Chapter 97
Hello, this is Akagi Hideo.
As a top ranker and a silver-haired beautiful girl, I'm following behind Happy-san, who's looking pretty beat up. Shimaenaga-san looks a little grumpy, but let's just ignore that. Probably just annoyed things didn't go the usual "hunt explorers and turn them into EXP" route. Yikes, Shimaenaga-san's scary—what a hopeless little EXP junkie.
"Chee chee chee (Translation: I feel like I'm being slandered for no reason, chee)"
Hm, Happy-san walking in front of us looks like she's in pain.
Oh, Happy-san just dropped to her knees.
Is she okay?
Nope, not okay. Her arm's gone. I'm acting weirdly calm about it, and because of that, I kinda ignored how messed up this situation really is.
"Shimaenaga-san, could you carry Happy-san on your back?"
"Chee"
"Come on, don't be like that, please?"
"Chee"
Shimaenaga-san turned away in a huff.
This is bad. The bean pastry's having a rebellious phase.
"Don't worry about me. Let's just keep moving. We shouldn't stay in such an open space like this."
Looks like she wants to find a safer spot as soon as possible.
"Shimaenaga-san"
"Chee (Translation: Absolutely not, chee)"
Looks like this fluffball's not gonna help.
Guess I've got no choice.
"Happy-san, your hand."
"Can't you understand I said I don't need it? I won't accept help from some shady guy like you, Finger Man."
Yeah, she's talking like that, but I can tell she's in pain. I get that this younger girl is more capable than me, but right now, I think I'm the one who has to help her. Maybe I'll do the cool thing and carry her princess-style.
"Ahem, Happy-san."
"What? Don't touch me."
She shot me a deadly glare.
I'm scared.
"Let me help. ...Here, grab onto my shoulder."
Yeah, the princess-carry thing... that's, um, yeah, that's delicate. Doing that kind of thing to a girl her age could lead to problems later. Time to be a gentleman. (※Virgin instincts kicking in.)
"......"
"Um, what's wrong, Happy-san?"
"It's nothing. Fine, I'll use you as a cane."
Ah. She grabbed me.
"Your hands are surprisingly small."
"Who cares about that?"
Yes ma'am, you're absolutely right.
After walking a bit, we saw something like a wall. When we got closer and looked up, it stretched endlessly into the sky—it was so tall we couldn't even guess how high. And with the thick dark mist everywhere, visibility was just awful.
I laid Happy-san down next to the wall.
Her complexion's terrible. I did give her an injection, but her arm's not growing back. Maybe it was a cheap recovery potion? Maybe she's out of money? Should I try healing her myself?
────
——Happy's POV
After using three of the "Recovery Potions 6,000," Trigger Happy realized her life as an explorer was over.
She'd been injured countless times before, but this was the first time she'd lost a limb.
Normally, missing limbs can only be healed with top-tier healing skills. Very few people in the world have those, and there was no info suggesting any of them were in the Chiba Class 4 dungeon.
Even if someone did have a top-tier healing skill, if too much time passes, it's already too late. In other words, since healing isn't possible here in the Chiba Class 4 dungeon, it's hopeless for Trigger Happy to ever get both arms back.
(I tried recovery potions just in case... but yeah, no effect... at best, they stop the bleeding and dull the pain.)
"Ugh... this is the worst, damn that monster..."
She wanted to get back at it somehow, but Trigger Happy was painfully aware that she couldn't do it herself.
Which is why she could only take out her frustration on the carefree Japanese guy fluffing up his pet right next to her.
"You're so noisy, Finger Man. Do you even realize this is a danger zone?"
She couldn't understand why this guy was acting so calm. Trigger Happy felt something was off. It's not that she wanted him to panic, but wasn't he a little *too* composed?
"If you're not going to shut up, then go far away. If you want to die, die alone. If they find us, all that's left is death."
"They... (Just how dangerous are the monsters here...?)"
Finger Man stopped arguing with Shimaenaga-san and fell silent. Trigger Happy snorted and curled up against the wall.
Right now, Trigger Happy and Finger Man were near a jagged rocky wall, hiding in its shadow.
Trigger Happy told Finger Man that she'd use her "Sleep" skill to recover her stamina quickly, and ordered him to keep watch while she did.
Finger Man actually responded pretty obediently to his senior's command.
"Chee"
"Why are you even here?"
"Chee"
"You can use Shimaenaga-san as a pillow for Happy-san. I convinced them."
Looks like Finger Man was being thoughtful and lending out his fluffy underling.
She wanted to scold him for being overly helpful, but once she sank into the bean pastry fairy, it was actually pretty amazing. No, seriously, it was the best.
Not bad at all, that guy.
While Trigger Happy was thinking that, she drifted into a deep sleep.