C-Class Party: Wind Guard
A party of four members who are childhood friends and hail from Kazami High School.
Despite not being from a hunter training school, they have achieved excellent results in their third year since formation.
The secret to their rapid growth lies in their teamwork and balance as childhood friends.
The leader and the party's defensive mainstay, the tank Gato Mamoru, is joined by the attacker Tomita Yuuichi, the healer Amamiya Mari, and the thief Shirai Chika.
By each of them accurately fulfilling their roles, they are capable of defeating even higher-level monsters.
It seems they have received scouting offers from major guilds, but they have continued to decline, stating, "We will protect the peace of Kazami City!"
The Kazami City they protect will surely remain safe for years to come.
—From Monthly Hunter.
Three days since meeting Sakura.
Kazami High School was heavily damaged due to the gate break, rendering many of its buildings unusable.
As a result, the school was closed.
Currently, they were coordinating with nearby high schools to redistribute Kazami High School students, and Takeru was at home, feeling at loose ends.
"Nothing again... well, I guess that's to be expected."
Searching for "magic to possess another person" on his smartphone only brought up suspicious sites with no clues.
He didn’t think he would actually find anything, but this was about all an ordinary guy like Takeru could do.
"This must be because of my search history...?"
Ads promising protection from the threat of monsters popped up often, making him feel uneasy.
If someone saw this smartphone, Kusanagi Takeru might be labeled a weirdo.
"Sigh... For now, I should go for a run."
Deciding to go running for a change of pace, he put on a short-sleeved hoodie and left the house.
When he was the savior in another world, he never skipped his daily runs.
Although he didn’t intend to fight monsters in this world, it would be best to keep his body ready to move in case of emergencies.
"I should at least maintain my stamina at a normal level... Huh?"
As soon as he left his house, he noticed a crowd gathered in the nearby park.
Curious about what was happening, he approached and saw a black gate wavering in the air.
"A black gate, huh... that’s dangerous."
He recalled what he had read in a magazine before.
There are different types of gates, with the commonly seen one being the blue gate.
This type usually leads to a gate break occurring almost simultaneously, with weak monsters emerging.
In contrast, black gates provide a grace period before the gate break occurs.
However, the strength of the monsters that emerge is vastly more powerful than those from blue gates.
"If a black gate appears, hunters must defeat the monsters inside the gate, right?"
The gates connect to a world overflowing with monsters and are always a dangerous place, close to death.
That’s why the Hunter Association assesses the danger of gates and assigns appropriate hunters.
—Another world...
He couldn’t help but remember his past when he was executed, causing his expression to tighten.
Not all of his memories in the other world were bad, but he couldn’t seem to forget the day when he was met with the hatred of the people.
"You don’t have to look so anxious, boy!"
"Huh?"
When he turned toward the sudden voice, he saw four hunters.
—They look familiar...
As he thought this, he realized they were the ones featured in the hunter magazine he had read that morning.
A warrior with a large shield, clearly a show of strength, gave him a reassuring smile and a thumbs-up.
"Now that we, Wind Guard, are here, you can relax!"
"Um... oh, okay."
The shield warrior Gato, spear knight Tomiyama, healer Amamiya, and thief Shirai.
Excluding Gato, they are a gathering of handsome men and beautiful women, and just being there draws attention.
Even Gato, while not exactly a handsome man, has a large physique and an overflowing confidence that makes him appear attractive.
"Hey, Mamoru. I told you to stop getting so close like you're best friends right from the start."
"Well, Chika, I’m trying to dispel any anxiety by being cheerful—"
"Anyone would pull back if a rough man approached them like that. Right, Mutsuki?"
"Y-Yeah, but, Yuichi-kun. I think Mamoru-kun’s earnestness is what makes him great!"
"That’s a good point, but he’s still an idiot."
"I-I’m not an idiot!"
As Takeru took a step back from Gato, who was being overly enthusiastic despite it being their first meeting, the other party members started to chat among themselves.
These childhood friends probably acted like this even during their school days.
For someone like Takeru, who had been bullied, they were the type of people he found difficult to deal with.
However, to many others, young, bright, and attractive men and women appear charming.
"The C-Class Party, Wind Guard!"
"Gato—! Count on you today too!"
"Even if you get hurt, make sure you protect your teammates!"
"Haha! Leave it to me! This big body isn’t just for show!"
Even turning down invitations from major guilds, they continue to choose to protect Kazami City, making them like local heroes.
Not just Gato, but the other members are also well-known, and plenty of cheers are directed at them.
Responding to those cheers with waves, it was easy to understand why they were so popular.
"Alright, boy! As you can see, we’re going to conquer the gate now!"
After finishing his show of bravado to the surrounding crowd, Gato turned to Takeru and gave him a reassuring smile.
"So don’t be scared! We’ll do our best to ensure that the people of this town can live with smiles!"
"…Good luck."
"Yeah! The peace of Kazami City is something we will protect!"
Just like in the magazine, Gato flashed a bright smile while presenting the shield on his back.
"Now, let’s get moving quickly."
"That’s embarrassing."
"Ah, hahaha..."
He was pushed by his party members as he entered the red gate.
As Takeru watched him go, he resumed his running.
Before he knew it, it had turned to evening.
When he returned to his neighborhood, he passed by the park again.
"It feels strangely noisy."
When a black gate appears, the area is typically patrolled by police and hunters until it is cleared.
However, unlike blue gates, black gates have warning signs before the gate break, allowing for sufficient preparations.
That’s why, when guilds or parties are on a mission, it’s usually quiet. But now, onlookers had gathered again, causing quite a ruckus.
As he got closer, he saw the black gate was still intact.
And then—Gato’s prized shield was about half broken, he had sustained serious injuries.
The spear he was holding had snapped at the base, Kurozaki was covered in wounds, unconscious.
There was Amamiya desperately using healing magic with tears in her eyes, trying to save the two.
"Not yet! Chika is still inside! If we don’t save her, she who acted as bait is going to die!"
"Gato! You can’t do this with those injuries!"
"Just let Amamiya treat you!"
"Uooooooh! Don’t stop me! There’s no way I’m leaving her behind!"
"I've already called for backup! It seems it will take some time since there weren’t any nearby, though..."
"Hey, you idiot! That’s—"
"—!"
Gato, being restrained by the police and hunters, was probably unable to exert his usual strength due to his injuries.
He struggled but couldn’t shake them off.
"Please! Let me go! Chika! Chikaaaaaa!"
Gato's desperate cries momentarily reminded Takeru of Edelweiss when she was executed.
"Hey, isn’t this bad?"
"If this continues, there might be a gate break..."
"What are those hunters over there doing?"
"Even so, Wind Guard is one of the top parties among C-Class."
"If they're in such a state... it’s impossible for rookie hunters."
Gato's frantic screams didn’t concern the surrounding onlookers much.
Hunters are always close to death.
Even if they got injured or were left behind at the gate, people were only concerned with whether they could live safely.
"Ugh..."
"See! You can’t enter the gate in that condition!"
"Someone, save Chika...!"
Gato, kneeling due to his injuries, trembled with his large body as he looked around at the hunters, hoping for a glimmer of hope.
However, naturally, none of them were willing to enter the gate.
This was a gate where high-ranking parties like Wind Guard were getting wrecked.
It was clear that it vastly exceeded the rank measured by the association, making it a place that felt like a death trap for rookies.
"…Damn it. If only I were stronger... I would be able to protect everyone... Chika acted as bait for us to escape...!"
"…"
Then Takeru recalled his past.
