Chapter 62

As the magic circle appeared and the view was dyed, the sensation of the ground beneath my feet suddenly disappeared.

Immediately after feeling a sense of floating, I began to fall.

My body was plummeting downward toward some unknown place.

"Ugh!? Aaahh!? "

"Kyaa!"

I felt a strong impact on my back as I hit the ground.

Then, something fell onto my groin, which was not protected by my armor.

It was incredibly painful... What, what just happened?

"Ita... What's going on...?"

"Ahh, ah..."

I couldn't move properly due to the intense pain in my lower body, but I could hear Sisha's voice from above me.

It seemed that she had fallen on top of me.

"Wh-What are you doing, Ohtori!?"

"You were the one who fell, weren't you..."

Realizing that I was underneath her, she jumped off me.

Even though I didn't want to be under her, being asked what I was doing was frustrating...

"Ita... Seriously, give me a break."

"I'm sorry... More importantly, where are we? And where are Noll and the others?"

"Huh?"

I got up and looked around. We were surrounded by green-glowing rock walls, similar to the dungeon.

And there was no one else here except for Sisha and me.

Even after standing up and walking around to search, I couldn't find the others.

"Could it be that Noll and Ester aren't here?"

"It seems we're the only ones here."

"What do we do... Right! Let's place a beacon—wait, I don't have any left!? Then, the escape device... No, that won't work!"

Panicked, I took out my smartphone to try to place a beacon.

I thought that even if the beacons outside couldn't connect, the signal should still reach within the same floor of the dungeon.

However, the last beacon I had was the one I set up at home yesterday, so I didn't have any left.

Next, I tried to use the escape device, but it said it wouldn't work if we were too far apart.

If I used it now, only Sisha and I might be able to escape.

This is bad, really bad. If we continue like this, we'll have to proceed alone, which is incredibly worrying.

What about Noll and the others? If they were sent to a strange place...

"Please calm down, Ohtori. First, we need to stay calm. If the beacon doesn't work, shouldn't we try contacting them with the walkie-talkie?"

"You're right."

Right, we have the walkie-talkie!

Encouraged by Sisha's calm demeanor, I tried to contact Noll using the walkie-talkie function on my smartphone.

"Yes, this is Noll."

After a few rings, Noll's voice came through.

I was relieved to hear that the walkie-talkie worked in the dungeon.

"Great... I'm glad you're safe."

"That's a relief to hear you're safe as well..."

I couldn't see them, but I was relieved to know they were safe.

I switched the call to speaker mode so Sisha could hear.

Noll's voice, which came from the smartphone, sounded slightly relieved as well.

They might have been worried about us not being around.

"Is Ester with you?"

"Yes, she's with me. Is Sisha with you?"

"Yeah, she is."

Before the transfer, Sisha and I were close together, while Noll and the others were a bit behind.

This slight difference might have caused us to be transferred to different locations.

This is just my guess, but it could also be a party-splitting trap.

"So, do you know where you are?"

"No, I don't. Are you in a bright dungeon-like place with green walls?"

"Yeah, that's right. Green walls."

The dungeon has a similar landscape everywhere.

So, just seeing that doesn't confirm we're in the same place.

But I think we are. If I don't, I'll just get more anxious.

"Even though we can't confirm we're in the same place, let's assume we are. We need to meet up."

"Right. I'll move around and search using the map app. If we're within range, I'll contact you. If anything happens, please let me know."

"Understood. Ohtori, please be careful. Sisha, please protect Ohtori."

"Sure, I got it."

With the plan to meet up, we ended the call.

The map app doesn't show a wide area in the dungeon.

Currently, the map shows red dots representing monsters, but only blue dots for Sisha and me.

So, we need to walk around to expand the visible area. If we do, even if we miss each other, we can see them on the map and return to meet up.

"I'm relieved to know they're safe."

"Yeah, I'm glad... But I'm still worried. Can we handle it without our main attackers? I gave them potions, but I hope they're okay."

The main issue is the significant drop in our offensive power.

Also, since we're far apart, I'm not sure if Noll's buffs are still effective. And Ester's physical enhancement is also missing.

While I, with my heavy defense, and Sisha, who can heal, provide stability, we might not be able to handle a large number of enemies.

And can I protect Sisha alone?

"You're right... I think Noll and the others are fine. They have a balanced team with both melee and ranged attackers. We should be more worried about ourselves."

Indeed, I should be more concerned about myself, as Sisha pointed out.

Noll's team has a balanced setup... while ours is more like a monk and a priest.

I need to protect Sisha from attacks.

"So, let's move forward! There's no point in thinking negatively!"

"You're right..."

...There's no point in worrying. We need to move forward positively and aim to meet up with them as soon as possible.

In situations like this, Sisha's enthusiasm is reassuring.

"Since Noll asked me to, I'll do my best to protect Ohtori!"

"Normally, I'd think the opposite..."

Sisha clenched her fists and made a determined pose. She was full of energy.

I thought I would protect her, but it's more convincing and a bit frustrating that she said she would protect me.

●

We've been moving for a while, but Noll and the others still don't appear on the map.

We're currently in a wider area, so we're taking a break after confirming there are no monsters.

I took off my helmet for a breather. Wearing a full-face helmet all the time is tiring, so I sometimes take it off like this.

"Phew, this is taking a long time... How big is this place? Noll and the others don't even show up on the map."

"Yeah... It's still okay because the enemies are weak, but it could have been dangerous if they were strong."

The monsters here are mostly goblins. We've even encountered Red Goblins, but they're not a problem for us now.

Black Goblins have also appeared, but it takes more than one hit from me to defeat them.

When Noll was with us, I could take them down in one hit, so I assume her buffs are not affecting us now.

Our magic stones are increasing even when we're not fighting monsters, so it seems Noll and the others are also progressing and fighting.

Seeing this, I feel relieved that they're safe, but I'm still anxious and uneasy because they're not nearby. I don't know how many times I've sighed.

"Wow, I never thought I'd be alone with Ohtori like this."

"Huh? Ah, yeah. That's right."

Sisha, who was sitting next to me, suddenly said this.

She leaned in and looked at my face.

I felt a bit embarrassed looking directly at her, so I looked away while responding.

She's really beautiful when she's not talking...

"Actually, I've noticed that you don't really look at my face when we talk."

"Huh!? No, I don't think that's true..."

"Really? Then let's look at each other. Okay, stare."

"Whoa!? Wait, you're too close!"

My face was held in place by her hands, preventing me from looking away.

She looked at me with a smile from a very close distance, where I could hear her breath.

I tried to move my head to escape, but it felt like I was clamped in place and couldn't move at all.

Even trying to grab the rocks and move my body didn't help.

What's going on? Why is she doing this!?

"Whoa!?"

"Ohtori, you're still the same as always."

"Ouch... What are you doing! And what do you mean by 'still the same'?"

As I tried to move backward, Sisha released her hands at the perfect moment, causing me to hit the wall behind me.

Sisha, who was still in front of me, was smiling.

"Your reactions are so fresh and innocent. Seeing you flustered and embarrassed makes you seem cute, and I want to tease you more. Your reaction when we first met was the best."

You're the worst! You're the worst person ever! You were just enjoying watching me...

I always thought you were looking at me with a smirk, but I didn't realize you were thinking this.

And calling me cute... That's creepy. At least call me cool...

"You... have a good personality."

"I don't want to hear that from you, Ohtori, who stared at my chest when we first met."

"What!? ...Because... it was... visible..."

"Hehe, I'm showing it to you."

Oh no, she noticed I was looking at her chest... And I often caught glimpses of it.

Was she showing it on purpose? Seriously, was I being toyed with?

"Alright, let's stop joking around and move on. We need to meet up with Noll and the others quickly."

"Ah, yeah..."

After a small laugh, Sisha stood up and offered me her hand. I took it and got up.

Feeling a bit confused, I decided to move forward with her.

Somehow, the heavy feeling in my chest felt a bit lighter.