Chapter 10: Reunion

It has been over seven years since I came to this world.

It was a short life, but I did my best. I have no intention of giving up, but I can see the reality of the situation clearly.

I can't be the only one to run away. Even if the Knight Order came to help in this situation, it would take them an hour to get here. And even if the knights did come, against this massive horde...

Why did it come to this...?

I had heard there were many monsters recently.

Because of that, Count Beetle had permanently dispatched a unit of knights to this dungeon city, Granzam. The Beetle Knights number over one hundred and twenty, so they split into groups of twenty and rotated daily to dive into the dungeon.

The knights were thinning out the monsters, but they aren't as skilled at dungeon conquest as adventurers.

As for the adventurers, all those ranked D and above headed west to make a name for themselves in the war with the Kingdom of Barcus.

The dungeon here was formed shortly before I was born, and only goblins spawn in it. Because of that, many E-Rank adventurers gathered here, making the city very lively.

This dungeon is apparently very easy, but the third floor is said to be brutal.

They say there's a "respawn room" where Goblin Generals spawn continuously.

It seems to be strong enough that a C-Rank party would struggle to clear it, and there were no parties in this city capable of conquering that respawn room. Once in the past, a famous B-Rank party from another city came to the Granzam Dungeon and managed to clear the respawn room, but they never returned from what appeared to be the boss room beyond it.

Since then, the Beetle Knights have also made attempts on the dungeon, but they have their hands full handling the respawn room and haven't reached the boss room yet.

The E-Rank adventurers remaining in the city also dive into the dungeon, but they only go as far as the Safety Zone on the second floor. Beyond that, multiple Goblin Generals sometimes appear, posing a risk to their lives.

So, the knights have been thinning out the numbers up to just before the respawn room on the third floor.

That situation continued until last month. But recently, an abnormality occurred.

Monsters began appearing frequently even in the outskirts of the dungeon city, Granzam.

The monsters were Kobolds. In a city with many E-Rank adventurers, they shouldn't have been a threat, but their numbers were vast.

Unless about a hundred were killed daily, they would press in on Granzam, so the knights were forced to prioritize Kobold extermination over the dungeon.

Dispatching twenty knights to Granzam every day seemed to be quite a burden. There are other cities besides Granzam, and the increase in monsters was starting to occur in places other than just here. There was also public order to maintain.

Even so, Count Beetle kept sending the knights.

But about three hours ago, it happened.

Dungeon Saturation. A massive amount of goblins surged forth from the dungeon.

None of the adventurers in Granzam had ever experienced a Dungeon Saturation. Of course, neither had we. So, when a few goblins first came out, we thought it was no big deal.

That was a mistake. If we had prepared to flee right then...

To deal with the saturation, the adventurers immediately went to subjugate the goblins. It took about an hour after the saturation began to finish off the hundred or so goblins that had emerged onto the surface.

I think there were about fifty adventurers, and fortunately, there were no serious injuries.

As for me, I was healing the adventurers with 《Heal》.

Yes... I can use the precious Holy Magic. I think I have quite a lot of MP, too.

Just as I finished healing the adventurers, the second wave arrived.

I used 《Heal》 thinking it was over with the first wave, but that might have been a mistake.

The second wave brought about double the number—two hundred goblins—pouring out of the dungeon. Furthermore, there were numerous Goblin Mages and Hobgoblins this time.

The adventurers were forced entirely on the defensive. I supported them using 《Heal》, but it wouldn't be strange for my MP to run out at any moment.

Seeing the second wave, the residents began to evacuate.

I thought that if the evacuees sought help from the knights who should be outside the city, we would manage somehow... until that moment.

The residents fled toward the western checkpoint. The goblins chased them, and the western checkpoint was immediately flooded with goblins.

The residents who failed to escape desperately headed southwest. Toward where we were.

We must have killed about a hundred of them. Another hundred left... we could finally see the end. However, there were still many Hobgoblins and Goblin Mages, so we couldn't let our guard down.

Just as I was thinking that, the third wave arrived. There must be three hundred of them. And that count was just the Hobgoblins and Goblin Mages.

Despair washed over not just the residents who had fled here, but the adventurers as well.

I prayed that at least my father and mother had escaped.

My father and mother who treated me so kindly after I came to this world. My second set of parents.

But my wish was in vain, and I heard voices I shouldn't have heard.

"Thank goodness! Clarice! You're safe! Dad will protect you no matter what! It's going to be okay, so don't worry!"

"Thank goodness! Clarice, you're safe! We'll handle this, so rest easy!"

Father and Mother had failed to escape. No, perhaps they couldn't bring themselves to flee leaving me behind.

Father and Mother stepped in front of me.

The adventurers were holding the front line, but it looked like they were about to be broken through at any moment. Several had already suffered heavy injuries and retreated.

As the adventurers were pushed back, we were being surrounded by goblins.

It didn't take thirty minutes for us to be completely encircled.

There were only about twenty adventurers left capable of fighting. The adventurers defended the north side, and the residents defended the east.

Father and Mother were on the resident's front line. Behind me were over a hundred injured people.

Then, on the east side defended by the residents, someone was heavily injured. It was Father!

Father's right arm was broken. And he was bleeding from his stomach.

"Dad! Are you okay?! Wait, I'll heal you right now!"

"Stop... The people you need to heal right now are the adventurers... If you prioritize healing the adventurers, you will be saved. The residents will be saved too..."

Even while pressing down on his wound, Father tried to persuade me with a slow, gentle voice so as not to worry me. Then Mother also retreated, bleeding from her stomach.

It seemed the goblins were already certain of their victory; they intended to torture us to death slowly.

As proof, they were attacking while laughing, "Gya gya gya," with vulgar expressions on their faces.

Without hesitating, I cast 《Heal》 on Father and Mother. The wounds on their stomachs healed.

Father's right arm didn't heal, but his life was out of danger, so I stopped at one 《Heal》. However, an adventurer who saw them recover shouted,

"If you can still use Heal, use it on us adventurers too!"

Hearing that, the residents began to clamor.

"I'm more seriously injured, heal me first!"

"Me first!"

"Don't be ridiculous! Me!"

They began to scream with bloodshot eyes. I knew this would happen. But I couldn't abandon Father and Mother.

While this was happening, infighting broke out among the humans.

Some even tried to use violence against me to force me to cast 《Heal》.

It was a noble. A man claiming to be a Baron said healing him was the top priority.

Confirming that the noble had only suffered a scratch, I judged he was fine and used what was likely my remaining MP for the adventurers.

Then, the noble man slapped my cheek.

"Don't screw with me! I'll execute you for lese-majesty!"

The noble man drew his sword and slashed at me.

I never imagined he would do such a thing in this situation. I simply froze on the spot, squeezing my eyes shut as the sword swung down.

But seconds passed, and I still hadn't been cut.

Huh? I opened my eyes to see Father had taken the blow in my place. And Mother was in front of me too. They intended to be a human shield together.

I immediately cast 《Heal》 on Father.

It might have stopped the bleeding a little, but the blood didn't stop completely.

I tried to cast 《Heal》 once more, but it didn't activate.

My MP had dropped to single digits.

My slashed Father spoke to the noble.

"Please, forgive my daughter... Please show mercy..."

"You dare get in my way too?! Both parent and child are sentenced to death for lese-majesty! Die and apologize!"

The mad blade was about to swing down... when the noble man went flying.

Startled, I looked toward the direction where the person who blew the noble away was standing. There stood a boy I didn't know.

He was about the same age as me, perhaps taller.

And he gave off a strangely nostalgic feeling.

☆☆☆

Stepping out from the wall, I saw a crowd of injured people before me.

Looking back, I saw what appeared to be the city walls. They looked similar to the walls of Almeria.

There was no reaction at all from the crystal Van gave me.

I wondered if this wall was connected to the dungeon, but it seemed this wasn't the time to ponder such things.

Beyond the injured, humans and goblins were fighting.

There was a place where angry shouts and screams were particularly loud, so I moved there immediately. Since I have a child's body, I could slip through even where people were densely packed.

I intentionally passed by the heavily injured, using 《Heal》 on them without letting others notice. Everyone was so confused that a little bold action went unnoticed.

The injured people looked at their wounds in bewilderment.

I arrived at the scene quickly.

It was a grotesque sight. They should have been fighting goblins, yet a human was trying to kill another human. And for some reason, the people around them weren't even trying to stop it.

A little girl was screaming, "Dad!"

The person about to be slashed must be her father.

I can still make it.

Thinking that, I used 《Sylphid》 to move at high speed in front of the man about to swing his sword, aiming a palm strike at his chin.

It was a spur-of-the-moment action, and I seemed to have used too much force; the man flew spectacularly, like a stuntman.

My action caused the area to fall silent.

It would be bad if the man I sent flying woke up and tried to slash again, so I took his decorated sword. Then, trying not to be noticed by those around, I healed the wounds of the man who had nearly been slashed.

"Let's defeat the goblins for now! Explain the situation later!"

I shouted to the people nearby.

"There are over three hundred goblins! There are Hobgoblins too! We're doomed!"

"If we could do that, we would have done it already!"

Angry voices roared back.

"I can handle the goblins on this side alone! Please keep watch on the other side!"

Leaving only those words, I charged into the goblin horde.

The residents looked at me as if to say, What is he talking about?

Ignoring their gazes, I began taking down the goblins using only the sword, without magic. I thought using magic might cause collateral damage to people who were possibly still alive.

With three hundred of them, if I kill one every five seconds, that's 1,500 seconds. I can wipe them out in twenty-five minutes.

I've been fighting Goblin Kings, Goblin Lords, and Goblin Generals, so Hobgoblins and Goblin Mages are hardly opponents at this point.

I didn't even need to use 《Sylphid》 to kill them instantly.

Thirty minutes later, I had finished killing all the goblins in the city.

The city was wrapped in voices of joy, and many people offered me words of thanks and gratitude.

However, hearing that a fourth wave might come immediately, the residents began to evacuate.

Just as the residents started to flee, the knights arrived, accompanied by the man who governed this place, Count Beetle.

"I am Count Beetle, Raul Grace! What is happening here?! Are the residents safe? Are there any injured? We will treat the heavily injured first! If you are heavily injured or have one nearby, tell the knights! You may speak directly to me as well!"

Then, the man I had sent flying clung to the Count.

"Count Beetle! I have suffered a scratch! Also, an unidentified bandit attacked me, causing me to lose consciousness, and my head hurts! Please treat me as top priority!"

"Hmph, if you can talk that much, you can wait. Search for the seriously injured residents."

"W-What?! Treat me, a noble, first!"

"You're persistent! Start protecting the residents immediately!"

Saying that, Count Beetle left the spot and began tending to the residents' wounds and mental state.

The Baron, having been lightly brushed off, spotted me and screamed in a shrill voice.

"It's the bandit! The bandit is there! Arrest him! No, execute him for lese-majesty, I don't care!"

None of the residents moved.

Rather, they surrounded me as if to protect and hide me.

"What are you doing! I'll sentence you all to death for lese-majesty too! Knights, arrest that brat!"

Then, one of the knights spoke up.

"Unfortunately, Lord Dameze, you do not have the authority to command us. We have been ordered to protect the residents, so we hope you understand."

The knight also left the spot to search for the injured.

So that guy's name is Dameze.

He's not the Knight Commander, nor does he seem to be the Magic Corps Commander. He doesn't look particularly strong either, so he probably just inherited the title from his parents. If such incompetence can inherit a title, nobles really should have many children.

However, I should avoid staying here. I can't stand being entangled with Dameze again.

Thinking that, I hid in the shadow of a house. Dameze lost sight of me and, perhaps giving up, turned his anger toward the residents.

Watching his arrogant behavior was honestly irritating, and I inadvertently gripped my hands tight—only to realize I was holding the sword I took from Dameze in my right hand.

If I leave like this, I'm stealing it. It is Dameze's, after all...

If I return it to the rampaging Dameze now, he might start slashing at the residents again, so I think it's better not to return it for now. Or rather, maybe it's better if I never return it. As I was pondering this...

"Thank you very much! Thanks to you, both my daughter and I were saved!"

I turned toward the voice and saw the man Dameze had nearly slashed earlier.

"No, I apologize for acting out of turn."

For a moment, I thought about giving the sword to this man, but I felt like he'd just get slashed again if he went to return it, so I stopped.

"Even so, you have amazing strength for someone so young. I thought my daughter was a genius at the same age, but... Clarice, come here."

As he said that, a girl stepped out from behind the man.

The girl stared at me intently without saying a word.

I also found myself staring at the girl with silver hair, blue eyes, and very refined features.

My head, my heart, was trying to tell me something.

I had already realized what that plea was.

Boy and girl slowly approached each other.

And as we got close, we took each other's hands.