I meet up with the two girls after touching down on the ground, and we leave the sandy area.
Apparently it’s common knowledge that here on the second floor, there aren’t any monsters on the borders between areas, so a lot of people use them to rest. And we’re making use of that quirk now too.
“I’m glad you’re all right, darling.”
“A cold sweat ran down my spine when you became a star, master.”
“Sorry. I know I worried you. I’ll be careful and not blindly rush new monsters anymore.”
“Yes. We all have Adamantine Armor, so there is no need for that.”
“Taking the initiative to get close and attack first might be recommended against some monsters, and normally that would include golems, but… The enemy was better this time.”
That’s right. Normally if you get up close to a slow giant monster, you can do whatever you want with it. The Stone Golem is a good example, because even if you don’t fling it away, if you get behind it, it will have a hard time even just turning around.
But despite having four hundred in stats, it had a big body covered in rock, so I thought it would be slower.
I’ve fought monsters with higher Agility, but its arm was right in front of me before I knew it, and I got flustered. When did it even attack?
“Master, this is precisely why recording it is useful.”
Aira’s right.
“He’s talking in his mind again…”
And Ayane is sulking.
“…Yes. This footage isn’t just for beginners.”
“Of course. We can watch it as a reference like yesterday, as many times as you want.”
“I got it all on camera when you were blown away!”
“Ah… Cut that.”
“I’m sorry to say, but only the other two ladies can decide that. Accept it.”
“…I can already see them getting mad at me for being reckless.”
“Please reflect on it.”
“Yes, I’ll be careful…”
As I feel down on my own, Ayane pulls my sleeve.
“Darling darling, you look tired, so how about another lap pillow?”
Ayane sits down and taps her thighs. It’s an alluring proposal.
“Hn… It’s tempting, but let’s retreat for today.”
“Eh!? You’re retreating…!?”
“A-are you sure?”
Oh? They’re more surprised than I thought. What do they think I am?
“Yes, that fight made me more mentally tired than I was expecting, and taking an attack I’m not used to made me physically tired too. And my subweapon Ghost is close to retirement, so I want to give it a rest instead of using it until it breaks.”
I say while showing them the big crack on the sword’s core.
It served me well, so I want to keep it on the weapons rack as decoration. But for that, I need to take it back before it’s completely destroyed.
“This is… Yes, it would be hard to keep using it like this. I assume you will mostly fight golems with the bow, but since you have made this difficult decision, I will follow it.”
“Good job as always, darling.”
“Yes, let’s go back.”
◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇
““Welcome back.””
“Thanks.”
It really is reassuring to see Aki and Maki welcome me back.
I think they can pick up on how I’m feeling, because they have anxious expressions.
“Shouta, are you…”
“Super tired?”
“Yes.”
I say, and the next moment my armor has been removed and I’m being prompted to sit down.
Oh? What just happened??
“You came back sooner than we expected. Did something unexpected happen?”
“You’re not hurt, so what happened?”
“Something a few levels more dangerous than an Emperor Goblin or Shell Knight appeared. I didn’t want to fight another one right away, so I pulled back.”
I say, and after the branch manager is called in a hurry, we play the footage.
First, we watch the golems and the Stone Golem, and they’re deemed relatively easy opponents that even beginners should be able to deal with. But the moment the Giant Stone Golem emerges, the air in the room gets heavier.
It’s so big. And they’re all speechless because of its powerful stats and abilities.
“Ah…!”
“My goodness…”
“Uwa, it punched him up.”
They react negatively to the scene where I look lame. Maki’s is close to a shriek.
Sorry for this stupid shameful display…
Then we watch as I get back up using Spatial Magic, and Aira plays tag as the situation turns in our favor.
In the end, it shows off my new finishing move.
Maki checks to see if I’m okay again, and hugs me. The branch manager starts mumbling about how to deal with a monster of this level, but Aki seems curious about something, because she keeps pulling the video back and watching it. Does she have something in mind?
No, it’s the scene of me getting blown away. I don’t know how to react, because she’s not laughing, she’s just watching with a serious expression…
“I knew it…”
Hn?
“Shouta, you stopped bracing yourself unconsciously, and just let yourself get thrown.”
“Eh?”
“Really Miss Aki?”
“Yes, look at this scene. You threw yourself back just before the impact hit. I think you instinctively knew it would be dangerous if you tried to block it. Watch it too, Maki. It’s not as bad as it looks.”
Maki fearfully raises her head, and I watch with her. Aki then plays it back frame-by-frame while explaining.
It’s true… It does look like I threw myself back, doesn’t it? I don’t remember doing that…
“That’s our darling!”
“If you could do this intentionally…”
“Yes. If he can pull off this trick without thinking about it, it would be more effective if he did it on purpose. You could decide where you want to land, and would recover much more quickly.”
“That’s true…”
I managed to remember I could use Air Walk and recovered, but since I was so flustered, there could have been an accident. Well, even if I fell, I would’ve been saved by Adamantine Armor, but it uses two hundred magic energy, and it could lead me to run out when I really need it.
It’s never bad to have options.
“Hn… Next time I have consecutive days off, I’ll do as Aira says.”
“Yes. This is getting interesting.”
“Eh?”
Just what is she planning?
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Thanks for the treat.