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“…. This is.”

When I woke up, an unfamiliar sight spread before my eyes.

Etto…

"Rin?! You awake?!"

"Whoa."

Suddenly, someone called my name with a restless voice from my side. And when I turned my eyes, I saw Akari's face.

"Etto, where is this?"

"This is a sickbay in Classion. You didn't open your eyes even after half a day, that made me at a loss as to what I should do…."

I see. It seems, after defeating that unknown thing, I fainted and was brought here. And I didn't wake up until morning. Although there are many things I wanted to ask here, but first…

"In the end, what happened after that?"

"After Rin had defeated the strange creature, Claire-san and the others came. And after I told them the situation, they immediately searched if there are more of those strange creatures in the surrounding area, but they said that they didn't particularly find more of its kind."

"Which means, that thing wasn't something that came out of a nearby dungeon, huh."

"It appears to be so. Although Claire-san and the others seemed to have an idea about that, I couldn't ask in detail. Wait, more importantly, Rin, what was that yesterday?! Why are you that strong?!"

"Fumu…"

I've already expected this to happen. Of course, she would be wondering about it. Well, I was prepared for this since I decided to help her after all, so it cannot be helped. Needless to say, if I wanted to deceive her, it wouldn't be impossible, but…

"Well, I guess it's fine if it's Akari."

"? What does that mean?"

"No, anyway, about the answer to that question–"

After saying such a preface, I told the various experiences I have had until now one by one. About the mechanism of leveling up at a high speed by using [Transfer Within Dungeon], until the fact that I came to Classion to cure the injuries I had when I was involved in a certain incident. Adding to that, I also told her that it hadn't completely cured yesterday, and I fainted because I forced my body to move in that state.

Although Akari looked doubtful at first, as I continued to speak earnestly, it seems she started to believe it. Hearing my story, Akari displayed many expressions such as surprise and worry, which was actually a little funny because it looks like she is doing a one-hundred face performance. Wait, leaving that aside.

As I finished talking about that, Akari seemed to think about something. Then, a few tens of seconds or minutes of pause later,

"… So, that’s the truth?"

"Un."

"Alright, I'll believe it. In the first place, there is no merit for Rin to tell such a lie, and I saw it with my own eyes yesterday after all. Taking that into account… Thank you very much for yesterday, Rin. Thanks for saving me"

"Aa. I'm glad Akari was safe."

In response, I honestly conveyed the feelings that have emerged to Akari. Hearing that, Akari squinted her eyes, as if she was frustrated.

"… It's all thanks to Rin. In the end, I was just being protected again…"

"… There is no way that's the case, though?"

"Eh?"

"Because, the reason I rushed to Akari in the first place is–"

At that time, someone knocked on the door.

As I answered the knock while pondering who it was, two girls entered. The first one is Claire and the other one is–

"You are… from yesterday,"

Akari muttered in a bewildered manner. Because the one who stood there was the girl who requested me to save her.

"Actually, she came to the guild earlier. Since she said she wanted to talk to you two, I brought her here. Well then, please feel free to."

Prompted by Claire, the girl, turned her gaze towards us and bowed her head.

"Thank you for saving me yesterday!"

The girl then thanked, and after hearing that, Akari opened her eyes and for some reason looked at me.

"She said something like that, Rin. Why don't you reply?"

"How come I became the one who has to reply. No matter what I think, it's you who she thanked."

"… But, in the end, I too, was saved by Rin–"

"Do you really think such a thing matters for that girl? The one who protected her was Akari, and that's also the reason why I was able to go save Akari. All things considered, Akari is the one who made it happen, you know?"

"… I see. That's right…"

After making a face that looks like a huge load was just removed from her heart, Akari looked at the girl.

"You're welcome. I'm glad you didn't get hurt."

"Y-yes, thank you very much. So, err, about yesterday…"

"It's Akari."

"… Akari-san was really cool yesterday. It made me think that when I grew up, I wanted to become an adventurer and become a tank like Akari-san!"

"…."

"? Akari-san? What's wrong?"

"!, N-no, I'm fine… Was that merely my hallucination? Or…"

Hearing that, Akari suddenly muttered something, making the girl tilt her head and then look at me.

"And then… Etto"

"It's Amane Rin."

"Thanks to you too, Amane-san! Thanks for saving Akari-san!"

"… Aa. Likewise, thanks for coming to request me to save her. I'm really grateful."

If this girl heard that the adventurer who saved her sacrificed herself to prevent the monster, it would definitely have left a scar on the girl's heart. That is why, there is nothing that would make me happier if my action not only saved Akari but also the girl in front of me after all.

After that, thinking that it would be weird for them to stay longer in a room with injured people inside, Claire and the girl left the sickbay, leaving only Akari and me. And when I casually looked at her, Akari was in the middle of thinking about something while staring at her own palm. This is merely my intuition, but I think that action of hers contained a positive emotion, unlike her previous depressed one.

That is why,

"Akari."

"Rin?"

"I'd like to ask you again, but would you protect Hana and the others as a tank from now on?"

"… Can I do it?"

"Of course, I'm asking because it is Akari. Those three are a bit air-headed after all. So, I hope Akari could be with them and support them, as the oldest one there."

To be frank, Akari herself is also a bit careless (such as coming to Kenzaki Dungeon without knowing that it has disappeared due to a dungeon collapse), but there is no way I could say that here. I can read the atmosphere, after all.

Like that, when I thought about something that doesn't fit our current topic,

"… Haa, alright. If you say that much, it can't be helped. I will be their tank!"

"Thank you. I'm sure Hana and the others will be happy too."

After enjoying such an exchange, silence surrounded us. But, strangely, it wasn't unpleasant. However, in the middle of that, I suddenly remembered.

"Ah right, come to think of it, your shield was destroyed in the battle against that creature yesterday, right?"

"… Can you not make me recall something unpleasant? Haa, I'm genuinely shocked by that. That was a pretty good shield that I got from an adventurer I knew."

"I see. Then, I have one good suggestion for you."

"A good suggestion?"

I then took out one shield from my [Item Box].

————-

【Great Shield of Total Blocking】

・Recommended level to use: 40,000

・Defense +40,000

・Temporarily increase the user's endurance upon receiving physical attacks and mental strength when receiving magic attacks. It is also possible to share the increased status with a target in a specific range.

—————

A large shield that I obtained after defeating the High Ogre when I captured a dungeon in a joint capture with Yagami-san's party. Although its abilities as a shield is very outstanding, since no one around me could use it, this shield has been sleeping in my [Item Box] for a while. But, if it's Akari, who could use any shield regardless of level, she should be able to use this.

Hence, I presented the shield to Akari, who approached it with her trembling hands.

"R-Rin? What the hell is this…?"

"A great shield that I obtained from a certain dungeon. Since I couldn't use it, if it's fine with Akari, would you use it?"

"… Can you let me touch it for a bit?"

"Of course."

Although I thought she was a bit scary(creepy) right now, I handed the shield to her. Then, while holding the shield in her hands, Akari opened her mouth with excitement.

"T-this is…! Outstanding abilities! The rightness when I hold it in my hand! Not only having outstanding abilities, but also having such a beautiful, carefully chosen decoration! Are you seriously giving this to me?"

"A-aa…"

"Yay!"

Hearing that, Akari was overjoyed, just like a child with toys. Although for some reason she keeps pretending that she yearns to use a sword or magic (this itself may not have been a lie, though), deep down in her heart, she never hated using shield— or rather, she must like it very much. To the extent she got excited over every pattern it has.

And looking at her current state, I once again thought.

… Un. As expected, you really are suited to be a tank. For many reasons.