Itai no wa Iya nanode Bōgyo-Ryoku ni Kyokufuri Shitai to Omoimasu Chapter 15

Defense Specialization and the Friend

「Well then… I’m off!」

She put on her uniform and went to school.

In the past few days, there’s been a lot more sun, and warm and sunny weather felt good. It was finally starting to feel like spring.

Kaede’s seat was by the window, so she could fall asleep if she wasn’t careful. In these conditions, Risa, who was two seats away, would probably doze off during the afternoon class.

With these thoughts in mind, she walked down the path to school. Kaede’s house was quite close to it, so she usually walked there. It was only a five-minute walk.

There was a pleasant breeze blowing, so walking wasn’t a problem.

Kaede had never had hay fever, so she liked this season quite a lot.

「Alright! I’ll do my best today again.」

She walked through the school gate and to her classroom to take her seat. After this she would normally be reading, but since she started playing NewWorld Online, she started thinking about her skills. It was fun to think about how she could get some specific skills if they existed.

「I wonder what that grin is about!」

*Poke* Someone poked Kaede’s head.

The one poking was Risa.

「N-nothing special!」

「Re-eally? Oh, right. I didn’t come here for that todayyy… ehehe… by the way, Kaede-kun. I have a serious announcement to make today.」

Saying that, Risa bent down and leaned in close to her face. Risa cleared her throat and rephrased her words to give herself a mysterious air, and Kaede joined in.

「Mmmm… what is it, Risa-kun? You seem to be very excited today, don’t you?」

「Right, blah, blah, blah! I got permission to play the game, so of course I would!」

*Clap-clap* Kaede clapped softly.

She must have studied hard, and Kaede could see just how happy she was. Just seeing that expression made Kaede happy too.

「So, from today on, I can finally play the game I just pushed on Kaede, hehe!」

「Then we can put together a party, right!」

「Yeah, yeah, yeah. A party… you mean you’ve already started playing, Kaede!?」

Risa said that in a loud voice, as if she was surprised.

By the way, both of them had gotten to school quite early, so at that moment there were only the two of them in the classroom. There was no need to worry about what was going on around them.

「E… Ehehe…」

「That Kaede, the one who I pushed games on and who grudgingly went along with me…」

「You knew you were pushing them on me!?」

「Ah, I’m so happy… I thought we’d never be able to play together, but I didn’t think Kaede would be into it…」

Then, Risa continued to talk.

「What level are you? Or have you just made an account?」

「Eh, err… uhmm… level 20.」

Risa looked puzzled for a moment, but began to grin as she realized the meaning of what Kaede had said.

「Oh wow… It seems that Kaede-san is more into the game than I expected.」

「Uuu…」

Kaede glared at Risa with a blush on her cheeks. Risa was still laughing happily, but she did not seem to have any ill will, so Kaede did not say anything.

「Ahahaha, sorry, sorry, I’m just kidding, but if you’ve leveled that much, then you’ve already decided on what your character is going to be, right?」

「Yes! I’m a defense specialized great shield user! So hey… I guess I can tell Risa…」

Kaede told Risa all about her skills and stats.

「What a monster character! Well, that’s Kaede for you, going off the rails from normal play as usual.」

「Eh!… Really!?」

「Yeah, and by “off the rails” I mean you’re too strong. Ah… it’s going to be very hard to catch up with Kaede…」

「B-But if you do what I did…」

When Kaede said that, Risa made an X mark with her hands crossed in front of her and shook her head.

「Kaede is Kaede. I am I. I’m not going to snatch the skills Kaede found using my friend rights! Well… you did give me a clue how to get unusual skills, though. I guess that was unavoidable.」

「If so, what are you going to do, Risa?」

「I thought a mage would be good since Kaede is a defense specialized tank, but that’s too normal for a party with Kaede. And besides, you won’t need me then.」

Risa groaned and pondered, then grinned as she thought of something.

「Alright! I’ve decided! I’ll be… an 『Evasion tank』.」
TL note: 『回避盾』, lit. “evasion shield”, changed to the relevant character type in English

「Evasion… tank?」

「Yup! I’ll draw the enemy’s attacks and evade them, neutralizing them.」

「Ohhhhhh! So cool! …But why, when I’m the tank?」
TL note: …But why, when I’m [using] the shield?

Kaede expressed her doubts. Yes, it’d be no use having only tanks grouped together.

「A party with Kaede and me will take no damage in any kind of fight! Always no damage! What do you think? Seems cool, doesn’t it?」

When Kaede heard those words, she imagined the scene and shook her head. She was so excited that she even waved her hands around.

「I wanted to make this kind of party, so I’ll be trying to make an evasion tank!」

「Go for it! I’ll increase my defense more, then!」

Then the two ended their talk with a promise to play together tonight. Risa returned to her seat, also.

「Evasion tank… is the hardest class to play? But that’s exactly why I’m fired up!…」

She mumbled in a soft voice, so Kaede didn’t hear it.

It was probably her nature as a gamer.

Risa tended to like choosing difficult-to-achieve things.

In order to achieve the invincible party that Risa had mentioned earlier, it would be essential for Risa to constantly avoid enemy attacks.

Dozens of magic spells cast.

A barrage of high-speed attacks.

Dodging it all by a hair’s breadth to defeat the enemies — that’s what she was imagining.

「Just thinking of that sends shivers down my spine!」

Risa couldn’t help but want today’s class to finish early.