to use her magic to counterattack the Goma in her next encounter.
「I mean, I am a girl after a~ll.」
Airi might sound like an annoying person, but this was the reality of her current situation. It was near impossible for an under average high school girl like her could do something like betting her life to defeat those demons.
She did have the power, but not the strength to fight.
Though there’s a safe place called the Fairy Plaza, she couldn't escape from the dungeon.
「No no no, this is impossible, I mean, how in the world is a normal highschool girl like me supposed to survive with this kind of trash RPG-like initial stats…」
She couldn't advance deeper into the dungeon nor could she escape from it. Airi didn't want to die, she wanted to live.
Then she understood the reality, a fact, that she couldn't advance just by her own powers.
Thus, Himeno Airi did what she would do in this kind of situation… Or rather, what any below average girl would do in this kind of situation.
「U~h, UUUUU…….. UUUUH……..」
An indecisive female high school girl could do nothing but cry, in despair.
「UWAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA! 」
The fate that awaited one who abandons all hope and stops fighting for survival in this dungeon was death―― Or so it should be.
「Someone, there's someone here! 」
「HAAH! ? 」
She heard a voice. The voice of a man. The moment she heard that voice, it was as if she was brought back from the other world to that peaceful classroom in Japan, where she could hear the voices of her classmates.
「Ah…. Himeno— San? 」
「Eh, Nakajime…. Kun? 」
The one who appeared was the average looking-bespectacle boy of her class, Nakajima Haruma.
「Uhm, that's quite a loud cry you got there, are you alright? 」
「N-Nakajima-Ku~~~N! 」
「UWAAAA! ? W-WaAAA! ? 」
Without any hestitation, Airi embraced Nakajima. Despite crying like that, she wasn't as messy as before with mucus and vomit all over the place around her. Instead, she cried out loudly in order to produce the image of a frail girl.
And as expected, their meeting was, fated. A gallant boy called Nakajima Haruma appeared when Airi was swallowed by despair, he was a light of hope.
YEAAAAAAAAAAAAH! I’VE BAITED A BOY! NOW, VICTORY IS MINE! Well then, please do your best to protect this frail girl, Nakajima Haruma! [ED: damn, that’s low]
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