Author: Sasaki Ichiro	Original Source: Syosetu
Translator: Mab	English Source: Re:Library
Editor(s): Silva

Project GB is an official initiative by Re:Library.

“Eeeeh?!” Everyone frowned with dissatisfaction.

To be fair, this world provides a huge variance in individual abilities, and depending on how much training someone has undergone, their capabilities can skyrocket without limit. So, for adventurers and trained templar knights, the point I was trying to make probably didn’t quite hit home. But for the average person, even fighting a monkey with a weapon would be a fifty-fifty chance at best.

And if instead of a monkey, it were a small goblin or an orc the size of a human, armed with a weapon… Well, the result would be obvious.

“…Ah, but yeah, I remember the first time I defeated a monster. I was eleven, and it was just a small kobold, nothing special—about one mertes tall—but I was scared out of my mind.” The one speaking with a distant look was Daniella, the martial artist. “I broke four or five of its ribs with my fists, but it still came at me, biting like crazy… I totally panicked, just flailing my arms and legs around, forgetting all my training.”

“Exactly. Even a trained martial artist like you had trouble. So for an ordinary person with no training, even a slime can be a formidable foe. Especially if they’re caught off guard while trying to protect us delicate women.”
“Delicate…?”

Cestlavie glanced back and forth between me, Kaisa, and Daniella, his expression doubtful.

“““What, are you saying we’re not delicate?”””

I silently conjured over a dozen fireballs to hover around me. Kaisa drew her dagger and bisected a fly that was buzzing in front of her cleanly in a single stroke. Daniella casually thrust her hand into a reinforced brick wall, leaving a gaping hole.

“S-Sorry. I was wrong.”

Overwhelmed by our Feminine power, Cestlavie hurriedly retracted his words.

Just as things were about to get awkward, the armed guild staff member at the front quickly gave us a brief rundown of the situation while we waited for the special elevator.

“My apologies, Lady Clara. We did manage to stop the bleeding and used what potions we had on hand, but the wounds were deeper than expected. Both the young reporter and the girl accompanying him are in critical condition…”

“Accompanying him? Were they sneaking off for a midnight tryst?”

I mused half in admiration and half out of envy, thinking how bold they must be to go rendezvousing on such a foggy night. Or rather, how utterly lacking in a sense of danger they were.

Now that I think about it, this world doesn’t have twenty-four-hour businesses or even the concept of late-night establishments.

I had assumed, based on vague impressions, that places like taverns or red-light districts might be exceptions, operating without time restrictions. But apparently, there are no such hard-working tavern masters or prostitutes here. (Well, since we are practically in the backyard of the Holy City, brothels and similar establishments are outright forbidden. Though, of course, there are always exceptions everywhere.)

Nowadays, large towns like the Holy City are equipped with gas lamps fueled by beast oil. But even then, their numbers are limited, and they’re all extinguished once the time comes, making nighttime outings hardly feasible.

More importantly, in this world where monsters and ghosts roam freely, with the mysterious and the mystique part of reality, the darkness is infinitely deep. Walking around at night always means living side by side with danger.

Because of that, not only women and children but even laborers and adventurers follow a lifestyle reminiscent of a certain southern island’s king: They wake and work when the sun rises, return home before it sets, are late when the wind blows, and take the day off when it rains… That’s the norm.

Naturally, the Adventurers’ Guild is no exception. As we walk down the corridor, we occasionally pass by guards on patrol, but for the most part, it’s deserted—eerily like an empty school at night.

So when we finally reached the brightly lit first floor, bustling like a field hospital near the main entrance, I couldn’t help but let out a sigh of relief.

“Where are the injured? I’ll start with the one most gravely wounded!”

Quickly regaining my composure, I gripped my beloved magic staff, which had been returned to me when I left the guest room, and made my way through the crowd.

“—Lady Clara!?”
“Oh! It’s Lady Clara!”
“Over here, Lady Clara. The boy is in critical condition, and the girl is severely injured but stable for now, thanks to some basic blood-stopping measures and potions.”

The guild staff and adventurers who noticed me immediately stepped aside to clear a path.

Ahead of me, young Colin lay limp on a sheet spread across the floor, resting on his side. Beside him knelt a girl who seemed to be around my age or perhaps a bit older, watching over him with a worried expression.

“…Eliza?”

For some reason, I felt a strange sense of déjà vu upon seeing her and blurted out the name without thinking. She didn’t particularly resemble Eliza, but something about her general aura—or rather the vibrations of her Mana—felt strikingly similar. Of course, compared to Eliza, her magical capacity was so faint it could be blown away like a feather and seemed ready to be swallowed up by the surrounding crowd.

(Actually, it’s almost like the kind of magical depletion you experience after casting a large spell…?)

“—Lady Clara, would you please begin the healing?”

My mind had started wandering toward unrelated thoughts, but the staff member’s prompt brought me back to the present. I hurriedly knelt down beside Colin to assess the severity of his injuries.

“…”

For a brief moment, I felt a sharp gaze from the girl kneeling beside him, as if she were staring at me like I was her mortal enemy. But when I glanced her way, her sorrowful eyes were fixed only on Colin.

Was it just my imagination? Shaking off the uneasy feeling, I raised my staff and began the healing process.ragwe

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