I Wanted a Cute Girl to Cast Healing Magic on Me, So I Kept Protecting My Allies—and Ended Up with an Overprotective Party - 6

Chapter 6: It’s Turning Into a Harem After All

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The goblin was charging at me with a wooden stick raised overhead. I intended to block it with my arm on purpose to get used to the skill 【Damage Adjustment】.

The rough idea was to freely toggle between 『Unharmed』, 『Minor Injury』 and 『Serious Injury』 in my mind with just a mental switch. And last night before going to bed, I practiced it a little. Trying it for the first time in the middle of battle would be way too risky.

When I visualized 『Unharmed』 in my mind, I was suddenly enveloped by a strange sensation. It was like the clarity you feel after a good night’s sleep. It was hard to explain, really. But I definitely felt something shift inside me. That must be the signal that 【Damage Adjustment】 had switched modes.

Even in isekai anime, the body-enhancement magic that sometimes shows up probably comes with a feeling only the user can understand. Then, nervously, I lightly traced my finger along the tip of a sword. Normally, it would be sharp enough to slice my finger like a box cutter and draw blood, but no matter how many times I tried, my finger remained completely unscathed, like it was a toy sword.

Next, I tried 『Minor Injury』 and this time, my fingertip got cut and started bleeding. It was just an ordinary cut, as it should have been. Even after deactivating the skill, the result was the same as with 『Minor Injury』.

As for 『Serious Injury』 I just didn’t have the courage to try that. I mean, if a tiny cut on my finger ended up with blood gushing down my arm, I’d be horrified. I really couldn’t imagine why I would use that.

Right now, I had the setting on 『Unharmed』. I wanted to see how effective it would be against attacks from others. With a dull thud, the goblin’s stick struck my left arm. But I didn’t feel a thing. The goblin kept swinging the stick down on me multiple times, but the result was the same.

Then I figured I should test it with the skill deactivated. So I turned off the skill and let the goblin hit me with the stick again.

“Ow, that hurts!”

Yeah, it definitely hurt. Even the weakest monster was still a monster after all..

I switched back to 『Unharmed』 again. And just like that, the pain disappeared. Still, just in case it turned out my pain receptors were just shut off, I’d better get checked for any abnormalities on my body once I leave here.

Next, I tried setting it to 『Minor Injury』.

“Ow, that hurts!”

It felt the same as when I had the skill deactivated. That probably meant the goblin’s attacks only ever caused minor injuries. The goblin kept attacking me for a while longer, but eventually, it seemed to tire out, breathing heavily.

Seizing the opportunity, I casually swung my sword around. The exhausted goblin couldn’t even put up a fight and collapsed on the spot. Then its body began to glow and eventually vanished. In its place, it left behind a red gemstone-like stone, about three centimeters in size.

According to what Kasumi-san told me, that was a magic stone. Apparently, each monster’s magic stone differed in color, shape, and size. So by appraising it, you could tell which monster it came from. That served as proof of subjugation. There were even people who made a living identifying magic stones.

Man, I’m really glad proof of subjugation isn’t like an ear or something.

I could accept having to fight monsters, but I seriously didn’t want to go skinning parts off them… Besides, the loincloths they wore were filthy and I didn’t want to touch them, and the wooden sticks were too bulky to carry.

After that, I spent the rest of the day, almost until evening, fighting goblins and other F-rank monsters while testing out the skill and getting some combat training. During that time, I tried out different uses of 【Damage Adjustment】.

Like, making blunt force caused a cut instead, or getting hit in the arm but injuring my leg. Weird stuff like that… Which, turned out, I could actually do. At this point, the damage I received was completely under my control. I should just go ahead and award myself the title of Damage Master.

What the hell is with this weird skill…!?

That thought crossed my mind, but if I kept it on 『Unharmed』 I’d basically be invincible. This was definitely a cheat skill. …Ah, and by the way, the actual injuries I did get were healed with a low-grade potion.

Afterward, I rode the regular stagecoach back to the town of Galiano, brought the required number of magic stones to the guild, and received my reward. Although that reward quickly disappeared, since I used it to cover the cost of having my arm checked at the hospital.

The result came back normal, so I figured it was safe to assume I could reduce damage to zero.

If I normally kept it on 『Unharmed』 I’d be invincible and if I lived my life as a tank and shield role, I might even climb up to S-rank someday. But that would be kind of…Too normal, in a way.

Then the next day arrived. Today was the day we’d be heading to the Dragon’s Nest. It was 8 AM When I went down to the inn’s dining hall, I spotted Emil already seated. Since there was nothing on the table yet, I figured she must’ve just sat down for breakfast.

“Good morning, Emil. Are you about to eat?”

“Good morning. Yes, I was just about to have breakfast. Let’s eat together.”

After placing our orders, Emil and I went over the plan for today.

“Our goal is to go to a dungeon called the Dragon’s Nest to get a dragon’s magic stone, which is one of the ingredients for the elixir to cure your little sister’s illness. And we hired Karinka-san’s A-rank party as our escort.”

“Yes, that’s exactly right.”

“We just became adventurers, so we’re F-rank—the lowest. So we’ll leave the fighting to Karinka-san’s party. We won’t participate in combat, no matter what.”

“Yes, I think that’s for the best as well.”

“And hey, there’s something I was curious about. Why did you make the request for an escort, and not just to ‘go get a dragon magic stone’?”

You usually hired escorts when you needed to go to a dangerous place yourself—like to meet someone, or do something that could only be done there. So I figured she didn’t have to go to such a dangerous place personally.

“Eh? Well, I mean, wouldn’t it be rude to let the adventurers go into danger while I just sit around and wait? Since I’m the one asking for help, I think I should go with them. And I can use healing magic, so I thought maybe I could be of some help.”

You really don’t come across girls this kind very often… And yet someone like her got scammed. The world is a harsh place indeed.

I decided to respect Emil’s wishes. When push came to shove, I’d just act as her shield. As we chatted, our food arrived. It was your typical breakfast combo—bread, ham and eggs, and a salad, just like you’d find back in my old world.

Emil was happily eating a salad-based dish, smiling all the while. She looked so beautiful with her silver hair that I found myself mesmerized. 

She really does heal the soul, huh… Emil is amazing.

As the appointed time drew near, the two of us headed for the guild. When we entered, Karinka-san was already waiting at a table near the entrance. Emil and I apologized for being late, and she stood up and replied.

“No worries. It’s still 8:50. Our meeting time is 9:00, so you’re not late.”

Karinka-san smiled as she said that. Then, I noticed something important. There were two other women standing next to her. One was a beautiful woman with short red hair, wearing light armor and equipped with a bow. An archer, probably? Though I didn’t see any arrows on her.

The other had blue hair that reached down to her waist. She wore a white robe and carried a staff. Her outfit was similar to Emil’s, but the skirt had a bold slit. She looked like a mage. Then Karinka-san introduced the two of them.

“Let me introduce you. This is Sara the archer, and Mint the healer.”

A healer, huh…?

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