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Chapter 425 part 1

Day 98 – Evening, Dungeon, 85F

It seemed like everyone was actually pretty angry. Haruka-kun’s corpse, trampled, crushed, and mauled by the wrath of furious maidens, is lying on the ground at the last floor of the dungeon. He is even more dangerous than a Dungeon Master, but today’s wet steamy bodypile had way more destructive power than usual, but visually and… otherwise… So Haruka-kun’s eyes have turned into happy little X_X?

Because… they didn’t want to hear it. None of us ever wants to hear him say 『Sorry』after being cared for so much, spoiled so much, protected and cherished and gently watched over this whole time. The last thing we ever wanted was for Haruka-kun to say something like 『Sorry』 to us, no matter what had happened!

That would be an insult to Haruka-kun and all the effort he poured into protecting us, it would be a slap in Haruka-kun’s face and everything he’d done to help us! That’s why, even if it’s Haruka-kun, it’s unforgivable. No, because it’s Haruka-kun, it’s especially unforgivable. There’s no way we’d ever blame him for anything! Even if, hypothetically, it was a mistake, even if there had been some kind of shortcoming, no matter what it was, we would definitely forgive it. Who could ever blame someone who’s done so much for us? Why on earth should he be the one apologizing to us, when we’ve received our happiness, our lives, everything from him?!

He was seriously trying to create armor that could perfectly protect us. Even though it was already on par with high-level drops from the lowest dungeon floors, every single piece was also hand-made and custom-designed to fit us individually. We all knew how many times he remade them, how thoroughly he tested them. Who could possibly ask for more than that!

That’s why everyone got angry and jumped on him. Probably figured a lecture wouldn’t get through, so they tried teaching him with their bodies.

But even so… even if we screamed 『It’s enough already!』 at the top of our lungs, it probably wouldn’t reach him. He’d still worry. If anything ever happened to us, he’d be crushed with guilt and blame himself for that. That’s why, we’ll never die. Because if we did, Haruka-kun would suffer. Even if it’s dangerous, we won’t stop trying to grow stronger, because otherwise Haruka-kun will just keep getting hurt on his own.

「What should we do with this happy-looking corpse?」

「If we leave it here, it might be a nuisance for the dungeon?」

「Yeah, imagine if Haruka-kun turns into the Dungeon Master… that dungeon would be seriously bad news?」

「「「Let’s take him home! That’s a dangerous substance that absolutely can’t be left on the lowest floor!」」」

Even if it’s a crazy task, we’ll safely take risks to grow stronger. And even though it’s tough… they are playing board games to avoid boredom out here, blaming Slime-san the moment something seems a little risky so they can all rush in to help. And if we’re in even the slightest danger, he’ll blame himself. That’s why everyone’s mad.

「「It is, okay. We shall, carry, him back… he is, our Master, after all.」」

(Jiggle-Jiggle~)

If only he could worry about himself, just a little, the way he worries about us. If only he could spoil himself a tiny bit, the way he spoils us. But… probably, definitely, this thought can’t get through at all. Most likely, once we’re back, he’ll start redesigning the armor all over again, and tries to finish it by morning.

He’s already made over thirty suits of armor. At some point, he even started making armor for the people from the church. Since he didn’t take measurements, the design’s a little plain and rugged, but they’re all tailored to fit and purely defense-oriented. At this rate, he might even end up making gear for Oda-kun’s group and Kakizaki-kun’s too, more than forty suits total. The speed at which he produces them is insane. But that speed is taking a toll on his brain. And even so, even if it feels like his head is going to split open, he’ll still do it.

「Ahhh, somehow when you say 『collapsed from exhaustion on the lowest floor of the dungeon』 it sounds tragic, but when you say 『crushed by a swarm of pervy women』 it just doesn’t feel tragic at al?. Why is that, I wonder? Yeah, where exactly do you file a damage report so that the heartfelt feelings of one poor Highschool Boy, attacked by 『Perverts (female) Lv110』 at the bottom of a Dungeon, will actually be taken seriously? Pervert Bureau?」

「Don’t call maidens 『pervy women』!」 「「「Yeah, that’s right!」」」 「Also, stop phrasing it like we are monsters, like 『Pervert Lv110』! What if that status actually sticks to us?!」 「「「Eh?! …Whew, safe!」」」

「I mean, if you’re checking the status in that moment, you’re already admitting to the offense, you know? Isn’t that right, Perverts?」 「「「Guh… guhhnnn!」」」

When we got back to the inn, there were guests waiting. That shady merchant from this morning and an elegant lady. Both looked like they were just barely into their twenties, dressed nicely and wearing polite, if slightly tense, smiles, but with a calm, intelligent sharpness about them. But, that makeup set was actually pretty good. And… for some reason, Haruka-kun is sitting formally in seiza?

「Eehm, Health Middle-Aged Man and delivery health lady, right?」

「「「Why did you call a delivery health girl here?! GUILTY!」」」

Wait, so the morning merchant was from a delivery health, and he had brought a lady now?! Yeah, that definitely calls for a scolding.

「Fufufu~ A lecture? Do you wish for a merciless, relentless scolding? Do you wish for a stormlike scolding which runs the gamut of blowing steel and striking flame, killing every crow in the entire world? All our strength is held in a clenched fist, poised for an all-consuming scolding. A simple scolding IS NO LONGER ENOUGH! A SCOLDING! A TOTAL SCOLDING!!」

「「「Pres is broken, medic, the usual one please!」」」

【Undergoing treatment. Munch munch.】