Boom, boom, boom...
The Fire Barrier successfully repelled a few sword-tailed magic rats. The fur ignited by the flames caused several of them to screech in pain, but even more kept throwing themselves forward in an unrelenting assault.
Before long, the Fire Barrier began to teeter on the brink of collapse.
Boom—!
A few seconds later, the Fire Barrier shattered. Several sword-tailed magic rats whipped their tails and lunged straight at Alicia.
Relying on her swordsmanship, Alicia managed to parry all of their attacks.
However—
“Squeak—!”
A sword-tailed magic rat suddenly appeared behind her. Leaping high into the air, its razor-sharp tail thrust straight toward her vital spots.
It was too late to dodge.
Alicia could only watch in helpless terror as the attack drew closer.
Am I really going to die here...?
As despair slowly consumed her mind, Alicia waited helplessly for death to claim her.
Boom—!
A burst of scorching flames suddenly erupted right in front of her.
The shockwave from the explosion knocked Alicia flat onto the ground.
“Squeak—!!!”
Pained screeches from the sword-tailed magic rats echoed from within the inferno.
“What—?!”
Alicia’s eyes widened in utter disbelief.
What just happened?!
I... I survived?
Boom! Boom! Boom...
Before she could even process what was happening, one fireball after another detonated in rapid succession around her.
“Squeak!!!”
“Squeak!!!”
“...”
Screams of pain erupted continuously from the rats swallowed by the flames.
The tide of battle turned completely in a single instant.
“Squeak?!”
The crimson eyes of the surviving sword-tailed magic rats seemed to regain clarity in that moment. Their previously savage expressions gave way to sheer terror as they tucked their slender tails between their legs and turned to flee.
However, before they could take more than a few steps, footsteps echoed from beyond the raging flames.
“Squeak?!”
Shing—!
Following a flash of dark purple sword aura, the hazy figure in front of them had already reappeared behind the pack of magic rats.
Splat—!!!
In an instant, massive gashes burst open across the bodies of the remaining rats. Crimson liquid sprayed into the air as they collapsed limply to the ground...
“Are you all right?”
Recognizing the familiar uniform in front of her, Alicia slowly raised her head and looked up.
“It’s you—?!”
...
Alicia was deeply stunned. She had assumed a powerful C-Class adventurer had stepped in to save her, never expecting it to be someone her own age—let alone her own classmate, Shulim Hayeral!
“So strong...”
Alicia couldn't help but marvel internally as she watched Shulim collect the tail blades from the sword-tailed magic rats.
The other girl was practically the same age as her, yet the power she displayed was an absolute, overwhelming defeat over her own. Was she really only capable of this much?
At this rate, forget about surpassing those rivals—she might not even be able to protect her mother...
“...And that’s the last one.”
Shulim severed the last rat’s tail blade with her sword and gathered it up.
The tail blade of a sword-tailed magic rat was a versatile magical material that the Adventurers’ Guild regularly bought. Although not as valuable as a magic stone, it was easy to harvest and took up little space in a pack, so there was no reason to leave them behind.
“Your Highness, what’s wrong?”
Having gathered all the materials, Shulim turned to see Alicia sitting on the ground looking thoroughly dejected.
Alicia shook her head. “I’m fine. More importantly, Lady Hayeral, thank you for saving my life. I will certainly remember this favor and reward you handsomely later.”
“There’s no need for a handsome reward. It was no trouble at all. Lending a hand when encountering someone in trouble in a dungeon is basic adventurer etiquette. Besides, according to the rules of adventurers, I’ve already taken my rightful payment.”
Shulim held up the pouch filled with tail blades and gave it a small shake.
“Sorry about this, but even though some of these were defeated by you, I can’t split them with you.”
Alicia was momentarily stunned, completely caught off guard by Shulim’s response.
“A-An adventurer, huh...? Lady Hayeral, you really are quite unique.”
“There’s no need to call me Lady Hayeral. You can just call me Shulim, Your Highness.”
Alicia blinked, then let out a helpless chuckle.
“All right then, Shulim—”
“Though... since I’m calling you directly by your name, in exchange, could you stop calling me 'Your Highness' and just call me Alicia?”
“Eh? That wouldn't be appropriate. It might be seen as disrespectful to the imperial family.”
“It won't be. As long as I give you permission—ssst!”
Alicia tried to stand up, but accidentally jostled her wound, causing her face to twist in pain.
“Please wait a moment. Don’t move around recklessly.”
Shulim gently pressed Alicia back down, then extended both hands toward her injury.
“【ᛃᚠוᛏᛜᚾᛃᛞᛈᛜᛏᚠᚪᛡᛃᛋקיᛚᚺᛜᛃᚾᚪᛜᛖᛄᚠᚳᛜᚪᛄᛏᛚᛜᚠᛜᛓᚠᚺוᚾᛜᛣᛃᛈᚱᛄᛜᛒᚪᚲ】”
“Heal!”
A soft white light bathed Alicia’s wound. The flesh that had been oozing blood began to wriggle rapidly, closing up at a speed visible to the naked eye.
“...Third-Tier Heal magic? So you really have broken through to Third-Tier, Shulim?”
“Mm.”
Shulim nodded.
There was no reason to hide it. It had already been a while since school started, and among the past cohorts of Manacos students, it was quite normal for someone to reach C-Class around this time.
“I just got lucky and progressed a bit faster, that’s all. Aren’t you also close to reaching Third-Tier, Alicia?”
“...So you’re willing to call me by my name now.”
“Isn’t that what you wanted...? Speaking of which, Alicia, where is your backpack? And why are you here all by yourself?”
Shulim had noticed right from the start that Alicia wasn't carrying anything besides her weapon. Nor had she dropped her backpack to fight, as there was no sign of one anywhere nearby.
Most importantly, as a grand princess who had a squad of imperial guards protecting her just to report for school admission, being alone in a dangerous place like a dungeon was strange no matter how one looked at it.
Alicia gave a self-deprecating smile and explained, “I ordered them not to follow me. If they were always by my side, there would be no point in training at all.”
Shulim nodded in understanding.
That made sense. The knights would never allow a noble princess to come to the slightest harm, but could training without even a sliver of danger truly be called training?
“...In the end, I still underestimated the dungeon. Because I thought it was a low-risk dungeon, I let my guard down. The backpack containing my supplies was accidentally dropped during the initial ambush by the sword-tailed magic rats.
“After that, I kept running to dodge their attacks, and as a result, I lost track of where the backpack fell. Not only did I fail to shake off the rats, but their numbers kept growing until I didn't even have room to escape...”
No wonder she was attacked by so many sword-tailed magic rats. When Shulim first saw the scene, she had thought something unusual had occurred in the dungeon.
Most monsters in Glimmer Dungeon acted individually within their own territories. Under normal circumstances, they wouldn't swarm together to attack, but if someone ran around blindly, getting mobbed was practically inevitable.
Shulim quietly sized up Alicia.
It seemed this princess was unexpectedly reckless...
Rate on N.U.
