第十二話 〈狂鬼の盾〉
俺は剣を鞘へと戻す。
「ふう......死ぬところだった」
アドレナリンがガンガン出ていたので突っ込んでいたが、あれ以上は俺の方が持たなかっただろう。
三分で戻ってきてくれると期待していたが、ゴウタンの加勢は五分以上掛かっていた。
テイルが回復に手間取っていたようだ。
マッドヘッドの麻痺の状態異常付与が三分で回復するのはHPが十分回復している前提であり、HPが低いと状態異常への耐性が落ちて長引くのだ。
それでも、逃げずにきっちりゴウタンを回復してくれたことは助かったが。
「......たかだかF級冒険者が、儂でさえ殺されかけた魔物の猛攻を、あれだけ耐え続けておったというのか?」
ゴウタンが俺を見て、信じられないというふうにぽつりと漏らす。
「いや、丁度限界だった。助かった、ゴウタン」
「い、いや......」
ゴウタンはしどろもどろにそう口にした後、頭をがばっと豪快に下げた。
「すまんかった......エルマ。指揮の甘さに、安全管理の杜撰さ。どちらもお前さんの言う通りであった。人命に関わることだというのに、人前で若造に口出しされて言葉を曲げられるかと、意固地になっておった......。儂はギルドの指導役失格である。この依頼が終わったら、この役割は返上しようと考えておる」
強面で頑固な人物だと思っていたが、ゴウタンは俺へとそう謝罪してくれた。
俺としては昇級さえ認めてくれれば、別にそれで構わないのだが。
ただ、これは、ゴウタンばかりが悪いということではないだろう。
こうしてさっと頭を下げられる辺り、むしろ根は素直な人間なのだろうと思う。顔は怖いが。
「失敗したと思ったのなら、改めたらいいんじゃないのか?」
......頑固なのは第一印象通りらしい。
「こんなことで辞めていたら、指導役の冒険者は、失敗した経験のない、甘い考えの人間で溢れるんじゃないのか?」
「む......むぅ」
「責任を感じているんだったら、尚更放り投げるよりも、指導役を続けるべきだろう」
ゴウタンはしばし神妙な面持ちで黙っていたが、やがてニヤリと笑って顔を上げた。
「......フン、口の回る、生意気な男である。今は、その口車に乗っておくとするわい」
ゴウタンはそれから、マッドヘッドの残骸へと目を向ける。
「奴の魔石は持っていくがいい。あれはお前さんが倒した魔物だ」
マッドヘッドの身体がマナと化して朽ちていく。
消えていく巨体の中に、茶色の輝きを帯びた魔石があった。
【Lv:40】の魔石だ。
それなりの値がつくだろう。
冒険者はいくらお金があっても足りない。
くれるというのであれば、ありがたくもらっていくことにしよう。
「ん......?」
腐肉の残骸の中に、真っ赤な盾が残っていた。
盾には鬼の顔が彫られている。
ドロップアイテムだ。
マッドヘッドのような稀少な魔物は、良いアイテムを残してくれやすい。
「ほ、ほう、【Lv:40】の、珍しい魔物から、ドロップアイテムか......」
ゴウタンが、ごくりと唾を呑みながら鬼の盾を口惜しそうに見つめる。
「あっちは譲ろうか?」
「馬鹿を言うな! 儂には二言はない! 奴は、お前さんが倒した魔物だ!」
ゴウタンがキッと目を細め、少し怒ったようにそう口にした。
「......のう、アイテムの詳細の確認だけ行ってもいいか?」
男らしいようで、未練がましい......。
クラスの力を得た人間は、所持しているスキル同様、アイテムの詳細情報を確かめることができる。
俺は鬼の盾を拾い上げた。
〈狂鬼の盾〉《推奨装備Lv:40》
【防御力:+25】
【市場価値:三百万ゴルド】
鬼の顔の彫られた、恐ろしい盾。
盾を用いて相手の攻撃を防いだ場合、同一の相手への次の攻撃に【攻撃力:+8】を付与する。
俺はごくりと唾を呑んだ。
〈マジックワールド〉のものと同一の性能だが、この市場価値はゲームのものではないのだ。
ギルドや店で捌けば百五十万ゴルド程度にはなってしまうだろうが、それでも美味しい。
盾の防御力上昇値は大きいが、これはあくまでも盾で受けたときの防御力である。
〈城壁返し〉の発動条件も鎧で受けることであるため、盾では満たすことができない。
とはいえ、これだけの補正値があれば、同レベル台の攻撃はほぼ盾で完封できるだろう。
推奨装備のレベルはかなり高めだが、扱えないことはなさそうであった。
若干動きにくいが、使っている間にレベルが追い付くだろう。
......これだけ高額だと、正直売り飛ばすのも視野には入るが。
「......ほう、三百万ゴルドか」
俺が目をやれば、キリッと顔を引き締める。
「それでゴウタン、昇級の件なんだが......」
「心配するでない。お前さんを昇級させんのは、ギルドの損失であると伝えておこう! とっととE級にしておいてやれ、とな」
「ギルドから『エルマがズルをせんか見張ってくれ』と言われておったが、とんだ見当外れの忠告であったな。もし反対する者がおったら、儂がぶん殴ってでも言い聞かせてやるわい!」
「そこまでしてくれなくて結構なんだが......」
俺が苦笑していると、そろそろとテイルが歩み寄ってきた。
「あ、あのう......ゴウタンさん、私の昇級......その、認めてもらえたりしませんかね? ゴウタンさんが立て直せたのも、私の〈ヒール〉のお陰で......」
「魔物相手に完全に足が竦んでおったではないか! そんな状態では、まだE級冒険者になどなるべきではないわい! 昇級して〈
夢の穴
テイルは唇を噛み締めながら、俺へと目をやった。
ただ、俺に命を助けられたことはわかっているらしく、悔しげに目を伏せるばかりで、何か突っかかってくることはなかった。
Ch 12
I returned my sword to its scabbard.
"Fuuh....that was a close call."
My adrenalin was pumping so I couldn't help but banter a bit, but I was already at the end of my ropes there.
I expected him to return in about three minutes, but it took more than five minutes for Goutan to come help me.
It seems Teil had some problems with his healing.
The Mad Head's paralysis abnormal status should recover in about three minutes, but only when full on HP, otherwise resistance to abnormal conditions is lowered, which makes it take longer to recover from.
Nonetheless, it was fortunate that he healed Goutan up instead of running away.
"....how could a mere F rank adventurer hold out this long against a mad rush of a monster that almost managed to kill me?"
Looking at me, Goutan let his thoughts slip from sheer disbelief.
"Ah, I just about reached my limit there. Thanks for the save, Goutan."
"No... no problem..."
After stumbling with his words due to his confusion, he ceremoniously lowered his head.
"I'm sorry....Elma. My orders were lacking and I failed to properly manage our safety. Just as you warned before. Even though lives were on the line, I got too stubborn and didn't want to be seen changing my words after getting talked back to by a youngster.... I failed at my role as the Guild's supervisor. Once this quest is over, I intend to resign from it."
I had him pegged as a stubborn, scary-faced man, but Goutan still apologized to me.
Honestly, if he would just confirm my promotion, I would be more than satisfied.
However, the fault doesn't lie solely on Goutan's shoulders.
Seeing him apologize without fuss like this makes me think that he's a rather honest person at heart. Although his face is still scary.
"If you think you've failed, then shouldn't you just try to do better?"
....my first impression of him being stubborn seems to have been correct.
"If you quit due to this, then wouldn't it just mean that the next supervisor will be someone ignorant who has not experienced failure?"
"Mm....mn.."
"If you feel responsible, then it's even more of a reason to keep your supervisory role, instead of throwing it all away."
Goutan had a subdued expression on his face for a while, but eventually he raised his head with a smile.
".....hah, you silver tongued cheeky brat. I will let you talk me into it this time."
After that Goutan turned his gaze towards the Mad Head's remains.
"You should have its magic stone. It's a monster you defeated."
The body of the Mad Head started to dissolve into mana.
Within its disappearing giant body, there was a magic stone shining with a brownish colored light.
A [(Lv:40)]  magic stone.
That should be worth quite a sum.
For an adventurer, no money is too much.
If he says he wants me to have it, then I will gratefully accept it.
"Hm...?"
Amidst the decaying flesh there was a crimson red shield remaining.
On the shield there was a carving of a demonic face.
It was a drop item.
A rare monster like the Mad Head had a high chance to drop something good.
"Ho-hoh, a-a drop item from a [(Lv:40)]  rare monster....."
Goutan swallowed thickly as he kept staring at the demonic shield with regret on his face.
"Should I let you have that one?"
"Don't be stupid! I don't go back on my word! That is a monster you defeated!"
Goutan's eyes flashed and answered with some heat in his voice.
"....but, can I at least identify it?"
He took it like a man, but he still felt regretful...
People who possessed the power of Class, along with the usual Skills, also had the ability to find out detailed information about items.
I picked up the demonic shield.
<Mad Demon Shield> <<Recommended level: 40>> 
[(Defense:+25)] 
[(Market value: 3 000 000 gold)] 
A terrifying shield with a carving of a demonic face on it.
When the user blocks an opponent's attack with this shield, the user gets an [(Attack Power:+8)]  bonus against that same opponent.
I gulped.
It has the same stats as the one in [Magic World], but the market value is very much different.
If I sell it to the Guild or a shop, then it should go for about 1 500 000 gold, but that's still excellent.
Although the defense increase from the shield is very good, it only comes into play when blocking with the shield itself.
Since the activation requirement for [Rampart Reversal] is to be hit on the armor, I can't use a shield in that particular case.
That being said, with a defense rating this high, I should be able to completely block every attack sent by enemies on the same level as I.
Although the recommended level is pretty high, it's not like I couldn't use it anyway.
It might be a bit harder to move with for now, but I'll just catch up in levels as I continue to use it.
.....although with how much it's worth, I should honestly consider selling it anyway.
".....hmm, 3 million gold, huh," Goutan muttered in a frustrated voice.
When I turned my gaze to him I saw that he had a strained smile on his face.
"Well then, Goutan. About that promotion...."
"Don't worry about that. I'll tell them that not promoting you would be a loss to the Guild! Something like 'You should promote that guy to E rank right now'," Goutan reassured me passionately.
"I was told by the Guild to 'watch out for that Elma guy, in case he tries to cheat', but that turned out to be one hell of a misplaced concern. If someone wants to object, then I will personally beat sense into him!"
"You don't need to go that far...."
As I chuckled at that, Teil slowly walked closer.
"Ah, hey.... Goutan-san, my promotion... well, would you approve my promotion too? Since it was my [Heal] that helped Goutan-san get back on his feet...."
"Didn't you freeze up completely against the monsters!? You shouldn't be an E rank adventurer if you are like that! If you get promoted and enter a Dungeon, then you could come across a difficult situation like that anytime! If you can't move your body in a situation like that, then unlike now, you can expect to be fully annihilated!"
"Ugh....I-I understand...."
Pressing his lips together, Teil turned to look at me.
However, it seems he understood that I saved his life, so instead of blowing up at me he just closed his eyes in frustration.
The Reincarnated Heavy Knight Who Was Exiled After A Supposed Big Miss Is Unparalleled With His Game Knowledge
大ハズレだと追放された転生重騎士はゲーム知識で無双する
https://www.novelupdates.com/series/the-reincarnated-heavy-knight-who-was-exiled-after-a-supposed-big-miss-is-unparalleled-with-his-game-knowledge/
Action Adventure Fantasy Romance Shounen
Abandoned Children Adapted to Manga Adventurers Alchemy Arrogant Characters Artifacts Blacksmith Calm Protagonist Clever Protagonist Determined Protagonist Dungeons Fallen Nobility Fantasy World Game Elements Guilds Hot-blooded Protagonist Level System Love Interest Falls in Love First Lucky Protagonist Male Protagonist Mystery Solving Naive Protagonist Nobles Poor to Rich Previous Life Talent Reincarnated in a Game World Romantic Subplot Skill Books Strategic Battles Strong Love Interests Strong to Stronger Sword Wielder Underestimated Protagonist Weak to Strong
https://ncode.syosetu.com/n8465gx/
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