Chapter 39
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The moment I draw the Holy Sword, an intense noise runs through my head.
───It’s really dangerous, so I don’t want you coming with me.
───Well, I am your Master after all. I can’t promise anything, but I’ll protect you, no matter what.
───Hmm, but if things get too crazy, use this to escape.
───Huh? You want me to say ‘ahhh’ if we make it through? Don’t I always do that?!
───You want to cuddle? Wait, we already do that, right?! Every day!!
N□w a◙d før℮ver, ple̊ase c○nti◙ue t□ st▲nd b̂y m̈y sπde.
The noise runs through my head again, and I feel a sharp pain in my temples.
Flustered by the indescribable tightness in my chest, I hurriedly return the Holy Sword to its sheath and feel a warm sensation under my nose.
Touching the back of my hand to it, it seems that my nose is bleeding.
To avoid interfering with battle, I’ve placed a pouch-shaped magic bag inside my battle dress.
I take out an item I received from it.
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「Everyone! Gather around the Hero!」
Shouts Sword Saint Eris.
「I will only say this once! Listen up!」
Ryūgūin senses that Eris is about to decide the party’s course of action on her own without consulting him, the Hero.
「You…!」
Ryūgūin glares at Eris with a demonic look.
「You…!」 「What are you doing deciding things on your own?」 「On your own…!」 「My…」 「I am the Hero…!」 「My…!」 「Opinion!!」 「You!」 「You!!」 「You…!」 「Just who do you think you are?!!」 「The nerve!!」
Seeing Ryūgūin continue to raise his voice in trembling anger, Iraiza shivers down her spine.
Iraiza feels like she has witnessed not Ryūgūin’s swordsmanship or mana, but something dark and unfathomable within the human heart.
The Sword Saint mutters, 「Hero, I will apologize when we return,」 and shouts,
「Right now…! We are retreating from this dungeon!!」
She desperately protects everyone until the very end.
Casting a sad gaze at the Hero, who rants 「What are you…!!」 「Doing…!!」 「The nerve…!!」, she says,
「With this, we can escape from this boss floor to outside the dungeon!! Everyone, I will count to three!! Here we go!!」
She deflects a serpentine sword that nearly hits the fallen Angie.
「Three!!」
She cleanly parries a spear repelled by the barrier cast around the Hero.
「Two!!」
Next, she launches upward a spear aimed at herself using her sword.
「One!!」
Furthermore, the serpentine sword and two consecutive throws aimed at her—
「Let’s go!!」
At that moment, the Arcana Saviors successfully escape from the Time Dungeon──and thus, the dungeon conquest ends in failure.
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Even for the experienced Iraiza, that was a place of death.
She felt that even setting foot in the Time Dungeon was akin to throwing one’s life away.
She doesn’t know how the Sword Saint came to possess the rare item for returning, but the Arcana Saviors, including her daughter, returned without a single loss.
So Iraiza, in a rare moment, considered this return a miracle.
And she felt nothing but gratitude towards Eris, the Sword Saint.
After exiting the dungeon, she doesn’t remember the conversation between the leaders.
But she does remember that hardly anyone from the Hero’s party, Caduceus, or Wandering Zephyrlily spoke much, as they were all exhausted.
In the end, based on the Hero’s opinion of 「Why should we have to bear your burden?」, it was decided that only his party would leave the joint party and return first.
The remaining Caduceus and Wandering Zephyrlily, with the comparatively less injured daughters carrying their unconscious companions on their backs, whipped their exhausted bodies and finally managed to return to the town with the guild.
They reported their failure to the guild, returned to the town’s Atlas branch, and continued nursing the still unconscious daughters.
It was when the daughters’ conditions had finally stabilized and Iraiza was resting in her personal armchair that it happened.
「Mom.」
Said Jessica, who had woken up, upon raising her head.
「We made it back. I’m so glad, I’m so glad we made it back.」
Her daughter let out words that could not be formed.
Iraiza embraced her sobbing daughter and did not know how to stop her own uncharacteristically flowing tears.
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Aftermath.
The Hero who retreated from the dungeon.
The Sword Saint who arbitrarily decided to retreat.
The major clan Wandering Zephyrlily, which has the Cheri Fleur.
The clan Caduceus, which has the Atlas.
───And the country.
Iraiza did not try to find out what kind of discussions they had or what kind of resolution they reached.
She had a feeling that she and her daughters would be involved again someday.
Iraiza suddenly remembered the Hero’s hideous face and the Saint’s emotionless expression towards others.
There were party members other than her who saw their expressions.
There’s no door on people’s mouths.
How the party members felt upon seeing them will likely become clear soon—through the rumors that will flow.
Imagining that much, Iraiza shook her head.
Even if she doesn’t ponder anything, the situation will start moving, and those things will naturally reach Iraiza’s ears.
So until then—
「Mom! Dinner’s ready!」
Let’s relax a little more with the daughters.
Iraiza hurried to the warm dining table—to her precious family.
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