Raising the Lowest-Ranked Adventurer, the Heroic Girl – Wasn’t I Just a Substitute Old Man?

Raising the Lowest-Ranked Adventurer, the Heroic Girl – Wasn’t I Just a Substitute Old Man?

Chapter 9   First day of the new team, finished

After about an hour of progress, I somewhat irritably called out to the girls… my team members.

“What’s wrong?”

Miyano turned back and asked, but she seemed clueless.

If this goody two-shoes doesn’t understand, then the other two probably don’t either.

“What did you learn in school?”

“What do you mean… basic education, combat techniques, and how to navigate dungeons.”

“If you learned how to navigate dungeons, then you must have also learned about traps, right?”

“Yes… Is there a trap ahead?”

“No?”

Miyano immediately turned forward and assumed a defensive posture, and the other two followed suit, but that’s not it. There are no traps ahead. There might be some further away from here, though.

“Huh? Then…”

“That hammer gorilla over there.”

“…Huh? Wait, huh? Are you talking about me?”

Ignoring Miyano, I directed my words at Asada, who was next to her. Asada momentarily looked confused and then frowned before asking back.

“That’s right.”

“…You’ve got some nerve. So, why don’t you show me the power of that hammer?”

I nodded, and Asada raised her large hammer, moving her temple slightly, and walked towards me… But it’s no problem at this distance.

“That’s enough, stop there.”

“Don’t you think it’s going a bit too far to make fun of someone and then tell them to stop without even apologizing?”

“I helped you, so you should be grateful to me.”

I didn’t hurl insults without reason or because I didn’t like it.

“There. It’s where you were standing just a moment ago…”

I shone the light a couple of steps ahead from where Asada had been standing until now.

In the dim light, a slight step was visible, and upon closer inspection, it was clear that it was a man-made object.

“A trap…”

“If you had taken a few more steps, you would’ve triggered it.”

Considering that this place is a goblin’s nest, it was probably a simple trap like an arrow shooting out or a noise-maker.

“…”

“The one just now was a simple one, so even if you triggered it, it could be healed quickly. But in the first place, it’s better not to get hit. And if it’s something worse… it would end up like this.”

“――!”

As I said that, I rolled up my sleeve to reveal the scar-like marks that ran from my elbow to my wrist. Well, they’re not just scar-like marks; they’re actual scars.

“These are the scars I got after being forced to become an adventurer for six months. I was doing well and got carried away. I underestimated the dungeon. That’s why I fell into a trap and ended up like this.”

I had reached a point where I was prepared to kill creatures and had become familiar with traps, so my vigilance had relaxed, and I got caught in a trap, leaving my arm scarred.

“Even though the healer who was there at the time tried to heal it, it didn’t get better. I’ll have to live with it like this forever.”

It might have been because the healer present at the time was a second-class healer. If it had been a first-class or special-class healer, the scar might not have remained.

But even if that were the case, it’s not the fault of the healer who couldn’t heal it, but my own fault for falling into the trap.

“I’ve encountered traps similar to the one just now several times before. I miraculously avoided all of them, but it won’t continue like this forever. If you don’t want to end up with scars like mine, you better be careful.”

Even if I’m said to have talent, it’s still just raw talent. It doesn’t mean I have real skill.

I didn’t intend to interfere too much, but I couldn’t just stand by and watch.

It might be fine for an old guy like me to get injured, but it would be terrible if young girls ended up with scars like these.

“So, what are we going to do?”

“…We’ll continue. But everyone, be careful of traps.”

Upon hearing Miyano, the leader’s words, Asada and Kitahara nodded and moved forward… However, at that moment, Asada lightly kicked my leg. Is this payback for earlier?

If she had kicked me seriously, my leg wouldn’t have been “broken,” it would have been “shattered.” The fact that it only hurt a little means she held back quite a bit.

Shrugging my shoulders at Asada’s reaction, I followed behind the girls at a slower pace than before.

We had advanced a certain distance into the dungeon when we decided it would be better to turn back and spend the night. However, by the time we exited the dungeon, the sun had already set.

The time was… 7 o’clock. It might be normal for adventurers, but I wonder what it’s like for students to be with an old guy like me.

“I-I’m exhausted…”

“We finally made it back… I want to take a shower…”

“The report can wait until tomorrow, right…?”

Miyano, Asada, and Kitahara, the three of them, passed through the gate and left the dungeon, releasing the tension they had been holding and letting their bodies relax.

“But we still have the report and exchanging to do.”

However, entering the dungeon is not the end. Just like a field trip isn’t over until you return home, simply coming out of the dungeon doesn’t mean it’s finished.

Monsters have what is called a magic stone inside their bodies. It used to be meaningless when monsters were abundant, but now it’s a valuable source of energy.

Additionally, although this time we were up against goblins and didn’t do anything, if it had been other monsters, we would have had to strip valuable parts to sell.

Defeating monsters, collecting materials and magic stones, exchanging them for money—only after doing all that does the adventure come to an end.

That’s why we took the magic stones we recovered from the enemies we defeated inside the dungeon to the nearby exchange office near the gate and divided the money we received among the four of us.

With this, today’s adventure is over.

“Alright, good job today. When will be the next time?”

“Speaking of that, would you like to exchange contact information? We usually only see each other at school, so it’s difficult to stay in touch.”

“…Well, I suppose so. If we’re going to continue acting together, it’s necessary.”

It’s only natural, but… exchanging contact information with a female student. It feels a bit… awkward.

“Well then, let’s call it a day around here.”

“Yes, thank you for your hard work. Also, I look forward to working together from now on.”

After exchanging those words, we concluded a day that felt unusually long compared to recent times.