I reached the front of the Tenipara club room.

　--Tonk!　Knock!

　I knock on the door of the club room.

'I'm coming in~'
What?　Sir, you can't do that!

　I can hear the other side of the door, a mischievous man's voice and Saori's voice stopping it.

　--Tonk!　Knock!

May I come in?

　I knock again and call out to him.

　Then the door opens, revealing a large man.

'Are you Saori's friend?'
Hello. This is Sayama.
What's your first name?
...This is Rina?

　I feel disgusted by the man in front of me who doesn't even tell me his name, but asks for my name.

'Rina-chan........ Nice to meet you!　By the way, two knocks is a toilet knock, okay?　Maybe it's useful for your job search if you keep that in mind?

　The large man speaks to me in a light tone of voice and is easy to talk to. I couldn't help but like this flirtatious atmosphere. That's why I didn't want to go near Tenipara.

''Yuya. Enough is enough.

　You sure you want me to go home?　As I was troubled, I heard a voice from behind the door warning the large man in front of me - Yuya.

''I'm sorry I called you over here. My name is Hideya Ando. I'm the head of the Tenipara department, in case you were wondering.

　An intelligent-looking man with glasses coming out of the back - Ando Hideya - holds out one hand to me.

''Ah, yes. I'm Sayama Rina. Nice to meet you.''

　Senior Ando is probably a third or fourth year student, and as a first year student, I bowed my head to make my superior look good.

I'm sure you'll be able to find out more about this. I'm looking forward to working with you.

　Ando-senpai bowed his head lightly with a somewhat awkward expression on his face.

''Hey!　Yay!　Eeya, you're shaking hands with Rina with all your might!

　Yuya cheers for Ando-senpai.

''Ah!''

　I realized the situation and looked down.

''Yuya please be quiet.''

　When Ando-senpai warned her in a quiet voice that made her feel cold at the bottom, Yuya shushed her.

''Well, so, Ando-senpai. I heard from Saori that you wanted to discuss something with me..... What kind of matter is it?

Ah. I heard from Kayama-san........Sayama-san. I hear you're an expert in kendo. Is that true?

''--!''

　I was immensely disappointed when I heard the words from Ando-senpai.

　I was indeed a bokkenkendo practitioner and a bokken dan. My grandfather opened a kendo dojo, and my father, mother and brother are all bokken players. If someone from that path heard my name, they would know me as a level expert.

　But I had no talent.

　I had been taught and encouraged in the way of the sword since I was a child - but I had no talent.

　Since I was a child, I entered various large and small tournaments, but I came in second in every one.

　The stigma attached to her - the queen of the uncrowned.

　Uncrowned. An ordinary person who has never reached the top.

　The dojo was decorated with trophies, certificates, and championship banners collected from my grandfather's generation, but there was not a single championship banner with my name on it.

　So I threw away my sword.

'It's true!　Because Rina is awesome!　I was second in the county, all the schools, and the inter-high school!

　Saori shouts, not even knowing how I feel.

''Ando-senpai. I'm sorry. I have already quit kendo.

　I bow my head and turn to walk away.

'Why!　Why are you saying that!　That was awesome, Rina!　We're second in the nation!　He's the second most powerful man in Japan!

　Saori's voice pierces my back as I'm about to walk away.

'Yes!　Second place!　I'm in second place!　An uncrowned mediocre who will never win and that's me!　Leave me alone!

　I shout back, letting my emotions get the better of me.

Calm down, both of you.

　A man emerges from the back of the club room, interrupting Saori and I as we shout from the back of the club room. I blush and look down, realizing that I've exposed an abomination.

'Well, nice to meet you, is that right?　In case you're wondering, it's tame, and we've all taken the same classes, so I'm sure I've seen it before...

　The man who interrupted me in between, a man with an unrefined expression that still has the look of a high school student, looks at me with a superior look.

''I'm sorry. You've........seen it all before.

Oh, good. That's good. Nice to meet you. I'm Kazuya Deguchi, Kazuya.

It's nice to meet you...

　As my emotions subside, I reply back in a small voice.

''Let's see, Sayama-san isn't an uncrowned 'ordinary person', but a 'queen', right?　Heh. To tell the truth, I used to do kendo too. But at best, I didn't qualify for the interhigh school.

　Mr. Deguchi smiles innocently. I fall silent, unable to reply.

But, if you ask me, second place is amazing!　Alright, Heavenly Father!　So don't be so down on yourself, if you're in second place and you're that low, you're going to feel like an idiot for floating around just because you made it to the inter-highs, right?

I'm sorry...

And that's why you should never apologize!　Okay?　So, when you get settled in, I want you to listen to the chief.

Is it about the director?

Yeah. Okay, good luck with that, boss.

Thank you. That's very helpful. On a different note, Sayama-san. What do you think of the world today?

Is this the world now...?

'Yes. The world today is full of despair. 25% of Japan. More than 25% of Japan's land, or more than 75% of its urban area, has become an impenetrable zone. I believe that if we don't change, humanity will decline in the near future.

Decline...?

'Yes. The world we live in today has been severely eroded. One scholar predicts that in less than 10 years the total population of the world will be one-tenth of the world's population, and one-tenth of the world's population - that is, 9 out of 10 people will die out in 10 years. What do you think is the best way to break this desperate situation?

The means?　

'Yes, sir. That's right. The World Salvation Project. The mysterious power that God has given us - humanity. I think this is the way to break the current situation. For example, Mr. Suzuki and Mr. Tanaka who are there can use magic, a truly unscientific and unknown ability.

　The two women were smiling at the end of Ando-senpai's gaze.

''Speaking of which, I too have learned a special ability called 《Analyze》. And the Goddess gave us another great power. It's--level and status.

　Ando-senpai's speech turned up the heat.

''Levels and status. It's like a game, isn't it?　Haha. If this sends me to another world, then it's a fantasy novel!　I could go into it, but this is Earth. I see this level and status as the point of survival, the point of breaking the status quo.

Is that the point...?

The notion that there are levels is an indication that we are getting stronger. So one question arises. Are we the only ones who get stronger?　Perhaps the monsters inhabiting the dominant area will gradually become stronger as time goes on. Perhaps the demons that inhabit the dominant area also have a level.

Demon King...?

　I'm rushed and stunned by Ando-senpai's hypothesis.

'So what I'm trying to say is... we need to raise the bar in order to survive. The key to survival is to adapt quickly to a changing world. According to the information I have gathered, it is possible for human beings to defeat demons. In fact, there are many reports of high school and even junior high school students defeating demons.

Hideya........let's not get ahead of ourselves.

　Yuya throws a tease at Ando-senpai, who speaks enthusiastically.

''Huh. That's why a man who is made of muscle to the brain is..... Well, that's fine. I mean, what I'm trying to say is, Sayama-san!　Will you come with us and invade our territory?　It is very encouraging to have Sayama-san, an expert in Kendo, join us. Since that day called "The Great Transformation," some people have argued that women's fighting ability is not much different from men's. So, please. Would you be willing to invade the dominant territory with us?

　Ando-senpai bows his head wide and asks me to do it.

　What happens if I refuse?　...this university, you might lose your place in temporary housing. What would you do then?　Do you want to evacuate to your family in Zhuzhou?　Which side of you can you turn down now?

　I have been living with the flow of the world. Could it be that this invitation is the flow?

　I nodded with a vague smile on my face.