A Rider Doesn't Need a Youth Romantic Comedy [17]

Three days had passed since Joseph and Kars arrived in this world.

After submitting his report that day, Rōma hadn't paid further attention to the matter.

Specialists from Chaldea would handle communications with Joseph, so there was no need for him to worry about it.

Every member placed absolute trust in their organization. Naturally, Rōma was no different.

For the past few days, Rōma’s life had returned to a peaceful routine.

Attending classes as usual, chatting with Sakamoto, and occasionally exchanging words with Kouno Sakura, who sat behind him.

So far, they seemed to get along pretty well.

Meanwhile, Aki Tomoya remained as passionate as ever about his club.

Somehow, he'd managed to recruit Class B’s famous beauty, Sawamura Eriri.

Technically, as long as students didn't exceed three clubs, the school wouldn't object. But in reality, few joined multiple clubs, since not attending enough could easily lead to removal.

Honestly, this had caused quite a stir at school.

Rumor had it that Eriri initially wanted to keep her involvement hidden. But somehow, word got out.

Despite her desperate explanations that she was just helping with some original artwork, rumors continued to spread.

It seemed she found the whole situation deeply distressing.

This peaceful life continued until the afternoon dismissal.

“You’re not going to the club today?”

Sakamoto, who was packing his books, glanced at Rōma with mild surprise.

For the past few days, Rōma had always spent some time in the clubroom after school, even if he just sat around scrolling through his phone.

“Yeah. Got a part-time job today.”

Picking up his bag casually, Rōma checked quickly to make sure he hadn’t left any books behind.

“See you tomorrow, then.”

After saying goodbye to Sakamoto and Sakura, he swiftly exited the classroom.

The two silently watched his departing figure, tacitly avoiding any questions about his "part-time job."

They both knew Rōma had a "part-time job," though he never talked about its details.

If he didn’t mention it himself, they wouldn't pry.

...

“What’s the situation over there now?”

As he jogged out of the school gate, Rōma dialed a number and asked immediately.

Originally, he'd planned to buy a bottle of his favorite juice and relax at the clubroom until it was time to go home.

Frankly, he rather enjoyed that slow-paced life.

But he'd suddenly received a message.

An anomalous object had been discovered at a nearby factory.

Currently, Chaldea’s external agents had urgently sealed off the area, securing all civilians present.

However, most of Chaldea’s internal forces were preoccupied with investigating a particularly dangerous containment object and couldn't spare personnel immediately.

According to local customs, after something like this, the chief of Chiba’s branch might even have to formally apologize later.

Of course, that was just a joke.

Generally, such extreme situations didn’t arise.

But earlier, Chiba’s Special Task Force branch had suffered severe casualties while containing an extremely dangerous anomaly, leaving the branch in a weakened state.

Although reinforcements were already being dispatched, normal operations were still several days away.

“Got it. I'm heading over right now.”

Honestly, Rōma had always found it absurd that they'd assign tasks like this to a high schooler.

After all, by nature, Chaldea’s operatives were elites among elites.

Their researchers alone were figures who could earn high acclaim in any field if they went public.

Even those D-class personnel—if allowed to communicate among themselves—would stand atop a hierarchy of scumbags.

Each one would provoke public outrage, leading to their immediate lynching if released.

Compared to them, Rōma...

He often felt awkwardly positioned within the organization.

He was technically a combat operative, yet most managers would hesitate to send a mere high school student into life-or-death battles.

Assigning him to the relatively peaceful Chiba area was intended to protect him.

Perhaps someday he'd shine brilliantly on containment missions—but not now.

Chaldea wasn’t yet so desperate that it needed a bunch of kids to sacrifice their lives for humanity.

This dilemma troubled Rōma too.

I can fight pretty well, can't I? Maybe not like those cheat-level guys, but I’m at least elite mob-tier, right?

Despite his grievances, Rōma still chose to follow orders obediently.

He understood clearly what the higher-ups were thinking.

In the end, he was just a high schooler granted extraordinary power.

He still had a long way to go before he could truly be called a hero.

...

“Is this the reason you placed him in Chiba, Director Theresa?”

Holding a stack of documents, a maid quietly asked the white-haired girl beside her, who was wearing a nun's habit.

Although dressed as a maid, Rita’s demeanor showed that her relationship with Theresa was closer than just master and servant.

“Of course it is.”

Theresa shifted her seat guiltily, desperately trying to kick the manga she'd hidden under the desk into a gap.

But no matter how she tried, her short little legs just couldn't reach the floor.

Without saying a word, Rita gracefully bent down and—under Theresa’s despairing gaze—retrieved two manga books from beneath the desk.

Both were part of the Honkai series.

I’m definitely throwing out this stupid chair later!

Theresa completely ignored that she'd originally confiscated the chair from Kiana, hoping it would enhance her dignity as director.

At this moment, Theresa felt nothing but hatred toward this dignity-destroying chair.

Given her usual hand speed, she could easily have hidden the manga before Rita entered.

But she'd gotten sidetracked by some urgent information sent by a branch office, completely forgetting about it until it was too late.

“Risking their lives is an adult’s responsibility. Children should obediently attend school. Their stage belongs in the future.”

“The future is theirs, but the present is ours.”

Theresa cleared her throat, attempting to salvage some dignity as the director.

In truth, among the senior staff, she held no authority whatsoever.

In private "mascot" rankings, Theresa often ranked first, although she herself wasn’t exactly thrilled by this achievement.

“Yes, yes, then please excuse me, Director-sama.”

Bowing slightly, Rita left the office, carrying away the manga under Theresa’s despairing eyes.

Slumping lifelessly into her chair, Theresa felt her remaining dignity gradually drift away.

“No, no! This isn’t the time to sulk!”

After spacing out for a moment, Theresa suddenly bounced back upright in her seat.

Pulling over a stack of documents, she threw herself into her work.

Today, Director Theresa was once again doing her best to maintain her dignity as leader.

---

T/N: LMAO DEF SCP wow this is a big mashup

This is a fan translation of 骑士不需要青春恋爱物语 by 青琮 All rights to the original work belong to the creator. Please support them by exploring their original work or sharing it with others if you can. Thank you for reading and supporting my efforts to bring this story to a wider audience!