The Strongest Adventurers’ Mental Caretaker ~ Somehow I Ended Up Involved with Every Beautiful Girl in the Hero’s Party ~ If You Have Time to Fight Over Me, Please Go Save the World - 9

Chapter 9: Emergency Maintenance

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As we proceeded into the middle layers of the dungeon, the number and quality of the monsters were clearly increasing. In addition to the packs of goblins, packs of orcs, which were a higher species, and giant slimes large enough to fill the dungeon passageways appeared one after another.

The elimination speed of our “Valkyrie” was still overwhelming. However, my eyes could not be deceived.

“Tch…! They are tough!”

The timing of Freya’s sword swings was slightly delayed, and her subjugation speed was not keeping pace with the increasing number of monsters. Apparently, the speed at which “Kagerou” devoured the enemies had also dulled compared to when we were near the entrance.

“Kuh… Their numbers are vast! Luminara, you missed some!”

“…Quiet. Aeris, you are the one who should stay out of my line of fire… You are in the way…”

Aeris’s shield handling with “Onigumo” grew sloppy, and she was gradually shaving away her physical strength from receiving trivial attacks. The impact points of Luminara’s magic unleashed from “Yatagarasu” were also slightly off target, and scenes where she could not finish them off in a single blow were increasing.

What began to drift about was that prickly, strained air, just like when they had come to that shop.

(Here it comes.)

I furrowed my brows. Artifacts were peerless and powerful weapons, but as a trade-off, it was said that they significantly wore down the user’s mental strength. The burden of exercising immense power shaved away their rationality, becoming an intense stress that eroded their minds. At this rate, the party would collapse before reaching the boss.

“—That is enough. We are turning back a little to take a break.”

When I clapped my hands and declared so, the three of them turned around in surprise.

“Hah? What are you saying? We can still keep going.”

“Indeed. If we stop in a place like this, other nations will beat us to the punch.”

The bloodthirsty Freya and Aeris pushed back. Particularly with Freya, the highlights had vanished from her eyes, harboring a dangerous light. It was a different kind of cloudiness from when she was targeting me. This was a symptom that her mental erosion from the Artifact was right at its limit.

“No. Your teamwork is a complete wreck currently. If you proceed like this, you will die.”

I spoke firmly and stepped into an old, small room off to the side of the passage.

“Now, it is time for emergency maintenance. …Come over here.”

I beckoned to them. Although unsatisfied, the three of them did not disobey my command and quietly entered the small room. First was the hero Freya, who was in the most critical condition.

“Freya. …You do not need to rush.”

I pulled her bloodthirsty shoulders close and gently patted her head over and over.

“W-What… treating me like a child…”

“You did well. The elimination at the entrance was splendid. As expected of the hero I chose to believe in.”

The desire for validation. I poured the words of validation she starved for most straight into her as I looked into her eyes.

“…! …N-Not really! Something like that is normal… After all, I am the hero!”

“Yeah. That is precisely why you should fight calmly without rushing. There is no way you can lose. Not to the dungeon, not to the monsters, and not to the race for the Artifact, either. Right?”

“Y-Yes… Of course…”

The stiffened expression on Freya’s face melted away in an instant. Her cheeks flushed cinnabar, and she rubbed her head against my hand.

“Next is Aeris. …Your shoulders are far too tense.”

Moving behind her, I slid my fingers into the gaps in her armor—between her neckline and collarbone. I kneaded away the stiffened muscles with precise acupressure.

“Ah…! N-Not there…!”

“I am happy that you are trying to protect me, but it means nothing if you break yourself. …I might be unreliable, but I am watching over your back from behind. You can relax a little more.”

“Ugh… kuh… …Forgive me, Cain…”

“I do not want to see you get hurt, either. I want to leave nothing but my bite marks on that beautiful skin of yours.”

“…! I-I understand, so do not say any more than that!”

Aeris lightly punched me with a thud, then clung to me as if entrusting her body weight to me. In her voice, which was mixed with hot breaths, there was no longer any of her previous prickliness. Lastly, Luminara. Bringing my face close to her ear, I whispered in a voice audible to no one else.

“…The formula for that chain magic earlier. It was a beautiful composition.”

The desire for knowledge and the desire for showing off. As an amateur who had crammed about magic overnight, I praised the beauty of the magic she was secretly particular about, acting as someone who understood it.

“…You were… watching me…?”

“Yeah. Your magic is magnificent every time I see it. That is precisely why you shouldn’t get sloppy. Show me its perfect control all the way through. You should be capable of that. I know you can.”

“Mm… I can… do it…”

A flame of fighting spirit harbored within Luminara’s eyes. Then, she tightly gripped my sleeve and nodded while looking up from beneath her lashes. I faced the three of them inside my arms once more.

“The dungeon’s deepest layer is coming up soon. Meaning, the treatment is also coming up soon. Do your best.”

When I smiled meaningfully, the cheeks of all three flushed red, and the glare returned to their eyes.

(Phew. I guess that does it…)

When we left the small room, the ones standing there were no longer exhausted adventurers. Their skin was gleaming. Their eyes were overflowing with strength, and they were radiating motivation—under the name of carnal desire—from their entire bodies. They were truly a bunch of walking S-rank monsters.

The mental burden from the Artifacts recovered in the blink of an eye. Rather, it was replaced with a powerful energy born from their anticipation for what came after the battle.

“Let us go, Cain. …With how I am right now, I can cut through anything.”

“Ah. My body feels light… I must perform even better and have you praise me.”

“…My magic energy… is overflowing. I will destroy… everything—”

The three of them glared into the depths of the dungeon with eyes like carnivores targeting their prey.

(I see.)

Looking at their backs, the thought occurred to me.

Their abnormal obsession with me. It was likely also a reaction to the mental wear and tear from the Artifacts. The more their hearts were shaved away, the more they depended on my existence to fill that void.

If I were to misuse this, I could completely turn them into my puppets. Such a dark thought crossed my mind. But at the same time, their body heat remaining in my hands evoked a different emotion.

(But if I continue to support them by their side the whole time, this adventure might turn out to be far more enjoyable than I thought.)

Chuckling dryly as if to shake off a thought so uncharacteristic of myself, I raised my voice, saying, “Now, let us continue our work.”

A relationship of co-existence where we made use of each other and depended on each other. For now, that was more than enough.

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