The three members of the Four Stars of the East and sixteen other adventurers holed themselves up in the biggest house—it was only two stories high, made of wood, with five rooms—in the village, the chieftain’s residence.

「I barricaded the front entrance!」

「The toilet’s hole leads outside so I closed that too. B-But will we be fine here?!」

「What do we do if wanna go number one?!」

「Just get a jar or something!」

Following Selyse’s orders, the adventurers reinforced the whole house. While it was made of wood, the materials used were of fine quality. It would be enough to defend themselves for a while.

Selyse herself was lying down on the first floor’s dim living room, lit up only by a lone magic lamp. A woven mat covered the floor where five other adventurers lay sprawled. Sophie was at the center using her healing magic, sweat dripping from her face. She wasn’t healing them, but only prolonging their lives.

「Will this do… Selyse?」

「Y-Yeah. This is fine.」

Selyse looked pale, her breath coming in labored gasps. As fate would have it, she got hit with the deadly venom as well, which could only be neutralized by applying healing magic consistently for some time. But if Sophie only focused on Selyse, the other adventurers could die. In order for everyone to live, the Healer had to attend to everyone. It was a feat that took much effort, yet possible simply because Sophie was a skilled Healer. Any inexperienced person probably wouldn’t be able to save one soul.

「I-I’m so sorry, Lady Selyse. W-We owe you our lives.」muttered a man beside her, tears rolling down his face. He was the one who tried to steal the materials from the Giant Rock Viper. The man received no more than some external wounds which were almost healed after using a potion.

「It’s fine… It’s also an adventurer’s job to save the weak.」

The rest of the potions were used up on their way here. They made a huge miscalculation. The antidote only slowed down the venom’s circulation throughout the body.

「B-But locking ourselves up here won’t do us any good! We followed your orders and came here. Maybe we should’ve left with the villagers after all!」

Selyse ordered everyone to stay in the village. Otherwise, the villagers would’ve been wiped out. They had their hands full carrying the injured and barricading the house, so they could only send one guy back to Catford to deliver a message.

「We’ll be fine…」

「How can you be so sure?!」

The walls creaked. Dust fell from the ceiling.

「We have company!」Sarah came downstairs.「Six Giant Rock Vipers, two Giant Rock Lizards, and one Double-Necked Viper. They’re all here.」

One man let out a shriek.

「We’re dead! This is where we die!」

Killing Giant Rock Vipers was only recommended to adventurers ranked C and above. At least rank B for the rare monsters Giant Rock Lizard and Double-Necked Viper. Zubura would mobilize their military to exterminate them, even with sacrifices. Either that, or they would stay away and call for high-ranked adventurers from Forestzard.

The house shook once more. A plank was nailed on the front door with a table leaning against it, but it started to make cracking sounds.

A snake’s hissing sent adventurers scuttling towards the corners and cowering in fear.

「Sarah… How many can you kill?」Selyse asked.

「Hmm… It’ll take a while, but I can probably kill two Giant Rock Vipers. Three if I put my life on the line.」

The adventurers stirred. Sarah clearly looked like a scout. Yet she claimed she could kill a Giant Rock Viper solo.

「You don’t have to do that much. Just buy us some time.」

「You got it. It’s okay to be reckless sometimes, but don’t you die on us. I’m serious.」

「I can’t… die just yet.」

「’Kay.」

Sarah climbed up the stairs and disappeared into the second floor. All the windows were closed, and there was only one route available—going above the ceiling and onto the roof.

「That lady went out alone!」

「She’ll be fine…」

「But she said she could only kill three at max! What about the rest?!」

「It’s fine…」

「How can you be so sure?!」

「Heh. Monster swarms are no match for Selica.」

Selyse believed Selica would come. One-on-one battles against powerful foes indeed suited the Sun Maiden, but fighting numerous enemies was where Selica came in. As a matter of fact, among the members of their party, Selyse and Selica were the strongest. In terms of pure offense, however, Selica’s power was overwhelming.

Adventurers groaned as the clamor of battle outside grew louder. The sound of a small explosion echoed out. Sarah was using smoke screens to disrupt the monsters. It should be enough to buy some time.

「And I’m sure… that guy will come.」Selyse muttered.

「You think that boy will come?」Sophie said.「Why do you trust him?」

「It’s just my intuition. If he comes, we’ll surely win.」

「But…」

「Sophie… There is right or wrong when killing monsters. If him coming means everyone will be saved, wouldn’t that be a good thing?」

Selyse coughed.

「Don’t talk. Please, just save your energy. …Very well. I don’t want his help, but if he brings Paula with him, she can heal you right away. I don’t want his help, of course.」

Sweat trickled from Sophie’s forehead down to her chin and onto the floor. She was extremely proficient in healing, capable of casting advanced healing magic continuously without losing focus, while also able to hold a casual conversation.

The sound of battle grew ever louder. No one talked. Silence fell in the room. Only the ragged breathing of the injured could be heard.

「Come on. Did you really have to say you don’t want my help twice? You make it hard for me to come out. Man, I wish you’d be nicer.」

Sophie gave a start and looked up the stairs.

「Hey… I knew you’d come.」Selyse laughed weakly.

When the boy—Hikaru—saw her, he thought, We made it just in time.

「The long-awaited Paula is here.」

「L-Lady Sophie! What’s the status… Wait, is everyone okay?!」

Hikaru and Paula went down to the first floor. The adventurers watched them, eyes full of surprise, wondering where they came from.

「I-Is the rescue team here?!」

「Yeah.」Hikaru answered.

「All right!」

「We’ll live!」

The adventurers cheered.

「How many people came?! Thirty?! Fifty?!」

「Seven.」

「…What?」

「The other three just brought us here, though. So only four, essentially.」

Heavy silenced descended, but Hikaru ignored it and came to Selyse’s side. He stooped down and whispered in her ears.

「I’ll let Paula use her magic, but I need you to say she only assisted Sophie.」

「You still want to keep her abilities secret?」

「Your reputation will improve, and you’ll owe me one. It’s not a bad deal, don’t you think? 」

「You’re awful, you know that? You know I can’t refuse your offer.」

「I know you saw this coming. Sun Maiden, my foot. Change it to Scheming Maiden instead.」

「That’s just how people call me. How about you call yourself the Sun Boy?」

「Suit yourself. You seem fine to me, actually.」

Hikaru stood up and nodded at Paula. She knew the drill. Sophie would heal, while she assisted.

「What about…」Sophie swallowed the rest of her words.

Hikaru simply shot her a glance and quickly turned his back, before climbing back up the stairs.

Sophie bit her lip. No matter what her opinion was of the boy, she felt relief in her heart. That people will be saved.

Then the ground trembled and the house shook. It felt like a powerful spell was just cast.