Chapter 116 - False Bravado
It's a bit short, but it's a good place to break.
"Lauren-san!"
"Tch! You idiot!"
As I shouted, Lauren-san reacted instantly, pushing Kyle down as if tackling him.
"Guh!"
However, perhaps unable to dodge completely, the Horned Rabbit's sharp horn tore through Lauren-san's leg.
Fresh blood danced in the air, staining the ground in heavy drops.
The Horned Rabbit slid across the ground to kill its momentum and landed. As it braced its legs to charge at Lauren-san again, I pulled a knife from my waist and threw it.
"Gyu!?"
It pierced the Horned Rabbit's flank, sending it rolling, and it never got back up.
After confirming there were no other signs of monsters nearby just in case, Lauren-san and Kyle slowly stood up.
"M-Master! The blood!"
"Ow, ow... what's with that pathetic face? It just grazed my leg a bit. If I wrap a cloth around this, it'll stop soon enough."
Lauren-san spoke to the worried Kyle with his usual demeanor.
After lightly washing the wound with the water skin at his waist, he took a cloth from his pouch and wrapped it tightly to apply pressure and stop the bleeding.
Being a hunter where injuries were possible, he seemed to have a certain level of knowledge and experience.
He was likely acting tough for Kyle's sake, but walking would be difficult like that.
"Lauren-san, let me give you a shoulder."
"I'm fine, Aldo. Something like this—guh!"
"Master!"
Lauren-san had been acting tough, but the pain was apparently too strong, and he lost his balance.
Having anticipated this, I supported him immediately.
"...Sorry. Aldo, I'm causing you trouble."
"It's nothing. But it'll take time to head down the mountain like this, so would you mind if I carried you on my back?"
I was concerned about the bleeding from Lauren-san's leg, and it would be difficult to navigate the rugged path while supporting him by the shoulder.
In that case, it would be faster if I carried him and ran down, and it wouldn't be a burden on Lauren-san.
"Hey now, even if you say you'll carry me, that's impossible. I've got a body like this, so I'm heavy."
"It's fine, so hurry up."
Ignoring Lauren-san's attempt to decline, I lowered my hips in front of him and turned my back.
"...Don't blame me if I crush you, okay?"
After hesitating for a moment, Lauren-san spoke dismissively and climbed on.
I stood up while supporting his legs, making sure not to touch Lauren-san's injured right leg.
"Whoa!"
Lauren-san let out a surprised voice and gripped onto me firmly.
"Are you okay?"
"Y-Yeah. I'm fine, but are you okay, Aldo?"
"I'm a former adventurer, after all. I'm used to carrying injured people."
In an adventurer's life, there are times when companions get injured during combat with monsters. At those times, we would head back while carrying the injured comrade.
Since Kurune, an excellent recovery specialist, joined, such occurrences decreased, but there were also times when recovery was impossible due to a lack of mana.
When Elliot was injured and I carried him, he was quite heavy due to the weight of his full plate armor.
Compared to that, carrying Lauren-san was nothing.
"...Now that I'm touching you, your body is amazing. You're packed with dense muscle."
"It tickles, so please don't massage my shoulders or back."
Lauren-san was kneading my back and shoulders with his thick palms.
But he was probably acting cheerful for Kyle's sake precisely because of the situation. Though he was speaking in a bright voice, something like cold sweat was dripping onto my neck. The pain in his leg must be severe.
"So, I'll be moving while carrying Lauren-san, so Kyle, I'll leave the lead to you."
"Y-Yes!"
When I called out to Kyle, who had been looking this way worriedly for a while, he replied with a somewhat tense voice.
"You remember the way we came, right?"
"I remember! So Master, please don't talk!"
"You're exaggerating. It's not that serious of an injury."
While Lauren-san muttered that, Kyle began walking to retrace the path we came.
However, his pace was extremely slow.
"I can run to some extent, so you don't have to worry about me."
"U-Understood."
I jogged while carrying Lauren-san, making sure not to let my center of gravity wobble.
"Lauren-san, are you okay?"
"Yeah, it's actually quite comfortable."
I checked just in case, but there seemed to be no particular problem.
I headed down the mountain, following Kyle who was running ahead.
To be honest, I grasped the presence of living things, so there was no need to have Kyle in the lead to scout.
But when someone is panicking like that, it's best to give them something to do.
After descending the mountain for a while, Lauren-san, who was on my back, muttered softly.
"It's pathetic to get injured myself after talking big about protecting him. If you hadn't seen through it, Aldo, I wouldn't have even been able to shield him."
"...Kyle is calm and his expressions don't show easily on his face."
The only reason I was able to notice Kyle's abnormality was by chance. It was just because I had lived as an adventurer and seen many people like that.
"That's exactly why I, his master, had to be the one to notice..."
Lauren-san's voice seemed to contain a hint of remorse.
Having never had a disciple myself, I couldn't find the right words to say, nor could I offer words of comfort. At a time like this, if it were Elgis-san or Lauren-san, they might have been able to say something clever.
"Maybe this is retirement for me as a hunter. With this injury... even if it heals, I don't know if I'll be able to move like before..."
"It'll be fine. We have an excellent mage who can use recovery magic at our place."
"Hmm? By mage, do you mean that girl Kurune?"
Apparently, the fact that Kurune could use recovery magic hadn't spread much within the village.
"Yes, she can heal a wound like this in no time. I've been in her care several times myself."
"...I see."
Hearing my words, Lauren-san exhaled in relief, as if he had been put at ease.
"Why are you getting so timid? It's not like you, Lauren-san."
For my part, I expected words like "I'll keep being a hunter even if my leg doesn't move the way I want!" so I was surprised by Lauren-san's earlier words.
"Yeah, you're right. That wasn't like me. Forget it."
Hearing Lauren-san's words, which sounded like he had cleared his mind, I felt a little relieved.
I am serializing "Welcome to the Monster Ranch! ~A Relaxing Slow Life Starting in the Countryside~" on N-Star. If you like, I would be happy if you could check it out on the N-Star official page.