Chapter 39

"Hey, Kuren, why did Ooi So faint?"

At the sudden scream and subsequent fainting of Ooi So, Seiki was utterly perplexed.

"I think it's because of Aohoshi-san."

"Me!?"

Seiki's eyes widened, but upon reflection, he thought it made sense.

They had been tense inside the dungeon all this time.

Even though it was for rescue, appearing suddenly without a word must have startled her reflexively.

"Alright, Kuren, give me a potion."

There were no life-threatening injuries, but her left ankle was pointing in an odd direction.

It was a severe fracture.

She wouldn't be able to walk like this.

Seiki took the expensive potion from Kuren and slowly let Ooi So drink it.

She must have been very thirsty.

Unconsciously, Ooi So swallowed the potion.

After making her drink all of it, Seiki immediately placed his hands on her ankle.

"Alright, here we go."

"Ugh... Ugh!"

The sharp movement of her broken ankle made Ooi So, who had been unconscious, groan loudly.

"What are you doing, Aohoshi-san!?"

"If I set the bone while it's broken, she won't be able to walk properly. Even with a powerful recovery potion, it won't return to its natural state."

If Seiki didn't intervene, her ankle would heal in a twisted position.

If that happened, she wouldn't be able to walk even after healing.

They would have to break the bone again and reset it.

Seiki's hands, pressing the ankle in the correct direction, felt the internal movement and heat as the healing progressed rapidly.

"Sure enough, it's a high-quality recovery potion..."

It was good that the injury healed quickly, but he hoped there wouldn't be any dangerous side effects...

After a while, the internal movement in her leg subsided, and the heat gradually dissipated.

About twenty minutes later, Ooi So finally regained consciousness.

"Ah!"

She fainted again.

"Hey..."

"Ugh!?"

Seiki slapped her to wake her up.

"Aohoshi-san, that's terrible..."

"No, if she faints, we can't move."

Seiki and his team were barely managing in terms of combat strength.

They could carry the unconscious Ooi So, but if they were attacked by monsters, they would be in trouble.

"...Ugh, ugh..."

"Are you awake?"

"Ah?!?"

"Don't faint!"

He slapped her again, barely preventing her from fainting.

"Are you Ooi So?"

"Y-Yes, but what are you going to do to me—could it be, you're going to do those kinds of things, even though you're a demon!? ...Ugh! Kill me!!"

"Sorry to interrupt your excitement, but we need to get going."

Perhaps the potion had also restored her energy, as her mood had swung to an extreme.

...Could this be a side effect?

"I'm Seiki. This is Kuren. We came to rescue you on a request."

"...A request?"

"Yes. A member of Ichibei is waiting for you to return."

"---!"

Seiki's words made it clear who the client was.

Ooi So stopped breathing, and tears slowly welled up in her eyes.

"Can you stand?"

"My leg... huh? It's healed?"

"It should be. Can you stand?"

"Yes... Yes! I think I can walk."

Ooi So tentatively stood up and, realizing there was no pain, nodded repeatedly with wide eyes.

"To think you would heal my leg. I don't know how to thank you..."

"Thank the company. I just bought the potion with the client's money."

"I see. But thank you for preparing it."

"......Let's go."

Seiki's skin crawled at her polite gratitude.

He turned on his heel and headed for the gate on the 8th floor.

Ooi So's injuries were healed, but her stamina was still low.

Their movement speed was clearly slower than before.

The Slime Eels would help.

Still, Seiki was on edge.

Rescuing someone is more dangerous after the rescue than during the search, especially in a dungeon.

Seiki was cautious, fully activating his detection abilities.

In contrast to Seiki's tension, the monsters fled as soon as they saw the Eels.

They must really hate these Eels.

It was as if they had a deep-seated trauma.

Thanks to Seiki swinging the Eels with both hands, no monsters attacked them until they reached the gate.

"...Phew. We just need to go up the gate now."

Seiki relaxed slightly upon confirming the small room with the gate and seeing no monsters.

At that moment,

"---Cough!"

"What!?"

Kuren's breath and Ooi So's urgent voice echoed.

Seiki immediately turned around.

There—

"Long time no see, Kuren."

The team that had abandoned Kuren was there.

Lars was in a stance to strike with his greatsword.

In front of him, Kuren, whose robe's back was stained red.

Shifuku glared down at Kuren with eyes full of hatred.

"Finally, you showed up. It was worth waiting for."

Ignoring his greeting, Seiki reached for his dagger.

"---Whoa, don't move?"

Shifuku grinned, his thumb up.

At the tip of his thumb, Haria was already nocking an arrow.

If he moved, the arrow would definitely fly.

If it was aimed at Seiki, he could dodge.

But the arrow was aimed at Kuren.

Damn!

Seiki had no choice but to stop moving.

"Ooi So has been quite helpful. I didn't expect her to go gather materials herself, but it worked out well."

"...Huh?"

"Don't use that material shop, got it? When I mention Masatsugu's name, everyone listens. Masatsugu-sama is the one who keeps us close!"

"......You mean, the recent drastic decrease in material purchases!?"

"Too little, too late!"

Shifuku and Lars burst into a dirty, derisive laugh.

In contrast, Haria only twisted her lips, not letting her guard down for a moment.

There was no opening.

"You, using Masatsugu's name for such things—!!"

Despite the greatsword pointed at her, Ooi So couldn't help but get angry.

It wasn't because they had schemed to stop materials from being delivered to her shop.

It was because they were misusing the most famous name, Masatsugu.

Masatsugu, a top-ranker on 'Narou,' is not just an adventurer. He is now a figure carrying the hopes of Japan.

The idea of tarnishing Masatsugu's reputation was unbearable to Ooi So.

While Kawanoe sponsors Masatsugu, Ichibei also has fans of his.

Many believe he will rid Japan of the dungeon.

To use such a man's name just to pressure adventurers!

"You're so bold. But you only got lost after setting a wounded Silver Wolf and its owner on other adventurers."

"---!"

"Originally, I thought the request to gather materials would go to Aohoshi. Since there are limited people who can hunt on the 8th floor, I told everyone not to take Ooi So's request. When the materials became scarce, the request would eventually go to Aohoshi. After all, Yuzuki is close to Aohoshi."

Indeed, Ooi So nodded inwardly.

Yuzuki, younger and with less experience at the company, had outstanding performance.

She was a well-liked employee among adventurers.

Despite her brusque and rough attitude, she paid attention to the details of her work.

Naturally, she knew Ooi So wanted Silver Wolf materials.

She had tried multiple times to transfer Silver Wolf materials from K-town to Ooi So.

But Ooi So had refused, clinging to her petty pride.

She could handle it herself! ...

Of course, Ooi So deeply regretted this.

If she hadn't prioritized her pride, she wouldn't have gotten lost.

If she had accepted the material transfer, she might have prevented their petty schemes.

Now, Ooi So felt ashamed and pitiful, unable to stop her body from trembling.

"......Do you think you'll be forgiven for this?"

"Who's going to forgive us? We didn't do anything wrong?"

"What nonsense! If it's discovered that you intentionally injured a monster and set it on other adventurers, it won't just be the revocation of your adventurer licenses!"

"What? Why do you think you can leave the dungeon?"

"---!"

This guy is crazy!

Ooi So was overwhelmed by the shield user's murderous intent and madness.

"Hey, Shifuku. Why not take care of these two while we're at it?"

"Lars, you're always thinking about that. Sure, why not. Oh! Ooi So is old, but is that okay?"

"...It's a matter of preference."

"Then Ooi So is for Haria. I'll take Kuren, 18 years old, and have a quiet night with her! Oh, Kuren, are you a virgin? You are, right? I want to make you taste a man and make you unable to live without my greatsword!"

"Your weapon is a dagger, you pervert!"

"Shut up, sheathed knife!"

Kekeke, kekeke.

The men laughed with dirty words.

Disgusting.

The worst.

It made her feel sick, beyond anger.

To think adventurers, who are supposed to save the land, people, and future of Japan, could be so despicable...

Ooi So still couldn't believe their words.

She wanted to think it was a joke.

But it wasn't a misunderstanding or a joke.

Their eyes were serious.

Adventurers gain power by defeating monsters.

That power is the same as speech, politics, and money.

It is a force with coercive power—power, in other words, authority.

When someone gains great power easily, they can easily become twisted.

Just as a senior at a company guides a junior, correcting twisted adventurers is also the duty of adventurers, like Masatsugu.

Most adventurers learn from painful experiences, looking up to their seniors, and gradually control the magic of power.

But occasionally, there are adventurers like Shifuku who remain possessed by the magic.

Ooi So was witnessing such a possessed adventurer for the first time.

Their madness made her shudder.

Kata, kata, kata.

"......?"

Feeling a strange sound that wasn't her own trembling, Ooi So furrowed her brow.

"Then, I'll quickly kill the real dagger guy—!"

The greatsword user, noticing Kuren regaining consciousness, kicked her jaw hard.

The impact made Kuren's eyes roll back.

Terrible!

Ooi So was speechless at the sight.

But she quickly regained her composure.

She would take the best action possible in this situation!

She wouldn't let these guys have their way!

"Seiki, run and call the special police—huh?"

Turning to call out, Ooi So found no sign of Seiki.

He was closest to the gate.

Perhaps he had already escaped upstairs?

Abandoning his teammates and running away!

Are all adventurers like this?!

Anger surged in Ooi So's mind for a moment.

But that action wasn't wrong.

He must have gone to call the special police.

If this story gets out, someone will definitely come to help.

Many good adventurers will intervene to stop their foolish actions.

So she just needed to wait and believe.

"Hey, Aohoshi is gone!?"

"When did he—!"

In contrast to Ooi So's calm, the shield team was in an uproar.

Indeed, Seiki had vanished in the blink of an eye.

If he went to seek help on the surface,

the special police, trained in the dungeon, would likely come to arrest Shifuku and his team.

"Damn! Always, always! Hey, let's feed these women to the monsters!"

"Hey, what about the sex? My greatsword is already ready!"

"Pervert! We need to destroy the evidence before the police come! Then we'll say he lied."

"...Alright, can't be helped. I'll use my greatsword in Susukino, then."

Lars casually raised his greatsword.

But he wasn't careless.

Shifuku and his team, who mainly operated on the 8th and 9th floors, were rumored to be approaching the middle layers.

They had different experiences from Seiki, Kuren, and Ooi So.

They wouldn't make the rookie mistake of being careless when taking a life.

One critical hit could split a body in two.

The blade was aimed at Ooi So.

"Farewell, my love hole!"

The greatsword was swung down.

At that moment,

"---What!?"

"---Huh!?"

The ground shook violently.

Lars's strength in the greatsword wavered slightly.

In that instant,

---Squeal!!

A high-pitched sound, and the greatsword was blocked by something invisible.

"Ugh! Ooi So, run with Kuren!!"

"---Who!?"

"Run, now!"

The voice was heard, but the figure was not seen.

But Ooi So knew who it was.

It must be Seiki.

He had come to help!

Ooi So immediately moved, supporting Kuren's arm and heading for the gate.

"Not a chance!!"

Panicked, Shifuku slashed at their backs with his longsword.

But,

"Stay still. You'll die."

Shifuku stopped, feeling the cold intent of death at his throat.

But he didn't flinch.

"Kill her, Haria!!"

As Shifuku shouted, Haria fired an arrow.

But the arrow was shattered by something that flew in from the side.

"What...?"

Their coordinated attacks were thwarted one by one.

While Shifuku and his team were stunned, Ooi So and Kuren disappeared through the gate.

Masked Man has been upgraded.

Seiki is... yeah.

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