F-League

Translated by Dawn

Edited by Dawn

F-League

The demo match, which also served as publicity for the Ability League, was a great success.

The audience was as excited as if they were after enjoying a concert by a top idol, as they were about to witness for the first time a full-scale supernatural abilities battle.

After the guests left, Miina returned the Colosseum to mere dirt, while the other players cleaned up and compiled the day’s data.

“Maria, how’s the audience response?”

“Satisfaction is over 96 percent. Many are asking for an encore or a pro-competition.”

Maria explained somewhat happily as she Thoughtography-ing the online reactions on countless MR screens.

“What about the other four percent?”

“Probably the abolitionists. There’s obviously some malicious writing in there.”

—Kuh, I knew there would be people like that.

Internet literacy, which had not progressed for decades, was irritating.

“Also, some people say that we lost some points because there are no erotic things happening where Kiriha’s and Miina’s clothes are torn due to the battle. Are these people abolitionists?”

“No, I think they mean it.”

“There is one that says, ‘When Kiriha-chan flew in, I expected to see a pantie, but I was disappointed that she was wearing shorts.’”

I apported Shisae.

Shisae appeared frozen in an escape dash pose.

“T-t-this is different, Honey-chan! Someone wrote this post to make Shisae look bad! Who is this outrageous beautiful girl who writes such a dirty post!”

“It’s obviously you!”

I did a sharp karate-chop pose.

Then, as if imitating Kiriha, Shisae hit her forehead.

“Whoopsie.”

My lips twitched.

But I didn’t move an eyebrow.

“Wai– why are you not responding? You didn’t react the way you did with Kiriha-chan.”

“There’s a difference between a cute girlfriend and an old man.”

“Muu~, Shisae did the best as the host today, so it wouldn’t hurt if you were a little nicer to Shisae, you know!”

“That’s true. Thank you for playing the role of the host.”

Saying that I stroked Shisae’s head. Her pure white hair was shiny and soft to the touch, and I wished I could keep doing this.

—Really, the material is first-class.

It was quite cute to see her squinting and rejoicing like a cat. Really cute.

If Shisae had even one-tenth of Maya’s innocence, I would have fallen in love with her.

In other words, I wouldn’t have cheated on my girlfriends since Shisae was like an old man.

“Thank you, Shisae. Please continue to be an old man.”

“What are you thankful for!?”

Then a brave female voice interrupted.

“The event was a great success! It’s been a HUGE success!”

It was our own Vice Minister Ryuzaki Sayuri who closed the distance with her powerful footsteps.

“I had the chance to watch from the audience and it was absolutely spectacular. That excitement, I’m already addicted!”

With a gleam in her dignified eyes, Vice Minister Sayuri clenched her fists.

“I’m glad to hear you say that.”

Vice Minister Sayuri’s gaze caught the MR screen on which Maria was being displayed.

“Oh, you want it to become a professional league, huh? If that happens, it might help people with combat abilities get into the flourishing professions.”

Unlike in anime and manga, people with combat-related abilities could not be combat heroes.

This was because, in the real world, police and self-defense officers did not just have to defeat the evil in front of them.

They needed to be able to solve cases, carry out operations, cooperate with their colleagues, and have knowledge of the field, and people with just high combat skills were useless in this field.

However, if this ability league, like boxing and professional wrestling, becomes professionalized, there would be a place for people with combat abilities.

—I wonder if Bando would not have gone off the road and Miina would not have been attacked if this plan had been in place from the beginning.

Perhaps feeling the same way I did, Vice Minister Sayuri’s face became somewhat relieved.

“If we do this, people with combat abilities will no longer feel small in the eyes of the world. Those who have been released from juvenile reformatories could be rehabilitated. We will be one step closer to an equal and fair society.”

Vice Minister Sayuri’s smile made me feel a mild sense of fulfillment and accomplishment.

“That’s a big step.”

“Yeah. I don’t know how far we are from the ideal. There may be 10,000 steps to go. But a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. As long as you keep walking, one day it will come true. It won’t be Achilles competing with the tortoise.”

“Is this the paradox of Achilles and the tortoise? I like paradox problems. For a while, I liked to watch videos and try to come up with my own answers.”

“That’s interesting. Let’s hear it at our next dinner. I’m not trying to be polite, though. I really want to hear your answer, so you better prepare your answer.”

With a favorable voice, Vice Minister Sayuri extended her finger and poked me on my chest.

Even though she was an adult, she was as friendly as if she was a senpai (senior) character in a manga.

“Oops, sorry, that was sexual harassment. You can poke my breast in return.”

“That’s not the problem.”

As I removed my gaze to cut off the temptation of the big breasts beyond Kiriha, I saw a group of six people who had failed the audition.

“Those six people were supposed to be eliminated, right?”

Apparently, they were carrying trash from the grounds that I had collected with Apport.

Actually, I could have teleported that as well, but I was afraid that they would become useless if they relied on teleportation for everything, and the people I was teleporting to would be surprised, so I kept the use of teleportation to a minimum.

“He said he wanted to help me with something, even if it’s just a chore. I asked him to help with the guests and the lines. He worked diligently, and I was very grateful.”

—Come to think of it, some of the same combat-oriented abilities are too low in power output to be useful.

They wouldn’t be able to get the crowd going with matches like Kiriha and Miina.

But that would not be the equal and fair society we were aiming for.

“Ah, good work, Vice Minister Sayuri, and you too, Ikuo.”

Starting with the first, the rest of the five greeted Vice Minister Sayuri and me.

“Watch Okui, we’re going to grow and develop our abilities.”

“I’m going to surprise the audience with my nasal blitz.”

“Look at me, my firepower is at a lighter level, but I can now use two fingers at the same time.”

“Until then, I’ll just help you out with chores.”

“But it won’t end like this.”

These six people also wanted a place to belong.

They wanted to demonstrate their abilities, to be useful, and to be recognized as people who were not unwanted.

I felt gloomy when I imagined the future of the five of them doing chores while their classmates were active.

“Umm, the Ability League had five divisions, ABCDE, right?”

“Yes. I would like to create an S League at some point, but I think it’s too early for now.”

“How about an F-League for the opening part, just to break the ice?”

The color of Vice Minister Sayuri’s face changed.

“Hmm…in other words, you mean we won’t sell F-League tickets, but we will just going to play that as a prelude to every match, from A to E?”

“Yes.”

“Interesting. Are you guys up for this?”

『I’d love to!』

The faces of the six of them lit up and they stepped forward, full of motivation.

The sight of them made me feel fulfilled with the realization that we were approaching a society in which all people could have confidence.

It was then that Maria’s voice hardened.

“I’m sorry, everyone. Please see this post.”

Maria showed us a photo of one MR as she unfolded it the size of a sheet of paper.

There was a list of malicious posts on it that we could not believe our eyes.

All of the content was a lie about being involved in today’s match and injured, and the accompanying posts about the dangers of the Ability League.

It was clearly an abolitionist plot.

The number of such posts was increasing.

Not only posts but also anti-videos by masked Youtubers were posted one after another.

Those who saw today’s match would know that these were false posts.

However, the general public didn’t check every single fact.

Sadly, many people believe the information on the Internet without any doubt.

I was a bit uneasy as I recalled such examples.

“Vice Minister Sayuri”

When I looked at her out of a desire to rely on someone, she was already smiling belligerently like a general before the war.

“They’re brave. Let’s punish those who still think the Internet is anonymous in the year 2040.”

She was too reliable.

I prayed for their souls.