Adventurer's Guild Café: I Was Wrongfully Exiled by the Saint, So I Will Enjoy My Second Life with My Fluffy Friends - V 2.1 Chapter 3.21

We were walking the same path as when we first arrived.

Along the way, I had many thoughts swirling in my mind, so I fell into step beside Gear, who was walking ahead.

“Um… Gier.”

As expected, or maybe not, Gier looked at me with a face that showed no sign of fatigue.

“Hmm?”

When he asked what was wrong, I hesitated, wondering how to put it into words.

“I… I had a dream inside that fish.”

Fidgeting, I made the confession. He tilted his head, a question mark clearly floating over him.

“…Could it be that the one who helped me when I washed up in this town was you, Gier?”

“…Ah, so that’s it.”

Seeing me so shy and uncertain, Gier’s eyes widened.

“You remembered that, huh?”

“!”

Just as I thought.

“…The dream I had inside the fish was real, wasn’t it?”

“What kind of dream was it?”

“A dream where you saved me. You helped me and Lulu.”

Hearing that, he seemed to recall the memory.

“…That day, I just happened to be taking the horse to drink water at a creek on the outskirts of town. Then, I saw Lulu, all beaten up, calling for me.”

“!”

“Her leg was broken, so when I tried to catch her, I was surprised. But the horse stopped me, telling me not to catch her, but to follow Lulu instead.”

“You can talk to horses…?”

I said that, and he burst out laughing.

“No, it just looked like that.”

I see… yeah, that makes sense.

I felt my cheeks flush with embarrassment. Still, I’m really grateful to that horse.

“So, I followed Lulu’s lead and found you collapsed there.”

“I… I’m sorry. You saved me, and I didn’t even properly thank you.”

The first time I met him (or was it the second?), at the café, he quietly said, “I’m glad you’re better.” That must have been because he’d seen how beaten up I was.

“It’s fine, really. More than that, I’m just glad you’re okay now. That’s what really matters.”

“…”

“My job is to protect people.”

He said that with a gentle smile. His smile made my heart leap.

—What’s this feeling…?

My tail was wagging wildly… shaking nonstop.

Why was I so happy? And why did my chest feel like it was pounding?

“Kuna?”

When I suddenly went quiet, Gear looked at me with a puzzled expression. Then, frowning slightly, he studied my face.

“Your face is a little red. Do you have a fever or something?”

“Huh? Really?”

“Yeah.”

He placed his hand on my forehead.

“You feel a little warm, too.”

“That’s strange… I feel fine, but maybe I’m just a little tired.”

I wondered if getting soaked had caused me to catch a rare cold.

We exchanged puzzled looks, both wondering what was going on.

“Then let’s head back and get some rest right away. Luckily, look—the exit is just up ahead.”

“!”

“You should rest properly. Normally, the hundredth floor isn’t a place ordinary citizens are allowed to enter.”

Finally, the teleportation gate came into view. Gant and the others who had been walking ahead waved at us.

The relief that we were finally able to leave the dungeon welled up deep inside me.