I Wanted a Cute Girl to Cast Healing Magic on Me, So I Kept Protecting My Allies—and Ended Up with an Overprotective Party - 7

Chapter 7: Not Touching It?

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

A healer, huh…?

Karinka-san’s party had three members, and all of them possessed A-rank skills. Karinka-san was on the front lines, Sara-san covered the rear, and Mint-san served as both a healer and a mage.

A blonde ponytail onee-san, a red-haired short-cut onee-san, and a long blue-haired onee-san. What a dazzling party. And now, to top it off, the silver-haired beauty Emil had joined them, unintentionally turning the group into a harem.

Plus, there were now two healers. Was this world revolving around me or something?

We all exchanged greetings with a “Nice to meet you,” and finally, it was time to depart. At the reception, Kasumi-san sent us off with a gesture that said, “Do your best!”

The Dragon’s Nest was deep in the mountains, and apparently, the path was so treacherous that it was only accessible from the city of Galiano.

“Um, Karinka-san. How exactly are we going to reach the Dragon’s Nest? A carriage would take an awfully long time, wouldn’t it?”

“Ah, for that, we’ll be using teleportation magic.”

“Teleportation magic…? You can do something that miraculous?”

Magic itself was already a miracle to me, so if teleportation magic really existed, then it made sense that the world hadn’t developed more conventional means of physical transportation.

“To be precise, it’s a teleportation magic circle. We connect to locations where a magic circle has already been set up in advance.”

“So, when you say magic circle… Did Mint-san set it up beforehand?”

“Yes, that’s right. Mint’s an excellent healer and a skilled mage too.”

“Aww, Karinka, you’re exaggerating~”

Mint-san responded modestly in a gentle, drawn-out tone. Like Emil, she had a kind of aura that made her seem perfectly suited to being a healer.

“Huh? But doesn’t that mean there needs to be a teleportation magic circle at the Dragon’s Nest too?”

“You don’t have to worry about that. We set one up near the entrance yesterday.”

“Wait, so then… The reason we’re leaving two days after the request came in is…?”

“Exactly. Yesterday, just the three of us went ahead to place the teleportation magic circle near the entrance. We wanted to make sure the client could arrive as safely as possible. I’m really sorry that we ended up delaying our departure.”

Hearing Karinka-san say that made me genuinely happy. I was glad these were the people who had accepted the request. After that, the five of us stood atop a magic circle hidden in an inconspicuous area on the outskirts of town and, just like that, we reached the entrance to the Dragon’s Nest.

Everything went white for a moment—and the next instant, we were already there.

“So this is the Dragon’s Nest…”

“It’s my first time seeing a dungeon…”

What shocked me first was the location of the Dragon’s Nest. It sat atop a steep cliff, with a vast green forest stretching out below. This must be what they call an inland island. Strong winds howled around us, and while the footing was wide and solid, I still felt uneasy, worried that we might get blown off.

Karinka-san and her party had come to such a brutal place just to set up the teleportation circle for our sake. The Dragon’s Nest was enormous—far larger than the F-rank dungeon I had gone to yesterday. It also looked like a giant boulder on the outside, but its shape was so irregular, it looked like someone had stacked rocks together haphazardly.

“Now that we’re here, I have to ask—do you two really plan on going inside? You could stay here and wait, if you prefer. Sara can stay behind as your guard.”

“Yeah, yeah! The view here is great, so if anyone shady comes close, I’ll take them all down before they even get near!”

“Thank you for the suggestion. I guess two F-ranks really would just be a burden, huh?”

“No, that’s not what I meant at all. But considering that handing over the dragon’s magic stone isn’t part of the request, I assumed going inside is important for the two of you, too.”

Yeah, I figured she’d say that. I should probably explain to them.

“Well, you see, it’s because Emil was being considerate—”

“I see. Emil-san’s a thoughtful one. It’s certainly more reliable to see things firsthand. There’ve been reports lately of unscrupulous parties that take on escort jobs only to abandon their clients halfway and keep the fee.”

Infamy beats anonymity, huh. What are those blond-haired, blue-armored guys doing, getting famous for that? I’m locking them in as a “get what they deserve” target.

“In that case, wouldn’t it be safer for you two to stay behind here?”

“It’s fine. I may not look it, but I’m confident in my defense. Emil and I will hide together somewhere safe. Besides, wouldn’t it be better to have more people when facing a dragon?”

“True enough. If you’re sure, then I’ll respect that. I can also act as a tank with a shield if needed.”

And so, it was decided that we’d all head to the dragon together. The entrance was oddly shaped, so we had to go in one at a time. Apparently, there was also an upper entrance, but reaching it would be difficult, and more importantly, that one was where the dragon came and went—so it was dangerous.

The inside was hard to walk through, with jagged rocks that looked like they’d trip you up if you weren’t careful. And with so many monsters appearing in a place like this, it was easy to see why it was considered a high difficulty dungeon.

I set my 【Damage Adjustment】 to 『Unharmed』. That was the safest default, after all.

Right now, our top priority was to get the dragon’s magic stone and return safely. I did have some sense of time and place. I didn’t want Karinka-san and the others worrying about me either.

But once this is over, I’ll party up with Emil and have her heal me a ton!

Karinka-san and Mint-san led the way. Sara-san was in the very back, and Emil and I walked in the middle, protected on both sides as we moved deeper inside. Strange, monstrous creatures like those from video games kept attacking us, but Karinka-san and her party took them down with flawless coordination, all while protecting us.

Incredible. No wonder they are an A-rank party.

Eventually, we reached the dragon. It stood on two legs and had large wings. Its body was a deep black color and easily over ten meters tall. It looked like something straight out of a monster-hunting game.

“You two, hide!”

At Karinka-san’s command, Emil and I hid behind a large rock. Just in case, I stepped in front of her protectively and kept watch on the battle. And for the worst-case scenario, I got ready to jump out at any time to take a hit for someone else.

Karinka-san, at the front line, drew the dragon’s attention. From a distance, Sara-san fired countless arrows. Looking closely, the arrows resembled beams—probably magic arrows. 

Come to think of it, Sara-san isn’t carrying any arrows. So that’s something A-rank archers could do?

Mint-san pointed her staff at Karinka-san. She must’ve been casting a body-enhancement spell since Karinka-san’s movements didn’t even seem human anymore. We watched for tens of minutes. Finally, the dragon collapsed to the ground with a tremendous crash, brought down by their attacks.

Well, dragons sometimes came out and attacked people, so this outcome was justified. In the spot where the dragon had vanished, a shiny black hexagonal magic stone, about 30 centimeters wide, had dropped.

“Fuu…”

As everyone, including us, gathered around Karinka-san, she let out a quiet breath of relief. The battle was over.

“Good job, Karinka~!”

“You were especially fired up today!”

“You too. Thanks for the support, both of you.”

The three beautiful women praised each other.

Ahh, just watching this kind of thing is soothing for the heart.

“Huh? Karinka, you’ve got an injury on your thigh.”

Mint-san’s words drew everyone’s attention to Karinka-san’s thigh. Sure enough, there was a large tear in her armor there, and her pale skin was gashed and bleeding.

“Ah, this? The dragon’s claw happened to hit the one spot my armor didn’t cover. But it’s not a big deal.”

“No, no~ You’re a girl, you know? You have to take care of your appearance! Hold still, I’ll heal it.”

Wh-what…! Does that mean Mint-san is going to keep touching Karinka-san’s thigh while casting healing magic!?

In my case, Emil had held my right hand—and the feeling had nearly made me ascend to heaven. This unexpected yuri element had me just a little excited. Mint-san held both hands over Karinka-san’s thigh.

“Resurrection…”

Apparently, this was a high-level healing spell with the name of a revival technique. A soft green light emanated from Mint-san’s hands. The same glow appeared on Karinka-san’s thigh, and the deep-looking wound faded away in seconds along with the blood. Karinka-san’s expression remained calm.

“Fuu… Thanks, Mint.”

“You’re welcome~”

Wait, that’s it? That was way too quick. Where’s the yuri? Emil touched me way more, so why!?

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