Ultimate Tank C1P6

Translator: @lazilygrinningcat

The Beginning of a new life

Luna puts a glass of water on the table.
Nin quickly picks up the glass and drinks it all in one gulp.

Wondering why the living room had suddenly become boisterous, Manicia peeps out of her room. She’s really cute.

[…Big Brother, who is she?]
[The healer in my past party, Nin. She had helped me a lot of times before.]
[And why is the Saint making a fuss outside of our house?]
[Nin was the Saint of the church. I belong to the party who is led by a hero.]
[…A hero huh. So you were working with them before, Big Brother.]

Now that I think about it, I’ve never really talked about me that much with Manicia.
I thought it would be mean to talk outside now that Manicia had gotten interested in the conversation.

[It’s just… I left the party because of various reasons from the past.]
[…is that so? I will be going back so that I could rest. Please enjoy you stay, Saint-sama.]

Manichia softly smiled only towards Nin.
Give some of your smiles to Big Brother, too. I want to thrust myself in between her and Nin.

[I’ll be accompanying you then.]

Luna and Manicia both went back to Manicia’s room.

[That girl over there should be your little sister Manicia, right? That other girl… don’t tell me that’s your wife, huh?]

She looks like she’s sad and angry at what she saw.

[She’s Luna, a homunculus. She’s now taking care of Manicia.]
[…she really looks unwell. She’s born with that illness, right?]
[Yeah. Well, it’s not like I can do anything about it… She’s fine for now. Anyway, why did you come here? It would cause a lot of fuss if news of the Saint-sama coming to this town would be known.]

If I listen carefully, I can already hear a lot of noise outside.
I mean, I didn’t know that Nin was famous enough for her visit to become a hot topic on its own.

However, it seems that her questions were filled with landmines.
Nin’s expression became more stern than before.

[It’s the hero!]
[…really?]

It’s just that, I had expected her coming here for just a little bit.
She is here because she had gain some pardon from the church.

I look at Nin’s arm.
Is her arm fractured? There’s a cloth hanging on her neck that gently cradles her the splint attached to her left arm.

[I’ll tell you everything that had happened after you’re gone.]
[…Nah. It’s not like I particularly want to know about it.]
[No, listen to me!]

She’s still as overbearing as ever.

[I understand, okay. So, what happened?]
[As soon as you disappeared, we started to dive into that labyrinth that was said to be very difficult.]

Why is Kygras called a hero?

The title “Hero” is given to those who have broken through the labyrinth.
When the labyrinth had just appeared in this world, the title “Hero” was given to those who capture them without hesitation.

Since then, those who continued to capture the high difficulty labyrinths have come to be called heroes.
That’s how Kygras became a hero. By the way, the “Hero” of the past was the one who established the roles in the party which consists of the attacker, healer and tank.

[Well, I had told them beforehand that in the case that the raid would fail on the labyrinth that we would usually go, I would immediately leave the party or something like that. Anyway, the party became too weak… too frail.]
[I see… and so, the result for your raid was a failure?]
[Yeah, that’s right. We were done in when we were just in the 30th floor of the labyrinth.]

I’ve only heard about the story, so I don’t know how the monster had decided to attack them.

[That bastard of a hero said he would take care of all the attacks, which in the end, he couldn’t even hold unto at all. And that kind of damage had been piled up on him… Anyway, there’s no way a lone healer could recover all that damage.]

As if she’s tired of all that, she just shrugged her shoulders.

[Is everyone safe then?]
[Just barely. I may have just got a broken arm, but the other members were totally tattered. Kygras, who was fighting at the vanguard was hospitalized for three months. The only member who should be fine… should be Lillia I guess?]
[…That was quite a disaster.]

When someone loses his outer shell, all the injuries you would receive would be directly received by your body. And the treatment for that takes time.
Of course, these injuries could be treated by using some secret medicine or elixir, but there would still be some wounds that would often remain.

[I’m fine. I could also take some vacation for the first time in a while. And, I also realized that there’s something wrong with that time’s raid… I mean hey, Kygras and the other members have received an attack before, but isn’t it strange that they couldn’t take an attack of the same strength now?]
[…That’s right.]

So that’s why…
I was able to see the effect of my skill thanks to Luna.

[I’ve always thought about it. Kygras had received an attack before. But, I saw that he had never received any damage before. After all, all my recovery skill were targeted towards Rude. Is it that they’re probably related to your skill?]
[It seems so. I have only recently learned the effects of my skills.]
[Is that so? Can you tell me about it, even if it’s just a bit?]

I explained the effects of my skills that I had just learned the other day.
Nin’s expression changed dramatically. And when I have finished the explanation, she looks like she had experienced something really troublesome.

That’s strange.
I thought she would be surprised…

[That means that… you’ve taken all the damage that the party members should have taken so far…?]
[Well, that’s probably so.]

Those times also gave me more resistance to pain.
As the tank, I have to learn how to be accustomed to pain.

I have learned to endure the pain of having my outer shell being shaved off.
Nowadays, I can now ignore the pain that I receive when I still have my outer shell.

And yet, Nin seems to be the most concerned about it.

[…I’m sorry, I haven’t noticed the pain you’ve felt until now.]
[N- no… it’s not that it matters. I mean, even I didn’t know about that.]
[The attacks that I have received were all received by you instead— and so, when Kygras and the others received an attack, we’ve completely received the full brunt of their attacks.]
[…That’s right.]

I had already been working with Kygras for almost a year.
If he were to fight like the way he was before, there would probably some problems that he would encounter along the way.

Things might even become worse.

[That’s why. Kigras had been questioned a little about his ability because of this failure. I mean, how the heck did we reach the highest level in that labyrinth, the 40th floor, when he’s having some problems with monsters in the 30th floor.]
[…well, it’s as you say…]

The raid at that time by Kygras’ party was on the 30th floor.
It became that when the populace had heard his failure, they can’t help but just tilt their heads at the absurdity of their failure.

However, Nin have now a happy expression on her face for the first time from when she has arrived here.
You’re a bit, aren’t you?

[Doesn’t that mean that your value is higher than he think? If you think about it, the difference between the raid back then and that raid is that Rude wasn’t there at the last raid. Kygras had been mistaken in his analysis about you.]
[It doesn’t matter to me anymore. If I don’t stand out that much, I could move freely. There’s also Manicia here with me.]

I’m looked at Nin and said what I think.
The responsibilities and obligations will be carried by those who have the status like Nin and Kygras.

I may also not be able to come back to Manicia’s side like right now.
I don’t like that.I’d die if I can’t see Manicia’s face anymore.

[…Well, I sort of expected it. You’re definitely that kind of man.]
[Well, I’m still going to dive into a labyrinth to search for the cure for Manicia’s body. I’m fine if I can just join someone’s party.]
[…Have you tried searching for the legendary magical book before?]
[Yeah.]

It is said that in the deepest part of some labyrinth, there lies a magical book that had the magic to cure any illnesses in the world.
…it’s as if it’s something that came out of a fairy-tale.

However, there is no reason for me not to challenge anything as long as there is a possibility for Manicia to be cured.

[When will you come back?]
[Until my injury has been fully healed. After I’m fully healed, they said I could rest here for a while. Should I just settle down in here?]
[In this town? Travelers don’t really come by this town, so there aren’t really any “inns”. Even the adventurers coming to this town now just cope with the situation somehow by renting vacant houses.]
[Is that so? Then, can I stay over in this house?]
[…I only have my room, but I guess I’ll look for a different house for you to stay at.]
[It’s not that I mind it, you know. Together… the two of us in that room, I mean…]

Please don’t look at me like that.
Men are creatures that easily fall in love. I immediately turned away as soon as I saw her cute expression.

I remembered Manicia’s smile, and endured the temptation in front of me.

[I’m a man and you’re a woman. A woman of your age shouldn’t say something like that. Why the heck are you even saying something like that to me?]
[I’m saying this because it’s you that’s right there.]
[I’m glad that you trust me so much but…]
[You know that’s not the case at all. Could you at least think about why I especially came to see you here?]
[It’s because you said you were coming to see me. Do you need any more reason to go to your friend’s house?]

Don’t be conscious of her.
I’m just a weak person. If I get used to the peacefulness of settling down, I’d surely be addicted to that kind of life.
I must be as thickheaded as possible.

[You really don’t change even after you left our party.]
[Even you haven’t changed at all. Well, except for those broken arm of yours.]

I don’t think her breast had grown from the short time that I hadn’t seen her.
“The Saint is cute, but her breast is lacking compared to her predecessor.”

That is often said by the citizens who had seen her.
I exhaled once and stood up. I then went to open the door opposite of Manicia’s room.

[This is my room. You’re free to use this room however you like.]
[…How dreary. Don’t you have any hobbies?]
[None. If you could call it one, I spent most of my free time polishing my shield.]

Other than that, should I draw a portrait of Manicia?
Thankfully, Manicia seems to be doing well.
…I’m also making a chest that looks like a portrait of her. I have to hide it properly later.

[That’s what I thought. Though I said that, you’re not doing any collection of shields. However, it does certainly feel like Rude, doesn’t it? It’s soothing!]
[…Does it smell? Let me ventilate the room a bit.]
[Ah, I don’t mean it like that.]

Nin smiled again as she shakes her hand in denial.

[Well then, I’ll say it formally. I’m in your care!]
[Ah, same here.]

I’m now going to live with her from now on, huh.
…Wait a sec. Isn’t this really bad?

She’s the Saint and she’s also the daughter of a duke’s family— if anything happens to Nin, I’d probably get erased, wouldn’t I…?

I wonder how my life would be from now on.
…it’s not that I’d feel bad or anything when she comes back home.

No, no. There’s also my little sister in here.
Dandandan! Someone is slamming at our door as if he’s beating some monster.

[Wh- What’s wrong!?]
[…I don’t know. But, at a time like this, it may be that something bad has happened.]

When I hurriedly went to the front door, there stands Feel in the entrance.
She looks like she’s flustered as she grabbed my arm.

[A mo- monster that we’ve never seen before has appeared! The Vigilante Corps are fighting it right now, but we really stand no match against it!]
[Very well. Let’s head there at once.]
[I’m going too.]
[Saint-sama!? Why are you here!?]
[You will injure your arm.]
[What’s happening, Rude? Why is the Saint in here…?]
[Don’t worry. Anyway, I’ll just be invoke my magic while I’m in the rear.]
[You’re right. Please lend me a hand. I promise that I’ll protect you. Luna, are you coming too!?]
[Yes. Let’s immediately head there.]
[A- Are you even listening to me? Eh, I’ll listen to your explanations later… Anyway, follow me!]

When he had called Luna, Nin just tilted her head. Nin knows that homunculi weren’t able to fight.
She was trusted by him. All the explanations about her situation could be talked about on the way there.