I'm Not Mentally Prepared
A sudden confession attack out of nowhere.
I was completely stunned.
Well, honestly?
If you ignored that split-personality bullshit, she was actually pretty cute.
And with that youthful face on top of it, any regular guy would’ve been drooling. But…
Right now, I’m a woman.
I stopped dead in my tracks and stared at her.
“……You into that sort of thing?”
“…Huh?”
I put a hand on her shoulder and spoke like I was lecturing a kid.
“Lucia.”
“Y-yes…?”
“Between two girls, y’know… socially and biologically, there are all kinds of problems…”
“……?”
“Look, I’m not judging your tastes. The world’s big and people like all sorts of things.”
“T-tastes…?”
“It’s just that I’m not mentally prepared for this. My own identity’s already a mess, and besides, I can’t even make babies.”
“B-babies…?”
That was when it happened.
Lucia, who had been quietly listening, suddenly turned bright red.
Shit. Maybe I explained it in a way that was too mature.
“So anatomically speaking, it’s completely—”
“U-um… Miss Nixie…!”
“It’s fine. Sorry. Your confession came so out of nowhere that I got flustered—”
“That’s not what I meant at all…!”
Lucia shook her head, looking like she was about to cry.
“I just… I just wanted to keep traveling with you, Miss Nixie…”
“……What?”
“As a party member…”
“……”
“I was asking if we could walk the same path together… That’s what I meant…”
“……”
This was mortifying.
Who the hell in their right mind says “Let’s form a party!” like it’s “Let’s date!!!”?
I slowly removed my hand from her shoulder.
“……Then say it like that next time.”
“W-well… In my hometown, that’s how we say we want to get close to someone…”
“……What a weird place.”
I turned my head and looked forward again.
God, this is embarrassing.
Still, a party application, huh?
To be honest, Lucia Erveldt was a pretty tempting prospect.
She had decent durability for a vanguard, and her firepower was solid.
Her healing punches especially showed nearly A-rank efficiency against poisonous monsters.
Above all, that danger-sensing ability of hers was outstanding—even better than mine, a fifteen-year veteran.
On pure combat strength alone, she had already far surpassed the average D-rank.
A berserker wearing a priest’s skin.
If polished properly, she could become a B-rank… no, an even higher monster in the future.
It felt like a waste to just leave her on the surface and walk away.
As the first party member for Nixie Ocelot, her specs are perfect…
The problem was stability.
Once her eyes rolled back, she ignored my orders and went on a rampage.
Combat ability—pass. Utility—pass. But no matter how I look at it, she feels unstable…
Honestly, an explorer like this wasn’t a comrade. She was a time bomb.
Any sane explorer would never add a bomb that could go off at any moment to their party.
“N-no… I-I know I’m a burden…!”
When my silence stretched on, she started stuttering in a panic.
“I know I don’t act like a proper priest… and I ran off on my own earlier…”
The more she spoke, the deeper she dug her own grave.
Her face grew redder and redder with shame.
“So you do know what your problems are?”
“B-but… I still want to be useful.”
Lucia rushed forward and grabbed my hand.
“…You were the first, Miss Nixie. The first person who told me I was helpful.”
“Wow… for real?”
“I’ll work really hard…! Please…!!!”
“……….”
Just then, the exit of the Poison Mist Forest finally came into view.
Instead of the forest’s foul stench, the faint scent of grass from the first stratum drifted in.
I let out a sigh and gently pulled her hand away.
“Let’s talk after we get to the surface. Escaping comes first, right?”
Lucia’s face brightened for just a moment.
“……Yes!”
First Stratum, Sector 5.
It was right after we left the Poison Mist Forest and stepped into the wide-open meadow.
“Huh…?”
“L-Lucia? You were alive?”
At the unfamiliar voices, Lucia’s shoulders twitched noticeably.
The ones blocking our path were three explorers.
They wore typical scout gear. Their ranks were probably somewhere between D and C.
Judging from Lucia’s reaction, these were the former party members who had abandoned her and run away.
Glad you’re alive. Their faces didn’t say anything like that.
The expressions on their faces were pure terror.
The faces of people who had just witnessed something that should never have returned alive.
“Now that I think about it, we were a bit hasty… right? You think so too, don’t you?”
The man who seemed to be the leader approached with an awkward smile.
“We were just about to head back to rescue you. Right, guys?”
“O-of course! Obviously!”
“Yeah! We were on our way to the second stratum right now!”
The two behind him nodded vigorously.
It’s a lie. And a disgustingly obvious one at that.
In Astaroth, abandoning a party member was never a light offense.
The first rule: If you abandon a comrade and flee without justifiable cause, your explorer license is revoked or you face permanent banishment from the city.
In short, these guys were scared Lucia would report them to the guild.
“Lucia, it’s okay, right? You just misunderstood for a second. Yeah?”
“That’s right. It was just a little slip-up, wasn’t it?”
The leader and the one who looked like his party member spoke in gentle voices as they approached.
“U… uuu……”
“……….”
Lucia’s eyes trembled, unable to find focus.
Having been pushed around by them for so long, her body seemed to shrink on instinct.
My stomach churned.
…Tch.
Maybe it was because I saw my old self in her.
Being treated like a D-rank and stuck with all the chores.
Being shoved to the front on dangerous paths.
Being pushed to the back when rewards were distributed.
Back then, I couldn’t say anything.
Because all that waited for me if I spoke up was ridicule.
That was probably when it started—when I began entering the labyrinth alone.
Did I have that exact same expression back then?
My stomach churned.
…….
That’s why I refuse to live like that anymore.
“Lucia. You don’t need to go over there.”
I stepped in front of her and took one step forward.
“……Yes?”
I swept my cold gaze over her former party members.
“Listen up. Starting today, Lucia is my party member.”
For a moment, they shut their mouths.
The leader’s face twisted viciously in an instant.
“What? Who the hell are you? Some brat who rolled in from nowhere sticking her nose in someone else’s party business?”
“The reason is simple. The previous party deliberately abandoned their comrade and fled.”
“W-what did you say?!”
“And the person in question has no desire to return to that trash heap ever again.”
“……This little bitch—!”
The leader shouted at Lucia.
“Lucia! Are you really going to listen to this stranger? After how long we’ve been together!”
“How long was that again?”
“……Three days.”
“……You’ve got to be kidding me.”
I looked at Lucia and spoke.
“Lucia. Say it with your own mouth. Do you want to go back to that party or not?”
“Lucia! Answer him! Are you really going to do this?”
“……….”
Under the threatening shouts, Lucia bit her lip.
Then she let out a tiny whisper.
“……I don’t want to.”
“What?!”
“I… I don’t want to go back.”
Lucia looked at me and added,
“……I want to go with Miss Nixie.”
“…Heh.”
I shrugged and stared at the leader.
His teeth were clenched so hard it looked painful. He must have been furious.
“You heard her. Now get lost.”
At that moment, the leader drew the sword at his waist.
“……Then I guess we have no choice.”
Apparently he’d decided words wouldn’t work.
“…I’ll send you into the poison mist along with that bitch Lucia.”
“Oh, so now you’re going to shut us up permanently?”
“Shut up? Just die here!!!”
“You guys know this won’t end with just a fine, right?”
Ignoring my words, they charged.
But after facing Harpy originals and Venom Ents, their movements looked like slow, sluggish slimes to my eyes.
“What? These are total scrubs?”
I read their footwork and dodged.
I struck the leader’s wrist with my dagger hilt, making him drop his weapon.
I kicked the groin of the one rushing in from the side.
I slammed the last one’s jaw perfectly with my scabbard.
Thud! Crunch! Crack!
“Kuaaagh!”
It was over in an instant.
The D-ranks who had abandoned Lucia were no match for me.
I tied up the fallen men with rope, bundling them like dried fish.
“Good. Gift wrapping complete.”
Lucia was watching the scene in a daze.
Her eyes were filled with awe, relief, and a slightly dangerous hint of admiration.
“Ugh… I’m sorry… Please forgive us just this once…”
“I-I only did it because the leader told me to… That wasn’t my true feelings!”
“Yeah! That’s right! It was all that bastard’s fault!”
“What?! You guys were the ones who brought it up first!”
The tied-up men started arguing among themselves.
“Unbelievable. No shame at all.”
These bastards who had tried to drag me and Lucia down together with one heart and mind were now turning on each other.
“I can’t believe you actually considered partying with trash like this, Lucia.”
“……”
Lucia couldn’t say anything.
She simply looked up at me with eyes full of reverence.
Return to the Surface.
The inside of the guild was packed with explorers swarming around the spoils we had brought back.
“Is that… a Venom Ent magic stone?!”
“Looking at that deadly poisonous root, it must be real.”
“A Venom Ent? That rookie took down a second-stratum boss?”
“Hey, and what’s with the guys tied up over there?”
To a third party, the scene probably raised quite a few questions.
I pushed through the murmuring crowd and headed for the reception desk.
Gallidus, the branch master, looked back and forth between the submitted loot and the bound men with a heavy expression.
“……I’m going to need an explanation.”
“It’ll be a long one.”
Branch Master’s Office.
Lucia and I sat on the sofa and explained everything that had happened to the branch master.
How Lucia had been abandoned.
How we fought a twelve-core Venom Ent to the death.
And how those bastards had tried to kill us to silence us.
“…If what you say is true, this isn’t something that ends with mere banishment.”
Gallidus dragged the men away somewhere, then returned about ten minutes later and added,
“Their explorer licenses will be revoked immediately. Furthermore…”
“Furthermore?”
“I intend to recommend permanent expulsion.”
“Oh… You don’t mess around.”
“It is simply the punishment they deserve.”
“That’s good to hear. Right, Lucia?”
I turned to look beside me.
Lucia had her head bowed deeply and remained silent.
“Hey, those guys are paying a fair price. There’s no need to feel so bad.”
“No… that’s not it…”
“You must have built up a lot of resentment. Don’t worry. We’ll make sure they can never come near you again.”
Gallidus and I each offered Lucia a word of comfort.
At that moment, she clenched her fists tightly and spoke.
“Since it’s come to this… I should’ve beaten them up myself…!”
A brief silence.
The branch master and I froze at the same time.
“……?”
“Haha. This is quite the unique child.”
Unique was right.
Can I really take her in as a party member?
“By the way, it seems they confessed rather obediently?”
The branch master gave a subtle smile.
“There are more than enough ways to verify the truth.”
“What are they?”
“Do you want to know?”
The branch master’s eyes suddenly turned ice-cold.
I immediately shook my head.
“No. I’m good.”
It definitely wouldn’t be a nice method.
There was nothing to gain by getting involved, so I’d just pretend I didn’t know.
“That aside. While you were gone, quite a few high-ranking explorers came looking for you.”
“High-ranking explorers?”
“From the Seven Stars guilds. Especially—”
BANG—!
The branch master’s office door burst open violently.
The temperature in the room shot up in an instant.
Hot mana swirled as if the air itself was burning.
“Branch Master. I got tired of waiting. May I begin first?”
The woman standing at the door declared boldly.
Burning red hair and crimson eyes.
A relaxed smile played on her lips, but the aura she emitted felt like it was squeezing the breath out of everyone present.
The woman slowly walked in and spoke.
“How fortunate that I’m first. If I had been second or third, my mood would have been utterly ruined.”
I looked at the woman and said,
“Y-you’re… the Red Flame…”
“Oh my. I heard you only recently arrived in this city, yet you already know my alias?”
How could I not?
The S-rank of Red Star Balack, the Red Flame Mage Eileen Camiris.
The living disaster who had burned a Balrog—the boss of the tenth stratum—to death all by herself.
Why… why the hell is she here?
The branch master muttered quietly with a troubled expression.
“……Sorry, Miss Nixie. It was the best I could do to keep the guild from being destroyed.”
“What?!”
I glared at the branch master.
This bastard had offered me up as a sacrifice.
“Now then, our super rookie little lady. Shall we begin negotiations?”
Camiris looked down at me and narrowed her eyes.
“Ah, that’s right. I’d appreciate it if you showed some manners.”
I couldn’t breathe.
“If my mood sours… hehe.”
Cold sweat kept pouring out.
“The surroundings might all burn away.”
F-fuck…!!!!