Chapter 97: Womanizer (5)

I approached Aisha and Siena's team, who were staggering under the effect of [Confusion] magic.

Then I pulled a [Debuff Recovery Potion] out of my bag.

'First, Aisha.'

She tends to be more aware of her surroundings than anyone.

And she's currently the team leader.

It would be best for her leadership to avoid showing her embarrassing state to the other team members as much as possible.

With that thought, I approached Aisha.

Aisha, with tears welling in her eyes, was shaking her head back and forth.

"I... realize it now. I'm not... fit to be the head of the family!"

"..."

She seems to be having a hard time.

Just like Piel, Aisha also seems to have her boundaries between reality and illusion crumbled.

I immediately opened the cap of the [Debuff Recovery Potion], and with my left hand, I tightly grabbed Aisha's flailing arms.

"Ah... huh?"

Then with my right hand, I opened her lips and poured the potion into her mouth.

"Ugh... it, it's gross. Cough, hack!"

Aisha coughed and struggled as the sticky liquid suddenly went down her throat.

But I didn't let go of her arms.

I didn't give her something harmful, and I need to hold onto her until the potion takes effect.

She could fall and hurt herself while flailing, or potentially injure her team members.

Soon, a tired-looking Aisha looked up at me with glazed eyes.

"Te... Theo? Is it you, Theo?"

"Yes."

I nodded, looking her in the eye.

Aisha wiped the cold sweat trickling down her face with the back of her hand.

Then she slapped her cheeks with both hands, trying to pull herself together.

"How are you here...? I saw something horrible."

"...Let's talk later. The rest of your team isn't doing too well."

I looked at Aisha's teammates, who were still in a [Confusion] state.

Except for Siena, they were all on their knees, drenched in sweat and convulsing as if they were haunted.

"Ah, understood! Could you... give me that potion too?"

"Alright, I'll handle Siena. You should go help the rest of your team."

"Y-Yes!"

I took another [Debuff Recovery Potion] out of my bag and handed it to Aisha.

Then I approached Siena.

"······I don't want to, father. I can't stand being here, in the Great Forest, like the other elves for almost a thousand years. I'm sick of it. I want to leave the Great Forest and learn things, live happily even just a year sooner."

Siena was a bit different.

Unlike Piel & Aisha, she was very calm.

She seemed to be recollecting a past experience, not suffering from a nightmare.

"......"

For a moment, I looked at Siena and mulled over the words she had spoken.

'It seems she is recalling a conversation she had with her father in the past.'

Siena is the princess of the Great Forest.Findd new stories on nov/e(l)bin(.)com

Naturally, Siena's father is the representative of the Great Forest.

There's no title like 'King' in the Great Forest, but in reality, he's no different from one.

And in the original game, he was famously a terrible doting father.

Of course, they won't say anything because it's something I prepared in advance, but they might feel dislike it.

To those unaware of our relations, Aisha & Seria's team are just competitors.

Besides, I'm currently the leader of our team, so I have to dedicate myself to the role of a loyal leader.

But─

"There's a similar magic at the second branching point. Stay alert."

This much should be okay.

I just turned my neck slightly and spoke to Aisha.

"······Okay. Thank you very much, Theo. I'll definitely repay this favor."

Aisha slowly nodded her head.

After that, I returned to my team members who had been looking this way from afar.

"I apologize for the delay, I know you all want to rest. Let's get out of this dungeon quickly."

"Oh, it's okay. I'm sure the leader had his reasons~"

"Yeah, yeah. Don't worry about us! We'll follow you anywhere."

Travis and Monica spoke nonchalantly.

Piel was looking at me with a complex look in her eyes, her arms folded, and Andrew was looking at me with bored eyes.

Our team finally exited the dungeon.

Immediately, we set up camp near the entrance to rest.

Since we hadn't eaten anything since morning, we decided to have a meal.

It was difficult to light a fire due to the lack of firewood.

Therefore, we decided to make do with the pre-packaged meals provided by our instructors.

Travis and Monica took out food and water from their backpacks.

"Theo, you should rest. We'll handle the food."

"Yeah, that's right. Relax a bit. You, Piel, and Andrew have worked hard, haven't you?"

Travis and Monica stepped forward, preventing us—Piel, Andrew, and me—from helping.

······Excellent.

I should seize this opportunity to talk with Amy.

"Then, I'll look around to see if there's anything nearby."

"I need to rest. My mana still hasn't recovered."

Piel and Andrew said.

Piel quickly left the area.

Andrew, looking tired, wrapped a blanket around himself and closed his eyes for a while.

Following that, I also spoke.

"Thanks for your help, Travis, Monica. I will also briefly look around."

Saying so, I quickly left the vicinity.

Of course, in the opposite direction to Piel.

'Hmm, there's no one around.'

With my enhanced [Observer's Eye], I quickly scanned the area, took out the communication crystal, and immediately contacted Amy.

Soon, Amy's dry voice came through the crystal.

─How may I assist you, young master?

The sound quality was very good.

This meant she wasn't far from my location.

I told her my location before entering the dungeon in the morning.

It seems she has stopped by close to us.

"Amy, I need your help."

-Please give your orders, young master.

"I need a detailed investigation of a specific location. It's not far from here. I need it done in a day. Can you do it, Amy?"