After successfully resolving the crisis, Tanaka Masao finally relaxed. He had barely let out a sigh of relief when he felt his heel slip.
His body lurched backward uncontrollably.
Fortunately, the ground here was just dirt, and with his layers of natural cushioning, the fall didn't hurt much.
The world spun for a moment, and in Tanaka Masao's field of vision appeared—
White.
A lot of white.
White triangles, and white cylindrical shapes…
Yukinoshita Yukino was about to come over to check on the two of them when she saw Tanaka Masao sliding backward and falling. Instinctively, she rushed forward to help, but she was a step too late—Tanaka Masao had already hit the ground.
And she just happened to arrive right where his head landed.
When you stare into the abyss, the abyss stares back—
"Ah!"
Yukinoshita Yukino cried out, reflexively snapping her legs together and clutching her skirt.
Unfortunately, from Tanaka Masao's perspective, that movement was completely meaningless.
Yukinoshita Yukino realized this almost immediately and hurriedly jumped back several meters.
Her face was burning red, a mix of embarrassment and indignation.
Still, she knew this was just an accident. Tanaka Masao hadn't done it on purpose, so she had no intention of blaming him.
[Corruption Value +10]
She just felt uncomfortable all over, her legs slightly weak.
In an awkward, hesitant voice, Yukinoshita Yukino asked,
"Y-You… are you two okay?"
Jahy shook her head.
"I'm fine."
She hadn't really been hurt while on Tanaka Masao—just a bit dizzy from the collision earlier.
That image from just now, however, refused to leave Tanaka Masao's mind.
Lying on the ground and looking up, he could see Yukinoshita Yukino bent slightly forward, clutching her skirt, her face flushed with embarrassment.
"I… I'm fine too."
When she noticed Tanaka Masao looking at her, Yukinoshita Yukino grew even more flustered.
She wanted to step forward and help them up, but worried about exposing herself again, she didn't dare approach.
Instead, she spoke from where she stood.
"Then… hurry up and get up. Since we've got the item, let's head back."
At that moment, Yukinoshita Yukino's gaze fell on a red crystal lying on the ground.
It was the magic stone Jahy had been trying to retrieve.
When Tanaka Masao fell earlier, Jahy had failed to hold onto it, and it had slipped from her grasp.
The magic stone lay not far from Yukinoshita Yukino's feet. Without thinking too much, she bent down and picked it up for her.
"Don't—!"
Tanaka Masao tried to stop her, but it was already too late.
The magic stone was now in Yukinoshita Yukino's hand.
Hearing his shout, Yukinoshita Yukino looked up at him in confusion.
"What is it?"
"Aaah!"
A sharp cry drew everyone's attention.
The crow came charging at them again.
Whether it was for revenge or for the magic stone, the crow flew straight toward Yukinoshita Yukino.
Seeing this, Tanaka Masao quickly pushed Jahy aside and scrambled up to help Yukinoshita Yukino.
He knew very well that magic stones brought misfortune—ordinary humans simply couldn't handle them.
Faced with the sudden attack, Yukinoshita Yukino didn't panic at all. Her eyes sharpened as she took a defensive stance.
Under normal circumstances, she would've been fine.
But with the magic stone sabotaging her, that was clearly no longer possible.
Yukinoshita Yukino focused entirely on the enemy in front of her, failing to notice Tanaka Masao rushing in from behind to help.
And, as expected—
Something went wrong.
Tanaka Masao slipped again, losing his balance and crashing straight toward Yukinoshita Yukino.
[Damn it, this magic stone's curse even has an aftereffect?!]
That was the last thought to flash through his mind.
At the last moment, Tanaka Masao twisted his body, changing what would have been a direct collision into a desperate attempt to wrap his arms around her.
Caught completely off guard, Yukinoshita Yukino staggered as a huge force slammed into her from behind, then felt arms clamp tightly around her.
Tanaka Masao rolled sideways with Yukinoshita Yukino in his arms.
Otherwise, if she'd been struck from behind and gone face-first into the ground—
Even if her face wasn't ruined, scraped skin and blood would've been inevitable.
Tanaka Masao felt like today was just not his day.
To protect Yukinoshita Yukino, he'd taken the full impact of the fall himself. His head was spinning badly.
Yukinoshita Yukino wasn't in great shape either.
Even with Tanaka Masao shielding her, the force of that collision was no joke.
Add in the roll across the ground, and she felt dizzy as well, with a faint sense of discomfort throughout her body.
"Hey, are you guys okay?"
Jahy walked over, immediately securing the magic stone and putting it away.
This was not something humans should be touching.
As for the crow, the commotion had made it wary—it flew off and began circling in the air.
Yukinoshita Yukino propped herself up, shook her head, and coughed lightly.
"Cough, cough… I'm fine. Tanaka-kun, are you okay?"
She opened her eyes and looked down at Tanaka Masao lying beneath her.
Using one hand to push off the ground, Yukinoshita Yukino stood up.
As she did, she felt something like a stick bump against her thigh, but she didn't pay it any mind. Once upright, she reached out a hand to Tanaka Masao.
After catching his breath, Tanaka Masao took her hand and used her support to sit up.
"Thank you, Yukinoshita-san."
"No need to thank me. Are you really okay? Do you need to go to the hospital?"
"It's fine. I just fell pretty hard—give me a moment and I'll be okay."
Tanaka Masao stayed seated until he felt completely steady again before standing up.
There was no helping it—too much had happened all at once. Anyone would need a moment.
All three of them looked rather disheveled now.
The white dress Yukinoshita Yukino was wearing was stained with dirt, and her twin ponytails had partially come undone.
Jahy was in better shape—her clothes were just a bit messy.
Tanaka Masao, however, was in the worst condition.
Not only were his clothes caked with dirt, but the fabric on his back was slightly torn.
Both Tanaka Masao and Yukinoshita Yukino agreed they couldn't stay here any longer, so they led Jahy back the way they'd come.
On the way back, Yukinoshita Yukino glanced at the magic stone in Jahy's hand.
It looked a lot like a ruby—clear, vivid, and of remarkably high quality.
But if she remembered correctly, the largest ruby ever auctioned in the modern world was only about six centimeters in diameter.
The one Jahy was holding was easily over ten centimeters.
[It's probably not a ruby…]