Dungeon Start Heroine Tamer and Training Mission! ~Lately, there’s been a lot of talk about strong, cute, and beautiful female adventurers… All of them are my followers!
“Ah!! —— Amezaki-kun, what should we do?!”
A desperate voice pleading for help.
Saionji reacted immediately and turned to me for a decision.
…Honestly speaking, I think she looked more eager to go than not.
Truth be told, I personally wouldn’t have cared either way.
When becoming an adventurer, one inevitably hears the term “self-responsibility” repeated over and over again.
So naturally, just because we were nearby didn’t mean we had any obligation to rescue someone. And even if we didn’t go, there wouldn’t be any penalty or punishment.
“…Well then, I guess we have no choice but to go.”
However, choosing not to act would clearly result in disadvantages regarding my relationship with Saionji.
And it wasn’t something superficial like possibly being disliked as a romantic interest by her… Well, of course that could also be part of it, but the real issue was elsewhere.
It would become a trigger for distrust—the fear that if I were ever in trouble, maybe I’d be abandoned too.
In other words, cracks could form in our master-and-servant trust bond.
Eventually, this might cause my grand plan—a life of passive income based on 【Hero Tamer】—to collapse entirely.
So yeah… given all that, I suppose doing this would be the better option after all…
“Away this way——”
Although I really wasn’t thrilled about it, I started running toward the direction of the scream.
“Ah! Yeah, Amezaki-kun!”
Beaming with delight, Saionji followed close behind.
Her eyes showed appreciation and admiration at how quickly I made a decision.
…Ugh. It’s not like I acted out of any noble reasoning like that.
But I had no intention of stopping right now to correct her misunderstanding.
This wasn’t exactly the time for explanations during such an emergency.
“—No! Stop! Get off me! …Mmm! Mmm~!!”
A woman’s voice rang out nearby—full of strong rejection, mixed with terror.
Then, abruptly, her cry was muffled into something unintelligible, as if something had been shoved into her mouth.
That alone made clear how urgent the situation was.
We took a narrow sidestreet branching off from the winding main road we were on.
The sounds were definitely coming from ahead. With resolve, I kept up my pace without slowing down.
Soon enough, we reached a wide dome-shaped open space.
“GUGYAA, GUSYASYAA!!”
Right before our eyes—
a single woman was currently under attack by goblins.
◆ ◆ ◆ ◆
Instantly, the information flooding my vision processed rapidly inside my head.
The woman was pinned down by multiple goblins.
“Mmm! Mmm! MMM !?”
Three of her limbs were held down individually by three different goblins each.
Her right leg was free, but I could see an arrow embedded in her thigh.
And above her, a leader-type goblin was straddling her helpless body.
——Its hands were reaching straight toward her chest, like they were about to rip off fully matured fruit.
“Kuh!!”
As soon as I realized this much, I resumed moving my previously halted legs.
But my mind remained unusually calm, keeping my field of vision broad.
The fact that my actions weren’t driven by outrage or emotional obligation seemed to benefit my mental state positively.
After confirming there were no bows near the woman or the surrounding goblins, I widened my sight across the whole area.
—There! Goblin Archer!
At the edge of the rocky wall ahead, I spotted a sly-looking goblin holding a bow.
An E-rank dungeon spawn capable of archery.
“——【Magic Shot】!!”
I targeted it immediately.
Under normal circumstances, instinctively you’d want to strike the goblins attacking the girl first.
But whenever possible, priority should always be eliminating the dangerous backliners first.
Whether in games or real combat—it’s a universal principle.
“GOBUBU!? GOBU——”
Realizing the incoming magical sphere, the Goblin Archer panicked and tried to flee.
But its movements were sluggish—like clumsy crabbing side-to-side motions.
Before long, it was struck by the magic orb, smashed against the wall, and obliterated.
“GOBU!?”
“GOBUGOBU!?”
The remaining goblins finally noticed the intruder.
“Alright then, here we go!!”
Letting out a battle cry, I charged forward—directly at the goblin still clinging onto the woman.
Since there was a slight risk of accidentally hitting her, I chose to swing around a wooden shield instead of using my sword.
“GISHAAA!!”
The leader goblin, interrupted mid-rape, flew into a rage while grabbing its knife.
Howling wildly with fury, it lunged straight at me.
“Take this!!”
With force, I shoved back using the shield.
“GOBUSHI——”
Just as I thought I pushed it back—
More strength than expected was applied, turning the impact into a powerful strike.
The leader goblin was sent flying backward, causing momentary confusion among its minions.
Seizing this opportunity without hesitation,
I swung the wooden shield like swatting insects, keeping the remaining goblins at bay.
“MM, MMH~!”
The creatures loosened their grip, allowing the woman’s entire body to come into full view at last.
She was a very beautiful young girl with long black hair.
Lying sideways, her figure appeared tall, seeming about our age.
But at present, her face twisted in pain.
Something like cloth had obviously been stuffed into her mouth, provoking faint whimper-like noises.
“Saionji!”
“Yeah!”
With just that exchange, understanding passed between us, as Saionji rushed to the girl’s side.
I caught sight of the glowing light of 【Heal】, so I left healing duties to her.
“—Alright, time for round two.”
Turning back toward the four remaining goblins, I adjusted my stance—grasping both sword and shield firmly.
◆ ◆ ◆ ◆
“GOGYAAAAAA!”
Their voices no longer hiding their murderous intent.
Goblins brandishing knives came charging at me.
Hatred and anger warped their faces grotesquely beyond anything imaginable—they were furious their fun had been disturbed.
“URAHHHH!!”
Facing these monsters head-on, I stood firm and prepared myself to meet them directly.
Thanks to taking out the archer first, I could now focus solely on the melee combat.
“—【Power Strike】!!”
Activating my newly learned 【Warrior】 skill.
My cheap secondhand one-handed sword glowed with a brilliant radiance along its blade.
Without hesitation, I swung it sideways with brute force at two goblins lunging toward me.
Despite the blade likely not being particularly sharp, it cleaved through both goblins effortlessly—like a hot knife slicing through butter.
“Woah! Man, the power of the 【Warrior】 class is insane!!”
…Actually, thinking about it, the appropriate reaction would probably be more like “UHO!” rather than “UOA!”
Hey Saionji, wanna become a gorilla monster too?
But whatever—none of that matters anyway.
“GOBUGYA!!”
Using the two dead goblin bodies as distractions obscuring my view,
the remaining two goblins attacked from both sides.
“Pardon the interruption, hard work indeed!!”
Rather than fighting head-on,
I expertly deflected their strikes using the shield.
Even though I blocked simultaneous attacks from both sides, my arms felt absolutely no numbness.
“Tch! RAH!!”
Continuing the momentum, I manipulated the shield skillfully.
While still grasping both goblins’ bodies, I slammed them repeatedly—sandwiching them between the ground and my shield.
“GOBUGYUUU——”
A soft squishing sensation.
Simultaneously, air whooshed violently from their crushed bodies.
Deliberately repeating the motion several times—slamming and lifting the shield forcefully.
The remaining goblins perished like that.
“Phewww——”
Confirming the victory, I finally exhaled in relief, wiping sweat from my forehead with the back of my hand.
“It’s done. Are you okay over there?”
Looking behind, I saw Saionji still wielding the glow of 【Heal】 in her hands.
Treating the rescued girl’s wounded thigh on her right leg.
The removed arrow lay discarded on the ground, its tip smeared with fresh crimson blood.
…Should I assist with healing too?
Without deeper thoughts, this time it was purely out of genuine kindness.
I crouched beside the girl, positioning myself directly in front of her.
“【Heal】”
Gently raising my hands over her exposed thigh peeking beneath her short-pants attire.
A soft greenish-yellow magical glow enveloped my palm.
Since this was cast on someone other than my servant, the color of magic stayed unchanged.
“Eh——!?”
For a brief moment, surprise flashed across her beautiful face.
But soon afterward, her expression contorted painfully, as if a sharp sting had spread.
“How does it feel? Better now?”
Saionji gently asked.
Despite enduring pain, the girl nodded firmly.
“Yes… it hurts a little, but I can tell it’s healing. Seems like getting healed by both of you has accelerated recovery too.” “I’m glad…”
Still maintaining the 【Heal】 spell, Saionji let out a relieved sigh.
Clearly feeling joy brimming from her expression—probably from knowing she herself contributed to saving another person.
“—I’m Saionji Hikari. This is my classmate Amezaki-kun. We’re both second-year high school students.”
Saionji introduced herself and briefly explained who I was as well.
Without removing her hands from the thigh, I simply nodded slightly in agreement.
“You’re in the same grade as me too? Yet both of you can use 【Heal】, and are so strong… amazing…”
Looking at us with something akin to admiration, the girl gazed at both of us almost dazzled.
Suddenly snapping back to reality, she hurriedly bowed deeply.
“Allow me to properly thank you both again. Thanks to you, I was saved—not only my life, but my dignity as a woman too. I’m Tojo Setsuna. Also a second-year student at Adventurer High School.”
A beautiful girl with long black hair—Setsuna briefly smiled, a touch of self-deprecating irony in her expression.