“I’m Digris.”
Once things calmed down, the Gaunt Man introduced himself.
Following his lead, the Bald Man and Yuunou-san followed suit.
Troubled, after much deliberation, I greeted them with, “Hello, I’m the Masked Man,” and was met with looks that screamed, Seriously?
Well, given that I’m wearing a Mask, I guess it’s too late now, huh? was Yuunou-san’s comment. What exactly is too late now, I wonder?
The one who found the Gaunt Man, Digris’s, leg was the Bearded Man, Drim.
Drim, jumping for joy, rushed over to me, only to be caught by Yuunou-san and given a harsh lecture.
Digris and I burst out laughing watching that, only to get smacked on the head by the Bald Man, Horan.
Perhaps Drim said something unnecessary to Yuunou-san, Maricia, because he was sent flying by a punch, and it was where he landed that he found the missing leg.
Digris’s found leg was supposed to be from the knee down, but only the part from the ankle down remained. So, when I reattached his leg, Digris let out quite the comical scream, which this time Horan and Drim laughed at.
If it had been cleanly severed, or even mangled but still connected, it wouldn’t have hurt that much. However, when a part is completely missing, or the missing section is large or not a clean break, Healing Magic is terrifyingly painful.
That’s why Digris screaming wasn’t because my Healing Magic is bad.
I just want to say that I’m not good at using it on others, but that doesn’t mean I’m unskilled.
When I made that excuse to Digris, who was shooting me a resentful glare.
“Think of it as saving on a church donation, and it’s a cheap price to pay.”
Digris said that with a face trying hard to endure the pain, then his face turned pale and he started looking dejected, worrying about being scolded by his wife for tearing his trousers.
Giving a wry smile to Digris and Horan who was consoling him, I finished the treatment and stood up, only for the surrounding adventurers to somehow all turn to look at me at once.
For some reason, they were all sending expectant gazes my way.
Ah, yeah, right.
What was I supposed to do in situations like this?
I recall the stories from my master and his friends.
Ah, right, I think this is what I should do?
I raise my right arm, fist clenched.
“When you’ve boasted and pulled it off, this is what you should say.”
I take a deep breath.
“We did it!”
Adventurers (like us) love that kind of stuff—.
I thought, It’s a good thing I’m wearing this Mask.
My face was probably bright red with embarrassment. This is why muscle-brained types are no good.
They praise people too directly.
As my voice acted as a signal, voices praising us rose up one after another, and those were my thoughts.
I approach the spot where the Bearded Man, Drim, has once again been caught by Yuunou-san and is being lectured.
Apparently, Yuunou-san—Maricia—is furious that Drim didn’t run away despite lacking the strength.
She even went as far as saying that since he struggled even against a Jewelhead Bunny, he should understand now, give up being an adventurer, and just go back to being a carpenter.
Drim’s response to that was a masterpiece.
He replied something like, seeing Maricia fight the Dragon convinced him that becoming an adventurer wasn’t a mistake, and “I’ll be counting on you from now on, partner.”
I instinctively made a fist pump behind Drim’s back, and a gaze filled with rather serious killing intent shot towards me from Maricia, but getting glared at like that by her blushing, bright red face wasn’t scary at all.
From their subsequent exchange, I learned that Drim, who used to be a carpenter, became an adventurer after Maricia saved him from Monsters, and then relentlessly pursued her to become his partner.
As for Maricia, driven by a strange Sense of Responsibility because she was the catalyst, she apparently ended up in her current position feeling more like a master than a partner.
Drim is apparently a competent carpenter, and Maricia constantly seems to be advising him to quit being an adventurer and return to carpentry.
Since this apparently all happened within the last one year or so, considering that Drim can somehow fight a Jewelhead Bunny barehanded after just one year…
…despite saying all that, Maricia is training him quite seriously, and Drim is learning with considerable earnestness.
When I commented, “What an interesting pair.”
“I’ll shatter your Mask, Masked Man,” Maricia threatened me.
“My partner’s the best!” Drim boasted, making her blush furiously again.
And I couldn’t help but laugh at the two of them.
—Yes, that’s why.
I was, in other words, because of that, letting my guard down.
“Say, are the jewels embedded inside this thing?” Drim asked as he approached the crystallized Jewelhead Dragon.
Ah, so even though it’s called a Jewelhead, it doesn’t turn into a sand-like Magic Stone like the bunnies, I was thinking.
I would end up paying dearly for that carelessness.