“Mimi, are you all right…?”
“This barely counts as a scratch. Cole covered for me, though…”
“I’m okay, too…I can stop the blood. So don’t cry, Nano. Don’t waste even a drop of water.”
They were in a dark space that would have been impossible to see in if they had not been given falna.
Nano, Miliria, and Cole were kneeling and gathered together.
Caught up in the collapse, the werewolf boy had protected the girl and had gashes across his head and around his right eye. His clothes were torn up, and the cloth wrapped around his head like an eyepatch quickly became scarlet. His right eye would be useless until they could get back aboveground.
But as he said, the bleeding had stopped.
Taking care of the first aid quickly himself, not wanting to use up any items, he understood their situation better than any of them.
They had suddenly been thrust into a survival scenario. They were cut off and had no support. Escape would be nigh impossible. It was a hopeless situation.
But the glint in his left eye proved he had not given up on returning to the surface alive with both of them.
Seeing him so brave and stout-hearted, Nano sniffled and forced herself not to cry.
To repay him for his kind self-sacrifice and courage.
“Cole, Mimi, do you remember what Lefiya said?”
“Of course. In the event of an emergency in the middle floors, if going back up is difficult, going down…retreating to the safe point is also an option.”
“I was confused why she would tell us that at first, but…she really is an adventurer.”
Cole and Miliria smiled together.
“I’m sure Luke and Lefiya will search for us. So…we should trust them and go forward!”
“Not going to consider the possibility that they died?”
“Of course not! It’s Luke! And Lefiya!”
“Ha-ha-ha…true. That’s right. There’s still hope.”
The elf and the werewolf nodded at their human friend’s nonchalant smile.
As sweat trickled down their faces, they made up their mind.
“Cole, can you tell where we are?”
“Yeah, I’ve got a map. I remember the area we were in when we fell…I can’t pinpoint it, but if we go forward some, I’ll be able to tell where on the sixteenth floor we are.”
“Fantastic. Then we’ll go with a formation of three. Nano, it’s time for you to work, too.”
“Yeah! I’ll fight from the front! I have to conserve my Mind!”
The second-in-command, Miliria, took charge in Luke’s stead, and Nano dumped the backpack she was carrying and pulled a metal ball the size of a fist connected to a chain out from the pile.
By connecting it to her blessed iron staff, it transformed neatly into a makeshift flail—a so-called morning star.
“The teachers taught me how to defend myself, too, so it’s okay! I can fight, too!”
“I still can’t understand why you chose that for self-defense as a mage. You really are airheaded…”
“Calm down, Milly…Don’t give yourself a headache… Calm, calm…”
Surprisingly calm, they carefully watched the surroundings as they stood up.
Cole pointed to one of the open routes in the maze of mine-like passages.
“I can smell monsters down all the other paths. If we’re going, let’s go there.”
“Okay…let’s do it!”
Just as Luke had declared, they chose to brave the danger.