Defense specialization and sealing.

Maple wandered the streets for a time, then returned to the guild hall without acquiring anything new.

Yui and Mai reacted upon Maple entering through the open door.

"Ah! Maple-san!"

Yui dashed toward Maple.

"What is it? What happened?"

"There's a monster in a quest we can't defeat... Could you help us?"

"Please!"

They both bowed deeply at once.

"Alright, sure! I didn't have anything else to do."

"Thank you! Crom-san and Kanade-san are out together, and we couldn't manage..."

Only Izu remained in the guild hall besides the two.

Izu was a thin support, unsuitable for battle—there was nothing else to do.

"Then let's go right away. Lead the way?"

" Yes!"

Riding atop Shiroppu, they advanced across the field for approximately ten minutes.

Maple and the others reached their destination.

"Um, this monster that appears here—it seems physical attacks don’t work... Please, help us!"

"Hmm... a Poison Dragon (Hydra) should do it, right?"

"I believe it will be fine."

Upon hearing the monster’s description, Maple dismounted Shiroppu and activated the item Love That Offers the Body. She restored her HP with a potion, then entered combat stance.

"The monster is... that one, right?"

Before Maple’s eyes floated tattered robes, scattered and torn, and a longsword, rusted and crumbling, drifting aimlessly in the air.

The form, clearly spectral, bore the unmistakable appearance of something impervious to physical attack.

"Alright, Hydra... wait— it vanished."

"The monster disappears, huh... I’m sorry, I didn’t know."

Yui and Mai had given up after their quick two defeats and were considering calling for help, so they had not fully grasped the monster’s movements.

Maple, like Yui and Mai, was not the type to actively seek information. They held no details about this monster beyond the fact that physical attacks did not work.

"Close!?!"

The monster’s blade, having turned transparent and closed in suddenly, struck Maple, who reacted too slowly.

At that moment, a soft ping echoed. The ground, glowing with Love That Offers the Body, returned to its normal state.

"Wha— wait, Cover!"

Yui barely blocked the monster’s strike with Cover, a technique she had used little lately.

The monster retreated, vanishing again, its form lost to sight.

"Love That Offers the Body… doesn’t activate? …Ah. Sealed."

Maple had purchased talismans capable of countering the seal during her exploration of Sally and the Town, though the skills she had designated for protection were three that increased defensive strength.

She had not yet reached the point of activating Love That Offers the Body.

“Eh… right! 【Hair Growth】!”

Maple transformed into a tangled mass. Yui and Mai noticed immediately, swiftly removing their weapons and diving inside.

Maple popped her face out from the center. She spoke to Yui and Mai.

“Then, I’ll ask you…?”

““Yes!””

Inside the tangle, the two moved quickly. They positioned themselves beneath Maple, who lay sideways, then stretched their bodies and lifted her firmly.

Her face had fully emerged from the mass.

“Mai, move left!”

“Got it!”

Yui and Mai shifted the exposed part of Maple’s head to the left.

The monster lunged again, aiming for Yui.

Yes!

Yui and Mai lowered the tuft and slipped inside.

The monster, aiming at Yui, struck only at the wool above Maple’s head.

—【Poison Dragon (Hydra)】!

From the hand protruding from the tuft, the short blade unleashed a torrent of poison toward the monster.

It struck true at point-blank range, draining the monster’s HP bar completely.

A foe strong enough to fall without a critical strike.

—Phew… I did it! Uh… how many more must I defeat?

—Ten, please.

—Got it! Then let’s keep going.

Maple set the direction. Yui and Mai lifted Maple, checked that she was securely supported above, and began walking.

Their feet sank into the poison swamp ahead.

—Whoa!? Wait, what happened!?

Maple fell with a wet slap onto the ground.

She called out to Yui and Mai, but received no answer.

"Uh… ah…"

Before her, the purple sea stretched wide.

A moment later, understanding came. She hastily activated her ability, 【Brutality】, and turned back to retrieve the two.

At that moment, Crom and Kanade—whom Yui and Mai had counted on—were out hunting monsters with Markus and Drag.

"Man, this shield job is legit."

The hunt progressed with Drag as the main damage dealer, supported by Crom, Kanade, and Markus.

"Really? A shield… Maple’s better at that…"

"That’s not a shield… not a shield at all."

Markus muttered quietly.

In Markus’s mind, the greatest shield was Crom.

"Is Maple… just… one of us like that?"

How should I say it? Well, Maple’s not exactly dangerous like she usually is during events. She’s a shield-user, but she leaves gaps. Not that she needs protection, though.

Maple deflects swords, spears, arrows, and magic with her body.

The result of seeking defense above all else is that she no longer needs to defend.

"Pain seems set on defeating Maple. I’ve given up. I don’t think our styles clash too badly."

"Shouldn’t we move soon...? No monsters left...?"

As Markus said, the monsters had been nearly all hunted down. The four began to move.

They were heading toward the next point when—

A creature (Maple) shot past the edge of vision with terrifying speed.

"Always like that, huh..."

"Guess so... Sorry."

For a moment, the four stood frozen in place.