While Second was in his deathmatch against the Darkness Wolf, Silvia and Eko were going to the intermediate-cla.s.s dungeon 『Limptfert』 as they were instructed.

　That's right, this was their special training.

“Let me take it alone from here. Eko, you watch my back.”

“Oookaay! “

　Confidently saying so, Silvia stepped into the dungeon.

　What welcomed the bow-wielding Silvia were six「Rock Turtles」. Most of the time, inside the Limptfert Dungeon, monsters appeared in groups. And adding to that, there were many monsters here specialized in HP and VIT.

“……Uhh.”

　Silvia suddenly noticed that two of them were killed when she released a 《Rook Archery》 shot. Holding back is surprisingly difficult―― She thought.

　At present, all of Silvia's 【Archery】 skills, aside from Dragon King and Dragon Horse, were at Grade 9, so she held a considerably high firepower. To the point where she could slaughter a Rock Turtle, prided on their high VIT, in a single shot.

　Therefore, Silvia was being arrogant. If I have this much firepower, there won't be any enemies for me in Limptfert―― She thought.

　However. Until now, all the enemies had been pretty much target dummies that had been killed before they got close to her, the keyword being, until now.

“Uh, eh, er! ? “

　The remaining four Rock Turtles launched an all-out attack against Silvia. Silvia then tried to fend off the 4 incoming enemies using the knockback of 《Gold Archery》, but her decision was made too late. Although severely beaten, Silvia's HP didn't decrease that much. However, that was enough to make Silvia fly into panic.

“D-d.a.m.n! “

　Forgetting anything about strategy, she just decided to simply kill them all using 《Rook Archery》 at will. As one would expect, two of them were nearing death, but the two others came attacking her again. And since they were attacking from a closer range than before, she couldn't avoid the Rock Turtles' attacks, and neither did she have time to attack them with 《Gold Archery》. Then, after being continuously beaten black and blue, Silvia finally defeated the remaining two enemies using 《Rook Archery》. Rather than calling that the fight of an archer, it was closer to being the fight of an armored knight.

“Uuugh…… I showed you a shameful sight.”

　After finis.h.i.+ng the battle and looking back at Eko, the little cat girl had a hand in her mouth, desperately holding back her laughter. Silvia had her head bleeding, yet, she couldn't get angry. Just now, she had realized the importance of the role Eko played.

“……I think I'll need to come up with some kind of strategy from now on.”

　And obviously, she also realized it.

　Suddenly, a thought crossed Silvia's mind. If she thought about things so far, she had been doing nothing but following Second's instructions without thinking too deeply about it. All she had done was to take down the enemies coming from the front from a safe zone. Almost like a fixed cannon, so to speak.

　She had been safe until now just because there was Second to issue accurate orders. However, she wasn't sure this will still continue to be the case from now on. Particularly with upper-cla.s.s dungeons, where a moment of neglect could be fatal. This training must be a message from Second saying, 「You need to be able to secure the minimum safety by yourself」―― Of this, Silvia was convinced.

　Her being aware of that could already be considered a win for this special training. All that was left was for her technique to catch up to that. As Silvia muttered, “I was naive”, she proceeded further inside to continue her special training.

——

　Later on, after fighting with Rock Turtles several times, she switched with Eko. Then, they alternately fought with groups of Rock Turtles and returned home by nightfall.

　As expected, or rather, as Second predicted, the fights of Eko alone took a considerable amount of time. But even then, she fared several times better than Silvia as she fought the monsters. However, considering that the 【s.h.i.+eldmans.h.i.+p】 skill a.s.sumed a one-vs-many style of fighting, this was only natural.

“Somehow, I get the feeling I lost……”

“But I couldn't finish them properly……”

　And as for Eko, she also realized the importance of the rearguard after she fought alone.

　While guarding off the attacks of the monsters with her 【s.h.i.+eldmans.h.i.+p】 skill, she had to look for the chance to attack. Like that, it became a tedious process with no end in sight. And in addition to that, the irritation of “How long do I have to continue?” and the boredom made it easier for her to make a mistake. Adding the increased fighting time to that, her fatigue was many times greater than usual when she fought alone.

“……But.”

　She was tired, yet she noticed she had a lot to learn.

　Both Silvia and Eko noticed that “something”.

　And that was, be it a vanguard or a rear guard, the two of them worked as one. And neither of them could handle both of those roles alone. That was―― Like Second said it, “I need both a vanguard and a rear guard”.

　The two of them were needed by Second…… that fact made the two of them, who were quite tired, to smile broadly. And after finally becoming aware of that goal after struggling while fighting alone all this time, was the best stimulus for them.

“Alright, let's do our best! “

“Let's do our bestー! “

　In this special training, if they really worked hard, they would definitely gain results.

　After the first day of the special training, the motivation of these two girls gained by that hunch, was way beyond Second's expectations.

——

——

　About two months had pa.s.sed since Second had left to Isoreus.

　Three people were gathered in the east mansion, holding what was now a regular meeting.

　These meetings, held at a weekly pace, were just like a brief report. It was a place where the three of them would share information obtained during the week and consider the team's future plans. In addition, since everyone sending different messages to Second would definitely get in his way, the information gathered in this meeting was then summarized, and later conveyed, as a weekly report using the team-only communication. Needless to say, this was Yukari's idea.

“I don't think we need more.”

“Me tooー.”

“No, I don't think it's necessary at this moment either. But eventually, we will need them.”

“Alright. Let's get some male slaves then.”

“I agree, male slaves.”

“……I'd rather not get more male slaves though.”

“I don't like that idea either. But it's still better than getting more potential rivals.”

“Rivalsー.”

“Well, kind of.”

　The meeting was unusually heated. The current point in the agenda was about “Restaffing the servants”. It seemed like the three girls didn't want more women to be close to Second.

　But, as if there was something weighing in her mind, Yukari opened her mouth with a face like she had eaten a hundred bitter bugs.

“However, it's only a month and a half until the completion of the five remaining mansions, aside from Second's Castle (temporal) in the center and south. If possible, I'd like to expand and improve the level of my a.s.sas–, excuse me, my all-purpose maid unit.”

“Why is that? “

“Currently, there are 10 in the all-purpose maid unit. This means that, although with a drop in quality, there will be only 10 other me.”

“Hiiiii, scary.”

“That's rude, Eko.”

“I'm sorry! “

“U-Umu…… That's certainly somewhat terrifying, but that'd also be rea.s.suring.”

“Right?　After replenis.h.i.+ng the personnel under them, then Master's castle will be as solid as a rock. However, on the other hand, those girls aren't enough subordinates.”

“It can't be helped as there's only one ‘commanding officer', is what you want to say?”

“Yeah. Once we've gotten the workforce, they can be left with everything from education to leaders.h.i.+p. However, the only education they can provide for now is maid education. That's the reason why I think getting as many female slaves as possible is good.”

“I see, it can't be helped then. Let's make all the maid units be formed with female slaves. However, all other servants must be male slaves. This is all I can compromise on.”

“You're right, I guess that's fair. I'll make arrangements for it.”

——

“……So, you're finally getting a load off your shoulders?　How about you change with me now?”

“Ara, a bit jealous, aren't we?　This is an important task entrusted to me by Master. Do you believe you can persuade me to thoughtlessly hand this over to you? “

“I'm not jealous, I'm just a bit interested. It's just, I think it's better not to show Second-dono every th.o.r.n.y thing you find. He'll definitely be pulled in.”

“You don't have to worry. I only show stuff like that to idiots like you, Silvisan.”

“I'll take it as a compliment. But hey, look at you, desperately trying to keep your act as a wolf in sheep's clothing.”

“What's wrong with that? “

“What's great about looking good only on the surface? “

“And what about you? You seem to be breaking our agreement of once a week and are sending some pretty cute messages, right?　Ahh, that's right, about that poem making a comparison with flowers the other day, that really made me laugh.”

“You too! Your idiotically loud voice at night is a bother. How about you try being a bit quieter?　AHH, MASTER, AAAAAAHHHH, HURRY UP AND COME BAAAACK.”

“……Muscle head.”

“……Aloof woman.”

“I knew it, you're both scary……”

　And thus, the days pa.s.sed by.

＜Status Details＞

Named after shogi pieces (The word in bold is the one being used in this translation). From easier to acquire to harder.

Swordsmans.h.i.+p

s.h.i.+eldmans.h.i.+p

Archery

They use the “Form” or “step” system of martial arts. From lower to higher.

From lower to higher, then it changes to the “Dan” system of martial arts, which means Grade.