Chapter 53
“Are you sure this is really okay? For some reason, I feel like everything in the world is wrong.”
Yeah, I know. I was starting to feel a little guilty myself.
What we were doing now was a groundbreaking method that could fulfill the conditions for 【Shield Princess】 〈② Block monster attacks with a shield 100 times〉 and 〈③ Deflect monster attacks with a shield 100 times〉, while also taking care of part of 〈⑤ Meet the requirements for 【Shield Soldier】, 【Great Shield Soldier】, 【Dual Shield Soldier】, 【Shielder】, 【Elemental Shield Soldier】, 【Magic Shield Soldier】, and 【Fortress Shield Soldier】〉.
It was called 〈Slime Catchball〉.
When I tossed a slime, Sierra caught it with the shield she casually held up.
That counted as one instance of 〈blocking a monster's attack with a shield〉. The slime disappeared, by the way.
In fact, in 〈Dan-Katsu〉, throwing a slime counted as a monster's attack for hit-detection purposes.
The person throwing it was essentially assisting the slime's attack.
This 〈Slime Catchball〉 was based on a Skill called ‘Monster Throw’ from 【Monster Tamer】. Normally, it was used to attack by throwing a monster you had under your command, or to quickly switch positions, and so on.
My fellow players discovered through much effort—or rather, by sheer accident—that this could also be used as a trick to fulfill Job requirements.
There was no 【Monster Tamer】 around right now, so back in the game, we wouldn't even have been able to perform the action. But this was real life.
While riding in the carriage on the way to the academy, I thought, “Maybe this'll work?” and gave it a try. As it turned out, it worked just fine without a Skill.
The downside was that the slime I threw took damage and disappeared. But I considered that a plus, if anything. It saved us the trouble of delivering the finishing blow.
I kept tossing slimes at Sierra, who was just standing there with her shield casually raised, and she fulfilled conditions ② and ③ in less than thirty minutes.
Then I asked Sierra about the Jobs she hadn't manifested yet for condition ⑤, helped her fulfill those requirements too, and 【Shield Princess】 appeared among her available Jobs in no time.
“This is still wrong. It's just unreasonable.”
Sierra was quietly losing it.
Later, after she'd calmed down, Sierra told me that all her years of blood, sweat, and tears, her fear that she might not live up to the expectations of so many people after entering Labyrinth Academy, and a whole lot more had all come flooding out at once.
As you'd expect, the Noble Dormitory had a 〈Dragon Statue〉 that could measure Jobs, and just as planned, Sierra successfully acquired 【Shield Princess】.
“Anyway, congratulations on your 〈Job Acquisition〉?”
“...Yes. I'm sorry. You only kept your promise... I hate to ask, but I'll take my leave for today. I'll make it up to you another time...”
She must have been in a pretty bad state emotionally. She didn't even seem to have the energy to celebrate finally achieving her long-held dream.
We parted ways in front of the 〈Dragon Statue〉 that day.
“Yeah, hang in there. Also, I want you to take this. Read it later.”
“What is it?”
“Notes on 【Shield Princess】 and the strongest build for it.”
I'd put them together ahead of time, just in case.
But as Sierra stared at the notes, the light slowly faded from her eyes.
For some reason, I vividly imagined someone bringing out an extra dish after you'd already stuffed yourself.
“Thanks.”
Sierra squeezed out her thanks, slipped the notes into her uniform pocket, and headed up the stairs without another word. I might've dealt the finishing blow.
I think the women's rooms were on the third floor and above. Apparently, Sierra lived in the same Noble Dormitory.
After I quietly watched Sierra leave, I was wondering what to do next when another familiar face appeared.
“Ah! You!”
“Hm? Oh, you're that arrogant princess from before.”
“Who are you calling an arrogant princess? You're as rude as ever!”
The arrogant princess I'd seen before was standing there, wearing the 〈Silver Tiara〉 that served as the symbol of “royalty.”
What was her name again? No, I was pretty sure she hadn't told me her name. I seemed to remember that.
She was probably here for the 〈Dragon Statue〉, too.
Unlike last time, though, she had an attendant with her.
“Lady Rana, do you know him?”
I could tell at a glance she was a knight.
She wore a 〈Shield and Horse Brooch〉, the symbol of a knight, on her chest.
Her short, slightly pinkish-blonde hair and gentle orange eyes gave her a soft air, and she struck me as rather intellectual.
She was only a little shorter than me, quite tall for a woman, and had a very curvy figure.
From the looks of it, she was the princess's bodyguard. But the blue embroidery meant she was a first-year.
A first-year girl with a figure like that...
As I watched the girl knight, their conversation seemed to have gotten underway.
“He's the 【Hero】 I told you about. I invited him to join my guild a little while ago, but he turned me down. And on top of that, he told me to level up if I wanted him to listen to me, then actually sent me away!”
She looked at me as if to say, “How humiliating!”
I'm Zephyrus, 【Hero LV20】. So, how many levels has the princess gained over the past few days?
“Huh? Wha—! You've already made it to LV20? Hey, you could've waited for me!”
I'm diving into Intermediate Beginner tomorrow, so the gap might get even bigger.
“I told you to wait!”
The knight girl seemed to understand what kind of relationship we had, and gave a single nod. Apparently, she'd judged there wasn't a problem.
I was a little curious about what sort of relationship she thought we had.
“I apologize for not introducing myself sooner. I am Estelle, a knight appointed to serve as Lady Rana's bodyguard. I look forward to getting to know you.”
Yeah. Nice to meet you. And who's Rana?
“...She's the princess standing right here. Lady Rana, you didn't properly introduce yourself?”
“Estelle, don't make it sound like I'm a bad child! You don't need to introduce yourself; it's only natural that he already knows who I am. After all, I'm a princess.”
“You shouldn't do that. If someone greets you, you greet them back. If they introduce themselves, you introduce yourself in return. Even if the other person knows who you are, you should still show proper courtesy.”
Hm. Even this little exchange made their power dynamic clear.
I could practically see the thinking behind it: they wanted the dependable-seeming Estelle to keep the princess in line.