Chapter 10

### Main Characters

- **Takayama Aruto** (Male, Protagonist, Class's Only Rank E)

- **Ishikawa** (Female, Talkative, Rank D)

- **Nagano-san** (Female, No Distinctive Features, Nice Person, Rank D)

- **Kagawa-chan** (Female, Lolita, Rank D)

- **Lily** (Female, Thief, Daughter of the Adventurer Guild Leader, Deputy Guild Leader)

- **Mohican Muscles** (Male, Adventurer Guild Leader)

### Scene

Lily was greatly shaken when she saw Takayama collapse on the floor, foaming at the mouth.

There was no doubt that Lily had attacked him seriously.

But, she never expected that after being pushed away, he would hit his head on the wall and end up in such an accident.

Moreover, his face was covered in blood, and his leg was clearly broken.

Was it because he hit the wall when he fell?

I never thought that acting serious would lead to this!

I regret my mistake.

Lily deeply regretted acting casually and causing an accident with an amateur.

"Why did it end up like this!? Are you hiding your true strength, like a hero!?"

Lily's face turned pale, and she started crying, her face a mess.

She was overwhelmed by the sense of having done something terrible and the regret.

***

I watched Lily cry in front of me and regretted my mistake.

I messed up.

To put it simply, I overdid it.

A stumble and fall would have been enough.

A sprained ankle would have been enough.

But I ended up falling, breaking my leg, hitting my head on the wall, and foaming at the mouth, covered in blood.

I went a bit overboard.

But it's done now!

There's no going back!

If I'm going to do this, I have to commit to it fully!

After dealing with the situation, I'll pretend to faint.

"System!"

"What is it, hero?"

"I need you to monitor my delayed recovery treatment and life support. If any abnormal values appear, boost all my stats to full recovery and wake me up."

"Understood."

"Also, I'm going to sleep now. Reduce my blood flow by half to make my face look pale, and put me in a faint. Wake me up after about half a day, once my treatment is complete."

"Understood. I have set the conditions as you requested."

I'll just leave it to fate. The fainting state induced by the system was taking effect, and my consciousness was fading.

I let my consciousness fall into the dark and went to sleep.

***

What should I do?

What should I do?

Lily was in a panic.

"I seriously injured him! What should I do!"

Cold sweat poured down Lily's face.

"What's going on with this kid! He didn't even flinch at my dagger! Why did he fall so dramatically, break his leg, and hit his head on the wall and faint? He won't become a vegetable or die, right? If that happens, I'll be charged with assault! I need to get back to the guild and bring a priest to heal him with magic... but don't die until then!"

If Takayama had any real strength, he should have easily avoided such a simple attack.

This adventurer, Takayama, was clearly strange.

Despite being a Rank F adventurer, he didn't even carry a dagger and smiled as he dodged Lily's attacks.

Even when dodging, he should have at least used a weapon to deflect the attacks.

But he dodged with just his body movements, and he did it with a smile.

At first, Lily was holding back, but she soon started attacking seriously.

Even a B-rank adventurer, boosted by equipment and skills to three times the speed and accuracy of a normal thief, would have struggled to dodge Lily's attacks.

Takayama dodged them effortlessly.

It was clearly strange.

Lily had never fought anyone like this before.

It was more than strange; it was terrifying.

"It feels like I'm fighting some bottomless monster."

She felt she should have stopped the match before it got this far.

"I understand your strength, so let's stop here."

She was about to call a truce when it happened.

During the fight, Takayama suddenly took one of Lily's attacks.

No, it looked like he deliberately walked into it.

His footwork, which had been effortlessly dodging Lily's proud dagger attacks, was clearly strange when he took the hit.

Moreover, he avoided the blade and took it on his elbow.

Then she saw it.

Takayama's eyes right before her attack hit.

The sharp, intense gaze in his eyes, which had been smiling all along.

"You could kill me anytime."

That's what his eyes said.

Lily was terrified by that gaze.

It was a look filled with killing intent.

The eyes of a beast hunting its prey.

A fear she had never experienced since starting her life as a thief at the age of twelve and now at eighteen.

Eyes that seemed to house a demon within.

Her spine froze.

When she realized it, Takayama had fallen and hit his head on the wall.

He didn't wake up no matter how much she shook him.

At that moment, Lily realized what she had done.

"I did something terrible."

***

When I came to, I was in the infirmary.

It was probably the infirmary of the adventurer guild.

I had come to the guild early in the morning, but the sunset outside the window was a deep red.

It seemed a considerable amount of time had passed since I broke my leg.

As planned, I had been unconscious for about half a day, thanks to the system.

I learned the details from the system.

A priest from the guild had come to treat my injuries and had me transported to the infirmary, where they used magic to heal my external wounds, and I had been lying in bed ever since.

Lily was in a state of great confusion when she saw me not waking up despite being healed.

Ishikawa, Nagano-san, and Kagawa-chan had been taking care of me in this room until just a moment ago, but since it was getting dark, they had been taken back to the grand temple by Mohican Muscles.

Lily was the only one left in the room.

When I opened my eyes, Lily, who had been sitting by my bed, stood up.

Her worried face turned into a smile, and then she started crying, tears streaming down her face.

She has quite expressive emotions.

As soon as she realized I was awake, she started talking to me in a rush.

"I'm so glad! You finally woke up! Even though you were healed, you didn't wake up, and your face was so pale. I thought you might never wake up. I was really worried. But I'm so glad you're awake. And I'm sorry. I'm really sorry for what I did."

"Where am I?"

"In the guild's infirmary."

"Infirmary? Why am I here?"

"My attack hit you, and you fell. I'm really sorry."

She spoke with a look of regret, and I exaggerated my surprise.

I'm not an actor, so my performance was quite fake, but I didn't care.

"Oh, I remember, I remember! I missed dodging the attack and fell."

"I'm really sorry. It was supposed to be a test, but I ended up breaking your leg. I'm really sorry. I'll do anything to make it up to you. Please forgive me."

"Anything?"

"Anything! If this injury prevents you from being a hero or an adventurer, I'll take responsibility and become your wife and support you for life. If you never want to see my face again, I'll give you enough money to live on for the rest of your life!"

I don't quite understand, but is this cute girl going to become my wife?

That's great.

That's wonderful!

If so, I'll pretend to be sick for life and make her my wife...

Mwahaha.

I'll bury my face in those small breasts and do all sorts of things!

I'll cuddle them to my heart's content!

Mwahaha.

But I'll just leave it at a fantasy.

While the idea of marrying this girl is very tempting, it's not a good idea.

If I suddenly marry such a cute girl, the daughter of the adventurer guild, I'll definitely stand out.

People will come to investigate, and from the fact that "Lily was terrified of me," my true strength and the fact that I'm the real hero might be revealed.

If that happens, I'll end up in a bad ending where I'm locked away.

Oh well.

I should give up on marriage and create a debt of gratitude instead.

Or maybe get some compensation.

By the way, the girls seem to be hungry, so I'll treat them to a meal.

That's what I'll do.

I started talking to Lily to get her to agree to the compensation.

"My leg and head still hurt, but it's not a serious injury. For an adventurer, this kind of injury is a daily occurrence. Since I've been treated, it seems I'll be fine, so don't worry about it."

"Is it really okay!?"

"But I have a request."

"A request? I'll do anything!"

"Since I can't take on quests for a while due to my injury, I'll be in financial trouble. I think it will cause a lot of trouble for the girls in my party."

"You're right. I'm sorry."

"So, as an apology, I'd like you to treat the girls in my party to a meal at the guild's tavern. Is that okay?"

"Is that all? I can treat you to meals for the entire training period, as long as we're in the city. You and I, too."

"Thank you. I appreciate it."

I secured the promise of a meal.

I reported the meal arrangement to the girls when we returned to the room.

When they heard this, Ishikawa, Nagano-san, and Kagawa-chan were overjoyed, tears streaming down their faces at the thought of delicious food.

While I didn't create a debt of gratitude with Lily, I did create a significant debt with the hungry girls.

This is what they call a silver lining.