Reincarnated in a Shounen Manga

Chapter 133: The Leader?

It took me a couple of days to get back into fighting shape. Bets was also recovering, but all the medicine and antibiotics he had taken caused him to sleep a lot. At least this place had more medical supplies than I had assumed at first. There had to have been some kind of hidden cache of supplies somewhere around here, most of this stuff was factory sealed and I haven’t seen any containers around.

"Hey!" Gem, who had gotten bored quickly and started exploring the cave, returned to the corner we were in. He smiled at me and said, "Did you hear that The Star Exorcist took over?"

"No, I hadn't heard. I was concentrating on my recovery," I replied.

The Star Exorcist was a narcissistic person who had a prejudice against those who weren't handsome or beautiful. Being an average-looking guy, I was definitely one of her targets, even though I was somewhat of an accomplished exorcist.

"Did she take over the barrier commands and supplies?" I asked. I couldn't imagine the Star Exorcist caring about such mundane tasks, as she probably thought they were meant to be done by those beneath her (looks-wise).

"No, those will continue being handled by The Moon Exorcist. Aria Belle, The Star Exorcist, is in a dream position, a leader without any of the boring responsibilities!" Gem exclaimed in admiration.

But a leader who didn't have control over the supplies or any of the responsibilities wasn't a leader at all. Aria Belle was living in a dreamland if she thought she had any real power.

"I also heard that she will be having a concert here!" Gem fangirled.

I didn't care about any of that. If Aria Belle hadn't been a narcissistic person who didn't care about anyone else, then her special ability could have been something like Hiro's Loveless Fool.

…

The concert had ended, and despite her demeanor, I had to admit that Aria Belle had a lovely voice. It was no surprise she was so popular with the people. If I hadn't read the manga, I would have assumed she was genuinely kind.

As she finished her song, Aria briefly looked at me with a hateful expression. It disappeared in a split second, but it still caught my attention.

"Master, the singer is approaching from the left," Carpy whispered.

I looked to my left and saw a cloaked figure approaching. As I focused on her, I could sense her presence too. Usually, only masters could surpass someone's presence, but it seemed she had a talisman that allowed her to do the same.

With special abilities becoming more prominent, talismans were slowly becoming more obscure. But there were still a few geniuses who used them that I had to keep an eye out for.

"Can I help you?" I asked the cloaked figure, who was now ten feet away from us. The cloak's hood cast a dark shadow, making it impossible to see her face.

I didn't need to see her face to know who she was. The Star Exorcist. As far as I knew, I hadn't wronged her, but I suspected that someone from my clan had killed someone she loved. Usually, my clan would exterminate everyone involved to prevent any revenge, but someone might have slipped through the cracks. That was my theory for why The Star Exorcist seemed to hate me.

"You, do you know Ellen?" she asked, her voice low and gruff.

If she could use a voice-changing talisman, then she was definitely a treasure trove of talents. However, I knew better than to underestimate her. She might have a terrible personality, but she was undoubtedly very strong. If the 16th rank, who was the Kuro Clan head and hiding his power, wasn't in the top ten rankings, she could have gone further than her measly rank of 17th.

"If by Ellen, you mean the Lover Exorcist, then yes. She was my teacher," I replied truthfully. "She isn't in the war because her demon's special ability targets both allies and enemies."

"Yeah, I know about her lousy demon and even worse special ability," The Star Exorcist snorted in disdain.

Huh, so she and Ellen had some kind of beef. It made sense, while The Star Exorcist was always chasing to get fans and people to like her, Ellen could achieve that without even trying.

"Just a teacher? That’s not what I heard," she grumbled. "You’re more than that to her."

"No, not really," I answered without hesitation.

"As expected. Ellen was a fool to hope that an average-looking background character would be loyal to her. When he saw my beauty, he fell in love with me and-"

"I can't even see you," I clarified, something she seemed to have forgotten. While she stood frozen in surprise at what I had said, I couldn't see her face to try and read her thoughts. While waiting for her to say something, I took a small talisman from my back pocket and put it in a cup of cold tea, which heated it up.

"Tch, you talk a lot for an average-looking nobody," she snorted.

Her words and her calling me an average-looking background character didn't offend me. She might be trying to be mean when she said that, but she was speaking the truth. There was no need to be offended by something that was true.

"Humh!" she turned around and stormed off.

"Who was that?" Gem asked. He had heard the whole conversation but hadn't said anything. Neither of us was the kind of person who would be offended by someone whose insults were at the level of a second grader.

I shrugged. "Some nobody who thinks she's somebody."

Sadly, it was unlikely that The Star Exorcist would ever live up to her full potential. Her special ability was nothing short of phenomenal, but she wanted people to be her fans, ordinary people who she didn’t care about. Ord was related to emotion, but she didn't hate people or love them; she just didn’t care about average-looking people in any form.

As long as she held onto that mindset, Aria Belle would never be able to live up to her full potential. With a special ability like that, she could have been someone in the Top 5 Rankings of Special Exorcists and been a monster on the cusp of Ultimate Class power.

…

A couple of days had passed and Bets finally fully woke up, his condition having improved with medicine. Agon, Sei, and Anika had found the hideout during that time, and we regrouped there. Our reunion was a bit anticlimactic, but Gem and Agon returned to their usual shenanigans.

We were all resting and joking around when one of the guards called us and said that the Moon Exorcist was summoning us. He led us through some cave paths that were like mazes until we ended up in a damp part of the cave. We walked through a wall as if it wasn't there at all, and on the other side, we found ourselves in a place that resembled a subway station. Though there were no trains or tracks, there were some strange, intricate writings on the wall.

For a split second, I activated Perfect Me to try and decipher the writings, but the ability deactivated almost immediately because the seals around the room were too complex and high-leveled for me to learn their meaning. However, Perfect Me deduced that they must be some kind of transportation tool. But transport what? I had no idea.

"So, you're all here. I, for sure, assumed that at least a couple of you would fight me on this," the Moon Exorcist flickered into existence.josei

I glanced toward Carpy, and the demon shook his head. That was surprising; even Carpy hadn't sensed the Moon Exorcist before he appeared.

"I heard that you all had experience working together and made quite a good team," the Moon Exorcist continued while pushing up his glasses to reflect the light. "I plan to give Star a chance to become popular by having her lead an attack against the demon. She is the leader, after all."

He smirked at those last words but quickly fixed his expression. Then he glanced at Agon. "I heard that you were the Sun Country's ultimate weapon. If my country knew of you, they would do everything in their power to have you killed off. But, in my opinion, such petty squabbles are just people missing the point. Sometimes, we are our own worst enemy."

The others, who had stayed quiet until now, all turned towards me. When I realized what was happening, I couldn't help but curse internally.

Why the fuck are you leaving decisions involving your life or death in my hands?! Have your own opinions, you sheep!

"Kon of the Dark Sword Clan," the Moon Exorcist addressed me. "So you must be the leader."

"Yes, he is," Gem nodded.

No, I was not! Also, don't answer for me, you bastard!

I tried to maintain a calm demeanor on the outside. I knew that showing my feelings and screaming would only make me appear weak, and the Moon Exorcist would see me as easy prey.

When I realized what was happening, I knew I had to make a decision that would benefit our group. I let out a deep sigh and spoke up. "Before I can make a fully informed decision, I need to see the plan."

"Of course, let me go get a map," the Moon Exorcist said before walking away.

As soon as he was out of earshot, I turned to Sei, Agon, Anika, Bets, and Gem. "Why the hell am I this group’s leader?"