第３０掘：無駄を無駄とするな (Part2)
"...That's right. Besides, Yuki never intended to let Lady Rurua die from the start. Five arrows were fired, weren't they? Do you really think the soldiers assigned to protect her could only hit two of them? The momentum of the arrows dropped unnaturally. It’s impossible to think Yuki didn't have a hand in that."
The two of them stare at me with eyes full of contempt.
Oriel steps forward, as if to shield me...
"The anger of you three is justified. However, to Lady Elju, Lady Rurua is like a sister, just as Lady Seraria and Lady Aria are. Could you please grant me this favor?"
She bows her head deeply.
"...*Sigh*. We understand your circumstances, but please, think before you speak. Honestly, to us, we value our older brother far more than you or Lady Rurua."
"...I don't want you taking your frustrations out on Yuki."
"...Lady Rurua being hunted in the first place is, at its root, the Saintess's fault, isn't it?"
Milly-san's final words hit me like a physical blow to the head.
...That's right. The reason Lady Rurua was stripped of her position as Saintess was because I had claimed the title in the first place. I could have performed healing acts without ever calling myself a Saintess... Thinking that, something surged up from my stomach.
"...Ugh."
I soil the grassy floor with a wet mess.
"Well, Rurua has arrived. She's being supported by a goblin, but it seems she doesn't have the luxury of casting recovery magic on herself. What will you do, Elju? Keep vomiting, or leave it to me? Or will you heal Rurua yourself?"
When I look up, Lady Rurua is staring at me with a deathly pale face.
"...Lady Elju... It is not your fault. ...I, who could not control Litea, am the one who should receive this... It is only natural... *Guh*."
"Lady Rurua!!"
"...!? Lady Elju... what you tried to do... was never... a mistake..."
Lady Rurua winces in pain as she speaks.
"If you don't start healing her within the next five seconds, get out of the way. Don't listen to her last words, just get on with it."
"Tch!! You don't need to tell me that, Yuki-san!! Lady Lilishe, grant me the power of healing!! Extra Heal!!"
I immediately pull out the arrow and cast the strongest recovery magic I possess.
Color slowly returns to Lady Rurua's face.
"...Lady Elju. Thank you. Your skills have improved once again. I am proud of you. So, please, do not cloud your face with sorrow. What you did was never a mistake. Lady Elju, you have truly saved my life just now."
I feel as though Lady Rurua's words have saved me, and tears overflow from my eyes.
Like the pure, grateful words of Aslin and Firia, I couldn't help but feel overjoyed.
"Now, sorry to interrupt this moving scene, but what about the report on the pursuers?"
"What happened to them!? Are they still chasing us!?"
Lady Rurua looks at Yuki-san's face as if just realizing the situation.
"The ten who broke in have said goodbye to the pitfall. As for the two waiting at the dungeon entrance, Slime 02 and 03 created a diversion, and then 04 and 05 successfully ambushed them from above, just like they did with Mauve and the others. They constricted their airways and successfully captured them. Current remaining enemy forces: 0. We are shifting to a state of vigilance; the slimes are currently transporting the captured soldiers."
"...Yuki, what about the trap I designed?"
"They didn't make it that far. A pity, but maybe next time."
"...That's a shame."
Yuki-san strokes Labyris's head as he says this.
In the end, the result was the most convenient one for us.
"Ah, that thing. It's rough, isn't it?"
"Yeah. Usually, slimes don't coordinate like that. And it's rare for them to swarm the head..."
"We were all swarmed at the head before we knew what happened, too..."
Mauve-san and the others mutter, recalling that day.
I remember they were neutralized just as easily.
"So the ten are gone..."
"...If you have something to say, I'm listening."
"...No. Thank you for saving us. If possible, I would like to be present during the interrogation of the two captives."
Lady Rurua bows her head to Yuki-san as she says this.
...Is the attitude Lady Rurua displays what I should be emulating...?
In the end, I suppose I am still just a child... It's frustrating.