Another day passed after that.
"So we're finally heading back. I thought I was going to die from boredom."
"Hey, Magus. Don't say that too much. If you're the one saying it now, it doesn't sound like a lie at all."
"Hah, I'm younger than that one-eyed bastard. I can't be the first to die."
"Tch. Your mouth never runs out of steam, does it?"
The expedition members who had been suffering from poisoning were all able to recover safely thanks to the antidotes brought down from the surface.
That left only me as the expedition's sole serious patient.
Thanks to that, I was the only one who could ride back comfortably in the supply wagon.
Well, there had been a few things along the way, like the floor boss Goliath getting taken down in three minutes, or a sudden monster party ambush.
But this was only the upper levels of the Dungeon.
From the expedition's point of view, it was nothing more than a perfectly ordinary, uneventful free pass.
And so, while I half-relaxed and killed time, we eventually reached the surface.
In the distance, the red sunset sky seemed to welcome us all.
"We're here!"
"Ooh, finally."
"Ahh, I'm stiff all over."
At last, the entire expedition had safely returned to the surface.
Ah, if you included me, maybe not safely.
Well, whatever.
"It was fun, Loki Familia. If there's a next time, let's share both hardship and joy again."
"Yeah, you've done a lot for us. Thanks, Tsubaki. And you too, Magus. We got a lot of help from you on this expedition. Truly, thank you."
"Think nothing of it."
"I hope you understand I'm not just being polite. Your contribution was that great. Whenever it may be, I'll look forward to the day I can adventure with you again."
"Likewise."
It was a pain to be with you, so let's never meet again!
...Yeah, if I joked like that, I'd probably ruin the mood completely, wouldn't I?
So I kept my farewell brief, and after shaking Finn's hand, I parted with Loki Familia without any trouble.
The same went for Hephaistos Familia.
Though I still had a personal favor to ask Tsubaki, so I told her to stay behind for a bit.
I was sure I had said that.
"Why is Tiona here?"
"Just because. Does it bother you?"
"No, not really."
Completely unexpectedly, Tiona stayed behind and followed after the two of us.
When I asked if that was all right for the Familia, she said she had already gotten permission from Finn, the captain.
So neither Tsubaki nor I paid it much mind and kept walking with her.
More precisely, I was being carried on Tsubaki's back because I was missing one leg.
"Next time, I'm going to make a spare body-support Mystic Code and have it ready. Arms I can manage, but not having a leg is seriously inconvenient."
"Wouldn't it be easier if you just didn't abuse your body so much in the first place?"
"What are you talking about? Says the crazy one-eyed bastard who'd even gouge out his last remaining eye."
"You want me to throw you?"
"Oh, please do. Let the neighbors..."
Ghk!
"Ah, this is impossible. Hey, Tiona, you carry him. Honestly, you keep scratching at people's nerves like that, I don't even feel like doing anything for you."
You damned one-eyed bastard!
Who would've thought she'd really throw a patient away like that.
What kind of barbaric act was this, with no humanity or common sense whatsoever!
But Tsubaki ignored my righteous protest and simply dumped me, baggage and all, onto Tiona.
And Tiona accepted the suggestion without hesitation.
"Okay! Got it. An, I'll carry you. Hurry up and get on!"
"Hmm, which way?"
"...Do you want me to get mad?"
Ah, so she did know.
She'd figured it out after all.
You've grown, Tiona.
And so, the three of us chatted as we went, until before long we reached our destination.
"We're here."
"Here?"
"Oh, the Blue Pharmacy? A recovery item shop?"
"And the home of Miach Familia."
"Why? Why not go to Dian Cecht Familia?"
"The head nurse there is way too naggy. I avoid it whenever I can. It's expensive too. So since the gods already know each other, I just set up my own medical equipment here in exchange for paying the monthly maintenance fee on time."
After answering Tiona's puzzled question in a casual tone, I let her support me as I entered the shop.
There, as usual, was Naza Erisuis waiting for me at the counter.
She was the beastfolk woman who was the only employee of the Blue Pharmacy and the only member of Miach Familia.
It had been a while since I'd seen her, and she looked at me with indifferent eyes, briefly startled before quickly returning to her usual expression.
For her, my appearance like this was nothing new.
"You're back again. And this time you're even worse than before. Honestly, you'd probably be better off getting chewed out hard by Lady Hestia. Otherwise, you really do have the fate of dying young."
"I'm coming straight from getting chewed out."
"That must've been rough. Anyway, come inside. It won't take long to get things ready."
And just like that, our little exchange of greetings was over.
Naza shed her languid attitude from a moment ago, left the counter, and started bustling around.
As the manager I had asked in advance, she was activating the device that would restore my battered body.
"Still, I was a little surprised. I never expected you to bring back two first-class adventurers with you. I didn't think you had such a troublesome talent, like Miach-sama."
"I think I can roughly guess the misunderstanding you're having. Let's talk about that another time. I'm too tired to answer everything one by one right now."
"Okay. Now then, bring him over here."
"Uh, yeah."
Once all the preparations were done, Tiona carefully placed me inside a glass tube that looked like some kind of capsule.
For the record, the contents of this recovery device were the regeneration potion I had developed, but the overall motif was borrowed from Dragon Ball.
It had been a real pain to imitate.
Still, since the technology used was what it was, it was a kind of Magecraft workshop more akin to occultism than science fiction, unlike the original.
Even so, I could proudly call it a masterpiece whose function surpassed the original by a wide margin.
"That should do it. With this, you should be fully recovered in about four or five days. Normally, a single day would be enough, but this time the injuries were pretty severe. Please understand that."
"No need to say it like it's new. All right, I'm going to sleep now. Tiona, Tsubaki. Thanks for bringing me this far. See you again later."
"Yeah, take care."
"Me too. An, see you next time."
After confirming that I had safely entered treatment, the two of them said their goodbyes and returned to their respective Familia homes.
Watching their backs, I asked Naza, who was still operating the device beside me, in a casual tone.
"So, how much time do I have left?"
At my question, Naza answered as if it were nothing.
"At best, ten years. If you keep abusing yourself like this, it'll be less than five."
"Hmm, annoyingly short and annoyingly long."
But the meaning behind those words was anything but light.
"That's how severe your injuries are. You're only still alive because you're special. For anyone else, it wouldn't be strange if they'd died long ago."
"Tch, don't compare me to those spineless types."
"I'm not talking about some useless spirit of grit. I'm saying you're really in danger."
Naza's expression twisted slightly.
But then she let out a sigh and returned to her indifferent face.
She was probably worrying about me, her patient, in her own way.
Even if this happened often enough in everyday life, once things got this bad, it would make anyone feel foolish for worrying.
And yet she still treated a nuisance like me as a patient.
The same could be said of Amid, the "Saint of the Battlefield" of Dian Cecht Familia.
Still, her nagging was way too much.
It was so bad that if I ever spotted her on the street, I'd change my route on the spot.
Once, when I got caught by her by accident, two whole hours were just erased before I knew it.
Anyway, in that respect, Naza was a very easy person to deal with.
If only she cared a little less about money.
But I supposed that was beyond her control too.
It wasn't like I had any right to complain, either.
"Anyway, ten years... that's really uncomfortably vague."
Because I'd been using my body recklessly with all sorts of crazy stunts, it had eventually come to this.
The all-purpose regeneration potion I had developed could restore lost body parts and organs, but it couldn't do anything about the lifespan itself that had been taken as the price of Magecraft.
I had been able to confirm that through the cells of my body, which were slowly aging in ways invisible to the naked eye.
Based on that, the lifespan I had left was only ten years.
I absolutely could not let Lady Hestia find out about this.
If she did, I might be killed on the spot?
No, before that, maybe I'd suddenly die of a heart attack or something.
Thinking about it now, it really might be at a dangerous level.
"It's so frustratingly close. At this rate, should I start moving ahead with research into dehumanization?"
Thanks to that, the worries in my head only got more complicated.
Seriously, aside from this little issue, there were still so many other things I needed to worry about.
Whether she knew my circumstances or not, Naza said to me in a reproachful tone.
"Whatever you do, hurry up. If you keep dawdling like that, you might really just drop dead on the street one day."
"No, I do have a lot of ideas. I'm just worried about which one to choose. Since you only live once, isn't it better if you can choose the best option?"
"Heh, what a trashy thing to worry about."
"As you know, I'm quite the talented fellow."
"Cut the nonsense and go to sleep already, sugar daddy."
"My, my. What a picky old maid you are."
"You want me to hit you?"
Behind that indifferent expression, her fist clenched with real force.
Seeing that, I figured she wasn't joking, so I quickly closed my eyes and let the little strength left in my body drain away.
"Then I'll close it now. Good night."
"Yeah, you too. Take care."
Before long, the recovery capsule sealed shut without even the slightest gap.
Inside it, I slowly drifted off into sleep.
Ahh, sleepy... thud.