Loli Demon King

“Oh! You seem to have quite the talent, young man. I expect to see great things from you!”

The Archbishop let out a smile as he praised Ren. Afterwards, everyone kept checking their status. Of course, I looked at mine too, but was rather disappointed. Before I could put my card in my pocket, idiot Ren came behind me and took it from my hand.

“Hey, otaku freak, why don’t you let me have a look?”

Name: Ryusei Homura

Age: 16

Race: Human

Class: Enchanter

Strenght: F

Agility: E

Endurance: A+

Magic: D

Luck: F

Overall Rank: E

“Whoa! Your stats are trash, just like I expected. But this job… Excuse me, Archbishop, but what’s an enchanter?”

“An enchanter? It’s a non combat class specialized in enhancing weapons and physical strength. If I were to summarize it, it offers a small boost to abilities, but once you pass basic training, the boost it offers often becomes meaningless. It’s probably one of the worst classes known.”

After finishing his sentence everyone started to laugh at me. I could hear voices like “as expected of the freak otaku” or “even another world can’t change trash like him”. It was vexing. Even I felt like punching myself.

“Mou! That’s enough already! We’re all in this together. We need to support one another and be united, not pick on each other!”

The owner of that voice was obviously Shiori. After her sharp remark, everyone felt silent. She came close to me and whispered:

“Don’t worry, Ryu-kun. I’m not a combat class either, but I’ll make sure to do my best and protect you.”

Shiori lifted her card and showed it to me.

Name: Shiori Watanabe

Age: 16

Race: Human

Class: Healer

Strenght: D

Agility: B-

Endurance: B+

Magic: A+

Luck: C

Overall Rank: B

In that moment I kind of felt relieved. Knowing that Shiori was watching my back. And that was also the moment that ticked Ren off the most.

After everyone confirmed their status, the Archbishop once again spoke:

“Please follow these nuns. You will be assigned with rooms and we shall start your training tomorrow!”

--------

And so each day the holy knights of the church would take turns into training us.

The purpose of the training for the past week is for everybody to control their great power. The people who couldn't shoot magic at first are now already a splendid magician. With the given power their growth is very fast. Those who were labeled as melee fighters turned out to be quite skilled in handling swords and other weapons.

After today, I just wanted to go back to my room, but when I return, there’s a guy who joined shoulders with me familiarly. 

“Yo, otaku freak, let’s review today’s lesson together.”

Yup, you guessed it. Ren the bully. I desperately endure myself from sighing, and went to the usual spot to endure a beating.

“Oraa!”

“!…”

Ren’s punch enhanced with magic hit my belly.

Here is the back of the castle, it’s dark and there’s hardly anyone passing here. Just think of it like the back of the modern day gym.

I was sent flying a few meters. The pain was quite strong. After I landed I placed my hands on my belly and groaned. 

“I guess your endurance is your only good feature! You really make such a good punching bag!” 

This guy really is a jerk. But all I could do was endure his assault. Of course, I couldn’t tell anyone about this either. Shiori might be worried for me, but I can’t let her know so I always do my best to hide my bruises. Ren would make my life even more of a hell if anyone found out, and I’m scared that he might even try doing something to Shiori.

And that’s how I endured my days. Until the holy knights decided it was time to take us to have an actual combat experience. We were taken from the capital city to a cave in order to slay some goblins. Goblins were the weakest monsters on the continent so they were good for target practice. It was supposed to be an easy job. But the knight in charge made one fatal mistake.

“Wolves! These goblins have cave wolves! Kids, be careful. They are too fast to handle at this level. We have to retreat or else we’ll be surrounded. Shit! Why is this colony so big? There shouldn’t be this many! Fall back everyone! Fall back now!”

The truth was, we were overwhelmed by goblins. When we started out, everyone was doing good. But they soon turned the tide and overwhelmed us with sheer numbers. The holy knight was right. Even if we are stronger, we can’t match their numbers. Escape was the only option. I turned my body around and prepared myself to run. I think I was only able to take 5 steps. A blade had pierced my chest. It wasn’t a goblin blade. Goblins only used wooden arrows and clubs as weapons. It was… Ren’s blade. I was in complete shock. I knew Ren didn’t like me, but I didn’t think he would go as far as killing me. Ren had a huge grin on his face. He drew closer to my ear and whispered. Even though everyone was screaming, I could hear him clearly.

“You’ve been a pain in my ass for too long. We don't need to look after trash like you. You're just a burden, so die!”

As Ren pulled his blade out of my chest, blood was gushing out. I wanted to scream. I wanted to call for help. I wanted to tell everyone that this bastard stabbed me. But I couldn’t. All I could do was cough blood. Because of the wound, blood started filling my wind pipe. I felt like I would drown in my own blood. I couldn’t stand up anymore and fell on the ground. Ren kept smiling as he looked at me. Even know, I still remember his final words.

“Don’t worry! I’ll be sure to take good care of Watanabe-san!”

Then he turned around and shouted:

“Captain! They got one of us! We need help over here!”

It was like he put on a mask. He changed from an evil smile into someone who looked like he was concerned about me.

“NOOOOOOOOOOO!”

The one who shouted from the depths of her lungs was Shiori. She desperately tried to come to me. But the knight stopped her. He grabbed Shiori and lifted her over his shoulder.

“I’m sorry. It’s truly tragic, but we can’t waste any more time. We have to leave now, or else we are going to end up like him.”

With those words the knight started running alongside the rest of the students to the exit. Although Shiori struggled and wanted to be released, the knight didn’t let her go. Of course, Ren, who was classified as a hero easily caught up with the group too. Hero my ass. If this is the work of some God, that God is clearly a lunatic. Ren isn’t a hero. He’s an evil murderer who only cares about himself. I couldn’t keep my eyes opened any longer. I knew… my life had ended.