Chapter 24

"Monsters are coming!!"

As the voice rose, the self-defense group surrounding the barricade simultaneously raised their weapons.

The weapons—some held long swords or bows.

But most of the self-defense group held shovels.

The self-defense group is not a specialist in monster defense.

They are a group that protects their hometown and deals with all kinds of disasters.

Sometimes they face landslides, and other times they transport sandbags for flood control.

The main tool they use for disaster response is the shovel.

The shovel, in a sense, is their primary weapon.

While looking at the self-defense group with their shovels raised, Hiren calmly assessed the situation.

The monsters that appeared from the dungeon were just Geji-Geji and tanuki.

If it's just Geji-Geji, they should be able to handle them without any problem.

The tanuki might take a bit more effort.

But after observing their movements, it seemed there wouldn't be any issues.

Hiren's imagination had underestimated the combat power of the self-defense group.

With two or three people working together, even the swift tanuki would be no match.

For now, Hiren decided to focus on the monsters that had already broken through their defense line.

However, outside the dungeon, Hiren couldn't use magic.

Her level was steadily increasing, but attacking with a staff still felt unreliable.

Hiren had been relying heavily on magic lately.

She should have trained to fight with a staff, anticipating this situation.

But there was no point in regretting it now.

The stampede had already begun.

Still, only Geji-Geji and tanuki were appearing from the dungeon.

What about the onion monsters on the second floor?

Had they been eaten before they could come here?

While thinking about this, Hiren watched the monsters appear.

"Strange..."

She noticed this about five minutes after the monsters appeared.

A stampede is like a parade of monsters coming out into the real world.

Yet, the number of monsters coming out of the dungeon was unusually low.

There were the self-defense group and even some townspeople gathered here.

Given the number of people, it was clear that the situation was like a conveyor belt sushi restaurant where everyone was waiting for the monsters to appear, which was obviously wrong.

A monster parade shouldn't be like this...

A sea of red eyes.

Monsters filling the passage.

The stampede Hiren had seen was much larger than this.

"Could it be that Aozora is...?"

It's possible that he's thinning out the monsters along the way.

But how?

Given his low presence, he might be able to attack the monsters without them noticing.

But it's unlikely he could reduce a group as large as a monster parade by half.

What could have happened?

Could the main body be coming soon?

While Hiren was pondering, the self-defense group started to be pushed back.

The cause was fatigue.

Though the defense group trains daily, this was an unfamiliar stampede.

The sustained tension, different from a regular disaster, quickly drained their stamina.

One by one, they were injured and had to retreat.

With fewer people fighting, they were being pushed back by the few monsters.

Straining to hold their ground further drained their stamina and caused more injuries.

A negative cycle was starting to form in the defense line.

Hiren quickly reached into her bag.

She put her hand into the mouth of the magic bag inside and felt around for the healing ointment.

She had received the magic bag from Seiki, so it wasn't unusual for her to have it.

It was a kind of camouflage.

But if she kept taking out healing ointment from the small pouch, the camouflage would be meaningless.

If she were to steal something she was trusted with, Hiren would never regain trust.

Even in an emergency, Hiren carefully and meticulously took out the ointment.

She ran to the injured and tried to apply the ointment to the painful-looking wounds.

"Hey, you... um, Air. Don't touch the wounds with your bare hands."

Something hit her face.

It was a rubber glove, thrown by Shion, a store clerk she often dealt with.

"What are you...?"

"You know, if you apply ointment with bare hands, bacteria might get into the wound. And if you touch other injured people's wounds with those hands, you could spread infections."

Indeed, her argument was sound.

When treating the injured, infection control is essential.

If Hiren carelessly touched the wounds and caused a serious infection like hepatitis, she wouldn't be able to take responsibility.

She understood the logic.

But a negative emotion welled up from the bottom of her heart.

"You're right. But, are you the one to say that? If you had joined the defense line, they might not have been injured!"

"...I don't know what you're talking about."

"Don't play dumb! I know you have an adventurer's license but work in a store—"

"Shh!"

Shion put her finger to her lips and narrowed her eyes.

Just that made Hiren lose her words.

It wasn't a killing intent.

Some unknown intensity made Hiren's body stiffen.

"If you have time to chat, treat the injured."

With that, she threw a box of rubber gloves to Hiren as if nothing had happened.

These were the gloves she used for her work.

Hiren had seen her wear them before.

They were disposable, so they were perfect for infection control.

"...Why don't you fight with us?"

"I'm busy protecting the store. It's annoying to have the store right in front of the dungeon. Oh, scary, scary."

She crossed her arms behind her head, indicating she wouldn't help at all.

"..."

There were so many things Hiren wanted to say to her. So many questions.

But now, she couldn't say anything.

She had no right to speak.

Hiren was a bottom-tier adventurer.

If she couldn't accompany Seiki or use magic, she was just a useless piece of trash.

Knowing this, Hiren bit her lip tightly.

The more she wanted to do something, the more she would inconvenience others.

The more she tried to act independently, the more she would rely on others.

Someone like her had no right to say anything to Shion.

The fact that she couldn't do anything,

The fact that she kept causing trouble,

The fact that she was powerless,

Made her feel incredibly frustrated...

Hiren bit her lip tightly and continued to apply ointment to the injured team members.

This was all she could do now.

This was all she could contribute.

She deeply engraved this reality in her heart.

To never forget today.

To never experience this feeling again.

The team members with minor injuries would be able to return to the battle soon.

But those with severe injuries might have a harder time.

Those with broken bones couldn't be treated with ointment.

While treating the injuries, Hiren felt frustrated.

If she had more power.

If she had more medicines in her bag...

She could save the people suffering from injuries!!

"Miss."

A middle-aged male team member, reading the distress on Hiren's face, smiled and spoke.

"You're doing a great job. It's our role to fight and get injured in place of civilians. So don't feel bad. If you really feel bad—"

His expression turned serious.

"—get stronger by the next stampede."

His words weren't just for Hiren.

He was also frustrated.

Frustrated that he had been injured and had to leave the battle.

So this was a resolution.

If they faced such a situation again, they would become stronger.

They would gain the power to protect others without anyone getting hurt!

Hiren nodded firmly.

To get injured, to be covered in blood, to risk her life.

Because she was an adventurer!

"—?!"

At that moment, the air trembled.

It was a scream or a cry.

Hiren turned to the source of the sound.

In that instant, the team member who had been sitting next to her disappeared.

"Uooooooh!!"

He had taken his weapon—a shovel—and charged at the monster.

In front of the monster was a small child with a backpack.

Why was the child here!

She tried to gather her magic reflexively, but it didn't work.

This was outside the dungeon.

Magic wouldn't activate.

While Hiren was struggling, the team member raised his shovel.

But the distance to the monster was too far.

He wouldn't make it in time.

The boy, slashed by the Black Raccoon, would be left in a gruesome state.

Just as Hiren was about to look away from the imagined scene—

"—Here!"

The head of the Black Raccoon was embedded deeply into the ground.

The attacker wasn't the middle-aged team member.

It wasn't Hiren either.

It was Shion.

Shion, who had been relaxing in front of the prefab, had moved to this spot, about 20 meters away, in an instant.

Hiren didn't see her move or attack.

How powerful was she...

"Are you okay? Are you hurt?"

"Y... Yes..."

The boy, expecting to be scolded, flinched when Shion reached out.

But as her hand touched him, he gradually relaxed.

"What are you doing!?"

The middle-aged man, who had run to save the boy, suddenly shouted.

His intense voice tightened the tension on the battlefield.

"Sorry! We were busy here..."

"I don't want to hear that! Why didn't you save the child! Are you even part of the K-town Self-Defense Group!?"

"..."

Why did they overlook the monster slipping past them?

Why didn't they protect the child with their lives?

The team members froze at his words.

Hiren clutched her chest.

His anger included his own frustration.

If Shion hadn't been there, the boy would have definitely died.

She couldn't do anything with her own power.

Instead of rejoicing in her luck, he was lamenting his own weakness.

His words resonated with her, making Hiren's chest feel heavy.

"Pull yourselves together! Don't let a single monster pass the defense line from now on!!"

"Ha!!"

The team members responded in unison.

Their voices were so intense that even Hiren felt a sense of determination.

The middle-aged man, who had a stern expression, took the boy from Shion.

He sat down and smiled warmly.

"What are you doing here, kid?"

"Um... I... I was going to school..."

"Oh, right, it's school time!"

He laughed heartily and patted the boy's head.

You did nothing wrong. So don't worry.

The boy's tension eased slightly at his reassuring attitude.

"Thank you..."

"You're welcome. It's our job to protect everyone."

He patted the boy's head again.

The fear was gone from the boy's eyes.

Instead, there was a look of admiration for Shion and the man.

Hiren understood the boy's feelings very well.

She was also one of those who had been saved.

Heroes who save you are always the coolest.

It's natural to admire them and want to be like them.

"Hey, someone take this kid to school!"

"Ha! I will!"

The team member with a broken bone, who had left the battle, moved nimbly to escort the boy.

The one who saved the boy was already sitting on the stairs of the prefab.

She dangled her legs and waved at the boy, completely relaxed.

I thought I had a better opinion of her...

Hiren was taken aback by her nonchalant attitude.

The middle-aged man seemed to feel the same way, smiling wryly at Shion.

But his face quickly twisted in pain.

His injuries might have worsened from the earlier attack.

Hiren hurriedly applied ointment to his wounds.

He complained, "Ouch, ouch," like a puppy being playfully bitten.

"Is it good that the kid is being taken to school?"

"It's safer for him to be at school than at home. But... we need to review our information dissemination during a stampede. It was probably difficult to spread the information early in the morning."

Indeed, if emergency information had been disseminated, the child wouldn't have been in this area.

Or he might have been at home with his parents.

"Truly, we have a lot of work to do. But first, we need to get through today."

"Wait! Your injuries are still—"

"I'm fine. An old man is working harder than me."

He pointed with his thumb and smiled wryly.

In one corner of the defense, an old man in a tank top was still swinging his farming tools, maintaining the line.

Shion cheering for the old man.

The old man responding with a thumbs-up to Shion's cheers.

...I remember, those two knew each other.

"We can't lose, can we?"

"Hehe..."

"Don't underestimate me! I won't lose to the young ones!!"

The old man, hearing from this distance, glared at the middle-aged man with bloodshot eyes.

Even the middle-aged man couldn't help but smile wryly.

"Truly, he's a strong old man. So, I'll leave the rear support to you. Maintaining the front line depends on your healing skills. Keep it up!"

"Ha!"