Editing/Standardisation: Medicine Melancholy
Original Translation: Medicine Melancholy

Diamant Valley Mayor

(TL: Contains really uncomfortable topics, feel free to skip this guy’s section if it isn’t for you)

Inside a rattling wagon running on the rugged forest path

“Keh, keheh, kehahahaha!”

I did it. I really did it. Now there’s no going back for me.

I only became mayor because I took over the post from my father, and I had no desire to be stuck in this snowy hole forever… but that’s all behind me now.

Now that I was no longer able to use the mine, which was occupied by some strange creatures, little by little, I made my plan to abandon my post and ran away… Though it’s a shame I had to leave most of the ores behind.

At first, that made me hesitant, but things had changed in the past few days.

Some youngsters entered the town with those mercenaries, who were not ordinary travelers by any stretch of the imagination.

The sheer gut of that young man when he dared to talk back to me in my mansion.

He said he was the Count’s guest, but I’m sure that he’s actually his inspector, who finally came to investigate this area at last.

As I lamented my bad luck, the devil’s whisper suddenly came to me.

Some men from the black market, who had come from the western continent to conduct business, brought a plan to have monsters attack the town and take advantage of the commotion to rob it of anything of value and make my escape.

As the arrangements for me to cross the continent were made, I was determined to follow through with this plan at all costs… and here I am. The plan went off without a hitch, and now all I have to do is to escape to the port town south of here!

Part of the reason why I so desperately wanted to escape was because of the inspection.

This northern country was very difficult to do business with, and some of the business deals I had handled so far have been against the law, such as smuggling and human trafficking, and I could easily lose my head if caught.

But above all… the girls in this haul would be more than enough to pay for every trouble I’d gone through in that town. As they laid shivering in the wagon, I chuckled at the money I’m going to earn from this.

One of them was a beautiful alchemist with a good reputation in town. I had approached her several times to marry her because of her beauty, but each time she had brushed it off.

In addition to that beauty, she was also skilled with medicine. That alone would probably fetch a pretty good price if sold as a slave. Enough for me to live on for a few years.

But she couldn’t hold a candle to that silver-haired girl who was with the youngsters accompanying the mercenaries.

When I found her in that clinic, she was lying in bed because she was sick or something, but she resisted really violently at first. Well, until I attached “that thing” I bought from the black market on her anyway. She was as docile as a lamb now.

Since I first saw her in the western gate, I’d had an intense urge.

She must be mine.

Though she was still immature, she was so dainty that one cannot imagine how large a flower she will blossom when she grows up, and her healing arts was so powerful that outclassed even a Saint, who the Church so coveted.

At first, I intended to find the best buyer for this girl.

She had such a beautiful appearance that one would not embarrass themself putting her anywhere, and her demeanor was neat and tidy.

She had an extremely rare talent for healing arts, one that the Church hadn’t claimed.

For the aristocrats in particular, she must be a gem that they would want no matter how much money they have to pay for… just imagine how prosperous she would make their bloodline become once she bore their children.

Such a young bud, still untouched and can still be dyed in any way the owner wishes, would grant me enough money to live on for the rest of my life… that’s just how worth this girl is.

And yet… it’s still a shame to let her go from my grasp.

If I could train her with my hands and make her obedient to me, how much wealth would I create?

There is no need to be a mayor of a small town in such a remote area, and it is surely not impossible to make a name for myself and become a lord of a castle in the western continent, where money throughout the world comes and goes.

If anything… should she produce a child who inherits her talents and good looks, I might be able to get in contact with the nobility, or even a royal family.

The gift of healing arts was highly prized everywhere in this world.

No, no, no, I should leave such afterthoughts for later. For now, I simply desire that girl. If I could make love with that dainty little girl, how much would it feel me up… It is no exaggeration to say that the desire that welled up was mesmerizing.

That girl, under me, with my hands, her gorgeous face contorted in shame, fear, and eventually pleasure.

How delightful it would be to break such a dainty bud with my own hand and pluck her future away. It’d be the ecstasy of a lifetime.

As I pondered about such things… the wagon suddenly slowed down.

Soon, a man whose expression and thoughts were hard to read, claiming to be a guide introduced by the black marketeer, entered.

“…Apologies, but the wagon got stuck in the mud.”

“Then what the hell are you doing here, fool?! Get out!”

Useless piece of garbage! How dare he call himself a guide when he’s so sloppy?!

If I was too slow, they would surely send pursuers after me once the commotion in that town had been quelled.

“Tch… Screw the luggage! I only need the girls anyway, bring them to me!”

Losing the cargo was a blow to my profit, but still, as long as those girls were secured, it’s nothing to worry about.

“I’ll never have to stay in this shithole again, I’ll surely escape with my money! My power…!”

Little did the mayor know, somebody was watching his every movement with a cold stare.

Aini

Inside the wagon, hidden from the outside in the shadows of the rest of the cargo, was a metal cage that looks like it could be used to keep some kind of animal.

“…Ugh…Aaagh…!! No, please…!!”

“We’re gonna be alright, okay? Someone’s going to rescue us, I’m sure of it.”

Despite my wrists being tied, I still managed to hold the little girl close to my chest and patted her back to calm down her trembling body.

The girl who was brought here with me, Iris-chan, seemed to be tormented by nightmare even though she was asleep.

It was only thanks to the sedative effect of the cold medicine that the situation was under control, if only for the moment. When she was awake earlier, things were really bad.

We had been kidnapped… At first, she resisted violently, but as soon as those men fitted a collar-like object on her, her face, which should have been feverish from the cold, turned pale. As if she had regressed to being an infant, she deliriously and incessantly muttered “I’m sorry” and “Forgive me” in a hollow voice.

I wonder if those symptoms were the result of a flashback to some traumatic event she experienced. She soon fell into a coma due to the high fever, but her condition was anything but normal.

With both my arms and legs restrained, all I could do for her was hug her to calm her down, how little it might be.

A thick, heavy metal collar fitted around her slender neck. When I crawled my fingers along it, I felt intense discomfort at my fingertips, as if my strength was being drained away.

…What a nasty contraption. Not only was it designed to seal the use of magic, but it also scrambled the flow of magic in the body like crazy… To take away the power and will to resist, I assume.

As someone whose magical power wasn’t that high, I couldn’t imagine how much of a burden it would be for this child, who was gifted with exceptional healing arts. Combined with her already existing illness, it must be torture for her to wear that collar.

And as someone who practices alchemy, I couldn’t tolerate this kind of maliciousness that is only meant to ensnare people and cause them pain. If I had the necessary equipment at hand, I would smash it into a million pieces.

I sensed the presence of highly refined magic nullification stones within this collar, even though their distribution in this country were heavily restricted by law because they could be used in this way…

Such items like this is a huge threat to the Magical Kingdom of Nordglacier. As a matter of fact, numerous secret agents keep a close watch on each town, so they could not have been produced domestically.

A foreign force must be behind this. Perhaps it’s the underground organization of the Trade Federation in the west. While that country has strong merchant power and a very free market, it is also home to a huge criminal organization.

If that’s the case, we must escape as soon as possible. If this girl is really who I think she is, then the last thing we want is for her to fall prey to their hideous scheme.

I remembered how uncomfortable I felt when I talked to her companions.

Despite such a huge anomaly occurred near human settlements, they were still living and acting normally as if nothing happened.

It’s as if they possessed a means to erase that “Wound” in the mine. If it were that easy to do so, the sphere of human life in this world would not be so small.

Throughout recorded history, until this day, only one race of people had been able to accomplish this.

I don’t know what on earth happened to her, but if this girl is really who I think she is, the things that should have been on her back were now gone… I shuddered at how heavy a burden was placed on the back of such a small girl.

No matter what, I must bring this girl to safety, that’s my determination.

Suddenly, the wagon carrying us stopped.

Hayato

I ripped off another stick shuriken at the back of my muffler, threw it in a conspicuous place, and followed the two carriages as they tried to drive away again.

It is frightening that I can weave through the trees at a speed that parallels that of horse-drawn wagons skipping along the plains, but even more frightening to lose sight of those two wagons.

I moved as if flying, frantically judging where to place my next foot on a foothold where even the slightest slip would cause me to fall.

I could never forget the image of that girl who was also sent here like me.

She was always so soft, but she was also very kind and concerned about other’s wellbeing. When I was in danger, she would not hesitate to protect me even if it puts her in danger herself.

When she was captured by those men, I couldn’t get the sound of her crying out in grief out of my ears.

And Aini-neechan. She was an older sister who picked me up and saved me when I collapsed after wandering around, unable to trust anyone.

She gave me a normal life when I was at my wit’s end. Without her kindness and guidance, I’m sure I would have…

Okay, I admit it! I think I have a crush on them! Possibly both!

That feeling is like admiring the prettiest girl in my grade, or a kind and beautiful older sister, it’s just natural.

But when I talked to them, I tended to act shy and cocky, despite my heart thumping so hard inside.

Right now, if things continued as they were, both of them would become the property of who-knows-what.

Slaves.

That word is as unfamiliar to me as it was in the original world.

I felt nauseous. Disgusted. This cannot stand.

My heart was filled with dark emotions.

I must rescue them before it’s too late.

Besides, I don’t want to betray that Nii-chan’s expectations this time, who put his trust in me despite what happened.

Just a bit more. This particular route, originally used to transport ores to a nearby port town, was deeply rutted due to the frequent passage of heavily laden wagons, and would be muddy all the way through due to melting snow at this time of year, as Aini-neechan once told me when we gathered medicinal herbs together.

Those tightly packed wagons, clearly carrying more than their capacity, if they drove them through the mud with those skinny wheels…

My time has come.

As predicted, one of the wheels on a wagon came off because of the muddy road.

I approached the wagons as close as possible while holding my breath.

Hiding in the bushes, just a stone’s throw away… I saw the men arguing for a while, and then a few private soldiers went to the wagon and rummaged around in it for something.

Coming out of the wagons were Aini-neechan, whose hands were tied, being pulled around roughly and… carried like a sack of potatoes, fitted with a crude metal collar disproportionate to such a little girl, the Princess.

Curses!

Both the situation and my own emotions didn’t allow me to just sit back and watch any longer!

“She’s not feeling well, treat her more respectfully, please!”

“Silence!”

The Princess’ complexion was clearly deteriorating. Aini-neechan, despite being a prisoner herself, stood up and argued with her captors for a better treatment.

The man dragging Nee-chan swung his hand down on her face.

Nee-chan reflexively shielded her face with her hands.

My consciousness concentrated on the back of that private army guy, which, from my point of view, was exposed and unprotected.

“Ack?!”

I quickly inserted a dagger into the side of his stomach.

It was not as formidable as I had anticipated. For a moment I thought I had missed. But the liquid gurgling out of the man’s mouth proved the opposite.

The blade in my hand was sharp… because it was designed to take lives.

Desperately, I pried and pulled out the blade of the dagger that had been dug into the man’s stomach. I felt a weird sensation of something shredding in my hand.

“Dam, mit…”

The man fell to the ground helplessly. Slowly, something other than mud spread on the ground.

“Hah… hah…”

I had stabbed someone… with clear intent to kill.

I thought I would be more distraught, but I was surprisingly level-headed. But… the moon was dazzling tonight. I could see the surroundings too well, even the expression on the face of the man who had collapsed.

Surprisingly, I was unfazed by it.

Aini-neechan stared at me in shock.

Another person was stunned and unaware of the situation… the man carrying the Princess.

I charged at him with all my might.

“AAAAARGH!!”

I could hear a scream nearby, who the hell? Oh wait, that’s me.

In this world that feels unreal, lightning converged on my right hand, which wasn’t holding the dagger… and I slammed it into the man’s stomach, with all the momentum of my rush.

SQUICK

Feeling a warm, wet sensation on my fingertips, I took the Princess from the man who crumpled down in agony after a thunderbolt was thrust into his body, and stepped back.

She’s so light.

My sense of reality rapidly returned as I felt the feverishly high body temperature and feathery weight I felt through that thin nightgown.

The Princess, who was just a little taller than me, was so light that I could hold her with one arm.

Since she traveled with such powerful people with her, I thought that the Princess would be pretty strong herself… I’m so stupid!

Of course I’d be stronger than someone in a pure support build… why hadn’t I realized that sooner?!

“Hayato-kun…?”

“Nee-chan!”

I cut away Nee-chan’s restraints to free her, and shoved the unconscious Princess into her arms.

“Take the Princess and go! I’m sure that Nii-chan and his friend must be on their way here by now!”

“B-But what about you…?”

“Just do it! I’ll stay here and buy you as much time as possible, so hurry-”

As I was shouting, I slid my small body under the arm of another man who tried to grab me and struck him with my elbow.

“If I’m in danger, I’ll just run away! It’s a promise!”

Hesitantly, Nee-chan ran off… Please be safe, both of you.

“What the hell?! Stop standing around and recapture the girls, dammit! Don’t let them get away!”

Behind me, the pig bastard started foaming and screaming.

I quickly kicked my opponent in the back of his head, knocking him out instantly.

As I stood in the path of the men chasing after those two, they pulled out their weapons, as if they saw how I felt.

Surrounding me was a gleaming array of tools used to take lives. One hit by any of them, and I’d probably die.

“Ha, haha…”

A laugh escaped my mouth.

Dammit, this isn’t funny! I’m scared as hell here!

They were mercenaries who were also accustomed to killing people, meanwhile I was just a student until a month ago, of course I’d be scared!

But I must do this! Because… I made a promise to protect them!

“Accursed brat… you’re just some stray kid who wandered into my town! How dare you forget who lets you live here in the first place?!”

“Huh?! I owe you nothing, piggy!”

I got a bit pissed off at the pig bastard’s cursing. But it distracted me from my fear a little bit, so I suppose it’s a good thing?

From the pouch at my waist, I took out a bunch of human-shaped paper dolls and scattered them around. They turned into phantoms looking exactly like me and rose up… just like in that old ninja manga I read before.

I took a deep breath, desperately quieting my heart, which feels like it is about to burst at any moment.

Oh, right! I’m a hero from a manga too! This much is nothing for a hero, I’m not scared at all!

“Come at me, you lowlifes! Ninja Grandmaster Hayato-sama is going to kick all of your asses!!”

It didn’t matter if it was a bluff or not, I yelled, desperately, to inspire myself.

Editing/Standardisation: Medicine Melancholy
Original Translation: Medicine Melancholy

Saul

“Monsters, you say?!”

The meeting room burst into chaos. Of course, this happened just as we were about to discuss how to deal with the looming monster threat in the town, after we had finally made the decision to silence the mayor who was about to interfere. What convenient timing.

“By any chance, are there any crystals or mutations anywhere on the monsters’ bodies?!”

I asked, praying that I am wrong. If it’s them, don’t tell me I’d misjudged when they’d start the assault…?

Whether fighting or evacuating, we were unprepared for the current situation… Reiji was now only equipped with a spare, unsuitable weapon for the time being.

“Eh? N-No, they’re just normal monsters we see in this area…”

His words almost brought a sense of relief to the meeting room, but soon everyone changed their mind, thinking that they should prioritize dealing with the current situation first, and left the meeting room in a flurry. We too, followed them outside.

“So, where did those monsters come from, the west or the east?”

“T-They’re everywhere! On both sides!”

“What?!”

“The scouts reported that a pack of White Fang was in the west side, while several Frost Panthers were seen in the east!”

Both are animal-type monsters, but the “Frost Panthers” in particular, were demonic beasts capable of using ice and snow-based magic. As for the “White Fangs”, they are generally the same as normal wolves except that their fur is slightly more resistant to ice and snow systems, but their coordination cannot be underestimated when there are many of them.

Nevertheless, there was no way such wild monsters could have come at such convenient timing. If so, were they led here on purpose…?

“…Reiji and I will take the east side and assist any soldier stationed there.”

“Would it be enough with just you two?”

“I see… Then please send some of the mercenaries, including Miriam, to cover us-”

Walking at a brisk pace, while hastily discussing battle plans with Philias-san, I was following the guards who were running out like bees whose hive has been poked when…

“Hey, that thing’s on fire!”

The sky in the east was awfully red and bright.

But both monster types attacking us were ice and snow type. Either someone screwed up in putting out the fire, or…

“…Huh?”

Feeling an uncomfortable gaze, I turned to see one of the guards looking toward the town with an extremely uneasy look on his face.

“You, over there, you don’t look so good. What’s wrong?”

“Ack?!”

As soon as we called out to him, he backed away and looked at us with frightened eyes… The frightened look seemed to be directed not at the monsters but at those of us who had come out of the meeting room…

“Hey, don’t tell me… that you know this would happen in advance?”

I knew it, someone was leading those monsters into town!

Animal-type monsters were relatively easy to lure, using food as bait or drug… There are more than a few people who use monsters for a living, even in the game, a beast taming class certainly existed.

“N-No, that wasn’t my intention, I mean, I didn’t expect them to go this far either!”

“Elaborate, now.”

“I-I didn’t do it because I wanted to… My family… they said they’d harm my family if I don’t do what they say!”

The officer continued with the questioning.

According to the guard, he was born in this town and lived with his wife, who’s currently pregnant, and his elderly parents to take care of them.

So the mayor’s goons held his family hostage and forced him to cooperate… Scumbags, all of them.

“I wish I could tell you more, but they only told me to signal them when you come here, that’s all…!”

“…You don’t seem to be lying.”

“I see… Now go back to the camp and do not leave! We’ll deal with your offense later!”

The guard walked back into the entrance from which we came out, looking exhausted. From the look of it, it doesn’t look like he’s going to run away.

“Those bastards… they must be the ones bringing monsters into this town and set it on fire.”

“It’s just speculation, but it’s very likely.”

“But that means he can’t stay in this town anymore, right?”

Who would support a mayor who would put his town in danger?

If he remained in this town, the previously oppressed people would surely revolt.

“…No, we’re looking at this the wrong way. He’s planning to ditch this town and run before the next goblin raid… So that’s why he caused this chaos! He wants to take his prize before he leaves!”

In the document I was just shown suggested the possibility of several secret deals with the western continent, using sea routes from a port town just to the south.   

Unlike this country, where the slave trade is inherently prohibited, that side of the world, which is a country of merchants, has a thriving slave trade. If he’s setting out to kidnap someone to sell, then the most likely target is…

“Fuck! He’s going for Iris!”

“Let’s go, Reiji!”

I had expected that Aini-san’s clinic, which was located on a main street and highly visible, and where several patients were hospitalized, would not be conspicuous enough to be broken into by a well-known figure of this town.

But I clearly underestimated how low this scumbag could stoop.

Just as we were about to rush out…

“Reiji-kun!”

A voiced behind us called out, and when Reiji and I turned around, Reiji quickly caught the long, thin object in mid-air as it came flying at us at a fairly high speed.

“…A sword? Zeltis, isn’t this your beloved equipment?”

The man throwing the sword was one of everyone who was rushing toward us… Zeltis-san. He had already drawn one of the long swords he always wore at his waist, but the other was now in Reiji’s hand.

“But you already lost yours, didn’t you?! Take it with you, and hope you don’t mind that it’s not a size you’re used to, but I assure you it’s a work of art in its own right!”

“…I’ll take it, thanks!”

“Of course, I’ll only accept it back once you return it along with my princess!”

“Hey, who the hell are you calling ‘yours’?!”

I see those two are getting along as always, I thought so, but I didn’t speak up.

I just told them I was ahead of them and ran out as fast as I could.

The Frost Panther’s body crumbled to the ground.

Amidst the town with fire going up in several places… we approached the east district, just a few steps away from the vicinity of Aini’s store in the middle of the main street built along the stream.

But we encountered a monster that was closing in our destination, apparently following the scent of blood from the evacuated wounded.

Reiji pulled his sword, which had pierced the monster’s heart, out of its white body. The Panther’s white fur turned bright red with blood. There’s no sign that it would get up again.

“Saul, another one! It’s chanting magic!”

Apparently, while one Panther remained in the frontline and engaged us, the other had already fallen back.

On the roof of a one-story house, about 50 meters away from the other Frost Panther, a magic circle glowing blue, almost white, indicating that the magic was an ice-attribute, was deployed at the feet of the dead Frost Panther.

“Like I’d let you!”

“GAWR?!”

A lightning bolt from my sword pierced the Frost Panther and fizzled out the magic that was about to be activated.

These things could cast powerful spells such as “Blizzard”, an attack spell with a large area of effect.

In order to neutralize it as fast as possible while not damaging the surrounding, I fired a “Stun Piercer” to interrupt its chanting and immobilize it. The enemy rolled down the roof and hit the ground.

“Two down!”

Reiji quickly closed the distance and swung his sword at the helpless Panther’s neck. Its body jumped up, then never moved again.

After slaying several monsters on the way, we finally arrived at Aini-san’s clinic…

“Dammit, are we too late?!”

A kicked-over planter in a trampled garden. The yard had been so trashed that one could tell at a glance that there had been some kind of commotion.

Reiji approached the crowd of people sitting stunned at the entrance, who appeared to be evacuees and hospitalized patients.

“What the hell happened here?!”

“S-Swordsman-sama, the mayor… the mayor led his thugs here and…”

It was hard to get a coherent story from the crowd of frightened people, but in summary, amidst the chaos caused by the attacking monsters…

“They barged in here, took the patients hostage and escaped with Iris and Aini-san in tow…?!”

“That motherfucker…!”

“Hold on, Reiji! Excuse me, were the boy Aini-san picked up… were Hayato-kun here when it happened?”

Before Reiji could jump out right away and chase after the mayor, I asked the crowd about what I wanted to hear the most in the current situation… the third person who wasn’t present, other than Iris and Aini-san, who were taken away.

“Eh? No… It just came to my mind that he just kind of disappeared…”

“Thanks for the information, it’s very helpful.”

The corner of my mouth relaxed. As far as that boy’s concerned, it’s a good thing if he just looked like he disappeared.

“Hey, Saul, we must hurry…!”

“No, it’s no good chasing them when we don’t know where they’re headed… Found it.”

After a quick search of the surroundings, I found a single, unnatural piece of metal stuck in the road.

I pulled it out and took a look at it. It looked like a pair of black bare metal chopsticks, long, thin, and unadorned, with a small red piece of string tied to it… it’s the same color as Hayato’s scarf, isn’t it?

Suddenly, even at a time like this, a laugh escaped me.

I knew I could trust him after all. To come up with such a plan in a short amount of time, he truly is a reliable guy.

I must gather more and more allies.

On that fateful night, when I was ready to die fighting that crystal monster, I told Iris to “gather a group of people you can trust”. That thought had not changed even now that we made it through that night without incident.

That boy, while rough around the edges, had shown me glimpses that fully meet those expectations. That’s why I want him.

…Oops, now’s not the time to dwell on such thoughts. I tossed the metal rods in my hand to Reiji.

“…These must be his stick shurikens, without a doubt. Don’t worry Reiji, I had an excellent tracker following those two. Just follow the marks he left behind.”

“Tracker, huh… No wonder I couldn’t see him anywhere.”     

“Leave the town’s defense to me. Go, and rescue those two.”

Fortunately, we had killed several Frost Panthers before we got here. I think there were about two or three more, at least in terms of the scale of the noise, and that would be enough for me, alone, to draw their attention, if not defeat them by myself.

…I let out a chuckle at how absurd things have been compared to my old world.

“Sure thing! That damn mayor won’t get away with this!”

He immediately ran off, his back vanishing in the blink of an eye.

…Let’s not stay here any longer, I still have work to do.

I then caught a guard running nearby.

“This area’s secure! You guys go back and help putting out the fire, but be sure to tell me if a monster appears!”

“R-Roger!”

And so I returned to the town, still in utter chaos.

Editing/Standardisation: Medicine Melancholy
Original Translation: Medicine Melancholy

Reiji

“…Asleep already?”

Iris was lying in bed, delirious from the heat and breathing heavily. She was still awake and groggy until a few minutes ago, but as soon as she took the medicine Aini-san prepared for her, she fell asleep.

Reluctantly, I shook off the little hand I had been holding the whole time… which was an unusually sweet request on her part to hold my hand until she falls asleep… and gently put it back under the covers.

It was a very simple request, to be honest. But the soft, smooth feeling in my hands kept me tense the whole time, and I felt awfully tired when it’s all over.

It can’t be helped, this is the longest I’ve ever touched a girl’s hand in more than 20 years of my entire life!

Deciding that it would be no use continuing that train of thought, I left the room after confirming that Iris was sound asleep…

“To think that just holding hands makes you so flustered, you’re even more of a virgin than I expected, Reiji.”

“Woah?!”

I thought my heart would jump out of my chest when I heard a voice calling me from the side just as I left.

“So, how does it feel to give Iris a piggyback ride all the way back to town? She’s so soft, right?”

“Hey, stop bringing that up.”

With a mischievous expression on his face, Saul… no, only Ayame would have such a stupid grin, came forward and asked me.

I’m getting really fed up with this.

At the moment, I was still desperately trying to forget the warm, soft feeling of Iris being so close to my back, so give me a damn break, please.

“Right back at you, Saul. I swear you would never pass up a chance to do such a thing to Iris yourself. Why the sudden change of heart?”

She used to be so reluctant to allow anyone but herself to touch Iris, but lately she had been wanting to leave Iris in my hands for some reason.

“It’s nothing, really… I admit that I would never have left ‘Iris, my masterpiece’ with anyone else. But the ‘current’ Iris is her own person now.”

…I’m not sure what she meant, but I guess she’s saying that she doesn’t want to constrain Iris’ activities as much as she did in the game days.

It’s a good thing that she can be independent from her older brother… or in this case, younger sister, from now on, right?

“Well, if it’s you, Reiji-san… I’m sure she’ll be in good hands.”

“Huh…? What are you talking-”

“Figure it out for yourself, I won’t tell you a thing anymore.”

Then Saul quickly walked away, probably to see Aini-san.

…What was that all about?

Saul

I sighed.

You really are dense, Reiji-san… No, both of you are so dense that it hurts.

It’s obvious to literally everybody except those two that they both have feelings for each other.

I have no objection to that. I know Reiji-san well because he has been our childhood friend for all our lives, so if he and Iris end up together, I’m sure he’ll take good care of her.

But why?! Why are those two still so dense?! Are they children?!

I forced myself to keep the urge to scream out in my chest.

They are both five years older than me. I feel like it would be better if I just told them everything, but that would be frustrating.

I came down from the second floor, where the sick bay was.

When I went behind the curtains leading to the room behind the pharmacy counter on the first floor, I found the person I was looking for leisurely doing something that looked like mixing medicine.

“Ah, it’s you. My apologies, but there’s a lot of work for me to do at the moment, you know, I was out of the store for the whole day and the requests kept piling up, so please excuse me… How’s your sister?”

“Yes, the medicine you gave her seems to be working, and she’s sleeping well now… Thank you so much for lending her a place to sleep even though you’re so busy.”

“No need to thank me. It’s just part of my job.”

Aini-san gave me a kind, motherly smile. Is this what they call “Ara ara energy”?

I see her reputation from the game days has translated well into reality in this world.

But anyway, compared to my old world, there’re fewer doctors who received higher, specialized education in this world.

To begin with, the number of institutions for this purpose was limited, and even more limited was the number of people willing to study at them, because of high tuition and strong connections required to become a student… In other words, they’re schools for the upper class aristocrats and the wealthy only.

Likewise, those doctors would generally only receive clients from the upper class… It’s the kind of profession where the job itself is a status on its own.

Some people believe that recovery magic and magic potions, in exchange for their superior effectiveness, shorten life spans because they accelerate recovery to an excessive degree, and there is currently no evidence to contradict this theory. Therefore, those doctors are in demand among aristocrats who care about such things and want to live longer if possible.

On the other hand, the private clinics in cities are run by the direct apprentices of other medical practitioners, who eventually start calling themselves such… To put it bluntly, they’re self-appointed doctors without any qualifications.

Their skills varied greatly from one place to another. And in a world where recovery magic and magic potions exist, whose population was neither as large nor long-lived as my original world, their status wasn’t very high.

In rural areas like this town, well, the closest to a doctor you can find is an alchemist like Aini-san here.

But I digress.

“…I’m sorry that you have to go through all this trouble for us.”

“This is but a small price to pay. The soldiers giving their lives to protect the town deserve to know about it. You’ll help me deliver these materials to them, won’t you?”

What I was entrusted with was a document that summarized the mayor’s wrongdoings, personally sealed by Aini-san, who was an official inspector. With this, it’d be possible to detain and temporarily suspend the authority of that mayor, who until now could not be touched without permission, even if we couldn’t punish him until we receive further instructions from the Count.

The nature of her work meant that she was unable to act on her own and had to deliver her report by untraceable means, and this time we will be doing it for her.

“…I have to ask, though, why did you give up your true identity to us so easily?”

Yes, I’d always wondered about that. She was supposed to be a secret agent, right?

“Yeah, about that…”

Gently, she put her mouth to my ear.

“Actually, I’ve only heard rumors about two siblings who resemble certain aristocrats who went missing a long time ago, that’s all.”

The words were whispered to my ears in such a bewitching way that they made my hair stand on end.

“…Ha, hahahaha, who could those siblings be, hahahahaha…”

I was dripping with cold sweats inside. Was she trying to blackmail me so that we keep each other’s secret?

What a scary person.

“Sorry, I was just teasing you. The actual truth is… the Count has instructed me to look for you and explain the situation in case we meet.”

“Phew…”

Then all of a sudden, she was back to her “gentle” self.

So she was just teasing me all along? Damn, is this the difference in life experience?

“Are you saying that the Count… Count Roland, knows about us from the beginning?”

“Yes, he looks forward to meeting you all in person.”

Looks like the bluff I made when we met that mayor turned out to be true. But how did he know about us? Could there be a “secret agent” was hiding in the previous town?

Well, let’s just leave it at that.

I regained my composure and tapped the shoulder of the boy Hayato, who was unable to follow the conversation and sat by with a question mark on his face.

“Hayato, I have somewhere to go, so I’m leaving Aini-san and Iris’ protection to you, okay?”

“…Why me?”

He seemed to still be bothered by his earlier blunder.

“I’ll say it again, you were doing the best job you could with the information you had at the time. Have confidence in yourself, okay?”

I only knew that he was a stealth class, but he stubbornly refused to disclose any more information than that, though I suspected him to have an “unique class” like the rest of us, which meant he had some tricks up his sleeve that we didn’t know.

But he was able to reach the top at such a young age, in such a popular class as stealth even. He must have something more than just playing time and luck. The same could be said for all the other unique class holders.

“You may be too ‘timid’, but you aren’t a ‘coward’ by any means. I’m going to trust you with this important matter, so man up, my boy.”

“Don’t patronize me, I’m not a kid.”

Lightly, the boy brushed off my hand patting his head and stared right back at me.

“…Okay, I get it, I’ll look after your precious princess… Take care of yourself too, Nii-chan.”

“Yeah, I’ll be counting on you, then.”

I gave a small nod to the boy, who had regained some of his cockiness, and left the clinic.

In the meeting room inside the guards’ encampment, the atmosphere was grim.

The people here were, first of all, me and Reiji. This was to hear from those of us who had seen the site firsthand.

Reiji originally wanted to stay with Iris, but he and Iris were the only one who saw the scene of the illegal mining, and Iris obviously couldn’t come here. I was in the same camp too, but I had to be here to report about the crystalized monsters. It couldn’t be helped.

Then, with Philias-san as the representative of the mercenary company, and the representatives of the guards in one place, the document that had been entrusted to me was unsealed.

“This is…”

I could see that the officer’s face, who had been flipping through the materials, had grown tense.

“…What do you think? Is this going to be enough to shut that mayor up?”

“Yes, this should be enough. Let’s prepare immediately and take him into custody. Since we expect to engage his private army, I would like to formally request the mercenaries to do the same, if possible.”

“Don’t worry, we’re always available, and as the squad leader, we’ll take care of that request.”

The officer affirmed Reiji’s question, and Philias-san agreed without a pause. I heard that they had anticipated this development and made preparations for it since we left.

“…Very well then, operation commence-”

At that moment when the officer was about to speak…

CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!

A bell rang, signaling an anomaly.

“This is an emergency! Monsters are attacking!”

A guard suddenly entered the room in a hurry.

Looks like this is going to be a long night…

Editing/Standardisation: Medicine Melancholy
Original Translation: Medicine Melancholy

Iris

“…ey, wake up.”

A voice called out to me, and somebody lightly shook my body to wake me up from my light sleep.

When I opened my eyes… I saw Reiji-san, who had already put on his clothes.

“…You’re awake, good. Saul and the others should be here in a moment, so hurry up and get dressed.”

“Okay…”

…? My thoughts were still a jumbled mess.

Oh, right, I need to get dressed…

I reached out my hand toward the hanging clothes, but they were too high for me, so I guess I have to get up…

“…?! OKAY I’LL BE WAITING OUTSIDE BYE!!”

Reiji-san left in a hurry. Weird.

Shaking my unsteady head, I picked up the completely dry clothes that were hanging in front of the fireplace, beside the blanket that had fallen off when I stood up…

As I was getting dressed, my foggy head became a little clearer. Maybe.

“Hmm… Is that how it is?”

I made a quick turn. This was the first time I put on this “Clarte Iris” all by myself, but I guess it turned out alright.

Since Lenny-san had been taking care of me for the past few days, I felt that I am getting completely used to being dressed by others. I fear for the day I become a useless person who can’t even dress for herself.

When I opened the door and walked out of the room, Reiji-san was standing right next to me with his arms folded… but for some reason he refused to make eye contact with me.

“…Reiji-san? Is something wrong?”

“Nonono, I’m completely fine! It’s your head that I’m worried about!”

“…?”

“Nevermind, just forget about it… Looks, they’ve finally arrived.”

Reiji-san pointed in the direction of a beautiful woman walking in the front of the group, Hayato-kun, who broke into a run as soon as he saw us, and…

“Iris!! Iris, oh my god, you’re still alive…”

…Nii-sama, who hugged me with extreme force as soon as he got close.

“Eep?! Nii-sama, you don’t have to say it like that… I’m glad you’re safe and sound, too.”

“Yeah, we’re not going to die that easily, you know.”

Reiji-san moved in and clashed his fist with Nii-sama, and they immediately pulled each other into another hug, again with extreme force… I’m glad from the bottom of my heart that everyone’s back together.

Gently, unnoticed, I wiped the tears from the corners of my eyes and put my arms around his back.

After a brief reunion, we spent some time catching up.

What surprised me was this gentle woman in front of me… Aini-san, was another of the Count’s “secret agents”.

And so, after introductions were made…

“…Once again, I’m really glad that everyone’s together like this… The situation here is much more serious than I thought.”

Nii-sama started off the discussion with a serious look on his face.

“What do you mean?”

“Remember that strange crystalline creature we fought in the previous town?”

“…Is that the one formed by the bandits’ corpses?”

“Well, it’s hard to forget even if you wanted to.”

“So here’s the catch. There’re over one hundred of these, this time mutated from goblins, just sleeping down there.”

“…Is that true?”

“Seriously…”

The same kind of enemy as the one that took all our effort to defeat… a whole swarm of them was just lying in wait.

I think my head is finally starting to boot up properly after hearing the bad news.

“…I had already reported this matter to the Count, since it’s of great concern. For now, we should get out of here.”

“Aini-san, you did?!”

“Yes… Gantz-san, who was hiding here, was the first to discover those creatures.”

“Mmm. The news, should have reached him, already.”

Then there’s still hope for reinforcements. But…

“…It’s still questionable whether the army can get here from the capital in time. We shouldn’t rule out the possibility of this town becoming a battlefield before then.”

“Are you saying we should evacuate all the townspeople…?”

There’s a big problem with that plan, however. Namely, the mayor.

“…Do you honestly think he’s going to cooperate with us?”

“It’s… difficult. No, it’s actually impossible. If we tell him what we discovered, he would realize that we have evidence of his shady dealings.”

In addition to this morning’s tea spiking, which was clearly intended to be a kidnapping, he also illegally mined state-sanctioned ores and sold them through unauthorized channels. Aini-san and Gantz-san were already gathering materials left in this room to make a report to the Count as we spoke.

Once the mayor’s crimes were exposed, it’s likely that he’d be immediately removed from office, or even executed.

However, since all of this was done in secret, he could just brush it all off as a lie… or send his private army to silence us.

…He was simply not someone we could talk to and reach an understanding with.

“So, are we gonna somehow evacuate all the townspeople and fortify the town’s defense while keeping that asshole of a mayor from stabbing us in the back? Sounds like a lot if you ask me.”

“…But we have to do it, right?”

“Well, yeah…”

The lives of the entire town were at stake. We couldn’t just walk away and pretend nothing happened now.

“Uh, I’d really like it if you save the town too… There’re a bunch of bad guys running it, but most of the people there are nice to me… I feel indebted to them.”

Hayato-kun, who had been listening quietly all this time, bowed his head as he spoke. Aini-san was watching him warmly from the side.

“…I don’t know how much we can do… but let’s just do the best we can, alright?”

“I have no objection with this. Of course I’ll have to go back and report to the Captain about it, but regardless of what happens, I promise I’ll give it my all.”

At Nii-sama’s and my words, Hayato-kun looked up, delighted… He might act a bit older than his age, but I think he’s a good and honest boy at heart… Is this my maternal instincts awakening?

“…Just to be clear, though, I’m only doing this because I need all the help I can get to deal with the ‘Wound of the World’ that’s causing this anomaly. It’s simply for my own convenience, you hear?”

Nii-sama pointed his finger toward Hayato-kun, causing the boy to be utterly confused.

“…That guy’s not being honest again.”

“He’s happy to find someone he can treat as a little brother, isn’t he?”

Maybe it’s because Ayame had been taking care of me all the time in my old world, but she had a really doting side to her.

Reiji-san and I chuckled as we whispered to each other.

We were then escorted by Aini-san and Gantz-san out of the tunnels, using the passageway that the miners used to carry their goods out.

Because of the circumstances, it was not possible to use the front entrance frequently, and it seemed a that secret, exclusive passageway was prepared in advance… It was a complicated feeling because the same route used for criminal purposes allowed us to escape in this way.

The exit was a gaping hole in the shadow of the hill, hidden from the beaten path. The moment we stepped out of it, the cool, clear night air spread out.

“Phew… Finally out of that damn tunnel. Too bad it’s completely dark in the outside too.”

“It seems like we’ve been underground for a very long time. Six hours, if I have to guess.”

“I… see…”

Everyone was breathing in the fresh air for the first time in several hours.

But for some reason, my vision suddenly distorted… Huh……?

“…Ir……s? Wha…”

Why is… Reiji-san’s voice… so far away…

“Oh, you’re finally awake.”

“…Eh? Why am I…”

When I came to, I found myself on Reiji-san’s back.

My head felt foggy. My senses were dull, but I could tell that I’m cold. Really cold.

“You just collapsed from a fever. According to Aini-san, in addition to the lack of sleep every night, being exposed to the cold has taken its toll on your overworked body… I’ll make sure you go to bed once we return. Aini-san is kind enough to lend you a patient bed at her place.”

“Oh, no…”

Thinking back, I feel like my thoughts had been hazy and sluggish ever since I woke up in that rest stop. I guess it’s only after I was released from the tension that it all came crashing down.

“…Reiji-san fell in with me too, but why are you still so healthy?”

“Unlike you, I have enough sleep… and I guess I’m just built different.”

“That’s kind of unfair…”

Must be nice, being so strong, I thought.

“…You know, I’ve been wondering if I should ask you this… Do you… want to go back to being a man?”

“…Eh?”

The words thrown at me so unexpectedly made me question myself a little.

Come to think of it… Strangely, I had never thought before that I wanted to go back to my original body.

When I think about the future if I stay in this body forever…

“…I don’t know.”

“Mmm.”

“But I don’t feel bad about it either.”

“……Fair enough.”

He then fell silent and continued walking. His steps were light, as if he was in a good mood, and I tilted my head in confusion.

“I knew you were acting weird, but I should have been more careful. Sorry about that.”

I immediately shook my head. Physical strength is one thing, but this only happened because of my lack of self-care.

“No, I should be sorry for causing you trouble… If only I was more helpful to you…”

“…What an idiot.”

“Ouch!”

As I sank into a sea of negative thoughts, Reiji-san lightly tapped on my forehead with the back of his hand.

“Don’t make me repeat it, you saved my life down there. Now just sleep it off until we’re back in town, you need all the sleep you can get.”

“…Okay.”

Time passed in silence again.

Reiji-san’s big back, which didn’t sway a bit even when he was carrying me, shook at regular intervals as he walked.

Somehow… I felt really at ease…

The warmth of his body made me forget about the cold and wander into dreamland before I knew it…

“Hey, Iris. I…”

At the end, just before I fell unconscious, I think Reiji-san tried to say something, but it never reached my ears…

Reiji

“She couldn’t have heard it, right…?”

I fearfully checked behind me and saw Iris’s feverish face, right in front of my eyes and nose.

Her face was so strangely charming that I hurriedly returned my gaze to the front.

All I could hear behind me now was the light breath of a sleeping Iris.

“Dammit… I really went and said it…”

I ruffled my hair and ruminated on what I just said.

“That’s selfish of me, isn’t it?”

Looking back on it, it seemed that my head was still out of wack since that incident underground… The blanket she was wearing fell to the floor as she got up from her sleep, and I got a direct view of her from the front…

I frantically shook my head to expel from my thoughts that nude, art-like body, which, because of its immaturity, exuded a really suspicious charm.

But what I just said earlier was my real feelings coming out of my chest.

The moist eyes shaking with anxiety I saw in bed.

The gentle, friendly smile as she talked to me.

The soft feeling I still felt on my back.

The tickling of her hair on my cheek.

The sweet aroma that tickled my nostrils.

I don’t want to let them go. I want them to stay by my side, I thought.

Sighing deeply, I decided to keep my thoughts to myself, regained my composure and began to follow Saul and the others who had left earlier.

Editing/Standardisation: Medicine Melancholy
Original Translation: Medicine Melancholy

Iris

“Alright… I’m going to do it, okay?”

Reiji-san’s voice was laden with tension.

The only other sound that could be heard was the cackling of the fireplace and the dripping from the soaking wet clothes hanging nearby.

By “soaking wet clothes”, I mean all of them, even the underwear. The only thing covering my body right now was a single blanket.

Truth be told, I was really tempted to run away in embarrassment at the thought of exposing myself so shamelessly, but that’s simply not an option… because it’s something that has to be done.

I lay down on the bunk at Reiji-san’s instruction. My heart was thumping so much that it threatened to jump out of my chest when I thought about what’s going to happen.

Reiji-san’s hand laid gently on mine, though he was as nervous as I was… My body shivered at his touch.

Although I was prepared for this, I was still a little scared. But Reiji-san silently accepted my feelings and gently held my stiffened hand to reassure me.

“I know how to do this, more or less… but I’ve never actually done anything like this before, so this might really hurt, you know?”

“Please do it… I can take a bit of pain…”

“Alright, chew on this.”

He handed me a piece of cloth… a handkerchief, to be exact. I folded it to the proper thickness and clenched it in my mouth.

Once it’s done, I gave him a small nod to tell him that I’m prepared.

“Okay, I’m gonna do it… Brace yourself.”

Gently, Reiji-san’s hand rested on my shoulder as I lay down.

“…Eek?! ~~~~~~~?!”

CRACK

It felt numb for a moment, then a sharp pain immediately followed as my dislocated joint was returned to its original position. At the same time, some freedom had returned to my shoulder.

“Hah…hah…”

“…You alright there? Sorry if I was too rough.”

“No… I just didn’t expect it to hurt this much, that’s all.”

I raised myself up, wiping the tears that dripped from the corners of my eyes.

My shoulder had its normal smooth curve, but it was reddish-black and swollen. When I finally saw it, I was devastated.

“I see… Well then, get it fixed, will you?.”

I nodded my head and chanted a spell while enduring the dull pain that was creeping up my spine.

“’Heal’…!”

The healing light gathered on the reddish-black area where there’s internal bleeding… In a blink of an eye, the pain and swelling vanished.

“Thank goodness… it’s finally gone…”

At last, the pain that had been tormenting me for so long was gone, and I lightly grasped and opened my hands and rotated my shoulders to check on my condition… All good now.

“Sorry for troubling you… Reiji-san? Why are you looking that way?”

Reiji-san, though, was turning his head more than 90 degrees as if he wanted to avoid looking at me as much as possible.

“…Look at your ‘attire’ first before asking, idiot!”

“Ah… I-I’m sorry!!!”

…Oh no, I forgot about that.

I hugged my knees, shrank down as much as I could and wrapped the blanket that had dangerously slipped down all over my body.

A tremendous amount of blood must have gathered in my face by now. I couldn’t even look directly at Reiji-san anymore.

Why…? Why does it have to be so embarrassing? It was totally fine when we took a bath together before.

But the moment I recalled about the bath, my heart started racing nonstop.

“Can I turn back now?”

“Hiiiii?! Y-Yes!”

I made an unladylike noise again…

Afterward, we sat back to back in front of the cackling fireplace to warm ourselves up.

With nothing to say to each other after the previous embarrassment… we could only stare at the flame and feel the warmth of each other’s back in silence.

I find this silence unbearable, though…

“…Ah.”

“W-What’s the matter?!”

“Not really… I’m just thinking about how convenient it is. Healing arts, I mean. Normally, I would never allow an amateur like myself to fix your joint so roughly, considering the risks.”

Said Reiji-san bitterly.

What he did was nowhere near the proper medical procedure because of the possibility of damaging the surrounding tissues.

But I just regenerated them all with “Heal” and now my arm worked perfectly as it should.

“…It’s convenient, indeed, but we’ll be in trouble if it can’t be used.”

“Right…”

Now that we were out of the effect area of the magic nullification stones, our recovery was going smoothly, but the feeling of being stuck at that time made me shudder when I thought back on it.

What would have happened if the goblin who speaks human language and calls himself Gantz-san hadn’t come to our rescue?

With his help and guidance, we had somehow made our way to this nearby rest stop.

Goblins and hobgoblins alike usually speak in some “monster language” that humans can no way understand.

Apparently Gantz-san had lived among humans for so many years that he could now speak our language without problem.

It’s common for humans to hire hobgoblins as mercenaries… many of them serve as baggage carriers, rear guard shielders and other kinds of auxiliary troop.

Back in the game, the highest goblin-type monster you could employ as your familiar was called “Hobgoblin Hero”, said to be a seasoned veteran who fought in many battles… I think this Gantz-san might be one of those.

“So, did you notice something’s off?”

 I understood what Reiji-san was talking about.

On the way here, to a certain extent, the entire wall surface was a large hollow covered with magic nullification stones. However, the ores were no longer to be found, and what appeared instead were wooden scaffolds that appeared to have been constructed only recently.

“This tunnel was supposed to be closed off due to danger of collapsing… right?”

“And yet we found no trace of a collapse, well, up until the battle at least.”

…What we found instead, were signs of a mining operation that just took place recently.

The peddler from before once said that the trading of magic nullification stones in this country was strictly controlled by the state, because those stones could fetch a very high price thanks to high demand from their newly discovered use.

“…This is illegal, isn’t it?”

“No wonder that mayor got rich so quickly. He must have been behind all this.”

“Correct.”

The next moment, the door to the rest stop opened with a clang.

Gantz-san, the hobgoblin in full body armor who rescued us, entered.

“Talk later. When everyone’s gathered. For now, rest.”

He (thankfully) paid no heed to our current state of undress, walked past us to the fireplace, placed the small pot he was holding on top of it and began to stir its contents.

“No worries. These emergency rations, humans left them behind.”

The aroma of… spice and consommé (?) tickled my nostrils, and my stomach rumbled.

………

Why?!!!!!!!!!!

Without the barrier of clothing, the sound of my stomach echoed throughout the room.

In embarrassment, I stole a glance at Reiji-san… I could tell that “I didn’t hear anything” was written on his face.

“Gnnnnnnnnnnh!!”

“Frustrated, not good. Here, take a sip.”

“Ah, thank you very much.”

A cup of steamy soup was offered to me.

Even though he’s a goblin, why is Gantz-san so gentlemanly? He even sounds like one.

As I sipped on the soup, the spices left a lingering taste on my tongue, and I felt my body warming up a little.

“HOT?!”

Reiji-san, on the other hand, seemed to get burned by the hot soup, and spewed out a puff of smoke. That’s payback for earlier.

“Ugh… can I get healed?”

“Pfft… Yes, please turn your head this way… ‘Heal’.”

“Thanks…”

After he turned to look at me, I touched his cheek and cast a spell. The small glow lit up and disappeared.

As Reiji-san once again gorged himself on the soup once his burn was healed, a giggle escaped my mouth.

“May I ask something?”

“Hmm? Yes, go ahead.”

I was taking a mouthful of the soup, which had cooled down nicely when Gantz-san suddenly spoke.

“You both, so young… A couple, by any chance? Shall I, excuse myself?”

“?!!!!!!!!”

Both of us choked on our soup and coughed.

“Wrong? You get along, so well. It’s in plain sight.”

““We aren’t a couple!!””

Why does everyone I meet ask that question?!

“Leaving that aside… Who are you, actually?”

“Me…? I suppose, I can tell. The Count, employed me. In this region, I mainly oversee monsters. I’m a ‘secret agent’, in human speech.”

“That’s kind of amazing…”

I marveled at the fact that the Count entrusted such an important matter to a demihuman, who was technically a monster even though he was friendly. But I guess he’s the perfect candidate for the job if he proves to be trustworthy.

“…Um, did you happen to accompany a human woman to this place?”

I asked a question that just occurred to me.

“Miss Aini? If you’re thinking about her, you’re right.”

“I see… So she wasn’t in any danger after all…”

I was relieved to confirm that she wasn’t brought here by force.

“……Actually, no. ‘That thing’, blocked the exit. We had a hard time. Getting him, out of the way, you have my thanks.”

So the reason they couldn’t come back was because of that troll… It seemed that our effort was not in vain.

“Apologies, I got a call.”

Gantz-san suddenly covered his ear with his hand and started talking to someone.

“…Understood. We shall, remain here.”

“Did something happen?”

“Good news. Miss Aini, found your companions. They’re heading here, to meet us.”

““Really?!””

“They’ll come, in a moment. Until then, please take a rest.”

With that, Gantz-san walked out of the door.

“Those two… they’re safe… ah…”

My vision grew shaky. For some reason, I felt strangely sluggish, and my head was getting dizzy.

“…Looks like you’re in need of sleep. I’ll watch the fire, you go back to bed.”

“Yes… Sorry for the trouble…”

I didn’t manage to finish my sentence when my consciousness sank into darkness, as if it had reached its limits-

Editing/Standardisation: Medicine Melancholy
Original Translation: Medicine Melancholy

Saul

Fortunately, as much as I loathe to call it that, the tunnel collapse that took Iris and Reiji also separated me from the enemy, allowing me to grab Hayato and made our narrow escape.

However… the road we came from was completely caved in and I could no longer confirm those two’s safety.

The boy Hayato had yet to recover. While I was trying to find another entrance by looking for an air current, he just silently followed me, crying all the way.

As a matter of course, I had something to say about that, but I pushed it away and put my hand on his head to comfort him.

“…What happened wasn’t your fault. We’re to blame for not sharing information about the existence of such a thing with you. Really, you did the best you could in that situation. Your timing was impeccable, I have to admit… but that enemy wasn’t ‘normal’ by any means.”

Yes, what happened back there was almost entirely our fault for not sharing the information. Unlike those of us who had previously engaged in combat with such a creature, he didn’t even know it existed.

“But…!”

But neither he nor I were mature enough… to accept the fact that his well-meaning actions have led us to our current predicament.

“Do you really think so, Nii-chan?! It’s all my fault, I screwed up! If you think so, you should have said that already-”

That remark hit too close to comfort, and in an instant, blood rushed to my head. The next thing I knew, I grabbed him by the chest and slammed him against the wall.

“…You want me to spit it out, right?”

“Ugh…”

I found my own voice surprisingly cold.

Hayato moaned in pain as his breathing was blocked by the tight squeeze.

“Then… IT’S BECAUSE YOU STICKED YOUR DAMN NOSE WHERE IT DIDN’T BELONG THAT THOSE TWO WERE CAUGHT IN THE COLLAPSE, ARE YOU FUCKING SATISFIED NOW…?!”

I’m aware that I’m far from a saint. No matter how much I tried to hide it, deep in my chest, there’s a whirlpool of resentment toward this boy who caused Iris and Reiji to fall into the tunnel collapse.

…I should not have brought a child who could not fight to such a place, bonded by temporary compassion. This is the result of sympathizing with this kid’s concern toward the person who took care of him and letting him do as he pleases.

In any case, it’d help no one if we kept on finding the right person to blame for what happened.

The sight of the boy’s frightened eyes as I grabbed him by the chest and glared at him quickly cooled the blood that had been rising in my head. Anger quickly turned to guilt.

“…This is stupid. Let’s not waste our time any further. Go.”

I let go of his collar and shove him away.

If this continued any longer, I was going to blame him to the point where I really couldn’t take it back.

I understood what he was talking about. I was seething with anger inside. But if I gave in to it, I’d never be able to forgive myself again.

I took a breath to regain my composure.

“…You came back because you wanted to help us, didn’t you? I supposed I should thank you for that.”

“…Mmm.”

As I turned on my heel and started to walk away, I felt a presence behind me rush up and follow me, wiping away his tears. I glanced to the side and saw his eyes red and swollen, but he was biting his lip and trying not to cry anymore.

…Timid as he was, guess he’s still a boy regardless. He didn’t want to look weak.

A giggle escaped from my lips. Yes, somehow there was room to laugh, even in this situation.

Thus, we resumed our search and went deeper underground.

“What the…”

We were now on a narrow, man-made path that runs along the middle of a steep cliff that was originally a huge underground cavern.

As we proceeded fearfully on the barely walkable path, the faint flickering of the space below caught my eye.

The scene spread out over there was…

“…They don’t look like goblins anymore, do they?”

A wide space below, probably the end of another tunnel, where countless glowing shadows filled it.

Covered in crystals here and there, those goblin-sized silhouettes looked abnormal even from a distance.

“Demihumans” like goblins at least still had humanoid shapes. Those creatures, on the other hand, were deformed and bloated in places, some of them even growing extra limbs.

There were well over one hundred of those, all in a crouching position as if sleeping.

“…Well, that explains why we didn’t run into any goblins at all.”

I said with a trembling voice. Disgusting sweat ran down my face.

Fortunately, they didn’t seem to be moving.

Was it because they haven’t detected us yet?

…Or their sleeping forms were merely chrysalides before mutating into something even worse?

“…This is bad. If all of them attack the town at once, defending it would be impossible…”

“Not even Nii-chan and the other two can do it?”

“There’s still everyone in the mercenary company who can turn the tide… No, this number of enemies is just too much…”

Without a doubt, direct combat with these creatures would lead to high casualties among us.

We’d known firsthand how dangerous those “crystalized” creatures can be, and now there were as many of them as the goblins accompanying the General we once fought.

This wasn’t a simple boss raid anymore. We were now facing something akin to a small war… a “Legion Raid”, speaking in the game’s terms.

Unlike last time, the odds were heavily against us. Even if we mobilized the entire town, it would still be far from enough.

We could try to contact the Count ruling this region and request the aid of his army… but there’s too much hurdle to go through with that approach: getting in touch with him, exchanging information, asking for help, waiting for the army to prepare… Would these monsters even sit still during all that?

It’s impossible, no matter how I look at it.

“I can’t think of any way we’re going to win. Worst case scenario, the entire town must be abandoned…”

“No way…”

Hayato looked down in dismay. That town had only been his home for a month, but he seemed to be really sad about having to abandon it.

I was about to say something to him, but didn’t know what to say and swallowed my words.

“Excuse me…”

“Who goes there?!”

I was completely distracted by the situation below when a voice suddenly called out from behind me, startling me to the point where I thought my heart would stop, but I barely managed to stifle my voice.

I turned around in a hurry…

“Um, sorry for startling you, I…”

“Nee-chan?!”

Now it’s Hayato who’s surprised by the newcomer.

She’s a woman in her early twenties with long, rich blonde hair that was loosely braided into a single strand, swept off her shoulders and hanging down in front of her body.

With a ladylike smile on her face, she spoke to us with a beautiful voice befitting her gorgeous appearance.

She was dressed in a green-toned robe with plenty of lace, like a dress, and an embroidered cape that wasn’t too ornate… If you ask me, she resembled a character from a certain alchemist video game.

…That reminds me, threads pertaining to her in the game forum were often called “Atelier” because of her career as a pharmacist.

Somehow, I felt a great sense of defeat when I looked at her.

I can proudly say that Iris and I are exceptionally beautiful, but it was only possible with our effort and passion that went into refining our avatars over and over…

But this person in front of me was a native of this world. Thus, it’s hard for me to believe that all this appearance is natural.

Seriously, what’s with those legs? Those hips? Those melons?

I was quite the beauty in my old world, but this woman was on another level.

Completely disregarding my inner struggles, the woman in front of me clasped her hands together and came over to me with a relaxed expression.

“…Thank goodness. Both you and Hayato-kun are safe.”

She exhaled deeply as if deeply relieved, checking each of our faces and whether or not we were injured.

I glanced sideways to check on Hayato and saw him looking away embarrassed… I truly sympathized with that. This older sister was simply too poisonous to a boy of his age.

“…Uh, leaving Hayato aside, I don’t think I’ve been introduced to you.”

“Actually, I’m here to talk with you about that… This location is unsuitable, so first let’s move to where we can meet up with everyone else. Please follow me.”

With that, she turned on her heel and began to move, killing the sound of her footsteps… If Hayato called her “Nee-chan”, and her appearance matched that of her game NPC self, she must be Aini-san, the person we were looking for.

And she mentioned “everyone else”. This could probably be Iris and Reiji.

…I see, those two should be safe now.

With this assurance, I breathed a sigh of relief. It seemed that I have no choice but to follow her.

“Ah, Gantz-san?… Yes… I’ve found the other two, they seem to be unharmed… Okay, see you there.”

She was putting her hand over her ear and talking to someone as she went along. Perhaps it’s a magical tool of some kind to talk to people in a faraway place.

Back in the game, it could be rented in towns and were often used to make secret contacts, but in this world, no such store existed.

When I was still traveling with the merchants, I was the first to ask if I could somehow get my hand on such an item because of its usefulness, but I did not receive a favorable response. So why did this woman possess something that wasn’t sold on the market?

…There must be more to this woman than the kind and beautiful lady I once knew back in the game.

Editing/Standardisation: Medicine Melancholy
Original Translation: Medicine Melancholy

Iris

“…ey! Wake up!”

My consciousness slowly resurfaced as someone weakly slapped on my cheeks to wake me up.

So cold.

The feeling of the wet cloth sticking to my entire body was uncomfortable, and I felt as if my body heat and even my strength were being taken away from me every second.

What happened to me…?

The cold made it difficult for me to stay conscious.

Still, as I concentrated on retracing my memory, the events just before gradually came to the forefront of my mind.

The unexpected encounter.

While battling the enemy, the ground below us collapsed, and I jumped after Reiji-san who fell into the hole, then I got hit on the head and my consciousness went dark…

“…Reiji-san?!”

In an instant, my dazed consciousness was awakened, and my body sprang up…

“Argh?!”

“Idiot, don’t move so suddenly!”

The moment I tried to get up, a sharp pain came from my right shoulder and pierced through to the brain’s marrow.

As my vision flickered and greasy sweat ran down my forehead, Reiji-san gently laid my fragile form back down on my knees while looking at me with concern.

I breathed a sigh of relief. Despite everything else, we both managed to survive.

“…You got a dislocated shoulder and probably some torn muscle. You’re lucky I was able to make a sling from the stuff in my bag… Idiot, why do you always overexert yourself like that?”

“…I can say the same thing to you, Reiji-san.”

While enduring the oozing pain, I rebutted Reiji-san’s words with a pout. I quickly realized what I was doing and turned my face away.

“What’s with the ‘I knew you’d pull this crap again’ when I was trying to save your life? Not only did you interrupt me that one time, but you also told me to go back when you were falling to your death because ‘it’s dangerous’! How were you going to survive that fall on your own, Reiji-san?!”

He always chided others, including me, for being reckless, but ignored his own safety all the time.

I raised my voice in frustration, but regret washed over me as soon as I finished. I spoke out of line, didn’t I?

“It’s a good thing there’s water below us.”

Both Reiji-san and I were soaking wet, a true testament to the fact that we happened to fall into a deep pool of water.

I shifted my gaze elsewhere and immediately saw a scene not unlike the underground lake of a limestone cave I had seen once in my old world.

“Yeah, you’re right… Sorry about that.”

Reiji-san bowed his head to me in apology, and any remaining anger I had left was rapidly cooled with guilt.

“…No, it’s me who should apologize for losing my composure like that… You’ve done so much for me during the previous battle, even now you’re taking care of me…”

And he’d always been there for me since the beginning. I was too embarrassed to say that last part, though.

“Actually, how did we fall down here in one piece anyway?”

At the time I lost consciousness, it must have still been quite high in the air, since I couldn’t see anything below. If we had fallen straight down, we wouldn’t have gotten away mostly unharmed even with my “Protection” and the pool of water cushioning our fall.

“Well…”

Reiji-san started recounting what happened after I lost consciousness.

First, the reason I was knocked unconscious was because of debris falling on my head.

Second, the Reactive Shield enchantment of the “Clarte Iris” I was wearing was activated.

And last, Reiji-san quickly held me in his arms, leapt to the wall using a large piece of debris as foothold, jammed his sword into the wall and used it as a brake to slow down the fall, saw the pool of water below, jumped and landed in the water… and somehow carried me to where we were now.

The pool was clear, fresh water now that I looked at it calmly, but there was no way Reiji-san could see whether it’s deep enough to land, or whether it’s even normal water. That was a huge gamble between life and death, to say the least.

“…It’s still incredible even if you say that…”

We were only saved as a result of good luck on top of good luck.

Not to mention, the clothes I was wearing did indeed play a part in protecting me. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have been able to talk about this now.

…Thank you very much, Milly-san.

I inwardly expressed my gratitude to the person making my clothes, who was not present.

“Yeah, totally… I’m getting chills now that I’ve put everything into words… and the sword I usually use is completely trashed.”

I followed his finger pointing to the side and saw Reiji-san’s familiar sword lying there, broken. Half of its body was covered in cracks, and its blade was crushed.

“I already had the feeling that it was about to break when I got hit by that enemy attack up there… and somehow it managed to protect me and you until the very end… I salute you, partner.”

Reiji-san bid farewell to the sword he had been using ever since he came here, perhaps a bit saddened by his attachment to it.

“…Okay, so we’re now freezing and soaking wet all over. We’d better go somewhere that’s safe to light a fire and fix that shoulder of yours while we’re at it.”

“Why not here?”

“…We’re deep inside a mine, and unless you want us to go up in a not-so-pretty explosion, I wouldn’t advise you to light a fire in here. At least it looks like air is getting in, so we shouldn’t be suffocating.”

Yeah that doesn’t sound really pretty.

“I guess we could fly back the way we came…”

Reiji-san immediately shook his head and pointed upward. I turned my gaze toward that direction.

“So beautiful…”

The view was unexpected and spectacular.

I realized that we had been getting by without any lights since we fell down here. When I looked closely at the darkness, I could see that the entire ceiling, and even the floor, was covered with something that emitted a faint blue luminescence.

“It’s like I’m floating in a starry sky. What could this light be?”

“…Magic nullification stones, I’m afraid.”

“?!”

I remembered touching one of those when a peddler in town was selling it. This ambient light, all of it, was from those stones…?

“Iris, can you use magic?”

“Um… ‘Light’”

I chanted the most basic illuminating spell… and it’s as I feared, I got no response at all. In addition, the magic power that should have been flowing through my entire body was gone without a trace.

“It’s no good… I can’t get my wings out either…”

“Guess we’ll have to walk all the way then…”

Reiji-san’s words trailed off toward the end. Now that I think about it, he hadn’t moved from his position since he laid me down on my knees a while ago, could he actually…

“…Are you injured, Reiji-san?”

“Well… let’s just say the landing wasn’t exactly smooth.”

Reiji-san’s left arm was hanging slack, and he had not moved it since a few minutes ago… It’s not hard to imagine that because he was protecting me, he was struck without being able to defend himself.

“…My arm didn’t break or anything, and my legs are still good, aside from a twisted ankle… Don’t worry, I can still walk you out of here.”

“I’m sorry, if only I could be more helpful at this moment.”

“You should be happy that we’re both still alive… Thanks for saving me back there.”

He smiled at me, and I did my best to awkwardly return the smile.

By the way, I thought I felt something strange during the fall. It was like watching someone else moving my own body while I watched from a bird’s eye view, that kind of strange feeling.

What could it be…? It’s a vague memory, like an event in a dream, and it didn’t fit together well when I tried to pick it up.

“…Let’s get going. We can’t keep gawking at the scenery forever.”

With that, Reiji-san stood up and extended his hand to me.

He had a point. Even though we were saved for the time being, the current situation remained quite urgent.

“…I wonder if Nii-sama and Hayato-kun are okay.”

“I trust that Saul is sensible enough to get both of them to safety… I hope.”

“Then we should get back to them as soon as possible.”

I drowned out the anxiety that’s riddling my heart, grabbed Reiji-san’s hand, and put all the strength I could muster to somehow raise my weak legs-

CLANK

From far away, we heard footsteps of someone clad in metal greaves and froze on the spot.

“Quiet… Did you hear that?”

“That isn’t Nii-sama, is it…?”

None of us wore any metal armor when we came here, so this someone… or something, was unknown to us. We were both in no condition to fight properly and tension was running high.

CLANK

The sound of footsteps was getting louder and louder, as the unknown figure approached us without fail.

Reiji-san reached for the dagger strapped to his waist belt.

“Stay still… No matter what happens, I’ll protect you.”

Cold sweat dripping on his forehead, Reiji-san clumsily moved forward to shelter me… his legs clearly didn’t look very good. There’s nothing I can do now that I couldn’t stand up and use magic. I bit my lips in frustration.

As if to ridicule me, the unknown figure finally appeared out of the darkness.

A small humanoid dressed in full body armor.

“Dammit, a goblin?!”

Reiji-san clenched his teeth in rage. With his legs injured and his weapon gone, he was no match for even a normal goblin, let alone a goblin in full armor.

The goblin slowly moved his hands…

…Both hands raised. As if he was trying to tell us he isn’t hostile.

“…Eh?”

“…Huh?”

While we were frozen by the unexpected behavior, the goblin raised the visor of his helmet, revealing a definitely-a-goblin face, and opened his mouth…

“Sorry. Didn’t mean to scare. I’m not hostile. Can you calm down and hear me out?”

The goblin, while a bit broken in his speech, had a baritone, somewhat of a dandy voice.

My brain refused to comprehend what just happened.

“You…”

After a few seconds, my head finally caught up with the situation and began to work again.

Naturally, a voice escaped from both of our throats.

“YOU TALKED?!!!!”

…Uh, actually, it was a scream.

Editing/Standardisation: Medicine Melancholy
Original Translation: Medicine Melancholy

Iris

While recasting the magic from time to time, we proceeded deeper into the tunnel. Once we were in a somewhat open area, we took a short break and dispel everyone’s concealment magic.

“Now that we’ve gotten this far, does anyone realize something’s off?”

“Pardon?”

I tilted my head at Nii-sama’s sudden remark.

“First, the blockade at the entrance is heavily corroded, and from the looks of it, it looks like this tunnel was closed quite some time ago… Yet this place is so clean.”

“Clean, you mean?”

“That’s right, for a place with a collapse warning, there isn’t that much rubble around. Not to mention the pathway…”

“Oh, I see.”

The pathway here felt like it had been stepped on and cleared constantly for frequent human traffic… to the extent that even I didn’t particularly struggle to walk on it.

“Here, come take a look. Iron tools get rusty pretty quick, but the ones lying around here look like they could be used right now.”

Reiji-san unceremoniously pulled out a shovel that was propped up beside him and inspected its cutting edge.

The rust on the shovel, which was sticking out of the ground, seemed awfully thin for a shovel that was supposed to be in contact with the soil for several years.

“If you ask me, I think the blockade is just a dummy to conceal whatever mining operations still going on here… but we can’t sit here and think about it, let’s move on.”

“Okay, then…”

The moment I tried to chant “Sneak” again…

With a booming sound, the wall of the road that we were just about to advance on blew away with a cloud of dust.

“Woah?!”

“Enemy attack?! That’s ridiculous, did it just detect us through the wall?!”

As the two of them quickly prepared themselves, a gigantic figure, perhaps more than two meters in height, appeared from the wall in front of them.

Back in the game, there were four ways the enemies would detect players: sight, hearing, life force detection commonly found in spirits and similar beings, and lastly…

“Magic detection…?!”

“Is that a troll?!”

…Magic detection. As in sensing the activation of magic as the magical power fluctuates.

But such a detection method was only available to magical creatures, not a normal, living organism like a troll!

“Now that we’ve been detected, we have no choice but to run when there’s an opening!”

“On it!”

Reiji-san was the first to get back on his feet and jumped to the frontline with Nii-sama. Meanwhile, a scream resounded behind me.

“Ah… Waaaaaaah?!”

Hayato-kun had used some means to conceal himself and disappeared from the corner of my eye, but that’s okay, as heartless as it may seem, it is more convenient for him to escape first.

“Let me support you! Everyone, full speed ahead!”

I unveiled the light wings on my back, and the inside of the tunnel was brightly illuminated. As I cast magic in rapid succession, the two of them were enveloped in the multicolored light of various support magic.

At any rate, the enemy in front of us… was the same kind as the “thing” we fought in the town before… as the severe headache told me.

Hayato

I ran away. Again.

When I came to my senses, I was running at full speed, leaving everyone behind.

Back there, Nii-chan and the others must be fighting. Even that Princess-neechan, who wasn’t that much taller than me, or even below me in stature.

What the hell am I doing?!

That was just too uncool.

I was the one who asked them to help me find Aini-neechan. I was the one who brought them, who should have nothing to do with this, into danger, so why was I the only one to run away?!

Back when it was still a game, just being exposed as an elementary school student changed the way some people looked at me. In VRMMOs, where the attitude directly bled through, I could see it,  whether I wanted to or not.

The eyes that assumed I was nothing but a nuisance even if I had done nothing wrong.

Eyes of disdain.

Eyes of contempt.

Eyes that constantly looked for mistakes.

And when they found even the slightest flaw, they looked at me with triumphant eyes as if they’ve just hit a jackpot.

I despised those eyes. Those who did worse than I would still look at me as if I was a noob because I was younger than them.

So, not wanting anyone to look down on me, I desperately tried to hone my skills, raise my level and pursue efficiency to not become a loser.

Eventually, people did consider me less of a noob, and I made a name for myself as a young but self-reliant player.

I thought I had become superior. I didn’t care about some lousy adult shaming me for being a kid to cope with the fact that they’d lost to someone younger.

But they couldn’t cope forever if a young boy like me was able to reach “that class” before they did.

Then the game became reality.

No matter how well I did in the game, could I still do it when it’s my new real life?

I couldn’t talk to strangers, couldn’t go shopping alone, and when it came to fighting, I couldn’t even muster the courage to go to the aid of the person important to me.

In the end, it was I who had to cope with the fact that I was nothing but a kid acting cool in a boxed yard where safety was guaranteed.

A kid like me could do nothing.

As always.

…So frustrating.

……I’m sick of it!

“Dammit, dammit, dammit! What the hell am I doing?!”

Did I grind my level for this?

Did I kick everyone else out to get my unique class for this?

I touched the handle of the weapon hidden in my coat. This was no child’s toy. It’s a lethal weapon.

When the town was under assault and I had to hide, the very same red-haired Nii-chan dashed in front of the endangered soldiers and mowed down the enemy horde in the blink of an eye.

I wanted to be like that too.

I’d always had a dream of becoming the hero like the protagonist of mangas and video games.

I can do it…!

“Goddammit! What did they feed this thing?!”

Reiji-san and Saul-niisama were desperately fighting off the enemy troll, but it’s clear that the troll was too powerful even the two of them… We couldn’t hold on forever like this!

“Use the chaff!”

“Got it!”

For caution’s sake, I reached inside my bag for a tube-shaped object.

Magic Disruptor, nicknamed “chaff” by the players. It’s an escape item that scatters flash of light and magic-powered shards to temporarily disable the enemies’ magic detection.

I pulled out the pin and threw the tube over the enemy’s head.

“Cover your eyes!”

As soon as I shouted, I covered my own eyes as well. Those two must have gotten the message, right?!

Instantly, a flash that could be felt even from behind closed eyelids filled the space.

I waited three seconds and opened my eyes to see the enemy troll holding his eyes and writhing in agony as countless shards of rainbow-colored shards fluttered down.

“Alright, let’s go…”

When Nii-sama was about to give the order to retreat…

“Aaaaargh?!”

“What?! Stupid Hayato, turn back!”

Out of thin air, Hayato-kun appeared behind the enemy and swung his previously-concealed weapon half in frenzy… a kodachi.

I could only recognize his slash as a flash of light.

With perfect timing and more than enough energy, Hayato-kun cut through the troll’s supposedly strong muscles and spine without even allowing him to resist.

Assassin-class’s special skill “Assassinate.”

Of all the physical damage skills, this skill boasted the highest multiplier if it caught the enemy off guard.

“I… I did it… I did it! See, fighting’s no big deal after all…!”

As Hayato-kun cheerfully confirmed that he had definitely finished the enemy with a single blow, the troll’s body slowly tilted in front of him, unable to support his huge body now that his back and spine had been severed, and collapsed into his knees.

Such is the power of “Assassinate”.

For the moment, we almost felt relieved. Almost.

Because the enemy was no regular living being to begin with.

The troll’s feet stomped on the earth again with a thud.

“……….Eh?”

In front of the stunned Hayato-kun’s eyes, “crystals” grew out of the troll’s wound and covered the upper half of his huge body like a grotesque breastplate.

“Eek?!”

The enemy turned his gaze on the little shadow that inflicted pain on him… he’s targeting Hayato-kun!

“’Chain Bind’!… Huh, it doesn’t work?! Hayato, run!!”

The troll’s whole body was entangled in Nii-sama’s magical chains, but he didn’t even bat an eye as he ripped them off and headed toward Hayato-kun.

Nii-sama’s skill wasn’t effective enough, and the troll’s bloodshot eyes of anger never left Hayato-kun, who he recognized as the biggest threat.

As if in slow motion, a fist covered with crystals, like a gauntlet, was raised to Hayato-kun’s eyes, who was still frozen by the unimaginable event.

Because he was within my reach, I impulsively pulled the rigid little body and dragged him behind me.

“Nee-chan?!”

Hayato-kun’s eyes widen in astonishment as he sat on his buttocks.

The enemy’s fist was now coming right in front of me. Time seemed to stretch out infinitely as I looked at the fist with a somewhat calm mind, despite it being probably fatal if it hit me cleanly.

It’s fine, though, I was prepared to take at least one hit from this.

I closed my eyes and protected my head in preparation for the impact that will come the next moment.

“Gah?!”

The impact didn’t come; instead, there was Reiji-san’s grunting and the sound of sword clashing.

When I fearfully opened my eyes, I saw his usual back standing there.

“I knew you’re gonna pull this crap again… dumbass!”

The enemy’s fist, raised again, had a dangerous gleam in it. Immediately, I cast a protective spell on both of us.

“’Wide Protection’!”

I felt my wings spreading behind my back.

Magic enveloped our bodies like a protective coating.

“Uooooohhh!!”

The protection was scraped away, but it bought Reiji-san enough time to narrowly parry the troll’s fist.

But the resulting shock from the impact shook the entire tunnel, and the ground beneath our feet cracked… A collapse?!

“Reiji-san?!”

In the blink of an eye, the supposedly thick layer of bedrock completely collapsed, opening a pitch-black hole with no bottom in sight.

While I managed to escape with my wings, Reiji-san, who was at the center of the collapse, had already fallen far down.

He’s going to die.

By the time I came to, I was already flying frantically down to him. Debris from the collapsed tunnel was raining down on me, and I suddenly had the illusion that somehow my body was moving on its own through the slowly flowing space.

A mysterious sensation of myself calmly overlooking my surroundings and frantically moving my body based on this information.

My body, which had been practicing but had not yet been able to fly properly, dodged the falling debris and, like a ray of lightning, caught up with the falling Reiji-san.

“Idiot, stop putting yourself in danger and go back!”

Why is this guy still like this even if he’s falling to his death?

I didn’t give a damn, I just kept flapping my wings and reached for Reiji desperately.

“Screw it! Just grab my hand already, Reiji!”

Even if I was shouting, I felt like I was in a trance or something.

For some reason, Reiji-san, who looked astonished, involuntarily grasped my hand, and at the same time, I clasped his hand with both of mine, flapping my wings to slow his fall.

“Argh…!”

A tremendous load was placed on my shoulders, and I felt a nasty shock coming from the right side. My sense of reality instantly returned.

“Hey, Iris, enough of this! I can figure something out, just let go…”

“NO! I’ll never… absolutely never let go of you…!”

The adrenaline rush dulled my pain, but my body was still shaking profusely and sending out dangerous signals that I am not in proper condition. But I’ll never let go of his hand…!

“…Iris, above you!!”

At Reiji-san’s sudden yell, I looked up, half in a daze…

“Ack?!”

A violent shock through my head…

My body went limp…

My consciousness was swallowed by darkness…

“Iris?! Iris!!…! …?!”

I could no longer hear anything as my consciousness completely sank into darkness…

Editing/Standardisation: Medicine Melancholy
Original Translation: Medicine Melancholy

Iris

Suddenly finding himself alone in another world.

The young boy, having just graduated from elementary school when he was suddenly thrown out on his own, with no one to turn to, no money on his person, and forced to live in the wild, running from monsters and bandits, a situation he had never experienced before.

That’s the story Hayato-kun told us.

“…So, I’m a player, just like you guys. Sorry for deceiving you…”

When Aini-san found him, he was already collapsed due to physical and mental exhaustion.

“I owe Aini-neechan a lot for taking in someone like me… but I can’t even stand up and fight for myself because I’m too afraid… so please, help me find her.”

He bit his lip and hang his head down in shame. When he had finished his story, I couldn’t help but…

“Wha-ack?!”

…I couldn’t help but want to hold him close.

“What was that for?! And why are you crying, Nee-chan?!”

“Because…”

How difficult it must have been for him to be suddenly thrown out of the sheltered environment of family.

As for me… I had to go through some terrible things that still make me shudder just to recall a few, I was soon sheltered by friends I could count on, and I had more people I could trust, so I wasn’t alone in the end.

Yet, the fear of being alone, even for less than half a day, was still etched in my mind.

I just couldn’t believe a child half my age was forced to spend days being alone and vulnerable like that…

“You must have suffered a lot… it must have been painful…”

I gently hugged his little body once more, with his head even lower than my short frame, and after a moment he began to shake his shoulders slightly.

“…I’ll make sure to find your sister and bring her home. I promise.”

I tapped him lightly on the back and muttered, and he gently nodded his head slightly in my chest.

Saul

After calming down, the boy promptly came to my side to avoid Iris.

He looked uncomfortable and stubbornly avoided looking at her, indicating that he was embarrassed that he had cried in a girl’s chest.

“Darn, I lost my composure back there… Hey Nii-chan, she’s the famous player called ‘Princess’ right? I thought she’s supposed to keep a distance from other players or something.”

“Well… she can be touch-starved at times. It isn’t easy having to keep your guard up all day, you know.”

When it was still a game, in order to keep up the “Princess” image among players, we avoided getting to close to people other than us, while behaving as fairly as possible with them.

Of course, it was to conceal the true person inside… Though, that person was kind of gone now.

“…I think it could be that you’re the first younger player she’s met over here.”

For someone constantly seen as a target of protection like her, she probably wanted to be on the protecting side for once when she saw a younger boy…

Though, Iris might think she’s in her 20s, but on the other hand, there is almost no difference between the boy’s mental age and Iris’s external age. It must be hard on the poor fella to be hugged by a girl he thought to be his age.

“Huh? For real? How old is she?”

“Twenty.”

That was actually my age. And Iris was supposed to be my little sister at the moment.

“Wow, so she’s an old auntie… Eep!”

I smiled at the little boy who made the unnecessary comment, and he suddenly paled and fell silent.

Oops, I didn’t know why he was so scared, but whatever. One does not simply call a 20-year-old woman “old auntie”.

Satisfied with the boy’s completely frightened appearance (for some reason), I continued.

“I’m going to talk with her about this later, so don’t worry.”

“I hope so… She really caught me off guard with that one, you know… Seriously, how could a person smell so good…”

The second half of the last part was probably meant to be a monologue, but unfortunately I could hear it. The boy, probably recalling the feeling he had just experienced, turned his completely red face away.

Yep, that must have been poisonous to a still-pure middle-schooler.

I gently put my hand on his shoulder.

“Again… This is strictly a problematic behavior on Iris’ part, so don’t get the wrong idea, okay?”

“…What the hell?! Why are you looking at me so menacingly?!… Stop, it hurts!”

The boy’s shoulder seemed to be creaking, but it must have been my imagination.

“If you dare to lay a hand on her, I think I don’t need to tell you what’s going to happen…”

“ENOUGH!”

“Ack?!”

Suddenly, I felt a light impact on the back of my head. I looked up to see Iris standing nearby with her staff at the ready.

“How could you say such mean things to a young child, Nii-sama you utter fool?!”

Iris, looking clearly outraged, quickly sheltered the boy in her arms to get him away from me…

“Utter fool…”

“Young child…”

Both of us became depressed at what she had just called us.

Iris

“Looks like this is the place.”

Reiji-san murmured.

Spreading before our eyes was a huge tunnel entrance dug out of a cliffside, which must have been quite developed.

Wooden scaffolding was set up in places to allow visitors to descend into the tunnel. This must have been a mining site once. However…

“Weird… I don’t see any enemies.”

The goblins we had expected to see were nowhere to be found. It was eerily quiet around us.

“…It’s daytime, so they may still be wandering around in the tunnels. Everyone, stay sharp. We’re moving in.”

Nii-sama gave a grim reminder. In the worst case, an engagement may become inevitable in a constricted space like a tunnel. Tension lit up everyone’s face.

“By the way, Iris… Can you still ‘sense’ it?”

“…Yes. It’s here, without a doubt.”

My headache had been getting progressively worse since a few minutes ago. The “Wound” was definitely in here somewhere, I’m sure of it.

“I see… Well, hang in there, we’re just here to scout today. Once all the mercenaries are here, we’ll purify it for good, okay?”

“…Yes.”

We had no way of knowing what’s inside. Perhaps there were enemies like the one we encountered in the previous town. In that case, we’d be woefully underprepared for it.

Meanwhile, Hayato-kun, who was crouching down and investigating the footprints that remained from earlier, stood up.

“…Those footsteps apparently lead into that tunnel.”

Hayato-kun, on a hill overlooking the mining camp, tried to track the footprints… which he said was a skill of his class, and pointed to one of the many entrances.

When I checked with my enhanced eyesight using “Eagle Eye,” I found evidence of a blockade with a warning sign that said, “Danger of collapse, no entry”. The chain-and-fence blockade had already been broken, however.

“There’re signs of people coming and going in this place.”

“I see… But how did you do that, was it an exploring-type or stealth-type ability you have?”

“…I’m a stealth-class player. Anyway, we should hurry.”

“Sure. Iris, you ready?”

“Always. Well then, the first rendezvous point is at the bottom of those stairs.”

There was a storage area down those stairs which also served as a shelter from the rain. After specifying its location, I prepared my magic.

Invisibility and noise cancelling magic. The downside was that we couldn’t sense ourselves either. Therefore, if we didn’t decide on a safe area before use, we would lose our way in the worst case.

“I’ll go first. Reiji, take care of Iris for me.”

“Sure thing, I’ve got this… I hope.”

“I’m counting on you, then.”

There’re many places down here whose footing isn’t good, like a suspension bridge. I can only hope this would be a smooth ride.

“Hayato, what about you?”

“I can just follow your footsteps. Worst case, I can manage on my own, don’t worry.”

With that as confirmation, I began to cast magic. We turned invisible with “Sneak”, then our noise was drowned out with “Silent Move”.

My body was lifted up right after, probably because Reiji-san was holding me. I held onto what was probably his sleeve, and the scenery began to flow.

…Our infiltration mission had begun.