CH 88

Chapter 88: What Every Guardian Looks Up To

Thames’ body flew 2 meters (～6.5 ft) in the air before it bashed into a stone fence.

Thames: “UGH……!”

She could not follow the Ogre’s attacks at all with her eyes.

But that was to be expected. The Ogre is a B-Rank Monster.

For Thames, who is D-Rank, there would be no way for her to go against such an enemy.

She would not be able to defeat a B-Rank Monster no matter what.

She learned this lesson during her fight with the Chaos Slime.

The Chaos Slime was the opponent that easily crushed Thames’ belief that [no matter how strong they are, you can defeat them if you believe you can do it].

Thames: “Dangit! What should I do…….”

Thames grumbled under her breath as she spat out blood.

Thames’ logical part is saying that she should stand up to protect the common citizens to the very end.

But her emotions are screaming to focus on protecting Rita first and foremost.

If it was Thames from before, she would not have hesitated.

She would have moved to protect the citizens no matter what.

To save the citizens or to save Rita………

Wavering between the two decisions, she saw the sign plate on the fence.

At that instant, Thames made up her mind.

Thames: “[Taunt]!!”

She poured her power into the shield and drew her enemy’s attention with all her might.

The Ogre took the invitation, snarled with its fangs showing, and attacked Thames.

Thames deflects the attack with her shield.

Thames: “UGH………!!”

She can hear an eerie sound of her bones and muscles crushing together.

She almost had her arm broken from that Ogre’s attack.

Thames tried to relocate her position as she defended against the Ogre’s attacks.

She wanted to get the Ogre as far away from this place as possible.

ーー<SLAM!!>

Thames: “AGGHHーー!!”

ーー<SMASH!!>

Thames: “GUHーー!!”

With every merciless attack, Thames’ shield began warping in shape.

Though her arm was not broken, it had turned purple from the impact of the Ogre’s attacks.

Rita: “MーMy Ladyーー!!”

Thames: “Shut up! I’m not your lady! Now get out of here while you still can, you idiot!!”

Thames responded with a shrieking scream in response to Rita’s voice.

She didn’t shriek because Rita called her “My Lady.”

If she didn’t raise her voice, the Ogre may decide to attack a different target.

Thames: (How many more times can I endure these attacks……..?!)

Thames knew that it would be pointless to continue enduring these attacks. The situation won’t change just from doing so.

But for a Shield Defender like Thames, she doesn’t have the attack power to take down a B-Rank Monster.

No matter how much she defends against it with her shield, she can only envision a future where she’ll be crushed sooner or later.

But Thames decided to continue on until the final breath of life left in her.

Because now, she learned that the building behind her was the Hope Orphanage.

<<<<>>>>

[Hey, can I ask you one thing?]

When she was walking around the city at night, Thames asked Yuto a question.

[For you, why did you become an adventurer? You should have had plenty of other places you could’ve worked at. Why choose to be an Adventurer?] Thames became an Adventurer to inherit her family’s responsibilities later in life.

In order to inherit those responsibilities, she needed to get stronger.

The governor of her town will have to protect the citizens from the Monsters’ threat with their own strength.

That’s why she became an Adventurer.

By becoming an Adventurer, Thames wanted to gain the strength to be able to protect the Garou Family’s territory.

But one year after becoming an Adventurer, the Garou Family Territory was completely annihilated.

ーーA Stampede occurred.

When the Stampede occurred, Thames was thrown into the basement shelter of her home.

Thames’ father trapped her in with the house servants.

[Listen well, Thames. Your name is derived from an ancient word passed down from the Fang Tribe, and it means “unchanging merciful love.” Live up to your name, and be the merciful, loving shield that protects your people. ……...understand?]

[WhーWhat are you saying, Father? You are saying it as though those will be your final words…...I am now a D-Rank Adventurer. I will fight along beside you, Father!]

[..........Rita, I leave the rest to you.]

[...........yes, Master. Please take care of yourself.]

[WーWaitーーRITA! LET ME GO!! FATHER!! I’LL FIGHT TOO!! LET ME GO, RITA!! FATHERーー!!]

Though she struggled, Thames was held back by Rita and several other servants and lost her opportunity to face the Stampede with her Father.

Thames’ Father who faced the Stampede alone was crushed easily by the oncoming Monster horde.

After the Stampede passed, what Thames saw outside of the basement shelter was an open plain, completely devoid of all objects ー nothing remained of the Garou Territory.

Thames learned from her Father the strength to protect her citizens.

After becoming an Adventurer, she rose to a D-Rank Adventurer within a year.

She should have grown significantly in her skills as a Shield Defender.

But even so, Thames was only allowed to hold her head to her thighs miserably in the basement.

Thames was not able to protect anyone.

She was not even permitted to fight.

[What do you mean, “Be a merciful, loving shield”, huh? There’s nothing to protect anymore!! If I’m not even allowed to protect my family, what am I supposed to do from now on……]

[My Lady………]

[............I see…….it’s because I was a Shield Defender. If I was a Swordsman, I would have been able to fight side by side with my father to protect the Garou family……]

If she was not just a Shield Defender, she could have defeated the Monsters with her own hands.

If she was a Swordsman, she could have protected someone from that Stampede.

ーーBecause I had no attack strength, I was trapped inside a basement!

This was Thames’ conclusion.

In order to obtain a strength that didn’t depend on others to win a fight, Thames left her party.

She discarded the Shield Warrior who had no destructive attacks and became a Swordsman.

She discarded all relationships and poured all her time into training.

But even after all of that, she was unable to gain the strength she desired.

And on top of that, her occupation became a Shield Defender which she disdained.

[Why would God make me a Shield Defender when he knows how much I want more power!!]

Thames cursed the God that appointed her as a Shield Defender.

She couldn’t help but feel that it was done in retribution and spite.

When she completely lost her way, Yuto appeared.

Yuto is a stronger Swordsman than Thames.

Though he looks dumb and not strong at all, as soon as he gripped a sword, he emitted an aura that made a chill run down her spine.

That man trained until the skin of his calloused hands were completely ripped up.

Because he swung the sword too much, his calluses were worn down, and his hands blistered anew.

How can you get that strong? What do you have to be thinking to be able to work that hard?

Thames could not help but feel curious at what the root of this man’s strength was.

That’s why she asked.

She asked, “Why did you become an Adventurer?”

[I grew up in an Orphanage, and I had a lot of younger brothers and sisters. No one listened to me, but there was one thing everyone admired about me.”

[..........what’s that…….]

[There was a HUGE spider that appeared.]

[A spider?]

[Yeah, just the insect spider. Everyone ran away from it, and they were yelling, “Brotherー! Brotherー!” And when I took out that spider, everyone looked at me with admiration. It was probably because of that, that I became an Adventurer.”

[..........what’s with that story…….]

Was it really something that insignificant? Thames sighed.

She was incredibly disappointed.

But……

[I wanted to become someone who protected the children ー a hero of some sort. I wanted to protect the kids at the orphanage from danger. So maybe that's the reason why I became an Adventurer, I guess.]

Though Yuto smiled shyly, Thames felt some immense amount of determination from his words.

A chill ran down her spine from it.

[Are the children that important to you?]

[The kids are important too, but the orphanage the director built is equally important to me too. I try to donate what I can secretly to them. If that orphanage disappears, I think I’ll lose the reason for staying an Adventurer. That’s how important it is to me…..]

He had something he wanted to protect.

But Thames lost everything she wanted to protect.

That’s why Thames was jealous.

She was jealous that Yuto had something he could protect……….