“Ah, over there!”
I rushed to the 244th underground floor,
where Shikada- was trembling on a rocky cliff!
Giant deer monsters, runaway mooses, were climbing up from below,
stacking on top of each other and about to reach Shikada-‘s location!
“Ooooh, you bastards!!!”
I fought the vicious deer with an uncharacteristic burst of passion!
There were about fifty of them. Since I was alone, it took time, but I managed to wipe them all out.
“Hoo, hoo, hoo.”
“Ah, aah, th-thank you.”
Shikada-, her face streaked with tears, collapsed.
“Wait for me, I’ll save you right away.”
I climbed the cliff and finally reached her, but I was out of stamina.
Exhausted, I hugged her tightly, and she started crying uncontrollably, burying herself in my chest…
“Calm down, calm down.”
“I’m sorry, I’m so sorry.”
“I-It hurts… Huh? It hurts?!”
I looked down and saw a sharp knife embedded in my chest!
“Wh-What is this!”
I instinctively pushed her away, and Shikada- almost fell off the other side!
I pulled out the knife, and blood spurted out! …But.
“Ugh, yes, I’m okay, it’s healing.”
(Thanks to the Hero Magic Skill, Auto-Resurrection.)
It was a skill learned at level seventy-five that automatically resurrects you when you’re about to die…
It might take a while before I can use it again, but I’m glad it activated.
“The pain is gone… Ah, Shikada-!”
“Huh? Wh-Why are you alive…?”
This knife, it’s called an instant-death knife.
Ah, it disappeared, engulfed in light! It was clearly a weapon prepared by Korome.
A high-class item that disappears after one use. They even used something like this!
“Shikada-, why would you do this?”
The other side, where she almost fell, had no bottom.
Falling into such a dark valley would be fatal.
I’m truly glad Shikada- didn’t fall, and I hugged her.
“I’m sorry, I’m sooooo sorry!!”
“It’s alright, it’s alright. It’s dangerous. I really have no stamina left, you know.”
“Um, well, I was ordered to, and that’s why…”
She was sobbing.
I needed to calm her down.
“I have the slave release documents now, so I can take off that collar.”
“It’s not that, it’s not…”
“Huh? What do you mean?”
“My Mother, my Mother’s illness worsened again, and then, Korome-san said that if I killed Deles, she would completely cure her with Elixir this time!”
“Huh? With Elixir? No way.”
One slave for an Elixir is too unbalanced.
“You’re being deceived.”
“But, but, but!”
“Anyway, let’s go see how your Mother is doing, Shikada-…”
Shikada- pushed me away from her chest!
“Wh-What is it, Shikada-?!”
“I have no choice but to do this, I-I-I’m sooooo sooooooorryyyyyyyy!”
“Ehh, e-ehhhhhh?!”
As Shikada- pushed me with all her might, I fell from the cliff into the abyssal darkness!
And Shikada- fell with me!!
(Ah, there’s no saving us.)
“It can’t be helped,” I thought, hugging Shikada- and positioning myself to take the fall above her.
It’s probably futile, though… Shikada- was crying, her face filled with despair.
Damn you, Korome, to go this far to erase the evidence… This means Nina-san and Anju-chan are also in danger!
“Damn it, damn it!”
My body slammed against the rocky slope! Again and again!
I was covered in blood in no time! Ah, I just hope Shikada- can be saved somehow…
(Nina-san, Clarice-san, Anju-chan, Helen-san… I’m sorry… and thank you.)
And so, I lost consciousness.
…I feel a bright light.
Is this the entrance to the afterlife?
Or perhaps the embrace of God?
I’ve never properly joined a religion, though.
If I had joined the Church of the Goddess, maybe I could have spoken with Clarice-san and the others after death.
(…Is that crying I hear?)
“Uuuuh, uuh, uwaaaaaaaan…”
That’s Shikada-‘s voice.
I blinked my eyes open and saw several dazzling lights.
It was blinding, but my eyes gradually adjusted, and what I saw was…
“…Eh, eh, eh?!”
Four illusionist staves emitting light?!
They were held by four humanoid monsters clad in gray cloth.
One large one and three small ones. These figures… they were Evil Wizards!
“You guys were here!!”
These monsters I let go of before, and the illusionist staves I left for them…
Now, they are somehow healing my life with this healing magic… How lucky am I.
“Uuuuh, but I can’t move! Owwwww.”
My bones are in bad shape everywhere.
Moreover, do I even have both arms and legs?
Shikada- is just crying, covered in blood.
(If I had an Elixir, it would be a one-shot solution. High Elf’s Tears… can I get it from my Item Box?)
My left hand is finally moving a little.
I shoved my wrist into my Item Box,
and as I endured the intense pain throughout my body and struggled…!!
“Buhin! Buhihhi! Hihihihhiiiiiin!!”
Familiar cries drew closer!
The Evil Wizards scrambled to escape,
and what arrived was…!!
“Cupid! Coupy! Happy, and (riding on top of) Bauer-san!”
“Oh my, this is quite a predicament!”
“Y-You managed to get here, how impressive.”
“Well, these little ones suddenly got agitated, tearing at their ropes. The priority is treatment!”
“Please help Shikada- over there too!”
So, I was put on Cupid, and Shikada- on Coupy.
After a considerable amount of time wandering, we arrived at the emergency Magic lift for the East S Area.
“To think there would be something like this here. Well, you’re safe now.”
“Um, could you please remove Shikada-‘s collar? Right now, with this.”
I took out the Slave Trading Contract from my Item Box, not the High Elf’s Tears, and handed it to Bauer-san.
“Now is not the time for that.”
“No, it’s urgent. If things go wrong, Shikada- might be silenced.”
Shikada- had apparently lost consciousness at some point.
“Hmph, a-alright. I’ll take this to the Guild immediately. But treatment first.”
“Thank you… ve-ry… m…”
And so, I lost consciousness once more…
