Chapter 66 - To Ealdred Crow (2/2)

“If you say so.”

Rook retracted his grin without saying anything more, then turned around and continued down the hallway. In truth, Tsutomu was quite interested in the room in question, but he had used his unparallelled power of reasoning to resist his urges. He did not want to have any lingering attachments in this world, at least until he knew for certain that he would never be able to return to his original one.

Tsutomu continued to walk behind Rook for a while, after which the latter stopped in front of a large door. Rook pushed the door open with his shoulder, revealing many fully-equipped Explorers waiting inside.

“Here’s where our Clan members gather up, pretty much to check our gear and equipment before heading to the Dungeon. I’d like you to meet up with us here at the beginning of each day, Tsutomu.”

“All right.”

Once Rook and Tsutomu walked into the room, the Clan members who were already waiting inside started talking loudly among themselves. Tsutomu followed Rook and saw him sitting down at a small table, so he himself sat in front of him across it.

Rook proceeded to call over a waiter, take one deep breath, and then made eye contact with Tsutomu before starting to talk,

“First things first, Tsutomu, I’d like you to check out our main Healer. I’m sure she’s already done everything that’s written in your documents, but I’d like to get some evaluation directly from you.”

“Yes, of course. I look forward to meeting her.”

Tsutomu had an inward sneer as he listened to Rook, thinking how different this time was shaping up to be, compared to when he had dealt with a certain fox girl. On Rook’s order, a waiter came to serve Tsutomu a cup of tea, which he picked up to drink with one hand while flipping through a stack of documents with the other.

“Tsutomu, this may seem like a personal request, but may I ask you something?”

“Please go ahead.”

“Thanks. It’s about the documents you handed out…”

Rook flipped through the pages and pointed at a certain word in the text. Tsutomu took a sip of tea, then took a look. Rook continued,

“I’ve been wondering if you could tell me more about this ‘Buffer’ role. The Jobs of this type include Minstrel and the like, right?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“Could you explain it to us in more detail? We’ll put on some extra rewards on top of what you’ll already get, of course.”

“Well… I don’t need any payment for just explanations, really. The information itself isn’t that big of a deal anyway.”

“You mean it? Thanks a bunch!”

Rook, the androgynous young man, raised his voice quite high. Tsutomu, while doubting whether or not the former actually was over twenty years old, proceeded to speak.

“Buffer, as its name would suggest, refers to a role that involves mostly providing support to allies. For example, White Mages could use <

> and <<Haste>>, while Minstrels have <<Hymn of Protection>> and the like.”

“Mm-hm, mm-hm.”

Rook picked up a pen from the pedestal on the table and began to quickly jot down Tsutomu’s words. The latter stopped and looked at Rook to make sure he didn’t miss anything before continuing,

“There’s one more thing — the Debuffer role, which I haven’t mentioned in the documents. It refers to combatants whose main task is to weaken monsters. Black and Gray Mages could use <

>, and Enchanters have <<Blind>>.”

“……”

“In many cases, a White Mage and a Black Mage would work in conjunction as a Buffer and Debuffer, respectively. Incidentally, I double as a Buffer for my parties as well. What’s worth noting is that Jos like Minstrel and Enchanter could work as both Buffer and Debuffer at the same time, so it’s pretty common to have just one of them, too. In this case, they would be simply called a Buffer.”

Minstrels had skills that augmented the STR of all party members at once, and Enchanters could inflict various status effects onto their enemies — in Live Dungeon, they were considered an Attacker’s eternal best friends. Out of the whole game, only these two Jobs had the ability to buff STR, so they were indispensable for Attackers who wanted to maximize the numbers they dished out.

“…And that’s pretty much all there is to it. Ealdred Crow does have a few Minstrels, so it might be worth considering, I’d say.”

“Tsutomu,” Rook said, his eyes implying a serious tone.

Tsutomu, slightly startled, straightened his posture up.

“So this Buffer role… Enchanters can do it, right?”

“Yes, they sure can.”

“…Noted.”

Rook crossed his arms and seriously pondered over things for a moment, then looked back up at Tsutomu.

“So here’s the thing, Tsutomu — could you train up a Buffer for us? An Enchanter, as you might have guessed — I’d like to request that of you, if you are able.”

“…Me, teach a Buffer?”

“Appropriate compensation provided, of course.”

Rook, seeing that Tsutomu was reluctant, pressed him for an answer. Tsutomu, though showing hesitation, brought up a proposal for the reward in question,

“You see, I’m actually planning to establish my own Clan…”

“…So you want personnel, then? Mm-hm. But now really isn’t a good time, what with us having taken down a Fire Dragon just days ago… If I’d known this, I would’ve delayed our attempt for a bit,” Rook whispered, so as to keep the talk away from the others around him.

In response, Tsutomu cracked a dry smile.

“Is there anyone decently capable you could send my way at all? Level no lower than 30, preferably.”

“…There ARE a few that fit those general criteria. Still can’t make any guarantees, though.”

“I see…”

Tsutomu’ disappointed, dropped his shoulders in a dramatic fashion. Then, while changing his plans in his head now that his only option was to look for the people he needed at the Guild, Tsutomu raised his face back up and said,

“I can help teach the Buffer role, no problem. By the way, about your victory over the Fire Dragon — is there any chance you would agree to be interviewed, free of charge, by the two newspaper publishers other than Solit Company? I’d appreciate it if you would do that as part of the aforementioned compensation.”

“Huh? If you’re alright with just that, then we’re happy to oblige!”

“Thank you very much. Oh, but some personnel would also be nice — if possible, of course,” Tsutomu put his hand over his mouth and whispered to Rook, who answered by giving him a thumbs-up.