After settling Lan, Arute looked at Sir Xia Na and simply said, "And then, Miss Sir Xia Na, I'll leave the damage output to you."
Arute didn't play any tricks with Sir Xia Na.
After all, Sir Xia Na had been very calm from the beginning and fulfilled her duty as a damage dealer. There really wasn't much to say. However, a Necromancer's actual damage output should be inferior to a Magic Caster like Livia-san, but Livia-san was scared stiff the whole time yesterday, so he couldn't force her to join the battle.
Sir Xia Na nodded in agreement, Arute nodded with satisfaction, then frowned and looked at Livia-san.
"Finally, Miss Livia-san, I understand you're very scared. Actually, everyone is the same... It's normal to be afraid in this situation, so I won't force you to participate in the battle. But I only hope that Miss Livia-san can protect herself. If Uncle Da Di has to be distracted to look after you again, it might put Miss Bai Xia in danger. So, this is my only request," Arute said to Livia-san very seriously.
He even brought out his "only request" and used himself as a pretext, trying to pin the blame on her? This move was truly venomous!
Although the method used was the same as with Lan, not making her participate in the battle, and then, under the guise of needing to protect weaker teammates, requesting that she protect herself. He similarly exploited Livia-san's psychological guilt. She clearly had strength... yet still needed others' protection, and he perfectly placed the blame on her.
"This guy..." "I... I'll try my best. I... I also want to help. I... I'll also participate in the battle," Livia-san said, holding her staff, looking very guilty.
"Miss Livia-san, you don't need to force yourself. Let us men handle the fighting and killing," Arute said, once again flashing his incredibly sunny, toothy smile.
Ellie didn't know how to even begin to complain. Sir Xia Na was also a female, right? Although her current appearance was a skeleton... This guy was clearly showing differential treatment!
"You only need to protect yourself. So, finally, only I am left, right? Although my main profession is a Magic Swordsman, I have also learned some Guardian Warrior skills, so I also have some protective skills. I will serve as a supplement to Uncle Da Di, responsible for attacking while also ensuring the safety of Miss Livia-san and Miss Sir Xia Na!" Arute didn't forget to state his duties to everyone at the end.
Uh... This guy actually took on the most difficult task himself. To be a melee damage dealer while also protecting two ranged damage dealers, that's indeed very difficult.
Originally, Ellie thought this guy would say he was only responsible for protecting Sir Xia Na and Livia-san's personal safety or something, but she didn't expect him to take on everything. It was obvious that either he had a problem with his brain, or he had ulterior motives to gain favor. From Ellie's personal perspective, this behavior leaned more towards the latter.
"Does everyone agree with this division of labor?" Arute looked at everyone and asked with a smile.
"Wait, what about me?" Ellie raised her hand, indicating, why hadn't she been assigned a job? Although according to her character setting, she was the weakest existence, she was still the only Healer in this team!
"Miss Bai Xia doesn't need to do anything. Just follow instructions and cast healing magic. Of course... remember to say something in advance when your MP is running low," Arute once again gave Ellie that incredibly sunny, toothy smile.
"Uh... I'm really sorry for holding everyone back. I can't help with anything, but I will try my best to learn how to fight to help everyone." Ellie naturally understood this guy's intentions, and of course, she wouldn't fall for his act. She wouldn't follow his command.
"Not at all. With Miss Bai Xia here, we can feel at ease, can't we? Don't worry about levels or anything, right?" The uncle took over the conversation, even nudging Lan with his elbow, probably thinking she was sad about holding them back!
"Exa... Exactly. You are the only Healer among us. We... we will naturally protect you," Lan also stammered, following the uncle's words.
Actually, she didn't need their protection at all. From yesterday's battle with those Dragons and Dragonmen, she probably understood the combat power of an average Dragon. As long as a Dragon King didn't appear, or they weren't overwhelmed by numbers, she could still handle them with ease. However, her current character setting was that of a helpless newbie, so she would just do her job well.
"I will try my best. Thank you, everyone," Ellie replied, feigning a very moved expression.
...Only Sir Xia Na, who had been silent on the side, looked at Ellie with a very complex expression, but no one noticed.
In the following days, Ellie and this group of people consistently traveled south. From the results, it indeed confirmed Ellie's conjecture.
The initial Crossing (transmigration) location was near the border between the Katz Plains and the Slane Theocracy, because on the third day after their departure, Ellie and her companions saw a huge Wetland.
And around the Wetland, there was also a lake. This Wetland area should be the territory of the Lizardmen six hundred years later, but no signs of Lizardmen activity were found near the Wetland. Instead, there were many giant Lizards and Nine-Headed Serpents, which were the mounts of the Lizardmen protagonist that appeared in the original novel.
After arriving at the Wetland area, if they continued southwest, they could directly enter the territory of the Slane Theocracy. However, before that, the uncle suggested staying in the Wetland area for a day. The reason for staying... "I think we should take this opportunity to replenish our food supplies," the uncle said, looking at the massive number of Nine-Headed Serpents frolicking leisurely in the Wetland from the shore.
"Speaking of reserves... but who among us has cooking skills? To be honest, I'm not good at cooking at all, neither in the game nor in real life," Arute didn't ask much but directly inquired who had cooking skills.
"It's true we should eat something hot. My dry rations are almost gone," Lan said, looking at the Nine-Headed Serpents with hungry wolf eyes.
"I can cook in real life, but I've never cooked a Nine-Headed Serpent in real life!" Livia-san said, her face full of black lines.
"Leave this to me! I'm a Chef with a professional level of five!" The uncle confidently patted his chest and said proudly.
"You actually learned such a high-level Chef skill. Are you... trying to be a househusband?" Everyone looked at the uncle in surprise, somewhat speechless.
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