“We’ll Definitely Come Back to Save You!” — It’s Been Three Years Since I Was Left in the Most Difficult Dungeon, Isn’t It About Time for Help to Arrive...? - 30-31

Chapter 30: Just a Girl

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“Just now, Hel… Did you say that you’re my familiar?”

“Yes, I did.”

“Shouldn’t it be the other way around?”

“The other way around…?”

Hel tilted her head to the side as if she truly had no idea what I was talking about.

“I mean, I was totally expecting that this contract would let you work me to the bone like some kind of draft horse. I’d already accepted giving up my freedom for life.”

“…Do you think I’m some kind of a savage?”

“I kinda do.”

Knowing she’d catch me if I lied, I answered honestly. Hel puffed her cheeks and pouted, then began lightly thumping me with her tiny fists.

“So that ‘becoming yours’ you were talking about earlier… It meant you becoming my familiar, huh.”

“…Yes. The transfer of power went smoothly, so there’s no need to worry.”

“I see. Haah… I wasted so much energy being on guard.”

Why she’d used such a roundabout expression was beyond me, but for now I was relieved that I’d managed to avoid the slave life I’d been bracing for. I guess trusting her wasn’t a mistake after all.

“…By the way, this stuff coming off me—can we do something about it?”

I pointed at the black haze leaking from my body. Hel looked at it for a moment, then turned her gaze to me and observed carefully.

“Try tightening your whole body, Athos. Like you’re hardening the outside of your body to keep things in.”

“Like this? Hrrngh—!”

I tensed all my muscles, and the haze leaking out subsided a little, but not completely.

“…You’re over capacity. I guess even Athos couldn’t fully contain it inside your body.”

“Over capacity? How much power did you even—Hel?”

I noticed something off and looked at her. Hel was smiling softly, seemingly satisfied, but her face had grown noticeably pale, and she was unsteady on her feet.

“Hey, wait! There’s a thing called balance, you know!? You’re completely out of magic, aren’t you!?”

I rushed to support her as she nearly collapsed, and she smiled gently in my arms.

“That’s right… Right now I’m completely out of magic power. I’m weak and helpless… I’m just a girl who might find herself in danger at any moment. So—”

Still in my arms, she stood on tiptoe, drew close to my ear, and whispered:

“…From now on, Athos, you’ll protect me… Won’t you?”

Her expression wasn’t the usual contrary or whimsical one. It was the look of an enchantress, subtly playful and seductive, reeling in her prey.

“…So this was your plan from the start, wasn’t it?”

Sweat slowly trickled down my temple. I had probably walked straight into a situation I couldn’t undo.

“Yes. My goal has always been just one thing—not to be a calamity or a monster, but to be a girl. Just a girl… A heroine.”

Hel let out a quiet laugh. She was growing weaker, her strength fading from her legs as I held her more tightly to stop her from slipping from my arms.

“…Still, maybe giving you all my magic power was a bit much.”

“That’s definitely too much, you idiot! Take some of it back right now! Watching this is stressing me out!”

“I was joking, of course. I only gave about ninety percent… My body is just a bit heavy, that’s all.”

“You’re literally dying!! Hey, come on, stay with me!”

As I desperately fussed over her, Hel let out a small laugh. Even having given me her power and left herself completely defenseless, she showed no fear. Instead, she calmly shut her eyes and entrusted herself to me.

That was the clearest sign of all that she believed in me—and I knew then that there was no way I could ever betray that trust.

“…Alright. You gave me your power, just like you promised. I’ll protect you, even if it kills me. So don’t ever do something this reckless again.”

“Yes, of course. …I won’t forget our promise—Master.”

“Master?”

“Now that I’m your familiar, doesn’t that title suit you better? Oh, by the way, I also went ahead and passed along my authority as a boss monster to you while we were at it. It’s called Familiar Contract…”

“Wait?! What the hell did you just do?! How could you do that so nonchalantly like that?!”
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Chapter 31: Familiar Contract

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Familiar Contract. It was a special authority granted only to boss monsters, allowing the owner to form a magical contract with a target, making one the familiar of the other.

Once the contract was made, the sharing or transfer of magic power and abilities became possible. However, the contract required mutual consent—it could not be forced. Along with a verbal vow, a crest would be inscribed as proof of the contract.

And when I found out that this strange and unusual power had been handed over to me without my knowledge—and in a one-sided way at that….

“Wait, wait! As long as I have enough power to bring those girls back to normal, I’m good! I don’t need this kind of ability!”

“Come on now, it’s not like I’d use it even if I kept it, so Master should just hold onto it for me!”

“Liar! This is that ability you use to command dungeon monsters, isn’t it!? You’re totally trying to dump the dungeon management duties on me while I’m distracted!”

“T-That’s not true! I just… I just want Master to keep getting stronger, that’s all…!”

As we grappled and squabbled, practically wrestling, I caught Hel’s words in my ear—and suddenly felt my hand twitch. At the same moment, the black haze that had been leaking around me started drifting up toward her face.

“…Corrosive Touch—that’s the name, right? Looks like it’s functioning properly. Good to know… huh, Hel?”

“W-Wait! This is cheating!”

“This was your power to begin with! Don’t you dare complain!”

“Owowow! I said it hurts! I-It hurts, I’m telling you!”

As I pulled her cheek in both directions, I caught a glimpse of the crest engraved on the back of my hand. Come to think of it, I had never seen any of the Niflheim monsters bearing a crest like this. Which meant…She had really been letting them all roam freely, doing whatever they wanted.

The true nature of the hardest dungeon turning into a lawless wasteland just because the manager was slacking off… I mean, sure, it made sense, but for those of us who had to clear it, that was seriously annoying.

“…Anyway, for now, I’ll hold onto this Familiar Contract or whatever. This isn’t the time to be arguing about stuff like this. Got it? I’m just holding it. That’s it. Nothing more.”

“…Yes, I understand. Then please take care of it—for a little while. …Also, can you please do something about this? I can’t see a thing with this haze all over my face…”

With a clearly annoyed expression, Hel pointed at the black haze covering her face.

“Oh right, that’s still out. My bad, I’ll pull it back right…Wait, how do I even bring it back?”

It had leaked out on its own, and then moved on its own. So from my perspective, there was nothing to “pull back” in the first place…

“If you focus your awareness on the crest on the back of your hand, you should be able to sense the flow of the magic power you received. Then just try to control it from there. Think of it like extra limbs—you’ll get the hang of it quickly.”

“‘Control it,’ huh… I’m really not great with magic or anything like that…”

Still, I followed her instructions and tried to think of it like it was my own hand or foot. But all that happened was that the haze wobbled and pulsed weirdly in front of Hel’s face.

“Um… Are you doing this on purpose, by any chance?”

“This is me trying my best! Sorry if I suck at it!”

Damn it… I really was bad at this kind of thing. 

And I mean, come on—“think of it like extra limbs”? Humans only have two arms and two legs! What am I supposed to picture here!?

As I racked my brain for a solution, I noticed a single flower blooming quietly in the shadow of a tree. Its stem was lined with countless thorns, thrusting outward as if to keep predators at bay. Now that I think about it, there was an adventurer in a joint party once who used a whip kind of like that.

At the time, I couldn’t understand why anyone would bother using something so unlikely to land a fatal hit. But the whip’s combination of flexibility, striking force, and piercing thorns had proven brutally effective against monsters with soft skin.

If I remembered correctly, the thickness of the whip was about the same as this…

Focusing on that fuzzy memory, I directed my awareness to the crest. The shapeless haze began to coil into a single, whip-like strand, from which numerous curved barbs sprouted.

“Oh…! This might actually work.”

I gave it a test swing, bringing it closer to my hand, then cracked it toward a tree on the other side. The thorns bit deeply into the bark, and I could feel the slow corrosion spreading from the wounds through the crest on my hand.

When I tightened the whip, the corrosion deepened, the bark began crumbling, and soon, the rotted part gave way. The tree, unable to support itself, collapsed to the ground from the roots up.

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