Chapter 10. Part 3.

"Hey, Akua, do you remember them?"

Once again, this Kenji kid acted way too familiar with me, but I ignored it and still looked over to the three people he pointed at. One had a bulky build, the other wore glasses and gave off the air of an intellectual, while the last was a chubby fellow with scraggly hair who made you feel depressed from just looking at him.

Again, I didn't remember any of them. It'd been far too long for me. I was also too young back then, only in second grade at the time. What? Did he expect me to remember every single person I've ever met before? How many people did you think I'd remember after all the worlds I've been summoned to?

I shook my head from side to side indicating to him I didn't recognize or remember them.

"Really? Not even them huh? Well I guess introductions are necessary then. The big guy with the broad build is named Otoko Subarashi, he's really a great man I'll have you know."

"..."

"That was supposed to be a joke."

"It really wasn't funny." I also didn't ask to be introduced, did I?

"Hahaha, you used to laugh at it all the time in the past though."

"Whoever it was that you knew that found that funny must have had a really shitty sense of humor back then."

"Anyways, moving on, the four eyes over there is Doku Tatsujin, he's basically a villain, you should be careful of him. You never know when he'll poison you to death when you least expect it."

"Was that supposed to be another lame joke?" Seriously just tell me the names, I don't care about whatever terrible jabs you have.

"Haha. Geez, tough crowd."

When I seriously focused on the last person he pointed out I realized there was something bizarre about the depression inducing kid. It seemed the mana in the world completely avoided him like the plague. A sphere with a diameter of two meters formed perfectly around him where no mana entered.

"Well, the last one, I won't make any jokes, his name is Muko Kukyo."

"Pfft."

Ah. I inadvertently spit out a breath of air, but I cut the laugh short; the name fit him a bit too well. Did his very existence make the world depressed because it had summoned him? His name basically meant void or invalid and emptiness.

"That's what you laughed at?"

"Sorry that was a blunder on my part. Forget it happened."

Thanks to that little blunder, the shrine maidens that surrounded me broke out into whispers and secret discussions amongst themselves.

"Girls, Miss Akua laughed!"

"I've never seen it before."

"Me neither."

"She can laugh?"

"Are you sure we're not seeing things?"

"Is this just a dream?"

"She's never laughed at any of our jokes before though."

"Is that chubby kid some kind of comedic genius?"

"No, maybe it was actually the weak looking, obnoxious, overly friendly loser talking to her."

Ah. Kenji inadvertently took critical damage from a stray shot fired.

"Haha, your friends are pretty interesting Akua." He said that with a strained cocked smile.

"Yeah."

"Isn't he kind of like, really annoying?"

""""""""Right?""""""""

Ah. Another unintentional critical blow.

"Hahaha, Akua we'll catch up later, I'm going to gather the guys to discuss a few things off to the side."

Ah. He ran away.

Really, what exactly was my relationship to the people he pointed out? For him to introduce me to them out of nowhere like that meant he really thought it would jog my memory.

But forget about them for now, thirty people was really far too large to be considered a hero party. It would be too difficult for thirty so called heroes to coordinate as one cohesive unit. What are the humans of this kingdom really thinking? Even my group was pushing it at ten people in our party for fights, the only reason it worked out in the end was because each shrine maiden was specialized in one element alone. They were masters of their craft so to speak.

Water, fire, wind, earth, wood, lightning, metal, darkness, and lastly light. Those were the nine elements these nine shrine maidens were specialized in. Respectively they were named Umi, Moeru, Tatsumaki, Tsuchi, Ki, Chidori, Hagane, Yami, and finally Hikari. They both complemented one another and simultaneously neutralized each other. They were in a perfect equilibrium when the nine joined together in a coordinated fight. However, as strong as they were, it was a shame they were completely unnecessary to actually defeat the demon emperor in their world. I kind of just summoned him at the bottom of the ocean and crushed him with water pressure after all.

"Well, since it looks like some of you have gotten to know each other, we will begin recording your information."

As soon as the king said that, a few guards stepped out from the side with several different weapons. Amidst their ranks was a half elf with a crystal ball in hand off to one side.

"To save on time, each of you will be tested all at once right now in terms of your affinities with different weapons. The weapons will glow based upon how much potential you have with it. That half elf over there with the crystal ball will be recording your affinities with elemental magics."

The moment the king said that, that kid, Kenji, wrapped his arm around Muko's neck and dragged him over to the half elf. His intentions were pretty obvious, he wanted to hit it off with the half elf and make himself look better in front of her by using Muko as a stepping stone to bolster his own image. It was a really shallow plan, it's a shame it would probably work.

"My name is Rina, I will be assessing your affinity with elemental magic."

I perked up my ears slightly curious and made out the conversation they had upon first contact with the half elf.

"Rina, huh, such an uplifting name that pleases the ears. It really suits a beauty like you."

"Hahaha. You flatter me too much Sir Kenji."

"Just Kenji is fine for such an angelic being like yourself."

The half elf blushed and looked to the side shyly like a docile little lamb. It didn't match her appearance as a seductive beauty at all, but it clearly hit Kenji's and Muko's strike zone. For some reason my gut instinct told me not associating myself with that half elf was for the best.

Of course the half elf's next words made that impossible.

"The king has appointed me as an instructor to help train all of you summoned heroes so we will be seeing each other a lot K-K-Kenji."

Even I, a woman, had to admit that her smile was devilishly attractive. There was no doubt in my mind, she was definitely a honey trap set by the king to make heroes not wish to return once the demon lord fell in the future. Well, that was certainly none of my business, if they were dumb enough to want to become tools for a kingdom in another world, that was their decision, not mine.

"To test your affinity with the elements please put your hand on this crystal orb."

I'm sure it was difficult for them to determine which orb she meant when her melons were resting directly on top of the crystal orb.

"My good man Muko, you should go first."

"Eh? Me? Why me?"

"Just go."

"O-o-okay."

Muko hesitantly stretched his hand out and placed it onto the crystal orb, but even after several seconds passed by, there was no apparent change?

"Eh? This can't be right, can it? Everyone, even if not attuned to an element will light up the crystal orb based upon how much mana they have. It would at least change from it's foggy state to clear and transparent if you were elementless. The only way this could possibly happen would be if you were without a single shred of mana. But there has never been such a case before, maybe you're not touching it right."

The half elf grabbed onto Muko's hand and pulled it and placed it more firmly on the orb. Of course, whether intentional or unintentional on her part, his hand was now conveniently squished between the bottom of her chest and the top of the crystal orb.

"Y-y-y-y-your b-b-boobs, t-t-they're t-t-touching my hand."

The half elf completely ignored his flustered state and stared intently at the orb for a few more seconds, but it never changed in the slightest.

"Miss Rina, maybe the ball is just broken."

She showed an expression of struggle before she said, "maybe, but I checked it earlier to make sure it was working."

"Miss Rina, maybe your power was so great the crystal ball broke and is now malfunctioning."

"Oh, right, breaking due to the sheer level of power, I never considered that. What if it was actually Muko whose power was so great the crystal ball broke instead?"

That was when Kenji extended his hand out and poked the orb. The moment he did, it lit up brightly with all sorts of colors swirling about. There were nine different distinct colours, each one was blindingly bright, clearly showing his strong affinity with them.

"It looks like he didn't break it after all, Miss Rina."

"I suppose so."

The half elf with a troubled look on her face raised her hand and placed it on Muko's chubby cheek and said gently with an angelic voice as if she were trying to soothe him. With her tranquil eyes she looked deep into his own and said, "even if you don't have any apparent magical talent, that doesn't mean you aren't talented in other areas. You could turn out to be skilled with one of those weapons over there. Who knows, you may even have a talent unable to be evaluated by tests such as these."

Muko's visibly depressed face slightly eased a bit when he heard her words.

Just by looking at him, it was clear he was already a goner that easily fell into the half elf honey trap. The only thing that concerned me was whether or not the half elf was already long aware of Muko's hidden talent. If my assumption was correct, he was actually able to neutralize magic in this world. Maybe she understood that, but it didn't make any sense why she didn't outright bring up that possibility. It was actually a pretty strong ability in a world dominated by magical strength.

Was she hiding something? My interest was naturally piqued, so I approached her when Muko and Kenji moved on to the surrounding guards to test their luck with weapon affinities.

When I stood directly in front of the half elf, I lifted my right hand then planted it firmly on that bountiful chest of hers before I squeezed down and let the flabby bulges of fat squeeze through the creases of my fingers; of course, I said nothing more and we remained in complete silence. I innocently looked directly into her eyes waiting for her to say something like I was completely oblivious to the situation.

"Uhm, the crystal ball is a bit lower, Miss Akua."

"Oh? It was? Sorry, I couldn't really tell the difference with those slutty knockers of yours resting on top of it like that."

"Hahaha, sorry to cause any confusion, Miss Akua."

"You can drop the act. There's no way someone that looks like she'd open her legs for any man would ever have such an innocent and caring personality."

"Bitch, you got a problem with me using my tits to my advantage?"

"Not really. I just found that innocent goody two shoes act of yours a bit repulsive, that was all."

"If you even think of revealing me, I'll make sure to make things difficult for you. I am going to be your magic instructor after all."

"Not a problem, not a problem. Stay away from me and I'll leave you alone as well. What you do to the others doesn't really matter to me. Just leave me and my girls out of it."

"Deal."

After finishing our girl talk, I let go of those indescribably soft mounds protruding from her chest and placed my hand onto the crystal orb. A blue hue appeared with an intensity so great the crystal ball actually cracked. The moment the crack appeared I pulled my hand away as fast as possible. Thankfully I was prepared beforehand. I expected that to more or less happen. Of course, it was difficult to see due to the overwhelming blue, but there were other colours that had been drowned out by the intensity of the blue. I could utilize other elemental magics, but water had always been my strongest area, so I didn't use other elements very often.

"Ah! You skank! You almost broke it! You better compensate us for the repair fees!"

I activated water magic and used it to turn the area around the crack into liquid form before solidifying it again. Most objects had some form of water content within it. This crystal ball was no exception. I could of course repair it if it was just on the level of a small crack like this.

"Tch. Shoo. Shoo."