Extra in a Romance Fantasy

7 – Internship (4)

Fortunately, it seemed we weren’t too late.

Thanks to the full force of our sprint, we managed to arrive before Rachel could get seriously hurt.

Honestly, I wasn’t sure, but all that came out was a relieved sigh.

“You… back then…”

Rachel’s eyes trembled as she faced me.

Was it because she didn’t fully understand the situation?

I wanted to wait for her to collect her thoughts, but there was no time for that.

“Let’s talk later. Excuse me for a moment.”

“Huh?!”

I lifted Rachel onto my shoulder with one arm.

“What is this…?!”

“Sorry. Just bear with me for a bit.”

Despite the evident confusion in Rachel’s voice, this was an unavoidable situation.

With Rachel secured on my left arm, I started running towards the entrance.

Kiiiiing─!

From behind, or rather from all directions, cries of the Ratmen echoed.

And the footsteps, as if crazed, coming towards me.

Though we had a clear advantage in speed, the guys behind us could easily catch up, but that wasn’t the end of it. Ratmen were popping out from every direction I headed.

Even though I had already dealt with a considerable number on the way here.

The misfortune didn’t end there.

From the dungeon entrance to here, I had been running without a break, and in the process, hadn’t directly found Rachel. On top of that, my stamina and magical energy were considerably depleted.

Add to that the fact that I had been caught in several explosions, making it difficult to claim my body was in normal condition.

In these unfavorable conditions, I was confident I could escape unscathed if I were alone. However, with Rachel’s presence, the inevitable slowdown was unavoidable.

To be honest, the situation didn’t seem entirely optimistic.

How did the original Rachel survive in such a desperate situation?

It was an unknown part, as it wasn’t detailed in the novel.

If I had to guess, perhaps she barely survived by taking advantage of the debris of the dungeon that collapsed due to the explosion.

I briefly considered using that to my advantage, but quickly dismissed the thought.

The likelihood of debris falling favorably in this direction is lower than the probability of being struck by lightning under a dry sky.

Relying on such a coincidence was not an option. In other words,

“It means we have no choice but to run.”

They sprinted towards the entrance with all their might.

In the process, the protagonist swiftly cut through the Ratmen hindering their path with the sword in their right hand.

Above all, they were careful to protect Rachel from harm.

However, there was something else to be wary of in this process.

“…!”

Bang!

Suddenly, an explosion occurred in the empty air.

It was due to the instability of the dungeon itself.

A dungeon related to spatial distortion experiences internal abnormalities when it becomes unstable.

This explosion was one of the symptoms.

And such explosions rarely come with warnings.

Especially in this state, even more so.

I barely read the signs just before the explosion happened, twisting my body urgently to protect Rachel from the aftermath.

“Kuk…!”

The shock of the explosion sent my body flying.

I managed to regain my posture midway, but I couldn’t completely dissipate the impact, even with magical protection.

I could feel my internal organs shaking, but I immediately stood up.

If I stop, I’ll be caught.

So, I can’t stop.

I started running forward again.

***

In the intense shaking, Rachel raised her head and caught sight of the man amidst the turmoil.

The man had looked far from normal since his first appearance.

His body was covered in small wounds and fresh blood, drenched in fatigue from head to toe.

Even without witnessing it directly, one could guess that the man had endured unimaginable hardships to arrive here.

‘Why.’

When she acknowledged that fact, the first words that came to her mind were precisely that.

Why does this man go to such lengths?

Based on his reaction, it seemed clear that he came here looking for her.

In other words, he came all the way here to find her.

Rachel couldn’t understand the reason.

Why? How come?

Their connection, so to speak, ended after they met and talked on the terrace that day.

There was nothing more than that.

Though they had quite a heavy conversation to the point where it was difficult to call themselves mere acquaintances, that was all there was to it.

Hardly more than a fleeting encounter.

But why? Why does this man come all the way here, risking danger and going through all this trouble to protect me?

Why does he protect me even if it hurts himself?

I just couldn’t, couldn’t possibly understand.

“Why….”

Why did that question become so overwhelmingly strong?

Unintentionally, the words came out of my mouth.

Surprised by that fact, Rachel couldn’t stop speaking.

“Why… why are you doing all this?”

Curious. I want to know.

What the reason is.

“Why, you ask? Um… maybe….”

After pondering over that question, the man said with a smirk.

“Because I don’t want to have regrets?”

“….”

Looking at the smile that emerged on his face, covered with wounds, dirt, and blood, Rachel felt a intuition.

That she probably wouldn’t be able to forget this face for the rest of her life.

***

The battle professor, Wurt, felt a twinge in his lower back for the first time in a while.

During the intense training session for the freshmen, a sudden frenzy broke out in the dungeon.

No matter how much he thought about it, there were many suspicious parts to this.

Dungeons were places prone to accidents, so the academy always managed them carefully. And today, with the freshmen as the target, they should have been even more cautious.

However, for such an incident to occur, even in a dungeon where safety cannot be guaranteed, accidents like this were almost unheard of in dungeons that were this meticulously maintained.

There’s a smell in the air.

However, at the moment, attention was not focused in that direction.

“Do we have a headcount?”

“Yes! Except for just two, everyone has safely returned!”

“Two… one is Eldrid’s female student, and the other must be that guy.”

“…Yes.”

It was an unexpected outbreak, but fortunately, there weren’t many casualties.

Most of the individuals had safely exited the dungeon.

And just a while ago, the prince of Ulfron who had been isolated inside the dungeon and the female student skilled in magic had also successfully escaped.

Now, only two remained inside.

Eldrid’s female student and the combat and magic student who had ventured into the dungeon on his own, Wade Heblon.

Regardless of which one came out unharmed, the hope was for both, but the one causing more concern was Wade.

Even though he had safely exited the dungeon, Professor Wurt, who had been in the teaching profession for many years, had never seen a student voluntarily re-enter the dungeon.

Entering a rampaging dungeon was considered a suicidal act by everyone who knew about it.

Why did he go back into the dungeon?

Could his actions be related to Eldrid’s isolated female student?

Wurt felt a growing sense of unease in a situation that did not suit the urgent circumstances, but there was a more pressing issue at hand.

“…He’s not coming out.”

Considerable time had passed since the dungeon started rampaging.

At this point, there was a high probability that the interior of the dungeon had already become a mess.

And considering the level of an average student, the time they could withstand such chaos had long passed.

So, the chances of the remaining two being unharmed were not very high.

If they were lucky, they might still be alive, but even that might not last long.

“Damn it…”

Though he wished he could jump in immediately, it was impossible.

Jumping into the now unstable dungeon without fixing it would only add another casualty.

So, entering the dungeon had to be done after re-establishing the fixations.

Because of that, Wurt could only suppress the desire to jump in immediately and could only hope that the students would be safe.

Having experienced it several times, losing students was never a pleasant experience.

How much time had passed since they helplessly stared at the entrance of the dungeon?

“Professor, it seems that the students inside…”

“…Yes.”

Realistically, it seemed difficult now.

Wurt closed his eyes with a bitter feeling.

Although he didn’t want to completely give up on the possibility, it was a separate matter from practical issues.

If a student were to die during training, there needed to be procedures to handle the matter.

Especially if it was a child of Eldrid, preparations had to be made in advance.

“Well, let’s at least report to the top…”

“…Wait.”

Wurt interrupted the associate professor’s words in the middle.

It was because of a faint sound that had begun to reach his ears.

Tap, tap.

The sound of footsteps could be heard.

It was still a faint sound, but Wurt’s senses, beyond the ordinary human range, clearly caught the sound.

And that sound, it was growing louder.

Thud!

The growing footsteps became distinct at a certain point, and now even others besides Wurt could hear it.

Naturally, their gaze concentrated on the source of the footsteps, toward the entrance of the dungeon.

And after a while, a figure appeared at the entrance.

Covered in wounds, wearing armor stained with blood, and holding a student in their arms.

“Report. The dungeon has collapsed, but there are no casualties.”

Wurt’s lips curved into a smile for the first time in a while.

***

Several days had passed since then.

Rachel and I, who had been injured, received precise medical treatment.

Well, Rachel’s case was just a broken ankle, and if we only considered the wounds, mine was at a more severe level, but it wasn’t fatally critical, so the treatment didn’t take long.

Furthermore, the treatment itself ended quickly thanks to the divine power of the priest.

Just in case, I ended up being hospitalized for a few days, but honestly, I was in a condition to move perfectly from the beginning.

So, physically, there was no major issue.

The problem… lay elsewhere.

“Why does Wade always choose to do such dangerous things? How much worry does that cause for Uncle and me─”

The most intense reaction came from Mary.

Well, if asked to pick the person closest to me outside the academy, I’d choose Mary without hesitation, so it was an obvious thing, but still, it was natural. Despite all the suffering she had gone through herself, barely escaping the dungeon, she still vented her anger as if I were someone deserving death.

It probably stemmed from her concern for me, but I couldn’t bring myself to respond in any way.

Jack’s response, on the other hand, was succinct.

He barged into the hospital room and gave me a solid smack.

Then he said I was okay, so it was all good.

I took it as his way of showing concern and figured I should treat him to a meal later.

Well, it was alright up to this point.

Mary was furious, but in the end, she forgave me.

But what really gnawed at me was something else.

“You’ve become quite famous.”

“……”

Yeah, that was the problem.

Because of my last dive into the dungeon to save Rachel, my reputation had spread within the academy. Thanks to that, wherever I went in the first year, there were people who recognized me, and sometimes, even students from other years seemed to recognize me.

“Sigh…”

My plan to quietly live the life of an extra was already shaky at its foundation.

Given the rather unpleasant turn of events, all that came out of my mouth was a sigh.

“…It’ll die down eventually.”

Spilt water can’t be gathered back up.

However, that doesn’t mean I should think entirely negatively.

If I live like I’m practically invisible from now on, eventually, the rumors will die down, and these gazes will disappear.

That’s the positive way to look at it, I decided.

“Oh? Wade, you’re out of the hospital?”

After being discharged, on my way to the club for the first time in a while, I bumped into Senior Lunea.

“Long time no see, Senior.”

“Yeah, I heard about it. How’s your health?”

During my fall, I asked Jack to convey a message to Senior Lunnia.

Although Jack hadn’t met Senior Lunnia, he said he had left a letter inside the shack.

Judging by the reaction, it seemed the message had been delivered properly.

“Yes. I’m completely fine now. It wasn’t a severe injury to begin with.”

“Really? That’s a relief.”

Senior Lunnia flashed her characteristic gentle smile.

She still had many uncontrollable aspects, but the feeling of being a good person resonated.

“Is it okay for me to join the club now?”

“Yes, it’s fine now.”

Honestly, joining the club doesn’t involve doing much, but I still have to uphold my end of the bargain.

Especially when I’m already in a sweet position.

“Shall we go inside for now?”

“Sure.”

Senior Lunnia and I entered the club building side by side.

As we almost reached the shack walking together.

“Oh, by the way, I had something to tell Wade, the junior.”

As if realizing she had forgotten, Senior Lunnia clapped her hands.

Something to tell him? What could it be?

“We have a new freshman member in the club.”

“Oh, I see.”

It wasn’t anything strange.

Someone might have stumbled upon the History Research Society just like I did, looking for something sweet.

Or, although it’s unlikely, someone who genuinely has an interest in history.

Either way, I hoped they wouldn’t disrupt the tranquility of the club.

While chatting, we arrived in front of the shack, and Senior Lunnia casually opened the door.

“I think they might already be here.”

Creak—

Beyond the familiar sound of the door opening, the scene inside the shack unfolded.

Bookshelves filled with books, tables, chairs.

The sight inside the shack remained unchanged from my memories, except for one thing—it had changed.

Someone was sitting by the table.

That person seemed to be the new member Rooney mentioned.

The sunlight streaming through the window collided with their chestnut hair and scattered… Wait, chestnut hair?

“Let me introduce you. This is the newly joined Rachel Eldridge.”

…Why are you here?