The Protagonist's Party is Too Diligent

“How... how is this...?”

How many times have I heard this question?

Probably about nine times. Out of ten people, I was the only one who didn’t mutter something like that.

As we descended further below the cathedral, the creatures we encountered grew larger and more grotesque. At first, they looked like bears, tigers, or lions—at least, they resembled these animals in some way. Of course, they weren’t normal animals.

If a Japanese company had designed these monsters, they might have appeared cute. There are famous examples of such designs, and Japan’s culture has a penchant for small, adorable things. Honestly, when I first played this series, I couldn’t get used to it.

The monsters were just... too ugly.

In the original game, the monsters were designed with a mediocre graphic style, where they took on the texture of realistic beasts but added grotesque details that didn’t quite reach the level of ‘horribly grotesque.’ It was a typical game design, but now, in this ‘real world’ version, we were experiencing those strange designs in all their disturbing glory.

At least I knew what they looked like, so I wasn’t as shocked as I might have been. But—no, even so, seeing the bodies melt and become limp made me instinctively step back.

“Haah...”

Charlotte, who muttered the usual “What is this...” again, exhaled deeply as she shook off the slimy substance stuck to her sword. Whether the blue or black was blood, I wasn’t sure, but the monster’s bodily fluids clung to her blade. The sound of it hitting the floor was unpleasant—more of a wet thud than a solid drop. Upon closer inspection, it seemed more like slippery slime than liquid.

“...Well, at least we managed to block it properly this time,” she said.

Leo, swinging his sword, added, “Yeah, that was well done.”

Most of the swordsmen in our party had small injuries. Every time it seemed like someone would take a serious hit, I rewound time and provided support. Still, it was hard to erase every little scratch and bruise.

“Are you okay, sis?”

As I caught my breath, Claire asked.

“I’m fine,” I replied, lifting my left hand.

Hadn’t I mentioned before? A jack chain—or whatever it was—connecting my shoulder, elbow, wrist, and fingers had slightly bent. On the surface, it appeared to be brass, but there was a strong steel core inside, so the minor deformation wasn’t a big issue.

But blood was flowing under the brass plates, from my fingers upward. It looked like rusty water.

“Seems like I got hurt a little while swinging my fist earlier,” I said.

When I moved my fingers, there was a bit of a sting, but nothing seemed broken.

As I moved the brass plate around my hand with a creaky sound,

“Spirits Lucis.”

A soothing, warm light enveloped my hand, and the pain in my fingers disappeared.

Looking to my side, Mia was nearby.

“I’ve healed everyone else,” she said, her face a bit pale.

“Are you okay?”

After we had been running for a while, we were nearing the center of the ruins. In the original game, there was always a healing device near boss rooms. It was likely the same here, but if we ran out of mana before reaching it, we would be exhausted.

Mia nodded and pulled out a small vial from her waist, drinking from it. After a few minutes, her complexion slightly improved.

“I wasn’t actually carrying this for places like this,” she added, avoiding my gaze.

I wondered if she had prepared it for dealing with me. After all, if Mia had prepared any weapons to protect herself or harm others, they were probably meant to be used against me. Now, those purposes had disappeared, leaving only the weapons and equipment.

“I’m sorry,”

Rottie suddenly approached me and bowed.

“If I had practiced close combat a bit more, I wouldn’t have needed all of you to help me...”

“But Rottie, you can still use magic. So can Sophia. If you two hadn’t been there, Mia would have collapsed long ago,” Claire said, trying to comfort her.

That was true. In both the original and this world, Mia used mostly offensive magic. If Mia hadn’t been there, I would have used all my large-caliber Marmaros rounds by now. Having a mage at the back, casting giant ice spears or fireballs, allowed me to draw attention or retreat when necessary.

Healing magic, like offensive spells, consumed mana. If Mia had to take care of both healing and attacking magic, she would have passed out from mana exhaustion.

“My magic is based on tools that record spells,” Rottie humbly explained.

While the tools in the original game allowed anyone to use magic, it wasn’t something just anyone could use effectively. It was more of a ‘last resort’ for non-magic characters, and even then, it was more useful to attack directly rather than using magic.

When you’re in a place where you have limited space and gear, prioritizing and focusing is key.

“But I’m surprised. I didn’t think Sophia could use healing magic. Most swordsmen don’t have time to learn magic,” Rottie said, genuinely impressed.

Sophia, who had been listening from a distance, flinched when she heard this.

“Ah, that’s...”

Many magic spells can be used without casting a verbal incantation. To be precise, all magic can be used without it; however, speaking the incantation makes it much easier and more effective.

Sophia had been quiet during the healing magic, likely because she was aware that her method was fundamentally different from the magic Mia used. Mia seemed to realize that too, but she chose not to speak about it, sensing it wouldn’t help.

However, even without voicing their thoughts, two people had been watching Sophia with somewhat knowing eyes: Alice and Charlotte.

Alice had already heard about Sophia’s true identity from me, so she might have suspected that it was holy magic.

Charlotte, though not from the Holy Kingdom, had grown up in a city where the St. Latina Cathedral was located. She had likely seen people who used holy magic multiple times, even if she wasn’t directly familiar with it.

Though Sophia had used holy magic at the academy, using it to heal people was a different matter entirely.

“...We’re almost there. The healing device we saw earlier should be coming up soon. Rena, do you have enough ammo?”

I shifted the conversation.

“Yes. I’ve used up quite a bit of regular ammo, but there’s still plenty for the combat. The Marmaros rounds are almost all intact,” she replied.

“Good,” I nodded.

“Can I ask what kind of monster we’ll face ahead?”

Jake, standing near Rottie, turned to me and asked.

By now, they must have all figured out that I knew something. They might not have guessed exactly what I could do—whether it was seeing the future or rewinding time—but they knew I had some knowledge. I hadn’t gotten lost at any point during our journey.

In fact, I had ignored all the treasure chest rooms along the way. Entering those rooms would mean more battles, and since fighting too much would wear us down in this world, I hadn’t bothered with them. If we had spent time opening all those chests, we would have been exhausted even before we reached here.

In the original, only four people participated in battles, and the rest were substitutes.

Originally, we couldn’t have brought all ten people along. Many weren’t even our ‘companions’ yet.

“......”

I paused to think for a moment.

In the original story, what were the ‘monsters’ the Emperor unleashed?

As I fell silent, the others watched me intently.

“Probably...”

I couldn’t be certain, but it seemed likely that the creatures we were about to face were griffins—twisted and grotesque versions of them.

“......”

Griffins existed in this world too, but they were usually found in high mountains where humans rarely ventured. They were kings of beasts—untamable, unlike normal creatures.

“...Ha.”

At that point, Alice, who had been silent until now, finally spoke, a bitter laugh escaping her lips.

“I’m losing my mind.”