God’s Guide for Teasing Heroes

Tamashiro Naofumi POV 

  

  

  

  

We finally arrive at the city, Vestir, the capital of the country of Riles. 

As soon as we arrived, we knew that something about the city was a bit off. 

The atmosphere of the city was heavy. 

Everyone looked tensed. 

They should be... 

At this moment, talk about a war brewing was in the mouth of every people in the city. 

Before we even arrive in Vestir we have been hearing rumors about the possibility of a war erupting versus the Holy Empire of Ecclesia. 

  

  

Rio and I were talking about this matter. 

“Do you think that Kazue’s reason for her visit to the capital city of Riles is related to the rumors about the war?”  

“There is a high possibility that it is the case.”  

“How the hell did Kazue end up entangled in such complicated matters? It’s a problem between countries you know?”  

With this reasoning, the two of us became even more concerned with Kazue. 

  

  

In Vestir. 

The war between the Holy Empire of Ecclesia and the Great Nation Alliance was inevitable. 

People are not talking about “IF” the war starts, rather they are talking about “WHEN” the war starts. 

And as expected the war broke out. 

  

  

Because of several assassinations of high-ranking nobles and important figures who were trying to stop the war, it was too obvious that the other side was eager to fight. 

The top guns could not ignore this fact and decided to fight fire with fire. 

They could no longer stay silent as the other side was hostile. 

With this, the battle started. 

The Empire of Ecclesia marched forward and invaded Riles. 

  

  

The peace kept for years was broken and the war started. 

It was a bloody war. 

The fight between the 2 sides was too much for us to meddle with so we decided not to fight on the battlefield. 

You can call us cowards but... 

We are not the type of people who would stick our necks out to get in trouble. 

In the first place, we are individuals who have nothing to do with the conflict between the two sides. 

There was no reason for us to interfere in the battle. 

And even if we wanted to interfere we are just too weak to become a factor in this conflict. 

  

  

Unlike in our world, the war in this world is different. 

It was nothing similar to the wars we had in our world. 

There are impossibly powerful individuals on that battlefield who is capable of slaughtering thousands with a flick of their fingers. 

At that time, I and Rio were just an E-rank adventurer. 

There is no way in hell that the two of us could fight against those kinds of individuals who possess power that we can only imagine. 

Imagine, Son Goku in DZB fighting against Kirito in SAO. 

Without even much talk we already know who's going to win. 

  

  

The battle between those individuals would be detrimental to the result of the war itself. 

Honestly, I even wonder, why won’t those two countries just let those strong individuals fight in a tournament-like manner. 

A 1 v 1 battle and let the winner take it all. 

That is a perfect scenario to have some kind of tournament arc battle story to develop but the two sides chose to fight in an army vs army battle. 

If only they did do it that way, many unnecessary bloodsheds could have been avoided. 

But for some reason we don't understand, soldiers were sent to the front line of the battlefield to fight. 

Why? I don’t know either. 

  

  

Luckily our objective here is simple. 

We did not have to fight. 

We only have to find and reunite with Mizusawa Kazue and we know that she's somewhere here in Riles. 

We could only hope that she did not find herself fighting in the war. 

  

  

In hope of finding Mizusawa Kazue, we visited ground zero of the warzone. 

Around that time, the forces of Ecclesia seemed to have retreated and returned to their homeland. 

The war surprisingly ended just like that. 

It ended as fast as it started. 

The war had stopped, just like that. 

  

  

A certain course of events has forced the war to a halt and a stop. 

The war lasted for about a month. 

That length of time was enough to leave devastated, barren lands and many mountains of death. 

The time frame of battle seems to be too short for war, but in this world, a week of battles amongst individuals who have superpowers have ended. 

And of course, the aftermath was ugly. 

The war was left with destruction and death. 

  

  

Even though we were not on the frontlines, we can still see the aftermath of the battles that happened there. 

The battle transformed the land so that it has no resemblance to its appearance before. 

The land was carved as a result of the intense battle into the land. 

The land was devastated and has no sign of life. 

The land was either, torched, frozen, or muddled beyond recognition. 

Surprisingly enough it was easy to describe the overall state of the battlefield. 

The perfect description of the state of the battlefield right now is “dead”. 

  

  

The battlefield was transformed into a land of the dead. 

Not figuratively but literally, the land has become the land of the dead. 

The land was so contaminated by the magic and curses of the fallen warriors that fought on the battlefield. 

This created a mystical transformation of the land that enables the undead to rise from it. 

The dead bodies had transformed into undead. 

  

  

When both I and Rio had witnessed the result of the war, our stomachs almost went upside down. 

Neither of us had the guts to further look into the mountains of dead soldiers who fought in the war. 

This made the two of us unable to eat properly for a while. 

We are unable to find a trace of Kazue after asking soldiers who participated in the war. 

From Rio's investigation, she concluded that Kazue did not join the battle. 

  

  

We returned to Vestir in low spirits. 

And as we are walking by the road, we saw her. 

She was walking around the city of Riles with her three pet wolves following her from behind. 

She was carrying a bag of what it looks to be food. 

She was casually eating a skewer of some kind of meat. 

And with all the things happening all around us she was wearing an out-of-place wide smile on her face. 

Mizusawa Kazue was having a good time or at least one can tell that she was unaffected by the mood of the whole town. 

  

  

“Kazue-san!”  

As soon as Rio saw the familiar face, she called out her name and she noticed the two of us. 

She looked so carefree and lively. 

Now that I look back from the time when I saw her in Altus. 

This woman had changed, her usual “bad mood” aura had disappeared. 

Sure, she still has that “sharp” look but it feels different from before. 

It now has the glow that you can only associate with life. 

She looks like a child who is brimming with enjoyment and curiosity about everything around her. 

Even though she still had the same voice, the same face, and the same name, I could not help but think that she is a completely different person. 

She now looks so dazzling to my eyes. 

Her change had become so pronounced that if one of our classmates reminisce and compare it to her now, they would say that she has changed. 

  

  

“Oh, Rio! Why are you here?”  

She shifted her gaze to the two of us. 

"And…"  

She looked at me and she looked very troubled. 

Her face twitched and made an awkward twist. 

At first, I was in confusion because she made that reaction while looking at my face. 

But the look on her face told me what the problem was. 

It was a problem I often encounter in our world. 

It was that look… 

The look of someone who was trying to remember the name of a familiar face. 

She was trying to remember who I was. 

  

  

[Yeah, yeah, I get it. I am so unremarkable that people tend to forget my name after some time. But come on Kazue-san I am your seatmate! For you to forget my name is just too cruel. Well... I do think that four months is quite a long time but to completely forget my name is a little bit... ugh...] 

“Uh… Yamada?”  

“It’s Naofumi…”  

[Kazue-san… who the hell is Yamada? No one in the class had that name you know?! It’s too obvious that she was only guessing my name! Come on at least make it so that it sounded similar to my name.] 

“Oh right… Naofumi… Tomoko Naofumi!”  

“it’s Tamashiro.”  

“Ahuh… right… Tamashiro Naofumi-san.”  

Despite all that, the expression on her face barely changed. 

  

  

She turned her face toward Rio. 

It appears that she felt awkward looking in my direction. 

“What a surprise to see you here Rio-san. What are you doing here in Riles with Tamashiro-san?”  

While talking, Kazue-san reached for the inside of the bag she was carrying and pulled out a skewer. 

It was the same food she had on her hand. 

She reaches it out toward me and Rio as she was waiting for Rio to reply. 

I took one skewer from her outreached hands. 

Rio did the same. 

  

  

Kazue was looking at me with a blank face. 

She was waiting for me to have a bite of the food she just gave to me and Rio. 

To satisfy her, I took a bite from the skewer she gave us. 

It did not taste that good, it was just OK. 

But for some reason, when I took a bite from the skewer it was as if I ate something that satisfied my mouth. 

“How is it?”  

“… It’s good…”  

She did the same with Rio and for some reason, I feel that Rio had the same feeling that I was having at this moment. 

  

  

Tears came out of Rio’s eyes as she took a bite from the skewer. 

“KAZUEEE-SAAAN.”  

“Uh… Why are you crying? Was the skewer that good?”  

Rio shook her head. 

I knew what she feels. 

There is no way I would not know what she feels. 

  

  

After seeing the aftermath of the war... 

For days now, we are unable to eat properly for a while. 

But the skewer Kazue-san gave us was easy to swallow. 

The face of Kazue looking at us in anticipation and the smile she showed us somehow healed our upset stomachs. 

I guess we both need someone to show us something nice. 

From the time we spent here in Riles, we have been stressed by the war and the uneasy mood of everyone. 

I guess we have been on guard all this time looking for her. 

To see the person we wanted to find with a smile made it easier for us to release the tension in our hearts that made it easier for us to do a simple task such as eating. 

  

  

At last, we have found Kazue-san. 

After all the hardships we've been through just to find her. 

We've faced a lot of challenges. 

We've been through hell. 

Now our efforts had come to fruition. 

[Hmnn? Come to think of it... Why did we chase after Kazue-san anyway? Was it because she was being chased by bad guys? No... Before that... Yes... it was because of that...] 

  

  

When I remembered the real reason why we were looking for Kazue in the first place my eyes went wide, then I felt so exhausted and felt cheated. 

It was because the reason we are looking for Kazue in the first place was for me to say "I'm sorry". 

And the way how things are right now, I don't even know if she remembers what I'm sorry about. 

She even forgot my name, meaning the event that happened in Altus, the event I wanted to ask for forgiveness must have been forgotten altogether. 

Right now, I don't feel that it's time for me to suddenly say I am sorry. 

If I did, her reaction would be like this, "What the hell are you sorry about?" 

  

  

"Uhggg..."  

I looked at Rio, who was also looking at me while wiping her tears. 

Her mouth moved, there was no sound but I read her lips. 

It was as clear as day, as she had said these words to me countless times already. 

The word was... "Stupid" 1(A/N: I was thinking of the word... "BAKA" leaving her mouth there >.