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?

Volume 3 Chapter 33   Survival success

“…Ugh… Ahhh…”

Damn, I feel awful.

How did things end up like this… Oh right, I cursed myself.

…Well, this is quite a nice room.

The bed I’m lying on feels like a hospital bed, but everything else seems to be quite extraordinary.

Curse-related tools are scattered all around the room.

I suppose it’s for the purpose of undoing the curse I placed on myself… I must have gone to great lengths.

“Naa-su, ko-ru…”

I can’t press it. Heck, my body won’t move.

Upon closer inspection, I see several tubes connected to my body. I must have been seriously injured.

Well, it’s understandable. I went quite overboard, and I even thought I might die midway through the ritual.

Oh well, guess I’ll just have to sleep. There’s nothing to do… I mean, I can’t do anything anyway.

That’s what I thought, but then I heard a knock on the door. I tried to turn my face in that direction, but my body wouldn’t respond. Giving up, I shifted my gaze and Hiro entered the room, opening the door with a creak.

“Koo. You’re awake, right?”

“…Hiro?”

From Hiro’s words, it seemed like he had somehow sensed that I had woken up.

Probably because of these tubes. They’re attached to my chest, monitoring things like my heart rate, I guess.

“Yeah. Ah, and don’t strain yourself to talk. You’re probably still feeling weak.”

Hearing my voice, which was lacking in clarity and somewhat hoarse, Hiro pulled out a chair from the corner and sat down.

“First of all, the reason I’m here is that I’m connected to you. ‘Above’ didn’t want you to die, so they decided to help, and I was assigned to take care of it.”

Ah, right. He was involved in adventurer-related government work.

Well, if I say that, I’m in a similar situation, but somehow he doesn’t give off the vibe of a typical government employee. Maybe it’s just my imagination?

“Well, there’s a lot of stuff involved in that, but since you’re probably more concerned about what happened after you collapsed, let’s focus on that.”

Ah, right. I wonder what happened afterwards.

Most likely, they wiped out those jellyfish creatures, and since Miyano and the others wouldn’t make the mistake of being attacked by those earthworm monsters that were there from the beginning of the dungeon, I assume everyone is safe…

So, I asked for the details, and it seems that everyone was fine.

They had a few injuries here and there, but they were minor enough for Kitahara to heal. Ironically, I was the one who suffered the most.

Well, I’m well aware of how severe my condition was, though.

“So, hey. What kind of magic did you use this time? It was a real mess getting cursed even while trying to lift the curse,” Hiro asked, expressing his dissatisfaction. But he knows that I still can’t speak properly, so he’s not really expecting an answer. It’s just a light joke, nothing more.

“Because of the amateurish mix of things, it ended up being a complicated mess that even professionals in the field wouldn’t dare touch. Some of the people who came to lift the curse ended up cursed themselves.”

Well, that’s their fault. Getting involved with a curse they don’t understand… Ah, no, maybe they had no choice.

If it was an order from the country, even if they didn’t understand the cause, they had no choice but to help.

“By the way, a few important figures among the higher-ups got affected by the same curse as you and the ones who came to lift it.”

As soon as he said that, Hiro’s expression turned serious.

…Well, I guess that’s to be expected.

If someone completely unrelated got affected by my curse, it means there was some connection somewhere. And not just a superficial connection, but a deep enough connection for the flow of magical energy.

This time, it was abnormal to the point where Japan – no, the world – could have been in danger if left alone.

In the worst case, if Nina had gone around burning everything and destroying the dungeon, we might have managed somehow. But how much damage occurred before that?

If such an incident involves important people, it’s obviously a serious problem.

“So, what you used was a spell that extended to even the modified jellyfish-type monsters, right?”

I nod, but to be precise, it was a curse that affected any entity connected by magical energy.

Of course, if the connection is too distant, the effect wouldn’t reach, but… Well, it should be sufficient to affect the jellyfish boss and those directly connected to it, either through casting or being targeted by the magic.

“Which means, those creatures are also abnormally involved, right?”

That’s something I can’t say for certain.

Even if there is a connection, it’s possible that they were simply unilaterally affected by the magic.

Well, even in that case, there must be some form of involvement, since they wouldn’t be casting magic in public places. And they must have had some interaction to maintain the connection for several days… At most, within two days, they should have encountered the culprit.

“…Sigh… Such a hassle.”

“So, what… h-happened to them?”

While it may be a troublesome situation for Hiro and the others, there’s nothing I can do about it.

For now, I wanted to know what happened to the people affected by my curse, so I asked Hiro about it.

“They’re ‘in conversation.’ Well, that’s mostly thanks to you. Normally, we wouldn’t be able to do this, but because your curse transferred to them, we gathered them under the pretense of lifting the curse and have been investigating their thoughts. The conversation is probably already over, so they should have gained a lot of information.”

“Can I h-help?”

“Help? No, it’s fine. Well, you should rest. In your current condition, where you can’t speak properly, even if you were to help, there’s nothing you could do.”

I knew there was nothing I could do, but considering my involvement this time, I briefly wondered if I should offer my assistance. However, I was immediately declined.

“Also, about your place and Abe-chan. There are suspicions surrounding her family. Well, more precisely, it’s about the main family or their household.”

Abe? Why would her family be suspected? She’s a victim in this incident too, isn’t she?

Certainly, it was a coincidence that Abe Haruka, the girl in question, was involved, and it’s possible that the main family doesn’t pay much attention to the affairs of the branch members, but still…

“Think about it. This incident involved manipulating and modifying monsters. The Abe family, specialists in Onmyodo, wouldn’t they be capable of something similar?”

Those words gave me a vague idea of what he was implying.

Shikigami. It’s a method somewhat well-known in Japan.

It’s the technique of creating one’s desired artificial creatures or controlling existing creatures. If we put it in Western terms, it would be something like a golem.

Well, it’s certainly suspicious. However, I don’t think it necessarily means they’re connected to the culprit.

The Abe family is famous for their expertise in Onmyodo, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t other old sorcerer families who use shikigami.

Moreover, there used to be a considerable number of Onmyoji in the past, so it wouldn’t be strange if there were individuals within that bloodline who haven’t come to the forefront.

Well, Hiro and the others probably understand that to some extent, but they still consider it as a possibility.

And they can’t leave Abe alone, so they can’t let go of me either… Wait, maybe I’m also under suspicion?

That possibility isn’t out of the question. “Above” seems to recognize my value, but that doesn’t mean everyone does, and there are likely those who suspect it was all staged by me.

If I may say so myself, I want to tell them that I wouldn’t go through all this trouble just to stage my own near-death experience. But if they claim that I had that level of determination, then there’s nothing more to say.

“Well, regardless of suspicions, you’ve been pushing yourself too hard. We were the ones who imposed being an adventurer on you, thinking it was for your own good, but still, you’ve been pushing yourself too much. Taking a little break won’t hurt. So, listen to the advice of adults and rest.”

Pushing yourself, huh… What are you talking about?

Even if you call yourselves adults, you’re not much different.

Both you and I are middle-aged men. We’re not at an age where we argue like children and adults.

“Even if you say adults…”

I want to say that, but it’s frustrating that my voice doesn’t come out properly.

“Hah, if only you were born a second earlier, you’d be older. Being older means being an adult. Just stay quiet and rest. I’ll take care of the necessary behind-the-scenes work and everything else.”

However, even so, did he understand what I wanted to say? Hiro lightly laughs, stands up, and starts tidying up the chair.

Being older makes you an adult, huh? Well, whatever, if you say it’s fine, then it’s fine.

I guess I’ll just laze around.

“So, instead of worrying about us, focus on them.”

Deciding to rest at a time like this, I watched Hiro tidying up the chair, thinking he’s already leaving. But Hiro points toward the entrance of the room he came in from.

Intrigued by his movement, I shift my gaze in that direction, and there, through the slightly opened door, I see Miyano and the others peering in.

“Wait…”

“No time to wait. If there’s any information they can pass on, they’ll tell you. Heal your body. And… be careful.”

Oh… This isn’t good.

Thinking that, I try to stop Hiro, but he doesn’t stop and continues walking.

“Well then, I’ll come to see you again at the school festival~”

With those words, Hiro leaves the room, and shortly after, Asada leading the way, Miyano and the others enter the room.

…However, their faces look scary. They seem angry… No, they’re definitely angry.

It’s probably because I didn’t explain in detail about the side effects of the curse…

Well, it can’t be helped. It’s embarrassing to be scolded by younger girls, but I understand that I gave them a reason to scold me.

And, well… I should be grateful to have someone who scolds me.

“Hey, we need to talk.”

But, indeed, it’s my fault, so there’s no help for it. However, the phrase “we need to talk” gives me the impression of a confrontation or getting involved with delinquents, making me laugh without uttering a word.

As a result, I got scolded even more, but well, it was a good experience.