Part 1

Hero-kun was joined by 3 other adventurer parties:

A party of 4 muscle heads.

A party of 4 cute girls that included the shy mage from the guild.

An actual competent looking party of a warrior and a mage.

If they hurried, they would catch up to Adventurer-chan before they reached the dungeon.

However, That is easier said than done for this group.

After a few hours of travelling, Heroine-chan and her group were sitting a few yards from the entrance of a cave.

They set up camp outside of the Magic Mines.

They were going over their battle strategy for inside the dungeon.

“Adventurer-chan and I will take the front. We will all stay in one group and prioritize clearing out monsters together while searching all the trapped miners.”

“Yes captain!” x8

“Once we have found and escorted all of the miners outside safely, that is when I will confront the demon.”

The knights grew silent.

They were also nervous about the thought of a demon in there.

“Take a few moments to rest. We will enter the mines soon.”

“... Yes captain!” x8

The knights dispersed.

Adventurer-chan and Heroine-chan sat together.

“Hey Adventurer-chan are you nervous about going into the dungeon?”

“Ha. Of course not. My water magic is the strongest in Ferst Town! If I see a monster I’ll blast it through the roof! That goes for the demon as well! Hahaha!”

“Hehe. I’d prefer if you would leave the demon to me. I need to be the one to defeat it in order to bring Hero-kun back.”

“Pfft. Why is that kid so important to you. Don’t tell me you really have fallen for him?”

“What! No of course not!”

“Then what is it?”

“He’s the hero. He’s essential to defeating the demon army!”

“Huh? What is he supposed to do against a bunch of demons. He’s like, really clumsy and super weak.”

“True. He didn’t seem as strong as I once thought when we fought in the guild, but he can always train to become stronger. Besides, there are other traits that are important to defeating the demon army!”

“Like what?”

“Well just by having the hero be present, it gives people a sense of hope. At the feast, everyone enjoyed themselves more than I’ve seen in a long time. And do you remember what happened when we heard about the Magic Mines?”

“Uh… I think I was in the restroom during that.”

(She was drunk, roaming around the castle by that point.)

“Even before we found out there was a demon, my squad was nervous about entering the dungeon. Hero-kun heroically volunteered to accompany us and gave everyone some newfound confidence.”

“Wow. Sounds like Hero-kun has a cool side as well. I wish I got to see that. I was doubting it even existed. On our first night together, he pounded me from behind. He made me all sticky and I wasn’t able to walk after.”

“What!”

“Yeah. He fell out of a window and landed right on top of me. The wine I saved from the feast spilled all over me and ruined my favorite shirt.”

“Oh of course!”

Heroine-chan’s face was red.

“Hero-kun left though. Do you think he’ll still be useful? He doesn’t seem very hero-like anymore.”

“No I can tell deep down, he is a hero. He won’t show it but he has a kind heart. He still goes out of his way to help others.”

“How do you know?”

“Last night, when I heard there was a demon in the mines, I froze with fear. My spirit was about to break but he saved me. He realized I was scared and then fired me back up. He even gave me a chance to bring him back. I think he secretly wants me to defeat the demon.”

“I don’t know about that one. If he really wants to be a hero again, I would think he would be here to fight with us. That is his job after all.”

“That’s true, but I can feel his spirit watching over me. It's like I can hear him cheering me on.”

The two girls felt rumbling on the ground and heard a voice in the distance.

“Wow it’s like I can hear him too.”

“Aaahhh!”

“That is him!” x2

Part 2

Why the hell is my life in this fantasy world filled with so much running away!

And how am I in the same exact situation again!

I can’t believe another super slime on my tail!

It’s the fault of all of these idiots!

I started yelling at the cute mage girl from the guild.

“Who the hell used water on the slime!”

“I meant to hit the Mud Monster! I didn’t think the slime would get in the way!”

It was the cute mage girl from earlier.

“Well what are you waiting for. Hit it with another spell!”

“I can’t!”

“WHAT!”

“I’m out of mana!”

“WHY!”

“I spent it all on buffing everyone’s speed so we could run away!”

“That didn’t do anything! With your garbage aim, you buffed the slime too! And why the hell did you waste all of your mana you idiot? What good is a mage without any mana! You’re gonna be useless in the dungeon!”

“Waaaah! You idiot hero! You’re so mean!”

“Hey you stupid hero! How dare you make a beautiful girl cry! Do you wanna fight right here and now? I’ll kick your ass!”

“Shut up you dumbass muscle head! If you hadn’t noticed we’re being chased by a giant slime. Plus, your the idiot who got it angry in the first place! It was minding its own business until you started attacking it’s buddies!”

God dammit!

At this rate we’re gonna get squashed by this slime before we even get to Adventurer-chan.

Just then, another adventurer yelled out!

“Hey everyone look over there! I see them!”

She’s right, there they are!

It was Adventurer-chan and Heroine-chan with her knight squad.

Wait a second!

What’s that light?

“LIGHTNING!”

“Aaaah!” x11

Heroine-chan casted her spell and aimed right at us.

It exploded as it hit the ground, sending the slime flying into the atmosphere.

Luckily all of us jumped out of the way in time.

The other group ran towards us.

Adventurer-chan ran up to me while all the knights tended to the other adventurers.

“What are you doing here Hero-kun!”

I put on cool guy smile.

“I couldn’t just let my favorite party member go into that dangerous dungeon without.”

Man I’m so cool.

She better treat me to a nice dinner when we get back.

“Are you an idiot! Why did you bring all these people? Now we’re gonna have to share the reward with everyone”

“What!”

I can’t believe this girl!

“I was worried about you idiot! I brought them to make sure you didn’t get hurt! Show some gratitude!”

“I didn’t ask for any help - ouch ouch ouch alright thank you! Thank you! Stop pulling my cheeks!”

God this girl is so troublesome.

But she’s not the only troublesome girl here.

I locked eyes with Heroine-chan as she walked over to the two of us.

“Hero-kun. I’m glad you came. You do care afterall.”

I cut her off.

“Woah woah woah. Slow down. I just came to help out Adventurer-chan and save the miners. I still have no interest in becoming the hero. In fact, I still don’t think you can beat the demon.”

“Hehe… of course! I wouldn’t expect anything else. I am ready to prove you wrong.”

She was exuding confidence!

Hey!

Where did this come from?

Just last night she did not have such a determined aura coming from her.

She doesn’t look like she has any thoughts of running away.

I don’t like this one bit.

That demon better put on a good show.

Otherwise, she might actually pull this off.

All of us adventurers got back to our feet and we gathered at the camp.

After a bit of rest, Heroine-chan gathered our attention.

“Well then. I hope are prepared! It is time to enter the dungeon!”

“Yes!” x18

“Let’s go Hero-kun!”

“Yeah, yeah. I’m coming.”