Ch.64Chapter 64. The Paladin Training Plan (3)

Chapter 64. Paladin Development Plan (3)

Three days have passed since I rescued the newbie paladin “Petit Noa.”

She’s in the process of adapting to life here.

“Hello, unni~!”

“Ah, Luna, hi!”

Though her shyness has prevented her from making many friends, she seems to have at least opened up to Luna.

Since there wasn’t much to do while the city was setting up its defenses, I decided to focus on her growth.

– Starting today, we’ll go hunting.

“Hunting? W-what kind of hunting?”

– Infected.

“…Understood.”

For a paladin to become stronger, they need to defeat demons, demon worshippers, or infected to gain experience points and skill points.

Demons and worshippers might be rare, but infected are everywhere outside.

– These two will keep you safe.

I called Lakye and Luna as bodyguards and companions to ensure safe leveling up.

The main purpose of this outing is to search for tunnels.

I’m definitely not slacking off by bringing high-level forces with me.

Actually, bringing just Lakye would have been enough…

“Um… excuse me…”

Noa hesitantly approaches Lakye.

She must really like her, trying so desperately to strike up a conversation. It’s pitiful to watch.

Does Lakye resemble her older sister? Or is it a matter of sexual orientation?

Whatever it is, it’s not a good choice.

“I don’t understand what you’re saying. If it’s useless talk, just shut up.”

Lakye just responded coldly without even looking at her.

“I’m sorry…”

Hmm. It’s awkward for me to say anything.

If she doesn’t want to talk, what can I do?

Since it seemed difficult for these two women to get along well, I called Luna, the sociable mage.

She was relatively less busy than others, so I could bring her along.

“Unni, Lakye speaks a different language than us. Besides, she seems particularly irritable today, so it might be better to talk to her later.”

“I know that, but…”

Luna comforts Noa eloquently. I’m glad she’s here.

I almost became the third wheel in an adventure between two socially awkward people.

Anyway, I brought Noa outside to help her gain experience points and skill points…

“Kyaaaah!”

Our Noa is completely useless.

– Focus.

“Y-you want me to kill that monster…? It’s drooling from its mouth!”

Noa’s body trembles as she awkwardly holds her sword and shield.

“Noa, don’t be nervous. It’s just an infected dog. It’s no match for a paladin.”

“A dog? It looks like a hellhound from the underworld!”

Hah. What should I do with this young friend?

I asked her before, and she said she’s 18. That’s right. A high school girl.

Was the reputation of Japanese high school girls destroying a tank in groups of three just a lie?

“Tsk. I don’t understand. How did such an idiot become a paladin?”

Lakye clicked her tongue as she watched.

– She doesn’t have all her memories intact because she was asleep for a long time.

I don’t know why I’m making excuses.

Maybe I feel sorry seeing someone from the same planet being treated like an idiot.

“…Originally, it was supposed to be just Malak and me searching.”

Lakye, who had been watching Noa with disapproving eyes, let out a deep sigh.

Ah, so that’s why she didn’t like Noa.

Lakye’s favorite idol is me, Malak.

She must be angry because her private fan meeting time was taken away.

…Actually, I don’t have much to talk about with Lakye privately.

We have nothing in common.

We’re not the same gender, not from the same planet, and have different hobbies and interests.

What Lakye likes is combat and “Malak.”

I might not know about the former, but the latter is difficult for me to respond to.

If she talks about “how I killed which demon where and how,” I can just nod and say “I see,” but when she asks about what I like, it gets awkward.

Would a fantasy world resident understand the act of “watching YouTube while drinking beer”?

What about my favorite game “Downtale” or movie “Avengers League”?

Of course not. So she can’t relate either.

I just say I like “the happiness and growth of believers” or “demon hunting”… but it’s not easy to continue a conversation with that.

I don’t dislike either, but if you ask about my hobbies, that’s not really it.

I spoke to the trembling Noa.

– Noa. Your body remembers how to fight. Trust your instincts.

This is information you could know if you read the community posts diligently.

I should tell her to thoroughly read the posts by George’s attack team later.

“Instincts… right… my body, now has muscles… I-I’ll try! Hiyaaaah~!”

Noa, who had been muttering to herself, charged at the infected dog with a shrill cry.

Woof!

The dog, which had been watching the three women, moved too.

Not because it was brave, but it seemed to act on instinct.

Her clumsy movements changed the moment she faced the infected.

“Oh, whoa!”

The sword moved quickly, slicing through the infected’s neck in one go.

It was the movement of a skilled warrior.

“Wow, you’re good, unni! You were just pretending?”

“Well, it’s been a while since I fought. Hehe.”

Noa scratched her head at Luna’s praise.

I want to smack her.

– That’s how you should fight.

Even though I won’t get points for it, Noa’s growth is important.

Paladins are humanity’s strongest force. Theoretically, they’re all-rounders who can deal damage, tank, and heal.

They can greatly reduce casualties among the tribal alliance warriors.

“Oh! I got skill points!”

Good.

– Put them into the “Light Protection” skill.

It’s a skill that wraps the body in light to increase defense, and it affects all allies nearby.

I didn’t memorize this; I just saw it on the community.

What our tribal alliance lacks is a “superhuman tank.”

This world is home to relatively ordinary people, except for magic or divine powers.

No matter how hard a knight trains, they can’t awaken an aura blade or become a sword master.

The tribal alliance’s tanks are just armored infantry or our single golem.

Even Kanto, empowered by the berserker’s strength, isn’t particularly durable.

Only the golem and Lakye can withstand attacks from lesser demons.

But what about a paladin with multiple protection skills?

They could easily endure.

“…Now I can use the Light Protection skill!”

Noa, who had been staring into space, nodded.

– Try using it.

“Yes!”

As Noa muttered something, white light enveloped her body.

It’s the same phenomenon as when Hanna used the “Light Protection” skill during her sparring with the barbarians.

The difference is that while Hanna’s skill only affected herself, Noa’s skill also enveloped Luna who was standing nearby.

For Noa, Luna must be recognized as an ally.

Suddenly, I became curious.

– Is there a limit to the number of people who can receive the skill’s effect?

“Ah… yes. It’s low-level now, so only two people.”

So paladins also have skills with ranks, like my blessings.

– Lakye. Go to Noa’s side.

“…Understood.”

Lakye approached Noa, and her body was also enveloped in white light.

So it works on anyone considered an ally.

Someday, she might be able to give a defense buff to all soldiers fighting on the front line.

Of course, for that to happen, Noa would need to consider the entire tribal alliance as allies.

Well, that’s a problem that can be solved by gradually becoming friends.

– Noa. From now on, you’ll mainly invest in ally protection skills.

I intend to make her a solid shield for the tribal alliance.

The answer is predetermined, but I asked anyway.

– Do you have any objections?

This sounds like a threat when I say it like that.

“No! It’s fine! I wanted to focus on protection skills too! I don’t like getting hurt, so I was planning to go all-in on defense!”

Noa suddenly seemed excited, perhaps because she successfully killed the infected.

– Good. Then I’ll continue to suggest skills for you.

“Yes!”

This feels like raising an alt character.

I suddenly became curious.

If I had been reincarnated as a paladin, how would I have built my skill tree?

DPS? Support? Tank? Balanced?

I think I would have gone for tank for better survival rates.

– Let’s hunt more infected.

The four of us went around the land between Symphonia and Blutan, eliminating infected.

Since my help wasn’t needed for this task, I decided to slack off for a bit.

I was browsing random posts on the community when I received a private message from Hanna.

[NotACatfish: A ship has arrived at the port]

[NotACatfish: Not an ordinary ship, but an old one covered in barnacles and seaweed]

[A ship?]

Hanna is in Martba. Martba is a port city.

Why a ship suddenly? Civilized survivors?

There’s also the possibility of demons who killed the crew and took over the ship.

[NotACatfish: Not just any ship. It looks like a nightmare ship, like the Flying Dutchman.]

[What’s that?]

[NotACatfish: Davy Jones’ ship. Haven’t you seen Pirates of the Caribbean?]

[?]

[NotACatfish: A ship that looks like a ghost ship]

[Is it a demon?]

[NotACatfish: Something is coming out of the ship.]

[Are you okay?]

[NotACatfish: I’m hiding and watching]

I’m worried.

[NotACatfish: They’re not demons… but very strange-looking people]

[What do they look like?]

[NotACatfish: They have carapaces or tentacles attached to their bodies]

[Demon worshippers then]

[NotACatfish: No]

[NotACatfish: These things are talking. They’re discussing where to go]

I feel an inexplicable sense of foreboding.