The four-person explorer party was a scene of total collapse: one boy lay wounded and unconscious, a girl was pale-faced as she tried to treat him, another boy was desperately fending off goblin attacks with a look of pure frenzy, and a second girl was huddled on the ground, weeping and trembling in terror.
No matter how you looked at it, they were a party on the verge of annihilation.
"Onii-chan! Saori-chan!"
"Wait, Mika. They’re still okay. Don't just dive in."
Seeing the critical situation, Mika's eyes flared with urgency as she prepared to rush to their aid, but I held her back with a hand on her shoulder. I understood how she felt; she had mentioned saving many rookie parties during her previous explorations.
However, charging in recklessly wouldn't necessarily save them. The explorer at the front fending off the goblins was clearly frantic. He was likely suffering from tunnel vision due to the danger his companions were in. If we jumped in without warning, he might reflexively attack us even as we tried to help.
"He can hold out for a little longer. We need to call out and make them recognize our presence first, or they'll mistake us for enemies and strike."
"U-Understood. Sorry, Onii-chan. I was getting ahead of myself."
"Don't worry about it. Anyone would be rattled by a sight like that. More importantly..."
"Right! Are you all okay? Do you need help!?"
Having regained her composure thanks to my warning, Mika shouted to ask if they required rescue.
The girl treating her companion's injury looked up, a hint of surprise crossing her face at Mika's voice, and she immediately cried back.
"Please, help us!"
"On it!"
With the girl's plea as her cue, Mika moved instantly. She pulled throwing darts from the pouch at her waist and hurled them at the goblins surrounding the boy.
"““““Gyah!?””””"
"What?"
The goblins struck by the darts shrieked, and the boy who had been desperately holding them off let out a stunned gasp at the sudden intervention.
"Let's go, Saori-chan!"
"Right! Onii-san, please take care of the injured person!"
"Yeah, leave it to me."
Leaving those words behind, Mika and Saori-chan gripped their weapons and charged the goblins that had been staggered by the darts. I was a little concerned given the number of monsters, but they would likely be fine.
While keeping an eye on the two to ensure I could support them at a moment's notice, I approached the boy groaning in agony as blood seeped from his side.
"...Well, you're obviously not 'fine.' Do you have a recovery potion?"
As I assessed the wound, I asked the pale girl—who was pressing a towel against the injury to stop the bleeding—if she had any medicine. Fortunately, his internal organs didn't seem to be damaged, so a beginner recovery potion would be enough to treat a wound like this. Though, since the potion wouldn't replenish lost blood, he’d likely be dizzy from anemia.
The girl looked at me with an expression of regret and shook her head weakly.
"We don't have any. We used what we brought to treat another teammate who got hurt on the floor above."
"...I see."
That explained the towel. If they’d had a potion, they would have used it long before reaching for a cloth.
The girl fell silent for a moment, appearing conflicted, then she looked me straight in the eye with sudden resolve.
"U-Um, do you have a recovery potion? If... if you have one to spare, could you let us have it...?"
"What?"
I looked at her with a puzzled expression.
To be honest, I hadn't expected her to suggest that I just give her a recovery potion. If she had asked for help with the treatment or for a medical kit, that would be one thing, but...
"O-Of course, we'll pay you for it! Please!"
"..."
The girl bowed her head desperately, begging, but I could only look at her with a gaze tinged with exasperation. I understood her desire to save her friend, but this was an unthinkable proposal inside a dungeon. She was asking me to hand over a recovery potion—my lifeline. It was no different from asking someone to hand over their safety harness while working on a skyscraper.
If I had an abundance of supplies, I might have offered to sell or provide one myself, but it was a serious breach of etiquette for someone to ask for them. Among explorers who dived to a certain depth, there was a tacit understanding that supplies were not shared. Explorers were expected to judge whether to proceed or retreat based on their remaining resources; it had been their mistake to continue after using all their potions.
Therefore...
"Understanding the situation you're in... do you realize what it means to ask another explorer to give up a recovery potion?"
"...Huh?"
"Ah, as I thought, you don't."
In response to my question, the girl let out a confused, questioning sound, her face a mask of bewilderment. I suppressed the urge to sigh and briefly explained the weight behind her request.
Her expression shifted from confusion to shock, and she hurriedly stammered out an apology and an explanation.
"I-I'm sorry! I... I didn't mean it that way...!?"
"No, I know. Don't panic. I understand you didn't say it with bad intentions. But exchanging recovery potions in a dungeon carries that kind of significance, so you shouldn't ask so lightly. At worst, it could spark a violent dispute."
"...Yes."
The girl’s shoulders slumped in dejection, and she lowered her head while still holding the towel to the boy's wound. She likely thought I was refusing to help her now.
It was a natural conclusion to reach after that conversation. However...
"Well, putting that aside, let's treat him first."
"...Eh?"
"Hey, you. You're still conscious, right? Open your mouth and drink this."
I opened a bottle of recovery potion and held it to the mouth of the boy, who was enduring the pain with an expression of agony. The girl’s eyes widened in surprise, and while the boy looked distressed for a second as the bottle was tipped up, he gulped the liquid down in one go.
About ten seconds later...
"Huh? The pain is..."
"Looks like it worked. But don't move suddenly. Your wound is closed, but you haven't recovered the blood you lost."
"Eh? Ah, yes. I'm sorry..."
As the potion took effect and the boy tried to sit up, I held his shoulder and told him to stay down. If he raised his head too quickly after losing that much blood, he’d pass out from the lack of circulation.
Beside us, the girl looked profoundly relieved.
"Thank goodness, Kurata-kun. I thought it was over..."
"Sorry, Tsutsui-san. I made you worry."
With her voice trembling with tears of relief, Tsutsui-san received a gentle apology from the still-prone Kurata-kun. Yeah, the atmosphere between these two was a bit sweet. Are they a couple?
Since the mood was what it was, I felt like I shouldn't even be there, so I did my best to fade into the background.
"Kurata-kun."
"Tsutsui-san."
Good grief. This is incredibly awkward!
I watched their little scene out of the corner of my eye and prayed for time to pass quickly.
The moment finally ended when Mika and the others approached, having finished off the goblins. Realizing I was standing right there during their little display, the two turned red to their ears and hurriedly apologized... I was already feeling exhausted.
Now that the goblin threat was gone and we could take a breather, we helped Kurata-kun up and spoke while keeping a lookout. It would have been better to head back to the staircase plaza, but moving would be difficult until we calmed the other girl down.
"First of all, thank you for saving us."
"No, we just happened to be passing by."
"Even so, thank you. If you hadn't shown up, we really would have..."
The boy—Kajihara-kun—expressed his gratitude, looking pale as he imagined the "what if." Given the situation, there was a very high probability that things would have ended tragically if we hadn't intervened.
Then, Kurata-kun and Tsutsui-san spoke up.
"Pardon me for earlier. I only survived because you used that recovery potion on me. Truly, thank you so much."
"Thank you very much."
Both were still a little flushed, but they had recovered enough to look us in the eye and give their thanks. A slightly indescribable atmosphere still lingered, but I decided to ignore it.
And finally, it was the last girl's turn to speak... but she couldn't. When we turned our gaze toward her, she hid behind Kajihara-kun's back, trembling with a look of pure terror.
"H-Hey, Kawahara-san, what's wrong? They saved us! That's no way to act!"
"B-But, Kajihara-kun! These people... they killed them! Those things that move like people! And they did it without hesitating at all!"
"K-Kawahara-san! What are you saying!?"
"But it's true! I can't be near people who can do things like that so calmly!"
The girl, Kawahara-san, began to spiral into hysterics, weeping as she argued with Kajihara-kun. Startled, Kurata-kun and Tsutsui-san hurriedly approached to try and soothe her.
However...
"How can you all act like everything's fine around people like this!? We don't know when they'll turn on us and attack us too!?"
"Kawahara-san! That’s enough! They saved our lives!"
"If they were the kind of people to attack us, they wouldn't have gone out of their way to save us!"
"That's right, Kawahara-san, calm down! The goblins are gone! There's no more danger!"
We could only watch the exchange with stunned expressions. Mika and Saori-chan in particular seemed shocked by Kawahara-san's outburst.
I suppose you don't usually get the chance to see someone that distraught.
"I hate this! I want to go home! I don't want to be in a place like this anymore!"
"Calm down, Kawahara-san!"
"Kawahara-san, please!"
"Kawahara-san!"
It was getting completely out of control. Kawahara-san let out a piteous scream, her ponytail swinging from beneath her helmet as she shook her head in a frenzy.
Then, after several ragged, shallow breaths, her strength suddenly failed, and she collapsed.
"“““““Ah!”””””"
"Whoops, careful."
The others were too slow to react to the sudden collapse, but I moved in. If she fell like that, even with a helmet, she could hit her head and suffer a life-threatening injury like a brain hemorrhage.
I caught Kawahara-san a split second before she hit the ground, shielding her head as I lowered her down.
"...It looks like she fainted."
"Is she okay, Onii-chan?"
"Yeah. I caught her, so she didn't hit her head. She'll be fine. If we treat her properly, she'll wake up soon."
I laid the unconscious Kawahara-san against the wall and beckoned the three girls over. Even though it was an emergency, it was better to have the girls handle the actual contact.
Recalling the first aid for fainting that Juzo-san had taught me, I gave them instructions.
"First, loosen her collar and belt so she can breathe easier. Fainting is often caused by a drop in blood pressure, so we need to raise her legs higher than her head. Just slide her bag under her feet. After that... apply a cold towel or a damp cloth to her forehead or the back of her neck."
Once I finished the instructions, I spoke to Kurata-kun and Kajihara-kun, who were still standing there dazed. I had them turn away from the girls and stand as sentries to watch for monsters. They wouldn't be much help in a fight, but giving them a job would help settle their nerves.
Good grief. I really didn't want to be performing medical procedures in the middle of a dungeon, but this kind of treatment needs to be done as soon as possible... Sigh.