Wha--!?

Do I need help, she says!? If you can help then try it, damn it!

I looked over to see her walking toward us with her eyes closed, rustling noisily through the brush. What are you doing in this situation!?

"Hey, r-run!! Why are you coming this way! It's a Black Mantis!"

Gichi, the Black Mantis turned toward her. Intending to finish off the weaker one first, it leaped before I could stop it.

Crap—I thought, but then something unimaginable happened.

The death scythe that could slice through even a dwarf's sword shattered when it hit her head.

"Wha!? The Black Mantis's scythe shattered!? What kind of rock head do you have!?"

"Ahh, oops. Well, whatever now… [Air Cutter]!"

The next moment, she muttered something in a bored tone, and the Black Mantis's head was severed from its body.

… Huh? What just happened?

Still not comprehending that its head was gone, the Black Mantis swung its scythes blindly. Incredible vitality. But of course, nothing hit. Some tree branches around us got cut down, but that's it.

The Black Mantis's movements slowed slightly—and from inside it, a mithril-colored long tentacle emerged and attacked the woman.

Mithril Devil. It was once confirmed to emerge from inside a Black Mantis moments before death, after the thing rampaged for a week. It's said to be the Black Mantis's true form.

"[Air Cutter]! [Air Cutter]!"

"Wh-wh-wha, amazing… The Mithril Devil's been shredded…"

That thing—incredibly fast, so tough that even a dwarf's sword could barely scratch it, and with no record of ever being defeated—was shredded to pieces by the woman's magic.

… Strong.

I could hear myself gulp. I reached A-rank as a solo adventurer, but the person before me was beyond that.

"Hey, you okay?"

"Yeah… Who're you? Never seen your face before."

Then, she finally opened her eyes.

"A b-beastkin!! And a fluffy type! So cute!!"

"Hah? You bastard, just because I'm a beastkin… wait, wait? C-cute, you said?"

For a moment I thought she was one of those people who'd call beastkin barbaric, but her voice and gaze were full of genuine affection. What is with this girl? Haven't been called cute since I was a kid.

… Most people who see me say I'm scary or that they'll be eaten…

No, if she's this strong, she'd probably call even a dragon "cute."

We exchanged introductions afterward.

She said her name is Karina. No idea if it's real. Never heard of her. Hard to believe someone this powerful is unknown, but I won't pry.

… No, I wasn't going to pry, but then she said something I couldn't ignore.

She doesn't know the lower floor rules or the Door Guard? What does that mean!?

"N-no, wait. Like, what even is a Door Guard!? There wasn't anything like that on the path I came from!"

"Haaah!? No way, you came from a new route!?"

"Ahh, it was blocked by a hornet's nest… and there wasn't any door…"

"What's that, explain in detail!!"

"Y-yesss…"

Seriously a new route discovery!? This is huge!!

"Right, so there was a path, but there was a room that turned into a hornet's nest…"

"Wait, I have a map… Where was it?"

"Around here I guess. Huh? There was a path here, but it's not drawn."

And she poked at a blank area. That's unexplored territory!

She found a hidden passage!?

"Wait Karina, that area was definitely just wall."

"Hmm, now that you mention it, it might have opened automatically like a door when the bees passed through."

"So there was a condition like that… well, it helps us, but is it okay to share so freely? That's info worth a lot of money."

"I caused trouble, so let's say it was reported by Mashiro-san."

"Okay, got it. Geez, I don't get you, but if you're strong enough to take down a Black Mantis like it's nothing, I have no choice but to accept it…"

Karina must be able to hunt any monster and have no money troubles whatsoever.

"I'm really sorry. Are you hurt? I'll heal you for free."

"I'm fine, but my equipment got a bit messed up. Need to restock on darts too."

"Okay, I'll fix it and restock for you. How many darts do you need?"

"Huh? You gonna buy 'em? Well then, how about 50 as an apology."

Since she probably had no money troubles anyway, I figured asking for that many as a joke would be fine, but—

"Here ya go."

Karina actually dumped out 50 of my darts right in front of me.

… Huh? Those are custom-made darts that cost one medium silver coin each!

Why does she have 50 of the same thing!? I only had 5 of these to begin with!?

"… Hah? Wait, where'd you just pull those from?"

"Let's see, the armor… ahh, this part is torn. I'll fix it. My bad?"

"Eh, no, that was from another time—wait, huh, the armor damage is gone!?"

She got all touchy-feely with my armor, and the damage just vanished.

What's going on!? I was just thinking it was about time to replace it!?

"Aah! There's a wound on your chest too!? I'll heal it!"

"Hey, that's an old scar—whoa!? Wh-wha-what the hell!? The scar's gone!"

The old scar on my chest had vanished.

High-level healing magic!? Is she a priest!? Wait, but just now…

"Glad you're happy."

"I-I don't have money, you know!? You did it on your own!"

"Yep yep, don't need it. Oh, you have a cavity too. I'll fix that."

"Wh-what the hell are yooou!? Is this my fault!?"

I don't get it, I don't get it!!

Showering me with all this, what the hell does she want me to do, huh!?