TBAGM Vol. 2 Chapter 3 Part 4

“I hadn’t imagined it would go this far…”

I—Lloyd—could only stare, dumbfounded, at the spectacle unfolding before my eyes.

“Se-yaaah!”

“Toryaaah!”

Rii and Mii were mowing down the metal training dummies one after another with their wooden axes.

The twin had been reduced to trembling from the recoil at first, yet now they were crushing the dummy in a single blow.

I had already assumed【Twin Stars】was some kind of ability-boosting power, but I had never expected it to let them transform to this extent.

In fact, their hidden skill rank had skyrocketed in this short time.

.

Twin Stars: E→C

.

Both of them had gained a considerable amount of experience in just this brief session.

Their stats had shifted in a way that clearly demonstrated the power of【Twin Stars】.

.

(When using Twin Stars)

[Name]	Rii (13)
[Title]	Veiled Moonrise, E-Rank Adventurer
[Stats]	Vitality: C/A Magic: D/C Ambition: E/E Leadership: D/B Intelligence: D/B
[Skills]	Communication: C/A Godspeed: C/S
[Inherent Trait]	Twin Star
[Profession]	Axewielder
[Attributes]	Agility: B/S Endurance: C/A Strength: C/C
[Hidden Skill]	Twin Star: C/SS

.

.

(When using Twin Stars)

[Name]	Mii (13)
[Title]	Veiled Moonrise, E-Rank Adventurer
[Stats]	Vitality: C/A Magic: D/C Ambition: E/E Leadership: C/B Intelligence: D/B
[Skills]	Communication: C/A Destruction: C/S
[Inherent Trait]	Twin Star
[Profession]	Axewielder
[Attributes]	Agility: C/C Endurance: C/A Strength: B/S
[Hidden Skill]	Twin Star: C/SS

.

Looking at their Attributes, Rii clearly specialized in agility, while Mii specialized in raw strength; the sisters complemented each other’s weaknesses perfectly.

Even among all the Inherent Traits I had seen so far, the effect of Twin Stars stood out as exceptional.

As their hidden skill rank increased, their own stats rose along with it. The restriction that they could only use it while holding hands was a handicap, of course, but if they continued to grow like this, they would become outright monsters.

“You two really are incredible!”

“It’s a-all thanks to Mr. Lloyd!”

“It’s thanks to Mr. Lloyd that we can be this strong now!”

When I praised them and gently ruffled their hair, both girls beamed with delight.

As swordswomen of Veiled Moonrise, they were sure to become valuable front-liners in no time. In the long run, they would doubtlessly grow into the guild’s signature gladiators.

(First of all, I want them to shake off that notion that they’re ‘failures’.)

They had only a single horn. That alone was enough for others to dismiss them as defects.

Until now, no one had ever treated them as normal Ogres.

In truth, they were anything but normal. They were gifted with utterly extraordinary talent, it was just that no place existed for that talent to blossom.

So I created that place. I explained the method. All that remained was how much effort they themselves would put in.

They would use their own strength to put an end to their unfair, miserable lives.

My role, as their advisor, was to support them along that path.

As I mulled over these thoughts, a bright female voice echoed across the training grounds.

“Lord Lloyd! I’ve returned!”

“Huh?”

Hearing my name, I immediately turned toward the source.

The one calling out to me was a girl about the same height as Rii and Mii, a “young girl” really was the only fitting description.

I was certain I had never met this girl before. Yet her face, her expressions, were unmistakably those of a woman I had seen countless times.

“E-Ellis. Did you… get smaller?”

“Ellis’s big sis is the same size as us now!”

“Ellis’s big sis is our size now!”

Rii and Mii did not hesitate in the least before calling the girl Ellis.

It was true that she bore Ellis’s features. But her height was completely different.

I immediately used【Appraisal】to confirm.

.

[Name]	Ellis (19)
[State]	【Small】

.

Her status made it clear that the spell【Small】had been applied to her.

Ellis came right up to me and, just like Elna often did, lightly threw her arms around me.

“Lord Lloyd… what do you think?”

“W-Wait, are you really Ellis?”

I asked, shaken by her transformation.

She should only have been able to use【Water Ball】and nothing else. Which meant that Mint had likely been the one to cast the spell on her.

“Yes! S-So… what do you think?”

Still clinging to me, Ellis looked up at me with upturned eyes.

Her cheeks were flushed, and her expression was very different from her usual innocent smile.

The person in my arms was Ellis. And visually, she was just a young girl, far from any romantic prospect.

And yet, why was my heart pounding this hard?

“I-I think you look cute, of course. Don’t you two agree?”

“I-I think so!”

“She’s super cute!”

Sensing that I was about to open a door best left closed, I hurriedly threw the question to Rii and Mii instead.

I might not have understood exactly what answer Ellis was hoping for, but this was the safest response I could manage.

Ellis smiled, clearly satisfied.

“Heehee… then I’m glad!”

Was this what they called gap moe?

Normally, Ellis’s image matched her age, with “beautiful” being the word that suited her best. But today, her cuteness was in full bloom.

I wanted to scold myself for nearly freezing in place at the sight.

—

“By the way, did you notice anything unusual at Greenpeak?”

With a soft grunt, I took hold of Ellis under the arms and peeled her off me where she had been clinging on.

When Ellis said she was going to train under Mint, I had asked her to look into something for me. I liked to think I was fairly good at underhanded thinking; if someone with a personality like mine existed, they were bound to make a move.

“When I was leaving, there was a huge man standing at the entrance.”

“A huge man… that would be Loren. So, Azure Sea Whitecaps, huh.”

At the worst yet most delightful outcome among the scenarios I had imagined, I couldn’t help but curl my lips into a wicked smile.

Right now, Ellis and the others were skyrocketing in popularity. Other guilds had to be dying to recruit girls with such unknown, extraordinary power.

The easiest way would be to challenge us to a Guild Showdown like Nike did. But since we were still stuck in the lower group, the top-group powerhouses couldn’t move against us directly.

However, even if they couldn’t pull us out outright, there was still a way to shake up the current situation: a Guild Showdown against our allied guild, Greenpeak.

If they toppled Greenpeak, they could close in on us. Force Mint to dissolve our alliance and then slide into our vacant spot instead.

Well, that said, most guilds would probably just watch and wait for a while. We had just produced a newly-minted A-rank mage, a B-rank blacksmith, and a B-rank alchemist. Given time, it was inevitable we would climb out of the lower group.

By next year, we would surely be the prime target for many upper-group guilds.

But one guild that couldn’t bear to wait, happy to jump the gun, had already gone to visit Greenpeak.

(The strongest one came knocking…)

If anyone were to challenge Greenpeak to a Guild Showdown, I had predicted it would be one of the guilds ranked third or lower.

Incarnation of the Sun in first place and Fairy Garden in second were both pouring everything into dungeon conquest.

In particular, at the Forest Dungeon, the first squads of both guilds were said to be clashing over who would achieve the full clear. They had no leisure to fuss over Guild Showdowns.

Among the upper group, if you excluded those guilds, Azure Sea Whitecaps was the strongest of the lot.

“Lord Lloyd, isn’t there anything we can do?”

Ellis spoke in a much heavier tone than before.

I hadn’t shared the true intent of this little investigation with her, but she more or less understood what was going on. Ellis owed Mint a great deal as well, and she clearly wanted to repay that debt.

“Of course there is. You and the others just have to fully conquer the Volcano Dungeon.”

“F-Fully conquer it!?”

“I don’t think we can pull that off at all, you know!?”

It was the first time Rii and Mii heard our guild’s concrete objective, and both of them stared wide-eyed in shock.

Azure Sea Whitecaps was ranked third among the guilds. Even Greenpeak would have a hard fight against them. I intended to head over and start coaching Greenpeak’s members as soon as possible.

But Ellis and the others would be of no use in that arena. The one thing they could do was conquer the Volcano Dungeon and raise this guild’s standing to the point that Greenpeak would no longer be burdened by us.

“Ellis, could you gather everyone for me? It’s time we got serious.”

Within less than thirty minutes, every member had assembled in the conference room.

“Looks like everyone’s here. Then I’d like to talk about our course of action from here on out.”

Once I confirmed they had all taken their seats, I began speaking with a solemn expression.

“Within half a month, we’re going to fully clear the Volcano Dungeon.”

“We can finally go in!”

Ellis pumped her fist in delight.

I had been deliberately keeping them out of the dungeon, so she had probably built up quite a bit of frustration. Watching her, Nero narrowed his eyes and muttered:

“Who’s this kid?”

“Nero, I think… that’s Ellis,” Nick whispered beside him, having more or less figured it out and trying to be considerate.

But Nero promptly ruined that kindness by shouting at the top of his lungs.

“You’re kidding me!? She turned into a brat!”

““Ah…””

Nick and I were both at a loss for words.

Even we could tell how utterly lacking in tact that comment was.

“Heehee. I’m cute, aren’t I? You can fall for me if you’d like, you know?”

Ellis beamed at Nero instead of getting angry.

“So he really does see me as a little girl… heehee.”

Whether she had taken a liking to her younger appearance, or her anger had looped all the way around into laughter, I couldn’t say. Either way, I decided we shouldn’t dig any deeper and steered the conversation back on track.

“Ahem! First, I want Ellis and the others to start from the first floor of the dungeon together with Rii and Mii.”

“With these two? Are you sure that’s safe?”

“Yeah. Make sure they always move as a pair.”

“Understood.”

Ellis tilted her head in puzzlement, but accepted immediately as soon as I asked.

At the dungeon entrance, there was a device known as a transfer stone. Touching it would instantly move you to any floor you had already cleared. Touching it again on the way back would return you straight to the entrance.

Since Rii and Mii had never actually dived into a dungeon before, they couldn’t use the transfer stone and would have to start from the first floor.

So long as Nero and Ellis led the twins, the Volcano Dungeon’s conquest should be fine.

Back in his Incarnation of the Sun days, Nero had taken part in a full clear twice. As long as they didn’t head into the lower floors, his experience should be enough to handle things.

“Nick, Elna, I’ll need you to come with me later.”

“Got it.”

“Okay.”

It was finally time for those two to move on to the next stage.

They now had B-rank titles to their names. With where they stood, the plan I had in mind should be fully feasible.

“Lastly, about Greenpeak… it looks like Azure Sea Whitecaps has challenged them to a Guild Showdown.”

Everyone except Rii and Mii, who understood exactly what that meant, furrowed their brows.

“The difference in strength is obvious. As their allied guild, I’ll be the one to go.”

I had already promised to coach them as an allied guild. The timing was perfect.

Greenpeak was a guild composed solely of mages, essentially a hyper-specialized, unbalanced build.

Which was precisely why my ability as an advisor would shine there.

“I might not be able to stay on this side for very long. While I’m gone, I want you and Nero to hold this guild together, Ellis.”

“Muu… all right…”

“You can leave it to me while you’re away, Mr. Lloyd!”

Ellis pouted a little as she agreed, while Nero thumped his chest and nodded.

“Okay then, let’s all give it everything we’ve got. This is our first big job.”

As soon as the meeting ended, Ellis and the dungeon team headed straight for the dungeon.

Actual combat was the best possible experience. Rii and Mii would get used to it in no time.

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