It's Not Like I Want to Play the Role of a Misunderstood, Good-for-Nothing Prince in a Villainess Story! - Chapter 72: Zeke Returns to the Surface

“Ah… huh?”

When I opened my eyes, I was in an unfamiliar room.

A simple wooden window, a water pitcher, and a thick, slightly damp cloth draped over my head.

Where… is this?

I remember going into the dungeon and being attacked, then…

“…………”

I held my head as I remembered.

What have I done?

I went too far.

True, I was angry, but in the end Misty had to stop me.

I completely went out of control.

“Aaaaaahhh… ow!”

As I shook my body around, I felt pain in my right arm.

Wha… what is this?

Looking at it, my right arm was wrapped with as many bandages as possible.

Compared to my left arm without bandages, it’s obviously massively bulked up!

Is this okay? Is this really okay? When I unwrap the bandages, a black dragon won’t come out, right!?

Doctor! Is there a doctor anywhere!?

While I was making a fuss in my head, the door opened with a clatter.

“Ah…”

“Misty.”

The one who came in was Misty.

In her hands were a tray and a wooden bucket with a thick cloth covering the rim. I heard the sound of water sloshing.

Misty said nothing as she placed the tray on the desk, and then—

“Zeke-sama!”

She grabbed my hands tightly with both of hers while looking down.

“Wait, Misty!?”

“Zeke-sama, you’ve awakened.”

“Y-yeah. I was just sleeping though.”

So dramatic…

I replied lightly, but Misty suddenly raised her face and glared at me.

“What are you saying!? Zeke-sama, do you know how long you’ve been sleeping!?”

“Half a day or so?”

“Three days.”

“Three days!? That long!?”

The entire adventure training is gone, and we even used the reserve days!

Wh-why was I sleeping for so long!

I was surprised at myself, but thinking calmly, it was natural.

Excessive blood loss… I shed too much blood.

Even so, dark magic users often use blood to exercise magic normally.

So I think there was a status ailment resistance against blood loss, but even so, I pushed myself too hard.

“Sorry, I made you worry.”

“You really did. I thought Zeke-sama might die like this.”

“…By the way, what would you have done if I had died?”

I wonder if she’d at least cry for me.

When I asked out of curiosity, an unexpected answer came back.

“If you had died? Well then… I was planning to build an ice temple next to this inn.”

“Huh, an ice temple?”

What’s that, some RPG dungeon or something? Sounds like there’d be a boss in the back.

“What would you do with something like that?”

“Of course I’d build Zeke-sama’s grave. A magnificent one in the deepest part.”

“Seriously…”

With that flow, the boss in the back would probably be me.

Surely I’d become an undead boss or something decades later, defeating people who came to search for treasure in the deepest part.

“No, normal is fine though.”

“Incidentally, I think I’d be the grave keeper… but you’re right. I understand what Zeke-sama wants to say. It should be normal, right?”

“You understand?”

“Yes, I’m Zeke-sama’s betrothed after all. Junshi… that’s right, dying before the grave is natural. Together until the end…”

“…………”

That’s heavy… I’m not asking for that much. Also, your imagination is too rich after assuming I’d die.

For me, even if I died, I’d want Misty to be happy.

—No, wait.

But if that happened, Misty marrying and being happy with someone I don’t know is also somehow unpleasant.

Ah, my pathetic possessiveness! But that’s not the point.

After clearing my throat with a cough—

“Misty.”

“Yes?”

“Um… thank you for stopping me at the last moment in the dungeon. I almost did something wrong.”

Misty showed a briefly dumbfounded expression before slightly relaxing her mouth.

“No, that’s not true. Even without me, Zeke-sama would have stopped there.”

“No, no no.”

I don’t think that’s the case.

It’s because Misty stopped me.

“By the way, what happened to those guys? And where is this?”

“Ah, then let me explain that first.”

☆☆☆

“Oh, you’re awake.”

When I went down to the floor below the inn, Beldiha and the knights were sitting in a lobby-like area in front of the reception.

“I apologize for the trouble.”

After that—

After I collapsed, Misty forcibly stopped the bleeding on my right arm with ice magic and hurried to the surface.

Then, she borrowed one room of the inn the knights had reserved and had them treat me.

“No, we’re the ones who should apologize. I’ve dabbled in medicine but I’m not a doctor.”

One of the knights said, but they used expensive medicine and lots of bandages to treat my right arm, so I could only be grateful.

“No no, you saved me. Thank you. I’ll pay you later.”

“Ah… about that. It’s fine.”

“…?”

Beldiha interjected from the side.

“Huh, but the medicine was expensive, right?”

“That’s true, but this time, you mostly solved the problem.”

“…?”

When I heard the story, apparently the monster abnormality was because there was a magic circle on the upper floors that disrupted the magic power balance within the dungeon.

“But would one disrupt it?”

“No, it wasn’t just one.”

When Beldiha and the others carried Agos and the rest (who couldn’t move with broken limbs—Larba was watching them) to the surface, they apparently heard that there were actually double-digit magic circles.

“That’s way too many.”

“The dungeon is wide, and they didn’t know which path you guys would take.”

True, it would have been wasted if we hadn’t taken that path.

But don’t set them up indiscriminately.

“Monsters are sensitive to magic power unlike humans.”

“Huh… so that’s how it is.”

Attracted by the magic power, middle-floor monsters came to the upper floors, and upper-floor monsters panicked and changed their behavior.

Totally a nuisance.

“So what happened to Agos and the others?”

“Ah, when I contacted the capital, someone came to pick them up immediately and took them away.”

“I see.”

So they already went to the capital.

“…………”

I’m not going to apologize.

Even though I went too far, they were in the wrong.

Considering the worst-case scenario…

“What’s with the solemn face?”

Beldiha looked at me with a grin while removing the bottle from his mouth.

“Just thinking I went a bit too far.”

“Ha, isn’t it fine? I heard from the girl. They made the first move, right? Then there’s no such thing as too far. Where do you draw the line for too far? Who decides? They had the resolve when they made their move, so you don’t need to feel bad about it.”

“Hmm.”

Breaking both hands and feet is pretty serious though.

“You’re being dramatic. Injuries can be healed once they return to the capital.”

“That’s tru… what did you just say?”

Huh, injuries… can be healed!?

“What, you didn’t know? There are several healing magicians in the capital, and there’s even an amazing one called the Saint.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, though apparently lost lives and severed limbs won’t regrow.”

I didn’t know! Huh, such people existed!?

I didn’t know because I’d never been seriously injured!

When I looked at Misty thinking she might know, Misty also looked surprised, so she didn’t know either.

“Well, there aren’t many, and even if you pile up a fortune, you’ll probably wait years for your turn. For broken bones in limbs, they might heal while waiting. Still, not taking their lives wasn’t entirely wrong, was it? I personally think you could’ve killed one as an example though!”

Beldiha laughed “ka ka ka.”

But I see, they can be healed.

I was worried they’d heal wrong since I broke the bones quite roughly, but it seems it’ll be fine.

“So, what will you do if this happens again?”

That’s obvious.

“If they can be healed in the capital, I’ll do the same. I don’t think I’ll take their lives though.”

“Isn’t that fine? Just like you, being a softy.”

After that, we met up with Larba and the others who returned from shopping and ate together.

Regarding the dungeon exploration, they apparently picked up ore on the way back from the dungeon and planned to submit it when we returned to school.

Anyway, while there were some problems, the adventure training ended safely.