I Wanted a Cute Girl to Cast Healing Magic on Me, So I Kept Protecting My Allies—and Ended Up with an Overprotective Party - 5

Chapter 5: A Cheat Is Useless if I Can’t Use It

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“I’ll take this request.”

I tore a piece of paper off the bulletin board inside the guild and went to one of the several reception counters to hand it over to the pretty receptionist across the counter. Looking at her again, she had semi-long black hair and black eyes, almost like a Japanese person. She looked to be in her early twenties.

Uh, what was her name again…?

I glanced at the area around her chest. 

Wow, they’re huge… No, wait, no! 

I was trying to read the name tag on her chest!

“Oh my, you’re the one who registered just yesterday, right?”

“You remembered me! My name’s Rikuto.”

It seemed she hadn’t noticed where I was looking, and I let out a small sigh of relief. I’d be in trouble if the receptionists started calling me weird nicknames. Like, “Hey, Boob-Staring Guy is back again!” That would seriously make me cry.

“Rikuto-san, was it? I’m Kasumi. Nice to meet you.”

Kasumi-san said that with a gentle smile.

“You’re taking this request, right? Let’s see, it’s a monster subjugation in an F-rank dungeon. Do you have your adventurer card with you?”

I handed over the card I received when I registered as an adventurer. The adventurer card served as an ID, displaying my name, adventurer rank, and something like a photo.

Though it was called a photo, it apparently worked differently from those in my original world—but I didn’t really understand how. 

I guess it’s just that the principles and technologies are different in this world.

“Okay, I’ve received it.”

Kasumi-san said as she filled out something on another document, then stamped the request form and handed it back to me.

“Once you complete the request, please return this form along with the proof of completion.”

“Got it.”

Kasumi-san then encouraged me with a cheerful “Good luck!” as I left the guild.

My departure to the dungeon known as the Dragon’s Nest was scheduled for tomorrow. So today, I decided to take on my first mission as an adventurer—monster subjugation in an F-rank dungeon.

This was a job I took to master the skill 【Damage Adjustment】. You could call it practice. But even if it was just practice, fighting meant danger, so I couldn’t afford to let my guard down.

I had received an Adventurer Starter Set from the goddess. My armor was what the people in this world called as light armor—over thick clothing, I had pieces of iron armor covering my chest, shoulders, from wrists to elbows, and from knees down, in partial plating.

There was no headgear. 

Isn’t the head important…? Shouldn’t they wear helmets or something?

Even in various isekai anime, it seemed like most adventurers didn’t wear helmets. But wasn’t that just because helmets looked boring visually in anime?

Well, in my case, the armor shouldn’t even matter, so I guess it was fine even if I didn’t have a helmet. For the same reason, I chose not to carry a shield. That way, I had a free hand and could move more easily.

For my weapon, I chose a one-handed sword. The reason? I figured I could manage just by swinging it around. I couldn’t imagine myself using something like a bow or spear effectively.

I also had a bag for items. Inside it were drinking water,  food, and a few low-grade potions and other basic supplies. Lastly, a wallet—or rather, a pouch stuffed with coins. It was exactly like the ones you see in isekai anime. Honestly, it was super inconvenient to use.

Thank goodness I didn’t get blessed by some crappy goddess… All right, let’s go!

Apparently, there was a shared carriage that departed from the city of Galiano to the F-rank dungeon. It seemed to be a popular dungeon, and since most F-rank adventurers didn’t have access to convenient travel skills or tools, the guild provided a free shuttle service to the dungeon.

I can’t believe I’m actually riding in a horse-drawn carriage…

Since I used a bicycle to commute back home, this felt refreshingly new. It wouldn’t be faster than a bike, but at least I could relax and even nap during the trip. The carriage stop was near the guild, and by the time I arrived, four people were already lined up.

Two men and two women, all young. The men each carried a one-handed sword and an axe, respectively, and the girls carried a staff and a bow. Not long after I arrived, the carriage pulled up. It had a roof and didn’t look tattered, but it didn’t exactly scream luxury either. Well, it was free, so I couldn’t complain.

Besides, this was my first time riding in a carriage, so I was kind of excited. Inside, it looked like it could fit about ten people. The floor was wooden, and there weren’t any other features. Apparently, you could sit however and wherever you liked.

The four who had lined up before me sat near each other, so they were probably in the same party. Including me, there were five people on this trip. So I was the only solo adventurer. Alone? No,no. I was solo by choice.

Kasumi-san hadn’t stopped me, which meant the guild didn’t prohibit soloing. Even as I was jostled by the carriage, I could hear the nearby adventurer party talking to each other.

“Today, let’s go deeper than yesterday.”

“Yeah, I want to try out my new sword too.”

“We’ve gotten stronger, haven’t we? Goblins don’t scare us anymore!”

“Still, don’t overdo it. I’m the one casting healing magic, remember?”

“Yeah, yeah, I got it. I’m counting on you two, you know!”

“You bet! We’ve got your back!”

How nice to be such good friends…

As I thought that, I stayed mentally prepared in case they struck up a conversation with me. But in the end, that never happened. All I did was listen to their lovey-dovey chatter until we arrived.

Well, I was fine on my own, right? Easier this way too. They probably picked up on my “don’t talk to me” aura. Which was just as well…! Not that I meant to project that aura though!

Haaah… I want a girlfriend…

Still, even their sappy conversation had some useful info for me—like what kind of monsters appeared, their characteristics, and the dungeon layout. I made sure to erase the romantic parts of their conversation from my memory.

The dungeon we arrived at looked like a giant rock that had been hollowed out. The entrance was about three meters tall and wide. Two men dressed like knights were standing guard at the entrance. According to Kasumi-san, they were sent by the country to monitor the area. Apparently, this country was one of the world’s great powers.

When I showed them my adventurer card, I was allowed to enter. Surprisingly, the inside of the dungeon, while cave-like with rocky walls and ceiling, had a paved stone floor, making it easy to walk.

There were lamp-like fixtures spaced evenly along the walls, giving the place a dim but steady illumination all the way down the corridor. One role of adventurers was to uncover the secrets of dungeons, so in those that had been partially explored, it was common to see this kind of development.

I passed by other adventurers on the way in, and to my surprise, a few of them were solo like me. Using the map provided by the guild, I headed a bit deeper. The map had markers where monsters had frequently been encountered.

I deliberately headed toward a marked dead-end with plenty of space. My goal was to get the hang of using 【Damage Adjustment】, so being alone would help me focus more.

According to what I’d heard in the carriage, goblins were officially recognized by the guild as the weakest monsters. While people had been injured, there had never been any reports of fatalities in this dungeon.

I arrived at my destination. It was about the size of a school gymnasium, but with jagged rock walls and ceilings. At the far end, I saw something green. That must be the goblin. Looked like it was alone.

I approached it casually. The goblin must’ve noticed me too, because it started coming my way. It was less than a meter tall, held a wooden stick in its right hand, and wore a loincloth—just like in the anime.

“Gishaaa!”

The goblin shouted and charged at me with the stick raised. But dodging it would defeat the purpose of being here. So I deliberately removed the armor from my arm to guard against it directly.

From what I’d heard in the carriage, goblins weren’t very strong, so even a direct hit from their wooden weapons would hurt, but wouldn’t cause any serious injury. Kind of like bumping into something.

According to the goddess, 【Damage Adjustment】 let you mentally visualize the amount of damage you wanted to take and control the severity of your injuries.

Roughly speaking, you could switch between 『Unharmed』, 『Minor Injury』, and 『Serious Injury』at will—then further specify the type and location of the wound, like『cut』or 『scrape』.

But really, 『Serious Injury』? Who in their right mind would pick anything other than 『Unharmed』? Probably just me. Come to think of it, this skill seemed a bit weird…

Let’s finish this quickly and get ready for tomorrow.

I was looking forward to tomorrow—because apparently, Karinka-san’s party was made up entirely of women.

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