Luke and his companions emerged from the dungeon on the evening of the third day, exactly as scheduled.
"Reckon that new floor boss must be packing some kind of buff-application skill," Luke remarked, his voice steady. "That's what's got the monsters in the dungeon all riled up."
Normally, it took at least half a day for dungeon monsters to begin respawning after being cleared out by a party like theirs. This time, they were crawling back in almost immediately—something that had never happened before.
"Wait, what!?" Tricia cried out, her eyes wide. "You went all the way near the boss!?"
"Just for a recon mission," Luke replied with a shrug.
The soldiers stationed at the gate grew restless, as if to say that returning in three days was an impossible feat. Luke and the mercenary commander, Gilbert, stood there perfectly fine, despite their armor being caked in grime. The rest of their party, however, had collapsed the moment they stepped out of the dungeon.
"I am never going in a dungeon with this group again! Never!" a red-haired mercenary with drooping eyes wailed, tears welling up in the corners of his eyes. "Those two are just too insane!!!"
You could see the blades were notched, the tips snapped off, and even their scabbards were gone.
"Whoa, mate! Your weapons are completely wrecked," one of the observers noted.
"Are you serious? It was a nonstop, blitzkrieg run!?" the red-haired mercenary shouted.
"And to go all the way to the deep-level boss… the local lord didn't even ask for that, which is why he said three days, right!?" the mercenary with the short-cropped black hair added to the protest.
Standing before them were the two men, casually standing around while grabbing some water from their bottles.
"Luke and I were hired, so we couldn't exactly bring back pathetic results, could we~" Gilbert smirked, leaning back.
"That's not it!" the red-haired mercenary snapped back. "Once we took down those three S-class monsters, we should have turned back, no matter how you look at it!"
Gilbert just smirked, plugging his ears and pretending not to hear the groans of his party members swearing they'd nearly died.
(Encountering an S-class monster that's been buffed… the very thought sends shivers down my spine.)
Tricia could see the soldiers around her turning pale, thinking the same thing. The leader seemed used to these two complainin'; he just waved them off with a dismissive "Yeah, yeah."
Tricia stepped in, casting [Healing magic (Reset)] on the collapsed members. Bruises, a few minor lacerations, extreme muscle fatigue… but nothing life-threatening.
(As expected of a high-tier mercenary company.)
"Whoa! Amazing! You're pretty good, you know that!" the red-haired mercenary exclaimed, clearly impressed by Tricia's ability.
"Hey, Reil! Did you try recruiting her yet!?"
"The guys at the Adventurer's Guild keep getting in the way~" Reil replied, glancing over at Luke.
Tricia scratched her head, blushing at the direct praise, before being pulled away by a miffed-looking Luke.
"We're holding up the line, hurry it up."
"Yeah, yeah," Tricia sighed.
Luke's body didn't have a single scratch on it. For starters, Luke can use [Healing magic] himself. There was no need for Tricia to do anything, but since she was hired specifically for the exploration team, she played the part and cast a heal. It was just a performance to look busy.
The monster appraisal and purchase center near the West Gate was buzzing with activity for the first time in a while.
"The local lord should be satisfied with this for now," Gilbert said, tossing a heavy sack onto the counter.
Monster materials were the pillar of the territory's industry. It had been quiet lately, so the staff at the purchase center were looking surprisingly pleased, even as they complained about how hectic things were. The mood had skyrocketed when the mercenary company and Luke delivered the S-class monster materials.
"Good timing for business, right before the festival," the clerk chirped.
"You're going to be here for a while longer, right?"
"Oh, we'll be here! We'll probably end up fighting alongside the knights to subjugate the boss next," Reil replied.
Reil sounded genuinely happy. He'd grown quite close to Tricia over the last three days.
"Make sure to show me your boarding house once it's finished!"
"I have no idea when that'll be done, though," Tricia laughed.
Still, it made her happy to hear him say that. This trip had turned out to be quite profitable.
"Man, coming to this town was the right call," Luke muttered. "I never expected to find such a good deal."
Ash seemed to share the same sentiment. As a higher-ranked individual, Ash was paid even better than Tricia.
(If someone at Ash-san's level is just a B-rank, I wonder what an A-class Healer is like.)
Ash was the most skilled healer Tricia had ever seen. Beyond the raw healing effect, he could physically restrain patients thrashing about in pain or from poison, efficiently stripping away their suffering in seconds. Tricia could heal in an instant if she made contact, but if a giant was thrashing about in agony or delirious from toxin, just getting close to them was a struggle.
(I'm confident in my skills, but the art of healing is truly profound.)
She collapsed onto her bed at the guild for the first time in a while. She flipped through the notebook of aspirations she'd been writing in during her trip.
(Reil said he didn't need a kitchen… but Ash-san and Gelt said they wanted one. Luke is probably in the 'don't need one' camp, too.)
Tricia had a small dilemma. She hadn't managed to make friends with a single female adventurer. She'd received invitations to join them as an adventurer, but because there was a shortage of resident healers, she couldn't easily step away.
(I really want to hear the opinions of the women, too.)
"Right! Time to do some marketing!" Tricia declared, full of motivation.
The adventurer's guild breakroom was rowdy. As Tricia peeked into the breakroom, Gelt noticed her and hurried over.
"Hey, Gelt. I need to ask you for a favor."
"Please don't tell me you're quitting as a Resident Healer!?" Gelt gasped, waving his hands frantically.
"No, no! It's nothing like that! I just need you to add a new item to the price list in the healing room and put up a flyer on the bulletin board."
By that evenin', a single sheet of paper was posted in the corner of the guild's large bulletin board.
'Old scars removed, starting from 1 silver coin. Inquiries: Adventurer's Guild Infirmary, Healer Tricia'
Notes:
• Luke - A silver-haired, blue-eyed S-rank adventurer, noble Marquis's son, and mercenary captain leading a dungeon expedition. Frequently called to the castle for duties, he acts as Tricia’s wealthy, protective childhood friend and manager. While dryly teasing, curious, and baffled by her entrepreneurial ideas, he devotedly guards her passive income empire with overwhelming combat power and a jealous streak.
• R - A first-year student at District 13 High School who has successfully built a squad and added multiple girls, including M and A, into his group.
• T - A first-year student at District 13 High School who has recruited K and N from East Middle into his group.
• N - A student from East Middle with an eccentric personality who entered National High School due to complex family circumstances and used herself as leverage to negotiate a protective agreement for K.
• Tricia - A pragmatic, light-haired C-rank adventurer with obsidian eyes and reincarnated past-life memories. Formerly a lonely, abandoned party healer and strategist known for her foresight and ability to heal scars instantly, she hides a rare item-restoring "Reset" skill and basic wind magic. She is now a self-conscious, budding entrepreneur in Edinbia, building a boarding house for low-rank adventurers.
• A - A student from South Middle School described as an idol who has been recruited into R's high school squad.
• S - A first-year student at District 13 High School who has taken B from North Middle into his squad.
• B - A student originally from North Middle School who was added to S's group.
• Reil - A mercenary with golden hair tied in a short knot. He wears a serious expression and is currently acting as a bodyguard for the healer stationed outside the West Gate.
• M - A first-year student at District 13 High School and the childhood friend of Anonymous Student 0006, described as an atavistic strong-female who looks plain but possesses significant power.
• Ash - A former B-rank healer who retired to serve a merchant before returning to Edinbia, he’s muscular and fit, with a charismatic, casual demeanor that makes him a frequent visitor to the infirmary; he’s now seeking to rent a room in Tricia’s future boarding house, blending his adventurous past with a quiet desire for community.
• Gelt - An official at the Adventurer’s Guild who manages the Infirmary, overseeing Tricia's resident status and healing contracts. Visibly stressed by the constant influx of patients and the unconventional behavior of adventurers, he struggles to maintain order amidst the chaos.