The World’s Strongest Rearguard: Labyrinth Country’s Novice Seeker, Vol. 2

by Tôwa

  “And thinking of your friend, we want to move up as fast as we can… Though, it still looks like it’ll take some time,” I said.

  “…The Guild still hasn’t received any word that the Shining Simian Lord my previous party fought has been defeated,” continued Elitia. “That monster is known to capture the humans it defeats and enslave them… Many Seekers have fallen into its clutches.”

  “Simian… So it’s a monkey monster?” I asked.

  Enslaving people was something only a creature with a fairly high intelligence could accomplish. Among all the monsters we’d fought so far, even the bipedal orcs, I hadn’t really felt any significant intelligence from them. But in the future, we might encounter monsters that were capable of strategic thought.

  Demi-Harpies, for example, could annihilate a group of Seekers by coordinating their attacks. Speaking of which, those three Demi-Harpies I’d defeated were still at the Monster Ranch. I’d have to stop by so that we could use their Lullaby in battle.

  “…But if it enslaves them…that means it sees some value in keeping the people that it defeated alive. That means your friend probably isn’t dead,” I said to Elitia. That’s why she was trying to make it back to the place where she had lost her friend, but just because they were living, it didn’t mean we’d be able to easily save them. Elitia looked down, squeezing and pulling her golden pigtails in clenched fists in front of her chest.

  “…I’ll never forgive that foul beast… I swear… I’m gonna kill that thing… How dare it…!”

  “Elitia…!”

  The cursed sword Elitia wielded was partly to blame for the dramatic shift in her personality during battle, but there was another reason, and that was pure rage. For her to harbor this much hatred toward the monster meant she probably saw it terrorizing her friend. Her face was twisted with anger, but Suzuna had come back into the room and wrapped her arms around her from behind in a hug.

  “…It must hurt so much to think about. But it’s going to be okay. Everything will be okay…,” Suzuna consoled her.

  “…Ah…,” uttered Elitia as Suzuna unclenched Elitia’s fists on her own hair, lifting one finger at a time. Misaki watched them sadly, then tried to smooth Elitia’s hair with her hands, stroking it back to its normal straightness.

  “…You do that, and you’ll accidentally perm your pigtails. I mean, that’s probably cute, too, buuut I think you look better with your silky-smooth hair, y’know. Right, Arihito?” said Misaki.

  “Yeah. I’m not sure how to put this, but…I worry that if you let your anger get the best of you, you’ll do something reckless. You need to take care of yourself first and foremost—mind, body, all of it.”

  “You shouldn’t try to harm yourself… If you’re hurting, you can mess with my hair instead,” offered Suzuna as she held out her black tresses. Elitia put her hand on Suzuna’s, and her shoulders started to shake, tears streaming from her eyes.

  “Ugh… Guh… Th-thank…you… I’m s-such a child…and so weak… I couldn’t save my friend… I just ran… I couldn’t do anything…,” she said between sobs.

  “…Even so, you decided to go back and save this friend of yours. You’re doing what you can,” I reassured her. “You’ve decided you’re going back no matter what, even though this monster is so powerful that not even the high-ranking Seekers can take it on. We’ve only been able to get this far because you’ve been with us. I say we show this monkey just how strong humans can be.”

  “…That monster’s really tough… It eats the men… And the women…”

  “It’s awful that so many people have been defeated and eaten by this thing. But if we’re careful enough, we can beat it. We’ll do it safely, take it seriously, and get out with as few injuries as possible. The way I see it, that’s the shortest route… But I guess I sound a bit full of myself, telling that to someone so much more experienced, like you.”

  Elitia rubbed her red eyes and looked at me. There was no blame in those eyes; she just looked at me like she was clinging to me, asking me to help her with her body language. She was a level-9 Swordswoman. She’d seen the fiercest battles and come out on the other side, so it wasn’t surprising she would feel such desperation when she came against an enemy that she had no chance of winning against on her own, one that she couldn’t save her friend from.

  There’s no way we could win as we were. If everyone got to level 10, or if we tried to fight it with more than one party, maybe. It was better to have more allies. The people from District Eight aiming for the top like us, or those already fighting in the higher districts… There was nothing in the rules saying we couldn’t gather them for a big fight against a boss.

  “Suzu’s hugs are really calming, but in times like these, you want an adult’s broad-mindedness, riiight? Oh, don’t just stand there all indifferent, Arihito! Go!” said Misaki.

  “N-no, I’m not… Igarashi’s way more tolerant than me.”

  “Huh… Wh-what? Tolerant…? What are you talking about?” asked Igarashi, who had finally woken up. Igarashi noticed how red Elitia’s eyes were when Elitia turned around. She shot me a look, one that didn’t imply I’d made her cry, but more along the lines of What’s going on?

  “…Um… I’m not really following all this, but you shouldn’t blame yourself, Ellie. If you’re feeling bad, you should talk to Kyouka. She may be a lower level, but she has more life experience.”

  “…Thanks. I’ll do that.”

  “Huh? …Wait, what? What’s going on all of a sudden? What should I do…?” said Igarashi.

  “Give her a hug; that’s the best thing for Ellie right now. Even Arihito agrees,” urged Misaki.

  “Uh, really…? You sure you want a hug from me…?” said Igarashi, but she obeyed and leaned over to hug Elitia where she sat. She was wearing her favorite knit sweater as loungewear, pressing her ample chest against Elitia. If Igarashi were a dental hygienist, I’d probably go to get my teeth cleaned all the time even if I didn’t really need it.

  “…Th-thanks… Um, I’m getting kind of hot, so can you let go now?” said Elitia.

  “R-really? Well, you seem like you’re back to your usual self, so that’s good,” replied Igarashi, and Elitia stood up. I thought it’d be good for Elitia to take a bit of a rest, but instead, she came over to me and handed me her license that displayed her skills.

  “…Are you sure?” I asked.

  “It doesn’t matter what my level is or how much experience I have; I’m still a member of your party. Treat me the same as everyone else,” she said.

  “Oh… All right. With skills, I might ask you to take certain ones, but in general, you should focus on what you want.”

  “Okay. But I want to take your opinions into consideration as much as possible,” she replied. She looked almost afraid of what was displayed on her license. Was that how incredible the skills associated with the Cursed Blade were?

  ♦Acquired Skills♦

  Double Slash

  Slash Ripper

  Rising Bolt

  Blade Ronde

  Blossom Blade

  Armor Break

  Parry

  Slice 1

  Counter Slice 1

  Air Raid

  Sonic Raid

  Secrets of the Sword 2

  Berserk

  ♦Available Skills♦

  Level 3 Skills

  Bloody Roar:

  Can only be used while in Berserk mode. Unleashes an attack whose damage is increased based on the amount of blood you have lost.

  Red Eye:

  Can only be used while in Berserk mode. Activates Red Eye status, greatly increasing attack and mobility. Consumes magic while in use.

  Level 2 Skills

  ×Cross Slash:

  Unleashes a powerful attack using weapons equipped in both hands. (Prerequisite: Dual Wield)

  ×Dual Wield:

  Attack strength is not reduced even when equipped with a weapon in your nondominant hand.


  ×Hit and Away:

  Increases evasion when hit with a counterattack. Boosts accuracy of indirect attacks against foes.

  Level 1 Skills

  ×Pierce 1:

  Attacks pierce straight through target when using a thrusting-type sword.

  ×Weapon Break:

  Targets the opponent’s weapon to reduce its durability while equipped with certain types of swords.

  ×Maintenance:

  Allows you to know in advance when equipment will break and perform emergency repairs if you have the proper tools.

  ×Feats of War:

  Increases experience points and dropped loot rate when you defeat the enemy’s leader.

  Remaining Skill Points: 3

  Some of these I’d seen her use before while others were new to me. I could look at the details of the skills she’d already taken, but first, I wanted to make sure I understood the information this display was giving me. The ones with the × were probably Swordswoman skills that she couldn’t select now that she’d become a Cursed Blade.

  …Some of the Cursed Blade skills like Berserk have this symbol, which I’m guessing indicates some sort of inherent risk. And Bloody Roar, huh… We won’t know its drawbacks until we select it.

  Even so, Elitia’d already taken one of those skills with the symbol: Berserk. I wonder why?

  “Secrets of the Sword 2 unleashes the hidden strengths of a sword… When I had to draw out this sword’s power, it made me automatically acquire the Berserk skill,” explained Elitia. So Berserk was a skill that the Scarlet Emperor forced on her, and there was no way for the person to get away from the curse. On the other hand, I felt like Red Eye was probably a Cursed Blade skill, but it didn’t have the .

  “Is Blossom Blade a skill you’ve acquired since you became a Cursed Blade?” I asked Elitia.

  “Yeah. It needed four skill points, but I chose to take it myself. The Brigade members praised it as the power of a cursed sword… They just chose to ignore the Berserk part of it.”

  “…Even though they knew they’d be at risk if they went along with you into battle?”

  “Yeah… I was part of their ‘experiment.’ The Brigade believed they would scale the Labyrinth Country’s top ranks if they could harness the power of cursed weapons without the risks. They said that I gave in to Berserk because of my own psychological weakness, and that I might be able to overcome it if I grew stronger… But…”

  That possibility is what eats away at Elitia’s psyche. It pains her to know that she might hurt one of her friends.

  “…As far as I can tell, Red Eye probably doesn’t have any curse risks. Blossom Blade doesn’t have that symbol next to it, so I think it’s safe to assume Red Eye is no different. But there are a lot of other interesting skills, too. Should we hold on to skill points for you to use when you return to a Swordswoman?” I asked.

  “…No. I’ll take Red Eye. At the end of the day, I want to help the party however I can.”

  “All right.”

  “Although… The first time I use it, please make sure you’re not close to me.”

  Everyone nodded in response. Elitia then took Red Eye of her own volition.

  “…I really should have chosen this skill, Hit and Away, before I was cursed… Then I could’ve earned Suzuna experience points more efficiently.”

  Hit and Away would’ve boosted Suzuna’s accuracy with a bow and arrow so she could have landed the killing blow. Suzuna could have grown much more quickly even if it had just been the two of them.

  One plus side was that once she took a skill, she could always use it. That meant if she returned to a Swordswoman, we could assume she’d probably still be able to use Blossom Blade.

  “All righty, now that you’re done talking with Ellie about her skills, it’s me and Suzu’s tuuurn!” exclaimed Misaki.

  “I haven’t gone yet, either. Should we just do the three of us in one go?” Igarashi suggested.

  “All right, we’ll get it out of the way… There’s something I wanna run by everyone, too. Today’s a rest day, so I want you all to choose for yourselves what to do next,” I said.

  I told them I wanted to go into the Shrieking Wood after this. I explained why, and none of them said they would be staying behind. I double-checked whether or not Morale Support was working now that we were done resting, and we decided to choose our skills, then go try out a new labyrinth.

  Part IV: Skill Selection

  Igarashi showed me her license first. I tried to get up, but she insisted, flustered, that I stay sitting and came over to me.

  “You’re always on the go. You don’t have to keep fussing over me like that,” she said.

  “She’s right; you can just sit there and not move a muscle. We’ll even feed you. Oh, and if you want, we can all take a nap together, tooo!” suggested Misaki.

  “…You sure that’s not just something only you want to do?” asked Igarashi.

  “Ha-ha…”

  She didn’t deny it, and based on her strained smile, I got the impression she was worried about Polaris as well. We didn’t have time to waste.

  “Seriously… Kids these days. I can’t tell if you’re being serious,” said Igarashi.

  “Um, but weren’t you gonna do something, too? Like, as a way to say thanks for everything,” teased Misaki.

  “Hey, hey—I’m the one Igarashi’s supposed to get mad at, so quit pushing it—”

  “…Um, I—I mean, she’s right,” admitted Igarashi. “You let me take a nice long rest, and I’m grateful…for, like, everything…”

  “Uh…”

  She then went around behind me. I had no idea what she was going to do as she placed her hands gently on my shoulders. I practically jumped when she started massaging them.

  “Y-you don’t need to be so surprised. I just thought your shoulders looked tense… You’re probably on edge all the time because you’re always surrounded by girls,” she reasoned.

  “N-no… I wouldn’t say I’m on edge…” Igarashi wasn’t exactly amazing at giving massages, but her technique was effective. She had a gentle touch, and before I knew it, I started to feel a little strange.

  “…You’re more relaxed than I thought. It doesn’t hurt to get a massage when you’re not tense?”

  “N-no… It feels fine.”

  “Good. Next, you’ll feel a light tapping. How’s that?”

  “Uh… Yeah, that works better. Thank you…”

  The vibrations from the tapping felt good in a different way. It reminded me of the salons that would give you a massage after cutting your hair. But the fact that Igarashi was trying to relax me was starting to show in her physical affection, and I could see Misaki and Suzuna were starting to feel uncomfortable.

  “I’m happy you’re feeling relaxed, Arihito. I’ll have to think of something I can do for you…,” said Suzuna.

  “Suzu’s good at massages, too,” Misaki volunteered. “Apparently, she used to do it for her grandma and grandpa… And the one time she did it to me was really nice.”

  “R-really? …I mean, you all help me out, too, so there’s no need to spoil me like this…,” I said.

  “…Is this spoiling? It feels weird when you put it like that… But I’ve already started, so I’ll only stop when you’re happy,” said Igarashi.

  …There’s something kinda pillowy… Oh, sh-she’s really getting in there… Is this really okay…?

  Igarashi started using her elbow to tap my shoulders, which, for some reason, brought her closer to me than when she was using her hands.

  “…Uh, um… Kyouka… That’s sort of…,” stammered Suzuna.

  “Shhh, Suzu. Don’t say anything,” hushed Misaki. “But whoa, Kyouka’s—! Must feel nice to have that as a neck pillow.”

  “Neck pillow? I didn’t hear the first part, but that really brings me back,” said Igarashi.

  I used to use a neck pillow all the time, but they were never this soft. She was pressed up against me so I co
uld even feel the texture of the lace on her bra. Igarashi was calm the whole time, so she probably hadn’t noticed what she was doing.

  “I’ve gotta do this side, too. Otherwise, your balance will be off.”

  Maybe she doesn’t have a problem with pressing up like that, since it’s a massage? That thought made it even worse for me, so I tried to meditate, trying to make my mind go blank. As the soft pressure moved from the left to the right, I couldn’t stop my mind from drifting: Guess I really do like ’em bigger.

  “…Just having big ones is all men need to feel happy,” observed Suzuna.

  “Even me and Suzu combined couldn’t compete with Kyouka; no waaay!” added Misaki. “What’d you eat to get like that, seeeriously?! Must’ve been tons of milk, I bet.”

  I had the feeling that drinking milk to make them bigger was an old wives’ tale. Apparently, drinking too much soy milk wasn’t good for you, either, so it was probably best to just leave things to nature.

  “Kyouka, what’re your favorite drinks?” asked Misaki.

  “I’d like some black tea right about now. It’s nice and refreshing with a little bit of juice in it… But there’s no black tea here, is there?”

  “Ha-ha… Ummm, I’ll go ask if they have anything like it. You can talk about skills while I’m gone. Don’t make out or anything,” said Misaki.

  “M-Misaki! …Sorry, I think I’ll go, too,” offered Suzuna as she stood up suddenly and followed Misaki out. We were left in a bit of an awkward silence, and I decided to actually follow Misaki’s suggestion.

  “We’re not making out or anything. Seriously, that girl…,” I said.

  “…Are your shoulders less tense now? Or should I keep going?” asked Igarashi.

  “Uh… No thank you; they’re pretty relaxed now. It’s weird if you keep standing; sit down.”

  “O-oh, okay. Um, here…”

  At my suggestion, she came over to the chair next to me and hesitantly took a seat. She opened the skills page on her license and held it out to me.