Chapter 22: Shield and Sword
Before heading to Death Ruler Volcano, where Skill Mages are said to live.
First, I went into a restaurant to fill my stomach.
There, I spotted a certain woman.
She was a short girl with black, short-cropped hair that suited her.
“How unusual…”
A solo adventurer carrying an enormous greatshield.
As a greatsword wielder myself, I felt a strange sense of kinship.
After paying, I found myself casually following her with my eyes.
She went into a familiar armor shop.
“Ah, maybe I should get some new armor before my adventure too…”
Right, since I’m heading to Death Ruler Volcano, it’d be best to get some fire and heat-resistant gear.
I decided to follow her into the armor shop.
“Welcome.”
Once inside, I let my money do the talking and bought whatever caught my eye.
For now, I got the best fire-resistant equipment I could buy.
I’ll sell the armor I was originally wearing.
I spent a lot of money at the Skill Book shop earlier, but I still had quite a bit left.
“Alright, this is perfect.”
The new fire-resistant gear was a brilliant, divine-looking red.
They said with this, I should be able to fight in the volcano’s environment without much trouble.
Casually, I glanced over at the girl from before.
Even while I was finishing my shopping, she was still agonizing over something.
“Hmm…”
It seemed there was armor she wanted, but she apparently lacked the necessary materials.
To buy armor that requires valuable materials, sometimes you’re asked not just for the corresponding amount of money, but for the materials themselves.
It’s a hassle for the shop to acquire the materials, after all.
Armor that can’t be bought with money alone is that much more powerful.
“Ah…”
I took a quick look at the armor she wanted—
It was written there:
■Required Material: Dragon Star Rock x1
Dragon Star Rock, an armor enhancement material with a rarity of ★★★★★★★★.
It’s a rock with properties that repel magic well, but because it’s so hard to come by, it’s requested as a material at the time of purchase.
And I… had this material.
It was a Rare Drop item I got when I defeated that Golem.
“Come to think of it, I’d forgotten about this…”
I took it out of my pocket.
It’s typically used as material for shields, but unfortunately, I’m a greatsword wielder.
I don’t have the luxury of carrying a shield.
“So that’s why I had it spare…”
This is perfect.
The greatshield wielder seems to be in a bind, and this material is useless to me.
Well, I can get it again quickly if I just defeat another Golem.
“Um…”
“Yes…?”
I hesitantly called out to her.
“If you’d like, this material… would you use it?”
“Eh…? A-are you sure…?”
She was bewildered by the sudden offer.
Well, that’s understandable…
Even I would think it suspicious if someone just casually offered me such a rare material.
Like, is this some kind of solicitation? Or will they demand something in return?
“It’s a material I don’t need, and I have it spare, so please, take it.”
“B-but… such an expensive material…”
She seemed troubled, unsure what to do.
Did I do something to make her feel bad?
But I want to support hardworking adventurers like her.
Being a solo shield user is quite a challenge.
I don’t know if there’s a reason for it, but normally, people don’t do that.
Just like how I have no attack power, maybe her base defense power is low too.
That’s precisely why, for some reason, I wanted to help her.
“It’s fine, really. I… See… as you can tell, I’m a greatsword user… Besides, look, I’m wearing pretty good armor, right? Luckily, I have quite a bit of money to spare right now… Please, accept it.”
“I-is that so…? W-well, if you insist… I’ll gratefully accept it. Thank you, truly.”
Good, she smiled and accepted it.
I’m happier seeing her pleased like this than if I had thrown away or sold such a precious Rare Drop material.
She immediately exchanged the material for the shield she wanted.
“Um… may I ask your name?”
“Ah, ah… I’m Loin. Loin Canberras.”
“I’m Claris. Claris Candiras.”
“Ah… Our names are kind of similar, aren’t they?”
“Y-yes, they are… Maybe we’re kindred spirits. Hehe…”
“A greatshield user and a greatsword user, after all…!”
She, who usually seemed taciturn, smiled like that for me.
It seems like that small common point helped her open up a little.
“Um… Loin-san, what are your plans from now on?”
“I plan to go to Death Ruler Volcano.”
“Death Ruler Volcano…!? Why would you…?”
“Yeah, I was thinking of going to dig for Skill Books.”
“That sounds incredibly tough… I’ve heard stories about it… but I never thought someone would actually do something like that.”
“Ah, ahaha…”
I wonder if she’s a little exasperated with me…?
What if she thinks I’m an idiot?
Well, to an outsider, I probably just look like a reckless gambler.
But for me, it’s a gamble I can see myself winning.
“Um, if it’s alright with you, would you like to form a party…?”
“Eh? With me…?”
What should I do…?
I hadn’t even considered forming a party.
Thanks to Ghuftok and the others, I don’t have any good memories of parties.
But with her, it feels like things could work out.
We have a lot in common, and as shield and sword, our compatibility is good too.
“I want to repay you. Please let me help. Besides… I want to know more about you, Loin-san.”
“W-well, if you put it that way… I don’t have any reason to refuse. I’d like to try fighting alongside you too, Claris-san.”
“Really!? Thank you! Also, you can just call me Claris. I’m probably younger than you, anyway. And no need for polite speech.”
“Got it. Then you can call me Loin too. Nice to work with you.”
And so, we ended up forming an unusual party of shield and sword.
Well, I do wonder about choosing a dangerous place like Death Ruler Volcano for our first adventure…
But with her as a shield user, the danger level should decrease considerably.
“Come to think of it… Claris, why did you become a greatshield user?”
Nowadays, I’ve never seen a solo adventurer with a greatshield.
So, well, maybe she was looking for party members from the start.
She seems shy and timid, so maybe it was good timing that I spoke to her.
“Um… promise you won’t laugh?”
“Yeah…?”
“My base defense power is zero…”
“Ah, as I thought…”
“Eh? What do you mean, ‘as I thought’?”
“Actually, I… my base attack power is zero too.”
“Eeeeeh!? So we really are…”
“Yeah, kindred spirits.”
And so, I couldn’t help but feel something fateful about it.
The weakest attack power and the weakest defense power.
The adventure of these two started from here—.