The dwarf in a pirate hat asked Merle why she was with humans.
Merle called the dwarf Admiral Galara.
(He looks and acts more like a pirate than an Admiral.)
"They're my friends."
Merle answered Admiral Galara's question immediately with a carefree smile.
"What are you talking about? You have such a valuable Talent, you know. Hey, Merle. There's still room in my party. You want to come with us?"
""...""
He couldn't believe that Merle was with humans.
He wanted to recruit Merle to his party as a matter of course, even though we were right in front of him.
(Admiral? The Baukis Empire has different names for military ranks.)
I recalled looking at Admiral Galara, who came out of nowhere.
In this world, not only language, but most units of currency, length, and time were unified across countries and continents.
Originally, there were not that many differences among countries and continents, but over the past several decades, there had been a rush to unify the countries to fight the Demon King's army.
Different sizes of goods required different methods and quantities of supplies to the battlefield, and different values of currency made trading more time-consuming.
All of those things were standardized in order to make the military more efficient.
In such a situation, the Baukis Empire did not name its military ranks the same as those of the Central Continent and Rosenheim because it did not seek the assistance of other countries in its war against the Demon King's army.
They used the old-fashioned names and their own ranks: Admiral, General, and Lieutenant General.
(I think I remember that an Admiral is about the same rank as a Marshal. Why is the highest ranking officer in the Baukis Empire's military in a dungeon?)
"I'm going to attack the dungeon with my friends!"
As I was thinking about something else, Merle declined Admiral Galara's invitation.
The dwarves, who seemed to be under the command rather than the company of Admiral Galara, exclaimed in disbelief.
"Hey, what did you guys blow into Merle's head?"
"You're messing with Merle just because you want to conquer the dungeon."
"What? Nothing? Um, we would like to leave now."
I answered on behalf of Merle, since they had changed who they were speaking to.
(What type of conversation is this?)
I had no particular business with Admiral Galara, so I told them that we wanted to leave so that we could start collecting the Bronze Medals.
"Oh, hey. You've got some nerves! I don't mind beating you guys up, so leave Merle here and get lost."
Unlike me, who had remained as calm as ever at those words, Dogora, who was staring at the dwarves in front of him, reached for the handle of the axe hanging on his back.
Apparently, he could not overlook the word 'beating you guys up' from Admiral Galara.
""...""
The dwarves behind Admiral Galara did not miss Dogora's grip on the handle of his axe.
The dwarves put their hands on the Magic Board around their own necks.
Buh-boo (from sound of heavy breathing)
The Magic Board reacted to the touch of the dwarves and geometric symbols started floating in the air.
(Oh? Something is floating on the tablet inlaid in the Magic Board.)
"Do you know who we are?"
They seemed to have identified Dogora, who had taken up arms, as a complete enemy.
One of the dwarves behind Admiral Galara further provoked him.
"Ah? I don't know. Merle is one of us. And you can't take her."
Without taking a step back, Dogora further shifted his center of gravity and changed his body posture so that he could attack at once.
(Dogora is a hot-headed guy. Now what should we do? I don't want to fight and have it affect our dungeon strategy.)
As I pondered what to do, Admiral Galara sighed.
"Hey, what are you doing responding to that kid's provocation?"
(You provoked us first.)
Then he raised his right hand and flapped it in the air as if to say, "We're done."
That seemed to be the signal to disarm, as the dwarves let go of their Magic Boards.
"Dogora, too, take your hands off your weapon."
"Ah."
Dogora let go of his weapon at my words.
"Hmm? Are you the leader of the party?"
"Yes."
He seemed to have understood the pecking order of our party after Dogora followed my words.
"If Merle wants to be friends with you guys, that's fine. But ..."
"But what?"
"If you guys try to use Merle as a shield to escape from the crisis, I will find you in whatever country you are in and I will kill you for sure. Remember that."
Having said all that, Admiral Galara walked past us and went towards the cube-shaped object. That was the end of the incident.
"Admiral Galara, please don't be rough with me!
The dwarf behind Admiral Galara appeased him.
"Shut up. Hurry up and give me the Medals. Why do we have to attack the dungeon as soon as the war is over just because of a nasty Emperor?..."
He was mumbling to himself, which could still be heard, and asked the dwarves, who appeared to be under his command, to give him Medals.
Then the dwarves rushed to surround Admiral Galara and started holding his mouth.
Apparently, it was not to be spoken of.
"Quick, a Medal!"
"Hey, what the hell are you guys doing? Let go of me. I'll kill you!"
(He is being carried like a portable shrine.)
"Oh, my God. Admiral, please don't say such things in public."
"I told you not to do that, Admiral. ..."
When Admiral Galara said that much, the dwarves carried Admiral Galara and disappeared from the place at once. Thay had transferred to the next level.
(I wonder what it was. But still, that was a Medal? It looked pretty big.)
I watched as the dwarves took out the Medals.
"I don't know if I'd use it like that. But still, a shield? Shouldn't it be 'Tank'?"
"Allen, what are you talking about? And who the hell were those guys anyway!?"
Cecile had been silent during the entire exchange with the dwarves, but she seemed to be angry.
I spoke up while everyone else was angry.
"No, I knew Merle was a Tank."
"Tank?"
I turned to Merle who repeated "Tank" like a parrot.
"Yes, Merle is a Tank. And she can be an Ultimate Tank, too."
Merle looked confused, so did my friends, so I shared with them what I was thinking.
I believed the weakness of our party to be its defense.
So, although it was hasty, I had Dogora carry a large shield for that reason.
We needed defense if we wanted to conquer the S-class dungeon and win future battles against the Demon King's army, especially the Demon Generals.
Our party had quite a few rear and mid-guards.
Kiel the Bishop, Cecile the Grand Mage, and Sophie the Spirit Magician were the perfect rear-guard.
Formar, the Master Archer, was also almost always in the rear-guard, and I was the mid-guard.
Our formation had Kurena and Dogora as vanguards who had to defend us five desperately.
The reason I gave Merle a spear and shield in the Academy's dungeons was to make our defense a little better.
However, if we were to ever meet a real strong enemy, for example, a Demon General-level strong enemy, there was a risk that Kurena and Dogora alone might not be able to defend us five.
I also thought about using every means at my disposal, including <Fast Summon>, but I still didn't know if I could keep the four of them safe.
I recalled what Admiral Galara had said.
Admiral Galara had said, "Don't use Merle as a shield to escape."
If Merle got a Mithril-class Golem in the S-class dungeon, and if that Mithril-class Golem could withstand the Demon General's attacks, the war situation would change quickly.
With Merle as a Tank, the rest of us, including me, would be able to attack as much as we want.
I knew that the rear-guards could become immensely powerful if they had a perfect Tank.
The rear-guard, such as Mages, could be turned into high-firepower cannons, while the healers could just keep on applying Recovery Magic from a safe distance.
Dogora could also drop his shield and concentrate on attacking.
Sophie would be able to easily make the choice to manifest an attack-oriented Spirit rather than a defensive one.
If you don't attack, you can't defeat the enemy.
If you can increase the number of attacks, you can reduce the time we spend fighting and become more efficient.
"Oh, Allen..."
Cecile was at a loss for words.
Because I spoke so passionately about the usefulness of the tank ,it even made him think that maybe she was wrong to be angry at the dwarves.
"It seems that we can find Bronze-class Golem parts on this floor, but it will be too weak. So, let's just go with the Iron-class Golem we had planned."
"Yes!"
"Then we need to go to the next floor."
I had asked at the Adventurer's Guild where we could get Golem parts.
You can get Bronze-class stone slabs on the 2nd floor.
You can get Iron-class stone slabs on the 3rd floor.
You can get Mithril-class stone slabs on the 4th floor.
Our goal was a Mithril-class Golem, but I had heard from Helmios that the 4th floor had some pretty strong enemies, so I told Merle and my friends that we would have to make do with an Iron-class Golem before.
"'Well then, we need to collect three Bronze Medals and go to the next floor."
"Yes!"
Merle's smile and Allen's voice had erased the atmosphere of the previous confrontation.
