I had a dream. It was a dream I had when I was a little girl, playing in the garden of the villa.

　Her father and mother were drinking tea a short distance away, watching Serena and her siblings frolic with each other.
　Serena had a tendency to be too low in talent to be born to brilliant parents. Martial arts and sorcery are a bit of a tease. She studied hard when it came to classroom studies, but even then her results were on par with others. On the other hand, my brother was excellent.
　The poorly spoken people went so far as to say that the older sister was made up of the bad parts of her parents and the younger brother was made up of the good parts.

"We got you, Neichan!
"Gfffft....

　His brother's tackle as he spun around in front of him pigeonholed him. It drove all the air out of Serena's lungs and made her let out a strange scream.

''Ugh, ugh......... Kyousuke..........''
"Oh, sorry.

　Serena, who cowered with her stomach in her arms, was met with a wry smile by her brother Kyousuke, who reached out his hand to her.

You're still the same, Neichan. You can't defend the country like that.
"I don't know what to do...
"Well, okay. I'll protect the country and keep you safe.

　Kyousuke said and smiled, showing his white teeth.
　As a sister, she was shameful, but she was happy to hear her brother say that. Serena's dream came to an end as she slowly stood up with Kyousuke's help. Throughout the slumber, the sensation of being shaken by her shoulders became increasingly clearer and clearer.

　Serena woke up.

'Oh, hey. I'm awake.
It's true.
I knew you were human...

　The voices you hear. There is some kind of commotion around. Apparently, they've been brought in to where the people are. Thank goodness.
　I didn't know there was a human settlement outside the walls, but still, this positive reaction told me that there was no danger for now. Serena opened her eyelids, rubbing her eyes.

　At that moment, a face, face, face jumped into view.

　Oga, orcs, goblins, gargoyles, gryphons, harpies, lamia, and many more monsters. There were no "humans" that Serena knew, not one.

''Ummm........''

　In order to protect her own mind from the excessive amount of information, the girl Serena fainted once more for a moment.




''I see.........''

　As Kyousuke finished his report in the operations room for the moment, Ryuzaki smiled and said.

''If that guy trusted us to bring him here, we can't afford not to take care of him, can we?

　Okumura learned from Zekou that Zekou encountered a gobayashi on a rocky outcrop a short distance east of here and joined him in a fistfight. Muscle is everything in ooga society, and once a fighter loses a fistfight, he or she will continue to listen to the victor until he or she regains control.
　It was that girl who was entrusted to Zeku by the gauvashi. She was found dead in the wilderness. Goubayash and his team had urgent business to attend to, so they left the girl in charge of Zekou and said they were heading in the southeast direction.

　Both Okumura and Zekou are now in the dining room waiting for the girl to wake up.

'Also in the report were the weapons that were on the heavy cruiser, and then there was the wildsworm...'

　Ryuzaki scratched his head as he looked at the report. Kyousuke nodded.

'The Wildness Worm is quite a problem. I think it's much harder to damage them from the outside. In our case, well, it just happened to work out...''

　It was an unexpected fact that such a monster was outside the base. There was a risk that it would cause significant hindrance to future outside exploration. It wasn't like that if they were holed up in the base, and it wasn't certain when the Wyrdness Worm, which would be digging through the ground, would collide with this underground labyrinth.

I'd like to say that this is the weapon for that, but it's doubtful that a gun from 70 years ago would be able to give him the damage he needs.
The rest is Ryuzaki, and this. It's the ship's log, which was the first thing I wanted.
Yeah, thanks. I'll read it when I've calmed down a bit. I have too much to think about right now.

　It's probably not just about that girl and the Wildness Worm, Kyousuke thought.
　Kyousuke knew that for the past few days, Ryuzaki had been struggling with the organization of the party that would be exploring the labyrinth. It's a problem if there are too few healers for the total number of students, and it's also a problem if the balance has to be taken into account, which inevitably means that students who are close to each other have to be torn apart. In addition, there was also the question of which squad to put an unlikable person like Koganei in.

　As long as Koganei and Ei nod, it's best to put them in Kyousuke's squad.

　Kyousuke's group is currently made up of Kyousuke, Rin and Ei. They are what is known as "team useless".
　If Koganei joins the team, at least the balance of forces will be balanced, a recovery role will be added, and Koganei's place in the team will be secured as there is no one to take him in, which is a good thing.
　However, Ei probably won't allow it.

　This time, under the assumption that there would be no overt danger outside the labyrinth, "Team Useless" was sent on a heavy cruiser search that didn't require much in the way of strength. Kenzaki and Okumura were added as insurance, and the recovery role was not added due to the number of people in the team. It was judged that they did not need to be there for this mission.
　That's where the Wilderness Worm came in. From now on, if they were to increase the number of classmates they sent to the heavy cruisers, they couldn't continue to keep its presence a secret.

"I'm not very happy about keeping Utsurogi and the others as 'team useless', but...

　Ryuzaki is referring to the Black Knight (Full Cross). Kyousuke shrugs.

'Me too. Ei is really trying to hide it, but it's definitely going to come out impossible. Well, if you break the team apart, that's what makes them really useless...''
'Well, I'll figure out the party structure. Utsurogi should be more concerned about things I don't notice and report back to me.

　I feel like I'm being bought off in a bizarre way. I'm not sure if Kyousuke will be able to notice what Ryuzaki doesn't notice.

I'm sure you'll agree with me about the heavy duty weaponry for now. I'll talk to Kuremori tomorrow.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. By the way...

　And Kyousuke turned his eyes (no) to the coffin in the corner of the room. I'm sure you'll be able to find a way to make it work.
　You can still hear snoring from the luxurious golden coffin, which looks like it could be displayed in the British Museum.

'Oh, it's all right. I woke you up once earlier. That's how I got you to use your powers once.
Kick me in the nuts?
Otherwise it wouldn't have happened, Harao.

　He's been a fast-paced guy since his human days. He came to this side and spurred on.
　Although he wasn't a very involved opponent to begin with, but as the same undead tribe, I was honestly envious of his abilities.

''Harao, is there any complaint from the class for this treatment?''
Of course it's possible. Until the incident with Koganei, Kagoi and her friends even dragged a coffin with them. But if he gets into a bad mood, he'll curse you.
It's Harao's curse. How can Ryuzaki not be cursed?
'No, I'm cursed rather often.... A bit earlier too.
'Oh, yeah...'

　It seems that the Demon King's committee chairman has a lot of trouble. Honestly, I feel sorry for him.

　After that, Kyousuke continued to have a light chat with Ryuzaki before leaving the operations room. I wonder if Rin and Ei are in the cafeteria by now.
　That girl might have woken up around the same time. Kyousuke, too, went straight to the diner.




''I'm Sakuma Sachiko. And you are?''
Well, Serenor, sir.

　When Kyousuke reached the cafeteria, Sakuma was about to ask the girl a question.
　The girl, Sakuma, and Benii were sitting next to him, with the rest of the students watching from afar. Perhaps it was an attempt to relieve some of the tension by having the two of them in their human form ask questions. It would have been nice if Koganei had been here as well, but after all, I should say, there was no sign of him.

　The moment he entered the cafeteria, he was met with needle-like stares from some of the students.
　Since the other day's incident, Koganei and Washio (Gryphon) of the old Koganei faction are the ones who have earned the most hate in this class, but in the past few days, Kyousuke and the others have actually not been defeated. It's because ever since Ryuzaki began to emphasize the role-sharing system based on each person's ability, Kyousuke and the others' "uselessness" has visibly come to the surface.
　Until now, all of the classmates had been working together as a close team and doing what they could, so none of them were bothered by Kyousuke and the others. However, once the role system was introduced and they were separated from their closest friends, the hate for Kyousuke and his teammates, who were still forced to form a trio of close friends and were still "useless", accelerated.
　To be honest, it's not as if Ei and Rin have been the same useless team to begin with, so they're in a different order. Furthermore, if this team falls apart, it really is just a uselessness, as I've discussed with Ryuzaki. But that's not going to help if you talk about it.

　Kyousuke felt a little uncomfortable, but he stepped in further and headed to his close friends.

''Oh, yay. Utsurogi-kun.
That was surprisingly fast, Kyosuke.

　Rin and Ei greeted Kyousuke without the appearance of paying much attention to the gazes around them.

''How's that. That human child.
Her name is Serena, I think. She was born in a kingdom all the way east of here, an apprentice knight, I think.

　Nodding in agreement, Kyousuke turned his attention to the girl, Serena. The person in question, Serena, is also glancing at us from earlier.
　Well, it's probably this way, or rather all the students in the cafeteria. To be frank, it's hard to feel at ease when you're surrounded by monsters like this.

　From the stories of Rin and Ei and the information Sakuma is giving to Serena herself, it seems to be like this.
　In Serena's country, in the past, in order to fight against the monsters approaching from the western wilderness, they built a huge wall and declared the area beyond it to be inviolate. But recently, that prohibition was finally lifted and a survey team was formed. Serena was incorporated into one of them.
　However, Serena's investigation team was destroyed, leaving her alone. The one who attacked the survey team was a demon with a black body and red wings. Its entire body was as tight as if it was clad in armor, and it was said to have flown swiftly through the sky with wings that seemed to have flared up to blood color.

　When the story came out from Serena, a murmur arose in the cafeteria.

　Black armor. Red wings. It was exactly because it was none other than the figure of that black knight who engaged the King of the Dead Spirit the other day.

''Utsurogi-kun........''

　Tension was evident in Rin's voice as well. Kyousuke also nodded.
　The identity of the Black Knight was Kyousuke and the others. And Kyousuke and the others had never left their base far away in that form, much less attacked a human.
　However, the fact that the story came out here was a kind of bad news for Kyousuke and others.

''I guess we'd better keep the Full Cross thing under wraps for a bit longer.

　Ei's cold manner. But Kyousuke can't help but nod.

　Sakuma and Benii also know who the Black Knight is. Sakuma, too, stiffened for a moment, and then hesitated to decide whether to deal with the buzz of the class that had rolled up, or to continue with the question. For her part, she must have wanted to deny equating that red-winged demon with the black knight. But she quickly realized that it was folly and seemed to keep her mouth shut.
　Instead of her, it was Benii who continued to question Serena. Although, he was still in his usual languid manner while fiddling with his nails.

'So what are you going to do now?'
Huh?

　Beni turned his gaze to Serena's face, which was making a dumb voice. She still had the same sleepy look in her eyes.

''From now on. As you can see, this is a monster's den and you're the only human in it.
Oh, I knew it........they're going to eat you?

　Serena lets out a wretched cry.

"After being stripped, tortured and teased and played with so much, he ends up as a carpaccio and becomes your dinner!
'Oh, yeah.... You're pretty imaginative........

　In contrast to the dumbfounded Benii, Sakuma's face turned bright red and he was down. Did he imagine it?

''I'd like to drink human blood or something like that for the first time in a long time too, but the guys here don't have any taste for that kind of thing. What I want to ask you is how to gesture.

　Saying this, Benii leaned back and crossed his legs.

I'll have to ask my Demon King to make the final decision. It's not really a good idea to keep you here anymore, since you've got what you wanted to know.
"...and...?
So it's not like I'm going to turn you into a carpaccio or kick you out right away. It's just that you're either going home now or you're staying here. If you're going home, that's fine, but if you want me to keep you here, there's got to be some kind of return.

　Benii's words while polishing his fingernails implies that he means 'I can't leave a useless person behind'. Kyousuke's heart aches too, but well, I'm sure it's a statement that came out of frustration from Benii himself.
　Benii has recently been sent out to explore the labyrinth. After having set up Ryuzaki with Sakuma, it would be embarrassing to go against him, but he is clearly not happy with the situation. In short, he says, "I'm doing my job, so why don't you do yours? It's very Queen-like.

　Serena clenched her fists and said, "I don't want to be of any use to you.

I am willing to be of service to you, sir. You saved my life, so...
'Hmm. What can you do then?
'What?　Eh, um. Umm.....
Well, all right, Asuka-chan.

　Sakuma chides Benii, who annoys Serena with his mean-spirited manner, with a bitter smile.
　Probably, Serena also really wants to return to her hometown, the Eastern Kingdom. However, in order to do so, she would have to cross that ridiculously wide wilderness on her own. In the wilderness, there is also the Wilderness Worm, and the red-winged demon that caused her to end up in this situation. Considering the situation, she would like to stay here for a little while longer, or something like that.

'Serena, I'll let our leader know that we'll talk through it. We'd also like to, uh, um, expand our range of activities someday, and if we can send Serena-san to you then, I'd like to send her to you...
Okay, yes.　Thank you!

　Serena stood up, her face finally lighting up.

''Well she said that she built a wall to prevent the monsters to the west (this way) from entering...''

　Ei blurted out in a cold voice. Kyousuke and Rin also looked in that direction.

''I don't think they're going to be easily believed when an army of monsters tries to send her away from behind that wall...''
That's true, isn't it?

　Rin nodded.
　Kyousuke agrees with her on this. Rather, almost all of his classmates must have thought the same thing. Perhaps only Serena herself was unaware of the true nature of the problem, but she clenched her fists tightly and shouted with a determined look on her face.

'Unworthy Serena!　I'm ready for a powder keg and I'll do my best!




　From then on, Serena's success was remarkable. In a bad way.

''Ooh, here you are!

　I kicked and stumbled and blasted the food I brought in as hard as I could. I don't know how many times I've seen this scene today. Kyousuke was staring at it with a lukewarm feeling.

''Oh no........ Serena-chan, this is bad........''

　Rin is also sipping her pasta-modding with a sense of urgency. This pasta moki is a new ingredient that is being collected on the 11th underground floor. When boiled, it has a taste and texture similar to spaghetti. The similarity in color and shape made it popular among classmates, but the students actively avoided discussing its identity. Only Kagoi (Gargoyle), who was the first in the class to discover pasta-models, still can't eat them.
　Incidentally, for some reason, since the day we defeated the Wildness Worm the other day, a large amount of these pasta modifiers have been served on our table. There are some strange things in the world. I thought I heard Gotohara muttering, 'That was a female, wasn't it?' but I don't know what he meant. It's a curious thing. By the way, I heard that the wilds are not oviparous, but embryonic.
　Well, it's good to talk about pasta-models. The problem is Serena. Rin was right, Serena was bad.

　She's now apologizing for being so obtuse, picking up the broken plates and sweeping the floor. The student who had been smashed up with the food in front of her was banging on the table in frustration.

　Serena's case was passed on to Ryuzaki from Sakuma's mouth, and she found herself in this class in a drift. She's even been given an attendance number with a nod and a pun. Well, she's a transfer student.
　As is usual with transfer students, the initial chirpiness was amazing. Otherworldly. A Caucasian (Caucasoid) type face. In addition, she's beautiful, and she's even more human. What was especially amazing was the offensive from the boys. It reminds me of Sakuma (Satchan) when he first moved to the city.

''Serena-san, what kind of life do humans have over here, Seka - no, what kind of life do humans have!
''Serena-san, isn't it scary to fight a monster with just a spear?''
'Serena, what's your favorite food?　What kind of food do you eat?'
'Serena, where do you live?　Are you on line?'

　Since this was surrounded by monsters, Serena was terrified to no end.

　Well, since Serena was an apprentice knight, she was to be included in the party as a combatant, and Ryuzaki was inundated with requests for her to join our team. It was only natural.
　But Serena was weak.

''As I recall, Serena-chan, you were seriously injured in a tackle by the Horned Rabbit on the first basement floor and were carried to the base right away, right?''
You're just like Kyousuke.

　At Rin and Ei's words, Kyousuke wanted to give a wry smile.
　By the way, Serena wasn't the only transfer student. Following Serena, who is attendance number 41, Ouga's Zekou has also joined the class as attendance number 42. Since he can't speak the language, Okumura will always be the interpreter, but this one is counted as a sufficient fighting force.

　Well, it can't be helped if it's not a fighting force. Serena was immediately dismissed as a combatant, and her position as a base personnel was tossed around.

''I heard that you over-watered the flower garden's vegetable garden and nearly rotted the roots of the tomatoes.

　Ei says.

'I heard that he tried to help Kurumori-kun, but got kicked out of the rifle he fixed and got kicked out.

　Rin says.

'I tried to help Sugiura peel the potatoes, but I heard there was only three inches of flesh left.
Oh, so that's why you're a dishwasher.
But that plate carrier is a thing too...

　Cock Sugiura (Scylla) is probably about to start getting angry. She's a nice, bright guy, but she's not the type to be open-minded either.

''Ugh......... Please scold Serena for being so careless and incompetent........

　Serena put her hands on the wall and nodded in disappointment.

"This is close to Serena-chan joining 'team useless'...
The problem is that unlike us, she's really useless.

　There was still a thorn in Ei's side in his words. Kyousuke thought about rebuking her, but since there seemed to be more to come, he decided to let her speak in silence.

'I'm concerned that the mood of the class will continue to move towards her exclusion.
Exclusion?　Are you kicking me out?
Yeah. Yes, she's from this world. The first time I smiled at her, first out of curiosity and then out of nostalgia for being a human being, but eventually I grew tired of her and began to feel frustrated by her constant dragging. Unlike us, she doesn't have the same classes as us, so she's less inclined to kick us out.

　Listening to his speculation, Kyousuke and Rin looked at Serena again. She withdrew to the kitchen at Sugiura's call, carefully carrying the new dish, this time without spilling it. Careful, but too slow. Is it better than spilling?

And once we get rid of that 'useless' girl, we can get rid of her. And since we got rid of her as a free lunch, it's only fair that we get rid of us.
That's not a good sign.
Yeah. For us and for the class.

　Once the consensus of the class is to kick out a classmate, the atmosphere will continue to deteriorate. If they are treated as useless, they will be kicked out of the class. Such a move would create dragging and pointless impeachment, and probably cause everyone in the class to become suspicious and unsure. If that happens, it's indeed impossible to stop it with the current Ryuzaki.
　The current situation is a bomb that is already a frustrated bomb. Serena, so to speak, is becoming a lit fuse towards that bomb.

'If we reveal the identity of Full Cross, we won't be treated as useless, right?
No, I don't. Well, I'm not going to come in here and make a foolish suggestion to keep it hidden either. It's just that it's not the right time.

　It's about the red winged demon. Could not have been a better time to reveal myself.

　Useless.
　The word weighed heavily on Kyousuke's mind. If he hadn't met Rin back then, he and she would have remained useless forever. It could have been Rin who was sick in the heart before Koganei, or it could have been me. If that had been the case, this class wouldn't be here now.

'Sure, you remind me of me...'

　Looking at Serena, who finally finished carrying the pasta and made a gut pose with a smile on her face, Kyousuke muttered something like that to himself.

　Later on, Ei's concerns would come true. It was somewhat earlier than predicted.