I Wanted a Cute Girl to Cast Healing Magic on Me, So I Kept Protecting My Allies—and Ended Up with an Overprotective Party - 26

Chapter 26: A Strange Dilemma

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Thanks to the voice of a male adventurer in his mid-thirties affiliated with the guild, those confident in their defense volunteered to take the lead. Here, “guild-affiliated” referred to members handpicked by the guild—adventurers dispatched for joint expeditions like this one or missions requested by the country.

Adventurers like us were considered “registered with the guild” members. Including me, five people stepped forward. Each wore what looked like heavy armor—some carried large shields, others wore helmets that completely covered their faces.

Among them was someone in light armor, which was rather unusual for a tank. That was me.

“Hey, do you have a moment?”

The one who called out to me was the guild-affiliated adventurer.

“Yes? What is it?”

“Sorry to ask, but are you really a tank? I’m not judging just based on your gear, but… I see, so you specialize in evasion?”

“This gear allows me to move more easily.”

“Well, true, if you rely on evasion, you can’t exactly wear heavy armor. But in exchange, if you do get hit, it’ll be a direct blow with no defense. You understand that, right?”

“Yes, I understand—or at least, I think I do.”

When I said that, the guild adventurer pulled out a piece of paper and started looking at it. It seemed to be a list of today’s participants.

“So you’re E-rank. It’s true that the monsters confirmed up to the second basement level are all low-ranked. That’s why E-rank adventurers are allowed to participate this time. But it might not stay that way beyond this point. I’ll be supporting you too, so don’t do anything reckless.”

“Understood.”

For joint expeditions, it was better to have as many high-ranking adventurers as possible. But high-ranking adventurers were few in number and usually took on high-difficulty requests. After all, only high-rank adventurers could handle those difficult requests. I suppose the guild preferred it that way. That was why most of them stayed near towns close to high-difficulty dungeons.

The guild also saw joint expeditions as opportunities for adventurers to gain experience and level up. So they set the participation rank only after proper review. Plus, the guild sent out personnel like this to supervise. If the plan seemed reckless, they wouldn’t approve the request or allow the joint expedition at all.

We had reached the third basement floor. Unlike the second floor, the paths here were narrower. Up to now, we’d been able to spread out somewhat, but not anymore. The footing was bad, about as bad as in the “Dragon’s Nest,” which I had explored with Emil and Karinka-san’s party before.

The rocky terrain meant we had to watch not just ahead but also our footing. Under the guild adventurer’s instructions, the handful of C-rank and higher adventurers among the roughly fifty of us moved to the rear, tasked with guarding against sneak attacks, which were harder to deal with than head-on assaults. Karinka-san was positioned there too.

The majority—D-rank and E-rank adventurers—stayed somewhat apart from each other, maintaining vigilance in the middle of the formation. Emil and Miya were among them.

The tanks and I formed a horizontal line at the front, moving forward while protecting those behind us. If we were all lined up single-file like in a video game, the line would look like the queue outside a popular ramen shop. That obviously wouldn’t work.

The guild adventurer took one step ahead of us tanks, making himself the likeliest target of enemy attacks.

As we proceeded, relying on the magical light created by the guild adventurer, I noticed a faint glow ahead. 

Is it a monster?!

I thought—but in the very next moment, I felt an impact like getting punched hard in the stomach. No, more like getting slammed in the gut by a log. Not that I had actually experienced that before. When I came to, my vision was filled with what looked like the interior of a limestone cave—rock formations everywhere.

The glow I thought was a monster—well, I wasn’t entirely wrong. But technically, it was different. It had been a shock spell fired by a mage-type monster. I had taken the hit head-on and ended up flat on my back.

With my body flying back as the starting signal, the guild adventurer shouted.

“Someone heal him!”

And I heard someone running toward me. I couldn’t see anything from my fallen position, but I figured the guild adventurer must’ve rushed to engage the monster. Soon, an eerie voice echoed from afar, followed by silence. The monster must have been taken down.

“Rikuto-san!”

“Rikuto!”

“You’re always doing reckless stuff!”

I could hear my companions calling as they probably pushed their way through the crowd. So, they were trying to cast Heal on me.

But then it hit me—if Emil cast Heal on me in front of this whole crowd, what would it look like? We’d just look like we were flirting without any regard for the situation. And at this angle, it might even look like Emil was straddling me.

The thought made me bolt upright on instinct. At that moment, the guild adventurer came running up.

“Are you okay!? I’m really sorry, that was my mistake. I never imagined there’d be a Dark Wizard here.”

A Dark Wizard was a C-rank monster clad in a pitch-black hooded robe. It didn’t have a physical form. It was like a ghost—an undead monster. They hid in the dark and launched surprise magic attacks like the one from earlier.

“More importantly, show me where the spell hit! No—here, drink this high-grade potion first!”

The guild adventurer was genuinely concerned, feeling guilty. I replied and accepted his feelings, but not the potion.

“Thank you for your concern. But I’m okay.” 

Thanks to my 【Damage Adjustment】 setting being on 『Unharmed』 I had taken zero actual damage. Though it didn’t seem to negate the force of the impact, so there was still room for improvement.

People around me were shocked to see me get back up on my own two feet. But I could say that I had protected someone. If I hadn’t taken that hit, someone behind me would’ve taken the C-rank monster’s attack instead.

Knowing what kind of monster appears made exploration much easier. We all proceeded with caution, gradually making progress, and by the end of the day, most of the dungeon had been explored. We reported back to the guild and the joint expedition ended.

By 7 PM, we made it back to the party base. As usual, I took the large bath alone, enjoyed the delicious meal Miya had cooked, chatted with everyone afterward, and went to bed in my luxurious private room. …Or so I thought.

“Rikuto! You were reckless again!”

Miya, her face red with anger, was scolding me. The post-dinner chat had turned into a lecture session focused on me.

“Come on, I’ve told you before—I’m confident in my defense.”

“That doesn’t mean you can just rush out like that! I was so shocked!”

“W-Well… Miya, I’m sure Rikuto did what he thought was best, so maybe don’t be too hard on him…”

As expected of Karinka-san. She’s so calm and kind…!

“Karinka-san, you don’t feel the same way!?”

“I do. I get where Rikuto’s coming from. But thanks to him, no one got hurt this time. So let’s just give him a stRikuto warning.”

“Rikuto-san, I think what you did was admirable!”

Three totally different takes. I understood where they were all coming from. But if I held back—Emil wouldn’t get any more experience…! It really was a strange kind of dilemma.

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That night, in each of their private rooms..

SIDE: Karinka

Hmm… Maybe he really does need me by his side at all times? But Rikuto didn’t do anything wrong, so scolding him too much would be unfair. What should I do?

SIDE: Emil

If Rikuto-san gets hurt, I need to be able to Heal him right away! That’s why I should always keep an eye on him, right?

SIDE: Miya

Geez! What the heck!? Rikuto was so cool again… Doing something dangerous like that! I have to stop him somehow… But how? Basically, I just need to keep him from acting up, right…? Maybe that method? Or maybe that one instead? Ugh… I have no choice. He just can’t be left alone… Right?

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