Before listening to the story of the Swift Thunder party, I first needed to deal with these frozen cockroaches. …However, I ended up leaving the cleanup to everyone else.

It seemed that, unlike me, the others didn’t have much of an aversion to cockroaches. Maybe it was only people from my original world who found them so disgusting.

Lilith and the members of Swift Thunder split up and finished off any cockroaches that were still alive. As soon as the last one was defeated, a loud noise echoed through the room, and the door at the back of the boss chamber opened.

“Alright, that completes the dungeon conquest request.”

“There should be a treasure chest containing the boss reward and a magic circle that will return us to the dungeon entrance in that room.”

Oh, a treasure chest. Since passing the tenth floor, I had found a few treasure chests with contents inside, but they only contained mediocre knives and shields. Since we had just defeated the dungeon boss, there should be something better this time, right?

“None of the boss monsters seem to have magic stones this time. Do you think we can at least sell their shells as materials?”

“…I absolutely do not want any of it.”

The outer shells of cockroaches? No way. I wouldn’t wear cockroach armor even if it had high defense!

“I never expected you to have something you’re bad with, big brother.”

Most Japanese people probably dislike them. I wonder how foreigners feel about them?

“Now then, let’s hear the details.”

After all the cockroaches were dealt with, I sat down with Lilith, the leader of Swift Thunder, and the small-built man. The others were working on dismantling the cockroaches.

“My younger brother recently became an adventurer, but not long ago, he was attacked by monsters and suffered severe injuries. The healers near our village can barely manage to keep him stable.”

“It’s difficult to move him to a large city, and hiring a high-ranking healer to come to our remote village requires an enormous amount of money.”

I see. Given this world’s methods of transportation, it could take anywhere from several days to weeks to travel from a village to a city. In some cases, if carriages can’t be used, it might take a whole month. Hiring a high-level healer to travel such a distance must be incredibly expensive.

“Since it’s Alec’s little brother, we wanted to help in any way we could. But this was a sudden crisis, and we couldn’t gather the money fast enough. So, while taking as many well-paying requests as possible, we’ve also been searching for a high-level healer who could travel to his village.”

It seemed that this small-built man, Alec, had a younger brother who was gravely injured by a monster. And despite his rough exterior, their leader appeared to be quite considerate of his comrades.

I see, they were truly desperate. They needed money quickly to save his brother. When I asked about the location of Alec’s village, it didn’t seem to be too far.

“…Understood. Once we leave this dungeon, we’ll head to Alec’s village.”

“Really!?”

“But I have a few conditions. First, you must not complain if I fail to heal him. I’ll do everything I can, but if I’m too late or my magic isn’t enough, you must not hold it against me or Lilith and the others.”

“Of course!”

“Yeah, I swear it!”

“The treatment fee will only apply if the treatment is successful, but I don’t need money. Instead, if I do heal him, I’ll consider it a favor owed. If I ever find myself in trouble, I want you to help me. Is that acceptable?”

“…Wait, no, I’ll pay. I can’t afford the full amount right now, but I’ll write an IOU and pay you back for sure.”

“No, I don’t need money right now. Having you as an ally for when I need help would be far more valuable to me.”

“…Hold on a second. Masayoshi, come here for a moment.”

“Huh?”

Lilith suddenly stopped me mid-discussion and pulled me aside to talk privately.

“Masayoshi, I know you’re kind and can’t ignore people in trouble. We were saved by that kindness too. But you need to make sure you receive proper compensation. You’ve done more than enough to deserve it.”

“………………”

Compensation, huh? I suppose that was the norm in this world. In such a dangerous place, helping someone often meant putting your own life at risk.

“…I was actually planning to tell you once I had saved up a little more money, but the truth is, we’ve all talked it over—including Marie, whom you saved with the dragon’s elixir—and decided to repay you for the cost of that elixir.”

“Wait, you really don’t have to—”

“No, your kindness is appreciated, but we don’t want to take advantage of it. More than anything, we want to have an equal relationship with you. That’s why, once we’ve saved enough, I want you to accept the money.”

“…Lilith.”

I had casually said I didn’t need money, but to those who were borrowing, it wasn’t such a light matter. Of course, I wanted to be equals with Lilith and the others.

“Alright. Once you’ve saved enough, I’ll accept it. And I’ll make sure to receive proper compensation from now on.”

“Yeah, thanks.”

No, I should be the one thanking her. Lilith had taught me another important lesson.

As a result, I decided to accept a treatment fee. The amount was set at the bare minimum standard, but I also kept the favor condition in place, so they’d help me if I ever needed it.

However, all of that depended on whether I could actually heal his brother. We needed to leave the dungeon and head to their village as soon as possible.