"Hm? Are you sure Lefiya can take on the Goliath?" Finn said as I explained about Lefiya joining the Vanguard team. "I mean, she did get over her fear of fighting during the great conflict, but she still gets scared when fighting monsters."
"Don't worry about that, she won't be taking down the Goliath; she will only create an opening for us, and if something did go wrong, I will take responsibility." I insisted, since otherwise all the training I had Lefiya go through would go to waste.
"Well, if you are so confident, then I don't see why not? Besides, it will also be a good experience for her."
"Thanks, Finn, I will let her know then."
"Yes, do that."
I went back to my place where Lefiya was standing, her eyes brightened with hope, as she saw me coming towards her.
"Wh-What did Finn-san say?" she asked, her voice shaking with nervousness.
"I let him know that you would be joining us on the vanguard team. And he doesn't have any objection." I replied with a smile.
"Really?! Yes!" Lefiya cheered, jumping to her feet slightly.
"Now let's go and join the others as well," I said, and started walking where the vanguard team was standing. That includes Finn, Riveria, Ais, Ryuu, Alise, Kaguya, Tione, Tiona, me, and now Lefiya as well, along with Raul and Anakitty as supporters, holding on to the spare weapons and our supplies. While Asfi is accompanying the rear guard, with Lydia and Gareth.
"Oh? So did you finally remember that you are in the vanguard team as well?" And as usual, Kaguya's snarky remark came my way before I could even get a word in.
"Yes, and I also brought another addition to the team."
"By that, do you mean thousand elf?" Said Alise, looking at Lefiya standing behind me.
"Really?! Lefiya will also come with us!" Tiona exclaimed as she sprinted towards her, giving Lefiya a tight bear hug.
"Y-Yes, I am. I will be in your care, everyone, and please just call me Lefiya, and I hope we can get along." Lefiya bowed lightly with Tiona still clinging to her.
"Oh, same here. As they say, the more the merrier!" Alise encouraged as Tione separated Tiona from Lefiya, who was having difficulty maintaining balance.
"Um, I am also happy that Lefiya is with us," Ais spoke with a small smile on her face.
"Welcome, Lefiya," said Ryuu.
"Hm, it looks like everyone has gathered already, so let's not delay it any longer. Finn is also waiting at the entrance of the dungeon." I turn to see Riveira approaching our group as she announces the departure. Not commenting on Leifya's presence, it's likely Finn had told her about the situation.
All of us followed behind her and met up with Finn and entered the dungeon.
The dungeon passage felt a little narrow with ten people walking together, and with our firepower combined, it was a little overkill for any monsters on the upper floors. Without any trouble, we reached the 17th-floor entrance in just a few hours.
"Then, Lefiya, it's your turn to shine," I said, pushing her forward.
"Eh? Lefiya will take on the Goliath?" Tiona said, her voice laced with worry as she held Lefiya's hand.
"Yes, isn't it dangerous for her to fight alone?" Tione also supported her little sister's comment.
Their anxiety was understandable, as even if Lefiya was level four, the same as the Monster Rex, there were some major differences. The first one was that a Monster Rex required multiple adventurers of the same level to defeat it. The second being, Lefiya, who is a mage and not a close-quarter fighter, so it would be a bad match-up, so to speak.
"It's fine, Lefiya will only create an opening for us to make it easier to take down the Goliath, so I ask that none of you interrupt her fight until then."
"But—" "what about you, Lefiya? Do you want to take on the Goliath?" Before Amazon's sister could protest further, Riveria asked Lefiya about her opinion, silencing the sisters in the process.
Lefiya took a deep breath and looked straight into her teacher's eyes. "Yes, please let me do it!"
"Very well, then go ahead." Riveria also agreed, seeing Lefiya's determination.
.
.
.
.
"She will be fine, right?" The Amazon's sister could only look on with worry as Lefiya made her way towards the giant, while all of us remained hidden near the entrance.
"Of course, she will be; she trained very hard for the past days for this," I replied, watching her small form against the towering giant.
"GAAAHH!"
"The moment Goliath's eyes fell on Lefiya, it let out a ground-shaking roar and swept its arm towards the lone girl on the battlefield. Lefiya jumped to the side and started casting her spell.
"Harbinger of the end—Kyaaa!" Her spell was interrupted as the giant tried to crush her under its feet. She rolled again, scrambling to her feet and attempting to cast, only to dodge another crushing blow.
"O-oye, is it really fine?!" "Should we go and help?" Alise and others cried seeing Lefiya being battered like that.
"She is nervous," I muttered under my breath, but I guess that was obvious since now she was performing in front of her most beloved and respected teacher, Riveria, as well as in front of the person she looked up to so much that is Ais.
"Arin-san, are you sure we can leave her like that?" Ryuu whispered, since Ryuu is the best at concurrent chanting, I have received her help in some lessons.
Finally making my decision, I took a breath, filling my lungs with air, my voice roaring through the chamber. "Lefiya! Do not hesitate! move forward! Keep the promise I made in mind!"
Lefiya's eyes widened as she most likely remembered the promise I made to her on the first day of our training.
*Don't hesitate to try Lefiya, becauseeven if you fail, I will be there to protect you.*
Although a little cheesy, if that reassurance helps her overcome her fears, then I don't mind. That might very well have worked, as Lefiya got back up on her feet and faced the giant again with renewed determination.
"Harbinger of the end, the white snow."
"GAAAAA!"
Lefiya jumped over the thick arm of the goliath as it tried to slap her away, "Blow with the wind before the twilight. Closing light, the freezing land."
"Blizzard, the three severe winters - my name is Alf!" Lefiya jumped back to create some distance and to release her magic, as the giant started swinging its fists at her.
"Wynn Fimbulvetr!" Using Riveira's ice magic, Lefiya brought about a blizzard of ice. Ice spread across the floor and climbed the Goliath's massive form until the monster rex stood frozen solid—alive but completely immobilized.
Tiona, already far too impatient seeing her friend avoid death so many times, sprinted forward as Ulga rose high in the air.
"Yoooshaaaaa!" Tiona split the neck of the huge giant, as it turned into ash, leaving behind a huge magic stone.
Lefiya stood motionless, looking at the dissipating monster. She raised her arm high, a huge smile plastered over her face, "I did it!" She cried valiantly.
And we then approached her and I stopped in front of her and said, "You did good, Lefiya," as I patted her head, a habit I have developed during our training sessions.
"Tha-Thank you, Arin-san…" Lefiya muttered quietly, her face turning red.
"Yes, you were amazing. I am proud of you." "You did well, Lefiya…" The others also congratulated her for learning concurrent chanting, which only a handful of mages are capable of doing. I watched with pride as everyone praised her.
"Haa… you are a real skirt chaser, Arin…" I heard Kaguya remark and decided to bite her back.
"Oh yeah? Then you must seriously lack something for me not to chase your skirt."
"Humph, you are not chasing my skirt because I haven't wasted my charm on a man like you!" Kaguya scoffed as she argued back.
"Yes, sure, keep telling yourself that."
"Why you—!"
I gave her a comeback that seemed to hit a nerve, as a vein bulged on her forehead. I prepared myself in case I had to draw my sword, but Alise interrupted our argument, bringing our attention back to the main objective.
"Save the banter for later. We need to move before the rear guard catches up to us here instead on the eighteenth floor."
"You are right," I said, and gave Kaguya a smirk, which only made her angrier. Man, it's fun to mess with her. I thought and started walking with the group.
As we started walking forward, the girls huddled closer to me and started talking in whispers.
"While I am glad to see Lefiya's improvement, right now, it feels like she is relying on your sense of security more than her own ability," Riveria whispered, being careful not to let Lefiya hear us.
"I also felt the same when we were training," Ryuu added.
"While it's not a bad thing to rely on your comrades, it would be bad if she develops a dependency on you," Alise added her own opinion.
"While that may be the case right now, I believe that Lefiya has far more potential than this. Soon, she won't need this false sense of security to cast her magic," I stated my judgment on the matter. Which seemed to convince them.
Riveria gave a nod, "You are right, Lefiya is a strong girl with a lot of potential. Something like this won't hold her back."
The other also agreed with her sentiment, giving a nod of their own.
"Hm? What are you all talking about?" Lefiya turned to see us huddled together.
"It's nothing—Ah! We're here." I tried to think of an excuse, but fortunately, the entrance to the eighteenth floor came into view, diverting her attention away.
"Yes, but what were you talking about?" or at least that's what I thought.
"I said, we were not talking about anything! You dumb elf!"
"Owww! Why are you hitting me?! And I am not dumb!" Lefiya clenched her head, where I hit her with my fist lightly.
"Because I feel like it, remember I am also your teacher now, so I can carry out punishment like this whenever I want!" I announced the basic right I have been bestowed upon with my title as a teacher.
"""No, that's tyranny!!!""" All the girls spoke in perfect sync, making me back off.
What the heck, I thought we were on the same team! I screamed my pain of being betrayed internally.
"Haha, it's good that you are all so lively, but let's go and get to the place where we can wait for the rest of the team to arrive." Finn decided on our course of action. And so we decided to head in the direction of the designated place.
Lefiya tried to ask again, but went quiet when I showed her my fist. "Eeep! I am sorry!" she covered her head with her hands.
She is so delicate… I thought seeing small tears gathering at the corner of her eyes, when I didn't even hit her. Another thing we have to work on, I guess.
I thought as we walked to our pre-decided spot for the meetup.