第１５３掘：お約束はもういいわ (Part1)
**Dungeon 153: Enough with the Clichés**
**Side: Yuki**
"Prepare yourself!! You foolish human who dared to defile the women of our village!!"
Seriously, give me a break.
Why does it always end up like this?
I mean, I saw it coming, but I really wish things wouldn't go exactly as predicted for once.
"We can talk this out. Please, just listen."
Stay calm. I have to find a way to make them see reason. I’m pretty irritated myself, but if I kill this rabbit-eared dandy, everything will be ruined. Resorting to violence is a bad move, too.
"Woooooaaaaahhh!! I’ll lop that head right off your shoulders!!"
Yeah, this is hopeless.
I wept internally, praying that one of the village women would show up to intervene as soon as possible.
Now, to explain how we got into this mess, let’s rewind to just after I finished healing the people who had been attacked.
"Alright. I’ve cast a powerful recovery spell on everyone. Is anyone still feeling unwell? And no, if you’re just feeling 'a bit off,' that’s for later. I’m talking about whether anyone still has lingering injuries."
I made sure to draw that line. If I didn't, everyone here would probably claim to be "feeling unwell."
High-level recovery magic restores the body to its previous state, so it clears up fractures, ruptured organs, lacerations, and even internal bleeding.
This is the primary reason why medicine never developed on the continent where Weed originated.
Magic could fix everything. So, naturally, no one ever bothered with the concept of cutting someone open to heal them.
Or rather, the idea didn't even exist. Well, it might have been a minority opinion, but I’d never heard of it.
Ah, this is why I hate fantasy tropes...
Then again, from the perspective of this fantasy world, I’m the one who’s abnormal.
Didn't someone say that sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic?
I feel like that’s a bit different, but lately, even our passenger cars have automatic doors.
That actually surprised me. I mean, I get the reason—it’s for people whose hands are full, or for children and the elderly.
It’s the classic "you never know until you try" situation.
Ah, my mind was wandering again.
I need to make sure there are no injured people left.
"How is it? Make sure to check your bodies thoroughly. It’s fine to check each other, too. It’s common to have injuries you don't even notice."
When I said that, most of them began carefully inspecting themselves or the person next to them for any abnormalities.
Yes, *most* of them.
A very small number were staring intensely at me.
"Hm? What’s wrong? Is something the matter?"
"N-no!? It’s not that... Ah, excuse me. Thank you for saving us. I apologize for the delay in expressing my gratitude."
This person... the child from earlier was clinging to her, and I recognized her.
She was the first person I healed during the demonstration.
"Don't worry about it. It just happened that way."
It really did just happen. Riel and the others were the ones who saved them.
I had fully intended to leave them to their fate.
"However, to think that a human could use magic far more powerful than us elves, who are blessed with such talent..."
Ah, so that’s what she was surprised about.
Well, I’ve been running wild back home, and with my cheats, I’ve been able to do whatever I want.
But here in this New Continent, as Luna mentioned, the mana consumption is twenty times higher.
When I healed this woman individually earlier, it really did drain twenty times the mana.
I’ll have to talk to Zargis to figure out the specifics, but it’s likely that because there’s so little mana in the atmosphere, the transmission efficiency has dropped.
Perhaps the cost of extending a "mana hose" outside the body to manifest magic is just that high.
Still, twenty times... I don't really get the logic.
Earlier, when I healed all the severely injured people at once, the mana consumption per person was lower than when I cast the same Extra Heal on her alone.
"Um... I have overstepped my bounds. Magic is a personal treasure. I apologize for trying to pry into yours."
"Ah, no, my apologies. I was just lost in thought. More importantly, I have some questions. Is that alright?"
"Yes."
I decided to set aside the mana talk and find out what was actually going on.
We were essentially clueless about the state of affairs on this New Continent.
We didn't even know the name of this region.
Actually, I was surprised the language was mutually intelligible. I hope I can read the script, too.
The information I gathered was as follows:
* This place is located in the center of the continent and is one of the few remaining villages where Beastmen and Elves live in seclusion.
* The attackers were from the Zilba Empire in the south, a nation of human supremacists. Apparently, they’re always at war.
* The dungeon is recognized as a ruin and is considered sacred by the Beastmen and Elves.
* Regarding mana and magic, as Luna said, there isn't enough ambient mana to use magic effectively. Furthermore, the consumption is so massive that anyone capable of using magic in a practical combat setting is highly valued by any nation.
* As for the Beastmen and Elves: their numbers have dwindled, but because they are skilled in mana manipulation, physical enhancement, and spellcasting, they are targets for slave hunters. They are forced into a disadvantageous position due to their low numbers, but individually, they are stronger than humans.
* The men of the village were away because they heard another village was being attacked, which is why the village was left vulnerable.
There was plenty of other detailed information, but that was the gist of it.
I need to use the Call spell to gather everyone and hold a meeting.
We need to decide whether to gather more information here or move on.
"Hey, can everyone hear me?"
*“Ah, wait a second!? Listen to us!!”*
*“We aren't the ones who attacked the village!!”*
*“Guh. Yuki, it looks like the men of this village have returned!! They’re going to attack!!”*
What the—!?
Is this a misunderstanding trope? This is way too cliché!!
"Riel, are you guys okay!?"