Estimated reading time: 13–16 minutes
Chapter 9
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A problem arises as we prepare to enter the dungeon.
Mika declares that she wants to prioritize Ryūgūin above all else.
「Please change the party formation.」
「Very well.」
It pains me to see Mika attending to Ryūgūin’s side like a handmaiden.
Ryūgūin’s composed nod also fills me with indignation.
「Change? What change? Isn’t it obvious? Ryūgūin in the vanguard, me as vanguard and middle guard, with Mika and Angelica in the rear guard. What are you trying to change at this point?」
「That formation puts Ryūgūin in danger. For the sake of protecting the Hero, you must accept the change.」
Mika’s proposed party formation is as follows:
────────────────────
Vanguard: Me
Middle Guard: None
Rear Guard: Ryūgūin, Mika (Ryūgūin’s dedicated healer), Angelica (ranged attacker)
────────────────────
「What is this?」
The words slip out involuntarily.
My brain refuses to acknowledge her rationale.
「Hey, wait a minute!」
Despite voicing my objections, my concerns and feelings are disregarded without any compromise from the above proposal.
Wait, is this really being adopted?
Faced with Mika’s adamant stance of 「If you can’t accept it, we won’t accompany you in the dungeon exploration,」 I sadly have no choice but to comply.
○○○
To add to my woes, as we continue exploring the dungeon, an even more distressing situation arises.
Mika stops using healing magic on me.
Apparently, she is now the Hero’s exclusive Saint.
「Hero, are your feet not weary?」
At the sound of Mika’s concerned voice,
「You noticed well, Mika. As expected of my Saint. This is what it means to support each other. Did you see that, Yamada? This is our mutual support! This is what our mutual support is all about!」
「Heal!」
「Ahh! My feet feel refreshed!」
What am I being subjected to witness?
Ryūgūin wraps his hand around Mika’s waist, deliberately showing off to me, and raises his voice.
Setting aside Mika, who doesn’t seem entirely displeased, saying, 「Oh my, O Hero,」 the actual problem is that the absence of Mika’s healing magic is a significant setback.
Let’s omit my recurring protests as much as possible.
Even in this situation, Mika remains unwavering in her Hero-first policy.
As a result of reconciling Mika’s opinion that 「I must conserve mana for emergencies to aid the Hero」 and my insistence on maintaining the status quo,
「It can’t be helped. If Yamada insists to that extent… I see, so this is what it means for the ‘haves’ to ‘bestow charity’ upon the ‘have-nots’…」
Ryūgūin mutters as if he has discovered some profound truth.
There are countless things I want to say, like 「You bastard! I’m responsible for 100% of the dungeon enemy kills, you know! By the way, you’re at 0%!」
And 「Mika, you’ve never run out of mana before, right? Didn’t you say something like ‘My mana is inexhaustible☆’?」 But I manage to restrain myself.
Without any consideration for my sentiments, it is decided that Mika will only use healing magic on me twice during the dungeon exploration, phrased from Ryūgūin’s side as 「bestowing」 it, an irritating and condescending choice of words.
However, it is evident that a mere two uses of healing magic will be insufficient, and I will ultimately have to rely heavily on a large quantity of potions.
○○○
As we continue our exploration,
「What’s with those two? Don’t they seem off?」
Angie’s question strikes me as entirely reasonable.
「They’re totally messed up! I have no idea how things ended up like this… It’s beyond me.」
「Regardless of the reason, that attitude is unacceptable. Especially from the Saint. Why is she being stingy with heals for her comrades?」
「Please don’t be too hard on Mika.」
Even so, she was someone I entrusted my back to for half a year.
At one point, we felt a deep connection in the depths of our hearts. So even if it was an illusion, it pains me when Angie criticizes Mika as if I’m being criticized myself.
「But still!」
As if unable to contain her pent-up feelings,
「If I were the healer, I would never abandon Ichiro to continue fighting while covered in wounds!」
She raises her voice, shedding tears.
As she trembles before me, I recall a moment when we were walking together in town.
○○○
It happened when the two of us were out shopping for miscellaneous items and taking a stroll.
By chance, we ran into Angie’s classmates from her school days.
Each and every one of them was an unlikeable fellow who started mocking Angie upon meeting her.
「Are you still playing at being a mage?」
「Can you introduce us to that pitiful adventurer next to you?」
「It would be better for you to abandon someone like her, wouldn’t it?」
In response to their foolish mockery and disdain towards Angie, I raised my voice, saying, 「Mind your own business!」 But she paid no heed to it.
「Ichiro! Let’s leave these idiots and go!」
She showed a confident smile, backed by self-assurance.
Even if she herself was hurt, she remained unfazed, but if her comrade – me – was hurt, she would get angry. That was the noble woman Angelica.
○○○
Although it’s a bit anticlimactic, the exploration itself isn’t as challenging as the previous one.
Part of it is due to becoming accustomed to the dungeon itself, but by this point, it’s simply because I have grown stronger.
Of course, that’s natural. Even though I rely on healing magic, I have single-handedly defeated ferocious monsters designated as forbidden species.
Moreover, since defeating the boss in the Mirror Dungeon, I have a sense akin to omnipotence, as if I have ascended to a distinctly higher stage.
It doesn’t take long for this to be proven true.
I become capable of slicing through crustacean-type monsters with adamantite-level hardness in the lower levels, which previously forced us to retreat repeatedly, with a single strike.
As I continuously slice through monsters and Angie pulverizes enemies with 「The One」, we find ourselves at the boss room before we know it.
○○○
Opening the heavy door to the boss room, a dazzlingly radiant female angel-type monster flaps its pure white wings with a whoosh.
Indeed, the name of the second dungeon we challenge is the 《Light Dungeon》.
Although I suspect it, no matter how many times I slash at the 「Angel」, it has no effect. Even when I aim for damage using 「Cyalume」, my magic sword, I am unable to inflict any harm.
As a final confirmation, I launch 「Rain」, but as expected, it remains completely unscathed.
The second dungeon boss is an opponent that completely nullifies physical attacks.
Moreover, even my Light Magic doesn’t seem to have any effect.
It nullifies physical attacks and even renders Light Magic ineffective.
The bad premonition of our Guildmaster, Purume, has come true.
The enemy is genuinely my natural enemy.
A desperate situation awaits me.
However, that only holds true when Angie is absent.
That’s right, I have Angie by my side now.
I shift my focus to attracting the enemy’s aggro and dedicating myself to being a tank.
「Angie! I need a spell that can destroy this thing in one hit!」
「Leave it to me!」
Her powerful response ignites a fire in my heart.
Her presence is reassuring.
○○○
The 「Angel」 moves like a close-range specialist character in a fighting game, deftly wielding its long limbs and unleashing an incessant barrage of combos.
I frantically parry the attacks. The number of attacks is immense, and its techniques are diverse. The 「Angel」 skillfully maneuvers its model-like long arms and legs, subjecting me to a high-speed barrage of various techniques akin to physical violence, despite being immune to physical attacks itself.
I take a deep breath, seeking to regain control of the battle by creating distance – at that moment,
Countless feathers are fired from the 「Angel’s」 brilliantly shining wings.
I narrowly leap back from the spot, and a sound like shattering glass rings out from behind.
It seems the barrier erected by Mika, who was stationed in the rear to protect Ryūgūin, has been pierced.
Turning my head towards the back, my concern proves to be unfounded, as she erects an even sturdier barrier and retreats further back, nearly to the entrance.
The feather projectile attack demonstrates a formidable penetrating power that cannot be underestimated.
Those feathers go far beyond the realm of mere physical force. They must be enhanced by some powerful buff, enabling them to penetrate even the highest-level human barrier erected by Mika.
To give you an idea of how dangerous they are, even the boss of the Mirror Dungeon, which repeatedly brought me to the brink of death, couldn’t break Mika’s barrier.
I imagine myself riddled with holes from the feather projectiles, sending a chill down my spine.
An attack that can even shatter Mika’s barrier. I can’t afford to take even a single hit.
I continue to evade the 「Angel’s」 feathers while searching for weaknesses in its feather attacks. However, all my efforts are in vain.
The firing distance and range are far too long and wide.
A monster that relentlessly fires high-power attacks capable of piercing the sturdy defense of me, the highest-level Holy Knight, regardless of where I move in the room, be it close-range, mid-range, or long-range – that is the true nature of the 「Angel」.
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All I can do is parry the 「Angel’s」 attacks, drink potions when the damage accumulates, and wait desperately for Angie’s spell to activate.
「Is it ready yet?!」
While rapidly chanting the incantation, she lightly shakes her head at me.
───Sorry, just hold on a little longer.
Blood flows from her palms, clenched so tightly they turn white.
I can feel her emotions so strongly it’s almost painful.
From behind, I hear Ryūgūin cry out, 「IT HURTS!」 as he cuts his finger while drawing his sword from its sheath, and Mika’s high-pitched and powerful voice shouting 「HEAALL!」 in support, but I pretend not to notice.
The activation of Angie’s trump card spell seems to take longer than anticipated, and the outcome of the battle against the 「Angel」 appears to hinge on how long I can buy time for her.
Lacking long-range offensive means against the 「Angel」 and forced into close-range combat due to the ferocious feather projectiles, I continuously parry the relentless high-speed combos that reverberate through my bones.
The stalemate in offense and defense is like walking a tightrope.
At that point, the enemy’s attack gear shifts up another notch.
The intensity of the combos increases.
What lies ahead is a raging torrent.
The 「Angel’s」 attack speed begins to increase without limit.
Parry, parry, parry, parry. With each parry, the combo speed heightens.
My reaction speed is nearing its limit.
And finally—the 「Angel’s」 upward kick from below snaps like a whip, tearing through the air with a sound.
Damn it! I realize it too late.
My guard is blown away with a resounding ‘Bang!’
The 「Angel’s」 combos have completely surpassed my guard tolerance.
A wide-open body with no chance for recovery.
Immense magical power concentrates in the 「Angel’s」 fist.
Damn it! I won’t make it in time!
I grit my teeth, bracing myself for the upcoming catastrophic blow. That’s all I can do.
Damn it!!
At that moment, Angie’s voice finally resounds throughout the floor.
「It’s ready! Get back!」
Taking advantage of the 「Angel’s」 momentary distraction by Angie’s voice, I immediately retreat from the spot.
《Thunder Claw》!!
Along with Angie’s powerful words, a massive bolt of lightning bursts forth from the rapidly forming cumulonimbus cloud.
「Hiyabababababa!」 「O Hero, you’re amabababa!!」 I think I hear screams from the area affected by the lightning, but I choose to ignore them here.
《Thunder Claw》, one of her trump cards.
A complex magical formula that combines four types of beginner-level magic: water, earth, fire, and light, which is impossible for anyone other than her to replicate.
A ferocious spell that relentlessly rains down lightning until her mana, rivaling that of a Saint, is exhausted or the enemy is annihilated.
The battle is settled in the blink of an eye.
Subjected to unceasing lightning for over several minutes, the 「Angel」 lets out a ghostly scream and eventually disintegrates.
○○○
Following the same approach as before, I emphasize to the Guildmaster of this town not to make a big deal out of it and provide a detailed report on the dungeon’s conditions and various other details.
Muttering to myself something like 「The field trip isn’t over until you get home, right?」 I push my body, which is yearning for rest, to prioritize work with the party.
Not feeling inclined to share a meal with Mika and Ryūgūin, we gather at the town’s church to distribute the earnings from the dungeon exploration.
「This should be fine. Well, try not to waste it unnecessarily.」
「Does the Hero also have to manage assets? Wearing two hats. Dual tasks. Hmm, this is the tough part of being a Hero…
That’s right, do you know, Yamada? That assets should be utilized rather than just kept. That’s what my favorite investment UTuber said before. Assets are meant to be invested. The assets themselves would be glad to be invested by me.」
「As expected of the Hero.」
Invest, invest, what the hell is that? My heart feels like it’s freezing to death here! And what do you mean by 「assets themselves」?
The conversation between Ryūgūin, who rambles on about nonsense, and Mika, who has turned into a broken Hero-praising robot, seems incredibly hollow to me.
There’s no point in dwelling on it. I turn my back on the two and head towards the exit.
「Angie, let’s go back. Let’s return and have a meal or something.」
Angie, who enters my field of vision, blushes and says,
「Wait a moment, Sir Yamada, there’s something I need to tell you.」
Sir Yamada? I thought she called me Ichiro—.
No way! It can’t be happening again—
「I am proud to be able to embark on this journey to save the world alongside you. I look forward to working with you even more from now on—」
She embraces him.
「—Please take care of me, O Hero!」
Well, I’ll be damned.
Someone tell me what else I can say besides this.
I can’t help but feel like her once-dazzling almond eyes have become murkily clouded.
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