Chapter 99
*
"I'm Diglis."
Once things had calmed down, the gaunt-cheeked man introduced himself.
Then, following the flow, the bald man and the capable partner introduced themselves in turn.
At a loss, I hesitated, and after some thought, greeted them with, "Well, I'm the masked person," which earned me a look like, Are you serious?
Well, I guess it's a bit late for that when I'm already wearing a mask, said the capable partner. I really wonder what's so late about it?
It was the bearded guy, Drim, who found Diglis's leg.
Drim, hopping with joy, ran over to me, only to be caught by the capable partner and given a thorough scolding.
When Diglis and I burst out laughing at the sight, the bald man, Houran, smacked us on the head.
Apparently, Drim had said something unnecessary to the capable partner, Maricia, and after being punched and sent flying, he found the missing leg.
The leg they found for Diglis should have been from the knee down, but only the part from the ankle down remained, so when Diglis reattached it, he let out a rather entertaining scream, which made Houran and Drim laugh this time.
Whether it's been cleanly cut off or is a mangled mess, as long as it can be reattached, it doesn't hurt that much, but if it's completely gone, the missing part is large, or it's not clean, healing magic is unbelievably painful.
So Diglis's screaming isn't because I'm bad at healing magic.
I just want to say that I'm not bad at it, I'm just not good at using it on other people.
When I made that excuse to Diglis, who shot me a resentful glare—
"If you think of it as saving on donations to the Church, it's a bargain."
Diglis said that with a face full of bravado, but then, when his wife scolded him for tearing his pants, he turned pale and started sulking.
As I gave a wry smile to Diglis and Houran, who was consoling him, and stood up after finishing the treatment, for some reason all the adventurers around turned to look at me at once.
For some reason, everyone was giving me expectant looks.
Ah, yeah, right.
What was I supposed to do at a time like this?
I recall the stories my mentor and their friends used to tell.
Ah, yes, I think this is what I'm supposed to do.
I raised my right arm, making a fist.
When you've pulled it off and finished the job, you're supposed to say this.
I took a deep breath.
"We did it!"
Adventurers (us) love that kind of thing——
I was glad I was wearing a mask.
My face was probably bright red with embarrassment—this is why muscle-brained types are hopeless.
They just praise people way too directly.
As everyone started shouting praise for us in response to my cue, that's what I was thinking.
*
I approached the spot where the bearded guy, Drim, was once again being caught and scolded by the capable partner.
Apparently, Maricia—the capable partner—was seriously angry that Drim didn't run away despite not having the skills.
She even said that since he struggled so much even against the Jewelhead Bunny, he should give up on being an adventurer and just go back to being a carpenter.
Drim's response to that was priceless.
He said that seeing Maricia fighting a dragon made him certain that becoming an adventurer wasn't a mistake, and asked her to keep looking out for him, partner.
When I couldn't help but do a fist pump behind Drim's back, Maricia shot me a glare filled with genuine killing intent, but even if she gave me that look with her face blushing bright red from embarrassment, it wasn't scary.
From their conversation afterward, I learned that Drim, who used to be a carpenter, became an adventurer after Maricia saved him from a monster, and then relentlessly asked her to be his partner.
Apparently, Maricia feels a strange sense of responsibility for being the reason he became an adventurer, and sees herself more as a mentor than a partner.
Drim seems to be a competent carpenter, and Maricia keeps urging him to quit being an adventurer and go back to carpentry.
It seems this has all happened within the last year, so considering Drim can now fight a Jewelhead Bunny barehanded, even if only just barely—
Even so, Maricia is seriously training him, and Drim is genuinely eager to learn.
"You two are an interesting pair," I said.
"I'll smash that mask, masked person,"
Maricia threatened me.
"My partner's the best!"
Drim boasted, making her blush all over again.
And I couldn't help but laugh at those two.
——That's right, that's why.
I, in other words, that's why, I let my guard down.
When Drim approached the crystallized Jewelhead Dragon and asked, So, is the gem buried inside this thing?
I was thinking, Ah, so even if it's called a Jewelhead, unlike the rabbit, it doesn't turn into sand-like magic stones, huh.
And that's when I paid the price for being so careless.