Chapter 6

“High School Boys and the Morning Journey” is the 6th chapter of the manga.

Cover Page
A still featuring Tadakuni's younger sister. She is seen balancing on a rail near a shore, while two girls from her school are respectively standing and fishing.

Detailed Summary
The trio are walking home from school when Tadakuni spots a large stick on the ground. As he bends down to pick it up, Hidenori approaches him from behind and raises his umbrella as if to strike him. Tadakuni counters with the stick in time, leaving Hidenori reeling and reacting as if in disbelief. Kicking off a role-play, Yoshitake narrates that the “warrior Tadakuni” was on a quest to become the strongest swordsman, but Tadakuni shrugs him off and isn't interested in playing along. Still wielding the stick, he is halted by Hidenori, who asks him to equip his weapon properly. When Tadakuni ignores this, Yoshitake keeps monotoning “Tadakuni takes 5 damage”, irking him until he agrees to equip it.

Just then, a deep-voiced ‘stranger’ (Hidenori) appears, asking Tadakuni to take him along if he is going to the west. When asked his identity, he introduces himself ostentatiously as “Jack”. He further mentions that he is searching for a suitable human candidate to become the ‘third demon lord’ and usurp the other two ruling over the land. Tadakuni finds this story way too grandiose for their short trip home. Hidenori then suddenly starts chanting to a tune as he takes his place next to Tadakuni, concluding with the line ‘Jack has joined the party’. Tadakuni protests at the music, and cuts Yoshitake off when he attempts to explain that it’s the usual RPG music played upon acquiring an ally. When Jack attempts to lead the way, he too takes 5 damage, having failed to equip his weapon.

Tadakuni asks Jack where they are heading to, prompting Jack to insult him and proclaim they were clearly headed for the demon lord’s castle. Tadakuni, offended, asks him who he thinks he is and he re-introduces himself showily as "Jack". Just then, a monster (Yoshitake) confronts them. When asked what they should do now, Jack tells a flabbergasted Tadakuni to ignore it and they walk right on. A few moments later, Jack announces that they have reached the demon lord’s castle.

This time, they are confronted by another creature (Yoshitake again), whom Tadakuni calls out for adopting exactly the same stance as earlier. Jack addresses him as the mid-boss, which Tadakuni objects to (it being too early in the game), but he is floored when the creature declares himself to really be the mid-boss. Jack fells him in a single strike, and Tadakuni complains about the plot being over-paced. He gets even more agitated when Jack reveals the creature to have been one of the two demon lords.

Suddenly, Yoshitake yells out that he had left his bag behind, as Hidenori realises he had done the same. The three run back, discarding the stick. A while later, Motoharu, a student wearing a cap and a third student show up. As Motoharu picks up the stick, the others begin to role-play by calling him ‘the hero destined to wield the legendary sword’. They set up a battle scene in earnest, when suddenly a high school girl walks by. Dropping the stick right away, they walk off, visibly embarrassed.

Characters
In order of appearance:
 * Tadakuni's younger sister (cover)
 * Hidenori
 * Yoshitake
 * Tadakuni
 * Student wearing a cap
 * Unnamed student
 * Motoharu