Chapter 65 - The Prince Called Leon (2/2)
Barbara was thorough in her maneuvers to maximize safety, having trained so much to carry them out naturally. The figure of hers, clad in full heavy armor and carrying a shield and spear, looked like a humanoid fortress.
The Orcs were persistent, keeping on their effort in breaking through her defenses, but because Barbara was perfectly calm and never overreacted, they were not able to land an effective hit. Blows to her arms and shoulders were promptly mended by Eunice’s <<Heal>>, resulting in them doing nothing to hinder Barbara’s movements.
“Whoa, awesome!”
Leon, having spent the past month watching over the novice Tanks’ training, was enchanted by how Barbara fended off the enemies’ attacks. Of all the Tanks he had seen so far, Barbara’s display was the best.
Although Leon had been trying to train the Tanks as well, they were all his wives, so he had not been too strict on them. He had been careful not to overexert them, resulting in them often practicing through one-on-one fights, and he would immediately bail them out at the first sign of danger.
The details of Barbara’s training had only been made known to Leon through word of mouth; if he had actually been on the scene, he would have intervened without a doubt. His leniency was one of his great virtues, but also a flaw — one that had been taking his Clan into an undesirable direction.
Leon, having seen for a decent bit that Barbara could hold her own against three Orcs, turned to Eunice as the latter stood in the <<Area Heal>> perimeter while counting her numbers, her face quite stern.
“<<Heal>>.”
Eunice’s energy sphere flew ahead without misting away and landed on Barbara’s broad back. Leon had only seen Eunice’s placement-type <<Haste>> while he had partied up with her during Tsutomu’s break, so he was delighted now to see that she had mastered <<Heal>> as well.
Once Diniel shot down all of the Orcs, Leon rushed over to where his Clan members were.
“That was great, Barbara!”
“…I can still only take on just three Orcs at once, though. Still a long way to go.”
“But it took you just a month, you know!? That’s more than fast enough!” Leon said and raised both his hands to express his joy.
“Y-you think? …Hey, thanks!”
Barbara scratched her own cheek in embarrassment, then let out a celebratory shout along with Leon.
“And Eunice, you’ve finally got those shots down! That’s great! I’m glad you pulled through.”
“…Thank you.”
Eunice, having already mastered the shot-type skills half a month ago, briefly looked unsatisfied, but she soon smiled. She had been training to achieve this moment — there was no way that she was not happy.
After that, the team proceeded to initiate a three-wave battle, and got through it without any significant problems. Points worth noting were when Barbara had been grabbed by a Wyvern and dropped down from the sky, and Eunice being too fixated on using placement-type skills for Leon that she had let others’ <
> effects run out, but other than those, their battles had been smooth.
Although there were skills areas for improvement popping up, the mood of the party was currently quite favorable. Eunice and Barbara discussed things and coordinated their moves with Leon with expressions of contentment, seeming as if they had lost the track of time. Diniel had kept herself a short distance away but properly listened to everything, and in the end, was able to cooperate with everyone else naturally.
They had started their exploration at noon; eight hours had passed, with Tsutomu being mostly idle, save for a few interruptions. Things had started unstable at first, but Eunice, as the party’s Healer, had always managed to stabilize the flow of battle.
Then, when Tsutomu announced that it was almost time to leave, the three combatants vehemently refused. Leon proceeded to crack a joke at Tsutomu, asking in good humor what throwing a tantrum would do against him. In the end, the three gave up, heaving a sigh as they started preparing to return to the Guild.
[Well, not that I don’t understand how they feel…]
The first time Tsutomu had gotten into a multiplayer session in Live Dungeon, he had ended up keeping on playing all day long. He had been especially addicted in the beginning, so he could definitely understand how the trio felt. As such, Tsutomu smiled as he watched over them, as if he was being reminded of his days as a beginner.
After everything had been wrapped up, Tsutomu called out to Leon,
“So… I think you’ve gotten everything you needed for the three-role composition. Still plenty of room for improvement, of course, but I think they’ve got the essentials down. What do you think?”
“I’m more than satisfied, man. It’s really a big help, you training these two into shape. I’ve been trying to do the same, but it never worked out, so…”
“Please don’t worry about it — it’s not uncommon for people to go easy on their family… But I do think you’re pampering them too much at times, though,” Tsutomu whispered.
Such was Tsutomu’s early impressions of Leon, especially seeing how willing he was to admit that a lot of the damage had been self-inflicted on his part. Leon dodged around Tsutomu’s statement with a dry laugh
“…That’s what a lot of other people always tell me. But I just can’t help myself, man — I mean, they’re all so cute, you know. It’s not a problem as long as it bothers only me, really.”
“…You should try to keep Eunice under control, at least. Frankly, I can’t imagine her teaching the ropes to the other White Mages all that well…”
Although he hadn’t had much of an expectation for Eunice from the start, Tsutomu was still worried about her overall attitude.
“Sorry, can’t. Like I said before, once she sets her mind on something, even I can’t get her to listen. Look, I’ll come up with some good reward for you, so can you cut me some slack on that?”
Leon, getting quite a reproachful look from Tsutomu, took a serious tone and apologized outright. Tsutomu, getting where the former was coming from, proceeded to present his idea,
“Oh, them I’d like to ask that you continue to accept the occasional interviews from newspaper outlets — other than Solit Company, that is.”
“What? That’s all you want?”
“Yes. I’d very much want just that.”
“All right, then… But you sure there’s nothing else? I’ll provide it if I can.”
Tsutomu, somewhat troubled by Leon’s insistence, lowered his voice and answered,
“Well, actually, I’m looking to recruit some capable combatants… not that I’d expected to get any form here. Ealdred Crow is where I’m aiming to find some anyway, so please don’t worry about it.”
“Oh? Recruiting yourself some crew? That won’t be a good look for you, yeah?”
“I’m not going to try and take anyone from their main forces, of course. Maybe the second or third substitutes… With levels about thirty to forty would be fine, too.”
“…Man, you really mean business, huh?”
Tsutomu, called out by Leon for his tone-deaf statement, chuckled lightly to dodge the question. Then, once Diniel found the Black Gate, all five members entered it, returning to the Guild
Back at the Guild, the establishment was packed and there was a lot of commotion. Suspicious, Leon called out to some Explorers he knew,
“Whoa, what’s going on? Pretty big hype ’round here today, huh?”
“What? On hey, Leon. Just take a look — you’ll get it when you see it. They’re just about to wrap things up.”
The Explorer pointed at the Guild’s Monitor #1. On it, five Explorers were raising roars of cheer, with a Fire Dragon starting to turn into red light particles in the background.
Among the group was a Summoner, carrying a large staff that did not fit his body, with a distinctive small stature and fluttering green hair — he was none other than the Leader of Ealdred Crow. The young man was being hoisted up by his four party members in celebration.