ch341-ch360 · 358-ch358

Chapter 358: 【Aikawa Natsuki】A Bear's Cub Is a Panda, a Troublesome Child 【Part 3】

SIDE: Aikawa Natsuki (Haruki's Party Member)

'Huh. Tougher than she looked.'

I've lost count of how many times I've been hit......

In the end, not one of my attacks landed, and I collapsed to the ground.

If I'd gone full 'Beast Transformation' from the start......

If I'd spent my skill points......

If I'd had a weapon......

The excuses never end.

But I couldn't do any of it.

'Quit playing and finish her off already.'

'Even so, this one's hard, y'know. Crush the head—would that do it?'

I can hear something.

"Natsuki—run—!"

Sorry.

I can't get up anymore.

Looks like this is it.

I'm going to die......

(Ahh...... I want corn soup, one last time...... Heh.)

That my last thought was corn soup—not Mother, not Father—makes me laugh before I know it.

I'll just decide it was, barely, Mom's corn soup—the corn soup Soushi makes for me.

See? I remembered Soushi properly, and......

"Natsuki—!"

Soushi's voice.

Am I already dead?

But something's off.

Soushi still calls me by my surname—Aikawa.

Calling me by my first name—he'd be too embarrassed to say it.

He couldn't......

'The hell are these ones? They were in the house?'

'The hell're you doing. They're kids. Eh? Tch—shoot them de—'

But hearing Soushi's voice while dying would be a strange thing.

I can hear a commotion too—bodies scuffling.

"Natsuki—"

The voice gets louder.

I manage to lift my face, and there's Soushi, closing in.

He came.

But......

"Soushi, no—that one's strong!"

The one moving to intercept the charging Soushi is the man I'd been fighting.

"'Water Pressure'!"

Soushi's 'Water Magic' attack—but no good.

Just as expected, it's dodged with that unnatural movement.

The evasion skill.

This is what dodged all my sneak attacks, too.

All I did was show him my hand......

'Whoa, that was clo— hwoosh.'

The next instant.

The man flies a good twenty meters, then skids another ten across the ground.

What just happened?

"Oi! That was dangerous! It just grazed me!"

Soushi turns around and complains.

Behind him is Haru-kun.

Apparently Haru-kun did something.

The man isn't moving a muscle anymore.

But there are still guys with guns...... sprawled at Haru-kun's feet.

Two of them, even......

The one I dropped is lying off to the side—these two must be from outside.

That makes the whole lot of them down.

We're saved......

"Eek!"

Something drops right in front of my eyes.

Is that...... a shoe?

A sneaker.

"Whoa—you OK—?!"

Haru-kun overtakes the complaining Soushi and comes toward me.

He's only wearing one shoe.

This must be Haru-kun's shoe.

But is he that worried about me?

Saori's right there, after all......

"Honestly, even more than me......"

......Huh?

He passes right by me.

"You OK? Crap, he's coughing up blood."

He's busily checking the flown man's breathing, taking his pulse.

What is that boy doing?

"Natsuki! You OK? Those are bad injuries. Your HP?"

Soushi helps me sit up.

This might be a pretty good situation, actually.

I feel a little stronger.

"Yeah. 【Status】. Ah......"

"What's wrong? Is it bad? Shiraishi-san, right away!"

That's not it.

It was the opposite.

Looking properly, my HP hadn't even dropped by half.

And yet I couldn't even stand......

My spirit had broken.

"I'm fine—half left. More importantly, what about him?"

I ask about Haru-kun to change the subject.

What is he doing?

"Maybe he botched holding back."

"......Right. Serves him right."

I mean Haru-kun didn't botch it—that MAN did, obviously.

I was seconds from being killed, and everyone else would have been too......

But thinking of Haru-kun, it'd be a problem if the man died.

"How is he?"

"He's breathing, but he might die if we take him out of the dungeon. Ah—give me my shoe back."

Haru-kun drags the man over by the collar.

The shoe...... he knocked him down with THIS shoe?

And timed to the exact instant Soushi forced the evasion skill out?

By the time I'd lifted my face, he'd already dropped another one.

Right beside the 'Dungeon Gate' are two men, arms and legs bent in directions they shouldn't go.

I'd felt it faintly for a while now.

I'd been blaming Hiramatsu-ryu and looking away from it—but Haru-kun is far, far stronger than me......

Our levels are only three apart now, too.

No more excuses.

"Natsuki—"

"You OK?"

"Your face—it's so...... Let's get out of here."

The three of them seem unharmed.

And my face is another matter......

I'm scared to touch it.

"I'm—fine. Injuries heal better inside the dungeon, so let me stay here...... Soushi, outside, police, someone has to call......"

HP and injuries seem linked: as injuries drain HP, so returning HP heals the injuries.

Normally, while you're injured, HP won't recover past a certain point.

But I have the 【Monk】's 【Natural Recovery・HP】, so bit by bit, my injuries will heal too.

Thanks to this skill, my skin's been in great shape lately, too......

Will my face come back?

I'll put my hopes in Shiraishi-san.

I mean, she can bring back MEMORIES.

"Yeah—Ota says he already reported it, so they'll be here soon."

Ota?

Seems it wasn't just these two.

"Now we just have them arrest the rest, and it's perfect."

"You're not much better yourself."

There are more of their friends outside?

Then we'd better not leave the dungeon.

Outside the dungeon, we're just ordinary people.

"Is that a clear? Don't tell me this is my first dream of the year? Mind stomping on my foot for a sec?"

"Eh? The foot without a shoe? L-like this?"

"Hmm, doesn't hurt. It IS a dream, after all? Harder, please."

What is this pervert doing under cover of all the chaos?