Fram hit her hands together. “That being said, we can’t spend all our time on Haring. We have to find other members... And Yuri, there’s something else I need you to do.”
“Hmm? Me?”
“Yes, it’s about your Tribal Armament.”
A Tribe Skill only a mix-blood human could use. An ability born of sheer effort and madness.
“There’s no doubt your Tribal Armament is a powerful skill. Considering how you managed to defeat Elias with it, it could possibly become the trump card of our team. If you’re able to draw out the abilities of your other tribes too, you’ll greatly expand the tactics at our disposal.”
“Meaning, you want me to train to use other tribal traits too!”
“Precisely. But...before that, we’ll have to draft up some countermeasures for the recoil.”
Though she was the one who proposed it, Fram’s expression took a grim turn. Yuri needed to pay a heavy cost to use Tribal Armament. In exchange for drawing out extraordinary power, his Human Tribe body would suffer immense damage.
“To be blunt, Yuri, your Tribal Armament is unsuited for going up against multiple opponents. It isn’t often you’ll be fighting one-on-one in a team battle, and if you’re injured too badly, we may have to retire.”
“D-Don’t worry about that! No matter what happens to me, I’ll endu—”
“Nope! Your Big Sis won’t allow it!”
“Yes, you can endure it. I can’t.”
The two of them smacked him on the head, causing him to inadvertently shrink back. But Fram had a point. His duel with Elias was one-on-one, allowing him to give it his all without paying mind to anything else. Precisely because he knew he would win as long as he could defeat a single person, he was able to move beyond his limits.
This wouldn’t be the case in a team battle. The battle wouldn’t end by taking one person out. If that wasn’t bad enough, his own injuries would place a large burden on the other members. All things considered, improving his Tribal Armament was probably the top priority. But...
“But what am I supposed to do?”
“No clue!”
“...There’s no precedent. You’re the first one to use it.”
The three of them tilted their heads, groaning without any ideas on how to improve. Yuri never neglected to train his own body, and he had grasped the knack of moving without breaking himself. He knew how to divert impacts from his vitals. Even so, he couldn’t use Tribal Armament without hurting himself.
“There is one thing that comes to mind,” Mirka finally spoke up. “Please remember what happened after he fought Elias. Yuri couldn’t control his strength for a while, right?”
“Erk... Really, I’m sorry for breaking everything...”
As a result of removing his limiter time and again, Yuri could no longer restrict himself in daily life either. When he tried to open the door, it snapped. When he tried to take a seat, the chair was pulverized. When he tripped and caught himself against the wall, he created a large hole in the same shape as his body. There were plenty more examples to list, and he didn’t know how to apologize.
But Mirka shook her head. “The point that I must emphasize is not what you broke, but what you didn’t.”
“...What do you mean?”
“You see, dear Yuri. Your brain’s limiter was off, but you never once broke yourself, did you?”
Yuri tried thinking back to the days in question. Sure enough, he didn’t remember hurting himself. If he had removed his restrictions and was using power beyond his physical limit, it wouldn’t have been strange for him to take damage from the backlash. But forget his usual broken bones, he didn’t even come down with minor injuries.
“The price of Tribal Armament is so large it can put you right at death’s door. That’s why I think your body might be instinctively trying to adapt to it.”
“Err, meaning as long as I can adapt—”
“It might be possible for you to use it for less of a cost. However,” Mirka groaned, her arms crossed, “that will be difficult to accomplish in the duel city.”
“Mnn? You mean normal duels won’t be enough?”
“The way you’re putting it, it sounds like he could just keep fighting with Tribal Armament like he did against Elias.”
The girls looked at her quizzically, prompting Mirka to stick up a finger.
“I do think it would be possible with duels, but a brutal battle where Yuri would have to keep using Tribal Armament in succession will be a heavy burden on him. Not only that, it will be hard to hold a duel where he’ll have to keep surpassing his limits.”
His duel with Elias placed both sides in utter desperation. It was a battle on which both Yuri and Elias had staked emotions they would never concede, and even if he was told to experience it again, it would be difficult to reproduce.
“So, while simple repetition might prove effective...finding an opponent during entry season will be quite difficult. Additionally, battling in the Field dulls one’s awareness of actual death. I’m not sure he’ll adapt while knowing he’ll be just fine in the end. It would have to be a situation where he would be constantly reminded of his impending doom—”
Cutting herself off, Mirka rang the bell on the table to summon a waiter. Elias immediately glided out from the store.
“You’re still here— Oh, and Stein is with you?”
“Yes, yes, pleasure. I just wanted to ask your opinion on something.”
“Is this about the male uniform I had you make for Eniastar?”
“Oh no, I firmly believe a female uniform would suit him better, so I’m taking that project in a more interesting direction.”
“Hold up! I think you just brought up something I shouldn’t ignore!”
He had inadvertently interrupted because of her unsettling admission, but Mirka simply pressed forward without paying him any mind.
“Elias, you have to restock your shop’s ingredients in the dungeon, right?”
“To be more precise, we gather herbs for tea and medicinal cooking, and certain plants used in desserts. But the main event is the coffee. I have an exclusive contract for the land I’m cultivating the beans on, and I personally head out at regular intervals to check on their growth and make sure that—”
“Oh, this sounds like it will be a long story. Another time, okay?” She cut down the monologue with one fell swoop before giving Yuri a pat on the back. “Why not ask Yuri to do the restocking?”
“...You want me to leave it to Eniastar?”
“Yep. Exploring the dungeon always comes with its share of danger, and I thought he would feel the dangers of death there more than in a duel. Don’t you think it’s the perfect place for dear Yuri here to take the next step up?”
“I see... But the items he collects will be served to customers. He’ll need the knowledge to distinguish between different plants, and he might need to know how to remove toxins after harvest—”
“Ah, that’s something I know how to do!”
Seeing Yuri readily raise his hand, Elias firmly locked eyes with him.
“...How do you tell dandelia from false-dandelia?”
“The petals open differently, and dandelia only grows on high ground!”
“Tell me, what part of the licor radiata do you harvest, and how do you remove the poison?”
“Grate the plant bulb, boil, drain, dry then grind to a fine powder!”
“How do you preserve alphinam petals?”
“They require a lot of moisture, so after plucking, put them in your canteen, and keep it airtight!”
“Alright, off you go.”
After Elias gave Yuri’s shoulder a pat of approval, Athena energetically rose up. “Aight! Then it’s dungeon-crawling time!!”
“Athena and Aizberg, stay in the shop,” Elias immediately replied.
“But why!?” she protested.
“I happened to catch what Stein said earlier. You’re trying to give Eniastar combat experience outside of dueling. There is no point if you tag along.”
“But if we don’t keep an eye on him,” noted Fram, “there’s no telling what crazy thing Yuri will do next.”
“She’s right! She’s right!”
Before he knew it, Athena and Fram had positioned themselves in a tight-knit formation to protect Yuri.
Elias held his head and sighed. “...Stein, you say something to them.”
“Right you are. This time, Yuri should go alone.”
Just when the girls were certain she would side with them, Mirka smiled and shook her head.
“Having you two follow along will lessen his sense of danger. This time, we have to corner Yuri into an extreme pinch. Can the two of you watch and let that happen?”
“I’ll definitely save Yuri!”
“I...well, I might raise a hand if it gets too dangerous.”
“Yes, there you go. You’re staying home.” Grabbing the two of them by the scruff of the neck, she smoothly ripped them away from the boy. “And, that being the case, starting tomorrow, Yuri is going to spend a week holed up in the purgatory district.”
“A week... Then I’ll need supplies and equipment, won’t I?”
Once again, Mirka dismissively waved him off as he was about to stand. “Oh no, oh no, why Yuri, you don’t need anything at all.”
“But I’ll need the proper tools to harvest herbs, won’t I?”
“I’ll arrange a guide for you who will carry them. As I told you a moment ago, Yuri, we need you to fall into a life-or-death predicament.”
Mirka’s canines gleamed as she lifted the ends of her lips.
“You’re going to survive the dungeon—completely empty-handed.”
She smiled assuredly, as if she was expecting great things from him.