Chapter 9: The Mage III
A problem arose as we prepared to delve into the dungeon. Mika expressed her desire to prioritize Ryuguin above all else.
“Please allow a change in the party composition.”
“Very well.”
It pained me to see Mika serving Ryuguin like a devoted handmaiden. I felt a surge of anger at Ryuguin’s nonchalant nod in response.
“Change? What change? Ryuguin is in the front line, I’m in the front and middle, and Mika and Angelica are in the back, right? What are we supposed to change now?”
“That would put Ryuguin-sama in danger. We must accept the change to protect the Hero-sama.”
Mika’s proposed party composition was as follows:
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Front Line: Me
Middle Line: None
Back Line: Ryuguin, Mika (Ryuguin’s dedicated healer), Angelica (ranged attacker)
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“What is this?”
I couldn’t help but blurt that out. My brain refused to accept her reasoning.
“Wait a minute!”
Even as I protested, my doubts and feelings were completely disregarded, and there was no movement from the proposal above.
Wait, is this really the final decision?
“If you can’t accept this, we won’t accompany you on the labyrinth exploration,” Mika’s firm stance left me with no choice but to concede.
On top of that, as we continued our exploration of the dungeon, I faced an even more painful situation.
Mika stopped using Healing Magic on me. Apparently, she was the dedicated Saintess for the Hero-sama. What does “dedicated Saintess” even mean?
“Hero-sama, are your legs tired?”
With concern lacing her voice, I replied, “You figured it out, Mika. As expected of my Saintess. This is what it means to help each other, right? Did you see that, Yamada? This is our mutual support! This is our mutual support!”
“Healing Magic!”
“Oh! My legs feel so much better!”
What am I being shown here?
Ryuguin wrapped his arm around Mika’s waist, raising his voice. “Oh, Hero-sama,” Mika seemed less than displeased, but the reality was that her lack of Healing Magic was a significant blow.
I’ll spare you the details of my protests, which were repeated time and again. Even in this situation, Mika maintained her Hero-first mentality.
“We must reserve enough Mana for Healing Magic to use on the Hero-sama in case of emergencies,” Mika insisted, while I argued for things to remain as they were. In the end, we reached a compromise:
“Fine. If Yamada insists on this… I see, this is what it means for the ‘haves’ to ‘bestow upon’ the ‘have-nots’…”
Ryuguin muttered as if he had discovered some profound truth.
“Hey! I have a 100% monster defeat rate in the dungeon! By the way, you have a 0% rate!” I wanted to shout, or “Mika has never run out of Mana before! Didn’t she say something like ‘My Mana is limitless☆’?” I had plenty to say, but I managed to hold it in.
Without considering my feelings, Ryuguin’s side insisted on “bestowing” upon me, and it was decided that Mika would use Healing Magic only twice during our dungeon exploration.
However, two uses of Healing Magic were hardly sufficient, and it was clear that I would end up relying heavily on Potions.
As we continued our exploration, Angelica voiced a question that I thought was entirely reasonable.
“What’s with those two? Aren’t they a bit much?”
“Yeah! I have no idea how it ended up like this… I can’t even begin to guess.”
“Regardless of the reason, that attitude is unacceptable. Especially from the Saintess. Why is she hoarding Healing for her comrades?”
“Please don’t be too hard on Mika.”
Even after everything, she was someone I had trusted for six months. At one point, we had felt a deep connection in our hearts. So even if that was an illusion, hearing Angelica criticize Mika made me feel as if I was being blamed as well.
“But still—!”
Unable to contain my feelings any longer, I shouted, “If I were the healer, I would never leave Ichiro, who keeps fighting despite being covered in wounds, all alone!”
Tears streamed down her face as she raised her voice.
In front of her, I recalled a moment when we were walking through town together.
It was when we were out shopping for miscellaneous goods. By chance, we ran into some of her classmates from school.
Every one of them was insufferable, and upon seeing Angelica, they began to mock her.
“Are you still a mage?”
“Could you introduce us to that poor adventurer next to you?”
“You’d be better off without someone like her, a beginner.”
As I shouted, “Mind your own business!” at their ridiculous jeers, she, however, seemed completely unfazed.
“Ichiro! Let’s just ignore these idiots and go!”
She flashed a confident smile that was backed by her self-assurance.
She could endure insults directed at herself, but if someone insulted me, she would get angry—that was the noble Angelica.
Though it was a bit anticlimactic, the exploration itself was not as difficult as the last time. I had grown accustomed to the dungeon, but more importantly, I had become stronger.
Of course! Even relying on Healing Magic, I had single-handedly defeated the notorious monsters designated as Forbidden Species.
Moreover, ever since defeating the boss in the Mirror Labyrinth, I felt as if I had ascended to a new level, akin to a sense of omnipotence.
It didn’t take long for that feeling to be proven true.
I was now able to slice through the crustacean monsters, which boasted adamantite-level hardness, with a single blow—monsters that had forced us to retreat repeatedly in the previous dungeon.
As I cut through monster after monster, Angelica smashed enemies with 《私の世界（ジ・ワン）》, and before we knew it, we had arrived at the boss room.
As I opened the heavy door to the boss room, a dazzling light enveloped a female angelic monster, who spread her pure white wings with a flourish.
I see, the name of the second dungeon we challenged was 《光の迷宮》 (Light Labyrinth). I thought it was unlikely, but despite my repeated strikes against the 《天使》 (Angel), none had any effect. I then attempted to deal damage with my magic sword, using 《光の剣（サイリウム）》 (Cyalume), but I was unable to inflict any damage.
As a final check, I unleashed 《光時雨（レイン）》 (Rain), but as expected, it did nothing.
The second dungeon boss completely nullified physical attacks. Moreover, it seemed my Light Magic had no effect either. Not only were physical attacks ineffective, but even my Light Magic was rendered useless.
Pulmy-san’s ominous premonition had come true.
This opponent was purely my nemesis. A despairing scenario awaited me.
But that was only when Angelica wasn’t around. That’s right, I had Angelica with me now.
I focused on drawing the enemy’s aggro, fully committing to my role as a tank.
“Angelica! Please use a spell that can obliterate this thing in one hit!!”
“Leave it to me!!”
Her strong reply ignited a fire in my heart. Her presence was reassuring.
The 《天使》 moved like a close-range character in a fighting game, skillfully wielding its long limbs to unleash an unending barrage of attacks.
I desperately tried to fend them off. The number of strikes was overwhelming, and the variety of techniques was vast. The 《天使》 swung its long arms and legs like a model, unleashing a rapid-fire series of physical assaults upon me, despite being immune to physical damage.
I took a step back to regain my composure and exhaled deeply—at that moment,
Countless feathers shot out from the radiant wings of the 《天使》.
Just in time, I leaped back, and from behind came the sound of glass shattering, “Parin!” It seemed Mika’s barrier, which she had set up to protect Ryuguin, had been pierced.
Turning back, I saw that my worries were unfounded; she had erected an even stronger barrier and had retreated further back, almost to the entrance.
The feather attack exhibited a formidable penetrating power. Those feathers exceeded mere physical force. They must have been enhanced by some powerful buff that allowed them to breach Mika’s barrier, the highest level of protection known to humanity.
If I mentioned that even the boss of the Mirror Labyrinth had failed to break through Mika’s barrier, you could understand just how dangerous this situation was.
I imagined myself riddled with holes from the feathers and felt a chill run down my spine. This was an attack capable of breaking even Mika’s barrier. I couldn’t afford to take even a single hit.
I continued to dodge the feathers of the 《Angel》 while searching for weaknesses in its attacks. However, all my efforts were in vain. The range and distance of its strikes were far too extensive and overwhelming.
No matter where I moved—close, mid, or far range—the relentless barrage of high-powered attacks from the monster, which was none other than the 《Angel》, aimed to pierce through my defenses as a top-tier Holy Knight.
○○○
All I could do was deflect the 《Angel》’s attacks, drink potions when my damage accumulated, and wait patiently for Ange’s magic to activate.
“Is it ready yet!?”
She shook her head lightly while murmuring her incantation at high speed.
───I’m sorry, just hold on a little longer.
From her tightly clenched palm, which had turned white, red blood flowed. I could feel her determination painfully.
From behind me, I heard Ryuguin, who had cut his finger while drawing his sword, scream, “It hurts!” and Mika’s voice, loud and strong, calling out, “《Healing Magic (Healuuuuuu!!)》” in what seemed like a supportive gesture, but I pretended not to notice.
The activation of Ange’s trump card magic was taking longer than I expected, and it seemed that the outcome of this battle against the 《Angel》 depended on how much time I could buy for her to cast it.
I had no means of attacking the 《Angel》 from a distance, and considering the deadly feather projectiles, I was forced into close combat, continuously deflecting the bone-rattling rapid strikes. The balance of offense and defense was a precarious tightrope walk.
At that moment, the intensity of the opponent’s attacks escalated further. The flurry of strikes grew more ferocious. It was a raging torrent. The speed of the 《Angel》’s attacks began to increase without limit. I was dodging, dodging, dodging, and with each deflection, the speed of its strikes intensified. My reaction speed was nearing its limit.
And then finally─── the kick launched from below by the 《Angel》 sliced through the air with a whip-like sound.
I realized too late! My guard was shattered with a loud “Bachiin!” My defenses had been completely overwhelmed by the 《Angel》’s relentless assault.
An unguarded body, vulnerable and exposed.
A massive concentration of Mana gathered in the 《Angel》’s fist.
Damn it! I won’t make it in time!!
I braced myself for the impending devastating blow, clenching my teeth. That was all I could do.
Namusan!!
At that moment, Ange’s voice finally echoed across the floor.
“It’s ready! Get away!!”
Taking advantage of the moment when the 《Angel》 was distracted by Ange’s voice, I immediately distanced myself from the spot.
“《Narukamiiiiiiiii》!!”
With Ange’s powerful words, a massive lightning bolt erupted from the cumulonimbus clouds that had formed in an instant.
“Hi bababababababaaah!” I thought I heard a strange cry from within the lightning’s effective range, but I chose to ignore it.
This was one of her trump cards, 《Narukami》.
A spell that combined the four basic elements—water, earth, fire, and light magic—that could only be replicated by her. It was a vicious magic that would continue to rain down lightning until either her Mana was exhausted or the enemy was annihilated, rivaling even that of a Saintess.
The battle was truly a matter of life and death.
The 《Angel》, exposed to the relentless barrage of lightning for several minutes, let out a wailing scream like that of a wraith before eventually dissipating into mist.
○○○
As I had done previously, I warned the Guild Master of this town not to take things lightly and reported various details about the dungeon’s situation. I muttered to myself about how the field trip theory applies until you get home, while pushing my weary body to prioritize my duties within the party.
Not feeling up to sharing a meal with Mika and Ryuguin, I gathered at the town’s church to distribute the profits from our dungeon exploration.
“This should be fine. Just try not to waste it too much.”
“Is it the Hero’s duty to manage assets as well? Dual-tasking, huh? I see, this is the tough part of being a Hero… By the way, did you know, Yamada? It’s better to invest your assets than to just store them. I heard it from my favorite investment YouTuber. Assets should be invested, right? The assets would be happy to be invested in me too.”
“Truly, you are the Hero-sama.”
What’s with all this talk about investments!? My heart feels like it’s about to freeze! And what does he mean by assets?
The conversation between Ryuguin, who rambled on about nonsense, and Mika, who had turned into a malfunctioning Hero robot, felt incredibly hollow.
Standing still would only lead to futility. I turned my back on them and headed toward the exit.
“Ange, let’s head back. We can grab something to eat.”
Ange, who came into view, had a flush on her cheeks.
“Wait, Lord Yamada! There’s something I need to tell you!”
Lord Yamada? I’m Ichiro───.
No way! Could it be that history is repeating itself───
“I am proud to be able to journey to save this world alongside you. From now on, I hope to continue to work together even more───”
She hugged me tightly.
“─────Please, Hero-sama!”
I was taken aback.
What else could I possibly say? Someone, please tell me! Her once dazzling almond eyes now seemed murky and clouded.