32 – 3rd Floor #1
I should have said, “Don’t ask if you know it’s a rude question!”
But I sealed my lips. I pushed the words down beneath my throat.
“She must have been curious.”
How curious was she that she dared to ask, disregarding etiquette?
I tried to think from the other person’s perspective. Then, I understood.
“Yes, I’m a B-rank.”
I lied without batting an eye. In reality, I’m an EX-rank, but I pretended to be a B-rank.
What can I do if the person involved says so?
Sillua stares at me intently, as if analyzing my expression to uncover the truth.
Ziiing-.
We lock eyes and she shrugs her shoulders, stepping back from Sillua’s side.
“…I was just curious.”
“Really?”
“Honestly, it’s fascinating.”
Sillua glanced briefly at Cayenne, who was sleeping soundly in her sleeping bag.
Cayenne, sleeping soundly in the arms of her party member. Perhaps she was scared by the battles with the bandits, so she clung to Sillua as if they were one body.
“No matter how accustomed you are to exploring dungeons, experiences like this don’t happen often. It’s Cayenne’s first time too.”
Sillua gave a bitter smile.
“Experiencing something like this is mentally exhausting. It’s inevitable. Even I, as an adult, feel suffocated when I recall what happened earlier… I can only imagine how scared Cayenne must have been. She’s just pretending to be fine, but both Cayenne and Marco must have been deeply hurt.”
“……”
“I guess it’ll take quite a while for us to return to the dungeon if we go back now. I don’t know how much time we’ll need. We might not be able to do it at all…”
For female adventurers, physical strength is important, while male adventurers rely more on mental fortitude. Especially stress management.
No matter how strong an adventurer is, they are no different from a newborn baby in the face of the darkness of the dungeon. Therefore, the role of the boy who maintains the “Soul Protection” is more important than anything else.
If the boy starts feeling anxious due to a similar incident today, it would be beneficial for his mental health to take a break from dungeon exploration for months.
They hastily descended into the dungeon, not knowing what would happen.
Silua was talking about that.
“But you’re different.”
Silua’s eyes sparkled. There was a glint of a gun in her gaze.
“Artifact. I used ‘Magic Arrow’ three times.”
“Well, um…”
“Before that, I also endured the rampage of a werewolf.”
In my party, there is Suu. Suu is a werewolf.
One of the characteristics of a werewolf is that their ‘Heat’ skill drains a guy’s stamina like crazy.
“And not to mention, a rogue.”
Silua’s head turned towards Lauren. Lauren was coming back from the back of the group.
Did she wash her hands? Probably not.
My eyebrows furrowed at the thought. Whether she knew my thoughts or not, Silua continued with what she wanted to say.
“Hey, Marco’s party of two. They covered four. But their ‘Soul Protection’ is B-rank?”
“….”
I don’t know how good B-rank ‘Soul Protection’ is. So I couldn’t answer rashly.
While I was hesitating, Lauren interjected.
“Why are you talking like that?”
“…Silua asked about her ‘Soul Protection’ rank. She said it’s B-rank.”
“Ah.”
Lauren smirked and gave Silua a glare.
“Does it matter whether it’s a high or low rank? Is that what’s important?”
“…What?”
“If it’s a B rank, then it’s a B rank. Why are you asking as if you’re prying? That’s what I mean.”
“Prying… Do you…intend to…”
“I didn’t. But did Ray feel that way too?”
Lauren reached out and pulled me towards him. My body weakly sank into Lauren’s embrace.
It feels cozy.
“He probably didn’t wash his hands, but that’s okay.”
What if there’s a strange smell? As long as he’s reliable as an older sister, it’s fine.
Silua tightly shut her mouth. Perhaps she felt it was vulgar even in her own thoughts, so she couldn’t refute Lauren’s words.
“…I’m sorry. I crossed the line.”
“No, it’s okay.”
It’s not 100% okay, so I didn’t add ‘really’ at the end. Without ‘really’, it means it’s about 96% okay.
“Ugh.”
I’m just killing time in front of the bonfire.
There was a commotion. It was the ninja sister who was lying behind us, waking up.
Unfortunately, there was no party member to welcome the ninja sister. Both of them were taking a rest in their sleeping bags.
“Marco… Pike… You’re alive. Thank goodness…”
The ninja sister’s gaze was drawn to Marco’s snoring. She checked the faces of the boy and the woman huddled inside the sleeping bag and let out a relieved sigh.
“Who are you guys?”
Our ninja sister looked at us and asked,
“You, you clearly helped us….”
When the rogue and I started fighting, and the Kaeen party joined in. At that moment, whether she had regained her senses or not, the ninja sister recognized Silvia.
She had a significant grudge against us, but her grudge against Silvia was noticeably less. So, Silvia stepped forward and explained the situation.
“These people saved us.”
The ninja sister collapsed, the warrior sister fell, and even the children were captured, bringing death to the situation.
That’s when we appeared.
“Et-hem.”
Rescuing someone is truly a difficult task. That’s why it’s exhilarating beyond words when you succeed.
A sense of accomplishment spread throughout my body, causing a pleasant shiver.
“You… saved Marco and me?”
The ninja sister sat down, knees on the ground, and pressed her forehead against the dirt.
Dogeza!
It was a gesture of gratitude. It was my first time seeing it for real.
“Thank you. Thank you so much for saving our lives!”
“Please, get up.”
I hurriedly helped the ninja sister up. Tried to, at least.
But she didn’t budge. My strength was insufficient.
“I will definitely repay this favor.”
The ninja sister continued to dogeza until she was satisfied. Since no one else helped me, I had to accept her excessive gratitude until the end.
“First, focus on recovering properly. You’re not completely healed yet.”
“It’s okay. I can move well enough.”
Ninja Nuna stood tall, rotating her shoulders and stretching her body. She seemed fine, without a doubt.
Compared to how she was pale and dying in a pool of her own blood, well…
“It’s like night and day compared to earlier.”
If a stranger had seen her, they might have asked, “I know it’s rude, but did you come back to life or something?” That’s how serious it was.
It really hits home now. The power of the healing potion made by Alchemist Anna.
The healing potion had a remarkable effect. She should have been dead, but she was breathing again. There was no need for further explanation.
The person involved knew it well.
Ninja Nuna got up and looked around. She glanced as if searching for someone.
“…Where is the priest who saved me? I want to express my gratitude to her too.”
“The priest?”
“Yeah.”
Both of us, Ninja Nuna and I, were puzzled. We couldn’t understand what she was saying.
“My injuries were fatal. It was a lethal wound with massive bleeding and shock.”
Ninja Nuna said she knew that she was destined to die. In the moment she lost consciousness, she accepted death and gave up on life.
But when she opened her eyes, she wasn’t in hell, but in a labyrinth. And her party leader, Marco, was there with his nose intact?
“If it wasn’t for the priest, the wound would have been incurable. So I have to thank the priest.”
“…There is no priest.”
The reason Ninja Nuna could be saved. It was because of the existence of the potion.
“…Is there really such a potion?”
“I saw it clearly.”
Silua, someone who was not part of my party, gave strength to my words.
“After Ray sprinkled the potion, the wound healed quickly.”
“That’s impossible. Even the medicine of the Kurotsuki family cannot heal my injuries.”
My ninja sister shook her head as if she couldn’t believe it.
“If there is such a potion, can you show it to me?”
“I used the last one.”
I poured it all out to you without leaving a single drop.
My ninja sister’s expression trembled. Half of her face was covered by a ninja mask, so it was not easy to see, but her lips seemed to be fluttering just like her expression.
“If it can heal my injuries, it must have been a very expensive potion….”
I received one from alchemist Anna in the form of a prototype. I don’t know how much it cost to make, but it must have been around 50 silver, give or take.
“You made two bottles with just one gold’s worth of Swu coffee.”
What’s the use of potion prices? There’s nothing more precious than a person’s life.
My ninja sister, who had just stood up, knelt down again. The following dogeza.
I didn’t even think about trying to stand up this time. I left it alone because I knew it was impossible.
From Noble mtl dot com
“I will definitely repay you. I will stake the honor of the Kurotsuki family!”
“…Yes. Please repay it on your own.”
At Sakura’s shout, as if making a promise to someone, Marco woke up from his sleep. The touching reunion took place once again.
I watched the scene, stealing a quick rub of my nose with my hand. As expected, my chest tingled with pride.
I thought it was a good taste.