Chapter 42: Half a Day

Raive stood alone, some distance from the entrance.

He plunged his hands into his pockets, trying to keep warm while staring at the cloudy, dark sky. It looked like rain would fall any moment, but it had looked that way since morning.

Apart from the giant glaring countdown, nothing else was worth seeing.

Creak...

Hearing a noise from behind him, Raive turned around. Three figures stood there. Faces he expected. Hazel, Reinhardt, and his wife.

"Welcome to the team." Raive smiled gently.

Or so he thought.

"Hmm?"

There seemed to be an extra pair behind them.

A boy about twelve, slightly older than Hershey, and a girl who looked no older than five.

"Those two are...?" Raive asked, confused.

Hazel was the one to answer. "They’re my brother and sister. I believe I told you about them before."

"No. Not that I recall."

"Really? Then maybe only the girls knew..."

"I see."

Reaching this point, he’d figured they would come too.

But Raive felt a flicker of worry. More people meant the difficulty of protecting them would only grow. And if they turned out useless, all the more so.

As if reading his mind, Hazel showed a faint smile and pushed the two forward, introducing them.

"Kenny here can make barriers. He’s the one who protected everyone during the first trial." She said, patting the boy’s brown hair.

"Sister, stop treating me like a child! I’m grown now!" Kenny growled, pushing her hand away.

Unbothered by his words, Hazel continued with the other one.

"And this one’s Patricia. She can replicate objects she touches."

"Hello brother, I’m Patricia. I’m four years old!"

The little girl followed up quickly, in a line she’d clearly practiced.

Raive was torn between earning Hazel’s anger by turning the two away, or keeping them while bracing for what came next. But now that he knew they had useful abilities, he was all smiles.

He walked over, knelt to meet their eyes, and patted their heads gently.

"Then that’s settled!" He grinned. "Kenny, Patricia, welcome aboard, you two!"

"Ehehe!"

"..."

Patricia beamed, looking proud, as if she’d been praised. Kenny, though, reacted differently than when Hazel had patted him.

He looked down and away, cheeks blushing slightly.

’Shy with strangers?’ Raive thought.

But that wasn’t it.

Kenny had heard from Hazel that it was Raive who’d taken down the boss of the Sine Gang. Unlike himself, who couldn’t even protect his own family from those bandits, Raive had killed them outright.

In his eyes, Raive looked just like the hero from the stories he used to read!

Getting patted by his idol felt like a dream come true, and it made him squirm with excitement, though he tried not to show it, worried it would look uncool.

Too late for that, though.

Once he’d had his fill of patting the two kids, Raive stood up and—

"Then, shall we...!"

—swayed.

His vision darkened fast as every sensation drained from his body.

’Damn...’ he cursed inwardly. ’I forgot I was bleeding from my back...’

"Raive...? RAIVE!!!"

Seeing him drop like he was dying, Hazel’s heart nearly stopped.

Within the darkness, Raive felt his limbs turning cold. The familiar sensation he always felt. But this time, there was no pain.

’Guess losing too much blood is a decent way to go,’ he thought, almost offhandedly.

Then, a moment later, he felt warmth.

It spread from the center of his chest and moved quickly toward his extremities, chasing away the cold of death. It was a strangely relaxing sensation, pulling a sigh of relief from him.

Like a man worn out from overtime, finally sinking into a hot bath.

"Hmm..."

Slowly, Raive opened his eyes.

He saw red behind his eyelids before he’d even fully woken, so he quickly threw an arm up to block the light.

And when he opened his eyes properly, something felt off.

"I... didn’t die?"

He wasn’t standing before the green dungeon in the apartment complex, but lying in a large bed instead. It looked a little familiar, which only puzzled him more.

When he tried to sit up, he noticed something heavy pressed against his stomach. Looking down, he found a head of golden blonde hair resting on top of him.

"Hershey...?"

At the sight of her, Raive connected the dots at once.

After he’d fainted, Hazel must’ve rushed him back to Hershey’s home and had her heal him right away. Judging by the girl’s puffy eyes, she must’ve been crying the whole time she healed him.

Just the thought that someone so small had fought so hard to save his life warmed him all over. A smile crept onto his lips as he gently patted her head in thanks.

"Huh...?"

But as if his touch was the signal, Hershey’s eyes opened.

She lifted her head groggily, staring blankly at his face for a few moments before it sank in.

"B-BROTHER!!!"

She jumped forward, hugging his neck tight.

It was so sudden that Raive was caught off guard, but he accepted her hug without complaint. "You healed me? Thank you, Hershey." He said, patting her back.

The loud shout brought a few figures bursting through the door.

Therese and Hazel, to be specific.

Both wore panic and worry at first, but once they saw Hershey just bawling her eyes out while hugging him, they let out sighs of relief.

"So you’re finally awake." Hazel smiled gently. "If you were hurt after using your skill, you should’ve told me sooner. Then it wouldn’t have gotten this bad..."

Hearing her complain, Raive realized just how anxious his sudden collapse had made her.

But it was true he’d simply forgotten about the wound, since it hadn’t even stung, so he could only smile wryly.

"I didn’t even notice I was injured, so how could I?" He chuckled.

Therese then cut in, smiling sweetly.

"You must be hungry, right? I’ll bring your lunch over, so eat with Hershey, please. That girl’s been stuck by your side since midnight, you know~?"

"Lunch...?"

"Ah, you didn’t notice?" She smiled, pointing at the wall at the far end, where a clock hung, ticking quietly. "See? It’s already half past eleven."

Raive gasped in surprise.

He’d been asleep for half a day!

But worse— 𝘧𝓇ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝘣𝓃ℴ

"We’re late...!"

Their dungeon raiding plan was in jeopardy!