As Carla lowered herself to attack Loran from behind, someone held her shoulders.


    ''What are you doing Carla?


    I''ll be right back. Pato!


    I''ve already defeated all my enemies. Why don''t you sheathe your sword?"


    I''m not. I know what you mean. Shut up.


    Carla sheathes her sword and looks away from Roland.


    Carla. You weren''t going to attack Mr. Roland, were you?"


    Carla did not answer that and returned to her position.


    (What I had feared had happened? I was glad that I had recognized Mr. Roland''s ability, but that had put him on Carla''s list of dangerous people. Carla, do you really intend to kill everyone who comes close to the "Giant Fire Dragon (Gran Fafnir)"?


    Was it still a mistake to bring them closer together?


    Pato puffed his head.


    (Even if there are differences of opinion now, there will always be a way for us to work together. At any rate, I guess we''ll have to keep an even closer eye on her from now on.)


    Carla glances at Loran again when she is far enough away from the patrol.


    Loran was now instructing another person.


    (With so many people watching, would it be suicide to assassinate Roland? d*mn. I missed my chance because the patrol stopped me. Oh well. In any case, with my current attack power, I can''t put a scratch on the blue armor Roland is wearing. The only way to finish him off with a single blow is with "Shadow Strike. To unleash the "Shadow Strike," I need someone to help me because I need a shieldman between the two of us. However, I wonder if there is anyone who will cooperate with Roland''s assassination in this situation now. ......)


    Carla bristles with impatience, but restrains herself.


    (Calm down. If the situation changes, there will be people who will not be pleased with Roland.)


    Carla looks at Roland with fire in her eyes.


    (I''ll let you off the hook for now. (I''ll let you off the hook for now, but watch me, Roland. I''ll kill you for sure.)


    After that, Roland and his friends decided to go a little further into the dungeon and encamp.


    The day passed uneventfully into the night and everyone went to sleep.


    The next morning, Loran visited under the vanguard unit with Carla.


    ''Leon. Do you have a minute?"


    Hey, Roland. What''s up?"


    It''s a change of members. She is Carla. She''ll be joining the front line today as a replacement."


    (What?　You''re going to the front line?)


    Carla was impatient.


    (I''m not kidding. If that happens, it''s going to be even harder to kill Roland. We have to stop it somehow. ......)


    Replenishment?　We''re just in time over here, okay?"


    Leon said curiously.


    ''Yeah, I know. But she''s too good to leave in the back. She can only be of real value when she is on the front line with the higher level guys. That''s what I think.


    "Oh."


    Leon looks at her as if he is interested in Carla for the first time.


    ''Did you say Carla?　The vanguard isn''t as gentle as the rear guard, okay?　You''re not going to slow me down, are you?"


    When Leon says this, Carla is miffed.


    A liability?　I''m not kidding. I''m more worried about you guys being a liability to me."


    I''m not sure what to do. You seem to have a lot of bravado. I hope those words aren''t just words.


    Leon. She is a rear-guard bandit (Thief). She is a rear-guard thief. She will follow closely behind a shield-user and attack with "shadow strikes" when the enemies are in a fight, and jump out to attack with "sword techniques" when the enemy retreats. I want to see if it works when paired with Erio."


    I''ll be right back. Okay, I''ll do it. Okay. Come here a minute.


    Leon calls Elio.


    Carla finally realizes her gaffe at that stage.


    （Oh, no! She agrees to the front line transfer by using a sales pitch. What am I doing?)


    Carla. Are you okay?"


    Roland noticed that Carla''s face was tense and called out to her.


    ''What?　Oh, no. ......"


    I''ll be fine. You''re good enough to be in the front line. Have confidence.


    Hmm?　Uh, yeah."


    Leon has a strong sense of responsibility, so he''s just a little bit harsh, but he would never be mean to you. He''ll recognize you in a heartbeat.


    Oh. Oh.


    (This guy is kind of hard to deal with. (He''s so gently encouraging.)


    Carla hurriedly warned herself that her killing intent was about to diminish.


    After completing the reorganization of the troops, Roland and his team started exploring the dungeon again.


    Not waiting long, Jeff, who was out searching, spotted an approaching monster.


    There are enemy troops 500 meters ahead of you. There are 20 armored orcs and 10 armored wolves.


    Okay. Forward march. We''ll take it from here. Follow Jeff. The messenger will bring the scouting party back and notify the rear.


    Leon gives the order, and the messenger archer shoots an arrow into the sky to let them know that he has found the enemy.


    Carla. For now, you should stay behind Erio. The others will follow you.


    Aaan?"　You don''t have to tell me that. ......"


    Erio ran out toward the "Armored Orc".


    (Ugh. He''s fast!)


    Carla hurried to follow just as she was about to fall behind.


    Somehow, she managed to get behind Erio as he confronted the "armored orc.


    (Okay. I''m behind Erio. Waiting for the enemy to attack from here, I use "Shadow Strike" (......))


    However, Erio does not wait for the enemy to attack, but "shield assaults" himself.


    Eh?"


    While Carla is puzzled by Erio''s rapid acceleration with "Shield Assault," Erio knocks his enemy into a coma and then assembles him.


    He thrusts a dagger from his waist at his opponent''s neck, easily defeating him.


    The surrounding adventurers also defeated their assigned monsters in turn.


    A ......


    The battle is over before Carla can do anything.


    Carla. What are you doing? If you''re going to ''Shadow Strike,'' you have to match Elio''s ''Shield Assault.


    Jeff scolded.


    Shut up," he said. I know."


    The battle begins again.


    Carla looks for an opportunity to get behind Elio.


    (I fell behind earlier, but this time ......)


    As soon as Elio sees the enemy, he takes small steps in order to get a chance for a "shield assault" while measuring the distance between him and the enemy.


    (d*mn. He''s a shield user, but it''s hard to read his movements. His movements are more complicated than Roland''s because of the "Shield Assault.)


    Carla somehow prepares to release "Shadow Strike" in time with the timing of Elio''s "Shield Assault.


    However, Elio suddenly stopped.


    Carla bumps into Elio''s back.


    Ugh!"


    Oh, I''m sorry. Are you okay?"


    Don''t stop so suddenly. Why on earth are you ......"


    This time, "Fafnir" is coming, so we''re going to wait behind Jeff. Here he comes.


    As Jeff draws the fire dragon (Fafnir) in with his "bow shot," Erio jumps in and "shield assaults" it.


    Carla was watching in blank amazement, so she was late again.


    Hey, Carla," he said. What are you doing? You were just about to give chase, weren''t you?


    Jeff shouted again.


    Jeff shouted again. I''ll go."


    Leon, who had anticipated the situation and prepared for it, moves quickly and thrusts his sword into the comatose Fafnir''s head.


    (After all, there is still a gap with the vanguard group.)


    Roland thought as he watched Carla struggle to match Elio.


    (Carla''s skills and status are already B class, but compared to Elio and the others, she is still developing in terms of speed of judgment, tactical understanding, and accuracy of skills. But when those deficiencies are identified and filled in, both she and this unit should be able to reach a level one step higher. (For now, it is still time to watch and wait.)


    The front line troops are again attacked by monsters.


    But Carla is too busy following Erio to hit "Shadow Strike.


    "Carla!　What have you been doing all this time? You''re just spacing out in the back."


    Ugh, shut up. You guys move so fast, it''s hard to tell.


    When Fafnir comes out, you must attack with a shield charge anyway. Keep that in mind.


    Jeff scolded him irritably.


    Leon, however, saw it differently.


    （I''m surprised. Carla''s already following Elio''s movements. I''ve never seen a guy who could keep up with Erio''s moves so quickly. I see. I can see why Roland is paying special attention to him. Carla Grazia, she is exceptional.)


    Here comes Fafnir again.


    Carla, don''t miss this time.


    Shut up. I know."


    Erio enters the "Shield Assault" position.


    (From here, you''re going to accelerate rapidly, aren''t you? Then I''ll have to step in harder. ......)


    Erio accelerates quickly for a moment and jumps into the head of the "Fire Dragon (Fafnir)".


    Carla also jumped into Elio''s back without missing a beat.


    Jeff was startled by Carla''s cat-like suppleness.


    （He was surprised by Carla''s cat-like suppleness.)


    Carla thrusts her sword into Elio''s back just in time for his shield to hit the head of the "Fire Dragon (Fafnir)".


    Fafnir" was hit by "Shield Assault" and "Shadow Strike" at the same time and blew out blood from his forehead as he fell down comatose.


    Haaaaah!"


    Carla jumped once more, using Erio''s back as a springboard, and showered him with "Kaiten Sword Dance".


    In an instant, countless cuts were made from the head to the neck of Fafnir.


    The "Fafnir" crashed to the ground, spewing blood from several places.


    "Huh. How''s that? Jeff. If I really put my mind to it, this is what I can do.


    d*mn. Don''t get carried away just because you''ve slayed one Fafnir. If you''re in the front line, you''re on your own when you can defeat Fafnir by yourself.


    "What the hell?　You son of a b*tc*!


    Well, well, well, Jeff. You don''t have to be so strict. Carla, that was a great collaboration.


    Elio. "Elio, don''t spoil him. He''s going to get carried away soon.


    (albeit ......)


    Jeff glanced at "Fafnir," which had been torn to pieces and was lying on the ground.


    (The power of attack when it fits the mold is extraordinary, isn''t it? I have to admit that.)


    Leon chuckled when he saw Carla''s move.


    （In less than a day, she''s learned to adapt herself to Erio. I''m not holding my breath.)


    (But not yet.)


    Roland "status appraised" Carla.


    Carla Grazia''s status


    Agility: 70 (up 10) - 80 (up 10) 120-130


    (It is still not enough to be able to match Elio''s movements. With her potential, she should be able to match Jill''s movements. When she is able to do so, she will be able to demonstrate an attack power that can defeat even the "Giant Fire Dragon (Gran Fafnir)".


    Nevertheless, it was more than enough achievement for the present situation.


    Roland decided to be satisfied with that for today.


    Leon and Carla seem to be doing okay, so I''m going to be in the rear guard again. "Leon, Carla seems to be OK, so I''ll go to the rear again, just be careful not to wear out. I''ll leave the rest to you.


    Okay."


    Roland leaves the vanguard and heads toward the rear guard.


    Carla sees this and is surprised.


    （Roland''s going to the rear guard?　d*mn it, even though I don''t have many opportunities to assassinate people. (This is going to reduce my chances even more.)


    Carla. What are you doing? The next enemy is coming.


    d*mn it, I know."


    So Roland and his team walked from one mining site to another, expanding their skills and acquiring ore at a steady pace.


    The "White Wolves" were waiting by the edge of the lake.


    Many "Fafnir" dragons were resting with their wings folded.


    Rodo threw the flesh of a goblin toward one of the Fafnirs.


    The "Fafnir" sucked the thrown piece of meat into its mouth, and then held it in its hand and devoured it.


    The "Goblin" sucked the thrown piece of meat into his mouth, held it in his hand, and devoured it. Eat well and work hard to make up for it.


    Pieces of goblin flesh and bones are already scattered all around, and the "fire dragons (Fafnir)" are comfortably listening to the sound of Rodo''s "dragon flute".


    Some of the "Fafnir" were rubbing their swollen bellies or burping with satisfaction.


    Rodo. How is Fafnir doing?


    Jamil, who had returned from his reconnaissance, asked.


    Jamil. I''ve got him in good shape. If we pay them off this well, they won''t be so easy to win over, no matter how many of their enemies have ''Ryuon'' in their arsenal.


    I see."


    Jamil looked up the mountain.


    Even from here, he could see a large group of people quarrying ore in the mining area.


    The "Spirit Arsenal" has just visited its fourth mine. By now, they should have finished procuring ore and their item bags should be full. We''ll set them up just as they come down."


    Copy that.


    <>